The End?

Not much has been going on in the hockey world, which is part of the reason why I haven't posted for a few days. But there's something now. Tonight might finally be the night that Calgary clinches the last playoff spot. Despite their inability to do so until now, there isn't much hope that the Oilers can beat them. If they drag it into overtime they have a shot, as the Flames suck there, but I can't see that happening. There are still too many "if"s to be fulfilled. Basically, if the Avs are going to make the playoffs, something incredible has to happen. I'm ready for it to happen, but not all that hopeful. As was pointed out, however, should the Oilers pull this off, Joe Sakic will die before he sees the Flames beat them on Sunday. Why am I still nervous about everything? It's over, right? Damnit.

I've heard (and I can't remember the article) that the Bruins are going to keep the same defensive corps that they have now for next year. This would be fine, except for two things: something with the defense is off, as they suck, and we have some prospects that seem primed for recall. I haven't seen much of them, but from what I hear it's about time that Mark Stuart and Matt Lashoff should get some big league time. As far as I'm concerned, it'd be better to do this sooner rather than later. If they can get time from the start of the season on, they'll be at least mildly trustworthy should the Bruins make the playoffs. Of course they'll be given a fair shot in training camp, but that's the way the Bruins should be leaning.

In other Bruins news, there's actually an article about Andrew Ference and his bike-riding ways. Apparently he's into saving the environment. My favorite part is that, in an article that paints him as a devoted, conscious, caring individual, he cites "If somebody slashes you, you slash them back twice as hard" as one of his most valuable lessons learned. Granted, it was about gaining respect, but it's still something I love about hockey.

Partially unrelated note: I've noticed that a lot of arenas are playing "Shipping Up to Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys as their pump-up song. Unless they're planning on shipping the Bruins a few good players (which I'm entirely welcome to) they really have to stop that.

Completely unrelated note: I saw "Grindhouse" last night and absolutely loved it. Watching it, you can see just how much fun they had making those movies. It's not for everyone (I'm a Tarantino freak) and I'm sure it would have been better if I had any B-movie experience (especially for "Death Proof") but I still think everyone should go out and see it. Don't wait, either- it has to be seen in theaters.


Right now I'm eager to see the first-round matchups for the playoffs. As soon as that's solidified, I'll pick who I want to and think will win each round. The end of the season can't come soon enough.

Andrew Ference to Coach Bruins Next Year

Wicked Bruins Fan highlighted a Boston Herald article in which Andrew Ference suggests what we've all been thinking lately- Dave Lewis isn't coaching the Bruins right. This is a team that has all of the right components. Their defense and offense is talented and capable. Their goaltender isn't considered a star, but he's been the only good thing this year. Yet they suck, and in all the ways that leave the coach accountable. The Bruins have fallen apart in the third period, giving up leads and losing games too many times for it to be a coincidence. Lewis is supposed to be a defense-first coach (Brad Boyes even complained, once traded, that he had been held back by Lewis's coaching style), but the Bruins are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They are 28th in the league in goals against, only ahead of Washington and Philadelphia. Tim Thomas can't be blamed for this. The B's have averaged 34 shots against per game, which is worse than both Washington and Philadelphia. Thomas is 34th in GAA, 21st in SV%, and 5th in total saves, and 3rd in saves/60 minutes. Clearly not superstar numbers, but anyone who watched Thomas this year
he's been the biggest victim of the Bruins' awful defensive play. Lewis' system doesn't work. I went to the painful Montreal game with Paula. Between dodging beer cups, cheering so loud for the hopeless Bruins that my voice is still partly gone, and trying to figure out if the section of Habs fans behind us was chanting in English or French, we noticed that the Bruins suck. More specifically, Paula pointed out, that they were poorly coached. She said that their dump-and-chase-only style of play was "like high school hockey" and that Lewis needed to be harder on them, which is the point Ference makes. He says that some players aren't working their hardest, and suggests that:

“Sometimes it takes calling people on it. . . . If it’s just leading by example, that’s great. But sometimes it takes a little harsher criticism and some brutal honesty.”

Nothing gives me less confidence in a coach than when a player says they aren't brutal enough. I would rather have players complain that the coach is a crazed Nazi who threatens their families when they don't play well than one that's too lax. If Lewis is a coach who stifles players' offensive abilities without holding them accountable so as to make a team captained by Zdeno Chara the 28th-best defensive team in the NHL, why is he still here? I don't know who would replace him, but I think at this point anyone might be better, though my mom's completely serious suggestion of Andy Brickley might not be the answer.

In other news, Tom Gilbert has given me a good idea about how to deal with this Oilers' season. Of all the teams to break their losing streak against, it had to be the Avs. I only caught part of the game, but of course it was the part in the second period where the Oilers tied up the score. The Avs got a point out of the game, but the knowledge that they only got a point against the Oilers might be more damaging to their psyche than anything else. I'm praying that they can recover from this without any further damage, and also for a Chicago win tomorrow, though I don't know if I see that happening when Calgary just beat Detroit and Nashville. There's nothing to do but wait and see at this point. The good news is that Marek Svatos scored (and might finally get put back with Arnason, which I'm convinced will help) and that the Avs still have Joe Sakic. With him there I give them the benefit of the doubt, but the outcome of tomorrow night's game against Vancouver is huge. Win, we're still in it. Lose...well, even Joe might have trouble helping them if they lose.

Stuart and Primeau Are Flames

Dang. I didn't see this one coming.

I was hoping for an Oilers/Bruins trade for selfish reasons- I like all the players involved and wanted to keep rooting for them. Now that's over and done with. I can no longer love Brad Stuart, and my sister Liz has lost her favorite player, Wayne "Vince Vaughn" Primeau (and yes, that is why she loves him). In addition to that, this was another pretty bad trade for the Bruins. It wasn't horrible, but they could have done a lot better. People are saying that Andrew Ference will replace Brad Stuart, and at the same time saying that Calgary has improved its defense. Stuart is better than Ference. While Ference is signed for a while (the most redeemable part of this trade), he is not equal to Stuart, and this fact causes the trade to make less sense. To equalize things, Chuck Kobasew would have to be a large upgrade over Vince Primeau. There are a few reasons why I don't think that's the case. The first is that Vince is more valuable than people realize. He kills penalties and is excellent defensively, but the Bruins have also occasionally had him out on the power play, standing in front of the net. And you know what? He was good there. He had success on the power play. Vince has shown flashes of being able to do more offensively than he has, which leads me to believe that, to help his defensive game, he curtails his offense. I'm not saying he could lead the league in scoring "if only", but he isn't just a spare part.

Another reason is that Kobasew is an underachiever. He has the ability to be much better than Primeau and to make the Bruins look a little smarter about this trade, but I don't know if I see that happening. The Bruins are not the New England Patriots. They do not spin gold from straw (or leading receivers from non-starters). If anything, the Bruins are the opposite of the Patriots. Even more than sudden All-Star Brian Rolston, you can look at Joe Thornton, who has been brought up a lot with this trade. While that was a unanimously terrible trade, what people are forgetting is that the Joe Thornton we're seeing now is not the Joe Thornton we saw for years here in Boston. He was always good for us (three times an All-Star) but he was never Hart good. And if you ask anyone in Boston, they'll tell you that he never would have been. Whether the environment was too stifling or if he just needed a kick in the ass, no Bostonian believes that he would have ever gotten to this point on the Bruins. The Bruins breed mediocrity, and Kobasew will not be exempt from that. (By the way, this makes Marc Savard even more surprising. A career underacheiver who had one good season with great linemates? We were all waiting for him to suck. Touche, Marc.)

People will disagree that Vince is more valuable than Kobasew, but have you heard any Flames fans upset about losing him? I haven't heard one fan say, "Oh man, we lost Kobasew! Damn, I really liked that guy." What I've heard them say is, basically, "Fine, take him. Let's see if he scores with you." But people in Boston are upset to lose Vince. He came out every night with hits and energy. He was constantly trying to give some life to his anemic team and chronically disappointed fans. While we acknowledged his limitations, we appreciated the spark he tried to bring. I know I'm going to miss his presence on the ice. So really, who's more valuable?

Of course I haven't mentioned that Primeau is a UFA and Kobasew is signed through next year, but that fact can be cancelled out by the conditional draft pick that the Bruins threw in. I don't know what the conditions are for it, and I don't care. That was stupid. There's also the difference in salaries (the Bruins save $1.6 million), but to the fans here who had to endure Harry Sinden this is only a sign that the Bruins haven't changed. I overheard my mother talking to my uncle on the phone about the trade. She said, "So they're below the cap, and they're still cheating? *sigh* Oh god."

One last thing about the trade- I actually like Andrew Ference coming to the B's. He's a good defenseman and I don't get the feeling that he's going to suck. I just wish that Chiarelli could have done a better job with this.

To stop bashing the B's for a bit, they actually won last night. I missed the game because I was out, but my parents were there and said it was awesome. The shootout went into nine rounds, with Chara eventually winning it. My parents called me and told me while I was trying on this shirt. I freaked out, because just the other night I had wondered wistfully if the Bruins would ever go far enough into a shootout to have to use Andrew Alberts. Unfortunately, this wasn't the night, but it must have come damn close. Anyway, glad to see them win, though they haven't won in regulation since January 6th against the Flyers, and haven't won in regulation against a decent team since they beat Montreal on December 23rd. This is too depressing.

I have tickets to the B's/Oilers game on Tuesday. I have openly admitted this- I'm rooting for the Oil. I'm not going to be upset if the B's win, but I'm very quickly losing all hope in the Bruins' season, while the Oilers, with a little bit of shaking up, can still salvage something. This is too depressing.

Yesterday we lost to Wakefield. We need a tie to make the tournament and only have one game left, against Woburn (better than Wakefield). We were tied 1-1 going into the 3rd period, but due to horrible officiating and shaky goaltending we ended up losing 3-1. Our freshman Lauren, whose nickname should really be "Target" at this point, got hit hard. Upset, she got up and hit the girl back, not as hard and after going for the puck as well. She got called and they got a power play goal to go ahead. I have an intense, bitter hatred for all refs, stemming back to a bad experience I had at age 10. At one point I got cross-checked in the neck and they didn't call it. The girl wouldn't have gotten a penalty at all if she didn't also decide to slap me across the face with her stick. I got my ass kicked a lot. A girl helped me into our net, ribs first. Later, I was down during a scramble in our crease and someone landed on my leg, and now my ankle really hurts. If we don't win our next game, I at least hope I break something or get knocked unconscious, just to add injury to insult. This is too depressing.

Today's games: 3:30 PM-- Avs vs. Stars
8:30 PM-- Oilers vs. Thrashers