Round 2: Bruins vs. That Team Up North

lexrageorge

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cshea said:
The ship has likely sailed on it, but earlier in the series I would've experimented with shaking up the Krejci line. I would've done this:

Lucic - Soderberg - Eriksson
Marchand - Bergeron - Smith
Paille - Krejci - Iginla
Caron/Fraser - Campbell - Thornton

I still might consider something like that if Krejci line starts slow tomorrow. Their game 6 play was encouraging, but they haven't had any sort of consisteny from game-to-game so I'm not sure what to expect. The combo's above probably are the least upsetting to the entire roster. It might be worth a shot if that line is shaky at the start.
I've seen enough of Fraser that I hope I never see Caron dress again for these playoffs.  Caron brings nothing to the table, IMO.  
 
There were a couple of shifts in the Detriot series where Soderberg was centering for Lucic, and they seemed to have chemistry.  
 

Eddie Jurak

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The final Marchand-Krejci playoff line: 24 games, no goals, 9 assists.  Remarkably similar to what a couple of guys from last year's team who are no onger here did in the playoffs.
 

redsoxcentury

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Even though the Canadiens did a fine job on defense, and blocked many shots, Bruins were very hesitant on offense.  Didn't drive net, and use their size to their advantage.
 

lexrageorge

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Lots of goats in this series:  Rask, Chara, Marchand, Lucic, Krejci.  Missed opportunity; would like to see some upgrades next season, but I'm not counting on anything.  Obviously, losing Seidenberg hurt them as well. 
 

LogansDad

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Eddie Jurak said:
The worst moment of this series for me was in game 6, when Chara gave up on the Pacioretty goal.
Agreed.  He went full Ovechkin and the team never seemed to recover.
 
I love Chara, he is a force in the defensive zone, but he sometimes seems helpless against a team that plays a lot of transition hockey, and Montreal attacked that to perfection in this series. 
 
Agreed with lex that there were a lot of goats in this series, but Montreal had the perfect gameplan to match up with the Bruins, and never went away from it, even when down 3 games to 2.  Just a frustrating series.  I'm with the people who hate watching the Bruins play these guys.... it isn't that they struggle against them, it's that they are just such an annoying team to watch.  I hate watching them play against anybody.  Count me as one who will watch the Western Finals but stay far, far away from the Eastern Finals. 
 

Ed Hillel

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kenneycb said:
People realize he "gave up" on that goal because Rask froze him right?
I was saying that the other night. He "gave up" because Rask started coming out and Chara didn't want to run him over. That goal was on Rask, who could have reached the puck easily and then should have saved it anyway when he didn't.

If I had to pick one reason they lost, it would be the first line. That's the worst I've seen a Bruins first line play since...well, I'm not sure I remember a series where the first line played worse. It was clear Iginla was fighting an injury, and I think he actually improved a bit as the series went on, but Lucic and Krejci were just dreadful. Marchand was terrible as well. Marchand's the one guy I wouldn't mind seeing moved, but I doubt it happens.

The final Marchand-Krejci playoff line: 24 games, no goals, 9 assists. Remarkably similar to what a couple of guys from last year's team who are no onger here did in the playoffs.
One of those guys did the same thing this year, and the other nearly died on the bench and didn't play in the playoffs, if it makes you feel any better.
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Ed Hillel said:
Marchand's the one guy I wouldn't mind seeing moved, but I doubt it happens.
I thought about this tonight, and while I hear what you're saying, my question is: which Marchand would you be trading?

On the one hand, he's become a regular 25-goal-a-season LW, an integral part of the PK, and a local hero. On the other hand, when he's off his game, he's a penalty magnet that contributes little to the team. If you have an idea of which Marchand becomes the fixture going forward, that makes the decision that much easier. Unfortunately, I doubt anyone knows which he'll be for any given stretch.

The most frustrating part about this one, opponent aside, is that there are no clear-cut answers on how to fix this. Do you really want to give up on Rask? Do the lines really need a massive rebuild? Is Claude on the hot seat? I honestly don't know where they go from here.
 

veritas

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MiracleOfO2704 said:
The most frustrating part about this one, opponent aside, is that there are no clear-cut answers on how to fix this. Do you really want to give up on Rask? Do the lines really need a massive rebuild? Is Claude on the hot seat? I honestly don't know where they go from here.
I think (hope) you're asking the bolded rhetorically, but ether way, this sort of nonsense needs to be nipped in the bud. No, no, just no. Giving up on Rask is a) nearly impossible because of his contract, and b) regarldess of his contract, the worst idea ever
 

Jettisoned

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Trading Rask and/or rebuilding/retooling would be incredibly dumb. The Bruins are still the best team in the Eastern Conference, IMO.  Good teams lose playoff series every year.  Montreal's got this Team of DestinyTM thing going for them right now and it's super annoying.
 

PC Drunken Friar

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Jinhocho said:
In a serious question to a not quite team relevant subject, how wasnt this guy http://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/super-page/canadiens-fan-fucking-bobby-orr-outside-the-garden/ laid out after the game?  I lived 34 years in Boston, but I have been in NC for 8 now and I just cant fathom how this guy could get away w this.
Thankfully, the fans that saw it acted civilly. Here's a rule of thumb, when Barstool thinks something should have happened and it didn't, be glad that it didn't.
 

lexrageorge

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Maybe it's a separate thread, but they do need to upgrade their 4th line.  Neither Thornton nor Caron bring much of anything to the table in the playoffs, and the team just seemed to stall when the 4th line was out there.  
 
This is much like the Carolina series a few years ago.  A Prince of Wales Trophy was there for the taking, and now we'll see two inferior teams battle for it.  Except this time the team's core isn't getting younger.  Obviously, a rebuild is not needed; but another Iginla style upgrade to the top 9 is warranted, IMO.  
 

gmogmo

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lexrageorge said:
Maybe it's a separate thread, but they do need to upgrade their 4th line.  Neither Thornton nor Caron bring much of anything to the table in the playoffs, and the team just seemed to stall when the 4th line was out there.  
 
This is much like the Carolina series a few years ago.  A Prince of Wales Trophy was there for the taking, and now we'll see two inferior teams battle for it.  Except this time the team's core isn't getting younger.  Obviously, a rebuild is not needed; but another Iginla style upgrade to the top 9 is warranted, IMO.  
Yeah, time for Thornton to hang em up and start working for either EEI or 98.5
 

MiracleOfO2704

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veritas said:
I think (hope) you're asking the bolded rhetorically, but ether way, this sort of nonsense needs to be nipped in the bud. No, no, just no. Giving up on Rask is a) nearly impossible because of his contract, and b) regarldess of his contract, the worst idea ever
Yeah, that was included for those that thought goaltending was the cause of their downfall. It also emphasized my major thought: that there really wasn't a clear-cut goat or reason they lost this series.
 

ivanvamp

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Nope, that was a total team effort, losing that series.  Can we name one player that played exceptionally well throughout it?  I always think Bergeron is good but he didn't really stand out to me.  Krug had his moments.  Rask had a couple of big games but that's really it.  Chara looked slow.  Marchand, Lucic, and Krejci were complete no-shows.  The defensemen made some huge mistakes.  The offense missed scoring chance after scoring chance.  
 
I mean, losing to the Canadiens took everybody to join in, and by God, they did.
 

ivanvamp

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Some numbers from the series:
 
Shots
Bos - 235 (33.6 per game)
Mtl - 197 (28.1 per game)
 
Goals
Bos - 16 (2.3 per game)
Mtl - 20 (2.9 per game)
 
Posts hit
Bos - 13 (1.9 per game)
Mtl - 1 (0.1 per game)
 
Power plays
Bos - 3-18 (16.7%)
Mtl - 8-25 (32.0%)
 
Hits
Bos - 269 (38.4 per game)
Mtl -  247 (35.3 per game)
 
Faceoffs won
Bos - 269 (38.4 per game)
Mtl - 236 (33.7 per game)
 
You look at those numbers and it appears that Boston outplayed Montreal.  More shots.  More hits, more face-offs won.  But they just could not put the puck into the net - some due to bad play and some due to bad luck - and the penalty situation (which many of us feared given the opponent) was critical.  It seemed that when Boston played big, bad, Bruin hockey, Montreal got power plays.  And when the B's backed off, they looked dead-legged and lethargic.
 

PedroSpecialK

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minor, but re: the game 6 goal from Pacioretty, I don't think there's a real goat there. Rask doesn't think the puck will make it to him until it's too late and the puck gets on edge and rolls, Chara sees the puck begin to roll and thinks Rask will get to it and clear it to the boards.
 

Carmine Hose

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One stat not there is the elusive puck luck.  I thought the B's maybe got one fortunate bounce (on the dump in before the Fraser OT winner) in the entire series.  The Habs seemed to enjoy 5 a period.  Even Briere's dagger PP goal in the third last night was an attempted pass through two D-men to the trailing winger on the left.  It hits Chara's skate and goes in.  If that's the B's, it hits the d-man's skate and ricochets backwards for and odd-man rush.
 
 
minor, but re: the game 6 goal from Pacioretty, I don't think there's a real goat there. Rask doesn't think the puck will make it to him until it's too late and the puck gets on edge and rolls, Chara sees the puck begin to roll and thinks Rask will get to it and clear it to the boards.

 
 
Another example.  That puck hits off Eriksson's glove ona clear and is flying right to Rask, then it takes a reverse backspin bounce to lay up for Pacioretty.  I've never seen a puck do that off a clear.
 

Red Right Ankle

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ivanvamp said:
Some numbers from the series:
 
Shots
Bos - 235 (33.6 per game)
Mtl - 197 (28.1 per game)
 
Goals
Bos - 16 (2.3 per game)
Mtl - 20 (2.9 per game)
 
Posts hit
Bos - 13 (1.9 per game)
Mtl - 1 (0.1 per game)
 
Power plays
Bos - 3-18 (16.7%)
Mtl - 8-25 (32.0%)
 
Hits
Bos - 269 (38.4 per game)
Mtl -  247 (35.3 per game)
 
Faceoffs won
Bos - 269 (38.4 per game)
Mtl - 236 (33.7 per game)
 
You look at those numbers and it appears that Boston outplayed Montreal.  More shots.  More hits, more face-offs won.  But they just could not put the puck into the net - some due to bad play and some due to bad luck - and the penalty situation (which many of us feared given the opponent) was critical.  It seemed that when Boston played big, bad, Bruin hockey, Montreal got power plays.  And when the B's backed off, they looked dead-legged and lethargic.
Quibble:  more hits is generally not a good stat to point to to say one team outplayed another.  Studies show hits don't correlate with winning.  You need more context (where the hits occurred, comparisons against the two team's usual hit ratios, adjustments for home/away scoring differences since the hits are subjectively scored by the home team's stats guys, etc.).
 

wiffleballhero

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Right, you do not check people while you have the puck on your stick therefore it is generally better to trail in hits delivered (despite the troglodyte thrill of it all) .
 

Dummy Hoy

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e Soderberg, Bergeron, and Hamilton all had a good series. Boychuck was quiet but solid as was Eriksson. The list of guys who didn't suck for stretches of the series stops there for me.
 
I thought the issue with Pacioretty's goal was a common one throughout the series- piss poor communication and passivity. Either Chara or Rask could have stopped that, neither called it, and then both waited for something to happen. Killed the Bruins all series long.
 

steveluck7

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Carmine Hose said:
One stat not there is the elusive puck luck.  I thought the B's maybe got one fortunate bounce (on the dump in before the Fraser OT winner) in the entire series.  The Habs seemed to enjoy 5 a period.  Even Briere's dagger PP goal in the third last night was an attempted pass through two D-men to the trailing winger on the left.  It hits Chara's skate and goes in.  If that's the B's, it hits the d-man's skate and ricochets backwards for and odd-man rush.
 
 
Another example.  That puck hits off Eriksson's glove ona clear and is flying right to Rask, then it takes a reverse backspin bounce to lay up for Pacioretty.  I've never seen a puck do that off a clear.
Minor quibble but Bergy's magic jumping puck goal from game 2 definitely falls on the "good" side of the puck luck ledger
 

Zososoxfan

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Although it may have been due to execution in large part, I think Clod got outcoached this series. The 2 most glaring issues I saw (at least on offense) were that 1) there wasn't enough of an effort to get guys in front of Price in the low slot and 2) the Bruins never really got their offensive cycle and board game going. There were plenty examples of the lack of traffic in the low slot in Game 7 - I remember yelling several times when Looch wasn't working the boards or in possession of the puck, he hung in the mid/high slot looking for a pass instead of posting up in front of the net. While I don't remember others posting up much either, Iggy got a couple of tips and Bergy had his, so I'm willing to concede this may just be my bias/inexperience. Even so, there wasn't nearly enough traffic in front of Carey this series IMHO. I also thought not nearly enough pucks were played deep in behind the Habs goaline. The Bruins typically do a phenomenal job of establishing possession deep in the opponent's zone, which not only creates good opportunities, but allows for the D to get setup better on the backcheck. I assume some of this was also Habs strategy, but the Bruins were not in their element for a large portion of the series.
 
I've also seen a couple of posts regarding how the Habs forecheck really slowed the Bruins transition game down, but I couldn't break down that strategy if it was in fact in place and effective. It would make sense though given the youth of our D and the shuffling going on game-to-game. 
 
Lastly I have a question--did Therrien create matchup problems for the Bruins this series? For example, did he try and play Subban against a particular line or defenders? Weise? 
 
Edit: for clarity
 

Ed Hillel

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Total number of times shorthanded in the 2014 playoffs for the last 8 teams:
 
Montreal: 25 (11 games) 
Minnesota: 38 (13 games)
Rangers: 41 (14 games), but an INSANE amount of time on the PP (96 minutes).
Boston: 45 (12 games)
Chicago: 46 (12 games)
Anaheim: 48 (12 games)
Pittsburgh: 53 (13 games)
LA Kings: 53 (13 games)
 
Obviously, these don't tell the entire story, especially in the case of a team like the Rangers. Apparently half their games someone from one of the teams is in the box, but I did still find it interesting. Here are the numbers, sorted by PK/PP +/-
 
http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20143ALLSAAAll&sort=teamPenaltyDetail.powerplayMinusPenaltyKillSeconds&viewName=penaltyKillTime