GDT: ECSF G1: (4)Boston Bruins v (6)New York Rangers II

[The Kid]

Perhaps new here, but I've been watching the Bs for 30 years.

If I am being overly optimistic at the expense of realism, so be it. But again, I don't see anything in the Rangers that scares me. It is the Bs series to lose.

I expect the Rangers to come out heavy on Sunday, and the Bs will respond. It will be 2-0 going back to NY where the Rangers will win one of them. Bs close it out at home.

No doubt, we have seen the Bs lay an egg this season. I don't think it happens.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Well the onus for the one goal was more in the poor decision by the black hole line (Yes Seguin dumb decision that led to a goal with 1.3 seconds left in the period).

I don't remember which forward line was out for the second goal but it was definetly blown coverage by all involved).

It was Jagr. He was in position just didn't make the play.

 

[Shoebottom]

What a great game. Eventhough the game went into OT, I thought the Bs dominated throughtout the game. Not sure if that was NY's best or close to it, but I can see the Bs sweep this series. They're not as tough, their pp looks worse than ours, their pk isn't that good, and they aren't as skilled (which is surprising). They basically shoot everything on the net and crash it, which is effective, but also a low % play. Now that I jinxed the Bs and they'll probably lose the next game, my game observations:

The Bs look like the 2011 Bs again. Struggle in the 1st round vs a Canadian team, and then dominate. Makes you wonder what might have been had we got past the caps last year.

Marchand is back to his old self. What a pleasure to watch.

The MERLOT line was very good last night. Back to their 2011 form.

Seguin still struggling eventhough he had many chances. Frustrating.

Chara is the terminator.

Boychuk is awesome. Every playoff game he is up there in blocked shots, hits, & shots on goal. Not to mention goal posts lol. Also fought through that shoulder injury.
I hope they keep him somehow.

Jagr was annoying for the 1st 2 periods. He couldn't receive a puck, pass a puck or even shield one. Jitters from being back in NY? Played much better as the game went on.

Rask solid with all that crashing into him. But should've had that 2nd goal.

The 3 rookie Dmen didn't make any glaring rookie mistakes! Played way better than I expected. Hamilton & Krug on the pp looked real good. Can't believe CJ did that, but I guess he didn't have a choice. The 3 of them sure added some extra mobility back there. And Krug played beyond his age and size.

Lucic, Krejci, Horton, Bergeron, Kelly, & Peverley looked real good as well.
Is something bothering Krejci? He was bad on faceoffs all night.

Again, I know the score says otherwise, but I thought the Bs were the much better team last night.

 

[5Minutes4Fighting]

Perhaps new here, but I've been watching the Bs for 30 years.

If I am being overly optimistic at the expense of realism, so be it. But again, I don't see anything in the Rangers that scares me. It is the Bs series to lose.

I expect the Rangers to come out heavy on Sunday, and the Bs will respond. It will be 2-0 going back to NY where the Rangers will win one of them. Bs close it out at home.

No doubt, we have seen the Bs lay an egg this season. I don't think it happens.

B's are a deeper team. There's a reason they finished with one of the 5 best records in the League. They need to put the pedal down and give max effort and they'll win this series. No lazy efforts. Henrik is great, but he's beatable. If he wasn't he'd have a handful of SC Rings by now.

 

[TCL40]

Oh I agree with more Dougie and Krug on the PP. They worked well and I like the fact that they moved to pull the defense out of position-something Chara doesn't do well.

As for the wounded D-men. Unless the kids really start to fall apart I would only add Seids if healthy.

I think if Seids comes back Dougie is the odd man out again. Seids slots in with Chara and Boychuk and Mcquaid fill out the righties with Bart and Krug on the left.

 

[ODAAT]

I don't think King Henrik was that shaky, just not super human. He stopped 45 shots.

We have come to expect near perfection from him but I saw a Lundqvist who on about a half dozen occasions, lost complete awareness as to where the puck was, again, even when off he`s great but.....that Krug shot is one he saves 101% of the time...wait, is that possible

 

[Pie O My]

It was Jagr. He was in position just didn't make the play.

I was ticked off when it happened (not this particular play), but seeing Jagr and Marchand tripping over each other and knock each other down in the corner was pretty comical. He is really starting to show his age. If we're fortunate enough to make it further i think we may see a Jagr/Yeti swap for one game just to get him some extra rest.

 

[Flannelman]

nice post, 11milesperjohan.

 

[TCL40]

Oh and for Krejci it may have been a bad night-he is IMO streaky with face offs-he is in the zone and dominating or losing all over the place. Think he faced Boyle a lot so it may be that Boyle is a better face off guy.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

I was ticked off when it happened (not this particular play), but seeing Jagr and Marchand tripping over each other and knock each other down in the corner was pretty comical. He is really starting to show his age. If we're fortunate enough to make it further i think we may see a Jagr/Yeti swap for one game just to get him some extra rest.

I don't know what it is, but since the playoffs started he's been horribad.

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

nice post, 11milesperjohan.

Thanks...

 

[nitric]

I love when a player makes you retract all previous statements on them. I was not happy to see Krug in the lineup, thinking he wasn't going to be able to handle it. Good job, kiddo. He was always great at moving the puck into the zone in Providence, and also a great asset to the power play. Wasn't sure if it would translate to NHL but it did. Small guy, but makes up for it. All of our rookie D-man seem to have pleasantly surprised everyone.

We bought last minute tickets to the game, was a great time!!

 

[Hawgood_38]

I thought the Krug - Sweeney comment was interesting. Obviously he's not Don, but he's already the best skater on the blueline, and it's not particularly close. Kid is mobile and fast.

Honestly, he kind of (not a direct comparison) reminds me of Letang. Small stature, but very good skater that jumps into the play and he got his nose dirty as well. I'm not saying that's who he'll be, but that's who came to mind.

Being there last night, the crowd took a while to get into the game. Lots of "nervous energy" through the first 2 periods, but the noise picked up a bit in the third and really got going in OT.

Loved the hustle by Marchand on the winner. He really busted it at the blue line getting ahead of Zuccarello and I love that Zuccarello ended up in the net after the goal went in.

I'd still love to see Horton finish his checks more often. He was a bit more physically engaged last night, but still turns off more than in years past. Maybe the concussions have him holding back?

Bartkowski has earned his PT and should stay in the top 6 even when the other 3 are healthy IMO. I love the way he initiates the rush and skates it out of the zone. We don't need 4 D-to-D passes before we break out of our zone. Get the puck and go!

Awesome game for Tuukka. He keeps playing like this, his contract demands might get a little hairy. We'll see.

Not a ton of Rangers' fans in the crowd, especially compared to the Leaf fans how came down in droves. Not as bad as when the place was 1/3 Habs fans a few years back, but still impressed by how many showed up. It'll be interesting to see if more Rags fans come up for the Sunday afternoon game. Hopefully my voice will be back by then.

Go B's!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ODAAT]

Honestly, he kind of (not a direct comparison) reminds me of Letang. Small stature, but very good skater that jumps into the play and he got his nose dirty as well. I'm not saying that's who he'll be, but that's who came to mind.

Being there last night, the crowd took a while to get into the game. Lots of "nervous energy" through the first 2 periods, but the noise picked up a bit in the third and really got going in OT.

Loved the hustle by Marchand on the winner. He really busted it at the blue line getting ahead of Zuccarello and I love that Zuccarello ended up in the net after the goal went in.

I'd still love to see Horton finish his checks more often. He was a bit more physically engaged last night, but still turns off more than in years past. Maybe the concussions have him holding back?

Bartkowski has earned his PT and should stay in the top 6 even when the other 3 are healthy IMO. I love the way he initiates the rush and skates it out of the zone. We don't need 4 D-to-D passes before we break out of our zone. Get the puck and go!

Awesome game for Tuukka. He keeps playing like this, his contract demands might get a little hairy. We'll see.

Not a ton of Rangers' fans in the crowd, especially compared to the Leaf fans how came down in droves. Not as bad as when the place was 1/3 Habs fans a few years back, but still impressed by how many showed up. It'll be interesting to see if more Rags fans come up for the Sunday afternoon game. Hopefully my voice will be back by then.

Go B's!!!!!!!!!!!!

watching on TV, looked like both teams took 30 mins getting into it too

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

I love when a player makes you retract all previous statements on them. I was not happy to see Krug in the lineup, thinking he wasn't going to be able to handle it. Good job, kiddo. He was always great at moving the puck into the zone in Providence, and also a great asset to the power play. Wasn't sure if it would translate to NHL but it did. Small guy, but makes up for it. All of our rookie D-man seem to have pleasantly surprised everyone.

We bought last minute tickets to the game, was a great time!!

He was also a lot sturdier than I thought he would be...he threw his body around a few times and didn't get muscled off the puck. I was very impressed.

 

[nazartp]

I am shocked because the reasons given were that the Rangers were this unstoppable force. They are not. They are not a better team than the Bruins and there is nothing about their team that makes me think they can control play.

/snip snip/

"Rookie" is an empty term. How much did that term come into play last night!? It didn't. They have fresh legs and are not afraid to move the puck and shoot it. All of the positive attributed showed last night thus demolishing any "rookie" notions.

Rookie doesn't mean anything. It carries some negative connotation in the playoffs, but how did that work out for everyone last night?

Rangers are more dangerous than you think. God forbid Nash and Richards start putting up points, they will have four solid scoring lines. Their defense and goaltending are excellent even without Staal. I wouldn't call them an unstoppable force, but they are solid. There are no bad teams left in the playoffs.

All that said, I do think B's are deeper offensively, not just from scoring perspective, but managing to keep the puck in the offensive end.

Regarding rookies. Playoffs are a marathon, not a sprint and being rookie is mostly important from the point of view of mental fortitude. What if Krug makes a mistake a la Phaneuf and costs B's a game? Does he have skin thick enough to bounce back and not to dwell on his mistake gripping stick ever so tightly?

I still think Bs take this series, but it will take 7 games and I sure hope Seidenberg is back if only to reduce Chara's minutes.

 

[bruinmann77]

Yes i agree The King did stop a bunch of shots and was lucky with all the posts shots. But think the rangers can be had but it won't be easy getting game one was hugh now we need another effort sunday. Rask needs to stand tall and we need to continue to get pucks on the net. I sure Trots blasted his team and will come out flying. It was intresting to see that Marchand got a text from Rex and in game 7 Thorthon had some words for Seguin. Hopefully both guys will heat up. I was pleased with the 3 rookies and thankfully Jarome vetoed that trade deal. It looks very promising for the future of our Defense. Thankfully PC did a good job with some signings and trades.

 

[lextune]

To: Boston Bruins

From: BMC

Subject: OT

Dear Bruins:

For God's sake start winning in regulation. My heart & nervous system cannot take the stress anymore.

Thank you.

BMC

^This!



...GREAT game 1 win.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

So funny reading the Rangers board; so many posters actually complaining about the refs throwing the game to Boston. Hysterical.

Earth to Rangers Fans: Your team was dominated for vast stretches of Game 1 and all of the overtime. Your goalie faced 50 shots. Your $8 million man was invisible.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

Btw I think we need to forever retire "Claude puts on the 4TH line"

That's no 4th line. It's a 3rd line getting 4th line minutes. I'm comfortable whenever they're out there.

 

[ranold26]

Great game. Great game.

 

[Scotto74]

Nasty Nate is now a +23 in 29 career play-off games... only has had two games in his career (first two vs Montreal) where he was a minus... Pretty impressive.

guys a floater give his spot to Jagr.

 

[BNHL]

One observation I have is the amount of wrist shots and snap shots attempted by the Bs in normal slapshot situations. Strategy to avoid the shot blocking prowess of the Rangers?. I like it.

 

[BNHL]

I'll also add that Rask is every bit as good as Lundqvist and 5 years younger.

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

Btw I think we need to forever retire "Claude puts on the 4TH line"

That's no 4th line. It's a 3rd line getting 4th line minutes. I'm comfortable whenever they're out there.

That's one of the biggest mismatches that favors Boston. Fourth line vs. fourth line last night wasn't even close. That might not be a huge deal because you're not talking about skill guys, but it certainly could win the Bs a game in this series. Not only does that line consistently give themselves a chances to score, but they can shift/keep the momentum, and they wear down the other team. Claude can and did exploit that match-up last night.