2019-2020 Bruins

catomatic

thinks gen turgidson is super mean!!!
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
3,390
Park Slope, Brooklyn
I don’t think he’s back Wednesday, either. I think his skate today was just to fuck with Canes. I think whoever said it was a hernia might be onto something. That or a cracked rib. Something went from bad to worse not from okay to injured, there. Hope I’m wrong because there’s obviously a big ripple effect.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
14,461
Gallows Hill
I don’t think he’s back Wednesday, either. I think his skate today was just to fuck with Canes. I think whoever said it was a hernia might be onto something. That or a cracked rib. Something went from bad to worse not from okay to injured, there. Hope I’m wrong because there’s obviously a big ripple effect.
I’m guessing cracked rib. He blocks a shot awkwardly in the 3rd period of game 1 in the mid section on the left side.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
Moderator
SoSH Member
May 20, 2003
35,719
Deep inside Muppet Labs
It will get lost in the comeback but Halak was terrible last night. I never thought his glove hand was THAT bad.

The usual idiots have shit on Rask for years but Halak was absolutely brutal. He's lucky no one will remember that.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
SoSH Member
Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
It will get lost in the comeback but Halak was terrible last night. I never thought his glove hand was THAT bad.

The usual idiots have shit on Rask for years but Halak was absolutely brutal. He's lucky no one will remember that.
I get it.

I do.

But let's not act like Tuukka hasn't had his poor games in the playoffs, too. Also - Tim Thomas gave up 5 goals in 4 games against TBL during the 2011 Cup run.

Goalies will have games where they don't play great. He did enough to get them the win, including some big saves when they were still down 2-0 keeping it from getting out of hand.

Let's not do this everytime Halak gives up a bad goal.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
Moderator
SoSH Member
May 20, 2003
35,719
Deep inside Muppet Labs
I'm not. Really.

But he was absolutely horrid last night. It's getting totally lost because of the comeback, but he was awful. He needs to be much better. His glove hand was woeful. The first two goals were bad. The third one was very iffy as well.

I don't think that's remotely controversial.
 

lexrageorge

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2007
18,096
It will get lost in the comeback but Halak was terrible last night. I never thought his glove hand was THAT bad.

The usual idiots have shit on Rask for years but Halak was absolutely brutal. He's lucky no one will remember that.
I think what the usual idiots tend to forget is that better goalies tend to be consistently very good game to game, with some number of spectacular games thrown in, along with the occasional stink bomb. And that describes Rask. He's not perfect, but is consistently very good, and seldom put the team in a position to lose because of him. Exciting is not a word you want to use to describe your goaltender.

Halak has been one of Sweeney's better acquisitions. One of the team's weaknesses in the past has been the parade of mediocre (or worse) backups that simply cannot provide the steadily consistent performance needed from the position. Since Tim Thomas left, the B's primary backups have been Khudobin Part 1 (who was OK in a shortened season), Chad Johnson, Niklas Svedberg, Jonas Gustavsson, and Khudobin 2. Halak has shown he can be a solid #1A/#2 option, so I'm willing to give him the mulligan for last night.

But he's not Rask, and he's now being asked to fill a very different role as The Man in net. Rask has had his share of playoff duds, but he typically bounces back with a strong performance the following game. The onus will be on Halak to do the same.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I'm not. Really.

But he was absolutely horrid last night. It's getting totally lost because of the comeback, but he was awful. He needs to be much better. His glove hand was woeful. The first two goals were bad. The third one was very iffy as well.

I don't think that's remotely controversial.
Halak wants those two goals back, no doubt. But the first was through a screen and the second was a perfectly placed shot. The third was a deflected backhand that found a hole.

I don’t think Halak played great, but the use of words like awful, horrid, woeful (and I’m honestly not picking on you SJH, because there was enough of it in the game thread last night) is a bit too much. Not every goal given up is a catastrophe.

Halak will be better...he’ll have to be if the Bruins want a long run.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
He does seem to be fighting the glove hand. 2 goals there last night where it appeared he tried to stab at the puck instead of letting it hit him. I think he also go beat once or twice glove side against Philly in the round robin.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
He does seem to be fighting the glove hand. 2 goals there last night where it appeared he tried to stab at the puck instead of letting it hit him. I think he also go beat once or twice glove side against Philly in the round robin.
He stabbed at the first one, he was just late getting it down on the second. There was another save late in the second where he stabbed at the puck and couldn’t hold on, so there’s no doubt he battling that a bit right now.
 

The Napkin

wise ass al kaprielian
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 13, 2002
28,534
right here
It will get lost in the comeback but Halak was terrible last night. I never thought his glove hand was THAT bad.

The usual idiots have shit on Rask for years but Halak was absolutely brutal. He's lucky no one will remember that.
The usual idiots were complaining about the power play and no 5 on 5 goals last night. Funny how it's not the goalie's fault anymore.
 

Dogman

Yukon Cornelius
Moderator
SoSH Member
Mar 19, 2004
15,177
Missoula, MT
I think the first goal was simply the screen and commotion out in front of him. He did misplay the second, no question. The deflection on the third is in "nothing he could do" territory.

Let's not go that overboard, he played pretty well. Would you rather Reimer in our net?
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
Halak is about as good of a backup goaltender as you'll find in the NHL, so I would think that we should feel lucky that we are in this situation compared to having somebody like Vladar or a retread bottom of the barrel vet as the backup.

However, he was not good last night and it's a fairly big dropoff from Rask's Vezina-level of play to Halak's. Just a reminder that the dropoff on most teams would be much, much bigger.

View: https://twitter.com/Tucker_TnL/status/1295782363646046208
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,208
South of North
How would you rank potential ECSF opponents based on quality (who would you least like to face if progression is the only metric) and entertainment (i.e. maybe TB is talented, but Philly plays a trap and is physical)?
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
How would you rank potential ECSF opponents based on quality (who would you least like to face if progression is the only metric) and entertainment (i.e. maybe TB is talented, but Philly plays a trap and is physical)?
I'd rather face Philly over the other 3 teams because I think they are lesser talented than Washington and Tampa and easier to play against than the Islanders. Entertainment wise, Tampa would be the best bet there as that may be high scoring. Islanders would be the least entertaining to watch based on their style.
 

burstnbloom

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
2,761
Islanders would be the easiest to beat and the worst to watch. They are death to hockey entertainment. Id rank them 1) long island 2) philly 3) TB in terms of who I'd want to play most to least. It'll be Tampa though.
 

LogansDad

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
29,050
Alamogordo
I want Tampa. Both teams will be rested and mostly healthy. It will be an epic series. Playing one of the other teams first just makes it more likely an important Bruin gets hurt before the Tampa series. Bring them on, the Bruins are ready.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
The Bruins are 8-0-1 against the Islanders over the past 3 season, outscoring them 32-10. I'd love to see them. Two defense first teams, but the Bruins are miles better at scoring.

Philly has competent goal tending and Couturier is the new Bergeron so they'd be tricky. Couts has given the Bergeron line fits recently so that could be problematic. Plus we'd have to watch Alain Vigneault's stupid whiny face for a whole series.

The Caps...well, they look like crap. But we haven't beaten them since the Revolutionary War so I'd probably just as soon see them bounced.

Tampa's the 2nd best team in the league. It's likely them, and it'll be a tough but entertaining series. Not sure what Stamkos' status is. I think this series is likely the ECF, unless they beat each other up so bad that the winner limps into the ECF.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,374
Assume it's Tampa. It sucks getting them in the conference semifinals - the two best teams in hockey playing that early in the playoffs stinks.

But Cassidy was right last week (or so) when he said in order to win it all, you've got to beat them all, so it doesn't really matter if you get Tampa in the semis or conference finals.

How do you guys feel about that? Agree with Cassidy?
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,233
Then the regular format is dumb. But whatever...gotta get by them at some point. Might as well be now.
I can rationalize that. Except for Pastrnak (and who knows there), they are healthy. They will only get less healthy, so might as well get the toughest opponent now.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
The Vladar contract also helps satisfy the expansion draft exposure requirements. They need to expose 1 goalie under contract and right now Rask and Halak are both UFA's.
 

Maximus

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
5,774
The Vladar contract also helps satisfy the expansion draft exposure requirements. They need to expose 1 goalie under contract and right now Rask and Halak are both UFA's.
Halak was signed to an extension.
 

Maximus

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
5,774
Unless Cap Friendly is wrong, it was 1 year which takes him through the end of next season so he is not under contract through the expansion draft.
Got it, my misunderstanding, thanks for the clarification.