Montreal Signs Another Lease For Space In Bruins Heads, Spank Them 5-1
After Wednesday’s disaster in Toronto when the Bruins went quietly into the Ontario night, it was expected that they would raise their compete level considerably one night later in Quebec. And for a period or so, the Bs looked more like the team we’re used to. They outshout the Habs 11-6 in the first, killed the obligatory first penalty against them, and scored on their lone power play thanks to Dougie Hamilton for a 1-0 lead after one.
But in the second, their play fell off like so many undergarments in the blocks surrounding the Canadiens’ home barn. Official Bruins gnat Dale Weise tied the game on a penalty shot, beating Niklas Svedberg through his yawning 5-hole early in the second. A little more than 10 minutes later, Dennis Seidenberg and Hamilton did a Keystone Kops bit behind the net and the puck popped out to Lars Eller, who fired a backhander past a helpless Svedberg. Less than two minutes later, Max Pacioretty, the Habs’ best sniper, made no mistake with David Deasharnais’ pass when he was curiously given plenty of room to fire away on a 2-on-2 vs. Seidenberg and Hamilton. Ugly.
Though the score was “only” 3-1, the Habs were skating circles around the Bs, out-chancing them and it felt like 6-1. And honestly, if Svedberg wasn’t as good as he was, it would’ve easily been 6-1 if not higher. The Habs added two more in the third against what is starting to look like a damaged hockey team as the Bs didn’t muster much of a fight in the final stanza.
Going 6-1 without Zdeno Chara against mostly tomato cans was, frankly, what the Bruins should have done. Wednesday in Toronto could have been written off as just ‘one of those games’ a team has after a nice winning streak. But in combination with last night, the Bruins look like a team that is finally starting to miss its shutdown defenseman as well as its top playmaking center. And frankly, both of these guys could potentially have issues for the rest of the year. There’s no guarantee that Z won’t have surgery, which would sideline him for months. The alternative is playing with pain (i.e. not near 100%). And David Krejci’s bothersome hip continues to be a problem and makes me wonder if the pain will be too much and he’ll also need to go under the knife. Because it isn’t just going to get better by continuing to play hockey here and there. But we’ll cross those bridges when we get to them. This team needs to get back to playing as a 5-on-5 unit in the meantime.
The Bruins’ 20 points are good for fifth in the Atlantic (same points as Toronto and Ottawa but have more games played). Additionally, they’re in the 7th seed for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. But a few more duds like this week and they’ll be on the outside looking in faster than you can say ‘Jack Robinson’. They’re back at it with a home matinee tomorrow vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.
A few more buds for your weekend bowl…
*Though Svedberg’s .853 save percentage for the game was nothing to write home about, I thought he was left out to dry. You can blame him for the first (penalty shot vs. a checker) and last goal (which was a unscreened rocket) if you want. but there was nothing he could do on the middle three. And he made a handful of spectacular saves throughout the game and actually kept it reasonable until late in the third. So at least we’re not talking about the goalie today.
*Hey P.K., if you’re gonna fly down the ice and take a whack and cross-check at Lucic for burying your guy, just drop the fucking gloves, man.
*There were two scraps in the game. Weise and Greg Campbell fought in the first after Campbell took exception to being hit while following through on a shot. Before Campbell could drop his gloves, Weise was already throwing shots but not deemed worthy of an instigator. Then Weise punched him when he was on his knees. Cheap fuck. In the second, Matt Fraser called on Nathan Beaulieu but probably got more than he bargained for. Beaulieu caught Fraser with a solid right in the last punch of the fight that may have caused Fraser to whack his head on the ice. Rather than the penalty box, he was sent to the room. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s concussed.
*Alexander Khokhlachev was called up for the game but not used for some reason.
*Bergeron, Marchand, Smith, Seidenberg, and Hamilton were all -3.
*Tough news out of Ottawa, where it was announced the Sens GM Bryan Murray has Stage 4 colon cancer. Best wishes to him and his family. Here is a poignant interview with Murray by Michael Farber. Fellas, if you’re due, get a colonoscopy (watch video).
*Here’s a bummer of an update on former Bruin Nathan Horton who signed a free agent deal with Columbus but has managed to play just 35 games due to a variety of injuries. But this latest one might be his last. At 29. It’s a potent reminder of just what these guys go through to entertain us. That’s a tough spot to be in.
*Now to liven things up…for Bruins fans of a certain vintage, the name Johnny Wensink brings a wide grin. “Our Tough Guy”, a short film produced in part by Dorchester’s Mark O’Sullivan and directed by New Hampshire’s Molly Schiot, shows why he’s a Bruins legend, how he feels about the incident now, and what he’s been up to. Enjoy. (I couldn’t embed the goddamn thing).
*Non-Bruins Blog Item of the Week. I finally caught the Walter White ‘Gojira’ and really enjoyed the hell out of it. Even though, just like Creature Double Feature, we didn’t see nearly enough of Godzilla. Maybe it was nostalgia but I was hooked the whole time waiting to see the big guy again. And the Mothra-like villains were a nice homage. “Godzilla” (2014) is the ultimate fun popcorn flick. Give it a whirl.
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