Post-Game Talk: This is the 24th time the Bruins trail in a series 3-1 - They are 0-23

[TheTimThomasProject]

Exactly. Those were huge and successful moves the FO made last year.

For some here, because they may not have replicated that success with some acquisitions, last year is no longer part of the official record. I get the “what have you done for me lately” thought process, but when evaluating the FO performance folks need to recognize the good and not simply focus on what they perceive as the bad.

Honest question: Not trying to be rude or argumentative but was the success last year the moves that the FO made or the fact that they didn’t face a Tampa or Washington? Washington was still drunk from the cup and win and Tampa had a case of the Bruins with President cup season and quick outs in the first round. We saw the Bruins get dismantled in 2018 by this team and yet no big changes were made in the last two years to compete with really either these two teams. Was last years success getting to the finals more about the moves the FO made or the lack of matching up against two of the tougher teams in the east which happens most playoff years?

Not saying the FO is terrible but I see a lot of people here making fun of armchair GMs. I find it funny that fans and media alike can see holes in the line ups and these are unaddressed for multiple years. Again are yoI managing to compete with the current elite teams or managing to make the playoffs as much as possible in the coming years? This core isn’t and wasn’t getting any younger. Finding those missing pieces might cost assets that long term affect the making the playoffs but result in better completion now.

 

[TheTimThomasProject]

Reality is a bitch

truly is! Game 7 loss cup loss and a 2nd round exit to the same team that dismantled you two years ago. We got a presidents trophy though!

time to take off those black and gold colored sunglasses and call a spade a spade! Missed opportunities from the player and management if they don’t get past the 2nd round this year.

 

[The don godfather]

What a bunch of quitters here. We can easily take this 7 . Most of the problems with the bruins are mental related mighty bruce will rectify this. See you all at game 7.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

What a bunch of quitters here. We can easily take this 7 . Most of the problems with the bruins are mental related mighty bruce will rectify this. See you all at game 7.

I love your optimism but my spirit was broken last game when that 2nd goal went in . If they come back and win I will give you full marks for hanging in there when everyone else didn’t but I’m just about ready to move onto other things . During the break , I desperately wanted hockey back now I desperately want a long break. Don’t start a new season until they can do it right with fans in attendance.

 

[bbfan419]

I don’t think you can fire Cassidy...haha...but Gallant would be awesome. Finally someone with some kiwis.

Agree, doubt they fire Bruce, but they could hire Gallant anyway as an assistant and have him take over if Cassidy cannot get us over the hump.

 

[bbfan419]

I know it

Cassidy gets to use the players Sweeney gives him. Rash needing to go home has hurt this team. Getting out of shape during the shutdown isn't Cassidy's fault.

I know it is surely not all on Cassidy. DS has never gone out to get the extra scoring depth we need, he did pretty good last year with Coyle and MoJo, but had to let Johansson walk because we still had Backes, which is one of Don's biggest mistakes. If we could have landed someone like Mark Stone and got him to sign a little less than what he got with VGK, that would have been a major get, but again Backes. As for Rask, he has had some great moments like shutting down Pittsburgh in 2013, but he has never been able to get it fully done, gets close but that's it, he would have been great at Horse shoe. Cassidy though made some horrible choices with lineups, 7 D one being Moore, than 4 of the forwards Lindholm, Ritchie, Nordstom and Wagner bring no offense at all. so to me this is poor coaching. At least put the best of what you have available for scoring.

 

[Emerz]

Statistically speaking Bergeron and Pasta are both going through a very unlucky goalscoring stretch, both are around 15-17% shooters for the past 3 seasons but are shooting just 4% and 5% these playoffs. Over a larger sample size they would likely have 3x as many goals as they currently have, but this is the playoffs and series/entire playoffs can be determined by who gets hot and who gets cold.

Bergeron idk if he's scored a single bumper goal on the PP despite being setup by Marchand 10-15 times point blank, and while Pasta isn't scoring at least he's constantly setting up Marchand who's picking up the goals.

In conjunction with the above the Bruins have went from having about 92% of shots saved by Halak or Rask to more like 89% of shots saved.


It all adds up to disaster really, unless they can rattle off 3 straight.

it’s not just “he’s not playing hard enough”.

 

[JOKER 192]

There is one side of me that is thinking time to blow it up . There is another side of me thinking don’t make important decisions based anything that has happened in 2020, that goes for hockey and life in general.

It’s easy to see how fans would get frustrated with what we have seen but putting Rask leaving, some questionable refereeing and some really bad bounces aside, we may have to admit that Tampa is the better team. For the Bruins to win this series it would have had to have gone the opposite way. They need stellar goal tending (which they didn’t get) , favorable calls (which they never seem to get) and a whole bunch of lucky bounces.

Them's the breaks, still hopeful but not terribly optimistic.

 

[bbfan419]

As for cap space next season I think we will be just fine, the Seidenberg and Beleskey money come off the books, expect Kevan Miller to retire and hope Chara retires also, he just does not have it anymore. Krug I think will want too much and he walks, hopefully there will be a few teams really wanting him and we can trade his rights before free agency and get an asset or two back. Then I just have a feeling Rask will be traded, I think there is more to the story then we have heard so far. Combine all that and it is about $20 to $21M in cap space, depending on what comes back in trades. I would sign Lehner try for a 5 or 6 year deal around $5.5M AAV, we could look at Hall and Toffoli as well. Krejci could also be dealt possibly, then try to work a deal for a younger top 6 C, that part would be the hardest.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

There is one side of me that is thinking time to blow it up . There is another side of me thinking don’t make important decisions based anything that has happened in 2020, that goes for hockey and life in general.

It’s easy to see how fans would get frustrated with what we have seen but putting Rask leaving, some questionable refereeing and some really bad bounces aside, we may have to admit that Tampa is the better team. For the Bruins to win this series it would have had to have gone the opposite way. They need stellar goal tending (which they didn’t get) , favorable calls (which they never seem to get) and a whole bunch of lucky bounces.

Them's the breaks, still hopeful but not terribly optimistic.

All true , but watch the Islanders or Flyers take them to the absolute maximum next series or even beat them . For a variety of reasons the break killed the Bruins .

 

[JOKER 192]

All true , but watch the Islanders or Flyers take them to the absolute maximum next series or even beat them . For a variety of reasons the break killed the Bruins .

Oh ya, this is not the Bruins team that was going full throttle back in March.

This is like the start of season , sometimes good teams come out of the gate a little slow but the cream always rises to the top. They simply have had enough time for that. There is also the particular set of circumstances that playing in a bubble presents that works better for some than it does for others. This is a complete reshuffling of the cards and one must be careful not to draw to many conclusions from it.

Look at how many of the top contenders are already gone , that's a sign of how covid has rewritten the script.

 

[Baddkarma]

The Bruins depth and style was never going to beat the Bolts or Caps in seven. Bergeron, Marchand, and Coyle can't carry the rest of the forwards who cannot penetrate the big mobile defense that they bring.

The defense cannot bear the load against the east's bigger and better fore-checking clubs.

Again in the off-season, we will see how the front office deals with it...

 

[Coach Parker]

It feels that way for a reason

I said it earlier in the year but this team looks and feels like the 2011-2012 Vancouver Canucks. A team with a core still able to win the Presidents' Trophy but got knocked out early and never recovered.

The GM foolishly didn't realize the core was done and re-tooled, forcing almost a decade between playoff series wins (Vancouver beating St.Louis two weeks ago was their first playoff series win since beating the Sharks in the 2011 WCF!).

I hate always looking back over the season and saying 'if they had just gotten proper secondary scoring' over and over and over and over. The cost always seems high at the time and low in hindsight.

 

[JOKER 192]

As for cap space next season I think we will be just fine, the Seidenberg and Beleskey money come off the books, expect Kevan Miller to retire and hope Chara retires also, he just does not have it anymore. Krug I think will want too much and he walks, hopefully there will be a few teams really wanting him and we can trade his rights before free agency and get an asset or two back. Then I just have a feeling Rask will be traded, I think there is more to the story then we have heard so far. Combine all that and it is about $20 to $21M in cap space, depending on what comes back in trades. I would sign Lehner try for a 5 or 6 year deal around $5.5M AAV, we could look at Hall and Toffoli as well. Krejci could also be dealt possibly, then try to work a deal for a younger top 6 C, that part would be the hardest.

I keep Chara if he'll take 1M but not a penny more. What management and coaching staff must realize is that he's no longer a 1st pairing D, he's a 7 now and should be used as such. If all parties realize and can agree to this type of utilization I think he can contribute. If we are thinking of sandbagging Mac with Chara again next year then I'd rather not have him back.

 

[Coach Parker]

Marchand's going nowhere. Nor should he. First of all he's got a NMC and he's not going to go somewhere else and not play with Bergy and Pasta. Nor should he have to. Marchand is not part of the problem. Garbage 2nd and 3rd line wingers are the problem, plus 3 smurf d-man. And no goaltending.

For the future, all you need to keep are the first line, Coyle, and Mac, Carlo and Lauzon. Everyone and anyone else can go. Including Krejci. May as well try to get something for him since he isn't going to be here after next year anyway.

Krejci is the perfect fit for the Hurricanes; proven playoff 2nd line Center.

 

[Coach Parker]

If he is it will be reduced roll in game, back to backs and more a mentor

it’s time to let Lauzon & Zboril play they are 23 Chara will be 44 next season

I think it’s time

Vaakainien.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Why even put this on social media, they all look completely dejected

 

[JOKER 192]

If you can’t beat Luke Shen (he had more tackles than hits), buyouts like Shattenkirk, Coburn, and Bogosian that big Czech stiff with 0 hockey sense you are cooked

Well let's think about this for a bit. Tampa, as you pointed out has a whole bunch of reclamation projects that make up their defense. One has to keep in mind that these players were bought out because they were making way more than they should have been at the time. Tampa wisely sought out these guys gave them all low ball contracts. These guys certainly weren't worth what they were making but they certainly are worth what they are making now. They then turned around and spent all that money on forwards. Offense is their best defense. Very fast forwards that are very skilled in the forecheck, they never really have to worry about defense.

 

[RHR37]

You would trade Marchand ???? That is foolish

Marchand in my opinion is very quietly the best all around player in the NHL right now.

 

[rfournier103]

You would trade Marchand ???? That is foolish

Honestly, IF I were at all confident that this Bruins management team would get equal or greater talent in return, I would look at almost all possibilities. I’m not terribly confident in Sweeney et al at the moment, so I’d be VERY cautious in any discussion involving Bad Brad Marchand. As far as I’m concerned, the only untouchables are 37 and 88. 63 is almost untouchable, but nobody would ever give the Bruins what he’s worth. So it’s kind of a moot point.

What isn’t a moot point is that a major shakeup is very necessary. Time to assemble a new core and push for more than one championship in the next 15 years. David Pastranak will be the cornerstone and Patrice Bergeron will be held over as transitional leadership. I like Cassidy a lot, and I don’t think the present lack of fire is entirely his fault. We just need some more players that have steel in their huevos and won’t take any shit from the Tampas, Washingtons, Pittsburghs, and Montreals of the world.

Time to man up, Bruins.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I keep Chara if he'll take 1M but not a penny more. What management and coaching staff must realize is that he's no longer a 1st pairing D, he's a 7 now and should be used as such. If all parties realize and can agree to this type of utilization I think he can contribute. If we are thinking of sandbagging Mac with Chara again next year then I'd rather not have him back.

Chara at worst is still a 3rd pair defenseman and a better shut down defenseman than most in this league. I finally admit he simply needs to be used as such. He still has a role for a few more seasons... just no longer the top pair role with McAvoy. That is over.

I'd not even mind trying Carlo with Chara as our 3rd pair this next game and have them purely focus on defense (not unlike our 4th forward line) and have the other four defensemen push the transition pace.

 

[BruinsFanMike82]

 

[chizzler]

Krejci is the perfect fit for the Hurricanes; proven playoff 2nd line Center.

Is he? They play a fast game.

 

[BostonBob]

 

[chizzler]

Chara at worst is still a 3rd pair defenseman and a better shut down defenseman than most in this league. I finally admit he simply needs to be used as such. He still has a role for a few more seasons... just no longer the top pair role with McAvoy. That is over.

I'd not even mind trying Carlo with Chara as our 3rd pair this next game and have them purely focus on defense (not unlike our 4th forward line) and have the other four defensemen push the transition pace.

Who if those two is going to chase the puck? Easy picking for Tampa if he does that. They will have the puck constantly. Chara is too slow and Carlo is out of shape.