The OTHER Anaheim/Boston Game
Coaches always put in serious effort when it comes to the inspirational quotes in a team’s locker room. Everyone knows “Play Like a Champion Today” at Notre Dame. The coaching staff is hoping that these short messages from philosophers, war heroes, poets, legendary players, etc. can serve as quick motivation for their team in times of trouble. Well, I have one for Claude Julien to post on the white board at the Garden. I hearken back to the wise, graceful words of Isuro Tanaka in Major League II as he scolds Cerrano…
“You have no marbles!”
Last night’s 6-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks was about a team forgetting what skills brought them to the dance and playing without heart, motivation or testicular fortitude. Three out of 19 players who touched the ice for the Bruins last night remembered the minor facts that the game is 60 minutes long and requires attention in three zones. The fourth line of Shawn Thornton, Steve Begin and Byron Bitz should be commended for playing a complete game, but as Julien hinted after the game, this is the second time in three games that the fourth-line has been your best. That is all cute and cuddly when they score a key goal and throw a few good punches in a nice 5-2 win. But, when they get top-billing by default because they just did their job your team is going nowhere.
Where was the pushback? Where was the pride? Where was the desire to battle back in front of your home crowd?
After allowing two quick goals on the power play in the beginning stages of the second period, the Bruins folded up shop and allowed the Ducks to do whatever they wanted for the remainder of the game. A third goal in the period in the latter stages pretty much iced the game and three in the final frame solidified stinker status.
If I am Julien, I am concerned about the response from the team immediately after Teemu Selanne’s pair of PP goals. Okay, you gave up a 5-on-3 and then another man-up goal to a player with almost 600 career NHL goals. You are only down one goal and there is more than half a game left. With all the talk about pride and composure by the Bs early in the season, you expected some sort of tide-changing shift to follow. That is what a team that expects to win the Stanley Cup does.
The Bruins had a chance to do damage immediately when they went on a power play of their own two minutes after losing the lead. However, instead of the balls-out precise PP we saw on Saturday against Carolina, the Bruins fumbled around two consecutive man advantages in the second stanza. Pucks weren’t being sent to the net. Passes were off-kilter and too easy for Duck penalty killers to intercept. You aren’t going to score on all of your power plays (well, unless you are the Ducks last night) but the job of a solid PP is to create pressure. The Ducks didn’t have to buckle down once when Boston was a man up and too-often were able to kill time by skating the puck out of the zone. That is unacceptable.
Still, nothing typifies the all-around disinterest in the final two period of play more than Matt Hunwick’s performance on Evgeny Artyukhin’s third period score. A well-known scorer with a whopping 12 goals in 148 career games, Artyukhin gathered a pass at center ice and bullied his way around Matt Hunwick for Anaheim’s fourth goal of the game. There was little to no effort by Hunwick to strip the puck off the Duck stick or knock him to the ground or do anything other than waive him by.
Knowing Claude Julien, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hunwick takes a seat for Saturday’s game against the Islanders. Johnny Boychuk has sat out the first three games as the healthy scratch and he should get a look against New York. One of the biggest motivational tools a coach has over his players is playing time. It may be time for Julien to take that away from some players. If I was Hunwick or Chuck Kobasew or Andrew Ferrence, I would be a little wary of just how often my shoulder will get tapped on Saturday.
And if I am Ferrence, if my name gets called on the power play, I do what is best for the team and respectfully decline. He is the fifth best defenseman on this team yet plays copious amounts on the power play. While his added wrinkle of mishandling passes and allowing the puck to clear the attacking zone is a novel approach to the power play, at the end of the day I think going with the way it’s been done for as long as hockey existed – keeping the puck in the zone – works just fine. Maybe we can get Patrice Bergeron back on the point with Dennis Wideman and then maybe let Milan Lucic develop a special team’s game? Heck, let Hunwick play the spot. He at least has offensive instincts and isn’t worried whether or not his teammates like him (Tim Thomas excluded) like old Fumbles Ferrence is.
The good news for the Bruins about last night is that 99% of the Boston sports world is coming up with clever meanings for C.B. Bucknor’s initials and wondering if Josh Beckett can throw a fastball to Victor Martinez better than he can to Jason Varitek. A few people in New England are bemoaning Fred Taylor’s injury (wow, there’s a shocker) and some are actually wasting precious resources on preseason basketball. So, if there is ever a time for a colossal deuce of a game, last night was an okay time to do so. Because, all told, the Ducks are a pretty decent team and their goalie kept them in the game with 18 saves in the first period.
In the spirit of my writings over at Board and Blades, here is a quick positive and negative from last night’s game.
Big, Bad Bruins: It is nice to see that Shawn Thornton’s hands are good for more than busting teeth. He made two very nifty plays with the puck to evade defenders and had a team-high six shots on goal. His line is clicking really well and their ability to apply pressure in the offensive zone keeps earning more ice time (funny how that works.)
Blah, Blah Bruins: The second line of Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder was a combined -9 with five shots on goal and one hit. Going back to the Major Leaguewell, “One hit? That’s it? One god damn hit?” Through three games, they have a combined three points and are not playing anywhere near the level they did last year. Krejci is still getting his legs back after his hip surgery, but he has still been the best of the three.
Saturday brings the Islanders and 2009 top draft choice John Tavares to the Garden. The Isles have lost both their games in overtime this season and are in square rebuilding stages (as they have been since Pat Lafontaine left.) This should be a good chance for the Bruins to bounce back.
And hey, can someone get Milan Lucic a live chicken to sacrifice before the game?
Leave a Reply
