Get Crosby for Cooke's Hit? Give me a break.

I waited to get tickets to see my Pens play the Bruins because in the fall I had no problem getting cheap seats off of StubHub close to the game date. This time was different. This time there's a bounty on Matt Cooke's head, and everyone is getting into it. I understand why Bruins fans are angry. They have a right to be. But there's one thing that is really, really making me mad: the calls to go after Crosby. NESN's Jack Edwards called for this -- although no one is surprised about this because Edwards is out of his mind. The Herald also called for it.

Are. You. Kidding. Me.

Because that will really get you revenge!!  Um, no.  It will look sad, pathetic and immature. Like a spoiled brat who didn't get its way. Handle it like a man. Cooke knows what he has to do tonight. He will stand up to whoever wants to drop 'em, and he'll do the dance. Then everyone can move on, and the Bruins can focus on trying to make the playoffs after becoming pretty darn bad in the second half of the season.

I'm very protective of my boys. This game just got taken to a whole other level for me. Go Pens.

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Don't Leave Early To Beat Traffic

The Bruins have had the best hockey commercials going for a little while now. They just released another one with a new warning. Take a look:

Pens Fail in Beantown

The injury bug is going around the NHL, and I’d like it to stop. Thanks.

I went to see my defending Stanley Cup champs play the Bruins last night, and it was one of the most uneventful games I’ve ever seen. There were three penalties the entire game – two of which came in the third period. No huge hits. Fairly even shots (29-27 in favor of the B’s). Lots of cruising around … la la la. I was wondering if I somehow ended up back in September or something.

The Bruins 3-0 win wasn’t as much them completely outplaying Pittsburgh as it was capitalizing on and finishing chances (which the Pens were unable to do). The two highlights of the game for me was Dan Paille’s breakaway goal and Fleury’s unbelievable save in the third period.

Both teams are dealing with injuries (as is the entire league). Pittsburgh took another blow when Brooks Orpik left the game early. That leaves them with about 75% of their roster injured (note: slight exaggeration).

A lot of Pens fans in the crowd too. I didn’t feel alone by any means. No hecklers minus a guy who told me the Pens are the Peyton Mannings of the NHL and some banter on the T ride home that played out as such:

Bruins fans: (chant) PENGUINS SUCK.
Pens fans: (Chant) STANLEY CUP.
:silence:
Bruins & Pens fans: YANKEES SUCK.

Everyone in Boston can always agree on that.


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It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I have found my favorite series of the first round:


Granted I've only seen Pitt/Philly, Boston/Montreal and Chicago/Calgary, but the Sharks/Ducks game last night made me eager to watch some more. I waited through the Hawks game (thank you for scoring 11 seconds in OT) for VS to jump in just in time for the second period. I stayed up until one in the morning to see the finish (yes, that's late for me when I have class in the AM).

Here's my game thoughts:

+ Hello hits. I felt sore just watching those two teams throw the bodies around. Ryane Clowe was an animal out there.
+ Anaheim is the better 'playoff' team. They just are. You know a playoff team when you see one. They just have all the elements needed -- like Boston. It goes beyond skill. A successful playoff team has a little of everything. Can SJ lock it up or will they choke? How they respond in Game 2 will say it all.
+ Ducks really need to cool their love for the penalty box. Took way too many penalties and fortunately San Jose's power play was completely ineffective. As I always say though, taking penalty after penalty will catch up with you.
+ Hiller. I hate to see Giguere sit because I have all the respect in the world for the guy, but Hiller is hot right now. So important for the postseason.
+ Anaheim held Thornton to one shot. No other words needed.
+ The only time I heard the Shark Tank get quiet was towards the very end. The rest of the time they were very loud. That's awesome, but clearly their team didn't respond. For a Sharks team that was so good on home ice, losing the first one when you have home ice advantage is not so good. Anaheim's already in a good spot coming out of NorCal with at least one win.
+ My team above anyone else is the Penguins, but I will openly admit that I love Western Conference hockey.

Other series Notes

+ The Bruins & Canadiens are a close second for my favorite series. The score was tight up until the end. Gotta give one huge shout-out to my most hated player in the NHL, Josh Gorges, for taking a penalty and costing his team the game. Nice job bud! You're a winner.

Photo Credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Study Break

Happy Sunday everyone. I'm stuck studying for finals all day, but there's nothing wrong with a little procrastination in the form of a blog post. Here are some bits and pieces from the past few days:

+ I made it to the BU/U-Mass Lowell game this past Friday. UML is always that team who will sneak up on you and beat you if you're slacking off. They were no different on Friday. They battled, but BU came out on top 3-2. Here's a stat for you: BU has killed off 17 penalties in a row or something like that. While that's a great stat to have, they continue to take too many penalties. A little more discipline will only help them. It also appears that Kieran Millan has taken over the number one spot. I said awhile back I thought he was the better of the two freshman (not by much but enough to notice), and it seems Jack Parker agrees with me.

The game also marked the end of the first semester for the Terriers. They finish off the first half with a record of 11-4-1. Talk about an improvement from this time last season when they were 4-10-2. I'll take it.

+ Sean Avery will not be returning to the Dallas Stars. This is not surprising at all. It'll be interesting to see where he ends up. If hockey doesn't work out anymore he can always go back to sitting at fashion shows and dating celebs. Seeeee ya.

+ It seems like players on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have been playing musical chairs between the WB and Pittsburgh. Here are the transactions beginning on December 4:
- 12/4: Recalled Janne Pesonen and Chris Minard.
- 12/7: Recall Ben Lovejoy
- 12/9: Demoted Pesonen, recalled Tim Wallace and Jeff Taffe
- 12/11: Demoted Lovejoy
- 12/12: Demoted John Curry and Minard
- 12/13: Recalled James and demoted him after the game along with Taffe.

+ The Boston Bruins are on fire. They won their 11th home game in a row last night. Slowly but surely they're creeping back into the hearts of Beantown fans. Gotta love it.

B's vs. Pens

I headed over to the Garden last night to catch the Boston Bruins' home opener against my Penguins. Every time I go to an NHL game, I am reminded of how sick it is. The atmosphere was awesome. If they didn't sell out, they were super close. Boston fans are a riot. You can just tell that the majority of people there legit love the Bruins. I was with two diehards who were reminiscing about the last time the Bruins won a play-off round. Sigh.

Anyway, Pittsburgh came out on top with a 2-1 win after a shoot-out. Boston outplayed them the entire game. They had way more energy. If it weren't for a ton of missed chances (and I mean really close chances), Boston would have had 8 goals. Credit also goes to Dany Sabourin who played great. I was happy to see him get a solid win in. He needs it considering he only plays about three games a year.

The Beantown fans got the 'CROSBY SUCKS' chant going a few times. I sat there pouting and calling everyone jealous. Which they are. Tell me one team that wouldn't want Crosby on its roster. I don't think you'll find one.

Also: Crosby and Malkin on the same line is like watching a ballet. It's a work of art. I love it.

Bottom line: Boston is going to have a good year -- at least better than the seasons in the past few years. They're a really fun team to watch. Once they learn how to capitalize on some huge chances, they'll be good to go. In the meantime, I'm not sure what was with Pittsburgh. I hope it wasn't an "elitist" attitude I saw peeking through. You can't do pretty things all the time boys.

Photo Credit: Boston Bruins

Opportunities, Opportunities ...

Adam Proteau beat me to it, but I was totally thinking the same thing about the Tom Brady effect in the Boston sports world.

Naturally I was devastated along with the entire city when Brady succumbed to injury. It was like a living nightmare waiting to hear the test results. Everyone in Boston went through three stages: complete denial -> nail-biting wait for confirmation -> mourning. Needless to say, the Pats will move on, and for all we know Matt Cassel could turn this seemingly doomed season into a great story.

In the wake of all this, a lot of Boston fans have re-focused back on the ever-so-close-to-first-place Red Sox for comfort. It's not that they necessarily ruled the Pats out, but there is less reason to be excited (and perhaps even some apprehension?) about the rest of the season.

We all know that the Bruins are not high on Hub fans' list of teams, so why not take advantage of this open window to get people excited about them? After missing the play-offs for two consecutive years, the B's did have an exciting first round in 2008. Even though they lost, they rallied against Montreal to take it to seven games. With the exception of the outcome, it was a good moment for the team. Why not ride that into the regular season? Generate more interest. Get people going. With Brady out, there is room for other franchises in the area to move in. Kicking off the home opener against Pittsburgh will be great as well.

Of course, the best way to do this is to start the season off by winning a bunch of games. After all, Beantown loves its winning teams. The Bruins need Boston. And if the Pats start to sink, Boston will need the Bruins.

Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots ... And That Other Team

Living in Boston since 2006, I've been exposed to some great teams. The Red Sox won the World Series last year and very well could this year (hurry back Papi). The Celtics won their first NBA championship in 22 years. The Patriots had a nearly undefeated season before falling to Eli Manning and his bros in the Superbowl. Boston College won the NCAA Division I Hockey championship (groan). You get the picture. There is one team that the Hub has seemed to forget about: the Bruins. When people talk of Boston being the new Titletown, everyone lists the Sox, Pats, Celtics ... and then awkwardly pauses and passes over the Bruins.

Most of the season, the Bruins go unnoticed by everyone but the diehards (and me because I can buy tickets for $19). I shouldn't say unnoticed. I should say nobody really cares. They gained back some interest when the Montreal series went to Game 7, and I think if they had won that game -- and it breaks my heart that they didn't -- they would have continued to catch attention. But they didn't, and right now the Bruins are back where they started.

I enjoyed watching Boston play this season. They're on the right road to rebuilding, and they reminded me a bit of how the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were this year. That doesn't mean they ran the same systems or anything like that, but they possessed that team element that WBS had. For those who didn't catch what the Baby Penguins did, they rode the playoffs all the way to the Finals and lost to the Chicago Wolves in six games. They accomplished all of this without much skill or top notch talent. With the exception of guys like Chris Minard, Alex Goligoski and Tim Brent, there weren't many other players that had pure skill. What they did have was a 'team' ethic. They worked harder than most teams I've seen play, and they earned success by doing so. They were so much fun to watch (even if they did have trouble completing passes here and there). The Bruins reminded me of them. They didn't have too many superstar names to dress up their roster (with the exception of Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron who missed most of the year due to injury), yet I watched them clobber the Pittsburgh Penguins (arguably one of the most skill-filled rosters in the league).

Even though it seems like he slips under the radar sometimes, if Tim Thomas is on, he's a great goaltender. Marc Savard has been doing well, and Milan Lucic has become a crowd favorite despite the fact that he's about 15 years old. On top of that, Bergeron will be back in action this season. I really hope things keep improving within the Bruins organization. I also hope Beantown starts to realize how fun these guys could be to watch.

This was once a team home to legends like Bobby Orr and Cam Neely. The Boston Bruins are rooted deeply in the history of the NHL. They're one of the Original Six for cryin' out loud. How great would a Bruins rise be for the game of hockey?

Photo Credit: Steve Babineau