Boston Bruins Blog Posts

Deep 86-ed

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:20:36 EST

Pardon me while I go off track for a moment.

Last night I watched one of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries. It was “Without Bias: The Len Bias Story” or something like that. It didn’t blow me away as far as storytelling goes, but it was well done.

Near the end of the program, the documentary quickly reviewed what happened the year Bias died. In 1986, the New England Patriots were stomped by the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. The Red Sox blew the World Series against the New York Mets. And though the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship that year, Len’s June death began the 1986-87 season. A season the Celtics were unable to repeat as champions without Bias.

Not mentioned by the documentary was the Boston Bruins. The Black and Gold lost in the Division Semi-Finals in 85-86 and 86-87.

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Good Bye

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:11:00 EDT

After seven games played, the Patriots get a much deserved and needed break, thanks to the bye week. While it’s great for the players and coaches, it is sometimes tough for the fans.

Without the Pats playing this week, there’s no build up of anticipation for the weekly gratification of game day. Sure there are other games on, but for some, without the Patriots, a football weekend feels hollow.

Filling the void will be repeated over-analysis of the same concerns on a daily basis and human interest stories on the players. That’s like rice cakes for dinner.

For all the sacrificing the players make over the course of the season, fans should return the favor and make a sacrifice of their own. And no, I’m not suggesting fans sneak into the Gillette Stadium locker room, borrow the players’ pads and uniforms, and play a game of football for the Pats.

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Misprint Still has St Louis Buzzing

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:27:51 EDT

It's funny how one mistake on an online publication can put a few thousand people in an uproar.

“Phil Kessel Traded to Blues” was the headline on a story without any subtext included with it on Thursday evening. The New England Hockey Journal, a well-respected hockey website, posted this error that sent the fans of the Bruins and Blues into a state of panic. Bruins fans were terrified that they did not get a decent return while Blues fans were anxious over who had to be traded. Online hockey message boards lit up with questions on how the deal went down and when the teams were going to officially announce the news. The media bonanza even made it as far as ESPN.com when they posted “Rumors: P. Kessel maybe headed to Blues.”

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Here we go

Mon, 18 May 2009 15:20:41 EDT

So we all know by now that the story ended the way it shouldn't have. This was supposed to be the season that the Black and Gold would redeem almost three decades of inferiority to the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots in terms of championships won--that's still not the case. This blog will provide insight and analysis on the Bruins moves starting with this offseason as well as commentary, rumors and other interesting stuff that I can find. Please feel free to comment and click on the ads!

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The Celtics Lose Game 7 and Boston Officially Loses its TrophyTown Title

Mon, 18 May 2009 07:37:31 EDT

This is just not the Celtics' year. Last night's game 7 looked like a game 4 in a 3-0 series. The Celtics came out without their energy, all out of sync. Clearly, they missed KG. Ray Allen, who we needed to step up, finally did, but he was the only one who showed up to play. Meanwhile, Orlando 21-13 from three point land, was just too much to handle and every shot they took led to me biting my nails off and praying for a comeback that never came. This game was a tough one for Boston to handle; we were losing all game and never made the run that they usually can.

And they just kept adding the pressure and smoking us making MIT, The Professor, Jr, G, Rach, Ro, Dato, KC, Jon, me, and even Murray, wanting to change the channel. But we didn't. We knew that we needed a miracle that just wasn't in the cards. The final score of 101-82 adds to the devastating losses in all of Boston sports. The Pats lost to the NYG in the superbowl; Sox lost to Tampa Bay in game 7; Bruins had an awesome season but just lost game seven last week in the same building as the Celts.

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Goaltender Options for the Flyers - Part 2

Thu, 14 May 2009 13:53:35 EDT

Part 2 of this series will include Restricted Free Agent options as well as possible acquisitions via trade.

In Part 1 of this series I covered some of the more realistic Unrestricted Free Agent options for the Flyers in their quest to acquire a starting goaltender. In addition to the Unrestricted Free Agent options, there are several viable Restricted Free Agent options. The benefit of restricted free agents is that they are all young…that is, after all, why they are restricted free agents. They are often times coming off their entry level contracts, and just haven’t played enough seasons to be eligible for unrestricted free agency. The bad part about restricted free agency is that, depending on how much the player is signed for, the team is required to pay some sort of draft pick compensation.

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My Top 10 NHL Defenseman

Tue, 12 May 2009 14:15:14 EDT

I thought I’d give a top 10 list a shot, and I thought defenseman was the place to start. I’ve noticed that the thoughts regarding the top 10 defenseman in the league are quite erratic, and there doesn’t seem to be a widely accepted pecking order. So I present you with mine. I’ve taken all around play into consideration. Both defensive and offensive abilities have been considered.

1) Zdeno Chara
Chara is just the most dominant force in the game in my opinion. He is so big players just can’t match up with him. He skates very well for being so big, and it’s damn near impossible to beat him one on one. He can swallow you up physically, and nearly reach from board to board, so he plays incredible defense. He’s a physical presence, and he puts up great offensive numbers, with the NHL’s hardest slapshot this past season. He is currently a nominee for the 2008-2009 Norris Trophy (as the league’s best defenseman).

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Bruins Cup could give Boston Most Dominant Decade Ever

Fri, 01 May 2009 13:10:20 EDT

The American sports landscape has been continually tattooed with dynastic labels like “Team of the Year” or “Team of the Decade.” The NFL in particular has been defined each decade by a juggernaut winning …. a lot. The dominance of franchises like the 70’s Steelers, the 80’s Niners, the 90’s Cowboys, and the Patriots of the new millennium has immortalized the likes of Bradshaw, Aikman and Montana to deific status. The NBA has also provided its share of dynastic runs from the Celtics to the Lakers to the Pistons to the Bulls, and examples abound exist in both hockey and baseball as well.

With the Red Sox being two championships deep this decade, the Celtics with one themselves, and the Bruins…. well….I’ll stop right there for the sake of superstitious Bruin fans; but the current Boston run raises the question: Has any one city or major sports market ever experienced the perfect storm of dominance - that is - has any city with all 4 major professional sports ever won championships in each of the 4 sports in one calendar decade? If the Bruins do hoist the cup this season, Boston would have championships in all four major sports since the Pats got the ball rolling in ’01. But would it be the first time?

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NHL Playoffs Rock On First the East

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:36:02 EDT

Welcome everyone to my first post here on the hockey blogs! I know I am a Floridian, but hockey certainly runs through my veins. Today, I will first be talking about the Eastern Conference. And...how about them Bruins! They look like the team they were when the season started. I was a bit concerned about them in the middle of the season, I mean after all they lost to the Panthers and the Lightning in one road trip. I did not think they were contenders when the playoffs started, but I am starting to rethink that now. Their power play gives me nightmares. Bruins in sweep, I say.

The biggest surprise series so far has to be Caps-Rangers. Just like the Bruins, I was not much of a believer in the Rangers, but after taking the first 2 in Washington, they may just have a chance. I must say that the Washington fans are tough, I watched them lose to my Panthers in March and the team started booing after just giving up 2 goals...rough crowd! Things do not look good if Ovie gets going though. Maybe it was because he was caught watching the Rangers practice the other day ( http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2009/news?id=4083635). Lol, that Ovie. Whatever his off the ice antics, I firmly believe he is the best player we have in the game right now. I had the privilege of watching him twice this year and I was astounded at how good he is. Caps in 7.

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