Big Z's Illustrated Guide To The Top 10 Games of 08-09

Before we close the books on the 2009 regular season, and start playing the games that REALLY matter, let's take a look back at the Bruins' best season in 35 years:

10) 11/19/08 - Boston 7 Buffalo 4

This game didn't count for much in the final standings, but it was one hell of a fun ride. Five minutes into the game, the score was 2-2. After falling behind 4-2 in the first period, the Bruins took over and scored 5 straight goals for the win.

9) 3/28/09 - Boston 7 Toronto 5

Much like the 11/19 game against Buffalo, this falls into the "wild ride" category. The score was 3-3 after the first period, and Toronto eventually took the lead on three different occasions. Boston reeled off 4 consecutive scores in the second period in this defense-less free for all.

8) 1/19/09 - Boston 4 St. Louis 5 SO

It seems weird to include a loss on this list, but this was a classic David-vs-Goliath game that had it all.

The Bruins came into the game on an unbelievable 28-5-1 roll, and the Blues were in the Western Conference basement. Surprisingly, St. Louis brought a 2-1 lead into the third period. Boston exploded for 3 goals in just over a minute, and looked to have won the game with 1:30 remaining and a 4-2 lead. Nevertheless, the Blues mounted a monumental comeback -- the tying goal with only 0.8 seconds left, then a win in the shootout. Since then, the Blues have gone 23-8-6 and made the playoffs by 1 game.

7) 1/31/09 - Boston 1 Rangers 0 (bonus coverage)

We might remember this game after we've forgotten the rest. Tuukka Rask, in his only appearance of the season, drops a 35-save shutout on the Rangers. This was around the same time that the fans really started to turn on Manny.

6) 2/26/09 - Boston 6 Anaheim 0 (bonus coverage)

Too bad we don't get to see Anaheim more often! The Bruins seemed almost clinical in picking apart the Ducks, getting 2 goals each from Ryder and Kobasew and a 35-save shutout from Thomas. But the most memorable action was Lucic going batshit crazy on Mike Brown, in response to an unprovoked jab to the honker. Looch managed to throw five bombs at a squirming Brown before the refs arrived; thankfully none of them landed or this would be an obituary instead of a game summary.

5) 1/27/09 - Boston 3 Washington 2 OT

Even before the puck was dropped, this was already a feel-good night in Boston. Bergeron, Lucic and Ference all returned after long absences, just in time for a 1-vs-2 matchup. Despite Krejci's improbable OT winner, the most memorable moment was the deafening sound of every member of Caps Nation simultaneously shitting themselves when Ovechkin appeared to have been seriously injured. Fortunately he popped up, threw some equipment in the tunnel, and returned later in the game.

4) 11/22/08 - Boston 3 Montreal 2 SO

Of all 53 wins this season, this might have been the sweetest. When Habs management decided to schedule Patrick Roy Night, they undoubtedly thought this would be a crowd-pleasing win over their rival. Guy Carbonneau played into the hype by shadowing Lucic with Laraque, a notoriously unsuccessful move that haunted him for the brief remainder of his career in Montreal. Lucic ended up scoring, Boston won a tightly-played game, and by the end of the night the Bruins had moved permanently into first place.

3) 11/29/08 - Boston 4 Detroit 1 (bonus coverage)

The significance of this win was mostly symbolic -- after an unbelievable November, the Bruins were just beginning to get cautious recognition from the media. But it wasn't until after they beat the Wings that they had the feel of a Cup contender. The game itself seemed anticlimactic, all but over after Ty Conklin gave up 3 goals on 9 shots, but the Bruins clearly had a new sense of self-confidence after this huge win.

2) 4/9/09 - Boston 5 Montreal 4 OT (bonus coverage)

Even though it was a glorified exhibition for the Bruins, this had the feel of a playoff game. Only a week before their actual playoff matchup, both teams were sending messages loud and clear. Montreal desperately needed a point to make the playoffs, so things got a little out of hand when Boston began to pull away in the second period. Several ugly incidents later, the Habs had scored three consecutive power-play goals to take the lead. Boston rallied in the third, and won on a brilliant play by Bergeron. The full significance of this game will not be known for at least two weeks.

1) 11/1/08 - Boston 5 Dallas 1 (bonus coverage)

This was where it all began.

The Bruins came into the game with an ordinary 5-3-3 record, having played 8 of their first 11 on the road. Dallas was under .500 and in a surly mood. The better the Bruins played, the chippier the play became -- and vice versa.

There's not enough space to run down all the emotionally-charged moments in this one, but perhaps the most significant involved Marc Savard coming to the "rescue" of Milan Lucic after he had been hit from behind by Avery. That was the moment when Savard truly became a Bruin in the eyes of the masses.

There comes a point in every championship season where a team finds its identity. That process began when the Bruins realized they could stand up to Ott and Avery while also destroying their team on the scoreboard. From that point on, the Bruins seemed invincible -- an 11-1-1 record for the rest of November and 12-1 mark in December followed.

Death Watch: R.I.P. Stars

Another bubble team bites the dust.



This year's Stars had more drama than a Gray's Anatomy DVD set. Here are the top 5 reasons they won't make it to April as a serious playoff contender:


5) Sean Avery - Let's just get this one out of the way early. Avery was the wrong man on the wrong team. His Stars teammates, coaches, and front office eventually revealed him as a pariah. But by the time they had the good sense to cut him loose, the Stars were wallowing near the bottom of the conference. In a tough Western bracket, there was no room for a slow start.


4) Inconsistency - Coach Dave Tippett deserves credit for keeping the team afloat through long losing streaks, and occasionally leading them to victories over heavily-favored opponents. But the Stars couldn't sustain their winning momentum for long, and disasterous losing streaks were a regular feature of their season.

3) Massive injury problems - Think your team's injury issues are bad? The Stars have lost a league-high 322 man-games to injury. The victims have included Sergei Zubov, Brad Richards, Jere Lehtinen and Brenden Morrow... and a plethora of minor injuries that shortened the bench nightly.

2) Horrible goaltending - The biggest question-mark for the Stars is whether Marty Turco needs to move on. Turco leads the NHL in minutes-played, an indicator of how desperately Dallas needed him to carry the team. It's clear that he wasn't up to the task this season, logging disastrous numbers and generating loads of media criticism. Turco's career might not recover from this season.

1) Post-deadline meltdown - In spite of everything working against them, Dallas was still precariously in playoff position at the trade deadline. In fact, they were as high as 6th in the West as recently as March. But just as it seemed that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, the Stars nose-dived -- since March 17 they are 0-5-2. The bottom line is that you simply have to find a way to win your games, and the Stars just couldn't do it when it counted.

It'll be a contentious offseason in Dallas, as the team begins in earnest to cut ties with the Modano/Zubov/Turco era. But all hope isn't lost -- the team's core is mostly under 30, and youngsters like James Neal and Loui Eriksson should have the Stars back in the playoffs in the next couple of years.

Death Watch Update: Stretch Run Edition

This is going to be a much more frequent feature over the next two weeks. With only about 10 games to play per team, the playoff bubble is quickly shrinking.

DEAD

These teams are toast, and probably wishing they'd lost more often for draft purposes.

Islanders

Thrashers

Lightning

Senators

Leafs

Avalanche

Coyotes

RISEN ZOMBIE-LIKE FROM THE GRAVE

Blues - WTF? These guys were out of contention by training camp, and were pronounced "DEAD" on the very first Death Watch in January. Since then they've been winning 3 out of every 4 games, and are now only a single victory away from the 8th seed. Their 3-game series against Columbus will have the atmosphere of the tournament in "Bloodsport".

ON THE DEATH WATCH

Kings - They've been tenacious, but the clock is running out. Their next 4 games -- Blues, Stars, Preds, Stars -- are all must-wins. After that it's a home-and-home against Phoenix. That stretch will either make or break LA's season.


Sabres - It's been tough to watch this train wreck after such a spunky season from Buffalo. A 1-5-1 stretch in March is poison, especially when it involves two losses to Ottawa. This week's games against Florida and Montreal are a last-chance opportunity for the slumping Sabres.

Stars - Yeah, they're only 3 points out of the 8th seed. But the Stars have an unfavorable schedule and just lost Brad Richards. They're already staring up the bracket at 4 other bubble teams, so there is almost no room for error as this team tries to right its losing streak.

SOMEHOW STILL KICKING

Panthers - This might be one of the NHL's best stories of the season, but also its most under-reported. GM Jacques Martin made an incredibly ballsy move at the trade deadline by not dealing Bouwmeester, gambling that the Panthers could make the playoffs and possibly convince their stud defenseman to give it another year or three in Miami. Today the Cats are only a point behind Montreal for that precious 8th seed.

Predators - If the most under-reported story isn't the Panthers, maybe the Preds deserve that title. Quietly, they're on an 8-2-3 streak that's got them in the 8th seed... for now. Nashville, virtually devoid of marquee players and led by obscurities like JP Dumont and Pekka Rinne, has a brutal schedule down the stretch.

Ducks - It's time for someone to be a hero in Anaheim, which fights for its playoff life tomorrow night in Nashville. The Ducks are on a mini-streak (3-0-0) but are one of the league's least consistent teams. Anaheim has to avoid the too-predictable losing streak, or they're going to be done in short order.

Wild - Hobbled by injuries, the Wild are going to count on Marian Gaborik's return to spark them into the playoffs. An ill-timed road trip and a schedule full of desperate teams won't make it any easier for Minnesota, who will need a good push to overcome the other Western bubble teams.

Sean Avery Is A Stain On The Compression Shorts Of The NHL

I don't really need to introduce the topic, because you've already been thinking about it for the past 24 hours. So let's just skip all the chit-chat and get down to business.

Sean Avery's indefinite suspension is absolutely, unequivocally the correct judgment by Gary Bettman.

Yeah, I said it. Bettman got one right. And you know what? I will still respect myself in the morning.

There's been an opinion-flood of Biblical proportions in the blogosphere as everyone dogpiles onto this topic. So I'm just going to go through and cherry-pick a few arguments that I ain't buyin', and then explain my stance at the bottom of the post. If you don't care what others have to say on the topic, because I am your sole and unquestioned authority on world affairs, feel free to skip to the bottom now.

Still with me? Ok, let's get started.

Hockey guru PuckDaddy sez:
In the end, suspending Avery proves Avery correct that this League is disinterested in creating a compelling product to which fans want to pay attention.

Which "fans" are we talking about? Is a 6-year-old Stars fan going to become more engaged, or less, with his team based on this incident? To be certain, the Sportscenter/American-Mainstream-Media crowd will suddenly become more interested in our little niche sport if there are a bunch of smack-talking sideshows involved. The Calgary/Dallas game will surely have a larger contingent of shitfaced meatheads cheering for blood.

But frankly I think the NHL can do a little better than selling that type of product.

The Forechecker chips in:
If Avery gets more than a single game suspension out of this, the NHLPA should call the league out on the carpet for prioritizing PR above player safety.

Undoubtedly so, and this should be a major talking point in the disciplinary reform that the league needs so badly. Nevertheless, as far as we know at this time Avery will get only a single game suspension. "Indefinitely" in this case translates to "until we can review and make a decision".

Going Five Hole writes:
Sometimes you need a little controversy to intrigue the casual fan and even the hardcore fan at times.

Brett Hull's toe in the crease is a controversy. The instigator penalty is a controversy. But this conversation is not about a controversy, because it is a clear case of right and wrong -- there is no rational way to argue that Avery should be allowed to hold press conferences in order to launch slurs at another player's girlfriend without the league intervening. The question in this case is simply the degree of punishment.

Interchangeable Parts:
You can get suspended in the NHL for saying “sloppy seconds”? And they call the NFL the “no fun league”.

Prior to this incident, the hot topic in the hockeyblogosphere was a spat between fans of the NBA and NHL over which currently has the most fan support. The thrust of that argument was that the NBA has seen a sharp dropoff in support compared to the NHL's gains -- largely driven by the emergence of respectable young stars like Crosby and Kane in the NHL, at the same time the NBA is trying to rein in petulant prima donnas like Iverson and Marbury.

So I have a very hard time believing that the NHL would be wise to put itself in line with other pro leagues by turning its media into a sounding chamber for overpaid, underperforming players to stir up self-serving scandals. Leave that "fun" to other sports.

Puckupdate:
Is that term any more offensive than Michael Nylander dropping the s-bomb on national TV in the middle of the day? Or are we supposed to believe the NHL is suddenly concerned about players portraying women as possessions?

This misses the point entirely. The slur alone is one thing -- we have already seen Avery do worse by calling Georges Laraque a "monkey", not to mention his Franco-phobic comments about Denis Gauthier. The issue here isn't only what was said, but the deliberate and contrived way in which it was delivered. There's a big difference between an ad lib and a prepared statement.

Battle of California thoughtfully considers:
I think it's a dangerous path to discourage personality in front of the microphone without any specific guidelines, and we're probably in for a blander NHL as a result (though in fairness, we were probably in for that anyway).

While I agree that specific guidelines would be welcome, we'd be underestimating the players' intelligence to suggest that they don't understand the notion of "detrimental to the league". I would much rather see the league take the dangerous path of discouraging Avery's behavior, at the risk of becoming too bland, than take the even more dangerous path of letting it go unchecked by the commissioner, and therefore become a media circus with egotists like Avery as the ringleaders.

My thoughts on how Bettman got it right:

For starters, the league had to step in and keep Avery off the ice last night. There are two overwhelmingly strong arguments for doing so:

1) Under no circumstances can a player exploit the media for nefarious purposes without a league response. This is even more important when insulting a member of the general public, as opposed to simply calling out a fellow player, because it opens up all sorts of legal issues. Regardless of what the Stars may choose to do internally, it's imperative that the league keep a tight rein on this sort of situation.

2) There was no reason for the league to reward Avery by allowing him to drag Phaneuf (and, let us not forget, Iginla) into a potential game-misconduct situation. Imagine if Phaneuf had chased Avery to his locker room Mair-style... that would put the league in an absurd situation when trying to decide on appropriate suspensions. Considering Phaneuf and Iginla are the pillars of Calgary's playoff hopes, putting Avery on the ice could have put Calgary in a position to sink their entire season while pursuing personal vendettas. That would be unacceptable.

Bettman has to look at the big picture when making these decisions. In this case, the personal rivalry between Phaneuf and Avery is part of the little picture. Even Avery's personal history, which certainly weighs in on the subject, is little-picture material.

The big picture is that we've got a case of a player undermining the league itself. Avery knew what rules he was breaking when he decided to hold his "press conference", and knew that suspension was likely. He took a calculated gamble that the suspension would be short and that the media fallout would be worth his while. The NHL must call that sort of bluff, or risk losing its authority over its own players. If you don't think it can happen in the blink of an eye, take a look at Terrell Owens or Allen Iverson... putting on kid-gloves with these egomaniacs simply doesn't work.

If Bettman delegates Avery's discipline to the Stars, if he provides nothing but a passive shrug of the shoulders and wiping of the hands, we would see the floodgates open wide with Avery-type players. Every cellar-dwelling team with nothing to lose would have to deal with this sort of unprofessional, undisciplined misconduct from its Roenicks and Hulls. Bettman sent a clear message to not only Avery but the rest of the players in the league -- you are here to play good hockey, represent your franchise as a professional, and sell tickets. If you want to be a media sideshow, start practicing your layups.

This Year's Senators: The Dallas Stars

Ah, Dallas. Longtime home to some of professional sports' biggest douchebags: Michael Irvin, Ed Belfour, George W. Bush. A city that has shamelessly associated itself with both Terrell Owens and Sean Avery this autumn.

So perhaps we should not be shocked to see both the Stars and Cowboys imploding before we've even finished off the crappy hard candy that old folks give out on Halloween. Verily, the prideful shall be smited.

As they say, everything's bigger in Texas. Hats are bigger. Breast implants are bigger. And pro-sports meltdowns are a LOT bigger.

Case in point: the Dallas Stars are on the verge of a trainwreck not seen since the Great Senators Implosion of Aught-Seven. We knew something was awry when the Stars, fresh off a semi-finals appearance and stocked with new talent, muddled through a 1-5-1 preseason. Serious injuries to Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen added a little fuel to that suspicion. But our spider-sense really started tingling when they dropped decisions to the likes of Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis and Colorado in the first 8 days of the regular season.

Until this week, it seemed that the Stars might be suffering from some early-season hiccups, the sort of thing that works itself out after a few tough bonding experiences on the road. Boy, were we ever wrong.

After getting steamrolled in Chicago, Avery & Co. arrived in Boston Saturday evening with all the composure of Bob Probert after a long night Vegas. Throughout the game, hardly 10 minutes of play would pass in between pugilistic sideshows, most of which precipitated from dangerous hits by Avery and henchman Steve Ott. What began as a decent contest quickly became a rout, as the Bruins reponded first physically and then with a 3-goal outburst in the final period as the Stars simply fell apart in all areas of the game.

All that is bad enough for Dallas fans, but it's what came next that really stings. First, franchise player and assistant captain Mike Modano on the team's style of play:

Tonight, it was idiotic and stupid. It was one of the most embarrassing things I've
seen. If that's what we're going for, then they need to find me an office job.

It was dumb penalties, dumb situations, that's kind of been the trend all season. There's no mental toughness. We're allowing the refs to get involved in the game with and spending more energy on them than the details of winning the game.

Then, goalie Marty Turco offers this evaluation, moments after ripping his teammates for poor defensive play (and naming names in the process, always a popular move from a guy who is near the bottom of the league in every measure of his game):

You come into a tough game and a tough building, after a night like last night, think it's all going to come out of us, get some guys out of our shell, total opposite. It's sad, it's embarrassing. There's no sugarcoating anything anymore. We're in a rut that I haven't seen in a long time. It' going to not just be a couple days that are going to get us through it.

Naturally, GM Brett Hull chips in:

I've lost my patience. These players either need to kick themselves in the ass, or they need someone else to do it for them, but it's going to happen.

Finally, coach Dave Tippett gives us a little preview of things to come:

This week, with the long break, there’s going to be lots of evaluation going on. You can take that however you want.

Yikes.

These are not the words of a team that is prepared to bounce back from a sub-.500 start. They are not the words of a team prepared to go into both Anaheim and San Jose for grudge-match divisional games later this week. And they certainly aren't what you expect to hear from a team that will finish the season without a major shakeup.

Put 'em in your death pool, folks; things are about to get ugly in Dallas. Teams stocked with douchebags like Avery, Ribeiro and Modano (and for that matter, managed by Brett Hull) will only stand for so much strain in the locker room. The only question is whether this team will make it to the New Year before the bottom falls out and Avery starts granting interviews while doing sit-ups in his driveway. In any case, it's now a matter of damage control as the Stars have clearly lost their sense of chemistry and frankly don't seem to like each other on a personal level. This isn't just a recipe for a bad season, it's a blueprint for becoming a long-term "rebuilding" project almost overnight.

And it couldn't happen to a better bunch of guys.