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

Send email to dlafrance2@207me.com

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Professional Hockey --- To Fight Or Not To Fight?

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

Send email to dlafrance2@207me.com

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The Greatest Tournament Ever!

Well, the Games of the 21st Winter Olympiad have closed. We witnessed some truly amazing feats such as United States men’s speed skater Apollo Ono becoming the greatest ever in his sport, women’s skier Lindsay Vonn winning a gold medal on a bum leg, and the Canadian men’s curling team capturing gold on home soil (yes, I like curling ). However, there was one event that captured the attention of most Olympic fans --- the finest display of competition in the history of the Winter Olympics.

The Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament.

From game one to the final game, I have never seen such skill, intensity, and passion in so many games. My goodness, even teams like Latvia and Norway played tremendous hockey! Switzerland had a chance to beat both the Canadians and Team USA, Slovakia gave Canada all they could handle, and of course the Gold Medal game between Canada and Team USA was perhaps the greatest game played in Olympic history.

Where else can you find a collection of great players on a sheet of ice? The National Hockey League’s very best players from Sidney Crosby to Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk to Zach Parise, are some of the most elite athletes in the world. To play in one venue simply blows the minds of not just hockey diehards but casual fans as well. If you weren’t a hockey fan before, watching this tournament would have mage you a fan for sure!

Of course, playing in Canada, the birthplace of hockey, certainly helped bring hockey to the forefront of all North Americans. The crowds were raucous, which in turn gave the Canadians extra energy to play at peak levels.

I don’t feel the need to recap any great moments during the tournament --- we watched and we marveled. We saw the very best play out of the very best players. That is cut and dried.


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The Boys of Winter – NHL Style

First of all, I must apologize for not posting in over a month...I have had an unfortunate event occur in my life and I am trying to move forward. Thanks for your patience. I will be glad to answer emails to explain

Here we are in Winter where in most places it's cold and much snow has fallen. The NFL playoffs are underway, the NBA is in full swing, and the PGA Tour has begun in beautiful Hawaii.

While all these games are wonderful in their own way, in my opinion the sport that should receive far more recognition than it does is my favorite spectator sport---the sport that may be the toughest to condition oneself for and the one that provides the most perpetual action of all sports.

The National Hockey League.

What other game on the face of this earth has an energy level so high that at any second can lift you out of your seat? Name a major professional sport that it's players must use some kind of physical energy and endurance every second the clock ticks? How about the sport that combines incredible skill, physicality, and intellectual acumen all at the same time? Can any other professional sport make you not want to go to the concession stand during play because something spectacular can happen in a bat of an eyelash? (This has happened to me far too many times)

What makes the NHL, in my NOT so humble opinion better than all other major sports? Aside from the above questions I posed about speed, skill, and the like, there is the uniqueness of the playing surface used --- a sheet of ice. This is why the action at most times is fast and furious.

This leads to the one other feature not seen in the sports.

While the other big time sports athletes use their feet firmly planted on the ground (or floor) to get into position, hockey players use skates to get around the ice surface. If this isn't the most graceful movement in sports, tell me what is?

Finally, the other three major sports use a ball of some sort to use for play. Hockey uses a round piece of vulcanized rubber --- a puck. The puck can be moved at speeds so fast that if a spectator loses focus upon the puck, it could take some time to relocate it. I find it amazing that the players can follow it ... then again, these are highly trained athletes.

With that being said, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games are just weeks away in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The greatest winter athletes in the world will gather and we will all marvel at the great skills they possess. We may enjoy the beauty of figure skating, watch men and women fly through the air in ski jumping, or sit on the edge of our seats during bobsledding or luge, but no sport at this or any Olympics have the appeal and the fan base that hockey does.

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy Major League Baseball, The National Football League, and the PGA Tour. I prefer college basketball to the NBA (don't like the NBA at all) but none of these sports for my money is as exciting as hockey, particularly the National Hockey League.

What do you think?

Dick

Send email to dlafrance2@207me.com

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