No Luck For The Irish

Well I guess the lucky tie that Red Auerbach gave Steve Pagliuca wasn't so lucky after all, as the Celtics to the shagrin of many Green Teamers got the 6th pick in last night's NBA Draft Lottery.  While the player the C's could get with the 6th pick will probably be very good, it is well documented that there is a big drop off from the top 3 players (Embiid, Parker and Wiggins) to the next level of players that the C's will be picking from.

Since the C's will most likely be looking to draft a power forward/center, the three names currently being thrown around are Noah Vonleh from Indiana ( a local kid who grew up in Haverhill, MA), Julius Randle from Kentucky and Aaron Gordon from Arizona.  While all these players will provide the Celtics with some much needed size down by the basket, I am not sure any of these guys are players that you build your franchise around.  It is for this reason why I hope the Celtics do whatever it takes to package their 6th overall pick this year, along with other future first round picks, to help trade for Kevin Love.  Thanks to the Brooklyn Nets the C's have rights to the Nets first round pick in 2016 and 2018 as well as the ability to swap their first round pick with the Nets in 2017.  The Celtics also have the rights the Clippers first round pick next year.  Needless to say the Celtics, who will also probably have themselves favorable first round picks for the next couple of years, have many assets at their disposal to use in a potential trade to help land a current proven player in the NBA with the leading candidate being Kevin Love.

The two major hurdles regarding a trade with Kevin Love is 1) he seems to be more interested in going to a team like the Warriors or Bulls who are currently a lot closer to winning an NBA title than the Celtics and 2) He is a free agent after this year so there is no guarantee the Celtics will be able to retain him.  If I was Kevin Love I personally would chose the Warriors or Bulls as well.  Going from the Timberwolves to the current Celtics is in my mind a pretty lateral move that probably doesn't excite him too much.  On the other hand the Celtics are committed to winning (not sure the Timberwolves are that committed), have an All-Star caliber point guard in Rondo and a coach in Brad Stevens who I think would work terrifically with Love's skill set.  With the potential of Love and Rondo, the Celtics would be just one player away from solidifying that solid three player core that so many teams try to achieve.  Getting the 6th overall pick unfortunately didn't help in the Celtics efforts to land Love.  If the C's had gotten a top 3 pick it would have been a lot more attractive to the Timberwolves, but now Danny Ainge will have to be more creative and decide if he wants to rebuild through the draft or figure out a way to use his ample supply of draft picks and become contender through trades.

Needless to say receiving the 6th pick in the lottery last night, combined with the Bruins getting eliminated from the playoffs last week and the Red Sox current five game losing streak, it has been a very tough week being a Boston sports fan.  On the bright side if it makes Celtics fans feel any better, the C's did select Larry Bird with the 6th overall pick in the 1978 draft.

Digesting The Bruins Loss To The Canadiens

So I have had a week to digest the Bruins game 7 loss to the Canadiens and elimination from the playoffs.  While I think I'm officially over the loss, it still stinks losing to your arch rival in a game 7 on your home ice.  Granted the Rangers have been playing great hockey over their last five games, it hurts even more seeing how the Canadiens have played so far in the Eastern Conference Finals.

I think it's safe to say two key ways the Bruins were exposed as a team in their series against the Canadiens was their overall team speed and inability to score goals when down by the net.  While it seems over the past few years that the Bruins flat out don't match-up well against the Canadiens, the B's will now have to maybe build their team in a new way since given the new playoff format they will most likely have to face Montreal most years in the playoffs.  I am not saying the Bruins need to have a complete overhaul.  They were the best team in the NHL during the regular season for a reason, but they need to maybe become more dynamic on offense.

Tyler Seguin was supposed to be the guy who had the combination of speed and ability to finish goals, but unfortunately that did not work out.  While Seguin definitely showed signs of what he was capable of during his time in Boston, he was too inconsistent. Most Bruins fans, including myself, had become sick and tired of hearing Jack Edwards say after a Seguin shot "High and off the glass."  Also, you could tell by the end of last year that the Bruins organization had become sick of his off the ice antics.  I don't blame the Bruins for trading Seguin and I think it's safe to say both the Stars and B's have benefited from the trade, but not having Seguin left that speed/dynamic scorer role vacant in the 2013-14 Bruins lineup.  Seguin was supposed to be the Bruins version of Patrick Kane, and now the B's will have to again begin their search for that style of player.

The player I would like to see the Bruins now go after in free agency is left winger Jussi Jokinen of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Jokinen in many ways was the one bright spot for the Penguins in this year's playoffs, and while I am sure Pittsburgh will do their best job to try to re-sign him, I think Jussi is the perfect guy to fill the Bruins speed/scorer void. If the Bruins decide to not keep Jarome Iginla, Jokinen could immediately come in and enhance either their first or second line.  While I think Iginla is still capable of playing in the NHL for another year or two, Jokinen, who is five years younger than Iginla,  could be a long term asset for the Bruins if they could ink him to a multi-year deal.  Another reason I'd love to see Jokinen become a Bruin is that with the exception of maybe Nino Niederreiter of the Minnesota Wild, he easily has the best name in the NHL, and it would also give Tuukka Rask a fellow Finnish countryman to hang out with on the team.

As I said, the Bruins are still a very good team.  The Bruins will welcome back their second best defenseman in Dennis Seidenberg next season, and there is enough balance of youth and veteran experience on the team that there is no reason why they shouldn't be a force in the NHL next season and for the years to come.  I just hope this loss to Montreal was a wake up call to General Manager Peter Chiarelli that maybe he needs to change the makeup of the team a bit so they can compete with a team like the Canadiens over a long series.

B's Get Knocked Down

The picture above of Reilly Smith getting absolutely destroyed by P.K. Subban pretty much sums up game 3.  I truly thought the B's would come out a lot better than they did yesterday, and a lot of the same problems we saw the Bruins have in games 1 and 2 were evident in game 3 as well.  While last night's loss wasn't the end of the world by any means for the Black and Gold, it does make game 4 that much more important.

I have Ranted many times about the Bruins ability to come back, and while it is definitely a strength, they have to make sure it doesn't become a habit.  The B's have been down in all 3 games to the Habs by at least two goals and last night they were even down by three, which was a deficit they weren't able to overcome. The glaringly disturbing stat so far in the series is in the 3+ games (including overtime in game 1) the B's have only had a lead for 11 minutes.  If the Bruins want to have any chance at changing the momentum of the series, the B's have to have better starts to the games than the ones they have had so far.

 The two main things that really hurt the Bruins last night was their inability to score, which has become an unfortunate trend, and some obvious defensive miscues.Yesterday in my Rant I mentioned how the B's have had more than their fair sure of opportunities to score on Carey Price, and last night was no different.  If there is one thing the Bruins really lack it is having a player who is a pure goal scorer.  When the B's have had their opportunities to score down by the net they have either shot wide, high, whiffed or shot it right into Price's chest like Torey Krug did twice in the 2nd period last night.  In short the Bruins have basically found a way to shoot the puck in every possible way that doesn't result in a goal.

The other thing that has become quite evident is the Canadiens ability to block shots.  Last night the Habs had 29 blocked shots compared to just 20 by the B's.  In fact one of those blocked shots led to a break away goal by Dale Weise, which put Montreal up 3-0.  The Bruins have to somehow figure out a way to find holes in the Canadiens defense.  Add in the fact Montreal has been very physical, as was seen by many of their hits last night, and the Bruins in many ways are getting beat at their own game by the Habs.

The other aspect of the game last night that was really frustrating is all the Montreal goals came by a Canadien player getting behind the Bruins defense.  The first goal by the Habs occurred when Tomas Plekanec was able to sneak behind the entire Bruins defense and receive beautiful backdoor pass by Thomas Vanek  to bury the puck in the back of the net.  The second goal  by Montreal came when P.K. Subban was able to get free immediately after leaving the penalty box.  The Bruins have to have better awareness and communication about knowing when a player is coming out of the box.  Finally the third goal by the Canadiens came when Dale Weise was able to skate by the Bruins defense for another breakaway goal.  When watching post-game shows and listening to sports radio this morning many people were quick to mention Tuukka Rask's poor play last night, but with the exception of maybe the first goal when Rask cheated to the left leaving the entire right side of the goal open, I don't blame any of those goals on Rask.  Yes, a world class goalie should be able to stop a breakaway, especially against a player like Weise who only has 6 goals on the year, but I blame the defense, or lack of defense in this case, more on than I blame Rask.

If there is one thing we know for sure going forward in the series it is the Bruins will now have to win a game at the Bell Centre.  One thing the B's and Bruins fans can't blame last night is the officiating, as each team only had 1 penalty. The Bruins have to find their 5 on 5 game that they were so successful at in games 1 and 2 of the series, as well as pretty much the entire season.  I am not saying game 4 is an absolute must win, but it will be awfully tough to win 3 games in a row against this Montreal team.

In Claude We Trust

So far through two games the Bruins and Canadiens series has lived up to its billing.  The first two games were both extremely entertaining games and it is fitting that the series is tied at one going into game 3 up in Montreal tonight.  While this series seems like it is headed for at least six if not seven games the one telling stat that is in the B's favor tonight is their record under head coach Claude Julien in game 3's in the playoffs. Since Claude has taken over the Bruins, the Black and Gold are 14-1 in game 3's including being 3-0 against the Habs.

While I am always skeptical of comparing teams from year to year since the players on the teams change so often now, one thing that has been consistent under Calude's leadership is the B's never get rattled no matter the score in an individual game or in the score of a series.  The Bruins have overcome a two goal deficit in the playoffs three times so far this year, including the first 2 games against the Canadiens, and have rebounded with wins in game 2 in both series after dropping both game 1's.  While falling behind in a game, especially a multiple goal deficit, is never a good thing I think Claude's cool nature as a coach rubs off on the team.  Claude and the B's never feel like they are out of a game because they truly believe their depth and physical play will eventually wear down the opponent.

Obviously if you watched the first two games of the series the three main things as a Bruins fan you have to take away are: 1) The B's need to defend P.K (I learned this week it stands for Pernell Karl) Subban better at the point 2) The Bruins need to stay out of the penalty box. Local radio host Michael Felger has even gone so far to say that the B's shouldn't even check the Habs for the rest of the series and 3) The B's need capitalize on their scoring opportunities.  Watching overtime of game 1 and almost all of game 2 until the final 10 minutes, the Bruins had so many opportunities to score around the net yet were never able to capitalize.  Whether it was the Lucic whiff in game 1 or Loui Eriksson holding onto the puck for too long in game 2, it is clear the Bruins need to put the puck in the back of the net when they get Carey Price out of position.  Price has made some amazing saves through the first two games, but he has also given the Bruins many opportunities to get some easy goals.  Being in the hostile Bell Centre for the next two games where one can expect few breaks to go the Bruins way, the B's now more than ever need to take advantage of the scoring opportunities when they come their way.

My biggest takeaway from game 2 however wasn't something that happened on the ice, but rather something that took place on the Bruins bench.  For years Shawn Thornton has been a fan favorite, for his toughness on the ice and his persona off of it.  While Thornton may not score many goals, and come playoff time his role as the team's enforcer is greatly diminished, we saw on Saturday why he is so valuable to this Bruins team.  While it looked like Thornton may have suffered a serious leg injury when Subban dove instead of taking a hit, within a short amount of time Thornton was back on the Bruins bench after making a visit to the locker room.  While he barely played any shifts after returning to the bench, if you listened to the telecast Pierre McGuire mentioned multiple times how influential Thornton was in motivating the team as the B's made their epic comeback to win game 2.

While the Bell Centre is arguably the toughest place to play in the NHL, I have enough faith in Claude in game 3's and his ability to adjust within a series that the B's will come away victorious tonight.  I am not saying they will also win game 4, but if the B's can come away with a split in Montreal I think most Bruins fans will take that, as they will have regained home ice advantage.  Either way the atmosphere should be electric tonight in the Bell Centre and I can't wait to watch.

Last Nugget: So instead of writing P.S. at the end of every Rant, I figured I'd just start a new section called the "Last Nugget".  I am not sure it will be in every Rant, but basically it will revolve around a stat or topic that I found interesting that week but maybe not worthy of a full Rant.  This Rant's Last Nugget is in regards to blown leads.  While I touched on it in my Rant last week and also briefly in this Rant above, if there is one major storyline from this year's NHL Playoffs, it is "the dreaded two goal lead."  So far in these playoffs there have been 20 two goal leads that have been blown, and we are only in the early stages of the second round. Also, it looks like blowing multiple goal leads is contagious as the epidemic inflicted itself in the English Premier League yesterday.  Liverpool ,who was in the driver's seat to win the league title, blew a 3 goal lead in the final 10 minutes of yesterday's game against Crystal Palace and as a result will now most likely not win the league.   As an Everton fan, Liverpool's arch rival, I took great joy in this and I enjoyed even more seeing the Liverpool fans and players cry their faces off after the game ended.  Because I could watch video of this all day long, I provided a clip below.  Anyways, enjoy the Bruins game tonight and the other playoff games whether it be in the NHL or NBA.

Bring On The Habs

The Bruins quest to return to the Stanley Cup finals for the second year in a row, and for the third time in the last four years, took a big step forward this past Saturday when they beat the Red Wings 4-2 to win the series decisively 4-l and setting up a second round series against the rival Canadiens.What made this series encouraging from a Bruins fan perspective is that besides the power play being a strength, compared to past playoffs where it was a glaring weakness, is that this series was never in doubt even after they lost game 1.

While the playoffs began with a 1-0 loss for the Bruins, the B's responded with a convincing 4-1 in game 2 and then took a stronghold on the series by winning 2 games, including coming back from a 2 goal deficit in game 4, in Joe Louis Arena.  If there is one thing we have learned about the Bruins over the past four seasons is that they are never fazed by any deficit whether it be in a game or in a series. The Bruins continue to play within their system and more times than not their depth proves to be too much for the opposition.

It certainly does help to have a Vezina trophy finalist in Tuukka Rask between the pipes, but what makes the Black and Gold so dangerous is their ability to wear down an opponent over 60 minutes.  The Bruins may not have one individual flashy goal scorer, but they roll out three lines on a nightly basis that are all capable of scoring and more importantly are probably the best three lines in hockey at playing two-way hockey, with Selke trophy finalist Patrice Bergeron leading the way.  If any stat is indicative of showing the depth of the Bruins is that in their five first round games, they had ten different goal scorers.

Another encouraging sign for the Bruins is the one thing that worried fans the most coming into the playoffs, being the youth on defense, has steadily improved as the regular season ended and the playoffs began.  Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Kevan Miller have all been playing some of the best hockey of their young careers as of late and are slowly but surely making Bruins fans forget about injured defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.  Add in the fact that Justin Florek, who came out of nowhere to fill in admirably for Chris Kelly on the third line, and Carl Soderberg playing as well as probably any third liner in the NHL, and the future looks bright for the Bruins, not only in these playoffs but for the years to come as well.

What makes these playoffs for the Bruins potentially extra special is the B's have the chance to go through the entire playoffs playing only Original Six teams if the Bruins can beat the Canadiens this series, the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals and then potentially the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.  However since I do believe the Canadiens pose the biggest threat to the Bruins in the Eastern Conference, I won't look too far ahead.  Montreal played the Bruins better than any opponent this year and regardless of the year they always play the B's tough in the playoffs.  Due to the fanaticism of their fans, playing in the Bell Centre is always one of the toughest arenas to come out of victorious as a visiting opponent, and because of that having home ice advantage may come in handy in this series more than any other series the B's may potentially have to play in these playoffs.

Whenever the Bruins and Canadiens face-off against each other, whether it be in the regular season or playoffs, it is different than any opponent the B's play. For instance last year when the Bruins played the Blackhawks in the finals I truly believe there was mutual respect amongst both franchises and fans.  One only had to see the ad Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz took out in the Boston Globe after Chicago won the Stanley Cup to see the mutual admiration between the cities and teams. When the Bruins and Canadiens play each other however there is legitimate animosity between the fans and teams, and that's what makes this rivalry so intense.  In the early 2000's I think it is safe to say there was no greater rivalry in professional sports than the Yankees and Red Sox, but in the past few years it appears that rivalry has become diluted, and from a Boston fan's perspective I think the Bruins and Canadiens rivalry has only intensified since then.  One only had to see how fanatical Canadiens fans can be when they asked for Zdeno Chara to be arrested after his hit (pictured below) on Max Pacioretty in 2011.  If you are a Bruins fan I highly recommend you tune into some Montreal sports talk radio this week and during the series, because it is highly entertaining just to see how crazy their fans can be.  I fully admit Boston sports fans can be loud and obnoxious, but Montreal fans tend take things to the next level. 

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Since the Canadiens and Bruins finished their games in four and five games respectively, there is a chance that we may have to wait until next Saturday for the series to start, but if you are a hockey fan, or just a sports fan in general ,I hope you spend your evenings this week watching the other first round games.  My previous Rant was about how great the NHL Playoffs are and this past weekend proved that again.  Last night in particular the Anaheim Ducks looked down and out for almost the entire game, yet in the final 2 minutes of regulation  with their goalie pulled they were able to score 2 goals to tie the game and then ended up winning both the game and series overtime.  Needless to say these playoffs have been nuts.  

I cannot emphasize enough what a special time of year this is if you are a sports fan, hell the NBA playoffs are even extremely entertaining so far, and as a B's fan I cannot wait for the next chapter in the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry to begin.

P.S.  I was fortunate enough to attend the game 5 of the Bruins-Red Wings this past Saturday and once again I was blown away by the energy in the building.  In my previous Rant I mentioned that an NHL Playoff game is one of the best sporting events to attend in person and this Saturday only further enhanced my opinion on that matter.  Below are a few of the pictures I took.

April Madness

I will always go on the record saying the NCAA Basketball Tournament is the best tournament in sports, but coming in a close second is the NHL Playoffs.  The main reason why I prefer March Madness is because of the one and done format and there are teams from all different conferences ranging in skill ability, whereas in professional sports like the NHL, where there is a salary cap, each team in theory should have close to equal skill sets and have a relatively equal chance of winning a title.  As we all know this isn't the case because some teams have better scouts and manage their money better than others, but for the most part there is great parity in the NHL when it comes to the teams that make the playoffs. As a result of the parity in the NHL Playoffs, the chances of the underdog winning a series is better than in any other professional sport and that is why I love watching the games so much.

What makes hockey and the NHL Playoffs so unique is it's such a team sport, whereas the NBA, who is also in their playoffs now, is more of an individual driven sport.  Another reason why I love the NHL Playoffs is the Stanley Cup.  If I were to win one trophy as an athlete it would be the Stanley Cup. When a player hoists the Stanley Cup, you can immediately tell how much that player sacrificed to win that trophy.  Since nearly every NHL Playoff series seems to go 6-7 games, the teams that end up playing for the Stanley Cup have to play nearly 3 more months of hockey on top of the taxing 82 game regular season.  In addition to the extreme joy and emotions associated with hoisting the Stanley Cup, the party that ensues after is unbelievable.  The hockey player more than any professional athlete relates to the common man, and when the Bruins won it in 2011 it was awesome to see the team bring the Cup to bars in the days following to share it with the fans.  Add in the fact that each player gets a day with the Cup during the off-season and has their name is forever etched on its side, to me there is no better trophy to win in sports.

If there was a perfect example of how awesome the NHL Playoffs are, last night was it.  All three games last night (St. Louis-Chicago, Dallas-Anaheim and Columbus-Pittsburgh) all entered with a team (St. Louis, Anaheim and Pittsburgh) leading a series 2-1 and as a sports fan one of the worst things that could have happened is if all three games ended with the series at 3-1.  However, the sports gods were in full force last night and provided us with three extremely entertaining games and when all was said and done all three series were all tied up at 2-2. What made last night so entertaining in particular was in each game there was a lead of at least 2-0 and in all cases the team losing came back to tie the game, and in the case of Columbus and Dallas, ended up winning the game.

Finally, I've been to almost every possible sporting event and I can honestly say the best games to see in person are a college basketball game with two highly ranked teams and an NHL Playoff game.  What separates these two sporting events from the others is the energy in the building.  If you watched the NHL games last night, you would have seen fans on their feet at HOCKEY game in cities that aren't known for their love of hockey, in Columbus and Dallas. There is something special about the NHL Playoffs where a switch is turned on and the fans become electric and each shift the players skate with unbelievable energy and intensity.  Even watching the NHL Playoff games at home on television like I did  last night you could  feel the energy from the arenas on the couch in my house.

As awesome as these first round series have been so far, the best part is this is just the beginning of the NHL Playoffs and we still have a good two months left.   Buckle up.

P.S.  One way you know it's officially April Madness is when Marc-Andre Fleury becomes a complete sieve like he did at the end of last night's game against the Blue Jackets.

Boston Took Back The Finish Line

This past week in Boston was an emotional one; from the one year anniversary of the Marathon bombings last week on April 15th to running of the race yesterday.  As a person who has called Boston home for the entire 30 years of my life, Marathon Monday has always been in many ways a high holiday.  As a kid it meant having school off, in college at BC it meant having a big party with fellow students while cheering on the runners as they finished up Heartbreak Hill, and as an adult it has meant meeting up with friends around the city and enjoying what always seems to be one of the first real nice days of spring. Last year however as we all know everything changed.  Four lives were lost and nearly 300 people were injured and many wondered as a result if one of the most celebrated events in Boston would ever be the same.

I think it's safe to say whenever the Boston Marathon occurs that we will always remember what happened on April 15, 2013, but the way yesterday transpired it is apparent the city has built itself back up.  Besides the great weather, it was awesome to see the large crowds on the sidewalks and the race packed with tens of thousands of runners all running for great causes.  The true sign however that I knew Boston took back the finish line however was when Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky Downes crossed the finish line together (pictured above).  Both Patrick and Jessica lost their left legs last year during the explosions by the finish line last year, but just 53 weeks later they were able to cross the finish line together in handcycles.  As a BC alum in particular it was great to see a fellow Eagle in Patrick accomplish such a feat knowing all obstacles he and Jessica have had to overcome.

Between Patrick and Jessica and all the thousands of others who were able to finish the race along with an American male in Meb Keflezighi winning the Marathon for the first time since 1983, it was truly a special day.  The only way the day could have possibly gone better was if the Red Sox pulled off another massive comeback, but I will let that one slide given the way the organization honored all the first responders and victims the night before and then ended up coming from behind to beat the Orioles in the ninth inning.  All in all it was an awesome day and one in which I am proud to call myself a Bostonian.

Below I have posted a few pictures that I was able to take at the bottom of my street at the 25 kilometer mark in Wellesley.