Tag Archives: Rematch

Bruins/Blues: The Rematch

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The dust has settled in the NHL and the Boston Bruins are going to the Stanley Cup Final. They’ll be playing the St. Louis Blues in a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final. This is St. Louis’s first trip back since that game. Meanwhile, this is Boston’s first Finals appearance since they lost in Game 6 to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. That was the infamous game in which Tuukka Rask gave up two goals in 17 seconds. It was a heart-wrenching succession that Bruins fans have had to live with ever since. To this day my Chicago friends will still bring it up just to get under my skin. But this isn’t 2013, and this isn’t the same Tuukka Rask.

The Great Wall of Rask

Rask has played great all season, going 27-13-5 in 46 games played with a GAA of 2.48 for a .912 save percentage. In the playoffs he’s now 12-5 with a 1.84 GAA and .942 save percentage. In other words, thus far, Tuukka Rask has been a brick wall. He’s provided an energetic spark of confidence for the rest of the team and it shows. The “Perfect Line” of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak have been just that lately, though it took some time to get there. In the first round against Toronto, Coach Bruce Cassidy was switching Pastrnak back and forth between lines, trying to get him into a rhythm and get him productive again. Thankfully, Rask’s performance in net allowed the time for such tinkering, and ultimately it has paid off.

Photo by USA Today Sports

Time Off

Game 1 is set for Monday, May 27, at 8 pm EST. By the time the final series of the season begins, the Bruins will have had an eleven day break. There’s always a concern of a hot team cooling with that much time off. In fact, this post season every team coming off a sweep has lost the following series. That’s not a stat that bodes well for the Black and Gold, but this team is different. Instead, this time off will give Captain Zdeno Chara some time to heal (he sat during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final with an undisclosed injury), and give Tukka Rask a bit of well-earned rest.

Photo by Amy Irvin

Boston’s not the only team with a break, however. The Blues will have had five days off before they take the ice in Game 1. Bruins Coach Cassidy has stated that he met with the New England Patriots to discuss techniques for handling a long break before playing a championship game. He refused to disclose what was said, but if anyone had proper advice for this situation it would be the Patriots. With that experience in their corner, all four lines coming alive, and the stellar play of Tuukka Rask of late, the Boston Bruins could well be on their way to hoist the Cup once again. Boston doesn’t have names like Orr, Esposito, Sanderson, or Cheevers this time, but they have Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, and Rask. Perhaps the Big Bad Bruins are back and the rematch ends with the same result.

Patriots-Dolphins Preview

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The Dolphins’ Home Field Advantage

The way this Patriots team is built and the fact that the Dolphins’ best player, Xavien Howard, is out for the game will help Josh Gordon the most. The one issue is the game is in Miami, a place that always gives New England trouble.

Playing in Miami has always been tough

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Just in the past 5 years, the team is 1-4 in Miami. Historically the Patriots have not played well at Miami Gardens. The temperature is also expected to be relatively high too which may affect the game as well. The loss in Jacksonville is an example of the heat playing a factor against New England.

Bill Belichick won’t use the weather as an excuse, but we all know since 200, the Patriots have struggled in the heat. Former Patriot Tedy Bruschi said as much on ESPN when asked about why this team struggles in Miami.

Built for Success

The Patriots right now are just built for success. They are extremely healthy, have top 10 players in many categories including one of the best cornerback duos right now. Stephon Gilmore is questionable although Is likely to play, as he flew with the team for this matchup. The Patriots should be able to come out of this with a win. Look for Sony Michel and the running backs to have a big day.

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

New England should look to set up the run game early, using all three backs. Rotating the running backs will keep them from cramping up and running out of steam from the heat. Tom Brady will be able to take advantage of the injury riddled Dolphins. The running game will set up  play action passes, and more defenders in the box.

Patriots-Dolphins Prediction

The Patriots come in as heavy favorites despite recent history, and I don’t think it will be a blowout. Miami has played well at home this year, at 6-6 they will be looking for revenge from week 4. The rash of injuries to this Dolphins team, along with New England coming in almost at 100% will be the difference today. Not the heat.

The Patriots are really starting to look better on offense, defense and are only missing one player. The Patriots will win the AFC East again today, for the 10th year in a row. The players will get up for this “hat and T-shirt game” as they continue to try and get that number one seed.

(Patriots 28 Miami 17)

LeBron Knows the Answer to the Big Question About Kyrie

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“…I don’t have any advice for him now. I got no advice for him or any other people that’s on any other team. Noooo.. Listen man we trying to win a championship here, I don’t have time to give advice to other guys…”

LeBron seemed sincere in his opening press conference for the season, and it’s a fair point to not want to help players that aren’t helping you win a championship. The thing is, LeBron has been giving advice to all kinds of young players in a very public manner after games. We saw it with Lonzo Ball. The very next game against the Jazz we saw him and Dwayne Wade pull another rookie, Donovan Mitchell, aside and give him a short lecture. You might remember last year when he did the same thing with a rookie Jaylen Brown.

So, why does he have nothing left for Kyrie?

KYRIE IS READY

The answer is simple: he knows Kyrie is ready to win without him. He’s already given his former protegé more than he would like the leader of a serious contender to have. Kyrie is no wide-eyed rookie. Still, LeBron has established himself as a “big brother” of sorts for young players around the league. The two have built a bond together. Now, he doesn’t have anything left to say to Kyrie. He can act like it’s everyone, but it’s not. It’s just guys he sees as a threat to his legacy, and that list now includes Kyrie Irving. His explanation of why he has nothing left for Kyrie seems inaccurate and pointed. If you ask me, he is legitimately worried about Irving and the Boston Celtics.

“…The only thing I’m upset about is he took a lot of the DNA and the blueprint to Boston.”

LeBron has been to 7 straight NBA Finals. He knows what it takes to get there. He also knows Kyrie Irving knows what it takes to get there. Kyrie Irving is ready to be the #1 guy. LeBron may have been ready to give him the keys, as he said in his preseason interview. But Kyrie was tired of riding in the backseat. So he went out and found himself his own car. One that he could drive. And one that has yet to reach its top speed.

KYRIE VS LEBRON ON THE BIG STAGE

The Celtics are still a work in progress. They have cooled off a bit since their 16 game win streak at the beginning of the season, but they are still an obvious force. Even without Hayward, the general consensus is that there will be an Eastern Conference Finals rematch between the Cavs and Celtics. The biggest difference this time around would be the size of the storylines.

Kyrie will be trying to put the last stamp of approval needed to validate his move to Boston. Maybe more accurately, out of Cleveland. It would be truly epic to see Kyrie take down LeBron and end his Finals reign. Instead of LeBron handing Kyrie the keys, Kyrie will be looking to take them from him, head to head. We could see these teams clash in the playoffs for years to come. It seems inevitable the Celtics take the crown and reach the Finals.

THE MAKINGS OF A TRUE RIVALRY

For Celtics fans, perhaps watching Isaiah Thomas try to exact revenge on his old team and new rival will be the hardest thing to watch. It is tough not to root for this guy. It is tough to realize he could be heavily responsible for ending the Celtics’ season.

It would also be the 2nd year in the row the two play in the ECF, and could mark the start of a true rivalry. The Celtics are getting better every year and will soon be the favorites in the East. But until somebody knocks him off, LeBron holds the key to the Finals. As long as he is in Cleveland, they will be a force in the playoffs.

Eventually, there will be a team that comes along and beats LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Most would agree that team will most likely be the Boston Celtics. Even if LeBron isn’t willing to give Kyrie any more advice. Kyrie has everything he needs to succeed. Who knows, maybe we’ll see LeBron give the rookie Jayson Tatum some love Wednesday after the game. Or, maybe he’ll see him as a member of a team that is a serious threat to his championship aspirations and stay far, far away.

Bruins Keys to Rematch with Avalanche

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by: @inlow005

Following a rough home loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche Monday, the Boston Bruins take the ice in Denver tonight for a shot at redemption. The impressive offensive outing from opening night evaporated Monday afternoon.   Many things need to change on both sides of the ice before the rematch with Colorado.

KREJCI NEEDS A REBOUND

While watching Boston’s opener last week, nobody stood out more to me than David Krejci.  He assisted three of the team’s four goals and went positive in the point differential column.  The chemistry displayed between veteran Krejci and NHL rookie Jake DeBrusk left Bruins fans optimistic for their season on the ice together.  Monday night, however, that optimism turned to skepticism.  In the 4-0 loss to Colorado, Krejci was on the ice for two Avalanche goals.  Line-mates DeBrusk and Andres Bjork both went minus three in the plus/minus category.  Krejci and his line are going to have to get more shots on goal Wednesday night.  The fourth line left winger (Sean Kuraly) should never lead the team in shots on goal.

KRUG NEEDS TO MAKE A PRESENCE

I certainly did not expect a huge showing from Torey Krug in his first game of the season.   But with a game under his belt, Krug will need to make some noise Wednesday night.  Krug led the Bruins in ice time Monday afternoon playing alongside Adam McQuaid.  While McQuaid recorded four hits and an even plus/minus, Krug tallied one hit, a -1 plus/minus, and one shot on goal.  He also found the penalty box once on a two-minute illegal check to the head of Alexander Kerfoot.  If Krug can stay honest defensively and add some offensive value, the Bruin’s can definitely bounce back in their third game of the year.

THE SILLY GOALS NEED TO STOP… OR BE STOPPED

As a hockey fan, nothing is more frustrating than watching your team give up goals that can easily be prevented.  It is one thing to give up a goal when the defense did everything right and the shooter just placed it perfectly.  But when the majority of the goals against the Bruins are from careless mistakes, it gets really frustrating.  In the opener against Nashville, all three Predators’ goals came in the final two minutes of a period.  The entire Boston roster seemed to just give up when the clock was soon to expire.  Luckily the offensive efforts outweighed the defensive laziness, but that won’t be enough moving forward.

In the game Monday against Colorado, three of the goals could have been prevented with more caution from Boston.  Krejci was way out of place for the first goal.  The second goal for Colorado came short-handed after a lack of Boston positioning.  And the third goal could have been avoided if Rask didn’t lunge 30 feet out of the crease trying to collect the puck.  Boston needs to fix its positioning and awareness for Wednesday night, and the rest of the season.

Despite Semyon Varlamov’s impressive start to the year in goal for Colorado, the Avalanche are a very beatable team.  If the Bruins come out with more offensive chemistry and defensive awareness than they did Monday, the Bruins could very well chalk up their second win of the year tonight.