Come on back everyone...
Come on back everyone, there's plenty of room on the bandwagon…
So the Bruins have put the last three games down in the WIN column and have one more before the Olympic break. I think I'm going to hold back my thoughts on NBC bumping the Feb. 21st USA v. Canada game for ICE DANCING for a later blog.
Over the past three games we've seen a lot of good things come out of this team, but still a few things that could use some work. First the good…
Tuukka Rask seems to be back on the ball and playing like he was at the beginning of the season. I'm not taking credit by any means, but I've been telling people for about two years that this kid is the future of our team and I think most of you are finally starting to believe it. I also have supported the management's decision, last season, to keep him down in Providence and fine tune his game instead of rushing him up. When I make reference to Carey Price most of the people I know in Montreal immediately go on the defense of their young prince between the pipes. But I do believe he's a prime example of young goalie rushed into the #1 spot a bit too soon, and the current goalie situation in Montreal is also why the Bruins fans need to relax with the "Trade Thomas" noise. We have two damn good goalies that can easily fit into a #1 role. Do you have any idea how many teams would love to be able to say that? Besides, there's something almost every single person that's running with this "Thomas being traded" rumor keeps forgetting… Timmy has a No Trade Clause in his contract, and I highly doubt he's looking to waive that in his first year of a very lucrative multi-year deal. Another thing to keep in mind is, as good as he's performing in Providence do you all think Dany Sabourin is ready to replace Tim Thomas?
Another huge plus to come out of the 5-4 win over the Lightning was that it seems Michael Ryder has found his shot. He was all over the ice and that give-and-go play with Blake Wheeler that lead to his first (of two) goals was possibly the best play I've seen a Bruins line make all season.
Lucic seems to be getting more and more of his confidence back each game that goes by. Put two goals up in the Tampa Bay game and had himself a pretty good fight in the one against the Sabres. Even after getting his sweater pulled over his face Looch kept swinging those haymakers and managed to get a few squirts of blood out of Buffalo's Adam Mair. But it was the fire in his eye as he went to the box that I haven't seen this season. That's the type of intensity we need more of from this team.
I don't even want to call it a fight, but Zdeno Chara pounding on Steve Downie last night looked like a PSA for why you don't poke a bear.
If I can point to a negative in the last two games, not so much the one in Montreal but definitely the last two… it would be that they're not playing with that aggressive intensity for a full 60 minutes. They've been coming out on fire and staying that way for about a period-and-a-half, and then they seem to just slow down, relax a bit, and try to protect the lead instead of increase it. This would be the main area I'd be stressing if I were in Claude Julien's shoes right now.
But as I stated in the beginning, there is plenty of room in here so now that we're back in the Playoff picture you can all feel free to climb back on the Bruins Bandwagon.
Come on back everyone, there's plenty of room on the bandwagon…
So the Bruins have put the last three games down in the WIN column and have one more before the Olympic break. I think I'm going to hold back my thoughts on NBC bumping the Feb. 21st USA v. Canada game for ICE DANCING for a later blog…
Over the past three games we've seen a lot of good things come out of this team, but still a few things that could use some work. First the good…
Tuukka Rask seems to be back on the ball and playing like he was at the beginning of the season. I'm not taking credit by any means, but I've been telling people for about two years that this kid is the future of our team and I think most of you are finally starting to believe it. I also have supported the management's decision, last season, to keep him down in Providence and fine tune his game instead of rushing him up. When I make reference to Carey Price most of the people I know in Montreal immediately go on the defense of their young prince between the pipes. But I do believe he's a prime example of young goalie rushed into the #1 spot a bit too soon, and the current goalie situation in Montreal is also why the Bruins fans need to relax with the "Trade Thomas" noise. We have two damn good goalies that can easily fit into a #1 role. Do you have any idea how many teams would love to be able to say that? Besides, there's something almost every single person that's running with this "Thomas being traded" rumor keeps forgetting… Timmy has a No Trade Clause in his contract, and I highly doubt he's looking to waive that in his first year of a very lucrative multi-year deal. Another thing to keep in mind is, as good as he's performing in Providence do you all think Dany Sabourin is ready to replace Tim Thomas?
Another huge plus to come out of the 5-4 win over the Lightning was that it seems Michael Ryder has found his shot. He was all over the ice and that give-and-go play with Blake Wheeler that lead to his first (of two) goals was possibly the best play I've seen a Bruins line make all season.
Lucic seems to be getting more and more of his confidence back each game that goes by. Put two goals up in the Tampa Bay game and had himself a pretty good fight in the one against the Sabres. Even after getting his sweater pulled over his face Looch kept swinging those haymakers and managed to get a few squirts of blood out of Buffalo's Adam Mair. But it was the fire in his eye as he went to the box that I haven't seen this season. That's the type of intensity we need more of from this team.
I don't even want to call it a fight, but Zdeno Chara pounding on Steve Downie last night looked like a PSA for why you don't poke a bear.
If I can point to a negative in the last two games, not so much the one in Montreal but definitely the last two… it would be that they're not playing with that aggressive intensity for a full 60 minutes. They've been coming out on fire and staying that way for about a period-and-a-half, and then they seem to just slow down, relax a bit, and try to protect the lead instead of increase it. This would be the main area I'd be stressing if I were in Claude Julien's shoes right now.
But as I stated in the beginning, there is plenty of room in here so now that we're back in the Playoff picture you can all feel free to climb back on the Bruins Bandwagon.
