So what game you watchin' tonight?

[bruins4777]

ugh...stupid bruins.

Lose in OT. They are really just playing really strong every game recently. Their offense has been going and going and going. Crashing the net, thornton seems to have finally made the jump from just a great player to a dominant player. All our lines, even the grind line are charging and creating opportunity after opportunity. But it seems like 2 things keep on going wrong. 1) bruins always get the crap bounce 2) goalies are playing amazing against the bruins.

The other problem i've noticed is, on defense, we're rather solid, but just SUCK at defending the long pass, i dont' even want to think about how many times we gave up the long pass in the islanders game...ugh. Also our goaltending has been dreadfully inconsistent. Toivonen goes down way too much and is kicking them out and is using reflexes too much...he wasn't playing this free flowing last year. Or maybe it was just that he got away with it in the AHL.

And now the bruins lost freaking leetch...who i'll admit was shakey at the begining of the year, but really picked it up was making these beautiful finesse plays, quarterbacking for the full 2 minutes, scoring and playing true no.1 dmen hockey, something the bruins haven't had in a while. But now he got his knee killed...hopefully he'll be fine. Boynton seems to be struggling and looking bi-polar like he did in teh begining of 03-04. Great play for scoring one shift, giving up the game winning goal in overtime the next....

The thornton line and thornton in particular has been carrying this team. Other lines are creating, but only joe's seems to be finishing on a consistent basis. He's creating and finishing at least a goal or two every night. While providing some great defense, i saw at least 3 times, probably more, tonight when he made a perfect defensive move to efficiently move it up then create something offensively.

*sigh*...i'm sure the wins will come soon with the way they're playing offensively. Once raycroft returns, hopefully he'll be the consistent raycroft that carried the bruins to the playoffs in 03-04, not the bipolar raycroft the last few games. And bourque coaching alberts and others will help them settle and they'll learn to defend the long pass....

end rant

[Derek21]

derek:

couldn't find a jersey with name and number unfortunately

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ah darn. Thanks for searching anyway Swede . Much appreciated.

Hey Swede, that Henke bobblehead and T-shirt. Are they available? Thanks again.

Edited November 2, 2005 by Derek21

[Derek21]

bruins, your team is a mess right now. That Leetch injury didn't look good. Bates went right into his right knee. Ugh. Watch him be out long term and not be able to make his return to MSG later this month .

Toivonen is talented but man, he needs to stop some of those routine shots. He gave up a couple of bad ones tonight and to the Devils as well.

But he'll get better I'm sure.

Slegr made a bad play there at the end.

Joe looks good as do his linemates. They need more from Bergeron.

[bruins4777]

Bergeron was remarkable at the begining of the year, easily their best player first 5 or so games. Mainly due to thornton's injury. But nonetheless offensively and defensively he was sound.

This game, was the first game all season where he looked questionable defensively.

Toivonen is young...its probably just youth and the need to refine his technical game...he made some spectacular saves recently, but man, some of thsoe shots, just..icky.

Slegr....he's good with 12/14 minutes and 2nd line pp times. Too much, like towards the end when they used him to replace leetch...things just go bad.

I could tell when leetch went down and slegr and bergeron were playing the points...when leetch played the point i had this confidence that yes we could keep it fine, but with slegr and bergeron it was always so shakey. In the AHL bergeron looked decent on the powerplay because of his great passing, similar to how brendan morrison runs the pp sometimes in vancovuer when jovo crashes the net...but ergh bergeron needs to work out his problems and FAST if leetch is going to go down....far and away their best blueliner....

upcoming games look kinda questionable if we dont' resort these problems quick...florida, pens, then flyers...heh i'll miss the flyers game too, i'll be right by the wacko center too...at the spectrum with springsteen

[Derek21]

Yeah bruins. I noticed that too because Leetch is good at keeping plays alive. And the Bruins struggled at times to do that on the blueline.

And btw...Brian would have buried that sharp angle chance Slegr waited on with Snow down.

[Swede]

Ah darn. Thanks for searching anyway Swede . Much appreciated.

Hey Swede, that Henke bobblehead and T-shirt. Are they available? Thanks again.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yep they are on their web-page. They have a section in their souvenirs called "henke"

[Derek21]

yep they are on their web-page. They have a section in their souvenirs called "henke" 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks. I might just have to make a purchase .

[Derek21]

Anyone see the Sens destruction of Buffalo? I had NHL radio on before and it was 4-0 in the first. Havlat with 4, Heatley with 2 and Alfredsson with the last three.

It's 9-3 in the third.

Clown knew. He was annoyed that Buffalo started Biron and he got lit. Then they put Noronen in and he gave up four. So Biron is back in for this debacle.

[Derek21]

It's a final. Ottawa wins 10-4 at Buffalo. Alfredsson and Havlat with four goals apiece:

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20052006/GS020185.HTM

[NJDevs4978]

Who were they supposed to start, Noronen? Miller injured his thumb apparently.

They're not in Ottawa's class but 10-4? Geez louise That makes 15-4 they've been outscored by the Sens in two games

[L]

Bouchenski may never get a recall.

What I couldn't understand was how Ottawa had the Heatley/Spezza/Alfredsson line out in a 10-4 game with 3 mins remaining.

Christ call off the dogs, and use your head before you have an incident with one of your top players.

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

[quote name='L

[LOTCB]

I wish the Senators scored more.....I was rooting for 20 myself.

Think Edmonton will want Martin Biron now? Id think they would rather have Rob Staubber in the net after that performance.

So maybe now Darcy Regier will realize that you cannot get by on the cheap and try to be a big time team, especially on defense. Keep dreaming that guys like Teppo and Lydman will anchor your D. I respect Teppo, but not to be a #1 guy at this stage of his career.

Derek21, I did know. The Sabres were like a cup of black coffee to start the season, they were ok at that point. Now the cream has been added to the coffee. Cream rises to the top, and the Sabres will not be able to handle the cream in the coffee.

Sabres are an average team. Period. Pencil them down for 38-40-4 or something like that. Have them grab the #10 seed and have Darcy tell us "the future is bright"....what will the slogan be next year? Nine is fine?

Edited November 3, 2005 by LOTCB

[LOTCB]

Toadd insult to injury....looks like Ryan Miller is gone for 6-8 weeks....broken thumb.

Sabres new slogan:

FORE!!!!!!!!!

[bruins4777]

SWEET a week after i pick him up in fantasy hockey he goes away!

[Derek21]

Well, that sucks.

[devilsrule33]

Eric Cole scores to make it 4-3 Canes over the Leafs with 1:30 to go. Staal has two goals and an assist tonight.

Edited November 4, 2005 by devilsrule33

[LizDevil30]

Pens pounded Isles 5-1.

[LOTCB]

2-2 Sabres vs Montreal tonight in Buffalo in the 3rd....

Well, it sure beats that 10 spot from Wednesday

[LOTCB]

oops so much for that...3-2 Habs...losing to more backup goalies..

Mediocrity is back to stay in Buffalo...they can lockout again for all I care

[Derek21]

Well at least you're not a Blackhawks fan like Crasher

9-1 tonight to Dallas. Woh

http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20052006/GS020203.HTM

[LizDevil30]

What happened to the Bulin Wall? Oh right, he's not playing for Tampa. Guess he didn't carry them to the Cup.

[Derek21]

What happened to the Bulin Wall? Oh right, he's not playing for Tampa. Guess he didn't carry them to the Cup.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not for nothing but it doesn't can't take away how well Bulin played for Tampa. And who said he carried them? They won as a team with that "Safe as Death" philsophy.

My guess is playing for the Blackhawks is like playing for past Rangers teams. There's probably no system and zero organization.

I've also heard he hasn't played well which hasn't helped either. But that team seems cursed.

[bruins4777]

i said bulin was vastly overrated and would fall.

In tampa he had that one remarkable year where they didn't make the playoffs his save percentage was 92.1 and he had 7 or 8 shutouts or something. The next year he was pretty average. The year they won the cup. He started off blazing then the final few months of the season he was dethroned by john grahame and there was even talk of bulin losing the starting role. He then followed with an absolutely amazing playoffs. That is one thing that should not be taken away from him.

However outside of that his time in tampa was vastly overrated. He left the same inconsistent overrated ego blown goaltender that he was when he arrived. I think he only reached the 30 win mark once with tampa.

The defensive system was tailormade for bulin. They played this defensive style that was based around playing around their net and after bulin would make his first overdone save and give up the rebound it would be cleared out with ease. I'm not good at explaining it, karlovy vary explains it better.

As screwed up as the blackhawks undoubtedly are, he's just flat out sucked. Arguably the worst goaltender in the NHL so far.

There is no excuse for bulin's season thus far, add in the fact he's the highest paid goaltender in the league? You have an easy case for biggest underachiever of the year.

Edited November 5, 2005 by bruins4777

[NJDevs4978]

I did think Bulin would respond well to the new NHL, given how he played in Phoenix and early in Tampa Bay with a lot of shots against. But he is much older now than he was then, and quite a few big-name goalies (the two Martys, Bulin) have gotten off to rocky starts, though Bulin's been the worst by far. The Blackhawks aren't a great team but they should have been improved - though Aucoin's missed a few games and Daze's hurt yet again and that hasn't helped.