What's wrong with Tim Thomas?

Absolutely nothing, that's what.

The media are already beginning to pick up on the too-easy storyline that Thomas is stumbling in the face of his Vezina trophy and bloated contract. He didn't look great in an opening-night loss to Washington, and was lit up for 6 goals last night against the Ducks. Clearly, they conclude, he's due for a letdown season.

This happens with pretty much every goalie who achieves some measure of success, and in some cases (*cough*Theodore*cough*) the scrutiny is warranted. But in this case the lens should be focussed on a soft, passive defensive corps which seems to miss the grit and tenacity of Aaron Ward and Shane Hnidy.

What matters most for Boston is that Thomas is still playing like a man desperate to extend his NHL career. He made big saves against Anaheim while the game was still a close contest. He became more active handling the puck when it was clear his teammates couldn't handle the Ducks' aggressive forecheck.

Saturday night we should expect wunderkind Tuukka Rask to face the Islanders, marking his first appearance as full-time backup. If he plays well, the media are going to declare a "goalie controversy". But our attention should instead be squarely on Matt Hunwick, who really will be playing to convice Claude Julien of his worth. If Hunwick continues to be bullied by opposing forwards, look for Julien to bench him in favor of the stouter Johnny Boychuck.

That change alone might solve Thomas' struggles.

Julien, Chiarelli win Sporting News awards

Maybe not as exciting as an Adams trophy (or a conference final berth, for that matter), but the Bruins' front office has something to celebrate thanks to the Sporting News.

Claude Julien was named Coach of the Year. I was shocked to discover that the previous three winners -- Lindy Ruff, Barry Trotz, and Mike Babcock -- have managed to hold onto their jobs since winning the title. In an NHL where both Eastern Conference finalists fired their coaches mid-season, that's a strong endorsement.

Also, Peter Chiarelli picked up the Executive of the Year title. Hopefully he'll do a better job of defending it than previous winners Bob Gainey and David Poile, both of whom enjoyed a very short moment in the sun.

Steve Mason won Rookie of the Year, giving him an opportunity to practice his Calder acceptance speech.

Lucic Should Sit Another Game.

If there's one thing I've learned from ESPN: manufactured controversy is as good as the real thing. So I bring an unconventional idea to the table in advance of tomorrow's coup de grace.

Claude Julien should scratch Lucic for Game 4.


This isn't about teaching Looch a lesson, though that might be a nice side effect. If he's really as contrite as his sound bites suggest, he won't have a huge problem with the decision.


No, it's more about preparing this team for a long playoff run -- giving them the best chance to win, both immediately and in the future.

We saw last night that Montreal is simply no match for the Bruins, with or without Lucic. This series is being won by goaltending and blueline depth and scoring from the 4th line. The physical confrontations are nothing but a sideshow, and that was never more obvious than halfway through the game when all the scrums ceased as the Habs started to play with true desperation.

So why throw Montreal a bone? Keeping Lucic out of the lineup would put a damper on any attempts to rally around a fight or bodycheck, and by all indications the Bruins don't need him from a strategic point of view. If anything, Lucic's presence greatly increases the chance of something disasterous -- suspension, injury, perhaps an emotional rally by the home team.

A Cup contender can't afford to remain on an emotional roller coaster for weeks on end. Counting from 4/9, the regular-season game in which the first shots were really fired in this matchup, tomorrow will mark the 12th consecutive day in which the Lucic/Komisarek feud has been the subject of nonstop media coverage. Julien needs to control and channel his team's emotions, not stoke them just as things have started to cool down.



Last season, Julien raised eyebrows with his decision to bench Phil Kessel in the playoffs. As we would discover in the second half of the series, it was an eye-opening moment for a dynamic young player who had probably never heard the word "no" from a coach. Kessel exploded when he returned to the lineup, and has been a better player ever since.

Maybe it's time for Lucic to have a similar experience. His presence in Game 4 would likely be a detriment to the team, and that's not acceptable for a professional player. He needs to sit, watch his team win without him in a cool and collected manner, and come back with laser-focus against the next opponent.

Are the Habs starting to crack?

Is this the face of an innocent man?

Last year, it was the dive. This year, it's the dirty hit.

We knew something was different about this version of the Montreal Canadiens. At first, it seemed a charming kind of ineptitude, such that the much-hyped centennial season has become an extended comedy of errors.

But now it appears that the league's most narcissistic franchise has taken a darker turn.

A club that once prided itself for playing quick, clean, beautiful hockey has now become a stepchild to the Flyers and Ducks. Perhaps the past 15 years have weighed too heavily on the franchise, as they have endured a relative eternity of futility while waiting for their 25th Cup. But something seems to have snapped in their collective psyche of late. This season was supposed to be a celebration of all things Canadien, but it's turned into a bizarre backlash of misbehavior, under-performance, and frustration.

It was never more obvious than when Josh Georges ran Patrice Bergeron from behind.

Bergeron, a Quebec native, has spent most of the past two seasons recovering from a severe concussion. His injury was the result of a cheap run by Randy Jones of the Flyers -- a team the Habs have historically held in low esteem. This season Bergeron is a frontrunner for the Masterton Trophy. He has had no part in past Bruins/Habs pugilism, has never been in a fight, and has averaged about 20 PIM per season in the NHL. During the first period of last night's game he scored a clean, easy goal while undefended near the crease.

So Georges' hit from behind, which sent Bergeron sprawling face-first toward the crossbar and right post, was an outright declaration that the Canadiens have jettisoned any pretension of integrity or class. Had Bergeron been 6 inches forward, he'd likely be in a hospital bed this morning.

From that point on, the game changed in tone.

The rest of the match was scarred by countless scrums, the most significant of which included: Mike Komisarek's unnecessary run at a Bruins forward after time had expired in the first period, setting off a melee before intermission; Habs purse-snatcher Ryan O'Byrne provoking Bruins brawler Shawn Thornton with a cheap shot to the back, then falling to the ice in the "turtle" position as if he were a bookworm encountering the school bully after recess; and Komisarek blatantly hitting Milan Lucic from behind and then refusing to drop his gloves with either Lucic or Thornton.

The common factor in all of these incidents: Habs attempting to draw the Bruins into retaliatory penalties. More often than not, they succeeded.

We've seen this movie before. Last season, coach Guy Carbonneau instructed the Canadiens to dive repeatedly during their 7-game playoff matchup with the Bruins. Carbo knew that the dives would always turn in Montreal's favor -- either "earning" a power-play for the Habs (they won two games on PP goals) or in a worst-case scenario creating a favorable 4-on-4 situation (they scored twice in exactly that scenario).

Last night, Montreal's cheap-shots had much the same effect. With a meaningless game well in hand, the Bruins lost their discipline. They negated upcoming power-plays, and in some cases (such as Komisarek's hit on Lucic) a Habs penalty suddenly became a 4-minute power play. The momentum shifted rapidly, and a 3-1 deficit became a 4-3 lead for the visitors.

Thankfully, things turned out right in the end. Boston, clearly the better team in every legal facet of the game, controlled the final period and won on the strength of Bergeron's spectacular hit-steal-and-pass in OT. But the Canadiens had accomplished their goal of earning a charity point and officially entering the playoffs through the back door. (ed: You know the NHL has changed when the Canadiens and their fans are in a celebratory mood because they lost to the Bruins in OT. It's perverse, and I almost feel sorry for them that the rules have created such a scenario.)

Montreal celebrates a charity point.

But the hockey gods have a strange sense of humor -- Boston and Montreal are set to face off again in the first round, barring any changes in the bracket. If that happens, be prepared for at least 12 periods of the same from Montreal.

For their part, the Bruins no longer have a good reason to get involved in this kind of nonsense. They have nothing to prove to the Habs after crushing them 5-0-1 in the season series. Barring a dramatic change in fortune, they'll easily dismiss their rivals in the playoffs and exorcise the demons of the past 3 matchups. And frankly, their sights are set a little higher than merely squeaking out a 7-game victory over an 8th seed, just to be dismissed in the next round.

Boston might wear the black jerseys, but there's no question which team is currently wearing the black hat in this rivalry. Claude Julien's greatest task in the playoffs will be to teach this young team that a moment of anger is fleeting, but a convincing victory over the Habs will last forever.

How Badly Is Krejci Hurt?

The Matrix.

We've been asking ourselves that question for a couple of months, but it's hard not to notice that Krejci's play has diminished steadily since he started using "maintenance day" excuses for missing practice.

The timeline of Krejci's season is telling:

10/9 through 1/29
49 games
18-35-53
+25
5-11-16 on PP

1/30 - Excused from practice for "maintenance day"

1/31 - present
24 games
3-8-11
+9
0-0-0 on PP

Twice in the past two weeks -- the 11th and 25th of March -- Krejci was excused from practice, again with vague references to an injury but without specific explanation. On March 5th, coach Claude Julien broke up the line of Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder which had declined in productivity along with the rest of the team. Wheeler and Ryder continued to play well with other linemates, but Krecji faded to the third line. Perhaps more telling are his time-on-ice numbers, which have dropped sharply.

Of course the Bruins are unlikely to reveal anything, as they get KGB-level tight-lipped as April approaches. But there is clearly something wrong with Krejci's game, and it's obviously tied to the past couple of months (specifically, since he scored an OT game-winner against the Caps on 1/27). If he doesn't find his game soon, it's hard to imagine the Bruins will play the kind of 4-line hockey that dominated their opponents through the midway point of the season.

Who To Start On Saturday?

Interesting choice for Claude Julien tomorrow -- does he go with Tim Thomas or Manny Fernandez against the Islanders?

The matchup is a bit more important than it would seem on the surface. The Isles just beat the heavily-favored Canadiens in overtime, having completely outshot the "newly motivated" Habs on their home ice. They'll come into Boston with little to lose and a lot of mojo. Meanwhile the Devils will be playing in Montreal and practically obligated to win for Marty Brodeur. If we go ahead and ring up the 2 points for Jersey, that puts them 4 points behind Boston with a game in hand. This doesn't make the Isles game a must-win, but it's definitely a better-win.

If Julien puts Manny between the pipes, it will be at risk of another meltdown that would cost the Bruins a critical win. If he goes with Thomas, he faces an even more difficult decision the following day against Pittsburgh.

I'm thinking Fernandez will get the start, and he'd better make a lot out of it. A loss to the Isles might consign him to a permanent role as unpopular backup... a reputation he had just recently overcome prior to the Rangers game.

Bruins vs. Rangers: Stuff To Look Out For

Too damn early: These afternoon matinees are great for young families, terrible for bloggers. I woke up at 9 CST (10 EST) this morning and realized that the Bruins game was less than three hours away. Great for hangovers, terrible for game previews.

Mini-playoffs: The Rangers jumped out to an early lead in the Eastern Conference, largely as a result of playing 3-5 more games than anyone else but have been gradually losing ground ever since. They're walking a fine line between "contender" and "first-round fodder", so expect them to treat this as -- say it with me -- a measuring stick game. The peril of playing every Eastern contender in the space of a week is that the pressure never lets up. It's like the playoffs; every other night you face a team with that "I've waited all season to beat YOU" look in their eyes.

So far the Bruins are 1-0-1 in their mini-playoffs. That gives me reason for cautious optimism in this game, as the Bruins and Rangers always go to a shootout and therefore a charity-point is usually in play.

Fernandez chatter: Here is comes again -- without doing anything at all, Manny Fernandez is becoming a distraction. Hub Hockey reports that Fernandez' "general soreness" in his back is related to the knee injury that cost him all of last season. If this is true, it might torpedo any plans to swap Manny at the trade deadline, while simultaneously making him a giant question-mark for the late season and playoffs. Meanwhile, Stanley Cup of Chowder calls for Tuukka Rask to start this game, to see what the kid's got to offer and give Tim Thomas a day of relief. If Manny's going to be unreliable from now on, I'd like to see Rask getting one out of every five starts... just in case.

Which Rangers will it be?: So far this month, the Blueshirts have been torched twice by the Pens, crushed by the Habs and lost squeakers to the Caps and Sabres. They've also picked up victories against opponents from all over the spectrum of difficulty: Islanders, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Carolina, Anaheim, Chicago. Pressure is starting to build on King Henrik, who was awful in the third period of their previous game (after being abused in the All-Star game). I'm thinking Tom Renney's neckties are starting to feel a little tighter every night.

"Maintenance Day"?: Hub Hockey also reports that David Krejci skipped practice for what Claude Julien called a "maintanance day". Just when you thought the Bruins were finished with injuries to their top-5 forwards...

Key matchup: Scott Gomez vs. Marc Savard. Gomez is one of the few stable things about the Rangers roster, reliably scoring points while making things difficult on opposing centers. Savard will be trying to get pucks to both Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic, both of whom are trying to rediscover their touch after returning from injury. If Gomez can make life difficult for Savard, he might be able to take a big bite out of the Bruins offense.

Fight I want to see: A matchup between Colton Orr and Shawn Thornton? Yes, please!

Other Previews:
Stanley Cup of Chowder
The Hockey Blog Adventure
Wicked Bruins Fan
The Big Bad Bruins
The New York Rangers Blog
Rangers Report

Ok, so what'd I miss?

All my hardcore fans who check this site 6-10 times per day* have probably noticed that I've been away for a few days. I've had slightly bigger fish to fry this week, with the world's newest hockey fan entering the world:

"Fuck the Habs!"

Indeed, little guy. Indeed.

Unfortunately this caused me to miss some juicy blogging material. Here's a quick summary of the past week in the Bruinsphere:


Thursday, 11/13: As a sign to mankind that the most badass hockey fan is being born unto the world, the Bruins pound the ever-living crap out of the Habs. This cathartic moment was sponsored by Milan Lucic's right fist.

Saturday, 11/15: The Bruins play a nearly complete game against the first-place Rangers, but blow a two-goal lead in the final minute and succumb in the shootout. Nevertheless, getting a point in New York after 3 games in 4 days against some of the league's best competition was no small feat.

Monday, 11/17: In a somewhat ugly affair, the Leafs can't quite rally and the Bruins pick up another 'W' to extend their division lead to 4 points. The Leafs are no laughing matter this season, and that Grabovski guy scored again. He's going to be a real pain.


Scattered thoughts from the weekend:

- This season's All-Star voting process has become a huge embarrassment to the league. There are so many things wrong I don't know where to start. Even after HabGate put a question mark on the validity of the vote totals, we are still looking at 6 Canadiens with leads of more than 100,000 votes, roughly double the total of their nearest competitor. I'm with Cornelius Hardenbergh on this one -- I see no point in continuing to feed traffic to the voting website. The write-in campaign for Tim Thomas is effectively a lost cause from the get-go, meaning it is now impossible for him to appear in the game, and I can't shake the feeling that the whole situation is a slap in the face to the players who actually deserve the honor. This may be the first time in 15 years that I don't feel motivated to tune in.

- On a more positive note, Milan Lucic leads the league in hits. Yes, the entire league. His legend is already starting to trickle into mainstream coverage, which is nothing but great news for the sport of hockey. We can only hope that thousands of squirt players buy Lucic jerseys and try to knock each other out of the rink this winter. Lucic = hockey.

- Manny Fernandez has quitely played some stellar games this season, ringing up an impressive 4-1-1 record. More importantly, he and Thomas are all smiles and there has been zero scuttlebutt about Fernandez moping or complaining. After stopping 59 of 61 shots against Buffalo and Montreal, he deserves a few more cracks at that starting job.

- Guys who need to step it up: Chara, Ryder, Bergeron, Krejci.

- Guys who deserve a gold star for effort: Savard, Wideman, Thornton, Kobasew.

- The Habs game and the Stars game have shown us something very valuable about this Bruins squad, something we haven't seen in a long time: These guys won't be fucked with. They give nobody an undue level of respect. Claude Julien has them melded together in a way you'd expect from a junior team, not a bunch of mercenary professionals. This will be valuable in the playoffs, which are suddenly no longer a question. I'm not positive about the division lead, but these guys are not going to implode and disappear like we all imagined they might.

- Elsewhere in the division: Buffalo is fading after a hot start (think fast: am I talking about the Bills or Sabres?), Montreal is playing inconsistently but will be back, the Leafs are talentless but are nobody's doormat, and the Sens are on the verge of Implosion: The Sequel.

* estimate based on internal polling and delusions of grandeur.

Bruins vs. Leafs: Stuff To Look Out For

The Bruins take on the Maple Leafs tomorrow night, ending a 4-day break. Here are a few plotlines to follow:

Statement Game: The two teams are basically neck-and-neck in the conference and divisional races; a Leafs win would vault them past Boston into an unexpected 2nd place. Two weeks ago, Toronto surprised the Bruins by playing a pretty solid game and scoring 4 straight goals. The secret is out -- they might not be a dynasty in the making, but the Leafs regularly exceed expectations and are not a doormat. In this game there will be no surprises, so it will basically be a benchmark to see whether Toronto is for real.

Rest or Rust?: The Bruins began their season with a frantic schedule including two long road trips, so the Powers-That-Be rewarded them with a few days off after Saturday's victory over Dallas. Under normal circumstances I'd be worried that they'd come out and stink up the Gahden for at least 20 minutes, but that might not be the case this time around. The team was supercharged after the emotional, fight-filled win over Dallas and has had 4 days to let that energy stew. I would not want to be the Leafs in this situation.

Playing to Their Strengths: The Leafs are solid on offense (12th) but one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL (27th). The Bruins are pretty much the opposite (25th and 12th, respectively). That's pretty much all you need to know about how they'll approach this game. Daring prediction: the Leafs will try to score a lot.

Manny?: No word yet on starting goalies, but this is the sort of game you'd expect Julien to hand over to Manny Fernandez. Tim Thomas has been smoking hot of late, but Manny needs reps if he's going to actually compete for the #1 position... though that ship appears to have sailed already. [update: Boston.com predicts that Thomas will start his fifth straight game tonight. This pretty much puts a fork in the notion that he and Fernandez will be a platoon -- hope that bench seat's comfy, Manny.]

Clean Bill of Health: Chuck Kobasew is expected to return to the Bruins lineup after nearly a month, which makes the Bruins officially a healthy team with nobody on IR (of course there are always murmurs about unreported injuries, particularly about Chara's health). Likewise, the Leafs have no injuries at present. [update: Looks like I spoke too soon on this one. Kobasew will not play until at least Saturday, and the Bruins will be missing the services of Shane Hnidy with the mysterious "lower body injury". Mark Stuart is day-to-day with the flu; no word as to whether he skates tonight.]

Hunwick In, Sobotka Out: Fan favorite Vladimir Sobotka was sent back to Providence, presumably to make room for Kobasew's return. Word on the street is that Shane Hnidy will sit out the game after giving his fists a nice workout on Saturday, and will be replaced by rookie Matt Hunwick. Hunwick played a solid game against the Habs in his only other appearance, so it will be interesting to see what he does with this opportunity.

Shootouts: Combined, the teams are 1-6 in the skills contest. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Leafs Blogs:
Bitter Leaf Fan
Down Goes Brown
Battle of Ontario
The Wonderful World of Loser Domi
Pension Plan Puppets

And just for kicks, the best Youtube vid you'll see today:

Bruins vs. Flames: Stuff To Look Out For

- Streaks: Boston and Calgary both enter the game on winning streaks -- four straight dubyas for the Flames, three for the Bruins. Also, both teams carry a significant shutout streak -- 5 periods for Calgary, 6 for Boston. If this isn't a setup for a 0-0 shootout, I don't know what is.

- Motivation: Both teams play in tight divisional races, in which every point is crucial. When playing a non-conference opponent in such circumstances, teams tend to lock it down and play for the OT point. Again, if this isn't a setup for a 0-0 shootout...

- A Relief: Calgary hasn't gone to a shootout yet this season. The Bruins haven't won a shootout in 3 tries.

- No Relief: Tim Thomas gets the third straight start, suggesting Claude Julien isn't exactly "rotating" goalies any more. The ball will be squarely in Manny Fernandez's court to match Thomas' hot streak once he gets the chance. Meanwhile, the Kipper has played every game for the Flames and doesn't look like he's getting a break tonight.

- Massive Hits: Phaneuf. Chara. Iginla. Lucic. Break out the seismograph.

- Special Teams: The Bruins and Flames are #9 and #10, respectively, in PP production. Calgary is 9th on the PK, whereas the Bruins are 29th but have killed 7 straight after a slow start. Calgary is 6th in PP opportunities against, Boston is 20th. This all adds up to: don't take dumb penalties.
BONUS STAT: Bruin 4th-liner Petteri Nokelainen has the highest rate of penalties drawn per minute in the NHL.

- Lucic can see: According to WickedBruinsFan, Lucic had been playing without contacts until the Toronto game on Oct. 23rd. Good god, the man was a beast while playing blind! Since then, he's checked a guy through the glass, scored a hat trick, and conked Luongo. Good god.


Other Previews:
The Jumbotron
Stanley Cup of Chowder
Cornelius Hardenberg and the Hockey Blog Adventure
The Bear Cave