GDT: Here we go! Series #2 - Game #1

[Bobcat110]

Ryan Murray out, is HUGE, and I find it fascinating its just brushed off by so many people. For MUCH (possibly most) of the regular season he was arguably our best defenseman. Legit impact on both ends of the ice.

I know I'll get the Werenski coalition on me pretty quick, but BOS (both Marchand/their top line and their "heavy" depth) is a team that can really negatively highlight the difference between having Murray-Jones out there for 25+ minutes instead of Werenski-Jones.

I would love to hear Ryan Murray's music start playing and have him bust open the curtain, and I don't know how probable that is or isn't from happening (as i believe the SILENCE could be positive or negative) but I just think the NEGATIVE impact him being out along with the (now) POSITIVE impact he would have coming back is significantly downplayed.

It's been significantly downplayed ever since he's been out at the end of the regular season. IMO.

Ryan in the lineup to me is like finding money in my couch cushions. Not something to count on, but a good day when it happens.

 

[Jive Pawnbroker]

I'm taking a break from chilling out to get fired up for a couple of minutes:

 

[MoeBartoli]

I posted the take below prior to the TB series. I know Boston is a different type of team than the Lightning, but I believe this very simple assessment holds for round 2 as well.



It could come down to Bob but I don't think it has to.

1) Can the defense (meaning all 5 players in the D zone) retain some semblance of structure to where they're not caught looking or chasing?

2) Can the offense (meaning all 5 players in the O zone), not get frustrated if things aren't figured out in short order?

Both of these things require patience and a level head, not things that have been always present for the Jackets this season, but which are possible and not completely unheard-of.

Good post, DSL.....I'll add two more items, one of which I mentioned previously.

It'll be important to not let the top line beat us. Holding them in check obviously reduces goals, but it also pushes Cassidy to load up the top line thus diluting the second line.

The other key will be to not allow Boston to get an advantage by being physical, but for us to do so without getting whistled for retaliating. Boston has a knack for eliciting such, but we need to not spend time on the PK.

(On the other hand, one of my guilty pleasures would be to see someone thump Marchand.)

Let's go Blue Jackets!!!

 

[predwings]

Time to catch a tired Boston squad, CBJ 4 BOS 2

 

[Doggy]

March 12 - CBJ chase Rask and win 7-4
March 16 - Bruins 2-1 in OT - Korpisalo vs. Halak
April 2 - 6-2. Bob gives up the early fluke goal off his back. Team sleepwalks through the game and plays really poorly. Bob got a mercy pull.

In essence, the OT game was a battle of the backups. the other 2 games were blowouts in each direction. This could really go either way.

Right, because the regular season results from our 1st round matchup meant so much in the playoffs.

 

[blahblah]

On a side note, watching Endgame at 9:30 so I'll likely miss some of the third period. Silly 7 game Boston/Toronto series. At least they aren't playing on Sunday this week.

 

[Doggy]

...Still find it bizarre Nuti was literally on the ice warming up before Game 3 yet is still unable to go 11 days later.

DW and I (like many fans) believe a player suspended for a dirty hit should miss at least as many games as the person being hit. My buddy has a tougher stance on these kinds of hits. He thinks a players should be suspended for X number of games but that the suspension doesn't begin until after the player who has been hurt is back on the ice.

IOW, if Nuti misses ten games and the league suspends Kuch for three games. Kuch would first miss the ten Nuti misses and then the three game suspension. Obviously this is a little odd because of the playoffs but I like this rule.

 

[ScreamingWild]

I hope we cream those punks!

Hahahahaha... Boston Cream Punks!!

 

[thebus88]

I think it's been downplayed because we managed the 7-1 season end and Bolts sweep without him. It would be more fair to suggest that his eventual return could be huge.

What about it being downplayed before those 8 games to end the year after Jarmo "sold off the future" and the team wasn't performing to higher expectations?

What about it (NOT) being brought up before or during the TB series? With or without the relationship between the excuses of Hedmen being out?

If the team had failed to make the playoffs or got blown out (like expected) by TB, it would continue to be downplayed and not have been allowed to be accepted as a legitimate excuse.

Most fans of other teams still literally think Werenski/Jones is our "top pairing". Its not.

When fully healthy (not just Murray, but the entire defense) Murray-Jones plays at a 25-30 minute per game rate, whether the full 60 minutes, or in the 3rd period of any close game, along with him being arguably our best PK defenseman with Savard and Jones.

His eventual return would be huge. His current removal from the lineup is huge-er.

 

[Long Live Lyle]

What about it being downplayed before those 8 games to end the year after Jarmo "sold off the future" and the team wasn't performing to higher expectations?

What about it (NOT) being brought up before or during the TB series? With or without the relationship between the excuses of Hedmen being out?

If the team had failed to make the playoffs or got blown out (like expected) by TB, it would continue to be downplayed and not have been allowed to be accepted as a legitimate excuse.

Most fans of other teams still literally think Werenski/Jones is our "top pairing". Its not.

When fully healthy (not just Murray, but the entire defense) Murray-Jones plays at a 25-30 minute per game rate, whether the full 60 minutes, or in the 3rd period of any close game, along with him being arguably our best PK defenseman with Savard and Jones.

His eventual return would be huge. His current removal from the lineup is huge-er.

It was mentioned decently often here during that poor stretch.

But I think it’s being downplayed not because of an underappreciation of his on-ice impact, but more because we’ve just come to expect (fairly or unfairly) that he won’t be in the lineup the rest of the year. It’d be like talking about the impact not having William Karlsson has on this series - just kinda pointless. As opposed to discussing someone like a Nutivaara who presumably could be back, or a Gavrikov-Clendening debate.

Obviously, we don’t know. Maybe silence is good. I doubt it.

 

[thebus88]

Ryan in the lineup to me is like finding money in my couch cushions. Not something to count on, but a good day when it happens.

Not to really harp on you personally/individually (as you have gotten and will get more likes), I just want to point out I find it interesting how some jokes/humor involving certain players and their injuries are seen as "A-OK", while other similar innocuous/innocent comments made about other players are seen as "disrespectful", "hateful", "classless", etc.

Carry on.

CBJ in 7.

6, if Murray comes back.

 

[Alicat]

It was hard to make the GDT because there is no history between the teams.

I do hate your cannon and think that Boomer looks like a cartoon cigarette but that's about it.

Hoping for a fun series where no one gets hurt and both teams play their absolute best.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

It was hard to make the GDT because there is no history between the teams.

I do hate your cannon and think that Boomer looks like a cartoon cigarette but that's about it.

Hoping for a fun series where no one gets hurt and both teams play their absolute best.

I hope you hate our team and hate it soon, like by the end of the first week of May.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I don't buy the "rust" angle. Maybe for the first one or two shifts, but not after that. The "fatigue" angle after round one doesn't cut it either. I suppose if they'd gone to a bunch of OTs and game 7 would have had a double OT then that might have some merit. But they didn't. It's going to be a who is better series.

I think the biggest factor is how committed and determined the CBJ are. They could get swept and the season would still be considered a success by many. Overcoming the "no playoff wins ever" monkey might be enough for some of the guys. Or it might not be. We'll see. Many of Boston's core have won a cup so I'm going to assume that they're fully vested in winning another given how long it's been since they hosted the hardware.

The Bob factor is still huge. While the playoff albatross has been lifted to a point, it's not a non issue yet.

Oh, and the CBJ are 4-0 without Ryan Murray in the playoffs this year.

 

[MoeBartoli]

It was hard to make the GDT because there is no history between the teams.

I do hate your cannon and think that Boomer looks like a cartoon cigarette but that's about it.

Hoping for a fun series where no one gets hurt and both teams play their absolute best.

Here's hoping you hear the cannon fire more times than your ears would prefer.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Nervous. I have Boston in 6. But if we can beat Tampa we can beat anyone.

Not a fan of our defensive set up. Clendening filled in fine with Nuti out, and I know Gavrikov is green, but I don't know who is more trustworthy.

 

[Bobcat110]

Not to really harp on you personally/individually (as you have gotten and will get more likes), I just want to point out I find it interesting how some jokes/humor involving certain players and their injuries are seen as "A-OK", while other similar innocuous/innocent comments made about other players are seen as "disrespectful", "hateful", "classless", etc.

Carry on.

CBJ in 7.

6, if Murray comes back.

No problem. Not sure what classless comments you are referring to, but I think we know what we have in Murray. Murray can be very good when he’s on the ice, but are you really counting on it? He’s missed significant time every year and this is about the strangest injury of all because he just disappeared from the lineup two months ago with barely any word or reason. If he returns, it will be a welcomed surprise by everyone.

 

[Alicat]

Here's hoping you hear the cannon fire more times than your ears would prefer.

Well I hope you hear a ton of woo's in the next 2 weeks that it becomes an earworm you just can't shake

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Right, because the regular season results from our 1st round matchup meant so much in the playoffs.

I'm sure these games were reviewed by the staff over the last week as well as games with Toronto to start formulating a game plan. Otherwise, it is simply pointing out that we seem to be pretty evenly matched. However, Pastrnak only played in the last game where we stunk up the joint. In every game the CBJ had more giveways.

In no way do I expect this to be a sweep. I suspect this series goes 6 games and could go either way. Boston was my pick to win the cup because they have a physical presence and experience around them to play playoff hockey. Tampa seemed to be lacking that. The CBJ got physical in the zones to win battles that Tampa couldn't fight back on. It won't be that easy with Boston

 

[Alicat]

I hope you hate our team and hate it soon, like by the end of the first week of May.

Oh I'm sure I'll hate your team after tonight hahaha

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Most fans of other teams still literally think Werenski/Jones is our "top pairing". Its not.

I'm sorry, but the 56 games Murray-Jones was a consistent thing this year doesn't erase the last 2 seasons worth of play time Werenski-Jones have been together. I know Murray-Jones played some when Murray first got here, and in some defensive situations after that, but Murray-Jones wasn't even a thing longer than Jack Johnson-Savard. So yeah, Werenski-Jones is literally our top pairing.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

It was hard to make the GDT because there is no history between the teams.

I do hate your cannon and think that Boomer looks like a cartoon cigarette but that's about it.

Hoping for a fun series where no one gets hurt and both teams play their absolute best.

No, Boomer is a cartoon male reproductive organ in a wheelchair. Thank you very much.

 

[CharlotteJacket]

On a side note, watching Endgame at 9:30 so I'll likely miss some of the third period. Silly 7 game Boston/Toronto series. At least they aren't playing on Sunday this week.

I simply have never understood this logic.

 

[The Jones Zone]

Nervous. I have Boston in 6. But if we can beat Tampa we can beat anyone.

Not a fan of our defensive set up. Clendening filled in fine with Nuti out, and I know Gavrikov is green, but I don't know who is more trustworthy.

my confidence just went up after seeing you have B's in 6

 

[CBJWerenski8]

my confidence just went up after seeing you have B's in 6

Noted. We'll see in a week.