Boston Bruins

So we meet again -- Bruins vs. Matt Cooke preview

March 18, 2010

Tonight marks the first meeting between the Bruins and Penguins since the Marc Savard injury on March 7. Savard is still doing poorly according to Claude Julien, and some people are starting to compare his situation to that of Patrice Bergeron after his devastating hit in 2007. You will be hard-pressed to find a Bruins fan that does not want some sort of rather extreme measure of revenge taken on Matt Cooke and even some other members of the Penguins. Just earlier this afternoon, a friend of mine said to me, "They should gun for Crosby and Malkin all game. Leg check and take out their knees. I won't be happy unless one of them needs knee surgery." While that would be a bit much, if th...

Diagnosing The Bruins

March 12, 2010

Wally Brennan

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With last night's 5-1 win over Philadelphia, the Bruins reminded many of their fans why this season was the most anticipated since the days of Neely and Bourque. But it also left fans asking "where the heck have these guys been all year?" Well, I think we can safely say the 09-10 Bruins are bipolar. See, no team in recent memory has flipped the switch from quitting on the ice to giving 200% than these guysn and you don't have to look back very far to see both examples. The outcry from Bruins nation was heard throughout North America after the players failed to stick up for Tim Thomas and Marc Savard against Pittsburgh, instead opting to accept a humiliating loss. They all made excuses...

Bruins fans should be ashamed of the team they root for

March 7, 2010

Wally Brennan

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With 5:37 remaining in the third period of the Bruins' game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marc Savard was blindsided by an elbow from goon supreme Matt Cooke. Savard laid motionless on the ice in a situation that gave Bruins fans flashbacks to the Patrice Bergeron incident in 2007. However, nobody on the ice -- including supposed tough guy Milan Lucic -- stood up for their teammate and made Matt Cooke or anyone on the Penguins pay for the hit at the time of the incident or in the final five minutes. They simply skated around their teammate as if nothing happened. Coming off the ice after the final buzzer sounded in a 2-1 loss, nobody looked upset or distraught about the loss of the...

Bruins acquire Dennis Seidenberg

March 3, 2010

Wally Brennan

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The Boston Bruins have acquired Dennis Seidenberg and Matt Bartowski from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Byron Bitz, Craig Weller and a 2010 2nd rounder that previously belonged to Tampa Bay. This comes on the heels of the Bruins trading Derek Morris to Phoenix.

Do the Bruins have a deal in place?

February 26, 2010

Wally Brennan

3 Comments

Earlier today (Feb. 25), Boston GM Peter Chiarelli hinted that the Bruins may have a deal or two in place for when the NHL roster freeze is lifted on March 1. Speaking on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Felger and Mazz afternoon show, Chiarelli said that things have picked up the last couple of days and that some deals around the league need just formal announcement to be completed. "Tuesday things started to pick up and I suspect you'll see some deals that have already been cooked," Chiarelli said. "You'll see them done like the morning of the first. We're in on a couple and I like our chances. "I always want improve this team," he continued. "We have identified a couple areas where we feel ...

Taking stock of the Bruins at the break

February 14, 2010

Wally Brennan

2 Comments

In what was billed as the most highly anticipated season for the Boston Bruins since the days of Cam Neely and Ray Bourque, the Black and Gold have failed to live up to the hype thus far as they head into the break sitting at 27-22-11, good for 65 points and 7th place. Boston spent the majority of the first 75% of the season exchanging first place in the Northeast Division with Buffalo, settling into either 3rd or 5th in the conference. But a lackluster January in which the Bruins went 3-9-2 left Boston outside of the top 8 come Feb. 1 as both fans and players were searching for answers after a 10 game losing streak. The Bruins won the final four games before the break -- all on the ro...

Reports: Tim Thomas on the trading block

February 8, 2010

Wally Brennan

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According to various reports, including one from Daren Millard of Central Sportsnet last night, the Boston Bruins are fielding offers for reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas. Thomas, who has a 2.52 GAA and .915 sv%, has all but lost the starting job to 22 year old Tuukka Rask, who leads the NHL in GAA and ranks third in sv%. Rask has started the last three games for the Bruins, including a 36-save shutout of the Montreal Canadiens yesterday that snapped Boston's 10-game losing streak. “Right now, we’re at a stage where you’ve got to go with the goalie that’s playing the best. I think right now, [Rask is] playing the best," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after yesterday's...

Futility, thy name is Bruins

February 5, 2010

Wally Brennan

10 Comments

In this very spot yesterday I wrote that the Boston Bruins should beat the Montreal Canadiens based on the paper lineups. Well, a quick look at the paper box score tells me that the Bruins out-shot the Canadiens 47-25, had four more power play opportunities and won 11 more faceoffs. Easy win, right? Not with this team. With the losing streak up to nine in a row after last night's 3-2 shootout loss, the Bruins are at a loss for any semblance of a clue as to what is going on. Over their last two games, the Bruins have allowed (and yes, that is the correct word) Jose Theodore and Jaroslav Halak to combine for a .966 save percentage. The last win at the TD Garden was Dec. 30. The last regulat...

Gameday: Bruins vs. Canadiens

February 4, 2010

Wally Brennan

1 Comment

On paper, the Boston Bruins should win tonight. After all, their forwards are better than Montreal's, since the Canadiens are missing Cammalleri and Andre Kostitsyn. The Bruins have better talent on the blue line, with Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk and Derek Morris leading the way over a group that includes Hal Gill and the corpse of Jaroslav Spacek. In net, Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak have near identical Save %, with Tuukka holding an edge in GAA. But, as anyone who's watched the Boston Bruins since the Winter Classic will tell you, what the Boston Bruins look like on paper can be discarded and ignored. The Black and Gold have not won a game at the TD Garden since Dec. 30 against Atl...

Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of

February 3, 2010

Wally Brennan

8 Comments

For 40 minutes last night, the Boston Bruins had their fans thinking that the team that captured their hearts and rolled through the regular season and first round of the playoffs last season was making its triumphant return to the TD Garden. But as it's been throughout the '09-10 campaign, the Bruins once again disappointed their fans by allowing three third period goals and missing numerous scoring chances in losing to the Capitals 4-1. Now, it would have been unfair to go into last night's game expecting the Bruins to win, with Washington having won its last 10 games and Boston being mired in its worst losing streak at home since the 1920's. But based on the performance of the team ...