Bruins Mailbag - Rask Placed On IR, Ritchie Waived, Kuhlman/Vladar Recalled, Are The Bruins Soft?

Marina1/16/2020 6:00 PM

First a 3 goal blown lead to the Flyers and a SO loss, then an uninspiring performance against the CBJ after seeing Tuukka Rask get an elbow to the head and concussed, just what is going on the with Bruins and are they SAWFT? I'm here to answer your questions and concerns.

I see this softness being ok for January, this team knows when to turn on the gas. I’m not worried. I see Carlo being the Bruce Hurst of the Bruins... incredibly solid, but never being Roger Clemens. Weird yes, but I love Carlo’s game right now.

Carlo has actually brought some toughness and bite to his game lately which I've appreciated. He didn't quite see Tuukka get the elbow to the head but he was all over Bemstrom the rest of the game.

This team is so fucking frustrating....The lack of secondary scoring and obvious issues with closing out games, not only in regulation, but in OT and shootouts, is 10000% going to bite us (them) in the ass come May. I bleed black and gold, but I had higher hopes of last years team than I do right now... What are your thoughts on the trade deadline, who would your top targets be? Lastly, your blogging on the B’s is by far the best consistent coverage on the site, and you don’t get enough credit for that!! Go Marina go!! Viva!!

Frustrating, yes. Lack of secondary scoring I would agree with usually but against the Flyers they saw guys like Coyle and Heinen and Bjork all chip in. Closing out games, they are big trash at that for sure. No shootouts in the playoffs but not getting those extra points I agree will bite them in the ass as the Lightning and Leafs are starting to creep up.

Elliotte Friedman reported on his podcast 31 Thoughts that the B's have a trade in place for Tyler Toffoli in their hip pocket but Sweeney is still testing the market for other players. I think Kreider is a pipe dream but he'd be great with Krejci. I think Toffoli would be a boost for sure. I think they had 2 MAYBE 3 more kicks at the can and I have no problem going all in. Thank you for the kind words!!!

Are there any notable P-Bruins aside from Kuhlman, Senyshyn and Frederic that deserve a call up?

Paul Carey can play at the NHL level I believe, not sure he's the answer right now though. I would say Cameron Hughes (when healthy) should get a call. But the real answer would be trying Jack Studnicka at 3C and seeing if Coyle can stay as 2RW with Krejci and DeBrusk (if B's don't make a move). They are kind of running out of time to try and change up the lines as their lead in the Atlantic is dwindling. I would for sure try to put Kuhlman back with Krejci, that's my first call up. Is he 100% though? Up to speed in the NHL game? We'll see.

How do you feel about the Bruins putting Brett Ritchie on waivers despite being undefeated when he scores?

We're half way through the season and he's scored 2 goals. That means 2 wins. So. You do the math. I actually thought he'd been playing better as of late but it was time to shake things up.

What is your biggest concern heading into Feb-March? will they burn out? Also, what is your biggest concern for the playoffs?

For me it depends on how long Rask is out. We saw last year Jaro step up when Tuuks got concussed but Jaro hasn't been playing confidently lately. Biggest concern for playoff is that 2RW spot.

How does not one fucking person stick up for Tuks?

Carlo said he just flat out didn't see what happened. Said the refs told him it was an errant stick (what the fuck are they watching?) Nordstrom tried to fight him. I think it was just a little too late. If you see your goalie down you absolute take a number and try and get them back but obviously Bemstrom didn't bite. But I still think they could have done more.

Marina - RA captured it in his blog yesterday but we’ve seen this twice recently, whether on purpose or not with Rask, and McAvoy getting clobbered by Oshie a few weeks ago, which could have been disastrous. It feels like the book is out on the B’s being soft with no response (and don’t say they tried to respond Tues night). I mean jump the guy, rag doll him a la Shawn Thornton on Orpik. That’s what is needed and they refuse to do it. So how do they move forward without being seen as soft as dog poo? And don’t even get me started on STL pushing them around in cup finals.

Also, how long before Kuhlman is back in the lineup? Seems like he’s starting to get it together down in PVD.

Thanks and keep up the great work! VIVA!

100% agree with RA, take a penalty do fucking something. But the Bruins haven't been the Big Bad Bruins for a long time. Chara's jaw doesn't seem 100% and he shouldn't be the one fighting, Kevan Miller has been out of the lineup. Ritchie you thought would be that big body who could stick up for guys from time to time. But this team just doesn't have those type of players anymore. I'm not clamoring for them to get an enforcer whatsoever. All I want for them to win hockey games but it was uninspiring to say the least that there was no response to Rask getting dinged. They move forward without being seen as soft by putting up goals and making teams pay on the scoreboard. Unfortunately they didn't do that Tuesday night in CBJ. We'll see if they respond vs. Pittsburgh tonight.

As for Kuhlman, it seems he's heading up to Boston. I wouldn't hate seeing Frederic for a few games. They need to do SOMETHING to inject some life, some energy back into this team after a tough week. Anton Blidh was recalled the other day, he's another guy that can bang some bodies around and get under other player's skins.

Do you think this team mirrors the Patriots team way to much. Extremely hot start but you could see the flaws in the team but the competition wasn’t good enough or hadn’t figured out how to beat the team. Also. As constructed. One top line thats reliant on PP with very little consistency from rest of team is not going to go deep in playoffs

The B's were banking points earlier while not playing their best hockey. I agree they need the secondary scoring to go deep again as we saw last year. But I think the key piece is that 2RW. It'll make them stronger to roll all 4 lines. I think everyone goes through ups and downs as it's such a long season. They just gotta plow through.

News, notes and quotes:

- Official: Karson Kuhlman recalled, Tuukka Rask to IR and Dan Vladar has been recalled from Providence on emergency basis.

- David Krejci is a game time decision tonight, Jaro Halak in net. That's 3 straight games-ish for Halak.

- Brett Ritchie has cleared waivers and will be assigned to Providence.

It's a great night to win a hockey game. (plz)