Jagr's Tally, Tuukka's Saves Combine To Bedevil New Jersey
It still kind of feels a little bit like a dream, even two days and one GWG later: Jaromir Jagr is a Boston Bruin. The eighth-leading scorer in NHL history (and Bruins leading goal scorer with 15), who clearly still has something to offer, is here to help the Bs as they try to win their second Cup in three years. Sure, as noted by the usual pissers and moaners, the man is 41 years old. Or as I prefer to look at it: two years younger than Mark Recchi was during the thrilling ‘11 Cup run.
And the hulking Czech paid immediate dividends by tallying the game’s lone goal against his fellow Class of ‘90 draftee Marty Brodeur to give Boston a 1-0 win. It wasn’t one of Jagr’s highlight specials that we’ve seen so many times over the years but it certainly felt like it to the 17,565 inside and the many millions more watching on TV across the continent. Brad Marchand threw a centering pass toward a net-crashing Jagr and the puck deflected through Brodeur’s 5-hole after hitting Jagr’s boot. But it counted and it was great to see a Bruin going hard to the net to make a play. Let’s hope his teammates are paying attention.
Tuukka Rask had a great game and was the best Bruin on the ice for the first 10 minutes of the game to keep it scoreless until Jagr’s strike. He made a handful of big stops as the Bs withstood New Jersey’s 17-6 shot advantage in the first. Rich Peverley missed the ENG by inches, completely dick-teasing puck line bettors in the process.
More importantly, the Bruins won their third game in a row in what is sure to be a dogfight for the East’s top seed. They currently trail the Habs for the division by one point with a game in hand and trail the Pens for the Wales by four points but with two games in hand. Which makes tomorrow night’s game in Montreal this weekend’s ‘must see’ game for Boston sports fans.
A few more buds for your weekend bowl…
*The Bs officially confirmed that Bergeron suffered a ‘moderate’ concussion and understandably gave no timetable or outlook on his return. But it’s worth keeping in mind that he reacted similarly after his last concussion—a throttling hit from Claude Giroux in the ‘11 playoffs. He knew right away it likely happened again and headed right for the bench. He wasn’t knocked out or even wobbly on his skates. Given Bergy’s history though, the Bs won’t have him back out there until he’s 100%. Total guess: he returns during the first round or just prior to the start the first round.
*The shut-out was Tuukka’s third on the year. His 16 wins have him three behind league-leader Niklas Backstrom. His 1.94 is good for third and .927 good for fourth. Anton Khudobin is 8-3 with a 2.07 and .929. That’s a pretty goddamn formidable 1-2 punch.
*A day after it was announced that Jagr was coming to work at the TD Garden, Jagger announced that he’d also be coming to work at the same barn on June 12th. If you’ve never seen the Stones (but have heard the same hacky ‘jokes’ for the last 30+ years), go. There’s nothing like seeing a 69-year-old guy still moistening every panty in the place, owning an audience, and proving why he’s the lead singer for the greatest rock and roll band to ever exist. There’s the Stones. And there’s everybody else.
*Sad to hear the news about Roger Ebert. It’s impossible to over-exaggerate the contributions he made and the revolutionary changes he made to film criticism and how to present it. He could take high-minded art or D-level dreck and make it relatable to Joe 6-pack or a brain surgeon and do it all without an air of pretentiousness. I never set out to write movie reviews but was very happy to on the occasions that I was asked. It was the only type of writing (movie review) where I tried to follow a guy’s M.O. The way he dealt with his many ailments over the last several years was something to admire. He did it with grace and humor and never complained. As a big movie fan and newspaper guy, Roger Ebert was the balls. There wasn’t one before him and there won’t be one after him—a great testament to a life well-lived. Farewell, Roger. You get two-thumbs up, brother.
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