Post-Game Talk: Like a skipping record, the Bruins lose again in OT… 2-1 Knights

[TD Charlie]

They will lose to St Louis and Binnington will beat up our entire team.

That Binnington is such a fudge dragon

 

[NDiesel]

A historic regular season does not mean shit when you see what happened last season. You still have to worry about winning regular season games so you can at least make the playoffs.

And they are healthily in a playoff spot....just rubs me the wrong way that some say that regular season means nothing and yet they can be so bothered by a stretch of poor play....it either matters or it doesn't.

 

[Sheppy]

That Binnington is such a fudge dragon

He really is

 

[BiteThisBurrows]

That Mathew T scares me in the 1st round . I want Toronto and Florida to play in the first round.

He doesn't scare me. He hasn't had a good playoff yet.

I've noticed this year that Toronto loses a lot of games against tight checking defensive hockey. That's who we are. There's no guarantees, but the bottom end of their roster is pure garbage and their D is weak as well. Goaltending we have a huge edge. We can beat them.

My ideal scenario is Florida plays Tampa because I think that would be a war, and although Florida likely wins, Jeannot and others might inflict some serious harm on them and by the end both teams will be done.
We play Toronto, if we win, more likely than not we come pretty unscathed.

But you know, playoffs, anything can happen.

 

[BiteThisBurrows]

And they are healthily in a playoff spot....just rubs me the wrong way that some say that regular season means nothing and yet they can be so bothered by a stretch of poor play....it either matters or it doesn't.

It matters if you see things that are hard to change/fix and you see things that will be a problem in the playoffs.

For example if you don't have a good PP and you can't make teams that might take liberties pay for it, then you have a playoff problem. If you notice you lose to the same thing often, like an aggressive forecheck against your D, then you have a problem a good coach will exploit in the playoffs.

This Bruins team lacks scorers. That's the biggest problem. We play a solid shutdown system but we are kind of turning into the islanders. Always in the game, always close, but just not quite good enough.

 

[b in vancouver]

with you there, I find, more often than not, even the 3 on 3 is boring but I`ll take 10 minutes of that before a shootout which I have always despised as a way to decide a team sport


haha, not gonna lie, be kinda fun to watch Lauko and Beecher`s speed in OT but could also be a recipe for disaster

I dislike both. Shut the last three off at the end of regulation. I only watch OT/shootouts every once in awhile.
I love playing pond hockey but don't need to watch it.

 

[GoBs]

Weird to say (?) but, I'm looking forward to #28's return...


This season, the Bruins record:

with Derek Forbort
14-3-3 ; .700 Win% ; .775 Points%

without Derek Forbort
10-5-6 ; .476 Win% ; .619 Points%

Not weird to say this, they miss this guy. Takes hard minutes away from Lindholm and complements Carlo on the PK. There is only one clueless poster refers to his hands as a starchy vegetable and comes up with foolish stats. Go to the games and watch him through an entire shift. No wonder the guy was hurt the tail end of last year and all of this season.

 

[quietbruinfan]

It matters if you see things that are hard to change/fix and you see things that will be a problem in the playoffs.

For example if you don't have a good PP and you can't make teams that might take liberties pay for it, then you have a playoff problem. If you notice you lose to the same thing often, like an aggressive forecheck against your D, then you have a problem a good coach will exploit in the playoffs.

This Bruins team lacks scorers. That's the biggest problem. We play a solid shutdown system but we are kind of turning into the islanders. Always in the game, always close, but just not quite good enough.

Excellent post. I think the Islander comparison is very valid. The Isles are more physical, while the Bruins may have slightly more talent. Right church, wrong pew.

 

[nORRis8]

If Tim Thomas was in net in 2019 the Blues would still be Cupless.

3........2.........1........

 

[NDiesel]

It matters if you see things that are hard to change/fix and you see things that will be a problem in the playoffs.

For example if you don't have a good PP and you can't make teams that might take liberties pay for it, then you have a playoff problem. If you notice you lose to the same thing often, like an aggressive forecheck against your D, then you have a problem a good coach will exploit in the playoffs.

This Bruins team lacks scorers. That's the biggest problem. We play a solid shutdown system but we are kind of turning into the islanders. Always in the game, always close, but just not quite good enough.

I dont disagree with you here, but I think you're missing what I'm trying to say

 

[The don godfather]

He doesn't scare me. He hasn't had a good playoff yet.

I've noticed this year that Toronto loses a lot of games against tight checking defensive hockey. That's who we are. There's no guarantees, but the bottom end of their roster is pure garbage and their D is weak as well. Goaltending we have a huge edge. We can beat them.

My ideal scenario is Florida plays Tampa because I think that would be a war, and although Florida likely wins, Jeannot and others might inflict some serious harm on them and by the end both teams will be done.
We play Toronto, if we win, more likely than not we come pretty unscathed.

But you know, playoffs, anything can happen.

When Mathew said we are coming back for game 7 he was right . That's messier stuff. Stay clear from him. He has incredible leadership qualities and can rally his team.

 

[Number8]

This fanbase is so hilarious at times. And by hilarious I mean a bit maddening too.

Do I need to bump the prediction thread on where all of you thought we'd finish this year? Almost everyone thought we'd be between horrible and average. A very few notables were bang on and thought we'd be up there in the standings.

So despite this team massively outperforming expectations you all had, people are still disappointed? Thank goodness you guys weren't born in Ottawa or Buffalo, you'd be on constant mental health watch.

Somehow, without a rebuild, this franchise watched a generational core retire (Chara, Tuukka, Bergy, Krejci), and somehow the franchise still leads the East. That's INSANE. Look at the Blackhawks and other rebuilders who have moved on from their cores.

It took me a while to get there, but truly we're spoiled that Sweeney managed to keep winning hockey in Boston past the core. I wish we could have celebrated with a cup last year. But now that we're here, and despite how much talent left the team, I'm super pumped that on any given night I can turn on the game, and we are right there with a chance to win. I thought we'd get 5 years where hockey wasn't fun anymore, and somehow we are still good. I'm grateful.

I‘ve been super hard on Sweeney in the past. But credit where credit is due, for all the reasons you lay out.

Anybody who legitimately had the Bruins where they are right now should be betting big each and every day. Nostradamus had nothing on them.

We have a lot of work to do, but this season has been one hell of a lot better than I ever thought it would be.

 

[bob77]

Still 5 games over .500 without the Norris trophy candidate in the lineup. Also, 6 OT losses. Does Forbort even see the ice in OT?


When he's healthy sure. But how effective is he going to be when he returns from his latest injury? He was pretty useless in last year's playoffs after coming back from an injury.

Forbort sees the ice in overtime when we kill a penalty.

 

[TD Charlie]

He doesn't scare me. He hasn't had a good playoff yet.

I've noticed this year that Toronto loses a lot of games against tight checking defensive hockey. That's who we are. There's no guarantees, but the bottom end of their roster is pure garbage and their D is weak as well. Goaltending we have a huge edge. We can beat them.

My ideal scenario is Florida plays Tampa because I think that would be a war, and although Florida likely wins, Jeannot and others might inflict some serious harm on them and by the end both teams will be done.
We play Toronto, if we win, more likely than not we come pretty unscathed.

But you know, playoffs, anything can happen.

I refuse to choose or favor an opponent. All I ask is that whoever Boston draws on any given night, they put forth an honest effort and don't leave me with 1000 unanswered questions over the summer.

 

[hrdpuk]

How so?

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. '

Wasn't implying insanity . Replace insanity with " management"

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Agree about Zacha. They need more from him offensively. His overall game is still good by he needs more production. If Geekie was a better finisher that would certainly help. He had several excellent chances last that he couldn't put home. But before this road trip, the B's were scoring a ton. Since the Christmas break, they put up 30 goals in 6 games.

Agree on Pasta & Marchand also. Especially Pasta. Looks he'd rather not work overtime. But even in regulation his individualism has been hurting the team often. His Plus/Minus has been steadily going down. As has Marchand, who is now a minus player (-1). He hasn't been a minus since his 20 game tryout in 2009.

Thought the defensemen played their best game in awhile. Lindholm was extremely physical. Had 3 takeaways and 3 hits. As a unit they all managed the puck much better. Lohrei had 6 blocks, Wotherspoon had 3 blocks and 2 (official) hits.

Swayman was excellent. The PK very good, the PP bad ( see Marchand, Pasta). 2nd unit was better than first, which has been the norm recently.

Like you said, if they can get 2 points in St. Louis it will end up being a good trip. But that's a really big if the way the Blues are playing.

Yeah the Bruins' offense obviously can produce when it's clicking and playing well. But their average is probably exactly that - average, maybe just slightly above. They're 14th in the league for goals scored 5v5. With this roster, that feels about right. Perhaps in some ways still a slight over-performance given that puts them ahead of some teams that at least on paper have arguably as good or better forward groups - Tampa, Vegas, the Rangers and Panthers - and just behind the Canes and Oilers.

If we assume that Pasta is the one constant in terms of production, and McAvoy to a lesser extent is the equivalent amongst the defenders, then the Bruins keeping up a good scoring rate relies on not having the rest all go cold at the same time. They can rotate in and out of hot streaks, but as long as two or three or four are pitching in at any one time they'll get by ok. Usually that's been the case - even in this one Gryz not only scored but actually finally had a proper good game - but otherwise of late it's all been that bit harder. A solid upcoming 5-game home stand might help with that, even though 4 of the opponents are A-grade teams.

 

[bruins19]

Bettman refuses to even consider this

Of all the rules instituted by the PWHL when it launched last week, its innovative approach to the standings is the one most NHL fans should view with envy.

The new league awards three points for a regulation time victory and two points for a win secured in overtime or a shootout. Just like with the NHL system, the PWHL awards a single point for an overtime or shootout loss, while a regulation time defeat earns nothing.

I think it would make the waning moments of a regulation game more exciting as a team tries to earn the extra point. Also, that system would add some separation in the standings. I can’t think of a reason *not* to do it.

 

[Ladyfan]

I get it. I agree he'll probably never be Captain, and that may be absolutely fine with him. I don't know.

But let's keep this in perspective. Yes, he scored 60 goals last year on a stacked team. And this year he is 6th in League scoring and on pace to score 50 goals on what no one with any credibility would call a stacked team.

We've all been talking about the fact that our goalies have made what was likely to be a scary season a very successful season so far. And that's true.

BUT without David Pastrnak on the other end of the ice -- much of that excellent work by our goalies would be for naught.

I stand by my position that Pasta is so far down my list of concerns he's not even worth considering.


If it wasn't for Pasta there'd be fewer OT's as well. And a lot more L's too.

Sush an excellent post (as always).

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I think it would make the waning moments of a regulation game more exciting as a team tries to earn the extra point. Also, that system would add some separation in the standings. I can’t think of a reason *not* to do it.

Just wondering, why do you think adding seperation in the standings is a good thing?

I refuse to choose or favor an opponent. All I ask is that whoever Boston draws on any given night, they put forth an honest effort and don't leave me with 1000 unanswered questions over the summer.

Pretty sure most everyone here wanted Florida as a first round opponent last season.

 

[Ladyfan]

Are the Bruins running out of steam?

They've only won 5 of their last 10 games.

It feels like they need to make a move for a difference maker soon or this slump could soon affect their position in the standings.

Is finding that Top Six center our biggest need or is there something else that needs fixing?

They play their top players too much and need to be able to trust other players to contribute.

 

[TD Charlie]

Just wondering, why do you think adding seperation in the standings is a good thing?



Pretty sure most everyone here wanted Florida as a first round opponent last season.

Honestly i do not recall.

That’s also part of my point though

 

[Forester65]

That is funny, , Bonehead play by Pasta but replay shows Marchand loafing trying to save his gas for offense so he should bare some blame to.But that was funny for sure

Fortunately there is no 3 on 3 come playoff time. The B’s have always sucked in “track meet’ wide open offense first hockey.

 

[Forester65]

Are the Bruins running out of steam?

They've only won 5 of their last 10 games.

It feels like they need to make a move for a difference maker soon or this slump could soon affect their position in the standings.

Is finding that Top Six center our biggest need or is there something else that needs fixing?

I would be more worried if I were a Florida or Winnipeg fan. They might be playing their best at mid-season. How much steam will they have when it counts? I thought about this a lot last year when we were having so much success . It doesn’t work in your favor once playoffs start. Whole new season.

 

[JayMark]

If Tim Thomas was in net in 2019 the Blues would still be Cupless.

3........2.........1........

If Tim Thomas was still in net the Bruins would have three more cups.

 

[quietbruinfan]

i just watched the first as I was much too tired to watch the rest. I was encouraged by what little I saw and the box score.

Both teams played well and it was a good game for which I wish I could have lasted. We played more conservatively than usual-especially on the PK, and that was encouraging.
HL was mean and a bit dirty for the first time ever. l really liked it.
On the negative side, Geekie continues to really struggle. He is my next bet to be day-to-day. He is not a top six player on his best day.