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Post by MrHulot on Jan 12, 2024 6:38:32 GMT
The Bruins still have the least amount of regulation losses in the league. They are not going to go quietly into that gentle night when the playoffs roll around. This is a tough road trip and they have held their own. They've had some bad luck and bad luck has a way of turning around into good fortune. They don't need the President's trophy it's worthless. The regular season is just a formality. I have faith in my Bruins and I think they are going to be just fine.
I don't think Zacha can be that guy, and IMHO he seems to be too indifferent to be a real Bruin, sorry.
JDB is another forward who should increase his production, but he generally doesn't look like a top-of-the-line goal scorer to me.
Marchand is too inconsistent this season without his ice twin #37.
Everybody else, like CC, JVR, Freddy, The Geek, Poitras or Heinen, while all doing a marvelous job so far, probably doesn't have a high enough ceiling in regards to scoring goals.
As I have posted before, I don't agree that the most glaring need for the Bruins is a defenseman - it's a forward who can put the puck in the net on a very regular basis to take the heat of Pastrnak (and also present an alternative on the PP even Montgomery wouldn't overlook). |
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Post by MrHulot on Jan 12, 2024 6:45:28 GMT
The Vagina Knights were pampered and helped along by the NHL so that the new expansion team would help revitalize hockey in North America.They almost won the cup in their first year and sure enough they eventually did 5 years later. They did the same for the Flyers in 74/75. Meanwhile the Bruins have suffered through so many heartbreaking playoff losses. They deserved better.
I like the Broadstreet Bullies a lot more than, for instance, the eternally Quebecois-draft pampered Shabs.
But the Knights are very close to being despised by me, just like the Tampons. |
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Post by Lord Markwart on Jan 12, 2024 7:56:05 GMT
Vegas not nearly as good as the Avs.
Pasta and March played like they were at the Blackjack table all night. The winning goal was plain old lazy, primadonna, play by Pasta. It was so bad that I would call it a high school hockey mistake.
Geekie kinda sucked too. He needs to score on a gift given to him. Big let down tonight.
Officials sucked it bad again. 3 calls that were not penalties against the Bruins. 4 if you count the Macavoy dive.
Heinen needs to stop reaching for the puck and keep skating. He is inviting these tricky tack penalties that are being called on him.
Impressed with Wotherspoon so far. I like Lohrie but he has been prone to the major gaffe with an errant pass or falling down, etc...Freddie and Jake were good again.
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Post by nitelite on Jan 12, 2024 11:40:16 GMT
The Vagina Knights were pampered and helped along by the NHL so that the new expansion team would help revitalize hockey in North America.They almost won the cup in their first year and sure enough they eventually did 5 years later. They did the same for the Flyers in 74/75. Meanwhile the Bruins have suffered through so many heartbreaking playoff losses. They deserved better.
I like the Broadstreet Bullies a lot more than, for instance, the eternally Quebecois-draft pampered Shabs.
But the Knights are very close to being despised by me, just like the Tampons. PARENT! You think that's all they got from Boston? Reggie Leach, Rick McLeish, Gary Dornhoffer to name a few! Reggie Leetch won a Conn Smythe in a losing cause & set & holds a playoff record for playoff goals with 19! Would've been nice to have him around for a few playoffs! |
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Post by sandogbrewin on Jan 12, 2024 12:47:04 GMT
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Post by thanx4memORRies on Jan 12, 2024 13:12:08 GMT
On many a night, those wins stolen by the B’S dynamic duo (which is basically the lion’s share of B’S wins) wouldn’t even stand a chance to be stolen if not for Pasta….
Sadly Pasta is the only dangerous B’S player and this will be even more evident come the Spring….
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Post by dannycater on Jan 12, 2024 14:14:08 GMT
Unlike many here I think that the B's most dire need is not a defenseman, but another prolific goal scoring forward.
Pastrnak is a talented player who can win you games all by himself, but he is not the ultra-consistent type who can carry that load for a whole season and the playoffs.
He strikes me as a kid who likes to have fun but can also be very moody.
When he's off his game, as in the last three outings, it has devastating consequences for the B's.
Plus it's very easy for opposing teams to focus on what almost amounts to the "lone gunman" on the Bruins roster.
If it didn't reek of desperation, I'd look into re-acquiring Dollar Phil, but I think he's done, or Popsicle Pete, who's way too expensive now and not worth the money.
So who else is available and would make sense?
I have pointed out before that I'm not a fan of Leon D, and the likelihood of Edmonton willing to part with Mr. Surly is probably zero.
I also feel has to be a faceoff winning, scoring center...more specifically...I think that's more important than a d guy, agreed on that 100 percent. |
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Post by Fletcher on Jan 12, 2024 14:50:59 GMT
On many a night, those wins stolen by the B’S dynamic duo (which is basically the lion’s share of B’S wins) wouldn’t even stand a chance to be stolen if not for Pasta…. Sadly Pasta is the only dangerous B’S player and this will be even more evident come the Spring…. I don't mind Pasta taking some OT risks, but that was a particularly lazy and poorly executed one. He can't just poke check at that while giving up his defensive coverage. He needs to put a body into him there, or at least a heavy stick check, so they can't just continue skating right around him unimpeded. Then of course, is the lack of communication with Marchand -- you can only have one 'forechecker' there. When Pasta goes after the puck, Marchand would have to cover the other attacking player. Both of them look like they're playing drop-in hockey, waiting for their breakaway. Way to kick Swayman in the nuts. |
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Post by dannycater on Jan 12, 2024 15:54:52 GMT
On many a night, those wins stolen by the B’S dynamic duo (which is basically the lion’s share of B’S wins) wouldn’t even stand a chance to be stolen if not for Pasta…. Sadly Pasta is the only dangerous B’S player and this will be even more evident come the Spring…. I don't mind Pasta taking some OT risks, but that was a particularly lazy and poorly executed one. He can't just poke check at that while giving up his defensive coverage. He needs to put a body into him there, or at least a heavy stick check, so they can't just continue skating right around him unimpeded. Then of course, is the lack of communication with Marchand -- you can only have one 'forechecker' there. When Pasta goes after the puck, Marchand would have to cover the other attacking player. Both of them look like they're playing drop-in hockey, waiting for their breakaway. Way to kick Swayman in the nuts. Sway looked right in the direction of Pasta and basically shook his head...when the most upbeat guy on Earth is doing that, then you know how badly 88 fucked up. And El Capitan for whatever reason has had shit chemistry with his former Perfection Line teammate. Why these 2 are so disconnected this year...it's bizarre |
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Post by 50belowzero on Jan 12, 2024 16:00:35 GMT
I don't mind Pasta taking some OT risks, but that was a particularly lazy and poorly executed one. He can't just poke check at that while giving up his defensive coverage. He needs to put a body into him there, or at least a heavy stick check, so they can't just continue skating right around him unimpeded. Then of course, is the lack of communication with Marchand -- you can only have one 'forechecker' there. When Pasta goes after the puck, Marchand would have to cover the other attacking player. Both of them look like they're playing drop-in hockey, waiting for their breakaway. Way to kick Swayman in the nuts. Sway looked right in the direction of Pasta and basically shook his head...when the most upbeat guy on Earth is doing that, then you know how badly 88 fucked up. And El Capitan for whatever reason has had shit chemistry with his former Perfection Line teammate. Why these 2 are so disconnected this year...it's bizarre Jeremy was shaking his head because he still couldn't believe Pasta didn't hold with an Ace eight combo at the blackjack table earlier that morning. |
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Post by thanx4memORRies on Jan 12, 2024 16:05:45 GMT
On many a night, those wins stolen by the B’S dynamic duo (which is basically the lion’s share of B’S wins) wouldn’t even stand a chance to be stolen if not for Pasta…. Sadly Pasta is the only dangerous B’S player and this will be even more evident come the Spring…. I don't mind Pasta taking some OT risks, but that was a particularly lazy and poorly executed one. He can't just poke check at that while giving up his defensive coverage. He needs to put a body into him there, or at least a heavy stick check, so they can't just continue skating right around him unimpeded. Then of course, is the lack of communication with Marchand -- you can only have one 'forechecker' there. When Pasta goes after the puck, Marchand would have to cover the other attacking player. Both of them look like they're playing drop-in hockey, waiting for their breakaway. Way to kick Swayman in the nuts. 3 on 3 is pond hockey and you’re not going to witness much defense being played…. Pasta will never be mistaken for Bob Gainey but then again that’s not the reason he’s out there…. Especially not when there’s that much ice to cover…. |
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Post by 50belowzero on Jan 12, 2024 16:09:03 GMT
I don't mind Pasta taking some OT risks, but that was a particularly lazy and poorly executed one. He can't just poke check at that while giving up his defensive coverage. He needs to put a body into him there, or at least a heavy stick check, so they can't just continue skating right around him unimpeded. Then of course, is the lack of communication with Marchand -- you can only have one 'forechecker' there. When Pasta goes after the puck, Marchand would have to cover the other attacking player. Both of them look like they're playing drop-in hockey, waiting for their breakaway. Way to kick Swayman in the nuts. 3 on 3 is pond hockey and you’re not going to witness much defense being played…. Pasta will never be mistaken for Bob Gainey Patrice Bergeron but then again that’s not the reason he’s out there…. Especially not when there’s that much ice to cover…. Tidied that up for you. |
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Post by thanx4memORRies on Jan 12, 2024 16:20:34 GMT
3 on 3 is pond hockey and you’re not going to witness much defense being played…. Pasta will never be mistaken for Bob Gainey Patrice Bergeron but then again that’s not the reason he’s out there…. Especially not when there’s that much ice to cover…. Tidied that up for you. Was going winger for winger but that works out also…. But then again, Gainey probably wouldn’t be out there trying to win the extra point…. |
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Post by 50belowzero on Jan 12, 2024 16:22:26 GMT
Was going winger for winger but that works out also…. I prefer not using any Scabs as an example of something good. |
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Post by thanx4memORRies on Jan 12, 2024 16:26:19 GMT
Was going winger for winger but that works out also…. I prefer not using any Scabs as an example of something good. Understand but although those 70s Shabs teams caused me so much pain I have nothing but respect for that dynasty…. |
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Post by bookboy007 on Jan 12, 2024 16:49:06 GMT
Ah, it must be close to All Star break, when the winter fully sets in and Bruins fans start pining for a snipah.
Watching these games, these losses - because they are losses whether you get the loser point in a gimmick or not, I'd say three things relevant to the question of acquiring a sniper.
1. Colorado is loaded with Snipers. MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin are all top 15 in the league with 21 plus in under 40 games. Makar, Johanssen is a former 30 plus guy, and they have high skill guys like Drouin who may suck at other things, but you can't say they don't have puck skills. Arizona has a bunch of players drafted top 20 for their offensive skills - Keller, Crouse, Schmaltz, Bjugstad. Many may be finally realizing that potential very late, but they have skill. Vegas is the defending champ. Their first goal was scored by a guy some people thought was possibly worth drafting ahead of McDavid. Not many. Some. They may be diminished by injury right now but they're still a very good, talented, big and well coached team. Colorado and Vegas are top 3 contenders to come out of the west. None of these teams could beat the Bruins at 5 on 5 hockey.
2. The Bruins top three goal scorers - Pastrnak (25), Marchand (17) and Coyle (14) have 56 goals. Edmonton's top 3 have 61. Delta of 5 goals in half a season. Colorado is 65. Florida 63. Toronto is probably the top of the list with 71 because Matthews and Nylander have had hot starts. Vancouver's got 68. But Winnipeg's got 46. Rangers have 60. Dallas 49. LA 47. So in terms of the top teams in the standings, the Bruins are solidly in the middle of the pack in what they get from their top snipers. Colorado's next 3 have 29. Toronto 30. Vancouver 34. Rangers 31. Florida 27. Bruins? 30. So looking at the roster and the production from the top six, the Bruins are squarely competitive with the top competition in the league.
3. The primary reason the Bruins have lost so many 3 on 3 games this year? Possession. In at least half of these losses, we've seen the Bruins goalie make as many good saves in 3 on 3 as the opponent, or rather, we've seen the opponent fail to score on great chances at least as often as the Bruins have. But what stands out is that they dominate the puck and keep trying until they succeed. Boston seems unable to win faceoffs in OT, and when they do, they seem unable to make possession plays. This lines up with one of the primary reasons they have had trouble scoring the last couple of games - a real lack of precision in their passing and puck management.
They don't need a "snipah!" They have one, maybe two already. When your snipers don't score on glorious chances, like Pastrnak on repeated breakaways this week, it doesn't matter how many of them you have. If you don't have the puck and can't get it back, a sniper is useless. If they start scoring on those chances, we're not talking about another sniper...well, we are, but it's the usual background noise of Bruins fans wanting a roster like the 71-72 team or the late 70s teams where they had all sort of guys who could score goals. But I think from a personnel standpoint, their biggest need remains a C who can win 52%+ at the dot reliably.
Now look at who is good at the dot and also scores in any reliable fashion - even just 17 points at this point of the season - and plays more than 4th line minutes. McLeod in Jersey. Trochek in NT. Tavares, Crosby, Schwartz in Seattle. Draisaitl. Kopitar. Duchene. Hertl. See a pattern? The cheapest guy on that list is also the guy who is most likely to be injured - Schwartz at $5.5M. In the list this creates, there are maybe three possibilities - Monahan in Montreal has top 15 faceoff skills and second line scoring numbers with a sub $2M contract. JG Pageau is over 55% but just barely makes the cut 17 points; he's best as a third line C and still has two more years at $5M. Henrique is having a good season and is near 54% with Anaheim. He's on an expiring deal. But he's also a hair above Zacha, so not sure how much incremental value he brings.
The Bruins have played 41 games. Double everyone's current goal total and Freddy has 24, Marchand 34, Pasta 50, Coyle 28, Debrusk and Zacha 18, Geekie 16, and JVR 14. Frankly, I think there's some room for those numbers to improve in the middle of the roster. I think Debrusk is recovering from a slow start and has a shot to hit 25 with a good second half. I think Zacha can go over 20 if he shoots the goddamn puck. I think Geekie has earned a chance to stay higher in the lineup and if he does, I can see him hitting 20 (he has 6 and 15 points in his last 19 games, playing 16:21 a night - that would be over 60 points and 24 goals over a full 82). I'm not sure what to think of JVR at this point, and maybe they're conserving him for the playoffs? I'm not sure what to think of Pooter given how Montgomery has handled him lately. He's still a 0.50 points/game guy, but hasn't had a goal since Nov 27th. He's better than that.
Long story short, I think scoring alone isn't the issue and if they go swinging for some kind of one dimensional shooter, it will be a huge mistake.
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Post by dannycater on Jan 12, 2024 16:53:55 GMT
Ah, it must be close to All Star break, when the winter fully sets in and Bruins fans start pining for a snipah. Watching these games, these losses - because they are losses whether you get the loser point in a gimmick or not, I'd say three things relevant to the question of acquiring a sniper. 1. Colorado is loaded with Snipers. MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin are all top 15 in the league with 21 plus in under 40 games. Makar, Johanssen is a former 30 plus guy, and they have high skill guys like Drouin who may suck at other things, but you can't say they don't have puck skills. Arizona has a bunch of players drafted top 20 for their offensive skills - Keller, Crouse, Schmaltz, Bjugstad. Many may be finally realizing that potential very late, but they have skill. Vegas is the defending champ. Their first goal was scored by a guy some people thought was possibly worth drafting ahead of McDavid. Not many. Some. They may be diminished by injury right now but they're still a very good, talented, big and well coached team. Colorado and Vegas are top 3 contenders to come out of the west. None of these teams could beat the Bruins at 5 on 5 hockey. 2. The Bruins top three goal scorers - Pastrnak (25), Marchand (17) and Coyle (14) have 56 goals. Edmonton's top 3 have 61. Delta of 5 goals in half a season. Colorado is 65. Florida 63. Toronto is probably the top of the list with 71 because Matthews and Nylander have had hot starts. Vancouver's got 68. But Winnipeg's got 46. Rangers have 60. Dallas 49. LA 47. So in terms of the top teams in the standings, the Bruins are solidly in the middle of the pack in what they get from their top snipers. Colorado's next 3 have 29. Toronto 30. Vancouver 34. Rangers 31. Florida 27. Bruins? 30. So looking at the roster and the production from the top six, the Bruins are squarely competitive with the top competition in the league. 3. The primary reason the Bruins have lost so many 3 on 3 games this year? Possession. In at least half of these losses, we've seen the Bruins goalie make as many good saves in 3 on 3 as the opponent, or rather, we've seen the opponent fail to score on great chances at least as often as the Bruins have. But what stands out is that they dominate the puck and keep trying until they succeed. Boston seems unable to win faceoffs in OT, and when they do, they seem unable to make possession plays. This lines up with one of the primary reasons they have had trouble scoring the last couple of games - a real lack of precision in their passing and puck management. They don't need a "snipah!" They have one, maybe two already. When your snipers don't score on glorious chances, like Pastrnak on repeated breakaways this week, it doesn't matter how many of them you have. If you don't have the puck and can't get it back, a sniper is useless. If they start scoring on those chances, we're not talking about another sniper...well, we are, but it's the usual background noise of Bruins fans wanting a roster like the 71-72 team or the late 70s teams where they had all sort of guys who could score goals. But I think from a personnel standpoint, their biggest need remains a C who can win 52%+ at the dot reliably. Now look at who is good at the dot and also scores in any reliable fashion - even just 17 points at this point of the season - and plays more than 4th line minutes. McLeod in Jersey. Trochek in NT. Tavares, Crosby, Schwartz in Seattle. Draisaitl. Kopitar. Duchene. Hertl. See a pattern? The cheapest guy on that list is also the guy who is most likely to be injured - Schwartz at $5.5M. In the list this creates, there are maybe three possibilities - Monahan in Montreal has top 15 faceoff skills and second line scoring numbers with a sub $2M contract. JG Pageau is over 55% but just barely makes the cut 17 points; he's best as a third line C and still has two more years at $5M. Henrique is having a good season and is near 54% with Anaheim. He's on an expiring deal. But he's also a hair above Zacha, so not sure how much incremental value he brings. The Bruins have played 41 games. Double everyone's current goal total and Freddy has 24, Marchand 34, Pasta 50, Coyle 28, Debrusk and Zacha 18, Geekie 16, and JVR 14. Frankly, I think there's some room for those numbers to improve in the middle of the roster. I think Debrusk is recovering from a slow start and has a shot to hit 25 with a good second half. I think Zacha can go over 20 if he shoots the goddamn puck. I think Geekie has earned a chance to stay higher in the lineup and if he does, I can see him hitting 20 (he has 6 and 15 points in his last 19 games, playing 16:21 a night - that would be over 60 points and 24 goals over a full 82). I'm not sure what to think of JVR at this point, and maybe they're conserving him for the playoffs? I'm not sure what to think of Pooter given how Montgomery has handled him lately. He's still a 0.50 points/game guy, but hasn't had a goal since Nov 27th. He's better than that. Long story short, I think scoring alone isn't the issue and if they go swinging for some kind of one dimensional shooter, it will be a huge mistake. that's why you go for 3-dimensional, but offense has to be a key in that equation, the others faceoffs and faceoffs, and faceoffs...okay, so 4-dimensional |
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Post by davinator on Jan 12, 2024 17:32:54 GMT
In OT you're most likely going to lose possession of the puck at some point, regardless of faceoff win % so this means that each player thrown out there has to be able to defend without the puck...Pasta has struggled defending in OTs lately and I don't know if that's defense strategy or not keeping the shifts short or whatever. Getting a center with a good faceoff% is the way to go to get the play started the right way(at all times of the game), but the team has to defend better in those situations in OT.
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Post by socca10 on Jan 12, 2024 17:44:56 GMT
Ah, it must be close to All Star break, when the winter fully sets in and Bruins fans start pining for a snipah. Watching these games, these losses - because they are losses whether you get the loser point in a gimmick or not, I'd say three things relevant to the question of acquiring a sniper. 1. Colorado is loaded with Snipers. MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin are all top 15 in the league with 21 plus in under 40 games. Makar, Johanssen is a former 30 plus guy, and they have high skill guys like Drouin who may suck at other things, but you can't say they don't have puck skills. Arizona has a bunch of players drafted top 20 for their offensive skills - Keller, Crouse, Schmaltz, Bjugstad. Many may be finally realizing that potential very late, but they have skill. Vegas is the defending champ. Their first goal was scored by a guy some people thought was possibly worth drafting ahead of McDavid. Not many. Some. They may be diminished by injury right now but they're still a very good, talented, big and well coached team. Colorado and Vegas are top 3 contenders to come out of the west. None of these teams could beat the Bruins at 5 on 5 hockey. 2. The Bruins top three goal scorers - Pastrnak (25), Marchand (17) and Coyle (14) have 56 goals. Edmonton's top 3 have 61. Delta of 5 goals in half a season. Colorado is 65. Florida 63. Toronto is probably the top of the list with 71 because Matthews and Nylander have had hot starts. Vancouver's got 68. But Winnipeg's got 46. Rangers have 60. Dallas 49. LA 47. So in terms of the top teams in the standings, the Bruins are solidly in the middle of the pack in what they get from their top snipers. Colorado's next 3 have 29. Toronto 30. Vancouver 34. Rangers 31. Florida 27. Bruins? 30. So looking at the roster and the production from the top six, the Bruins are squarely competitive with the top competition in the league. 3. The primary reason the Bruins have lost so many 3 on 3 games this year? Possession. In at least half of these losses, we've seen the Bruins goalie make as many good saves in 3 on 3 as the opponent, or rather, we've seen the opponent fail to score on great chances at least as often as the Bruins have. But what stands out is that they dominate the puck and keep trying until they succeed. Boston seems unable to win faceoffs in OT, and when they do, they seem unable to make possession plays. This lines up with one of the primary reasons they have had trouble scoring the last couple of games - a real lack of precision in their passing and puck management. They don't need a "snipah!" They have one, maybe two already. When your snipers don't score on glorious chances, like Pastrnak on repeated breakaways this week, it doesn't matter how many of them you have. If you don't have the puck and can't get it back, a sniper is useless. If they start scoring on those chances, we're not talking about another sniper...well, we are, but it's the usual background noise of Bruins fans wanting a roster like the 71-72 team or the late 70s teams where they had all sort of guys who could score goals. But I think from a personnel standpoint, their biggest need remains a C who can win 52%+ at the dot reliably. Now look at who is good at the dot and also scores in any reliable fashion - even just 17 points at this point of the season - and plays more than 4th line minutes. McLeod in Jersey. Trochek in NT. Tavares, Crosby, Schwartz in Seattle. Draisaitl. Kopitar. Duchene. Hertl. See a pattern? The cheapest guy on that list is also the guy who is most likely to be injured - Schwartz at $5.5M. In the list this creates, there are maybe three possibilities - Monahan in Montreal has top 15 faceoff skills and second line scoring numbers with a sub $2M contract. JG Pageau is over 55% but just barely makes the cut 17 points; he's best as a third line C and still has two more years at $5M. Henrique is having a good season and is near 54% with Anaheim. He's on an expiring deal. But he's also a hair above Zacha, so not sure how much incremental value he brings. The Bruins have played 41 games. Double everyone's current goal total and Freddy has 24, Marchand 34, Pasta 50, Coyle 28, Debrusk and Zacha 18, Geekie 16, and JVR 14. Frankly, I think there's some room for those numbers to improve in the middle of the roster. I think Debrusk is recovering from a slow start and has a shot to hit 25 with a good second half. I think Zacha can go over 20 if he shoots the goddamn puck. I think Geekie has earned a chance to stay higher in the lineup and if he does, I can see him hitting 20 (he has 6 and 15 points in his last 19 games, playing 16:21 a night - that would be over 60 points and 24 goals over a full 82). I'm not sure what to think of JVR at this point, and maybe they're conserving him for the playoffs? I'm not sure what to think of Pooter given how Montgomery has handled him lately. He's still a 0.50 points/game guy, but hasn't had a goal since Nov 27th. He's better than that. Long story short, I think scoring alone isn't the issue and if they go swinging for some kind of one dimensional shooter, it will be a huge mistake. Whether in OT or 5v5, the Bruins are drastically worse this year at puck possession. Which totally makes sense given the two top centermen who retired. Unless Bergy is going to un-retire at the deadline, I still say their top need by far is a #1 center. As you say, that's not an easy commodity to pick up. |
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Post by thanx4memORRies on Jan 12, 2024 17:57:56 GMT
Ah, it must be close to All Star break, when the winter fully sets in and Bruins fans start pining for a snipah. Watching these games, these losses - because they are losses whether you get the loser point in a gimmick or not, I'd say three things relevant to the question of acquiring a sniper. 1. Colorado is loaded with Snipers. MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin are all top 15 in the league with 21 plus in under 40 games. Makar, Johanssen is a former 30 plus guy, and they have high skill guys like Drouin who may suck at other things, but you can't say they don't have puck skills. Arizona has a bunch of players drafted top 20 for their offensive skills - Keller, Crouse, Schmaltz, Bjugstad. Many may be finally realizing that potential very late, but they have skill. Vegas is the defending champ. Their first goal was scored by a guy some people thought was possibly worth drafting ahead of McDavid. Not many. Some. They may be diminished by injury right now but they're still a very good, talented, big and well coached team. Colorado and Vegas are top 3 contenders to come out of the west. None of these teams could beat the Bruins at 5 on 5 hockey. 2. The Bruins top three goal scorers - Pastrnak (25), Marchand (17) and Coyle (14) have 56 goals. Edmonton's top 3 have 61. Delta of 5 goals in half a season. Colorado is 65. Florida 63. Toronto is probably the top of the list with 71 because Matthews and Nylander have had hot starts. Vancouver's got 68. But Winnipeg's got 46. Rangers have 60. Dallas 49. LA 47. So in terms of the top teams in the standings, the Bruins are solidly in the middle of the pack in what they get from their top snipers. Colorado's next 3 have 29. Toronto 30. Vancouver 34. Rangers 31. Florida 27. Bruins? 30. So looking at the roster and the production from the top six, the Bruins are squarely competitive with the top competition in the league. 3. The primary reason the Bruins have lost so many 3 on 3 games this year? Possession. In at least half of these losses, we've seen the Bruins goalie make as many good saves in 3 on 3 as the opponent, or rather, we've seen the opponent fail to score on great chances at least as often as the Bruins have. But what stands out is that they dominate the puck and keep trying until they succeed. Boston seems unable to win faceoffs in OT, and when they do, they seem unable to make possession plays. This lines up with one of the primary reasons they have had trouble scoring the last couple of games - a real lack of precision in their passing and puck management. They don't need a "snipah!" They have one, maybe two already. When your snipers don't score on glorious chances, like Pastrnak on repeated breakaways this week, it doesn't matter how many of them you have. If you don't have the puck and can't get it back, a sniper is useless. If they start scoring on those chances, we're not talking about another sniper...well, we are, but it's the usual background noise of Bruins fans wanting a roster like the 71-72 team or the late 70s teams where they had all sort of guys who could score goals. But I think from a personnel standpoint, their biggest need remains a C who can win 52%+ at the dot reliably. Now look at who is good at the dot and also scores in any reliable fashion - even just 17 points at this point of the season - and plays more than 4th line minutes. McLeod in Jersey. Trochek in NT. Tavares, Crosby, Schwartz in Seattle. Draisaitl. Kopitar. Duchene. Hertl. See a pattern? The cheapest guy on that list is also the guy who is most likely to be injured - Schwartz at $5.5M. In the list this creates, there are maybe three possibilities - Monahan in Montreal has top 15 faceoff skills and second line scoring numbers with a sub $2M contract. JG Pageau is over 55% but just barely makes the cut 17 points; he's best as a third line C and still has two more years at $5M. Henrique is having a good season and is near 54% with Anaheim. He's on an expiring deal. But he's also a hair above Zacha, so not sure how much incremental value he brings. The Bruins have played 41 games. Double everyone's current goal total and Freddy has 24, Marchand 34, Pasta 50, Coyle 28, Debrusk and Zacha 18, Geekie 16, and JVR 14. Frankly, I think there's some room for those numbers to improve in the middle of the roster. I think Debrusk is recovering from a slow start and has a shot to hit 25 with a good second half. I think Zacha can go over 20 if he shoots the goddamn puck. I think Geekie has earned a chance to stay higher in the lineup and if he does, I can see him hitting 20 (he has 6 and 15 points in his last 19 games, playing 16:21 a night - that would be over 60 points and 24 goals over a full 82). I'm not sure what to think of JVR at this point, and maybe they're conserving him for the playoffs? I'm not sure what to think of Pooter given how Montgomery has handled him lately. He's still a 0.50 points/game guy, but hasn't had a goal since Nov 27th. He's better than that. Long story short, I think scoring alone isn't the issue and if they go swinging for some kind of one dimensional shooter, it will be a huge mistake. Ok Alfred, and how much will that murderers row of “snipahs” score when playoff hockey comes around?…. Maybe it’s not exactly a “snipah” that the B’S are in need of but certainly a meaningful upgrade on offense needs to be made if the B’S are to make it past April…. |
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Post by bookboy007 on Jan 12, 2024 18:44:26 GMT
Ah, it must be close to All Star break, when the winter fully sets in and Bruins fans start pining for a snipah. Watching these games, these losses - because they are losses whether you get the loser point in a gimmick or not, I'd say three things relevant to the question of acquiring a sniper. 1. Colorado is loaded with Snipers. MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin are all top 15 in the league with 21 plus in under 40 games. Makar, Johanssen is a former 30 plus guy, and they have high skill guys like Drouin who may suck at other things, but you can't say they don't have puck skills. Arizona has a bunch of players drafted top 20 for their offensive skills - Keller, Crouse, Schmaltz, Bjugstad. Many may be finally realizing that potential very late, but they have skill. Vegas is the defending champ. Their first goal was scored by a guy some people thought was possibly worth drafting ahead of McDavid. Not many. Some. They may be diminished by injury right now but they're still a very good, talented, big and well coached team. Colorado and Vegas are top 3 contenders to come out of the west. None of these teams could beat the Bruins at 5 on 5 hockey. 2. The Bruins top three goal scorers - Pastrnak (25), Marchand (17) and Coyle (14) have 56 goals. Edmonton's top 3 have 61. Delta of 5 goals in half a season. Colorado is 65. Florida 63. Toronto is probably the top of the list with 71 because Matthews and Nylander have had hot starts. Vancouver's got 68. But Winnipeg's got 46. Rangers have 60. Dallas 49. LA 47. So in terms of the top teams in the standings, the Bruins are solidly in the middle of the pack in what they get from their top snipers. Colorado's next 3 have 29. Toronto 30. Vancouver 34. Rangers 31. Florida 27. Bruins? 30. So looking at the roster and the production from the top six, the Bruins are squarely competitive with the top competition in the league. 3. The primary reason the Bruins have lost so many 3 on 3 games this year? Possession. In at least half of these losses, we've seen the Bruins goalie make as many good saves in 3 on 3 as the opponent, or rather, we've seen the opponent fail to score on great chances at least as often as the Bruins have. But what stands out is that they dominate the puck and keep trying until they succeed. Boston seems unable to win faceoffs in OT, and when they do, they seem unable to make possession plays. This lines up with one of the primary reasons they have had trouble scoring the last couple of games - a real lack of precision in their passing and puck management. They don't need a "snipah!" They have one, maybe two already. When your snipers don't score on glorious chances, like Pastrnak on repeated breakaways this week, it doesn't matter how many of them you have. If you don't have the puck and can't get it back, a sniper is useless. If they start scoring on those chances, we're not talking about another sniper...well, we are, but it's the usual background noise of Bruins fans wanting a roster like the 71-72 team or the late 70s teams where they had all sort of guys who could score goals. But I think from a personnel standpoint, their biggest need remains a C who can win 52%+ at the dot reliably. Now look at who is good at the dot and also scores in any reliable fashion - even just 17 points at this point of the season - and plays more than 4th line minutes. McLeod in Jersey. Trochek in NT. Tavares, Crosby, Schwartz in Seattle. Draisaitl. Kopitar. Duchene. Hertl. See a pattern? The cheapest guy on that list is also the guy who is most likely to be injured - Schwartz at $5.5M. In the list this creates, there are maybe three possibilities - Monahan in Montreal has top 15 faceoff skills and second line scoring numbers with a sub $2M contract. JG Pageau is over 55% but just barely makes the cut 17 points; he's best as a third line C and still has two more years at $5M. Henrique is having a good season and is near 54% with Anaheim. He's on an expiring deal. But he's also a hair above Zacha, so not sure how much incremental value he brings. The Bruins have played 41 games. Double everyone's current goal total and Freddy has 24, Marchand 34, Pasta 50, Coyle 28, Debrusk and Zacha 18, Geekie 16, and JVR 14. Frankly, I think there's some room for those numbers to improve in the middle of the roster. I think Debrusk is recovering from a slow start and has a shot to hit 25 with a good second half. I think Zacha can go over 20 if he shoots the goddamn puck. I think Geekie has earned a chance to stay higher in the lineup and if he does, I can see him hitting 20 (he has 6 and 15 points in his last 19 games, playing 16:21 a night - that would be over 60 points and 24 goals over a full 82). I'm not sure what to think of JVR at this point, and maybe they're conserving him for the playoffs? I'm not sure what to think of Pooter given how Montgomery has handled him lately. He's still a 0.50 points/game guy, but hasn't had a goal since Nov 27th. He's better than that. Long story short, I think scoring alone isn't the issue and if they go swinging for some kind of one dimensional shooter, it will be a huge mistake. Ok Alfred, and how much will that murderers row of “snipahs” score when playoff hockey comes around?…. Maybe it’s not exactly a “snipah” that the B’S are in need of but certainly a meaningful upgrade on offense needs to be made if the B’S are to make it past April…. Do I look like Karnac the Magnificent? I mean, sure, I'm magnificent.... |
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Post by fiberglassmask on Jan 12, 2024 19:06:08 GMT
Unlike many here I think that the B's most dire need is not a defenseman, but another prolific goal scoring forward.
Pastrnak is a talented player who can win you games all by himself, but he is not the ultra-consistent type who can carry that load for a whole season and the playoffs.
He strikes me as a kid who likes to have fun but can also be very moody.
When he's off his game, as in the last three outings, it has devastating consequences for the B's.
Plus it's very easy for opposing teams to focus on what almost amounts to the "lone gunman" on the Bruins roster.
If it didn't reek of desperation, I'd look into re-acquiring Dollar Phil, but I think he's done, or Popsicle Pete, who's way too expensive now and not worth the money.
So who else is available and would make sense?
I have pointed out before that I'm not a fan of Leon D, and the likelihood of Edmonton willing to part with Mr. Surly is probably zero.
I also feel has to be a faceoff winning, scoring center...more specifically...I think that's more important than a d guy, agreed on that 100 percent. Totally agree. The team needs a #1 center, who can score, win some faceoffs and maybe “lead” just a little bit? The New Captain isnt the guy, and he’s a lesser player without #37 apparently. The Bruins need some more offense, puck possession, defensive responsibility, faceoffs and leadership. Get that all in one player and you are asking for a Big Purchase, but thats what they are missing. In the meantime, some of these Dollar Store instant offense bargains like Patrick Kane wouldnt hurt. |
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Post by fiberglassmask on Jan 12, 2024 19:08:42 GMT
I don't agree with your assessment of the Flyers, they made some shrewd trades and drafted well, especially getting Bernie Parent from the B's, and of course played a literally viciously physical game of hockey.
I like the Broadstreet Bullies a lot more than, for instance, the eternally Quebecois-draft pampered Shabs.
But the Knights are very close to being despised by me, just like the Tampons. PARENT! You think that's all they got from Boston? Reggie Leach, Rick McLeish, Gary Dornhoffer to name a few! Reggie Leetch won a Conn Smythe in a losing cause & set & holds a playoff record for playoff goals with 19! Would've been nice to have him around for a few playoffs! Leach and McLeish were big pieces the Bruins could have used, but IMO the Bruins of that era missed the loss of Parent more than anything. I loved Cheesy and EJ as much as the next Boston-area kid goalie, but subtract Parent from the Flyers and add him to the B’s and its +3 Cups, minimum. |
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Post by bookboy007 on Jan 12, 2024 19:48:00 GMT
Ah, it must be close to All Star break, when the winter fully sets in and Bruins fans start pining for a snipah. Watching these games, these losses - because they are losses whether you get the loser point in a gimmick or not, I'd say three things relevant to the question of acquiring a sniper. 1. Colorado is loaded with Snipers. MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin are all top 15 in the league with 21 plus in under 40 games. Makar, Johanssen is a former 30 plus guy, and they have high skill guys like Drouin who may suck at other things, but you can't say they don't have puck skills. Arizona has a bunch of players drafted top 20 for their offensive skills - Keller, Crouse, Schmaltz, Bjugstad. Many may be finally realizing that potential very late, but they have skill. Vegas is the defending champ. Their first goal was scored by a guy some people thought was possibly worth drafting ahead of McDavid. Not many. Some. They may be diminished by injury right now but they're still a very good, talented, big and well coached team. Colorado and Vegas are top 3 contenders to come out of the west. None of these teams could beat the Bruins at 5 on 5 hockey. 2. The Bruins top three goal scorers - Pastrnak (25), Marchand (17) and Coyle (14) have 56 goals. Edmonton's top 3 have 61. Delta of 5 goals in half a season. Colorado is 65. Florida 63. Toronto is probably the top of the list with 71 because Matthews and Nylander have had hot starts. Vancouver's got 68. But Winnipeg's got 46. Rangers have 60. Dallas 49. LA 47. So in terms of the top teams in the standings, the Bruins are solidly in the middle of the pack in what they get from their top snipers. Colorado's next 3 have 29. Toronto 30. Vancouver 34. Rangers 31. Florida 27. Bruins? 30. So looking at the roster and the production from the top six, the Bruins are squarely competitive with the top competition in the league. 3. The primary reason the Bruins have lost so many 3 on 3 games this year? Possession. In at least half of these losses, we've seen the Bruins goalie make as many good saves in 3 on 3 as the opponent, or rather, we've seen the opponent fail to score on great chances at least as often as the Bruins have. But what stands out is that they dominate the puck and keep trying until they succeed. Boston seems unable to win faceoffs in OT, and when they do, they seem unable to make possession plays. This lines up with one of the primary reasons they have had trouble scoring the last couple of games - a real lack of precision in their passing and puck management. They don't need a "snipah!" They have one, maybe two already. When your snipers don't score on glorious chances, like Pastrnak on repeated breakaways this week, it doesn't matter how many of them you have. If you don't have the puck and can't get it back, a sniper is useless. If they start scoring on those chances, we're not talking about another sniper...well, we are, but it's the usual background noise of Bruins fans wanting a roster like the 71-72 team or the late 70s teams where they had all sort of guys who could score goals. But I think from a personnel standpoint, their biggest need remains a C who can win 52%+ at the dot reliably. Now look at who is good at the dot and also scores in any reliable fashion - even just 17 points at this point of the season - and plays more than 4th line minutes. McLeod in Jersey. Trochek in NT. Tavares, Crosby, Schwartz in Seattle. Draisaitl. Kopitar. Duchene. Hertl. See a pattern? The cheapest guy on that list is also the guy who is most likely to be injured - Schwartz at $5.5M. In the list this creates, there are maybe three possibilities - Monahan in Montreal has top 15 faceoff skills and second line scoring numbers with a sub $2M contract. JG Pageau is over 55% but just barely makes the cut 17 points; he's best as a third line C and still has two more years at $5M. Henrique is having a good season and is near 54% with Anaheim. He's on an expiring deal. But he's also a hair above Zacha, so not sure how much incremental value he brings. The Bruins have played 41 games. Double everyone's current goal total and Freddy has 24, Marchand 34, Pasta 50, Coyle 28, Debrusk and Zacha 18, Geekie 16, and JVR 14. Frankly, I think there's some room for those numbers to improve in the middle of the roster. I think Debrusk is recovering from a slow start and has a shot to hit 25 with a good second half. I think Zacha can go over 20 if he shoots the goddamn puck. I think Geekie has earned a chance to stay higher in the lineup and if he does, I can see him hitting 20 (he has 6 and 15 points in his last 19 games, playing 16:21 a night - that would be over 60 points and 24 goals over a full 82). I'm not sure what to think of JVR at this point, and maybe they're conserving him for the playoffs? I'm not sure what to think of Pooter given how Montgomery has handled him lately. He's still a 0.50 points/game guy, but hasn't had a goal since Nov 27th. He's better than that. Long story short, I think scoring alone isn't the issue and if they go swinging for some kind of one dimensional shooter, it will be a huge mistake. Ok Alfred, and how much will that murderers row of “snipahs” score when playoff hockey comes around?…. Maybe it’s not exactly a “snipah” that the B’S are in need of but certainly a meaningful upgrade on offense needs to be made if the B’S are to make it past April…. But seriously... I would say put your view through the filter of regular season goals vs playoff goals. In the last few years, the Bruins have been burned by insufficient ability to score the kind of goals that you have to be able to score to win in the playoffs and too much reliance on the PP. The composition of this team is partly a reaction to that - they are big, they have guys who are good around the front of the net, and they have a few guys who can get the puck to the net from the point. Less pretty pretty. By way of illustration using numbers going back to include the run to the Finals in 2019 (so the 2019-2023; or the last 5), because I think that year was the first to really showcase this issue. Brad Marchand is the fourth leading playoff scorer in that time - 62 games, 32-38-68. But he is the 23rd leading scorer at Even Strength - 17-14-31. Basically, if you take away the PP opportunities for Brad, he scores at the same rate as Freddy or Pooter this regular season. Pasta is the same story; he's under water in terms of points at ES vs. PP: 27 v 28. Bergeron is the same - 21 vs 20. Fataboy 16 v 16. DK is the only guy in the top five who more than 1 point better and even then, he's 22 v 19. Compare Ondrej Palat. 50 v 9. Mark Stone 43 v 15. Mackinnon and Rantanen are 2 and 3 and they are both close to 20 points better at ES than PP. Same story for Aho, Marchessault, Karlsson, O'Reilly, Landeskog, Theodore, Pietrangelo and believe it or not...McDavid and Draisaitl. Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, Jacob Slavin, Jaden Schwartz, Reilly Smith and Carter Verhaeghe all have more ES points in fewer playoff games than Pastrnak and Marchand. Some of those guys are considered good scorers, but Josh Bailey is out of the league now after failing to catch on with Ottawa. Ottawa! Conversely, in that same time period, you'll notice the guys whose offensive games are more about going hard to the net and finishing close to it have done surprisingly well for the Bruins in that stretch. Coyle and Debrusk have 1 and 2 fewer points at ES than Krejci had (more games, but still). And that time frame includes the year plus when both Coyle and Debrusk were hot dog food. If you narrow it to the last two playoffs, DeBrusk has as many ES points as Pastrnak, 1 fewer point overall, and is trailing only McAvoy and Marchand. Zacha's 0.86 points/game overall is better than Pastrnak's over the last two years. The Bruins need to embrace playing a heavy grinding offense like they did in the early 2010s. Look where Geekie, Frederic, JVR are when they score. I'm not saying they're going to score teams out of the building - that's not what they're built to do and if that's what you expect, you're asking for more than adding a player or two. Teams are like ecosystems. If you give some new hotshot scorer the TOI of a key but under-recognized part of the ecosystem, you're going to see the value of that other part clearly even if the hotshot gets hot. Bertuzzi. Orlov. Loss. People were losing their minds about the scoring from those two but Bert had 4 ES points and Orlov 3. DeBrusk and Carlo also had 4 ES points. Foligno had 3. But they all took less TOI so these dinks could hang around for when there was a PP. It was painfully clear that the balance of the record setting team was changed by the acquisitions, and the results showed the consequences. This Bruins team is 11th in the league in scoring, just behind the Rangers and the first place Jets. This team is a team that has chosen to have two first string goalies and put significant investment into the D in McAvoy, Lindholm and Carlo. They have chosen to add size rather than try to replace the skill they lost with Bergeron, Krejci and Hall. 236lb Lucic, a bigger role for 220lb Freddy, 218lb Coyle, and 207lb Zacha, and the additons of 209lb JVR, 216lb Beecher, 211 Lohrei, 203 Shatnerkirk, 203 Geekie. They replaced 196 Bergie, 200 Bert, 210 Hall and Foligno, 192 Cliffy and Krejci. However much that might be a question of necessity with the retirements, it's clearly a direction associated with not scoring in the playoffs when it mattered. So will they score in the playoffs? Hard to say. But I am more worried that the team GAA is up to something like 2.68 after the last month or so of defensive follies than that they aren't scoring more than 3.29 goals/game. I think when they are on, that GAA is closer to 2.2 meaning they average about a goal per game in their favour. That's all you need. |
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Post by bookboy007 on Jan 12, 2024 19:49:07 GMT
PARENT! You think that's all they got from Boston? Reggie Leach, Rick McLeish, Gary Dornhoffer to name a few! Reggie Leetch won a Conn Smythe in a losing cause & set & holds a playoff record for playoff goals with 19! Would've been nice to have him around for a few playoffs! Leach and McLeish were big pieces the Bruins could have used, but IMO the Bruins of that era missed the loss of Parent more than anything. I loved Cheesy and EJ as much as the next Boston-area kid goalie, but subtract Parent from the Flyers and add him to the B’s and its +3 Cups, minimum. Same with Dryden even if its just forcing the Scabs to find someone else. |
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