Bruins vs. Montreal, Dec. 19, 2011

December 19, 2011: Boston vs. Montreal

Pregame comments:

Santa is there!! And so is the Misses!
Boston needs a new singer for the national anthem, but they can keep his wardrobe. Nice bowtie.
Throwback jersey, very nice.
No Lucic 

Period 1:
18:53 – Bergeron had a nice shot, just wide.
18:28 – First face-off, in Montreal zone. Bruins win it.
17:52 – Lamest attempt at shot on goal by Montreal. The puck probably went about a mile and a half an hour.
16:59 – Eller with a good steal in Montreal zone to kill Bruins strike.
15:58 – Pretty bitchin’ pass down the left side to give the Bruins a nice chance at a goal… that they missed.
14:24 – They waved off the icing… I hate this rule. It makes no sense.
First commercial break: There was a 2 on 2 going for the Bruins but a really nice breakup by the Montreal defense. It happened way too fast for me to be getting numbers and taking names.
Fun fact, tonight is the Bruins’ 103rd straight sellout. Boston sports fans are pretty awesome.
13:17 – Corvo with a good shot on goal, still no score yet though.
12:27 – Kaberle breaks up Seguin’s strong attempt. Welcome back to Boston, kiddo.
11:12 – Horton misses a pass in the Montreal zone... I hope it was because he was busy hearing a Who…
10:19 – Thomas makes the first save of the night. Good stick block and quick cover-up.
7:59 – Corner struggle for control of the puck in the Montreal zone. I wonder if they say no homo while they practically hump each other trying to get it…
7:47 – Bruins score!! Right off the face-off, Pouliot gets his 6th goal of the season to put the Bruins on top for the first goal of the night!
7:24 – Kelly has a great break away, looking at back to back goals, but gets hooked just before taking the shot. Too bad the penalty wasn’t actually called…
6:34 – Plekanec scored for Montreal. Right through the legs of Chara and Thomas. How unfortunate.
~6 – Boston is looking a little shaken up and out of sorts after the quick Montreal goal. Hopefully they can hold it together for another few minutes before they talk themselves back up during first intermission.
4:54 – Campbell with a good steal but it gets away from him as he enters the Montreal zone.
According to the announcers the Bruins have a lot of layers, and they keep getting in their own way with said layers…. They are just like onions and ogres.
3:11 – Marchand and Bergeron both in front of the net, so close to another goal, but tipped just outside.
1:58 – The puck is flying all over the place, neither team can really hold on to control for more than a few seconds.
1:16 – Bruins offside. My least favorite penalty. It can be so easily avoided, just pay attention! I mean you are professionals… it is kind of like your job…
And that’s the end of the first, all tied at 1. And according to one of the fans, real Canadians love The Bruins. I like it.

Period 2:
19:23 – Puck seems a little bouncier this period. A jumpy shot in the Montreal zone followed by a bouncer on the Bruins net.
18:14 – Bruins attempt at a pass gets knocked back down the ice to Thomas.
17:18 – Incredible tip into the goal for Krejci, with a beautiful set up by Seguin! And it’s under review for a potential kicking motion… And it counts! Bruins up 2-1 
16:43 – Thomas made a nice save and then Ference made a great kick to get the puck out of a dangerous spot when Thomas got tangled up.
16:10 – First PowerPlay of the night goes to Montreal as Horton is called for hooking.
15:42 – Bruins have gotten two really strong shorthanded shots during this penalty kill.
14:09 – Bruins allowed zero shots on goal and killed the first PP of the night.
13:33 – Nice shot by Chara with a scrambled in front of the net, but Price manages to hold on.
12:22 – Nokelainen pings off the sidebar.
11:22 – Price makes a nice grab off Peverley’s shot.
10:51 – Horton potentially hit where there was no pad, but he is skating on like a champ.
8:36 – Boston gets their first stab at the PP as Seguin draws the penalty.
~7:30 – One of the Bruins pinged off the sidebar, but the computer froze so I forget the player or the actual time…. deal with it.
6:34 – Montreal killed the PP allowing just the one shot on goal.
5:23 – McQuaid overshot pass to Campbell and Price gathers the puck up for Montreal.
4:39 – Great save by Thomas! Apparently it allowed the Bruins to change up, which is why they are attacking the Montreal net right now.
3:37 – Boston gets their second PP. The announcer thinks the signal is high-sticking, but I don’t know enough to corroborate that. Oh and apparently it’s a double minor... goes to show you shouldn’t high stick. 4 minutes of Boston fun.
1:57 – Bruins ruled off-sides and haven’t done too much in the first couple of minutes of the PP
2-1 at the end of the second with just a few seconds left in the PP for the Bruins. They had a decent chance in the last minute, but Campbell didn’t get quite enough power behind his shot.

Period 3
~ 19:37 – PP is over, but the timer isn’t showing so I can’t help you too much. Probably about 23 seconds in though, if I can still do basic math that is… Bruins only getting 3 shots on goal.
~ 17:30 – Lots of fancy stick work in the Montreal zone as Bruins chance up man by man, close wrap around and then an icing call…. Still no clock but the announcer says 2.5 minutes gone as Montreal calls a timeout.
16:47 – Kaberle misses a pass across the ice in the Boston zone. and the timer is back, but the score is not 0-0, so here is hoping the clock part is close to accurate even if the score isn’t…
15:09 – Timer and score restored! I know… it’s that important.
14:16 – Cross-checking penalty against the Bruins, let’s see if Montreal can do something with the PP this time.
14:11 – Subban takes a hard shot upstairs on Thomas, just a little wide, but lots of power.
14:00 – Another hard shot that Thomas covers.
12:41 – Campbell lays out on the ice and swipes the puck into the neutral zone… And apparently has a broken foot. There is no athlete like a hockey player.
12:16 – Boston manages to kill the penalty, but Montreal put up a strong fight for the full 2 minutes.
11:40 – Lucic looks pissed. I feel bad for whoever the Bruins play next…
10:30 – Bruins had a 3 on 1 put cross ice pass was intercepted.
9:22 – Seguin just missed a nice 1 timer! So many close shots on goal by both teams in the last minute. This is going to be a rough period.
8:20 – Price robs the Bruins! I want to say it was Peverley with the setup to Campbell, but I could be totally wrong… Either way, a beautiful pass in front of the goal with a nice shot, Price was just a little bit too quick.
5:45 – Marchand scores!! and Seguin with a damnedie dangle? Whatever, the Bruins were so close to getting some great shots for the past couple of minutes and it finally pays off! Bruins lead 3-1
5:07 – Thomas with a nice slap away as Montreal tries to answer back.
3:59 – Thomas makes another great save! He is keeping this game alive for Boston as they cling to a 2 goal lead with only a few minutes left to fight.
2:04 – Faceoff in the Bruins end after Thomas makes another strong save. Montreal hasn’t given up yet.
1:14 – Montreal pulls their goalie, just in time for a puck to deflect into the Bruins net. 3-2 with just over a minute to go. Unnecessarily under review…
0:57 – Montreal has an empty net for the second time tonight.
0:13 – A lot of close shots for Montreal, but Boston manages to clear it for an icing.
0:09 – Bergeron clears it again, basically sealing the win for Boston.
0:01 – Seidenberg shoots at the empty net, clinging off the sidebar.
0:00 – Bruins win 3-2! A huge rivalry poses a strong game, but the Bruins manage to out maneuver Montreal to continue the strong climb back from an iffy opening season.

The (slightly past the) Quarter Pole: Ten Things we have Learned this Season (in no particular order) at the Neutral Zone Turnover

Currently Drinking: Black and Tan (Guinness and Warsteiner respectively).

1) Coaches have been and always will be underappreciated scapegoats.

Four coaches have been fired as of the time I write this: Davis Payne in St. Louis, Bruce Boudreau in Washington, Paul Maurice in Carolina, and Randy Carlyle in Anaheim. While the changing of a coach does often work wonders (see: 2011 New Jersey Devils or even the Blues since replacing Payne with Hitchcock), they are very rarely at fault. At the end of the day, the onus to perform is still on the players; the ability to listen and apply the work of the head coach is their responsibility. Ben probably knows where I’m going with this. I’m going to use Boudreau as an example. He was hired mid-season to replace Glen Hanlon. He took the Capitals from 14^th in the east at Thanksgiving (ironically, the quarter-pole) to a Southeast division title, and would go on to win 3 more before he was fired last week…never having finished below FIRST PLACE in his division. Apparently the players in Washington were no longer receptive to his message, and unfortunately, it is far easier to fire a coach than a player. That being said, I still think Washington had one more move they should have tried before firing Boudreau (The Anaheim Ducks seems to agree). It should be obvious to anyone who is familiar with the Washington Capitals, and I hope they play that card before Dale Hunter meets the same fate. I could go on, but in the interest of (relative) brevity, I will move on.

2) The trapezoid is still stupid.

Seriously, NHL, are we done with this stupid experiment yet?

3) The only thing that exceeds the malign for the infamous neutral zone trap is the misunderstanding of how it works.

Earlier this season, this happened. It sparked a firestorm regarding the infamous “Neutral Zone Trap,” with some outlets going so far as to suggest it should be banned. Not only is banning a strategy completely moronic and antithetical to everything team sports are about, but this is not actually a neutral zone trap. Rather than be your professor for the evening, I will simply provide you with Wikipedia’s wonderful article on the strategy (the moving diagram explains it perfectly). A trap is a 1-2-2 setup, and this is a 1-3-1. A more accurate term would be “The Fortress.” If this were a trap, the Lightning player would have gone aggressively after the puck carrier and forced him to the boards. Notice that the word “trap” is not actually uttered by the broadcast crew, much to their credit, despite the name of the video itself. Now, as far as which team was in the wrong on this incident? I say none. Why should the Lightning not play a strategy that works for them, and why should the Flyers not try to draw the Lightning out of position by sitting and waiting? The referees handled it properly. They gave it a chance to play out, verbally called for the players to move it, and then called a faceoff, explaining to both coaches what would happen if it continued (presumably penalties). The fans were also correct in booing the lack of action. Nobody was in the wrong; it was merely the evolution of hockey happening before our very eyes.

4) The folks here at the Turnover absolutely suck at keeping up with this blog.

This is what having jobs that aren’t related to hockey do. I started this article on Thanksgiving Day, which is often regarded as the quarter-pole of the NHL. Among this article being presented in its (likely VERY imperfect) finality late, is a Game of the Night from a couple weeks ago that I have yet to polish and post, and I probably won’t. I can, however, say that we will try harder soon.

5) Goaltenders continue to be undervalued in the current market.

This one has me scratching my head. Many respected hockey outlets have mentioned that a Stanley Cup team can win with average goaltending; that it is easy to simply pick up as a free agent, and that the need for that franchise goaltender is rapidly vanishing. Really? Are we sure about that one? In order: Ward, Giguere, Hasek/Osgood, Fleury, Niemi, and Thomas are the post lockout Stanely Cup goaltenders. They all not only had to be good, but they had to be great. Chicago gave Niemi up in free agency after winning, and while there are other factors, you can bet that losing Niemi certainly didn’t help in Chicago’s failed quest to return to the finals. A great team with an average goalie won’t win anything (see: Washington Capitals recent years). An average team with great goaltending is a force to be reckoned with (see: 2006 Edmonton Oilers). I rest my case.

6) The Atlantic division is still the toughest division in hockey.

You can try and argue this if you want, but what the 5 teams of the aTlantic benefit from in lack of travel, they more than make up for in grit. Philadelphia is a gritty team that has consistently been among league leaders in penalty minutes. The Rangers and Devils post lockout identities have both been characterized by a blue-collar team-before-individual attitude, embodied by guys like Ryan Callahan and David Clarkson that can both beat you on the scoreboard and on your medical bill. The Penguins are consistently among the league’s elite, and always tough to play against, even without their stars, and as mocked as the Islanders are, they still have one playoff appearance post lockout, and ask any of the four other Atlantic division teams how well the Islanders play late in the season after they are all but eliminated. Like every team in this division, they are young, and will only get better. The addition of the Capitals and Hurricanes next season will ensure that only 4 of these 7 teams will be in the playoffs in any given season. You can bet that the yet-to-be-named successor of the Atlantic Division will be the most exciting playoff races that the league has ever seen. Still want to argue this point?

Post-lockout playoff berths by division:

Atlantic – 21

Pacific – 18

Northeast – 17

Central – 16

Northwest – 14

Southeast – 10

Yeah, and for a good chunk of time, there were 8 games each against division opponents. I rest my case.

7) Apparently, some NHL teams read our posts.

Seriously, is there any other explanation for how good Florida has been this year? J

8) The NHL General Managers’ meetings continue to be annoyingly topical.

Everytime these meetings happen, it seems that something noteworthy happens right before, and the GMs spend a disproportionate amount of time discussing the hot topic. Most recently, it was goaltender safety in the wake of the Lucic hit on Ryan Miller. I don’t mind this being discussed, but I’m sure there was an existing agenda, and I’m sure it was somewhat brushed aside in favor of the goaltender issue. Wasn’t something about getting rid of the trapezoid supposed to be discussed…? This happened last year after the Chara/Pacioretty incident as well, and it was equally annoying then. Let Shanahan deal with it, it’s his job, and regardless of how 4/5ths of the Northeast division feel, he’s doing a good job (see below).

9) Realignment is apparently much easier in reality than in theory.

What amazes me is that it took literally under an hour (according to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman) to develop the new realignment plan, vote on it, and pass it. Any of the debate that has occurred since the Atlanta move to Winnipeg move was official seemed to indicate that it would be a messy process with no perfect solution that was fair to everyone. Western teams like Minnesota and Dallas wanted less travel; while Detroit, Columbus and Nashville made it clear that they wanted to make an Eastern move. On top of that, the financial concern of keeping rivalries together had to be addressed. Well, every armchair geographer/hockey fan came up with a solution, and none of them were as good as this. I think if anything, it is mildly unfair to the two Florida teams, but as the new scheduling matrix will encourage much more travel, this will likely level the playing field, since teams will do more traveling regardless of their new conference. The re-inclusion of every team seeing every team at least twice every season (guaranteeing one home and away versus every other team) should keep fans happy as well as create a more travel heavy (but not absurdly heavy) dynamic. Well done, NHL Board of Governors, well done indeed.

10) Brendan Shanahan has the absolute toughest job in hockey.

I don’t envy this man right now. With every decision Shanahan makes as the NHL’s new disciplinarian will most certainly anger at least one group of fans, if not 29. One may not agree with his strict policy and the amount of suspensions he has given, but with every one of his decisions comes a video in which he explains, point-by-point, how he arrived at his decision. What more can you ask? I don’t necessarily agree with the amount of suspensions he hands out, but he certainly backs up his decisions very clearly.

Until next time: Cheers, beers, sake and hockey.