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The Boston Bruins will be competing against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Each team has their strengths and weaknesses, but as the famous multi-sport cliche phrase goes; defense wins championships, and Toronto has a weak defense. Headed up by Morgan Reilly and new addition Jake Muzzin, they make up the entire “bright side” of their defense. Muzzin, a defensive, “stay home” type, contrasted by Reilly who plays a very good two way game, lead their defense corps but unfortunately there is a drop off from there. Following Reilly and Muzzin, the bottom four consist of Dermott, Hainsey, Gardiner and Oziganov/Holl. Dermott, Oziganov and Holl all lack experience (something the Bruins are not short of) though I must mention Dermott had a huge goal to tie in Game 7 last postseason. But the other two are rookies just hoping not to make a mistake in the fast-paced NHL playoffs. The Bruins on the other hand deploys a strong defense corps, with balance on each pairing, deploying a defensive defenseman with a offensive defenseman or a two way defenseman. Chara, Carlo, and Miller each master the role of the shut down defenseman while McAvoy, Krug and Grzelcyk share the puck moving duties in order to get strong break outs and zone exits. But the shut down guys can also carry the puck and make transition plays, they are all consistently joining the rush and creating offense as well as shutting down the opposition. I believe the Bruins defense beats the Leafs defense. Offensively it’s a different story. The Maple Leafs offense is strong in comparison to Boston’s. Toronto’s offensive attack is produced by Marner, Matthews, Tavares, Hyman, Marleau, Nylander, Johnsson, and Kapanen. That is a lot of names and a lot of firepower. Personally, going forward, I think Dubas should make a couple moves to get a stronger defense, because that many dynamic players playing forward leaves your defense vulnerable. This team has no trouble putting the puck in the net, but has a tough time keeping pucks out of their own. Facing Marchand, Bergeron, and Pastrnak is going to give you trouble keeping the puck out of the net. Toronto keeps a balanced approach spreading their high-scorers among the first three lines and their fourth line is for young players with speed and skill. Boston uses a top heavy offensive system relying on chemistry and toughness and speed. David Krejci holds down the second line and is having a great year, Jake DeBrusk finally got out of his scoring slump as did Danton Heinen, so the Bruins look like they are starting to come together at the right time. Not to mention their trade deadline acquisitions for Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle. Coyle is a perfect fit in the third line center role and Mojo Johansson is a versatile two-way forward that can play the wing anywhere in your line up. Also an important note that the Bruins has to give up Ryan Donato to get Charlie Coyle. Being a Bruins fan, I am not upset about losing a potential high scoring winger for the future, only because (and I believe this will happen) the Bruins will likely resign Coyle to an extension to fill that third line center position for a long time, and Donato did not fit the Bruins mold because he has no defensive ability in his game. The Bruins “fourth” line has been something that Bruins fans have been happy about all year. Centered by Sean Kuraly, the line plays a heavy hitting, speed burning game that forechecks extremely well and sets the tone physically, the wings consist of Chris Wagner and Noel Acciari, both having career seasons. If this line plays like it has all season, they could be a big part of the Bruins success.

On to the goal-tending, Tuukka Rask split the season this year with Jaroslav Halak, a goalie that spent the season prior on a dying New York Islanders team. The Bruins signed him to a humble contract, and the guy had a phenomenal year, as well as Tuukka, and, keeping their bad games at a minimum, were among the best tandums in the league this year between the pipes. Tuukka’s main problem has always been his inability to play 50+ games a season, and now for the past two seasons he has had a great back up (or 1B) to share the season’s load with. Freddie Andersen is a great goalteander and one that has carried the Leafs to many wins this season. His game could be more in prime form because of how many more shots he has had to face, but it has more-likely made him more tired. I believe he has goaltending ability pretty close to Tuukka, if not better, and if his defense can give him support, the Leafs have a real shot at the series. I think the series will go to 6 games, the Bruins will take the series at ScotiaBank and will face a hopefully tired Lightning team that I believe should have a fair amount of trouble facing Panarin and Atkinson for two weeks.

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What does Boston look like now going into 2018-19?

The Boston Bruins didn’t have a giant offseason but at the same time they didn’t do nothing. And you can at least say they improved... a little bit. Losing Riley Nash and Timmy Schaller are definitely some pretty big losses, Nash being of the 3rd line with that “never give an inch” mentality with some offensive upside. Schaller, a young forward, had some potential as a depth guy that can provide some offense every so often. Now Nash with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Schaller with Vancouver, some roles are going to need some filling.

I don’t hate the idea of bringing in some young blood with some early call-ups. Maybe that can improve our overall team speed and energy with a bunch of young guns flying around the ice, making plays and fighting for the puck every possession. Look for Jakob Forsbacka- Karlsson to be ready for the call-up. After 58 games in Providence last season, JFK had 17 goals and 32 points, not overwhelming but it’s his playmaking ability that the Bruins could use on the new third line. Also look for a Trent Frederic or a Ryan Fitzgerald to be a fill in at the fourth line left winger. Boston has a great development program in Providence and these guys have been catching the eyes of the coaches and been through the system for a while now.

Jakub Zboril has been waiting patiently for his call-up to the show but with 8 regular D-men on the Boston Bruins roster, it is hard to find a place. Last season Paul Postma played a couple games filling in for injured players to start off the season but from November on, didn’t play a single minute, he was on emergency call-up for a while then decided to take the demotion to Providence to get some time on the ice. This year we have Chara, McAvoy, Krug, Carlo, Moore, Miller, McQuaid, Grzelcyk. 4 lefties and 4 righties. No room for Zboril and 2 guys are going to have to take a healthy scratch. I’m thinking Grzelcyk and McQuaid right now with Moore filling in the bottom pairing with Miller.

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Boston Bruins Offseason Moves

The season ended with a disappointing loss to Tampa in Game 5. Krug was injured as well as Carlo, and the team struggled to score against the Lightning’s defense and Vasilevskiy. Some say Krug is on the move being that his value is high considering the fact that he is fifth defenseman in points in the league last season. To replace a glue guy like Torey, you’ll need a high return of a top six winger.

Riley Nash and Rick Nash seem to be asking for a lot to be resigned but these guys are replaceable. Our young prospects are developing incredibly fast, guys like Bjork and JFK, I can’t wait to see Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson take the ice in a Boston uniform. On the back end, look for Jakub Zboril to make the jump next season. He’s been the top left D-man the team is looking for to fill that bottom line and bump Grzelyck to the second pairing with Carlo. That is if they trade Krug.

Anders Bjork had an early seasons end with an injury and surgery to an upper body injury. I think he will be a lot more explosive next year; he played a bit more on the timid side this past season.

To wrap up, I will finish with my projected line for next season.

Marchand - Bergeron - Bjork

DeBrusk - Krejci - Pastrnak

Donato - Forsbacka Karlsson - Backes

Heinen - Kuraly - Wingels

Chara - McAvoy

Grzelcyk - Carlo

Zboril - Miller

Rask

Khudobin

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Round 2 Game 2 Boston Bruins v. Tampa Bay Lightning

Alright boys we got off to a good start in Game 1 with 6 goals (7 if you count Marchy’s snipe), we have to continue what we were doing. One thing in particular that I have been worried about since Saturday was the SOG. Boston has a total of 23 shots to Tampa’s 45. We have to put more shots up if we want to win more games. We came out hot against Toronto in the beginning of the series, but almost cost ourselves because the Leafs brought the fire power later in the series. I don’t wanna blow our load too early if you know what I’m saying.

McAvoy had two assists this past tilt and I am expecting even more production out of him. He and DeBrusk have to keep it up if we are going to slay the No. 1 seed. Our backend has to stop giving up the breakaways and have to be more stout on the boards. All around great game in Game 1 and I am looking forward to a great Game 2

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Mike Hoffman up for trade

I’m not sure how bad I want him. The Sens swept us last year, and he was a big part of that. Plus, in the playoffs he was an absolute nightmare. He worked really well in Ottawa’s system as a scorer and what team doesn’t need scorers. If the Bruins weren’t so hot right now I would probably feel compelled to want him but I am not sure if giving away a guy like Ryan Spooner, who is playing the best hockey of his career right now in Boston, for Mike Hoffman. I think his skill is higher than Spooner’s but the contract would definitely be an issue.

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Bruins v Devils 1/23/2018

The boys are still rolling and in Boston tonight against a good New Jersey team. Being from Jersey I could never like the Devils, their fan base is shaky and I’ve loved the Bruins from the very start.

Devils just had a loss to Detroit in their past game and they’re looking to derail the Bruins hot streak. I hope the B’s stick with their same lines they’ve been using with our top line, if they stay healthy, can possibly be the best line in the league with each skater having 20 goals each. Krecji’s line with DeBrusk and Spooner has been working effectively when Spooner started scoring but I would like to see more of Anders Bjork, the more experience he gets can only be a good thing. And I think when demoted him to Providence, though he is still playing pro hockey, he isn’t getting the ice time he needs. The Nash line with Backes and Heinen is also one of the most productive lines in the game right now and this doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me but Heinen is in the running for the Calder. What an achievement that will be. Fourth line you have to love because we see nothing but effort from Kuraly, Schaller, and Acciari.

The Devils are a scary team to face off against because they have so much young talent and some old vets to build on the young guys, much like we have in Boston. I am a big admirer of Brian Boyle, his perseverance through his fight against cancer, and his ability to come back and be a productive goal scorer for Jersey. Look for him to cause some trouble tonight.

If the Bruins stick to their high intensity play and stay tough along the boards and win those 50/50 battles, they will win this game. The goals will come and our ability to fight late in games to either win or push to overtime has almost been our identity this year. Though we score first mostly and can keep up the lead, when our opponent scores first we need to fight back every game. Should’ve won the game against the Stars but Tyler Seguin is always going to haunt us for as long as he’s in the league.

Puck drop 7:00 PM in Boston. I’ll be watching.

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Bruins at Habs 1/20/2018

Going into this game any fan of a team wouldn’t think much of it besides the fact that it’s a divisional matchup with a surprising 16 point differential. But, it’s the Boston Bruins visiting Bell Centre to face the Montreal Canadiens. This is hockey itself right here. Names etched in history for all of time to add to the incredible story of this rivalry. And for the first time in a real long time the Bruins could potentially sweep the Habs this year. With a 4-3 SOW in Montreal on the 13th and a 4-1 dub on Wednesday in Boston, the Bruins are looking at two more tilts against their arch rivals, one in each stadium.

The rivalry has undoubtedly died a little bit since the bad blood has been rid of, speaking more of guys like Milan Lucic and a much younger Chara. There isn’t as much fight in the Canadiens as there used to be, I think that P.K. trade was monumental in deterring the Habs success. Max Pacioretty is not going to get it done for you. They even lost Radulov to the Stars. But since Montreal hasn’t been progressing, that leaves much more room other teams to start to rule the Atlantic.

Eastern Conference Conversations

The past has shown us the teams that are controlling and will continue to control the East. The Capitals, Lightning, Canadiens, Penguins, Rangers have all been deep in the East playoffs for the past several years. Everyone sees the Maple Leafs making a name for themselves with their young team, and the Devils aren’t slowing down either. What a story the Devils have been this year by the way. Anyway, the Habs are dropping. They have almost no one to fasten their team play around besides the obvious candidate Carey Price, and Max Pacioretty is no leader, he’s just a slightly above average scorer and looks a hell of a lot like Big Bird. I hate his guts. It seems as if for the past few years the Habs have been the Bruins reoccurring nightmare and now the tables are turning, we’re finally getting our REVENGE!!!

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Okay so this is going to be my official Boston Bruins blog

Twitter didn’t work out and instagram is a photo based media service so Tumblr is where it’s at apparently.

When NHL analysts first started to realize that the Bruins were hot as heck and nobody could stop them, they seemed excited. The past week is really the first time people started to notice the B’s are buzzin’. But really the Black and Gold have built quite the hot streak over the past 2 months. Since returning from their early season plague, the team almost said, “alright, all aboard!” And have been steamrolling all other clubs in their path. Even games against Pittsburgh and Washington have been within their reach every game.

But what has been different about their team this year?

Young talent stepping up. Charlie McAvoy is tested just about every time he touches the puck and I see each test being passed with flying colors. His hockey IQ is very impressive, it’s almost like he’s been in the show for 5 years now. He’s one of the point leaders for the Bruins and his play is similar to that of Erik Karlsson of Ottawa. See you might think it’s a stretch because when you compare player speed and scoring ability, Karlsson takes the cake 10/10 times. But IQ, skating ability, vision and passing are all even from what I believe. I would even go so far as to say that McAvoy may have an upper hand in physical play.

The underdog of the whole league, currently fourth place for the Calder Trophy race, #43 in a Boston sweater Danton Heinen. Like the other young players on the team, he plays with a lot of energy but he always finds the perfect spot on the ice to make plays happen. I personally love this guy. He’s a rookie playing on the third line with two veterans; Riley Nash and David Backes (the latter more well known being an ex-Blues captain). But a perfect line in my eyes.

These two rookies are the difference makers on the club in my opinion and of course there are so many guys to attribute all the success to, Spooner, DeBrusk, Bjork, Grzelcyk, our fourth line grinders and last but not least our great first line. Heinen and McAvoy provide that extra spark along with never deterring the momentum the Boston Bruins are riding right now and hopefully for the rest of the year.