Post-Game Talk: Whalercanes it is - NOW the playoffs begin - Caps 2 BRUINS 1 F

Status
Not open for further replies.

Maine Fan

Defense Wins Chanpionships
Apr 19, 2015
6,697
5,472
Ocean Twp, NJ
For the Bruins to pull off this series, they mush switch the switch and start playing Bruins hockey, including but most important the first and then the second lines.

The first and second lines to date since the restart have been terrible for playoff hockey.

Finally it is up to the goaltending. Alone the goaltending can win this series. However a combination of both goaltending and line play will make it easier and the switch will be switched.

Go Bruins
 

BruinDust

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
24,281
21,610
If Steve Kampfer were here I would play him over Cliffton.

I'd sit Lauzon in a heartbeat over Clifton. We need Cliffy's ability to push the puck out of the zone and up the ice. Lauzon I like but I've yet to see anything from him during this play-in that screams to me his skill-set is something they absolutely need in the line-up. Especially against Carolina I'm taking Clifton's ability to evade their forecheck vs. the safer yet low-reward play of Lauzon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DarrenBanks56

Gordoff

Formerly: Strafer
Jan 18, 2003
24,632
24,370
The Hub
Hope you don't mind an Isles' fan throwing in my 2 cents. I'm very glad we didn't draw you guys. Who is the 1st seed in the East? The Flyers, a team that hasn't done anything in 10 years and probably had more motivation in the round-robin. IMO, the Bruins are a team that is thinking Cup and wasn't going to go all out for mere seeding. I do expect them to turn it on, and I'm glad CAR is playing them, not my team. I feel like we match up better with WAS than you guys. Hope we see you in a later round though.
Yup and with Trotz running the show against his old team I think/HOPE that your guys take down the Caps. Can't stand the Caps, hopefully your Isles will eliminate them pronto! We still hold a lot of love for Johnny (Rocket) Boychuk here. Best of Luck!
 
Last edited:

JOKER 192

Blow it up
Sponsor
Jun 14, 2010
19,695
18,602
Montreal,Canada
I'd sit Lauzon in a heartbeat over Clifton. We need Cliffy's ability to push the puck out of the zone and up the ice. Lauzon I like but I've yet to see anything from him during this play-in that screams to me his skill-set is something they absolutely need in the line-up. Especially against Carolina I'm taking Clifton's ability to evade their forecheck vs. the safer yet low-reward play of Lauzon.

That's nuts, did you watch today's game? Who was the bonehead who iced the puck that lead to the the Caps 1st goal? Bingo , step right up it was your boy Cliffy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's as big a liability as he is an asset , I prefer an asset as opposed to someone who cancels himself out.
 
Last edited:

nORRis8

The NHL, the stupidest League ever.
Sep 16, 2015
3,621
6,107
RedDeer, Alberta
Meanwhile....
1597040730-picsay.jpg
 

kthx

Bedard to Bruins 2023
Apr 24, 2019
2,471
3,124
We have potential to win this in 4 but if we dont flip the switch it is over in 6 maybe even 5.

1 day to go.
 

Fenway

HF Bookie and Bruins Historian
Sponsor
Sep 26, 2007
68,589
98,267
Cambridge, MA
The Bruins 'should' beat the Hurricanes and my guess is in 6.

Then it gets dicey as Washington/NYI could be a bad matchup for the Caps.

Tampa vs Columbus should be a revenge series for the Lightning but..................

Montreal vs Philly - Don't bet against Claude vs Alain Vigneault.

Home ice in the bubble means NOTHING - ask the Leafs and Oilers.
 

BruinDust

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
24,281
21,610
That's nuts, did you watch today's game? Who was the bonehead who iced the puck that lead to the the Caps 1st goal? Bingo , step right up it was your boy Cliffy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's as big a liability as he is an asset , I prefer an asset as opposed to someone who cancels himself out.

D-men ice the puck sometimes, it happens. Yes I did watch today's game. Have fun watching the Canes forecheck hem Lauzon in his own zone over and over for however long this next series lasts.
 

NDiesel

Registered User
Mar 22, 2008
9,139
9,443
NWO
That's nuts, did you watch today's game? Who was the bonehead who iced the puck that lead to the the Caps 1st goal? Bingo , step right up it was your boy Cliffy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's as big a liability as he is an asset , I prefer an asset as opposed to someone who cancels himself out.
People keep calling him out for this play, but the fact is we had 3 dmen on the ice and Cliffy was actually playing as a winger on that play. To crap on him for that play is pretty ridiculous.
 

Dizzay

Registered User
Jul 8, 2004
3,115
3,772
Moncton
I have zero fear that Bergy/Chara/Krejci/Rask are not going to have the boys fired up come Tuesday for game 1.
They legit just sat on their rumps from mid-March until July. They also had zero incentive to really throw the kitchen sink at the other teams in the qualifying round. Cary Price looked out of this world against the Pens. The Jackets/Leafs were both teams I'd prefer not to play in the 1st round. That leaves the Canes and Islanders, who both are good teams but I don't think are in the Bruins class.

Boys are still working off the rust and building some chemistry. Rask looked sharp for the most part. Tuesday night I hope we see the following:

Marshy-Bergy-Pasta
Ritchie-Krejci-Kase
Debrusk-Coyle-Bjork
Nordstrom-Kuraly-Wagner

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
Gryzz-Lauzon

That 3rd line will present problems match up wise for the Canes. Kase and Ritchie have chemistry from the Ducks and Krejci likes his big wingers in Ritchie.
I'd float the idea of mixing in Kuhlman/Studnicka on that 4th LW spot if Nordstrom is flat. Just like when we won the cup, need that 4th line buzzing, wearing down the other teams.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gordoff

DarrenBanks56

Registered User
May 16, 2005
12,062
7,861
I'd sit Lauzon in a heartbeat over Clifton. We need Cliffy's ability to push the puck out of the zone and up the ice. Lauzon I like but I've yet to see anything from him during this play-in that screams to me his skill-set is something they absolutely need in the line-up. Especially against Carolina I'm taking Clifton's ability to evade their forecheck vs. the safer yet low-reward play of Lauzon.
against Carolina I agree.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BruinDust

BruinsFanSince94

The Perfect Fan ™
Sep 28, 2017
32,709
43,379
New England
That's nuts, did you watch today's game? Who was the bonehead who iced the puck that lead to the the Caps 1st goal? Bingo , step right up it was your boy Cliffy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's as big a liability as he is an asset , I prefer an asset as opposed to someone who cancels himself out.

Thoughts on Chara and his play on the goal? Because he was more a reason for that goal than Clifton.
 

Dennis Bonvie

Registered User
Dec 29, 2007
29,206
17,561
Connecticut
D-men ice the puck sometimes, it happens. Yes I did watch today's game. Have fun watching the Canes forecheck hem Lauzon in his own zone over and over for however long this next series lasts.

Consider Lazoun's partner is Grzelcyk.

Playing against Canes bottom lines, they should be fine.
 

mjhfb

Easier from up here
Dec 19, 2016
2,311
3,487
A thousand miles from nowhere
Consider Lazoun's partner is Grzelcyk.

Playing against Canes bottom lines, they should be fine.

You are all making good points, but don't overthink it.
Agree or not, a main reason Lauzon has been in is because he's bigger than Clifton. Even Cassidy indirectly said it after last game mentioning bigger Lauzon and Moore to balance out small Krug, Grz, and even 5'11" Clifton.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gordoff

easton117

Registered User
Nov 11, 2017
5,070
5,635
He's proven to be a smart player that can play a 2 way game all he needs is to grow into his frame ( I can't believe how little progress he's made on this level in a year) who's training this guy? Just brutal. I'm no pro but I have been in weight training since I was in my teens,I'm 58 in two months. I can't see how a 6'2" guy can't add 10 lbs of muscle ( notice I didn't say body weight ) in a year. WTF ? There are hard gainers but this is ridiculous.
In fairness to the guy some types have hard times putting on weight. I worked as a trainer for almost 10 years. There were some people I was convinced survived on air for food lol
 

Gee Wally

Old, Grumpy Moderator
Sponsor
Feb 27, 2002
74,320
88,112
HF retirement home
Reality check: Bruins need to hope experience, ‘playoff hockey’ will eliminate their lethargic play - The Boston Globe

OK, it gets real now for the Bruins. For better or worse. Because two weeks into living and playing in the NHL’s COVID bubble, nothing about the semi-reality of warmup action was very encouraging for the team that arrived in Toronto with the best record in the NHL.
Maybe now the reality of playing an elimination series, starting Tuesday (8 p.m.) vs. Carolina, will shake them from their stunning lethargy.
“It’s over now,” said veteran stopper Tuukka Rask, following Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Capitals in the round-robin wrap-up, the loss dropping the Bruins to the No. 4 seed, “and we start real hockey.”

Including an exhibition loss to Columbus, the Bruins went 0-4 in the prelims. They gave up the first goal in every game.
Worse, they finished with 00:00 in lead time, and spent 135:57 of 240 minutes (57 percent of playing time) attempting to erase a deficit.

The standard list of success in the postseason includes: Best players must be best players; goaltending must be top-notch; secondary scoring has to deliver, special teams need to be on their mark.
Toss in good health and a little-dab’ll-do-ya worth of luck … and, voila, in six weeks, it’s time for the Cup Final.
“We got better defensively against good offensive teams — Tampa and Washington,” said coach Bruce Cassidy, underscoring the points he believes are promising headed into the best-of-seven series with the Canes. “So we tightened up there structurally.”
Cassidy said he also believed the Bruins, despite scoring only four goals in the three round-robin games, moved better through the neutral zone. He saw some flow and confidence in his club’s attack.

If the top line is stifled (and we have seen that here in many playoff seasons), then it’s up to the secondary scorers,. Well, they also didn’t deliver. Fourth-liner Chris Wagner chipped in with a pair of goals, and that was refreshing, but Cup titles aren’t built, or even supported, on fourth-line scoring punch. None of the four lines, centered by Bergeron, Krejci, Charlie Coyle, and Sean Kuraly, had any pop.
Special teams. The power play went 0 for 2 vs. the Capitals and finished 0 for 9 in the three games. Room for improvement. Lots of room.


“These first round-robin games, or whatever they were,” mused Rask, who went the full 60 minutes in the last two games vs. the Bolts and Caps, “you just try to shake the rust off and get your team game in a place you want it to be. I think we improved over the three games. Obviously, we worked hard for our goals and seemed not get rewarded — I’m sure that’s going to come.”
If the scoring remains dormant, at least in the early going, then Rask’s play will be ever more vital. Goaltending is always essential, if not the most vital. Witness: The stunning knockout the Habs recorded vs. the heavily favored Penguins. Had it not been for Carey Price, Les Glorieux would have been gone.


If brains and experience can carry the day, the Bruins will be in good shape in Carolina. Maybe they’ve been saving their best effort for, as Rask called it, “the real hockey.”
For now, all we have to go on is the make-believe version we watched the last 10 days. They’ll have to be better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dennis Bonvie

DiggityDog

2 Minutes for Ruffing
Nov 2, 2019
2,503
5,212
I want to be that guys that believes they will be ready to go on Tuesday, but their performance in the first four “bubble games” has not been encouraging.

They can absolutely win this series though, and I still believe they have it in that room to win this whole thing. Shits got to get going though.

Marchand was atrocious in the first four games, He’s a guy who they really need. Pull your head out of your ass Brad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JOKER 192
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->