The Bruins' 2009-2010 campaign truly began as soon as Tim Thomas shot like a bullet from net to bench after Carolina Hurricane Scott Walker (now playing for those high and mighty Capitals) whacked the game and- for the Bruins- season ending goal past him in the second round of the 08-09 playoffs. It was a ridiculous series that never should have happened the way it did. In disappointing fashion, the Bruins' 116 point season, their best since 1971, was brought to a premature end.
It was difficult to watch Thomas skate back to the bench in the aftermath. Yellow towels fell from the balcony, and the silence that filled the TD Garden was as deafening as the roar that had just gripped the crowd moments before. For one season, the Bruins had forgotten how to lose, until that painful moment when the reality of a team that is encroaching on a three decade championship drought returned as the puck hit the back of the net.
It still amazes me just how different the B's look this season when compared to the 08-09 version. Their swagger is gone. Their intimidation is gone. And most importantly, their consistent will to win is gone. It is as if a team that proved that they could play like champions lost their belief in that ability, and still haven't gained it back.
So now, with six games remaining before the playoffs begin, the Bruins find themselves hanging on to the eighth and final playoff spot by the skin of their teeth. And here's the crazy thing: they could do it.
Do what?, you ask. Well, a lot of things, really. Amazingly, the Bruins are in a position where they will decide their own fate, and recent sparks of life in a team that ought to have been considered dead during their dreadful January losing streak have gotten people talking again. It would be easy for the Bruins to slip out of the playoffs, losing their lead of two points to the Atlanta Thrashers or the New York Rangers, but fans are hoping that they will be able to widen their lead, maybe by overtaking current sixth and seventh seed holders Philadelphia and Montreal. What makes these final games of vital importance is that Boston, Philly, and Montreal are tied with 82 points each. While Boston loses tiebreakers to both teams, and would take the eighth seed if the season ended today, they each have six games left to play to overcome the others. Remember, one point is enough to put the B's over the Flyers or the Canadiens. And here is why the scramble is so vital: the Washington Capitals. The Caps, sitting securely with the number one seed locked up and in their pocket, are just waiting for whoever gets stuck with that last spot to come rolling into town.
I'll be frank. No one wants to play Washington in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. The team boasts the most potent offense the league has seen in some time, and Alex Ovechkin is just itching for another chance at the Stanley Cup. So for Boston, Philly, and Montreal, the task becomes not only to secure a playoff bid, but to avoid Washington for as long as possible. The idea of an opening playoff series against the Sabres, the Devils, or even the Penguins, although daunting, is far more believable than one against the Caps. The Bruins have defeated the Sabres multiple times this year, and have seen them as divisional foes enough times to be able to develop a strong game plan against them.
Similarly, the Bruins have had luck against a good New Jersey Devils team, surrendering some close games but winning their most recent one on Tuesday in overtime 1-0 behind the hot glove of Tuukka Rask. And who wouldn't like to see the Bruins get at least four do-overs of their revenge match up against the Pittsburgh cheap shotters? If the Bruins bring the energy that they should have brought in their last game against the Penguins to a playoff series with them, they will have a great shot at sending them home. It would be nice to give one or two teams a shot at upsetting or wearing down the Caps before having to face them.
So, what must the Bruins do in their last six games to give them a shot at rectifying their situation. I've identified five factors that, if met or not met, could and should determine the fate of the team. Let's hope they can string together some of the stuff that made them the force to be reckoned with that they were last year. If they can do that, there's no telling what will happen when they are catapulted into the playoffs.
1. Intimidation
Allow me to point you towards the greatest hockey introduction video ever made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxpCaJ84BIc&feature=fvw
For years, people have been talking about how the philosophy of the Big, Bad Bruins needed to return to the Garden, as that was what made the B's so great in their prime. This video will never cease to send chills up and down my spine. It demonstrates the bridging of the gap between the Big, Bad Bruins of old and the newer version that is on the ice today, led by Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton, and Co. The theme of "Big and Bad are Back" fit, and it made people really believe that this year was going to be it. Nowadays when I walk by the Garden and see the giant poster hung up proclaiming the motto to the world, I can only sigh and reminisce. The motto would have been a better fit for last year's squad, as the 09-10 version have dulled down their intimidation front considerably.
Exhibit A, of course, is their lack of action during and following the blindside hit by Penguin Matt Cooke on Bruin Marc Savard, sidelining him for an indeterminate amount of time with a concussion. The blow was devastating. Boston's best goal scorer of the season, Savard had led the power play and kept together a team of under-performing players. When he went down in such an insulting way, the Bruins should have retaliated more than they did. Their lack of immediate action against Cooke hardly incited adjectives like Big and Bad, but more like timid and lazy. Where was Milan Lucic, the Bruin's star tough guy and enforcer? Where was Shawn Thornton? It took a week of media bashing to get the Bruins to realize that they needed to retaliate, and they did... kind of. Shawn Thornton took down Matt Cooke, and Captain Zdeno Chara got in a fight of his own, but at the same time, the B's lost again to the Penguins in a 3-0 shutout on their home ice. Their 17 shots on goal for the game illustrates just how underwhelming their attack was. The intimidation factor just was not there. The B's were still going through the motions, and without much time left.
So, what does need to happen? Well, the Bruins have all the tools necessary to put the fear of God into their opponents going into the playoffs: They're a team that, at this point, has nothing to lose. They have multiple guys who have shown that they can be passionate and lay down the law in protection of their teammates and selves, and they ought to have the motivation for it.
In games like their 2-1 victory over the Rangers on the 21st of March to maintain their playoff spot, the B's established themselves intimidation-wise early on. Two fights from unlikely players led to a strong forecheck and passionate play. The Bruins nearly shut out the Rangers, and when they did give up their lone goal, it was because they lost their focus and intimidation late in the third period. New York had its longest offensive possession of the game because the Bruins were taking their two goal lead for granted. The result was a one goal game with a few minutes remaining in the game. They need to be intimidating for 60 minutes a game, every game.
If the B's can be intimidating and show that they are willing to fight for what is right in their remaining games, which should provide them enough passion to do so, they will go into the playoffs as a team with spunk and strength. The Penguins, most of all, will fear the revenge that they never received from the Bruins, this time by way of goals scored, timely saves, and retaliation if other teams get out of line. If the B's can't establish this intimidation, other teams will have a much easier time establishing their style of play, and games will be much harder to win.
2. Offense
In a shocking reversal this season, the Bruins' offense disappeared. They've been awful at scoring goals. Everyone's favorite idea to latch onto nowadays is that the B's have a hot goal tender in Tuukka Rask, and a more than capable back up in last year's Vezina trophy winner, Tim Thomas. I don't think they will be enough.
A hot goalie is important for a team to perform in the final stretches of a season, but so is a potent offense, especially in hockey. For example, the Bruins' awful looking loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this week 5-3 can be placed squarely on the shoulders of the Bruin's defense. Rask played very well. A ridiculous amount of the Lightning's shots on goal went into the net, but there are types of goals scored that a goalie simply cannot defend without the help of a strong backcheck. Tampa Bay's first goal, a quick sliding pass in from the left side of the net into the middle of the crease to be banged home should never have happened the way it did. They were just 30 seconds into the game, and Rask had his angle on the attacker coming from the right side of the net perfectly. It is not his job, however, to defend against the quick pass into the crease. The Lightning forward who was able to crash the net without any resistance ought to have been stopped by a defense that was sleeping.
So, a hot goalie is great. Thomas and Rask's shutouts in recent games have proven that fact. But, when you are playing a team that can score goals in ways that cannot be defended, you will need some offensive power. The B's should have that power. Losing star winger Phil Kessel at the beginning of the season created a drama equated to a soap opera for the team, and their offense has not rebounded. Injuries have seemingly made players finicky, guys are consistently looking for the beautiful shot instead of trying to get the dirty goal, and the power play has fallen into shambles with Savard's exit. But take a look at who is shooting the puck for the Bruins.
Zdeno Chara has the fastest shot in the world. David Krejci is known for being able to make things happen, Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder used to be able to get around guys like no one else. And now, they just can't seem to put their tools together like they did last year to put the puck in the net.
However, they have everything they need. A 5-0 shutout of the Calgary Flames and an equally impressive 4-0 win against the potent Thrashers are games that speak to the Bruin's ability to score. But for some reason, they just can't consistently do it over the course of many games.
With a bolstered offense in these last games, the Bruins will have regained the third side of the game again, and will be a much more balanced team going into the playoffs. Without it, they will have to keep relying solely on Tuukka Rask, a guy who, in his Rookie season, can't be expected to do everything.
3. Star Power
What happened to Milan Lucic? In his second year, the big guy struggled with injuries early in the season, but hasn't returned fully to his fiery state as of yet. It is no secret why there are more 17s than any other number on jerseys in the crowd on any given night at a Bruins game. It's because Boston fell in love with the guy who was bringing back the Big, Bad Bruins. He made highlight reels, and will live in Bruin's history forever after that Canadiens fight in which he threw his arms up and shouted after throwing his opponent to the ground, banging on the boards to the applause of fans as he was led to the penalty box. This guy could fight, and because he could fight, he could score goals.
But this year, he's cooled down considerably. Where is his fire? We catch glimpses of it occasionally through the woodwork, and his line has played superbly in recent games, but it still isn't the Looch we saw last year. There is nothing that would energize a fan base more than if Lucic regained his old form going forward.
Of course, Lucic isn't the only guy who lost some of his spunk this season. With Kessel gone, and Chara and Krejci also losing some of their swagger, the B's turned to the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Savard, and Rask to keep the team fresh in the eyes of the public. These guys have done a good job, but with Savard out, the B's will need their rough and tumble stars to return if they are going to have a shot at anything this post season.
If this can happen, fans will be all the more rabid about this team come playoff time. If not, people will be twiddling their thumbs, waiting for the B's to be sent home from a playoff that they were lucky to get into in the first place.
4. Balls
I'm not talking about balls of the players, as I've discussed that in section one, but rather the balls of the management. People were seething at the trade deadline this year as the B's failed to make a team changing move in pursuit of the playoffs. Great players seemed to go everywhere but Boston, as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. General Manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julian need to get some balls heading into this off season. Again, its an instance where they had them before the season began, but seem to have lost them now. Julian was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy in 2009 and was known for his ability to move his guys around effectively. Chiarelli had locked up most of the Bruins top performers of last year into long term deals so that the championship that they need could be encountered.
This year, they've lost their big time decision making skills. Chiarelli has been slow to pull the trigger on any more big trades that could help the Bruins. Julian has made some poor choices at the coaching helm late in the season as well. Most notable lately was his choice to play Tim Thomas in consecutive games with the playoffs looming and Tuukka Rask as the better of the two. With the season on the line, Julian will have to bite the bullet and just let Rask play out the remaining games so that he can go into the playoffs on a streak, and Chiarelli may need to swallow his money and move some people around if he want his team to be successful next year.
5. Consistency
Plain and simple, the Bruins have lacked any form of consistency all year. They always seem to bounce from win to loss to win to loss, and cannot keep any momentum moving from game to game. All of the factors above suffer from a lack of consistency. They need to be consistently intimidating, consistently moving the puck on offense, consistently ballsy, and consistently doing things that may wind up on next year's home opening video. Without this consistency, fans feel like they are being jerked around by a team that just doesn't care all the time.
The Bruins need to care, all the time. The team has not won a Stanley Cup since 1971, and for Bruins fans, it has been far too long. After what should have been the break through season last year, the B's failed to carry their momentum and find themselves on the brink of elimination. Let's see if they can wake up and ride the skin of their teeth back to relevancy.
