Post-Game Talk: Lucic slays the Panthers - Ottawa wins shootout - Bruins magic number is 9

[fighterfoo]

I think Pasta's time in the AHL was essential to where he is now but if the kid who is playing now was here the whole season I think he would be in serious contention for the Calder. He really was a steal for the Bruins where they got him. I suspect other GMs are regretting their decision to take a pass.

First draft for Keith Gretzky, right? Who would know hockey better than a Gretzky?

 

[bruins repeat time]

Does anyone know how we stand with Detroit in the tiebreakers if we end up tied in ROW

 

[5Minutes4Fighting]

Does anyone know how we stand with Detroit in the tiebreakers if we end up tied in ROW

Not sure, but we have 2 wins, a loss and a shootout win H2H. Guessing a win on Thursday gives us tiebreak if ROWs same.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

good win.
i was waiting for bartkowski to lose that game on his own though. not gonna lie.
the man has to sit now.
bring morrow up until dougie gets healthy

 

[5Minutes4Fighting]

Does anyone know how we stand with Detroit in the tiebreakers if we end up tied in ROW

"The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. "

Extra game was in Det...(1st game was B's only loss). So we're up 6-1 in pts pending the game Thursday, so we win tie-breaker if tied and tied in ROW.

 

[Artemis]

Lucic-Spooner-Pastrnak line making a difference for Bruins
Claude Julien’s leash on Milan Lucic, Ryan Spooner, and David Pastrnak is slackening.

Julien refused to allow Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Jaromir Jagr to chew up his threesome that regularly fights to get pucks out of the defensive zone.

But Julien had no issues with rolling Spooner’s line against any of Florida’s other three units on Tuesday. When you put winners in nets in the third period and overtime, like they’ve done in the last two games, your coach will call your names for critical late-game shifts.

“It’s not because you don’t trust them, it’s just a lack of experience,†Julien said of shielding Spooner’s unit from Barkov’s line. “They played against their second, they played against their third line. That didn’t matter to me. In my mind, I felt they could hold their own. They’re getting better all the time, too.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. From the first time they were together, it was always a real tough matchup for me to make sure it was really the right situation. Now I’m a little bit more flexible because they’re getting better and they’re getting more experience.â€

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...pooner-line/T8p7GdEIIeLRaoHXj1MIoI/story.html

Thanks for posting. Some good comments in there from Lucic too.

Pasta reminds me of Luke Skywalker manning the guns on the Mellliunim Falcon - "I got one! Hey I got one!" - with Lucic as Han Solo. "Great, kid! Don't get cocky!"

 

[bruins repeat time]

"The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. "

Extra game was in Det...(1st game was B's only loss). So we're up 6-1 in pts pending the game Thursday, so we win tie-breaker if tied and tied in ROW.

Thank you

 

[Seidenbergy]

Lucic has been playing great lately.

Must have been an exciting 3rd period at the Garden, especially the Looch goal.

The atmosphere was awesome. Easily the most fun I've had at a regular season game in a long time.

Took my 9 year old for his birthday. His favorite player is Pasta and he was beside himself yesterday between the free Pasta poster on the way in, the 7th player award, the goal and of course the assist on the game winner. May as well have been called Pasta Night.

 

[Artemis]

Again, despite Clode's asinine and stubborn efforts to blunt the effectiveness of his TOP line, they manage to just keep on scoring and scoring and scoring.

Except on the PP, of course, because the dolt refuses to play them as a unit on the PP.

AGAIN, we dodge a bullet after more pathetic powerplays wherein he mixes the lines according to his Magic 8 Ball.

Who put them out on the ice with less than a minute left, the trainer?

Good grief, he's constantly playing that line late and in OT. Ever think that maybe they're effective because they aren't piling up huge minutes, or playing against the opposition's top line?

They're an adventure in their own end, to put it mildly, but as Julien noted in the article Wally linked, they're learning, and earning more trust. But a good coach knows how to put his players in a position to succeed, and that's what he's doing.

 

[BBB24]

I will take a lot of heat for saying this but: Looch is good as gone in the off-season. He will cost too much for what he's bringing to table. I can already hear the Looch fan club says: but, but.... he's good in march.... Well, I expect him to be good almost all the time not being a passenger 80% of the time. Now.... I would split that line and try Connolly with the kids. The guy has speed, skills and this line could be something offensively.

Doubt you get much heat, because majority of people realize he is going NOWHERE. He is a Bruin for life, he defines what a Bruin is, he will retire a Bruin, you can take that to the bank. His next contract will be in the area of 6m for 7y.

 

[Sheppy]

The atmosphere was awesome. Easily the most fun I've had at a regular season game in a long time.

Took my 9 year old for his birthday. His favorite player is Pasta and he was beside himself yesterday between the free Pasta poster on the way in, the 7th player award, the goal and of course the assist on the game winner. May as well have been called Pasta Night.

Good stuff! I myself am 24, turning 25 in a few weeks and I've only seen 4 Bruins games, 3 of which were wins against Edmonton, the other was a game 5 loss against the Canucks in the final. (Keep in mind I live in the most northern place in Canada pretty much)

Glad you had a great time! I'm hoping to visit Boston next year in March.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

Who put them out on the ice with less than a minute left, the trainer?

Good grief, he's constantly playing that line late and in OT. Ever think that maybe they're effective because they aren't piling up huge minutes, or playing against the opposition's top line?

They're an adventure in their own end, to put it mildly, but as Julien noted in the article Wally linked, they're learning, and earning more trust. But a good coach knows how to put his players in a position to succeed, and that's what he's doing.

This.

 

[TCL40]

Haven`t a clue what will happen with Looch, my fear always will be, when he`s on (and often it`s at playoff time) who can step in and bring this team that lift when needed. When he`s on (as your properly referred to, not nearly as consistent as I want for his $$), he can be a one man wrecking machine.

We`ll see, my biggest concern is this, as pumped and grateful as I am the kids are bringing it offensively, almost every shift out there when they were in their own zone, they were hemmed in there for what seemed forever, trying to stick handle and skate their way out rather than make the simple play

So, yep, offensively, with a Connelly, it could be a fun line to watch, but defensively, could be

All depends on where your/my/our mindset is, am I willing to accept that with youth, there will be growing pains, and those growing pains "could" come in the form of a shift where that line just couldn`t bring themselves to making the simple play in their own zone, and it costs them a game

Flipside is, that line "could" be the one that looked to for scoring that big goal

All depends on what we`re willing to accept

I`m reading alot of enthusiastic posts about the kids carrying this team offensively (which they often have), but I`m a fan who watches the weird and not so sexy stuff, D zone play, and that line is frightening defensively, Spooner is much improved and is now willing, but they are young and that youth showed more than a few times against a team who couldn`t make them pay

I agree with the kids defensive issues (which isn't helped that Looch has also always been awful in the D zone) are a concern.

I like Julien's solution of using a veteran to center or wing the line until they get to the O zone. I just wish the veteran wasn't Campbell. I would rather see him use Yeti, Krejci or Loui (players who are defensively responsible). Spooner also needs work on his faceoffs but that is practice and will come with this team at some point.

I also think sometimes the best way to learn to be more responsible in the D zone is to be given some freedom to make mistakes and learn from them.

Campbell made some really dumb mistakes in last night's game but he's still getting tons of ice time. I would like the kids to get as much leeway as Campbell is to make mistakes.

I do think Julien is trusting them more and is recognizing that if we need goals right now that's where they're coming from. Sheltering them is okay, but the kids who can score should t be skating 8/9 minutes while a line that has stone hands gets 14/15. Using Kelly or Campbell to help get the kids set up is one thing but that 4th line shouldn't be getting 15 minutes of ice.

 

[Johndunham7]

Watched it happen during the game, but seeing highlights of Rask letting up the weak goal by Boyes... cringe worthy.

 

[Seidenbergy]

Watched it happen during the game, but seeing highlights of Rask letting up the weak goal by Boyes... cringe worthy.

First one by any goalie this season. Fact.

 

[TCL40]

I don't think he would have been as productive if he had been here from day 1. He needed to acclamate to the smaller ice surface as well as get used to a different pace than what he was accustomed to in Sweden. Going to Providence allowed him to learn these things at his own pace which has paid dividends for us since he's been up here.

He was passed over because of the concussion he sustained towards the end of the season last year. At the time of the draft he hadn't been on skates and had just begun to ramp up his work outs. He didn't resume skating until Dev Camp and he looked like Bambi on ice.

I don't blame other teams for passing on him but I am sure happy they did. Had he been healthy he would have gone top 10 IMO.

That was pretty much my point.

I think he needed the AHL time and the decision to send him there was the right one. I'm just saying that right now he's good enough that if he spent the whole season playing like this he would be a serious Calder contender (he's not because he hasn't played enough games to shine more than some others-eg Ekblad and Gudreau-pretty that's spelled wrong but too lazy to check).

I think he's got some mad skills and mad vision-he just has to put the whole package together and I think it's coming together right now exponentially.

And whether their reasons for passing were sound, I am pretty sure fans of teams just before us in the draft will have threads complaining about their picks along the same lines as who was available when we picked Zach Hamill. Drafts are all about risks and I think the Bruins got lucky that they were willing to take this one.

 

[sooshii]

The atmosphere was awesome. Easily the most fun I've had at a regular season game in a long time.

Took my 9 year old for his birthday. His favorite player is Pasta and he was beside himself yesterday between the free Pasta poster on the way in, the 7th player award, the goal and of course the assist on the game winner. May as well have been called Pasta Night.

Can't imagine a better 9th birthday!

 

[ODAAT]

Watched it happen during the game, but seeing highlights of Rask letting up the weak goal by Boyes... cringe worthy.

I suspect Panther fans felt that way about Looch`s game winner too

Pretty weak arse

 

[Johndunham7]

First one by any goalie this season. Fact.

I suspect Panther fans felt that way about Looch`s game winner too

Pretty weak arse

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, or defining Tuukka by it, by any means. Just saying, it's something I'd like to see avoided at the end of the regular season on a playoff push.

Yes, Lucic's goal was weak. Of course I'm okay with that one though.

 

[Ladyfan]

You are a great fan Ladyfan !

I agree. Don't fix what's not broke!



I second this!

MOST here are great fans. We are also a bit nuts to be this involved.

 

[Ladyfan]

That's the comparison I see too. Hopefully someday down the road he reaches that level. Right now, he and Pasta are playing lights out.

Where have you been ? Miss you on here.

I love watching those three on the ice.

 

[Fenway]

 

[Danton Heineken]

First draft for Keith Gretzky, right? Who would know hockey better than a Gretzky?

Wayne was a terrible coach.

 

[Artemis]

I suspect Panther fans felt that way about Looch`s game winner too

Pretty weak arse

Got that right. I've watched that goal at least 10 times and still can't believe it.

 

[BigChara33*]

Still in awe about that comeback. I was screaming and dancing around my living room. My girlfriend thought we won the superbowl again.