Beware The Bear! The Boston Bruins Are Coming Out Of Hibernation

With the National Hockey League season at the All-Star break, teams are positioning themselves for the final push towards the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As the standings are as of this moment, the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and Dallas Stars are topping the Western Conference while defending champion Chicago Blackhawks are struggling a bit after making sweeping changes to their roster.

The Eastern Conference is a bit jumbled as the Philadelphia Flyers are in the top spot while the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to shock the NHL by leading the Southeast division by four points over the powerhouse Washington Capitals. The Pittsburgh Penguins are holding their own despite major injuries but perennial power New Jersey Devils are floundering in the NHL cellar.

The team I will focus on has been solid all season and seems to be poised to make a run at not only capturing their division but could make a deep run in the playoffs.

The team?

The Boston Bruins

At the break, the Bruins are the Northeast division leaders with a record of 28-15-7 for 63 points, four points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens and the number three seed in the Eastern Conference. By winning 7 of 10, Boston has shown the defensive prowess head coach Claude Julien's teams are noted for. In that stretch, the Bruins have increased their goal production which has been a sore spot for a few seasons.

Let's briefly break down the Bruins season to this point.

The core of this seasons' team is the defense and goal tending. In fact, the Bruins are the NHL's top defensive team yielding a mere 112 goals in 50 games, with a league leading 8 shutouts and an NHL best .939 save percentage. The defensive corps is lead by leading Norris Trophy candidate Zdeno Chara. The man with the leagues hardest shot leads Boston with a +22 plus/minus rating and has 10 goals from the blue line including 6 on the power play.

Also helping Chara are veteran defensemen Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ferrence, and surprising rookie Steven Kampfer. All are on the plus side of the plus/minus ledger and can play the physical game when necessary.

Goalie Tim Thomas is certainly at the top of his game. His 1.81 Goals Against Average is by far and away tops in the league as well as his .950 Save Percentage.... that's point NINE FIFTY! Just think, the Bruins were willing to peddle him away after off-season hip surgery.

Though challenged offensively, Boston has been scoring goals of late. Milan Lucic leads the B's with 20 goals, while Patrice Bergeron has 16 tallies within his team leading 40 points. More is expected from veterans Michael Ryder (14 goals), Nathan Horton (12), Blake Wheeler (10), and David Krejci (7). Youngster Brad Marchand has surprised by potting 13 goals and plays the defensive end superbly with a +21 rating.

Also, the Bruins don't lack for toughness. Resident tough guy Shawn Thornton backs away from nobody for a fight and Lucic, Gregory Campbell, and young blue liner Adam McQuaid will mix it up as well.

As I see it, the Boston Bruins are one goal scorer away from being a serious contender for Lord Stanley's Cup. Boston General Manager Peter Chiarelli isn't afraid to pull the trigger on such a deal and it would be both shocking and disappointing should he not add a sniper.

Beware the Bear!!!

Dick

Send email to dlafrance2@207me.com

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Re-Post: Professional Hockey --- To Fight Or Not To Fight?

I've had this conversation many times in the past and I had it again today. Fighting in professional hockey...is it necessary?

Instead of making a new post, I will re-post what I wrote nearly 11 months ago about my feelings towards fighting.

Enjoy!

In my last post I mentioned that the Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the best ever in Olympic history. We saw outstanding play but we also saw outstanding sportsmanship as well. Sure, there was pushing and shoving after whistles --- that's to be expected. However, there is one “aspect” of hockey that was not seen.

No fighting. It's not allowed in the international game nor is it permissible in college or high school. Should there be fights during those games, an automatic one game suspension is mandatory, without exception. Yet, in professional hockey and in juniors, fighting is very much allowed and considered by some a staple of the game.

My intention here is to briefly weigh the pros and cons of fighting and I will give my opinion on whether hockey should or should not be banned on all levels.

Pros ---

Traditionalists believe that fighting is a necessary evil in hockey. Fights are to inspire a team playing lethargically, show opponents that they will not be pushed around, or sometimes players fight just for the sake of fighting. It does happen. Many fans ( In this instance, I use “fans” loosely) go to games merely to see a fight. At one time, if the game was played with elbows, knees, and sticks were used as weapons, fights and the occasional bench clearing brawl would erupt as a way to control the game. In effect, players were policing themselves. Yes, there were times where brawls got out of hand and that was alright with many teams. That was a part of hockey years ago.

Cons ---

Fighting, according to many, disrupts the flow of hockey for no reason whatsoever. Two grown men dropping the gloves and removing helmets from their own heads just to see who is tougher is just plain stupid. Fisticuffs do nothing for the game and is just a sideshow with most fights involving players with little or no hockey talent. Fighting promotes violence in hockey and therefore must be banned.

Now that I have giving some examples as to why fighting is either necessary or unnecessary, my opinion is...

Fighting should NOT be banned. As a hockey fan since the late 1960's, I feel that there are benefits to fighting. I believe that fights can and do inspire teams playing poorly in a particular game. Although the National Hockey League, has done a very good job in limiting the number of fights by imposing the instigator rule, banning it would lead to more dangerous play especially an increase in the stick fouls of slashing and high sticking. Also, players would be more apt to take a run at players with reckless abandon, thus leading to more major injuries.

That's just one hockey fans opinion...what's yours?

Dick

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Luck Stays, Harbaugh Goes, and Buckley Breaks His Chains

The last week or so has produced three interesting stories that have changed the landscapes of major college football, the NFL, and a sports columnist from Boston breaking free.

So without fanfare, I will present these stories along with my random thoughts.

Andrew Luck stays at Stanford ---

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck has decided to return to school and forgo his eligibility for the 2011 NFL Draft. The red shirt sophomore wasted no time announcing his decision after the Cardinal routed Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

My thoughts:

I believe Luck made the proper decision to stay at Stanford for a number of reasons. By staying in school, Luck has a chance to win a national championship for the Cardinal next season. Also, Luck becomes the prohibitive favorite for the Heisman Trophy. Finally, why would Andrew want to play for the Carolina Panthers, a team that is in total disarray?

Some argue that Luck will miss out on being the number one overall draft choice and the money that goes with that distinction. Let's not for get that there is no Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and when one is hammered out, the rookie salary cap will be far less than the expiring CBA.

Jim Harbaugh accepts San Francisco 49'ers head coaching position ---

While young Mr. Luck stays at Stanford, His former head coach Jim Harbaugh will coach the 49'ers next season. Harbaugh's deal is reportedly for five seasons for $25 million.

My feeling?

This is a tremendous opportunity for both Jim Harbaugh and the 49'ers. Coach Harbaugh gets to stay home in the San Francisco Bay area and the team gets a man who is fiercely competitive. I believe Harbaugh can get San Francisco back to the playoffs soon rather than later once he can groom a quarterback to run the West Coast offense.

Boston Herald sports columnist Steve Buckley announces he's gay ---

Steve Buckley, a very well respected and longtime sports columnist of the Boston Herald wrote an article “Welcome to my coming-out party” about his disclosure of being gay.

What do I think?

While I don't read the Boston Herald, I do watch “The Baseball Show”, a Saturday morning call-in show about the Boston Red Sox during baseball season which Buckley is one of the hosts. Buckley's decades of journalism is a welcome addition to the program as he speaks of the team with candor and wit.

You know what? Had Buckley not written his article, I would have never known of his sexual preference. Or in other words...So what if Steve Buckley is gay? Doesn't matter one iota to this sports nut and amateur blogger. The man is a good writer --- PERIOD!

Dick

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