SearchSearch
My Feed!My FeedApp

Montreal Owns The Bruins Yet Again; Tuukka Chased After Giving Up 5-Spot

10/17/2014 2:45 PM

Up 3-2 with two minutes left in the second period last night in Montreal, it looked as if the Bruins were getting things back on track after a shitty start. Just win the third and they’d have a very modest though very welcome two-game winning streak. Instead, that 3-2 cushion morphed into a 4-3 deficit in an ugly 1:25 span before the period ended and the Bs never recovered, losing 6-4 to the Habs in what is starting to become routine all over again.

Like just about every time these two do battle, last night’s affair was a highly entertaining tilt. Long stretches without a whistle. End-to-end action. Lots of goals. Great intensity. The usual drama. After the teams traded goals twice, Loui Eriksson potted a sweet Torey Krug pass (after a nice fake) to give the Bruins the 3-2 lead. Then this happened:

 

 

On the tying goal by Jiri Sekac, Rene Bourque shoved Dennis Seidenberg into Tuukka Rask twice which prevented the goalie from making a save. Fine, if you’re not gonna call Bourque for cross-checking/interference/goalie interference (by proxy) but at least wave the goal off. The opportunity to make a save was taken away because his defenseman was pushed on top of him so it shouldn’t have counted. Alas, it’s Montreal so we knew how the rest would play out.

The Habs made it 5-3 and chased Rask, whose personal House of Horrors is the Bell Center. The numbers don’t lie—he’s been awful up there. Last night, he gave up five goals on 23 shots for a woeful .783 save percentage. I wish I could say this was an anomaly but unfortunately, it’s closer to the norm as of late when it comes to Tuukka in Montreal.

New old guy Simon Gagne made it a one-goal game when he followed up on a Milan Lucic rebound to knock the puck past Carey Price. But before Claude could pull Niklas Svedberg for an extra skater, Lucic was whistled for boarding Alexei Emelin when the defenseman turned toward the glass after Lucic committed to the hit.

 

loochboard

 

A minute later, the Habs sealed it with an ENG and sent the Bruins off to Buffalo with a big, fat L. The own-zone meltdowns are killing them right now. They get caught playing Whack-a-Mole in their end way too much. Their smothering D is missing. And the goalie wasn’t there to bail them out like they’re used to.

Still, these are fixable problems. Adam McQuaid and Dennis Seidenberg will get fully up to NHL speed after lengthy lay-offs. Greg Campbell’s return will give the bottom six more experience and defensive responsibility. Despite last night’s breakdowns, they have been playing better lately. Best to just forget it, move on, and get back to playing the way they did Wednesday in Detroit. Buffalo should be good for what ails them but they won’t win just by showing up. Six games just isn’t enough to start making any grand pronouncements. They’re still a work in progress so let’s see a little more work before fully judging the progress.

A few more buds for your weekend bowl…

*Gagne has certainly been noticeable in his first two games. He’s had a couple of nice scoring chances and Claude has moved him up with Lucic and David Krejci late in games. He should only get better as the rust gradually falls off and may end up becoming a savvy, valuable signing. He obviously doesn’t have the speed he once did but he can still be dangerous in the offensive zone.

*I know Montreal is always a big game but Claude might want to consider given Svedberg a start in the second game of back-to-backs in the future. Starters’ numbers drop in the second game indicating a fresher goalie might be the better call. Svedberg’s play vs. Colorado certainly warranted another look or two.

*Off night for Patrice Bergeron, going just 12-11 at the dot for a 52% clip.

*Lucic, Chris Kelly, and Krejci each had two assists. Kelly and Carl Soderberg are tied for the team lead with 1-3–4 totals.

*Non-Bruins Blog Item of the Week. If you’re looking for a new show, stream the six episode first season (or series) of “Peaky Blinders” on Netflix. It’s reality-based fiction centered around the eponymous gang in 1916 Birmingham, England—sort of a British “Boardwalk Empire”. There are story lines involving fixed races, stolen guns, dirty cops, and the IRA (sounds familiar). It has a pair of great leads in Sam Neill and Cillian Murphy along with a cool, anachronistic soundtrack that works well with the stylized production. Season 2 is currently airing on BBC and will be available on Netflix in November. Good show about something I knew nothing about.

 

*Looch might be hearing from the league for his “You told me you were combing your hair?!?” motions toward the Montreal crowd. I guess one Montreal TV angle had a pretty clear shot in case you weren’t sure from behind. It also gave us this doozie.

 


10/17/2014 2:45 PM