For the second straight year, the Boston Bruins swept the season series with the league’s Florida-based clubs. Boston won all four meetings against Tampa Bay (the last coming via the shootout this past Saturday), and after Sunday’s 5-2 drubbing, took all five against the ‘Cats. That’s a 15-0-0 record since Jan. 2013.
This was, of course, one of the few bonuses when it came to the league’s summertime realignment. Sure, the always tough Detroit Red Wings were now in Boston’s division, but more games against the Bolts and Panthers? Where do you sign and is this real life?
So on the heels of a weekend sweep in the Sunshine State, here are some thoughts on the B’s…
Tampa Bay wouldn’t be best postseason matchup for the B’s
Yes, the Bruins went 4-0-0 against Tampa this year. And yes, they’ve won 17 of 23 regular season games against the Lightning since the club drafted Steven Stamkos back in 2008. But after watching Saturday night’s battle against Stamkos and Co., I can’t be the only one that thinks that the Bolts would present the Bruins with a ton of problems in a first round showdown, right?
Though Marty St. Louis, a player with 34 points in 50 career games against the Bruins, is now a New York Ranger, the Lightning present the Bruins with problems beyond No. 91. Just take a look at Saturday night’s game, for example.
With the advantage of having the last change in their home building, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper made it a point to get the club’s speedier wingers against the 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara. For the soon-to-be 37-year-old captain whose minutes will already be insane given the lack of Dennis Seidenberg, that’s a tall order. Especially when you realize that Chara’s going to have to be out there every time Stamkos is, too.
And as we’ve seen time and time again, just because you have the ability to dominate a club in the regular season doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to do it in the postseason. See: the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
For seven games, the Hurricanes’ speed guys (like Jussi Jokinen, Chad Larose, and even old friend Sergei Samsonov) used their wheels to make life absolute hell for a thin Boston defensive unit. On top of a definite speed advantage, Carolina goaltender Cam Ward was just an absolute brickwall. Ward used his strong positioning skills to his advantage for all seven goals, just flat out stunning Boston shooters at crunch time, pushing his team to the next round after seven battles.
Tampa goaltender Ben Bishop, at 6-foot-7 and with a .939 save percentage at even strength this season (tied for tops among NHL starters along with Tuukka Rask), could present similar problems over a seven-game series.
That was then and this is now, I know, but it’s worth noting.
Oh, and the Bruins record against the ‘Canes that year? 4-0-0.
*Gasp*.
Carl Soderberg finding NHL game
It’s been almost one calendar year since Carl Soderberg left Sweden to finally come over the National Hockey League. Naturally, the move came with some challenges for the 6-foot-3 forward. But on the Bruins’ new-look third line with Soderberg assuming more responsibilities at center -- his natural position -- the results have been there and we’re seeing the best of No. 34.
Since the formation of the Soderberg line with Chris Kelly and Loui Eriksson on the wing, Soderberg has recorded four goals and eight assists in just 13 games. The line has been a true complement to the Bruins’ top six, completely terrorizing the lower defensive pairings that they face given the established offensive prowess of both the Krejci and Bergeron line.
And boy, do I like that third line. Kelly brings the defensive game and ability for Julien to put him at center for a defensive zone draw (and Soderberg the offensive ones). Soderberg’s big body can drive the rush up ice and get to the front of the net. And perhaps most importantly, the line has allowed Eriksson to find his offensive game without the pressures of skating in the club’s top six. For a winger that’s dealt with two (two!) concussions this season, that’s so unbelievably important, especially if/when the Bruins turn to Loui for a big playoff goal or two this spring.
Andrej Meszaros scores in Bruins debut
The Bruins acquired Andrej Meszaros for defensive depth purposes. In the event that it all hits the fan in the playoffs for whatever reason, the ability to throw the 28-year-old Meszaros in over say, David Warsofsky or Zach Trotman, is an obvious upgrade for coach Claude Julien’s sanity and B’s captain Zdeno Chara’s postseason minutes.
But in his B’s debut, we learned that Meszaros can be more than this club’s seventh defender.
Everything they said about Meszaros seems on point, too. He’s quite strong when it comes to pushing the play up ice, has solid vision, and can get his shot on net. You certainly saw that with his absolute blast through Roberto Luongo for his first goal as a Bruin (and sixth of the season in total).
Of course, being paired with Chara and playing against the Panthers can make anybody look great, and that’s something we have to acknowledge. However, if Meszaros is with Chara when playing, that means that Dougie Hamilton is out of place. And while he served as the healthy scratch yesterday, that’s obviously not his place moving forward. Hamilton’s emerged as a legitimate top-four defender this season, and he should be just that when the puck drops on the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Strong showing or not, I’m not scratching Meszaros for Hamilton in crunch-time.
Expect the defensive tinkerin’ to continue.
Danny Paille exits vs. Florida
Catching a hard hit from the Panthers’ Ed Jovanovski in the first period of yesterday’s win, Boston winger Danny Paille looked to be in a world of hurt. Able to get back to the bench -- albeit quite woozily -- the fourth line forward went to the locker room and didn’t return. Uh-oh.
Paille’s already missed seven games this season because of a concussion, and a second one in less than three months would be anything but wanted for Julien’s squad.
As of right now, the Black-and-Gold haven’t released anything on the 29-year-old’s condition, but either way, any loss of No. 20 would be a pretty hard blow to a B’s fourth line that’s undoubtedly playing it’s best hockey of the year. Paille’s scored a goal and added two assists in seven games since the Olympic break, and has nine goals and 16 points in 57 games this year.
If Paille’s out, you can expect Jordan Caron to draw back into the lineup. And if Caron stumbles, Providence winger Justin Florek could be a strong call-up candidate.