1) Speaking with a Pittsburgh Penguins player yesterday, he said the toughest thing about playing the Bruins is how well they shut down the middle of the ice. They have a relentless forecheck when they're up a goal or two, and they suffocate the middle of the ice better than any team in the league does.
And when the Bruins force those dump-ins, even against a skilled team like Pittsburgh that could pass through a team like the Globetrotters do against the Generals, the puck support coming out of their own end is very defensive-minded. They have four guys back at all times, and the puck rarely moves through the middle out of the Boston end.
Not much has changed over the years that Claude Julien's been running the bench. The Bruins play safe hockey, but they also have the skill to make the best out of it.
2) Technically, the Bruins got their second goal of the night on a 5-on-4, but Dave Bolland didn't make back into the play before Patrice Bergeron deposited a beauty pass from Jaromir Jagr.
Don Cherry went on a rant about point shots in the conference finals. He showed every single play developing from the point, while chanting the word "point" in strange monotone. It's funny how during the regular season, you could estimate that 90% of 5-on-3 goals come from a one-time setup at the point. I think it has a large effect on how teams operate in that situation in the playoffs, but the problem is that even with three guys out there, they always manage to block the lanes and deflect or absorb the kind of shot they know is going to hurt. They're just willing to sacrifice in that situation.
Boston made the adjustment that too many teams fail to make in that situation. Get the puck down low. Bring the closest defenseman down to the faceoff circle. Turn it into a 4-on-3 down low and make the play there instead of keeping the pressure 60-feet away from the net.
3) If Chicago can't adjust and apply some sort of pressure on Boston's breakout, they may not win another game in this series. Easy, easy outs for the Bruins throughout the whole game.
And then you look at what Keith and Seabrook have to do to get the puck up the ice. Count how many times they have to turn back and reverse the puck to one another before the puck moves to a forward.
At one point in the second period, Chicago was able to get the puck up the ice quick and move into the offensive zone with speed. As soon as the speed picked up a bit, the Bruins didn't have much of an answer for it.
4) Where does Dennis Seidenberg rank on the list of underrated players?
The guy is 31, he makes $3.25M/year until the end of next season, and there's not a team in the league that wouldn't take him for at least two million more/year.
If the Bruins don't get this guy signed this summer or early next year; if there's even a chance he goes UFA, he'll net a fortune on his next deal.
5) Maybe I'm late to this party, but someone showed me this video of Chara punching Crosby square in the beak. Apparently, the Penguins were looking for the video for a while because they couldn't find the appropriate angle to show what set Crosby off in game one of their series with the Bruins.
It was a cheap shot, no doubt. It also set the tone for a very short series between the Bruins and Penguins.
Ray Shero--Mr. GM of the Year--might consider getting a real nasty tough guy to ride shotgun with Crosby against a team like Boston. Worked for Gretzky throughout his career, and instigator rule or not, the Penguins have to find a way to protect their most valuable asset.
Without Crosby, the Penguins can win all the regular season games they want, but in the playoffs, with him off the scoresheet, they never stood a chance against Boston.
PS-- If you want to say this was a harmless, nothing shot from Chara, the blow was big enough to knock Bergeron back too...
6) It really is a joke that Chara has never been suspended.
7) Congrats to Jonathan Huberdeau for winning the Calder Trophy. Pretty spectacular achievement considering he had no one to play with for most the season. He started off as the league's best rookie and remained pretty consistent throughout.
I think what Gallagher did was just as impressive. The Canadiens 5th-round pick wasn't just a great finisher on a deep team, he was a spark plug. He was, in large part, one of their most important players this year. And the future looks exceptionally bright.
8) Hands up if you thought Ray Shero did a better job than Marc Bergevin did this year. I'm not saying he didn't do a great job--and this has nothing to do with the way things ended for Pittsburgh, or for Montreal, for that matter.
9) You know who else has a contract expiring at the end of next season? Patrice Bergeron.
Currently, at $5M/season, there's another guy you'd pay just about anything to have.
10) Renaud Lavoie tweeted last night that Danny Briere is sure to attract some good offers on the open market this summer, if and when he's bought out by the Flyers.
Just talking with a few friends, they said they wouldn't want him on the Canadiens. I retorted, I'd take him even he only played 10 out of 82 regular season games. If you have a team that's good enough to make the playoffs consistently, Briere--even at 35--is a player you want on it for the post-season.
I was partially playing devil's advocate, partially serious.
11) Now that it's official, hearty congratulations to P.K. Subban. A Norris Trophy just three seasons into what's sure to be a very illustrious career. You could imagine him working his way into the conversation over the course of his career, but to win it this soon!!
And to know that he's still got a lot of development ahead of him...
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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