| 20 October 2011
After a rough few minutes to open the game the Bruins did what they needed to tonight and cleaned up. In a game against a division rival, one that was an early season must win, the Bruins pulled together, focused their energy and played a complete game at both ends of the ice; the exact opposite of the routing handed to them on Tuesday by Carolina.
So what did we learn tonight (or at least get reminded of)?
1. Tyler Seguin is breaking out.
Oh hi Tyler, didn't see you there. You're ready for the spotlight? Great!
While many said Stamkos was an aberration, it appears as if Seguin could follow the same sophomore path to success. In 7 games now Seguin has racked up a team leading 8 points. He's shown the willingness to shoot, an increased understanding of the game leading to better decisions, a dedication to solid play in his own end, and the size and effort required for one to engage in the dirty areas and make plays happen. Tonight his play with Lucic brought back memories of when a different fast young winger lead scoring opposite Lucic. The only difference in this case appears to be the dedication to a well rounded game and a vision opening up passes that not many others in the league could make.
If things continue in this fashion, expect to see the Lucic-Krejci-Seguin line to come soon and to become a fixture on this team. Especially when we consider that….
2. Horton is a natural fit on the Bergeron line.
What appears to have been the test tonight worked well for the Bruins. Nathan Horton after the first few shifts fell into sync along side Marchand and Bergeron, both of whom brought their A games like every night. Horton's size, speed and ability to play all areas of the offensive zone make him an ideal fit here. The line brings constant pressure, wins battles and has 3 guys who can share the puck and each have the ability score with the hard shot or the hard work down low as shown by Bergeron and Horton respectively tonight. If this line can continue to gel it can become a highly effective trio and balance the Bruins attack (while still being strong in the other 2 zones).
3. Pouliot may be one of the best steals of this off season
While the jury is still out on this one, Benoit Pouliot continues to progress in the black and gold and is doing what he needs to do to make fans forget he ever wore those other 3 dreaded colors. The effort is there, the intensity and the dedication to playing a game at each end is there. He didn't end up on the score sheet tonight but he created chances and after taking a penalty, went right back out and gave 110%, drawing a tripping call and putting the Bruins on the power play where Chara made the score 2-1. For what the Bruins had to give up (nothing) and dedicate to him (1 year, < 1mil), we might end up with one of the steals of this past off season.
4. The power play changes are creating the additional movement and space up high needed to make it a force once more
Biggest difference from last year; the power play. While it still hasn't been extremely productive (but where have we been productive offensively outside of select instances), it has been generating chances and passes the eye test. An increase in high to low movement added to both a down low cycle and high cycle (pending on where the puck play is) is creating space for the unit to operate. Tonight, that space early on was found up high and lead to the Chara goal (Seguin drives the slot, forces the defense to collapse, feeds Ference who has too many options with the added space and can easily feed Chara for the 1 timer that I haven't seen stopped before). Toronto did adapt in the second and brought an increased pressure high and on the puck but that almost lead to goals down low. Moral of the story, if you keep the cycles going, get in front of the net all while moving the puck high to low, good things will happen.
5. This team is like a shark, once it smells blood it goes into a frenzy.
There isn't another way of describing this; when this team gets going and they get emotionally involved, they boil over and appear to be unstoppable. Tonight was one of those instances as every additional goal, close play, big hit put them up another notch. Tyler Seguin's shifts personally could be looked at in this manner as the assists drove better play and eventually lead to him netting one of this own before coming out looking to put a few more behind Gustavsson
What we saw Tuesday, while I believe was helpful for this team in the long run, is not the type of game that will help this team make the playoffs and succeed. The game they brought tonight, the refined and focused game driven by that energy and frenzy of emotion, that game will get this group wins and lead them far in their quest to repeat. This group will look to keep it under control but will never get rid of that emotional attachment to their play. As long as they continue to harness it, good things will happen.
Looking Forward
Saturday brings the San Jose Sharks to town. This will be quite the challenge for the Bruins as the Sharks continue to be one of the forces in the west. Tomorrow will likely show what the lines will be for this contest so keep an eye out for what happens in practice.
Even further down the line, next Thursday and Saturday have us playing a home and home series against the Montreal Canadiens and the newly returned Max Pacioretty. While I have a hard time believing he'll go after Chara to drop them, these are likely to be highly emotional affairs. To be successful, the Bruins will need to bring that frenzy play while staying away from the distractions that land them in the box and disrupt their flow. The more 5 on 5 play they have, the better the chance they have at achieving a rhythm in the game. Bring that type of rhythm against Montreal and unless Carey Price can call upon the spirits of Roy and Dryden, the Bruins could look to deal loses to 2 division rivals in a week. With that, they'd be right back on track and driving into November
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
