Game 1 - Bruins v. Blues

Kenny F'ing Powers

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Nov 17, 2010
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This series needs to become better known as the "Wreck of the Edmundson Fitzgerald"

The legend lives on from chippy Chara on down
To the center they called 'David Krejci'
The Garden, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the race for Lord Stanley turns gloomy
As lower seeds go, the Blues were better than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Ending player dreams by beating 3 good West teams
When they left fully loaded for Boston

With a softened ice floor and seventeen thousand fans more
The B's watched Edmundsons elbow get nasty
The good Bruin crew was a bone to be chewed
When the goals from St. Louis came early
The first was a drive past Tuukka's glove side
From a turnover by the defense to Braydan
The second came quick, a blast off Tarasenko's stick
Playoff Tuukka had no chance to save it

Later that night when the first foghorn bell rang
Could it be a nor'easter they'd been feelin'?
And every Blue knew, as their fans did too,
T'was Bobby Orr's karma come stealin'
Clifton answered back and McAvoy sustained the attack
While the gales of all 4 lines came smashin'
When the 3rd Period came it was Kuraly's name
With assists from Zedeno and Acciari

With 34 saves, Binnington was on ice sayin'
Fellas, it's too rough t'hold ya
A bit after 10 when Binnington was pulled in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
Pietrangelo wired in he had Marchand comin' in
And the St.Louis Blues were in peril
Shortly thereafter Krug sent Thomas to the rafters
and came the wreck of the Edmundson Fitzgerald

Does St. Louis know where the love of God goes
When black waves turn the minutes to hours?
The sportscasters say they'd have taken the first game
If they'd put just three more goals behind her
They might have split wide or pinched on the outside
Or other tactics that held off the slaughter
And all that remains are the faces and the names
Of the players that became SportsCenter fodder
This is fucking awesome. I hope whoever starts the next game thread includes it.
 

Reardon's Beard

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Also, this is a minor thing, but I absolutely love that the 4th line was starting. I know Cassidy has gone this way a lot this year, but these guys don't get the whole experience of standing at the line while your name gets called on the PA and National Television, and that had to be pretty cool for those guys.
Agreed, and I'll even add not a minor thing to me either. Sets the tone for the TEAM from start to finish. Pure Belichickan.
 

Saints Rest

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The first period seemed to be filled with unlucky bounces and misfires, slips and spills. I imagine that those were the secondary signs of the much talked about rust. Once they got their timing down, coupled with improvements at both blue lines for the second period, it just seemed like the Bruins were the far better team.
Even in the first, despite the rust, the Bruins looked no worse than even.
 

BigMike

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Bergy 14-6 on faceoffs too. Seemed like he won each important faceoff.

Blues are going to make some adjustments because this will be over in 5 or under if they can’t.
What's amazing is I believe Patrice got off to a slow start.

I know at one point TV said O'Reily was 8/9 from the faceoff dot. And he went on to lose 10 of his final 14
 

BigMike

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On the Krug hit. Good thing Perron ran for the bench as fast as he could. If Krug had been able to catch him before he got off the ice, that was going to be a potential 5 minute major and a disconduct, because he was going to light him up like a Christmas tree.
 

Old Fart Tree

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On the Krug hit. Good thing Perron ran for the bench as fast as he could. If Krug had been able to catch him before he got off the ice, that was going to be a potential 5 minute major and a disconduct, because he was going to light him up like a Christmas tree.
Man I was thinking the same. Could have been a game changing penalty because he was clearly operating on lizard brain level.

Also, f’awesome.
 

yeahlunchbox

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Jan 21, 2008
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Couldn't game thread, but would just like to say how much I love this team.

I expect St Louis to play much better in game 2, but if they don't this series is not going to be close.
You have to expect they'll play better in game 2, but at the same time, they didn't seem particularly dangerous very much in the second or third period last night. They should have been able to generate some responses here or there and it didn't really happen and I don't think that bodes well for them the rest of the series
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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Bergy 14-6 on faceoffs too. Seemed like he won each important faceoff.

Blues are going to make some adjustments because this will be over in 5 or under if they can’t.
One adjustment they cant make is to "skate faster." They can try to use their size on D to pound the B's, but once they got their legs, they did the right thing --- just skate right at (and past) the big guys. Clifton & Coyle's plays stand out. They just went out on the "go" route and beat the corners down the field.
No corner dumps to get pounded in.
Schenn's line was the only one that could hold its own.
B's again appear to be too deep for the opposition.
 

SocrManiac

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I found that I can keep my blood pressure down by not game threading, but god damn this is the most fun I've had watching a team in a long time.
 

TFP

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One adjustment they cant make is to "skate faster." They can try to use their size on D to pound the B's, but once they got their legs, they did the right thing --- just skate right at (and past) the big guys. Clifton & Coyle's plays stand out. They just went out on the "go" route and beat the corners down the field.
No corner dumps to get pounded in.
Schenn's line was the only one that could hold its own.
B's again appear to be too deep for the opposition.
Great article from The Athletic's Justin Bourne about the horrid gap control by the Blues defensemen. In the 2nd and 3rd periods the Bruins had complete freedom in the neutral zone and at the offensive blue line to just waltz in at will. If they don't fix that, they don't stand a chance.

https://theathletic.com/997645/2019/05/28/bourne-adjustments-blues-d-corps-must-make-to-their-gap-control-after-poor-showing-in-game-1/
 

Deathofthebambino

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I was sitting directly behind the net where Krug got mugged, before he took off on his length of the ice run to make the hit. A little kid next to me had his phone out and happened to be taping the mugging, and then continued to follow Krug all the way down the ice until the hit. I didn't want to be the weird guy asking the kid to text me the video, but damn, I wish I had it. It was perfect.

IMO, Kuraly, Clifton and Johansen were the best players on the ice. The energy they brought after the 1st period changed the game.
 

Spelunker

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Great article from The Athletic's Justin Bourne about the horrid gap control by the Blues defensemen. In the 2nd and 3rd periods the Bruins had complete freedom in the neutral zone and at the offensive blue line to just waltz in at will. If they don't fix that, they don't stand a chance.

https://theathletic.com/997645/2019/05/28/bourne-adjustments-blues-d-corps-must-make-to-their-gap-control-after-poor-showing-in-game-1/
That's a really great article that lays out what my eyes thought they were seeing. Thanks for sharing.
 

Ale Xander

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The Clifton and Kuraly show, wow, basically your 16th and 19th guys. Good win

And when did Clifton bump Chara from the #4 D on the PP?
 

j44thor

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The Clifton and Kuraly show, wow, basically your 16th and 19th guys. Good win

And when did Clifton bump Chara from the #4 D on the PP?
Chara has averaged under 10 secs on the PP all season and playoffs. B's roll out 4 forwards + Krug on the top PP unit and Grz/McAvoy on the 2nd unit. I think Clifton took Pasta's spot late in the 3rd protecting the 1 goal lead.
 

RetractableRoof

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The GMs voted in favor of a rule change for next year where a player has to go to the bench immediately upon losing their helmet. Krug’s hit could be the last helmet-less hit in the NHL...

Speaking of which, would there be some kind of minor penalty if the opponent removes your helmet like Perron did to Krug last night? The articles I read say they’re thinking about penalizing a player that stays on the ice without a helmet.
I understand the "why's" of the rule, but it is clearly the players choice at that point. Having said that, then there also needs to be a penalty for a player removing another players helmet while on the ice - Krug's didn't come off by accident. An exception for things that happen during a fight perhaps - but there was a concerted effort to remove his helmet by Perron - not once, but twice in that exchange. If they are stating that playing with it off is an issue - then taking the helmet off a player has to be just as egregious an issue.

Edit: clarity
 
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RIFan

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I understand the "why's" of the rule, but it is clearly the players choice at that point. Having said that, then there also needs to be a penalty for a player removing another players helmet while on the ice - Krug's didn't come off by accident. An exception for things that happen during a fight perhaps - but there was a concerted effort to remove his helmet by Perron - not once, but twice in that exchange. If they are stating that playing with it off is an issue - then taking the helmet off a player has to be just as egregious an issue.

Edit: clarity
They easily could have penalized Perron for roughing, but it's also not a stretch to penalize him for unsportsmanlike conduct. Rule 75.2 states
75.2 Minor Penalty - A minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct shall be assessed under this rule for the following infractions:

(ii) Any player or goalkeeper who is guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct including, but not limited to hair-pulling, biting, grabbing hold of a face mask, etc. If warranted, and specifically when injury results, the referee may apply Rule 21 - Match Penalties
emphasis mine
 

kenneycb

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Marchand had a really solid game too, but completely agree on those three. Johansson was a beast.
I thought Marchand sucked in the first period. Multiple mishandles and slow in decision making. Then he looked amazing in the second and third.

The ice did look like shit, especially in the third. High of 58 and cloudy on Wednesday, so it should be better tomorrow night.
 

RSN Diaspora

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The ice did look like shit, especially in the third. High of 58 and cloudy on Wednesday, so it should be better tomorrow night.
Am I the only one who wonders how, with modern climate control, you can't keep an indoor rink cold enough to counter higher-than-desired outdoor temperature?
 

Doug Beerabelli

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I loved him the moment I saw him in Dallas (the night of Bergeron's sternoclavicular injury), and his interview after that game was absolutely hilarious. I'm so glad he looks like he is going to stick.
Saw him a lot a Quinnipiac (I've had season tix last decade or so). He was Captain his final year. Solid Dman, more d than o oriented, and had as much of an edge/saltiness as a college D can have an not get game-misconducted to oblivion. Would not have predicted this success, but not surprised he took advantange of the opportunity, and this is just so joyful to watch him do this with my favorite NHL team.
 

Saints Rest

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Am I the only one who wonders how, with modern climate control, you can't keep an indoor rink cold enough to counter higher-than-desired outdoor temperature?
I saw a feature during the last Winter Olympics where they talked to this ice expert who was in charge of the rinks for the Olympics and he talked about how he could and would control the ice such that he could provide different surfaces for figure skating vs speed skating vs hockey.
 

wiffleballhero

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In the simulacrum
I saw a feature during the last Winter Olympics where they talked to this ice expert who was in charge of the rinks for the Olympics and he talked about how he could and would control the ice such that he could provide different surfaces for figure skating vs speed skating vs hockey.
This is the easy part -- ice temp. is different for different events. Figure skating gets warmer, softer ice.

I think rinks run into issues with the relationship between the temperature of the ice and the humidity control. There has got to be somebody on SoSH with more intimate knowledge of this, but I'd guess that a room with 20,000 98 degree bodies breathing and sweating when the outdoor temperature and humidity are at a certain level (80 and 60% maybe?) starts to become a real challenge for maintaining a good ice surface.
 

jk333

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Ed Hillel

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On the Krug hit. Good thing Perron ran for the bench as fast as he could. If Krug had been able to catch him before he got off the ice, that was going to be a potential 5 minute major and a disconduct, because he was going to light him up like a Christmas tree.
Man I was thinking the same. Could have been a game changing penalty because he was clearly operating on lizard brain level.

Also, f’awesome.
Nah, he had a chance to level him in the back and made a conscious decision to veer off and hit whomever was near the puck. It was impressive restraint.
 

h8mfy

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Jul 15, 2005
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For all you VR enthusiasts, NextVR is doing highlights from each game for the finals. Game 1 package just went up, and includes Krug’s hit (at my insistence).

We expect to do live games next season.