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Post by dannycater on Feb 12, 2024 1:36:47 GMT
Yep, Steen is useless. He brings zero to the team. Boqvist same thing. Lauko's game is getting worse and Montgomery has noticed, not much ice time for him. Need depth and they have zero. I'd rather watch Bruins draft picks, that have yah know, an actual chance at making the Bruins long term. The more I think of Lucics foolishness. He totally ruined the 4th line. While he played the 4th line was Rollin. Get Lysell and Beecher up now. Ship Grzelcyk out in a separate deal. Then use that money for a 3rd/4th line true NHL banger. all of a few games...the 4th line might have been rolling, but Milan played so little before he got hurt, hard to say he was a factor...he might have been a factor in the playoffs, but we'll never know
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Post by Lord Markwart on Feb 12, 2024 7:13:16 GMT
Gonna need a center iceman to get past first two rounds. It started the year with Zacha (1), Poitras (2), and Coyle (3). Now Potzi is gone and Zacha turns invisible and we've only been left with Coyle as (1) playing consistently, and he is having a career year. If his game drops a little to expected norms, it might be really tough for B's to score. They certainly have the personnel to win 2-1 and 3-2 games when it counts, but I have doubts they can get to 4 or 5 or have to chase the game.
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Post by nitelite on Feb 12, 2024 11:30:42 GMT
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Post by RichHillOntario on Feb 12, 2024 16:47:35 GMT
Swayze holding the fort until the forwards arrive at the arena. That is a brilliant take, dav. I was laughing, man.
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Post by RichHillOntario on Feb 12, 2024 16:55:24 GMT
What's sort of funny is the B's were Gryzless for most of the game, so we can't even blame it on him as much as i'd like to. Sure we can - he left his team short one dman for 40min with a bonehead play. Now, I have never been speared in the 'nads but Patches looked like he was done for the night after that and there he was, out on the ensuing PP ready to go. The soccer injury worked just fine right there.He used the same meds that produced his miraculous recovery from a near beheading against Big Zee and the Bruins years ago. The province of Quebec mourned for him enough to be seen at a movie theatre just a few days later.
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Post by RichHillOntario on Feb 12, 2024 17:15:41 GMT
Yep, Steen is useless. He brings zero to the team. Boqvist same thing. Lauko's game is getting worse and Montgomery has noticed, not much ice time for him. Need depth and they have zero. I really don't understand the Steen thing. Even among his peers competing for 4th line minutes/fighting off AHL bus trips, he has seemed like one of the weakest options all season long. Neither do I. Fourth liners are to be tone-setter, aren't they? They're to get out there, ramble into the other club at each opportunity, hopefully hem them in and cause turnovers. Steen, Lauko and Boqvist are fairly ineffective in meeting this criteria for the B's if compared to the veteran fourth line of the Isles who may still be the standard for that responsibility among the forward group.
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Post by RichHillOntario on Feb 12, 2024 17:17:39 GMT
Yep, Steen is useless. He brings zero to the team. Boqvist same thing. Lauko's game is getting worse and Montgomery has noticed, not much ice time for him. Need depth and they have zero. I'd rather watch Bruins draft picks, that have yah know, an actual chance at making the Bruins long term. The more I think of Lucics foolishness. He totally ruined the 4th line. While he played the 4th line was Rollin. Get Lysell and Beecher up now. Ship Grzelcyk out in a separate deal. Then use that money for a 3rd/4th line true NHL banger. Big-time missing element.
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Post by dannycater on Feb 12, 2024 17:52:21 GMT
James Murphy can go fuck himself...holier than thou mofo...What did you want Marchand to say, nite?? Seriously...he's the fucking captain not the "I will be completely forthcoming on how we fucking sucked ass tonight." You think he doesn't want to say that to the media? As for Murphy, you think he wouldn't dissect what any player says? These fucking bloggers and Boston Hockey Now/Bruins Insider (the worst) and all the bullshit headlines and making up shit about everything...sick of all of it...Marchand is a fucking golden god, about to play 1,000th game, he has 25 goals and he was something 230th on the Fantasy Players List--fucking insult. He has more shorthanded goals by far than any other current player...he is a real B...he is the best spokesman NHL has when it comes to humor--but there he has to be a Captain and not make it anymore than what he said. And bull to the shit that some people don't have short memories...fuck like Pink Hat Sox fans who don't give a shit that the organization went Third World and turned the Sox into the Oakland A's East....or the blasting of BB out the door for Pats--let's forget about the championships, Super Bowls, etc...it was all Tom Brady...yeah, right...idiots. Marchand probably fucking thought the fans are ungrateful fucking assholes...like most of us in here....here's a long memory---Peter Klima scores a weak-ass triple OT goal and Wesley missed a wide open net...you know what, shit happens....here's a short memory...B's choke 3-0, 3-0 lead v. Philly...then win the fucking Cup in '11...you think fans really cry anymore about '10 when 11 happened? Answer, no.
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Post by bookboy007 on Feb 12, 2024 18:33:25 GMT
The 4th line played 8 minutes and were each 0 plus/minus. Classic denial in the form of scapegoating the weakest rather than the strongest. What really happened is the entire team, particularly the guys who actually play a lot, didn’t try hard and embarrassed themselves. Thank you. This is often my issue with all the Grz talk. We spend more minute talking about them than they actually play, and a greater proportion complaining about them than their portion of responsibility for wins and losses. We've had 4th lines in recent years that have cost the team games. The rest of the roster wins the game 3-1 but the 4th line gets burned 3 times in 10 minutes of ice time the team loses. This year, the 4th may not be winning them games, but since about late November, I don't think they've been losing games for them either.
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Post by bookboy007 on Feb 12, 2024 18:36:15 GMT
Gonna need a center iceman to get past first two rounds. It started the year with Zacha (1), Poitras (2), and Coyle (3). Now Potzi is gone and Zacha turns invisible and we've only been left with Coyle as (1) playing consistently, and he is having a career year. If his game drops a little to expected norms, it might be really tough for B's to score. They certainly have the personnel to win 2-1 and 3-2 games when it counts, but I have doubts they can get to 4 or 5 or have to chase the game. Zacha's got 6 in his last 5 games.
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Post by bookboy007 on Feb 12, 2024 18:39:30 GMT
I'd rather watch Bruins draft picks, that have yah know, an actual chance at making the Bruins long term. The more I think of Lucics foolishness. He totally ruined the 4th line. While he played the 4th line was Rollin. Get Lysell and Beecher up now. Ship Grzelcyk out in a separate deal. Then use that money for a 3rd/4th line true NHL banger. Big-time missing element. I don't think you can do it with one guy, though. All three on the line need to be on board with that identity - like the Isles' line you mention above. Now, if you've got guys who just need a leader to play that way - great! One more guy. Lucic could have been that with the Freddy-Geekie-Lauko and even Beecher group on this team.
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Post by dannycater on Feb 12, 2024 19:29:46 GMT
Gonna need a center iceman to get past first two rounds. It started the year with Zacha (1), Poitras (2), and Coyle (3). Now Potzi is gone and Zacha turns invisible and we've only been left with Coyle as (1) playing consistently, and he is having a career year. If his game drops a little to expected norms, it might be really tough for B's to score. They certainly have the personnel to win 2-1 and 3-2 games when it counts, but I have doubts they can get to 4 or 5 or have to chase the game. Zacha's got 6 in his last 5 games. Pavel has turned it up of late. He is a better face off guy than Coyle.
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Post by bookboy007 on Feb 12, 2024 20:03:42 GMT
Zacha's got 6 in his last 5 games. Pavel has turned it up of late. He is a better face off guy than Coyle. I think everyone continues to wait for the other shoe to drop, but I keep coming back to the fact that both Coyle and Zacha are producing very close to what Bergeron and Krejci were giving the team at Even Strength in terms of points, and the delta in total points is mostly about them not getting prime PPTOI. Meanwhile the Bruins PP is the best it's been in 4 seasons, clicking along at 24.8%. And the team is still one of the very best in the league. It seems improbably but it's all true according to every measure.
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Post by islamorada on Feb 12, 2024 20:12:05 GMT
The 4th line played 8 minutes and were each 0 plus/minus. Classic denial in the form of scapegoating the weakest rather than the strongest. What really happened is the entire team, particularly the guys who actually play a lot, didn’t try hard and embarrassed themselves. Thank you. This is often my issue with all the Grz talk. We spend more minute talking about them than they actually play, and a greater proportion complaining about them than their portion of responsibility for wins and losses. We've had 4th lines in recent years that have cost the team games. The rest of the roster wins the game 3-1 but the 4th line gets burned 3 times in 10 minutes of ice time the team loses. This year, the 4th may not be winning them games, but since about late November, I don't think they've been losing games for them either. If the 4th line is not playing at least 9 minutes or !5% of the game then the line is lacking in maintaining the score. The 4th line generally is not a scoring line but a checking line. The last game indicative of poor 4th line play. It places pressure on the top lines to do more. Same goes for Gyrz and his retaliatory measure against the diver from Montreal. I understand your defense of the status quo, but to point out the marginal implications of a functioning 4th line or for the lv of Gryz is not Book like. The 4th line is a matter of Monty "pythons" approach to quick up the offense. SO, I point out the problem with the losses against Calgary and Washington, a strong forecheck on the Bs defense especially when the 4th line is on ice changes the game flow. When the top lines and defensive corps are taxed then the team has to make adjustments. Couple that with the poor play of everyone not named Swayman, well, your theory is questionable.
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Post by bookboy007 on Feb 12, 2024 22:53:23 GMT
Thank you. This is often my issue with all the Grz talk. We spend more minute talking about them than they actually play, and a greater proportion complaining about them than their portion of responsibility for wins and losses. We've had 4th lines in recent years that have cost the team games. The rest of the roster wins the game 3-1 but the 4th line gets burned 3 times in 10 minutes of ice time the team loses. This year, the 4th may not be winning them games, but since about late November, I don't think they've been losing games for them either. If the 4th line is not playing at least 9 minutes or !5% of the game then the line is lacking in maintaining the score. The 4th line generally is not a scoring line but a checking line. The last game indicative of poor 4th line play. It places pressure on the top lines to do more. Same goes for Gyrz and his retaliatory measure against the diver from Montreal. I understand your defense of the status quo, but to point out the marginal implications of a functioning 4th line or for the lv of Gryz is not Book like. The 4th line is a matter of Monty "pythons" approach to quick up the offense. SO, I point out the problem with the losses against Calgary and Washington, a strong forecheck on the Bs defense especially when the 4th line is on ice changes the game flow. When the top lines and defensive corps are taxed then the team has to make adjustments. Couple that with the poor play of everyone not named Swayman, well, your theory is questionable. Et tu, Isla? The last time Bruins fans didn't complain about the 4th line, Gregory's daddy's son the three guys on the line averaged over 20 points and one guy finished first on the team in PiMs because he fought and the other guy was fourth because he hammered opponents' fists with his face. Good ol' Soup. If that's your standard, you're going to be unhappy with the fourth line most years. Plenty of people happy to see Kuraly go after Cassidy basically used him to absorb D zone starts. Not score goals. Not get in on the forecheck. Eat D zone starts. Win the draw, get it out, get it deep, and if you can do that before your shift is 30 seconds deep, sure - forecheck. But get off so someone with skills can go on the attack now. When the Bruins bring in veterans to play 4th line roles, Bruins fans lose their minds. Blocking the kids! When they play the "kids" like Steen and Lauko, Bruins fans turn on the kids so fast you wonder what the point of giving them NHL games was. The other part of that equation is "why are those plugs getting TOI instead of Pastrnak and Marchand?!?" which is kind of a no win situation if the response to them getting less TOI is that now Pastrnak and Marchand have to do it all. I get your point that their TOI is indicative of the coach not trusting them, not their great performance. Sure. But in the last 6 weeks, Lauko is +2, Boqvist is +7, and only Steen and Brown are in the negatives. Brown was -2 in one game, so he's not around any longer. Steen's -2 in 13 games. Heinen, who is the other guy who gets routine time on the fourth line when everyone is healthy, has 6 goals and is +2. They're fourth liners. Their primary job is to keep the puck out of the Boston net. Their second job is to create energy one way or another and pass it on to the next shift. Their third job is to establish a physical tone and their last task is score. This group seems to be doing better than most at their primary job even if you think they suck at all the others. But my point here, as it was on Grz, is that I think it's bass ackward to watch Pastrnak and Marchand, McAvoy and Lindholm and whoever else in the top 5-6 skaters play terrible, mentally disconnected hockey for 2 of the last 3 games and conclude the problem is Steen because if Steen was Tomas instead of Oskar then there wouldn't be so much pressure on the $11M man or the $9M man or the two $6+million men. Same thing with Grz. In that Calgary game, he ended up hung out to dry 4 times when it was clearly someone else's mistake that put him in that situation. The amount of attention dedicated to pointing out that Steen, Lauko and whoever else are not very good NHL players while ignoring that the Bruins regularly give up goals as a result of lazy Pastrnak brain farts, bad plays by Marchand, lost in coverage situations by McAvoy, or mistakes by any of the other sacred cows amount to punching down. No one is going to come out of the crowd in their cherished Oskar Steen Bruins sweater to fight you on the merits of his game. No one gives two shits about Lauko, and almost no one cares if you call Toby Toby. They're easy targets. They are the worst players on an NHL roster. Of course they aren't as good as the best players. People also got upset when compared the quality of the Bruins favourite chew toys to equivalent players on other teams. As though somehow the point is that the Bruins fourth liners are absolutely bad even if they are relatively middle of the pack for players on NHL teams who play the same role. In the last 6 weeks, Jesper Boqvist is second in +/- among players who have played under 12 min. With those same parameters, Lauko is 4th in hits, and he has a 2.3:0.90 takeaway to giveaway ratio. That's effective 4th line hockey. Steen just objectively sucks. There is no measure in which he's meaningful other than quad diameter to height ratio. He doesn't hit enough to be a hitter; he is great in that he never gives the puck away, but brutal in that he never takes it back, either. In 2024, he has no points on 7 shots, and he's the worst in +/- on the Bruins since the new year.
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Post by sandogbrewin on Feb 12, 2024 23:13:53 GMT
Pavel has turned it up of late. He is a better face off guy than Coyle. I think everyone continues to wait for the other shoe to drop, but I keep coming back to the fact that both Coyle and Zacha are producing very close to what Bergeron and Krejci were giving the team at Even Strength in terms of points, and the delta in total points is mostly about them not getting prime PPTOI. Meanwhile the Bruins PP is the best it's been in 4 seasons, clicking along at 24.8%. And the team is still one of the very best in the league. It seems improbably but it's all true according to every measure. The 7 game hall over a tough playoff round is what probably has most Bs fans concerned. Against 1st/2nd line centers ? There's the question like Bergy/Krejci.
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Post by 50belowzero on Feb 13, 2024 0:35:22 GMT
I agree, i don't like James Murphy either!
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Post by islamorada on Feb 13, 2024 18:56:41 GMT
If the 4th line is not playing at least 9 minutes or !5% of the game then the line is lacking in maintaining the score. The 4th line generally is not a scoring line but a checking line. The last game indicative of poor 4th line play. It places pressure on the top lines to do more. Same goes for Gyrz and his retaliatory measure against the diver from Montreal. I understand your defense of the status quo, but to point out the marginal implications of a functioning 4th line or for the lv of Gryz is not Book like. The 4th line is a matter of Monty "pythons" approach to quick up the offense. SO, I point out the problem with the losses against Calgary and Washington, a strong forecheck on the Bs defense especially when the 4th line is on ice changes the game flow. When the top lines and defensive corps are taxed then the team has to make adjustments. Couple that with the poor play of everyone not named Swayman, well, your theory is questionable. Et tu, Isla? The last time Bruins fans didn't complain about the 4th line, Gregory's daddy's son the three guys on the line averaged over 20 points and one guy finished first on the team in PiMs because he fought and the other guy was fourth because he hammered opponents' fists with his face. Good ol' Soup. If that's your standard, you're going to be unhappy with the fourth line most years. Plenty of people happy to see Kuraly go after Cassidy basically used him to absorb D zone starts. Not score goals. Not get in on the forecheck. Eat D zone starts. Win the draw, get it out, get it deep, and if you can do that before your shift is 30 seconds deep, sure - forecheck. But get off so someone with skills can go on the attack now. When the Bruins bring in veterans to play 4th line roles, Bruins fans lose their minds. Blocking the kids! When they play the "kids" like Steen and Lauko, Bruins fans turn on the kids so fast you wonder what the point of giving them NHL games was. The other part of that equation is "why are those plugs getting TOI instead of Pastrnak and Marchand?!?" which is kind of a no win situation if the response to them getting less TOI is that now Pastrnak and Marchand have to do it all. I get your point that their TOI is indicative of the coach not trusting them, not their great performance. Sure. But in the last 6 weeks, Lauko is +2, Boqvist is +7, and only Steen and Brown are in the negatives. Brown was -2 in one game, so he's not around any longer. Steen's -2 in 13 games. Heinen, who is the other guy who gets routine time on the fourth line when everyone is healthy, has 6 goals and is +2. They're fourth liners. Their primary job is to keep the puck out of the Boston net. Their second job is to create energy one way or another and pass it on to the next shift. Their third job is to establish a physical tone and their last task is score. This group seems to be doing better than most at their primary job even if you think they suck at all the others. But my point here, as it was on Grz, is that I think it's bass ackward to watch Pastrnak and Marchand, McAvoy and Lindholm and whoever else in the top 5-6 skaters play terrible, mentally disconnected hockey for 2 of the last 3 games and conclude the problem is Steen because if Steen was Tomas instead of Oskar then there wouldn't be so much pressure on the $11M man or the $9M man or the two $6+million men. Same thing with Grz. In that Calgary game, he ended up hung out to dry 4 times when it was clearly someone else's mistake that put him in that situation. The amount of attention dedicated to pointing out that Steen, Lauko and whoever else are not very good NHL players while ignoring that the Bruins regularly give up goals as a result of lazy Pastrnak brain farts, bad plays by Marchand, lost in coverage situations by McAvoy, or mistakes by any of the other sacred cows amount to punching down. No one is going to come out of the crowd in their cherished Oskar Steen Bruins sweater to fight you on the merits of his game. No one gives two shits about Lauko, and almost no one cares if you call Toby Toby. They're easy targets. They are the worst players on an NHL roster. Of course they aren't as good as the best players. People also got upset when compared the quality of the Bruins favourite chew toys to equivalent players on other teams. As though somehow the point is that the Bruins fourth liners are absolutely bad even if they are relatively middle of the pack for players on NHL teams who play the same role. In the last 6 weeks, Jesper Boqvist is second in +/- among players who have played under 12 min. With those same parameters, Lauko is 4th in hits, and he has a 2.3:0.90 takeaway to giveaway ratio. That's effective 4th line hockey. Steen just objectively sucks. There is no measure in which he's meaningful other than quad diameter to height ratio. He doesn't hit enough to be a hitter; he is great in that he never gives the puck away, but brutal in that he never takes it back, either. In 2024, he has no points on 7 shots, and he's the worst in +/- on the Bruins since the new year. Et tu, muhaha....brutal. Actually we don't disagree, although I generally will stay away from the agree to disagree commentary. Where we differ is on Gyrz. Then again with other posts you have said he is having an off year. That is an understatement, but we will leave it a that. The 4th line comments we are on the same page. Fiddy may have it right by saying Boqvist over Beecher is matter of Cap savings. Beecher is the better player than the "pencil" shaped Swede named Jesper. The other Swede named Steen is not an NHL player. Lauko is a favorite but he is a border line 4th liner. He practiced on the third line yesterday? The 4th line may have a better +/- but the team as a whole has scored 43 more goals than against. The 4th line numbers will be inflated on plus. So the plus/minus stat is not reflective of the eye on ice hockey. Thus my comment on you are not what you use to be in analysis. The 4th line is a disaster. Where we really agree is on Pasta's play. He is unconventional in his offense, he is more elusive and dangerous in the offensive zone. Yet, talk about inconsistent, well, he scores even on bad days but he is a liability making it difficult for players like McAvoy to take programed nuance of "Monty's" of a uptempo defenseman system. Every team would love to have Pasta, but he is not perfect. Marchand has been worse since his operation imo, he can simply make a risky play only to find a 3 on 2 or 2 on 1 result for the opposition. So your assessment on the play of the better players not performing to the best possible is correct. A shot of Auchentoshan for you. Got to go.
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Post by davinator on Feb 14, 2024 0:35:49 GMT
Pavel has turned it up of late. He is a better face off guy than Coyle. I think everyone continues to wait for the other shoe to drop, but I keep coming back to the fact that both Coyle and Zacha are producing very close to what Bergeron and Krejci were giving the team at Even Strength in terms of points, and the delta in total points is mostly about them not getting prime PPTOI. Meanwhile the Bruins PP is the best it's been in 4 seasons, clicking along at 24.8%. And the team is still one of the very best in the league. It seems improbably but it's all true according to every measure. If Coyle & Zacha (this year) are "producing like Bergeron & Krejci" last year...who's producing this year like last year's Coyle & Zacha?!? THAT'S the bigger problem...
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Post by bookboy007 on Feb 14, 2024 1:18:26 GMT
I think everyone continues to wait for the other shoe to drop, but I keep coming back to the fact that both Coyle and Zacha are producing very close to what Bergeron and Krejci were giving the team at Even Strength in terms of points, and the delta in total points is mostly about them not getting prime PPTOI. Meanwhile the Bruins PP is the best it's been in 4 seasons, clicking along at 24.8%. And the team is still one of the very best in the league. It seems improbably but it's all true according to every measure. If Coyle & Zacha (this year) are "producing like Bergeron & Krejci" last year...who's producing this year like last year's Coyle & Zacha?!? THAT'S the bigger problem... Well, if that's true then the issue is not a #1 or #2 centre issue. And that means you have a lot of other options. But Geekie is performing equal to Coyle last year. So...that's one.
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