Red Wings' goalie Jimmy Howard is a possible candidate to play for Team USA in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Photo by MPR529.

Jimmy Howard and the rest of his Detroit Red Wings’ teammates were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 20, but that hasn’t stopped Howard from continuing his season by representing his country.

Howard is currently the number one man between the pipes as a member of Team USA in the 2012 IIHF World Hockey Championships, which is held in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.  He has back stopped the Americans to five wins (four in regulation, one in overtime) in the tournament and has a 2.16 goals against average and a .918 save percentage, including an 18-save performance in a shutout win against the defending champions, Finland this past Sunday.

Before he missed three weeks with a broken left pinky on February 2, Howard was among the top three goalies in the NHL and was having an all-star season, possibly on his way to a Vezina Trophy nomination (31 wins, 2.03 gaa, .924 save percentage in 44 games). However, his game went a tad south when he returned. Howard still finished the regular season with more than respectable numbers: 35-17-4,  2.12 goals against average, .920 save percentage and six shutouts (five before the finger injury).

Since the US has advanced to the quarter-finals (starting with a rematch with Finland tomorrow morning), Howard’s next games in the tournament will help further his resumé in the international hockey scene. If Howard and the rest of the Americans take home at least a bronze medal this weekend, Howard could better his chances of receiving a ticket to Sochi.

He has looked good during the tournament and is getting a small sample size of what it will be like against the world’s best in the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics, which is only 21 months away and will be held in Sochi, Russia. That is, if there is a new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL, NHLPA and the IIHF (the current CBA expires September 15), but I’m going to assume that all parties will work something out, which is why I’m writing this blog.

As of  right now, Los Angeles Kings’ goaltender Jonathan Quick is making a case as the best goalie in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If he takes the Kings to the Cup Finals and makes life difficult for either the New Jersey Devils or New York Rangers, he could end up winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP. As for regular season hardware, he’s my choice for the Vezina Trophy, and he’s got the numbers to show it (35-21-13, 1.95 gaa , .929 sp, 10 shutouts).

Since teams in the Olympics are required to carry three goalies, another name who could also be given a ticket to Sochi is Cory Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks. His spectacular play this past regular season (20-9-1, 1.96 gaa, .937 sp, 3 shutouts) is forcing the hand of the Canucks’ front office to ship Roberto Luongo out of Vancouver.

Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres is another American-born goalie that shouldn’t be counted out. It was over two years ago when he played the best hockey of his career and everyone took notice when he played at the Winter Games in Vancouver. Even though the US lost to Canada in overtime, Miller backstopped his team to a silver medal and was the MVP of the tournament. His numbers in Vancouver were jaw-dropping: 5-0-1, 1.35 gaa, .946 sp.

The downside on Miller is that there were two different players wearing #30 for the Sabres last season. The first #30 was 5-6-0 in 11 games with a 2.86 gaa before suffering a concussion when he had his bell rung by Boston Bruins’ forward Milan Lucic in early November. After he returned to the lineup, he eventually tightened his game and played like the Ryan Miller that we’re accustomed to seeing and finished with a record of 31-21-7 with a 2.54 gaa, .916 sp and six shutouts. Two knocks are against him—his inconsistent play last year and his age (he’ll be on the south side of 33 by the time the 2014 Olympics will start).

Now, I’m not saying that being 33 is old for a hockey player. It’s not, but Howard, Quick and Schneider will be 29, 28, and 27 respectively by the time the Winter Games start. By then, they’ll still be in the prime of their of their careers.

I would expect Howard to return to pre-injury mode for the Red Wings next season. And if he has another all-star season, his stock will soar even higher for making the cut as one of the three goalies headed to Sochi. If USA Hockey decides to select three out of Howard, Schneider, Quick or Miller, they will have an advantage over the rest of the teams (including Canada) when it comes down to goaltending.

Imagine being a fly in the wall inside the room where the selection process will take place. If he returns as general manager of Team USA, Brian Burke will have some very difficult decisions to make. The goaltending situation will be the most tasking.

Red Wing fans, whether he starts or is behind the bench, what do you think of the idea of Jimmy Howard representing the US in 2014?

New Jersey Devils' forward Zach Parise will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Photo by rubyswoon

The first day of NHL free agency begins on July 1, which is just weeks away, and expect the Detroit Red Wings to be in the middle of it all. Without a doubt, this will be the most crucial off-season in some time. The last time that the Red Wings struck it rich was in the summer of 2001 and we all know what happened.

The Red Wings added more talent to their already star-ladened squad when they went “Stanley Cup or Bust,” trading for All-World goalie Dominik Hasek and signing free agents Brett Hull and Luc Robitalle. The end result: the 2001-02 Red Wings, who are among the greatest teams in NHL history, skated their way to their third Cup in six seasons.

Now I’m not saying that they they will go for players that have the talent of Hull and Robitaille, whom are both Hall of Famers (Hasek will be elected in his first year of eligibility). Times have changed since 2001, especially with all 30 teams under the salary cap. The Red Wings have plenty of cap room and are in line to land two or three key free agents.

New Jersey Devils forward and team captain, Zach Parise, should also be on the Red Wings’ radar. Parise will be the head of the 2012 free agent class as he will be on the open market July 1. He would be a more-than welcomed addition to any NHL club.  Besides, imagine Parise playing on a line with Pavel Datsyuk; not a bad one-two punch, eh?

As much as I want to think that Parise will come to Detroit and play for the Red Wings, there is a red flag. The problem is that his Devils are in the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers. His stock has risen dramatically in the playoffs, especially against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he excelled on both sides of the ice. If he leads the Devils to the Stanley Cup, I see the chances of him signing with the Red Wings between slim and none. Slim will leave the building if Commissioner Gary Bettman tells Parise to come and get the Cup. If the Devils are eliminated by the Rangers, expect the Red Wings’ front office to open up the checkbook and say to Camp Parise, “How much?”.

This will be a crucial off-season for Red Wings’ general manager Ken Holland. Team Captain Nicklas Lidstrom remains undecided if he will return for his 21st NHL season and it’s Holland’s job to not start a domino effect if Lidstrom retires. Whenter or not Lidstrom comes back, if Holland signs Parise and makes serious pitches to Ryan Suter and maybe Alexander Semin, the Red Wings are back in business to make a run at another Stanley Cup. What do you think?

- Brown on having a few days off before the next series – “I think physically and mentally it’s pretty good, probably more on the mental side of things. When you get to this point in the year, physically you can find a way to get yourself going. But, mentally, you’re in a high-stress, high-pressure situation, day in and day out. So, just to have a day to not really think about hockey or the nerves and type of pressure that comes with being in the playoffs – it’s nice to get away from the game for a day or two and kind of let your mind reset.”

- Brown on using a wrist shot vs. slap shot in the playoffs – “Wrist shots are ultimately a lot quicker and a lot more accurate. The quicker you get your shot off, I find, the less time the goalie has to make the save. With a slap shot, you give him an extra second – just by winding up, it gives him an extra second. I don’t take all that many slap shots, partly because I don’t really have a good one. But, I find the more quickly you shoot the pucks, the more likely you are to have a chance at scoring. So, probably the wrist shot or snap shot, is definitely the quicker of the shots you can select from.”

- Does the back checking in the league/playoffs create pressure that prevents a big wind up? “Yeah, definitely. Not only the back checking and the pressure on you, but the pressure in front of you,” said Brown. “Blocking shots has really become a big part of the game and it’s not just one or two guys doing it. You’ll have three or four guys trying to block your shot in zone. It’s just a challenge to get it on net sometimes. It’s not really necessarily how hard you shoot it, but how quick and where you shoot it.”

- Brown on top players playing well in the playoffs – “We’re all clicking right now. A lot of it has to do with, we’re getting big games from different people each and every night. It’s not just our top guys that are playing well and getting us big goals. We’re getting depth scoring, which is huge at this time of year. Going along with that, no one is really having off nights, in the sense that we don’t have guys making mistakes. There’s guys who aren’t maybe finishing their chances every night, but every one is doing all the little things right and that goes a long way toward being successful. Just thinking about game three vs. Vancouver, we won that game 1-0 and that was because we had one opportunity to score a goal and we did. Every other opportunity, every other little play, was made from top to bottom – which allowed us to win a game 1-0. That’s what playoff hockey is all about, having everybody buy in and having big players step up.”

- Brown on physical conditioning – “A lot of the feeling good (physically) at this time of the year is (based on) what you do in the summer in getting yourself ready to play an 82-game season and beyond. The other side of it is taking care of yourself off the ice on a day-to-day basis. I think that’s something everyone is pretty good at at this level, getting the proper rest and eating right and doing all the little things that make you feel better at this time of year. The other thing is managing the practice times and all that. We have a day off today and that goes a long way in helping guys recover from a physical standpoint.”

- Brown on what it means to be a leader – “With the Kings, it’s one of those things where I was named captain and I probably didn’t really know what it meant to be a leader when I was named. It’s been a learning process for me. With this team in particular, it’s just setting an example on the ice, in the way that I play. I think if I do all the little things right and play the right way, it makes it really easy for everyone else to kind of fall in line. And being in LA, with the type of team we have, it’s not just me – it’s not just me and Kopi and Greener either. We have 10 or 13 guys in the room who are leaders. So, when it comes to the whole leadership responsibility, it’s not the burden of just one or two guys, which makes it a very comfortable place where you can lean on each other in times of need. That goes along way in having strong leadership.”

- Brown on maintaining focus when you’re only half way to the ultimate goal – “With this time off, it’s nice to get mentally and physically recovered. But, like I said, and this kind of touches on the group of guys that we have in the room – we have a lot of guys who have been through this before and have the experience. So, it’s just a matter of bringing awareness to it. This team, this group of guys has been really focused, not getting ahead of ourselves. In both series we had a 3-0 lead and found a way to close it out. When you get up 3-0, you could have a tendency to look ahead. We’ve been really focused – not only on game to game, but shift to shift. We need more of that over the next week here – just focusing in and not looking ahead. It will be a little easier once we know who we’ll be playing. Then, we can start getting ready, from a video standpoint and their tendencies. Then, you can start to really key in on what you need to do to be successful once we start playing again.”

Now, Dustin Penner – who had five points (one goal, four assists) and was a plus-5 in the sweep of the St. Louis Blues…

- Penner on how he’s feeling – “Dustin and I talked about it after the game (Sunday) night. We thought it would be a good chance to regroup mentally and physically, but more importantly, just that mental aspect because of the grind and the stress you go through on a daily basis when you’re focusing in on the task at hand.”

- Are you helping with the leadership in the room, given your experience in 2007? “I try not to stick my nose in too much. Maybe I look for the opportune times,” said Penner. “For me and the guys who have made long playoff runs before and won the Cup, I think we help out in a similar fashion. It’s more with more of the mental side of things. I see a lot of similarities between the Ducks run and this run we’re currently on. There’s still eight more wins to go. But, the mentality of the team, the focus and intensity we have each shift and each game – even at practice, the way we’re moving the puck – it’s breeding confidence. That’s a byproduct of our success. We’ve all bought in. You can tell by the way we carry ourselves as a team and as individuals on a daily basis.”

Penner on Brown as a leader – “He was named captain a while ago for a good reason. Everybody is becoming privy to that now. He’s a relentless, tireless worker. It helps open up the door for his skill to shine through. He’s a quiet leader, in terms of how he talks to the team. But, they say actions speak a lot louder than words and he’s yelling his leadership on the ice with the way he plays. We get the same Dustin Brown every night. It doesn’t matter who the other team is or if it’s (Daniel/Henrik) Sedin or (David) Backes or whoever, he is making them work for every inch of ice when he’s on it.”

Penner on moving from the third line to the second line – “I thought I played well with Stolly and Lewis. We had a good series with Vancouver. Yet, the one thing I think a team does when they make a long run is they adjust and adapt to each individual game and series. I was moved up to play with (Mike Richards and Jeff Carter) and we’ve worked well together as a line. They’re really good players. They’re both multi-faceted, talented players. It’s really easy to play with them and I’ve tried to step up my game so I could adequately support the line.”

Penner on what type of linemates he needs to bring out the best in him – “I don’t know. I’ve always thought I needed a big centerman to play with. That’s not the case, Ricky (Richards) plays big. But, it’s just learning as you get older, learning to adapt to different styles of players that you play with. That’s what I’ve done with Ricky. He’s a great centerman, he’s great on draws, he’s a defensive specialist, he has high-end offensive talent and the same goes for Carts. They’re both guys who have played center and know the game well. So, they’re easy to read off of.”

Yesterday, we also posted an in-depth interview with Kings GM Dean Lombardi on MayorsManor. You check out what he had to say about Brown, Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick, etc. by clicking here.

Follow @mayorNHL//

Part I –> Top Six Forwards

Part II –> Bottom Six Forwards

Part III –> Defense Group

Part IV –> Extra Skaters/Call-Ups

Part V –> Goalies

Part VI –> Coaching/Management

Each day over the next week, I will update this blog with the addition of one player (in numerical order). For the bottom six, I will start with Gregory Campbell.

#11 Gregory Campbell

Age: 28

Contract Status: $1.100 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 78 GP, 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 16 Points, -3 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 0 Goals, 2 Assists, 2 Points, -2 Rating

– Duplicating a career season is a tremendously difficult task and one that players throughout the sports world often fall short of achieving. After falling just a goal or an assist shy of reaching the thirty-point mark (13G/16A) for the second time in his career during the 2010-’11 season, Campbell saw his offensive production sliced nearly in half this year (8G/8A). However, as anyone who has watched even a minute of Bruins’ hockey over the past few seasons would tell you, the true value of the 28-year-old London, Ontario native comes in the form of his unmatched grit and intangibles. Surpassing the century mark in the hit column and blocking over fifty shots whilst eating up valuable minutes on the penalty kill, the second-year Bruin’s contributions can not be overlooked. Slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, along with fellow bottom-six forwards Daniel Paille, Benoit Pouliot and Chris Kelly, Campbell will likely seek a slight raise from his last contract, which paid him $1.1 million dollars each year. In all likelihood, the Bruins will bring back just one of the two centermen with expiring deals (Campbell and Kelly). If that is the case, General Manager Peter Chiarelli will face a tough decision in determining whether Kelly’s ability to produce offense on a more consistent basis is worth the presumably hefty difference in the price tags of the two Canadian pivots.

Final Grade: B

#20 Daniel Paille

Age: 28

Contract Status: $1.075 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 69 GP, 9 Goals, 6 Assists, 15 Points, -5 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 0 Assists, 1 Point, -1 Rating

– After struggling to find a spot in the Boston lineup for much of the 2010-’11 regular season — seeing action in only 43 of 82 games –, Paille looked to be the odd man out once again as the 2011-’12 campaign began. With former first round draft choice Jordan Caron — who plays a similar style to Paille — waiting in the wings, it seemed as though the former-Buffalo Sabre would once again become a press box regular. However, the 28-year-old left wing began the season with a strong training camp and earned his spot alongside Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton on the Boston fourth line. The Welland, Ontario native went on to enjoy another solid season for the Black and Gold, picking up nine goals and six assists, while seeing time on the B’s top penalty-killing unit. With his contract set to expire on July 1, and a pair of youngsters in Anthony Camara (3rd Round (81st Overall)/2011 Entry Draft) and Lane MacDermid (4th Round (112th Overall)/2008 Entry Draft) ready to take on a bottom-six role with the big club, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Paille pulling on a different sweater come October of 2012.

Final Grade: B-

#22 Shawn Thornton

Age: 34

Contract Status: $1.100 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2014

Regular Season Stats: 81 GP, 5 Goals, 8 Assists, 13 Points, -7 Rating

Playoff Stats: 5 GP, 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 0 Points, EVEN Rating

– Since arriving on the scene in the summer of 2007, Shawn Thornton has met and exceeded everything that was expected of him by fans, coaches and the Boston Bruins organization. Fresh off a Stanley Cup championship with the Anaheim Ducks, the 34-year-old veteran brought with him the type of toughness and attitude that demands respect throughout locker rooms across the league. His personality, style of play and commitment to the city of Boston have made the Oshawa, Ontario native an ice hockey staple in the Hub. The 2011-’12 campaign was nothing out of the ordinary for Thornton, chipping in with a handful of goals — the most remarkable being his back-hand roof-job against Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec on a penalty shot — while collecting over 150 penalty minutes and dropping the gloves whenever the situation called for it. After sealing a brand new two-year pact in March, Thornton will remain in Boston for at least the next two seasons, earning $2.2 million dollars over the life of the contract.

Final Grade: B

#23 Chris Kelly

Age: 31

Contract Status: $2.125 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 82 GP, 20 Goals, 19 Assists, 39 Points, +33 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 Points, +1 Rating

– General Manager Peter Chiarelli‘s prized acquisition from the 2011 trading deadline, Chris Kelly went far and above expectations in his first full season with the Black and Gold. Posting career-bests in goals, points and plus/minus during his contract season, Kelly has set himself up to sign a lucrative (and well-deserved) new deal on July 1. The hero of Boston’s game one overtime win against the Capitals in the first round of the postseason, Kelly was also one of the few Bruins’ forwards that fully lived up to his playoff expectations in 2012. While Kelly’s increased offensive production (20G/19A) in 2011-’12 came as a surprise to many, the six-foot Toronto-native once again lived up to his billing as a defensive zone stalwart, winning a number of key draws for the Bruins and posting the league’s third highest plus/minus rating (+33). Unfortunately for B’s fans, Kelly may have just played his way out of Boston. After a career year in 2011-’12, Kelly will undoubtedly be looking for significant raise on the deal that’s paid him $2.125 million dollars over the past two seasons. It will be interesting to see if Chiarelli is willing to offer Kelly the type of deal he signed fellow third-liner Rich Peverley to last fall (3 years/$3.250 MIL per).

Final Grade: A

#49 Rich Peverley

Age: 29

Contract Status: $3.250 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2015

Regular Season Stats: 57 GP, 11 Goals, 31 Assists, 42 Points, +20 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 3 Goals, 2 Assists, 5 Points, EVEN Rating

– Despite missing nearly the entire second half of the season after suffering a torn MCL, Boston’s most versatile forward was still able to surpass the 40-point mark for the second time in his career. In the absence of the concussed Nathan Horton, Peverley did an admirable job filling in on the Boston top line, and was solid in his role at center — after the Patrice Bergeron injury — during the B’s first round series with the Capitals. Peverley’s five points (3G/2A) in seven playoff games was good for first on the team as number 49 was without doubt the most consistent producer amongst the Boston forward group in the 2012 postseason. Signed to a brand-new three year contract extension (worth a total of $9.75 million dollars) in October, it is evident that the 29-year-old Ontario-native is a major part of GM Peter Chiarelli’s long-term plan for the success of the Bruins.

Final Grade: B+

#67 Benoit Pouliot

Age: 25

Contract Status: $1.100 MIL Cap Hit/ Restricted Free Agent On July 1, 2012

Regular Season Stats: 74 GP, 16 Goals, 16 Assists, 32 Points, +18 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 2 Points, -1 Rating

– In more ways than one, Benoit Pouliot’s first campaign in a Boston Bruins’ uniform produced eerily similar results to what the B’s came to expect from the man no. 67 replaced: Michael Ryder. In two of his three seasons with the Black and Gold, Ryder hovered around the 30-40 point mark — which is right where Pouliot fell in 2011-’12 — while leaving B’s fans frustrated at his streaky tendencies. At times this season, Pouliot showcased the type of top-line skills that made him the fourth overall selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. However, there were also periods in which the Alfred, Ontario native seemed to resort to the type of on-ice behavior that saw him banished to former head coach Jacques Martin‘s doghouse during his time with the Montreal Canadiens. Coming to the Hub by way of a one-year, $1.1 million dollar contract, Pouliot was the epitome of a low risk/high reward-type off-season signing by general manager Peter Chiarelli. Picking up 32-points (16G/16A) in 74 games this season, Pouliot more than earned his salary, but never truly found the type of consistency that Chiarelli and the Bruins had hoped to see from the former Sudbury Wolf.

Final Grade: B-

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Now a week and a half removed from Boston’s game seven loss at the hands of the Washington Capitals at TD Garden last Wednesday, it seems we’ve reached the perfect time to begin my six part series of Bruins’ postseason report cards. The order will look like this:

Part I –> Top Six Forwards

Part II –> Bottom Six Forwards

Part III –> Defense Group

Part IV –> Extra Skaters/Call-Ups

Part V –> Goalies

Part VI –> Coaching/Management

Without further ado, I present to you part one, detailing and grading the 2011-’12 seasons of each of the Bruins’ top six forwards.

#17 Milan Lucic

Age: 23

Contract Status: $4.083 MIL Cap Hit/ Restricted Free Agent On July 1, 2013

Regular Season Stats: 81 GP, 26 Goals, 35 Assists, 61 Points, +7 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 0 Goals, 3 Assists, 3 Points, +2 Rating

– For the second straight season, Boston’s resident power forward posted a solid sixty-point campaign whilst easily exceeding the century mark (135) in the PIMs category. Lucic’s 2011-’12 regular season was very much on par with what we’ve come to expect from number 17 on a year-in/year-out basis. However, also for the second straight season, his postseason performance left a lot to be desired. In an NHL playoff series, its awfully tough for any team to come out victorious without even a single goal from their top-line left wing. It may all shake down to the fact that even at his best, Lucic isn’t a true first line player in this league. That is by no means a knock on the 6’4″ bruiser but merely a recognition that his playing style is best suited for a second line role, where he isn’t expected to produce 70-point campaigns.

Final Grade: B-

#18 Nathan Horton

Age: 26

Contract Status: $4.000 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2013

Regular Season Stats: 46 GP, 17 Goals, 15 Assists, 32 Points, EVEN Rating

Playoff Stats: Missed Postseason Due To Post-Concussion Syndrome

– Without doubt, Nathan Horton is the toughest to assign a grade of any of the Bruins’ top six forwards simply due to his absence from the lineup for nearly the entire second half of the season. Number eighteen was able to recover from a poor start to the 2011-’12 campaign (five points in twelve games) by picking up 15 goals over the course of the next 34 games he participated in before suffering a concussion in Philadelphia on January 22. It’s tough to gauge where the Bruins will go from here in regards to their 2011 playoff hero. In the same way he declared that Horton would be back before the season ended this year (at the trade deadline), general manager Peter Chiarelli proclaimed last week that he expected the Welland, Ontario native to be ready to go by the start of the 2012-’13 season. However, as anyone with a working knowledge of concussions will most certainly tell you, it is near impossible to predict the return to normalcy for anyone suffering from post-concussion syndrome with complete accuracy.

Final Grade: C+

#19 Tyler Seguin

Age: 20

Contract Status: $3.550 MIL Cap Hit/ Restricted Free Agent On July 1, 2013

Regular Season Stats: 81 GP, 29 Goals, 38 Assists, 67 Points, +34 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 2 Goals, 1 Assist, 3 Points, +3 Rating

– Boston’s sophomore phenom came out with guns blazing in 2011-’12, leading hockey pundits everywhere to believe that number nineteen had reached the level of the player he’d drawn so many comparisons to during his final season of junior hockey in Plymouth, Michigan: Steven Stamkos. Picking up twenty-four points (12G/12A) over the first two months of the season (23 games), it looked like the Brampton, Ontario native had already reached superstardom. However, things slowed down for Seguin as the season went along and he ran into a few bumps in the road, including the infamous Winnipeg alarm clock situation that made headlines in Boston last December. Over the course of the entire campaign, Seguin emerged as a consistent force on the Boston front line, often flaunting the amazing skill and speed that made him the second overall selection in the 2010 Entry Draft. As the dawn of his third season in the NHL approaches with training camp this coming September, it’s clear that the 20-year-old Seguin is well on his way to becoming a true superstar in this league.

Final Grade: A-

#37 Patrice Bergeron

Age: 26

Contract Status: $5.000 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2014

Regular Season Stats: 81 GP, 22 Goals, 42 Assists, 64 Points, +36 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 0 Goals, 2 Assists, 2 Points, EVEN Rating

– Twenty goals, sixty points, a league-best plus-36 rating, a 59% success rate in the faceoff dot and a Selke nomination. Sounds like a pretty phenomenal season, right? It would be for a number of players in the NHL. Yet, all of it was simply business as usual for Boston’s incumbent alternate captain who enjoyed the most consistent season of any forward in the Bruins’ top six forward group. The Quebec-native once again proved himself invaluable to the B’s in 2011-’12, leading the team in both assists and plus/minus while facing the task of shutting down an opponent’s top line on a nightly basis. It’s impossible not to feel good for the oft-underrated Bergeron who is finally receiving the recognition that he’s deserved for many years with his first career Selke nomination. After playing through a debilitating oblique injury and posting only two points in seven games during the Bruins’ opening round defeat at the hands of the Capitals, Bergeron made no excuses, taking full responsibility for his uncharacteristic lack of production. Just another likeable trait that makes the 26-year-old pivot one of the classiest players in the game today.

Final Grade: A

#46 David Krejci

Age: 26

Contract Status: $5.250 MIL Cap Hit/ Unrestricted Free Agent On July 1, 2015

Regular Season Stats: 79 GP, 23 Goals, 39 Assists, 63 Points, -5 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 Points, EVEN Rating

– While David Krejci’s sixty-two point season in 2011-’12 was nothing to balk at, it sure made me look awfully silly after predicting the Czech-born centerman to surpass the 80-point mark in one of my many pre-season blog entries. This year’s campaign can all be boiled down to one word for No. 46: Inconsistent. During the months of December and March, Krejci looked like the top line pivot that Peter Chiarelli hoped he would eventually become. However, in October, February and April, he was nothing but a passenger, collecting only three goals and three assists in 24 games. After competing for the Conn Smythe – eventually won by Tim Thomas — in 2011, Krejci’s playoff performance fell off a steep cliff in 2012. Following up a 12-11-23 line during last year’s run to the Stanley Cup with a pedestrian 1-2-3 output during this season’s playoffs, questions about Krejci’s reputation as a clutch player have began to come to the surface. Don’t get me wrong, Krejci is a phenomenally skilled player — one that any team would be lucky to have on their roster — but much like Lucic, seems to have reached his ceiling (20G/50-65 Points) when it comes to offensive production.

Final Grade: C

#63 Brad Marchand

Age: 23

Contract Status: $2.500 MIL Cap Hit/ Restricted Free Agent On July 1, 2013

Regular Season Stats: 76 GP, 28 Goals, 27 Assists, 55 Points, +31 Rating

Playoff Stats: 7 GP, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 2 Points, -1 Rating

– Boston’s favorite agitator did nothing but improve in 2011-’12 after a breakout rookie season last year. Falling just two tallies short of the 30-goal mark, Marchand reached fifty points for the first time in his young career whilst taking on an expanded role with both special teams units. Admittedly, his two-point effort this postseason was nothing to write home about, the Halifax-native’s overall performance this season has cemented his place in the Boston lineup – alongside Patrice Bergeron –  for many years to come, as a sturdy two-way forward that head coach Claude Julien can rely on in any situation.

Final Grade: B+

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Pavel Datsyuk will play in his fifth IIHF World Championship tournament. Photo by Patxi64.

The Detroit Red Wings’ season ended a couple of weeks ago, but it won’t stop them from taking a trip to Europe. No, they won’t be taking a Griswold Family Vacation, but they will be lacing up the skates once again in the upcoming  IIHF World Championship to be held in Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland.

Several Red Wing players will play for their respective countries in the tournament, which starts this Friday and concludes with the semifinals and medal round games in Helsinki on May 19-20.

Playing in the tournament is the next best thing for the players who aren’t currently in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For some of the Red Wing players who will take part, the opportunity to play for their country at this time of the year doesn’t come that often.

Valtteri Filppula hopes to continue his play from the regular season as he represents Finland, who are the defending champions. This is the first World Championships for Filppula, who represented his country in the 2002 World Under-18 Championships and is also a two-time participant in the World Junior Championships (2003, 2004).

Pavel Datsyuk is arguably one of the best all-around players in the world. Not only has Datsyuk displayed his skills for the Red Wings, he has also showcased his talents by playing for his home country, Russia. Datsyuk played in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and is a three-time participant of the Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010).  In 29 World Championship games, Datsyuk registered 10 goals and 13 assists and will make his fifth appearance in the tournament.

Even though Tomas Tatar is only 21 years old and a top-five prospect in the Red Wings’ organization, this will be the second time that he will play for Slovakia in the World Championships. He looks to improve his stats from last year’s tournament, where registered two goals in six games.  Tatar has also participated in the World Junior Championships in 2009 and 2010, where he netted a total of 10 goals and seven assists in 13 games played. Tatar is projected to be a top-six forward and his stock could rise over the next few weeks.

As for last year’s runner-up Sweden, the additions of  Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Niklas Kronwall bolster their chances to reach the finals once again. Zetterberg and Kronwall, along with Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and then-Red Wing Mikael Samuelsson, were the team’s version of the Swedish Fab Five that captured the Gold Medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Zetterberg began representing his country in the final European Junior Championships in 1998 and captured the Gold Medal in the process. He also took part in the 1999 and 2000 World Junior Championships as well as the Winter Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010. This will be the sixth time that Zetterberg will take part in this tournament. In 44 career games in the World Championships, Zetterberg tallied eight goals and 21 assists.

Like Zetterberg, Kronwall has had his fair share of international experience. The two were teammates in the final European Junior Championship as well as the 2000 World Junior Championships. Kronwall once again represented Sweden the following year for the World Juniors in 2001 and then reunited with Zetterberg at the World Championships in  2003 and 2005. His coming-out party was at the ’06 tournament, where he got two goals and eight assists in eight games, helping Sweden capture the Gold Medal, and raising some eyebrows among the Red Wing brass.

Franzen will participate in the tournament for the third time. During the 2004 and 2005 tournies, he found the net only once and had three assists in 13 games for Sweden.

Since he retired from international competition in 2010, Lidstrom will not take part in the tournament, but another Red Wing will take his spot. Jonathan Ericsson will play in his second international tournament as a member of Team Sweden.

Even though he’s not with the Red Wings just yet, Jarnkrok will get a small sample size of what the pro game will be like when he plays alongside many of the NHL’s best. Jarnkrok, the 51st overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, had a stellar season with Brynas of the Swedish Elite League, scoring 16 goals and adding 23 assists in 50 games. He is no stranger to international competition, representing Sweden in the 2009 Under-18 World Championships and in the 2011 World Junior Championships. Expect Jarnkrok to sign with the Red Wings and start his pro career with the Grand Rapids Griffins this fall.

Jimmy Howard will be between the cage for the U.S  for his first World Championship tournament. Howard played for the U.S. National Team’s Developmental program in the 2000-01 season and also represented the Red, White and Blue in the World Under 18 Tournament in 2002 as well as the World Junior Championships in 2003. Abdelkader will take part in the upcoming competition, but this won’t be the first time that he played for the U.S. as he represented his country in the 2007 World Junior Championships.

For those who are suffering from “Red Wings Withdrawal,” this will be the perfect remedy to see some of the team’s top players in international play over the next two weeks. They may not be playing for the Stanley Cup, but playing for their country is just as good. The tournament starts this Friday as the U.S. plays France at 5:15 am Eastern Time. Note that all of  Team USA’s games will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.

Once the finalists were announced, it was obvious that Malkin was the prohibitive favorite to win the award. The social media world exploded with opinionated outbursts claiming Stamkos didn’t deserve to be a finalist, mainly because his Lightning team failed to make the playoffs. One of the most boisterous was yours truly. I was full of snarky comments like this:

I set out to prove this point After crunching the numbers, I found myself shaking my head over my previous, uneducated rant. The numbers don’t lie. They show just the opposite.

Steven Stamkos is as deserving a Hart Trophy finalist as Evgeni Malkin.

*For the sake of this discussion, I am not including goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Comparing a goaltender and a skater is a research project for another time.

The Malkin File

Won the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points with 109.

First player since 1995-96 to score five points in a game four times.

Finished second in the NHL (behind Stamkos) in goals with 50.

The Stamkos File

Won the Maurice Richard Trophy for leading the league in goals with 60.

First player since 2007-08 to score at least 60 goals.

Finished second in the NHL (behind Malkin) in points with 97.

Led the NHL and set a league record with five overtime goals.

Led the NHL with 48 even strength goals – The most since 1992-93.

Side By Side Comparison

*Goals Created-Calculated by adding goals scored to 0.5 times assists, then multiplying by team goals divided by team goals plus 0.5 times team assists.

Analysis

Stamkos played more games, had more goals, more game winning goals and a much higher shooting percentage.

Malkin had many more assists, points and shots, but a lower shooting percentage.

Stamkos was the more physical player, outhitting Malkin by 80 hits. Malkin blocked more shots.

Malkin had many more takeaways, but also gave away the puck 28 more times than Stamkos.

Both players dominated the bad teams (Maple Leafs, Islanders, Canadiens, Oilers and Blue Jackets). Malkin scored more goals and Stamkos had more points versus the playoff teams.

Stamkos scored more overtime goals (5) than anybody in the history of the NHL

Malkin dominated Stamkos in +/- rating.

The two were virtually even in faceoff percentage, penalty minutes, power play goals and average time on ice.

The competition is just as close in the area of “percentage of team” statistics. Stamkos has a slight advantage as he scored a higher percentage of his teams goals, power play goals and points, while Malkin had a higher percentage of his teams assists.

Both the Lightning and Penguins sorely needed the duo to appear on the score sheet. When Stamkos didn’t have a point, Tampa Bay’s record was 5-15-2. When Malkin didn’t have a point, the Penguins went 5-9-0.

Certainly this exercise proves beyond a shadow of doubt, that Steven Stamkos deserved a Hart nomination. Does he deserve the award?

If you look only at the numbers and base your decision solely on the individual statistics and the players worth to his team…The answer is yes, he deserves it just as much as Malkin does. If you look at the team results, Malkin wins the award easily as he led his team to a fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski put it this way:

In the end, I believe Stamkos is a worthy finalist and it would be hard to argue if he won the award, based on his numbers. But the fact that the Bolts finished out of the playoffs cannot be ignored.

Given the choice between Malkin and Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin is your Hart Memorial Trophy winner.

*Statistics courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com and NHL.com.

Follow me on Twitter @Lightningshout and “Like” Hockey Independent Lightning on Facebook.

Photo: Flickr

After the celebration of the 2011 “break up day” last June, the Boston Bruins were quickly snapped back to the harsh reality of what normally constitutes a locker clean out day for most NHL squads. During which, the B’s brought to light the injuries that hampered them throughout the postseason as well as their reflections on both their first round exit and the 2011-’12 season as a whole.

While the most prominent emotion echoed throughout the locker room on Friday was of shock and disappointment, there also seemed to be a bit of collective “relief” in the fact that they’d now get the chance for some time to recuperate and re-energize after partaking in 196 games over the course of the last eighteen months.

“As players, we need to take full advantage (of the extended off-season), to get our rest and get focused and geared up for next year.” – Milan Lucic

“It’s been a long couple of years and right now I think the best thing to do is just rest.  We have to use it to our advantage.” – Brad Marchand

“If there’s one positive to take out (of the long off-season), it’s that everyone can recover.” – Dennis Seidenberg

After eighty-two regular season games in 2010-’11 followed by twenty-five playoff contests en route to the team’s first Stanley Cup championship in nearly four decades, the Bruins had the benefit of only two-and-a-half months of summer before returning to training camp in early September. Couple that with the eighty-two games that comprised this year’s slate and the seven playoff meetings with the Washington Capitals and the B’s seem to have been playing nonstop hockey for nearly a year and a half. Milan Lucic even compared it to the type of grind baseball players endure on a yearly basis while playing through an extraordinarily long 162-game schedule.

“It almost felt like one long season. It was almost like a baseball season.” — Milan Lucic

Tasting first round defeat for the first time since an April evening at the Bell Centre when they were the eighth seed in 2008, there is little doubt that the Bruins came up far short of what they expected to achieve this season. Workhorse defenseman Dennis Seidenberg described the thought of being eliminated so early as leaving him “with an empty feeling” — an emotion that’s likely uniform around that locker room.

An old adage that’s become commonplace in sports is that “you have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win”. As any fan of the Black and Gold will attest, the Bruins have certainly been dealt their fair share of heart-wrenching defeats. The most obvious of which being the historic collapse of May 2010 against the Philadelphia Flyers. In a sense, the Bruins had to endure the hardships of losing playoff series’ in the manner they did in order to learn exactly what it would take to bring home the Stanley Cup, as they did in 2011.

Now, after another crushing game seven home-ice defeat — their third in the past four years –, the Black and Gold squad will look to use their early exit this spring as added motivation to fuel their attempt to re-capture Lord Stanley in 2012-’13.

“In the future it definitely gives you that extra drive, that extra motivation to get back to where we were (in 2011). It makes you appreciate more and more what happened here last year. It gets that fire boiling inside.” — Milan Lucic

“Watching those games (the remainder of the playoffs) makes you want to be there next year. It makes you want to be part of it and be playing for the Cup again next year. It definitely helps us to get that hunger back.” – Dennis Seidenberg

Successfully repeating as Stanley Cup champions is arguably the most difficult task in all of sports. Especially with the league’s increasing parity and competitiveness. An astonishing statistic to consider? 29 of the NHL’s 30 teams — sorry, Toronto — have qualified for the postseason at least once since the completion of the 2004-’05 lockout. Couple that with the pure exhaustion — that no hockey player will ever admit to — caused by playing in so many games in such a minimal time frame and it becomes near impossible to even come close to retaining the title.

With nearly their entire roster under contract for at least next season and a full off-season to recover from the wild whirlwind ride that’s encompassed these past two years, there is no reason to suggest that the Boston Bruins won’t be right back in the thick of things next spring, competing to bring Lord Stanley’s Cup back to Causeway Street in 2013.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Eastern Conference

(7) Washington Capitals vs. (1) New York Rangers

Cohen– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Marc Staal

Philp– Capitals win in 7. X-Factor –> Capitals’ Penalty-Kill

Muscat– Rangers win in 7. X-Factor –> Rangers’ Third Line

Levin– Rangers win in 7 . X-Factor –> Michael Del Zotto

Woodward– Rangers win in 6. X-Factor –> Dan Girardi

(6) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers

Cohen– Flyers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Philp– Flyers win in 5. X-Factor –> Philadelphia’s Prolific Power-Play

Muscat– Flyers win in 6. X-Factor –> Ilya Bryzgalov

Levin– Devils win in 7. X-Factor –> Patrik Elias

Woodward– Flyers win in 5. X-Factor –> Martin Brodeur’s Ability To Overcome Father Time

Western Conference

(8) Los Angeles Kings vs. (2) St. Louis Blues

Cohen–  Blues win in 7. X-Factor –> David Perron

Philp– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> The Blues’ Defense

Muscat– Blues win in 7. X-Factor –> T.J. Oshie

Levin– Blues win in 6. X-Factor –> Jamie Langenbrunner

Woodward– Kings win in 7. X-Factor –>Mike Richards

(4) Nashville Predators vs. (3) Phoenix Coyotes

Cohen– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Fisher

Philp– Coyotes win in 6. X-Factor –> Mike Smith

Muscat– Predators win in 5. X-Factor –> Alexander Radulov

Levin– Predators win in 5. X-Factor –>Patric Hornqvist

Woodward– Predators win in 6. X-Factor –> Phoenix’s Secondary Scoring

Stanley Cup Finals

Cohen (Edit)– Rangers Over Predators

Muscat (Edit)– Blues Over Rangers

Philp (Edit)– Capitals Over Coyotes

Woodward (Original)– Rangers Over Predators

Steven Stamkos’ 60-Goal Season – An infographic by the team at TampaBayLightning.com

Pavel Datsyuk was nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the fifth straight year. Photo by JPowers65.

It’s been a week since the Detroit Red Wings’ season ended with an early playoff exit, but one of the team’s best players is up for an award.

Red Wings’ center Pavel Datsyuk is one of three players nominated for the Frank J. Selke which goes to the NHL’s top defensive forward. The other nominees are Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and David Backes of the St. Louis Blues.

For the fifth straight season, Datsyuk is a finalist for the Selke Trophy and joins Bob Gainey (1978-82) and Guy Carbonneau (1986-90) for the longest streak. The award was first given out in 1978, which Gainey won and took home the award three more times before the Boston Bruins’ Steve Kasper snapped the streak by winning it in 1982. Carbonneau won the award two years in a row from 1988-89.

In the 2011-12 regular season, Datsyuk scored 19 goals and added 48 assists in 70 games, but other parts to his game were instrumental of being one of the top two-way players in the game. He had a plus/minus rating of +21, posted 97 takeaways, which ranked third in the league, and was the team’s top faceoff player with a 56.2 percentage.

Datsyuk had won the Selke Trophy for three straight seasons (2008-10), but the Vancouver Canucks’ Ryan Kesler snapped the streak by winning the award last year. If  Datsyk were to win, he would join Gainey as the only other four-time winner of the award.

Backes, who was nominated for the first time, was tied for the Blues’ scoring leader with 54 points (24 goals, 30 assists) and posted a plus/minus rating of +15, but playing for head coach Ken Hitchcock, playing a defensive game is a top priority. He led the team with 72 blocked shots and 226 hits, ranked second with 50 takeaways and even though he led the team in faceoffs, he won 48.6 percent of them.

This will also Bergeron’s first time in the running for the Selke. He was second in team scoring with 64 points (22 goals, 42 assists) and led the NHL with a +36 rating and was second in the league with a 59.3 faceoff percentage. If he were to win, Bergeron would join Kasper as the only other Bruins’ player to win the Selke Trophy.

The winner will be announced June 20 at the 2012 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

Photo: Flickr

It was their 196th game in the past eighteen months. Their power-play was once again unproductive, scoring at only a 14% (3-for-23) clip. They’d lost three out of the four playoff games on home ice. The unproven opposing goaltender posted an otherworldly (for a rookie) 2.00 goals against average. Yet, through all that, the Boston Bruins still came within inches of winning their first round series against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday evening.

Less than thirty seconds into the overtime period of game seven, Boston’s sure-handed alternate captain Patrice Bergeron wound up with the puck on his stick while staring at an open Washington goal and a chance to send the Bruins to round two for the fourth consecutive season. Unfortunately, hampered by an upper body injury, Bergeron just couldn’t settle the puck, sending the rubber disk eight inches wide of the yawning net and into the corner.

Only two minutes later, the Capitals would make the Bruins pay for their missed opportunity when fourth line cog Joel Ward backhanded the puck past Tim Thomas to lift Washington to it’s first road victory in a game seven in franchise history.

“It happened so fast, again, as you said, but I knew he was going to take the puck to the net.I was just trying to follow it up just in case there was a puck loose that squirted or a rebound. I just kind of saw it and then gave it one of the hardest whacks I’ve ever given a puck.” – Joel Ward

Becoming the seventh defending Stanley Cup champion in the last nine years to bow out in the first round, summer has commenced on Causeway street much earlier than the Bruins had hoped.

“We we’re used to going you know, all the way. And to be done now it’s like, it’s kind of hard to even understand. It’s like you can’t even believe it’s over right now.” – Johnny Boychuk

For Boston, was it a disappointment? Yes, of course. But was it a choke? Nope.

Let’s call it for what it was: the Washington Capitals deserved to win the series. Their dedication, commitment and desperation far exceeded that of what looked to be an understandably burnt-out Boston squad. In every facet of the game you could logically give the advantage to Washington over the course of the entire seven game set. In a sense, the Capitals beat the Bruins at their own game: they rolled four lines with success, rode timely goaltending, turned their opposition’s mistakes into goals and collectively bought in to their head coach’s strict defensive system.

From top to bottom, the Capitals outplayed the Bruins. It was evident from puck drop in game one. Washington’s top-six forwards (Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Laich, Johansson, Brouwer) produced ten of the team’s sixteen goals on the series and added eleven assists. Spearheaded by Russian uberstar Alex Ovechkin and underrated pivot Brooks Laich, the Capitals’ top forwards elevated their play in this series in the way all superstar players should.

Boston’s top two lines (Krejci, Lucic, Seguin, Peverley, Bergeron, Marchand) were a shell of their former selves, picking up only seven goals and nine assists. Perhaps more telling was that the two players who produced the most out of the aforementioned six were a 20-year-old in his sophomore season (Seguin) and a player who was only given a top-six spot in the absence of the injured Nathan Horton (Peverley). Combining for only three goals and eight points in seven games, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and David Krejci seem to have lost some of the luster that regarded them as “big-time playoff performers”.

Much in the same mold as Boston’s fourth unit in 2011, the Washington grinders proved themselves invaluable in this series, picking up two goals — including Ward’s series winner — and adding four assists whilst continuing to hold their own in the defensive zone as head coach Dale Hunter relied on them to preserve leads late in games. The production and dependability of the Caps’ fourth line (Ward, Keith Aucoin, Mike Knuble) provided Hunter the opportunity to line match and wear down the Bruins over the course of the series — something Claude Julien rode all the way to a Stanley Cup championship just one year ago –.

Boston’s defense corps were strong all series long. The German-born tank that is Dennis Seidenberg once again proved how truly valuable an asset he is for the Black and Gold, holding Ovechkin to only a five point series. The Johnny Boychuk — Andrew Ference pairing did a formidable job while consistently being matched up against the dynamic duo of Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom. Even the oft-scratched Mike Mottau impressed in games six and seven while filling in for an injured Joe Corvo. However, what shocked many — including myself — and made the real difference in this series was the strong defensive play of Washington’s blueliners. The surprisingly efficient play of Roman Hamrlik, Mike Green and John Carlson, amongst others, is what allowed the Caps to nearly completely shut down the Boston top-six.

Entering this series, the Bruins were thought to have the greatest advantage in this series between the pipes. It was Capitals’ rookie Braden Holtby — who had only seven games of previous NHL  experience — against the reigning Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner Tim Thomas. That’s why they play the games, folks. The 22-year-old Saskatchewan native bested Thomas on the stat sheet in every meaningful category — 2.00 GAA to Thomas’ 2.14; .940 SVG % to Thomas’ .923; and of course wins, 4-3 — and by most accounts was the better goalie in this series.

The players in that Bruins locker room deserve tons of credit for how they handled things after being sent home in the first round for the first time since 2008. They were asked about lingering injuries, a shortened summer, a questionable non-call (for goaltender interference) on the game-winning goal, and  missing important pieces of their roster (Horton, Adam McQuaid). The Bruins were given every opportunity to make excuses. They wanted no part of it. And they deserve an immeasurable amount of credit and respect for that.

At the end of the day — for as cliche as this may sound — it’s time for the city of Boston to “give the Devil his due” and recognize the fact that the Washington Capitals were the better team in this series and deserve to be moving on to round two.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

For the first time in four seasons, the Boston Bruins were unable to advance past the first round of the playoffs, becoming the second straight defending Stanley Cup champion to fall in the first round of their title defense.

It was former-Nashville playoff hero Joel Ward who would strike the dagger into the heart of the 17, 565 Black and Gold clad fans on hand at the TD Garden on Wednesday evening with his first goal of the postseason at the 2:37 mark of overtime. Ironically enough, it was former-Bruin Mike Knuble who would block a Benoit Pouliot dump-in attempt and proceed up the ice to create a scoring chance for Washington. The 31-year-old Ward would make no mistake about it, ending the Bruins’ season with one back-handed flip of the puck into an open Boston goal.

“I went for a change and Knubs (Mike Knuble) made a big block there and I assumed we had a little bit of a break up ice so try to take a chance and I knew he was going to take it to the rack and I just tried to follow it up as best as I could. You know, I just saw the puck laying there and I just took a whack at it and it went in.” – Joel Ward

Things didn’t get off to the start the Bruins had hoped for after a Milan Lucic defensive zone turnover would lead to an open chance from the point for John Carlson. The Natick, MA native fired a wrist shot through a crowd that would be deflected by another former-Bruin, Matt Hendricks, into the Boston net.

In typical Boston fashion, the Black and Gold would not go down without a fight. Late in the second period, it would be game six hero Tyler Seguin who would push home the game-tying goal after diving for a loose puck that had slipped through Washington goaltender Braden Holtby and pushing it into the net.

“I tried going in front of the net and I actually fell and Johnny (Boychuk) shot. I kind of saw the puck laying there so I just dove in and whacked it with my stick.” – Tyler Seguin

After a third period in which the B’s were out-shot 12-6 and the city of Boston held it’s collective breath with each Capitals’ shot, the defending champions were served a gift on a silver platter. With just 2:26 left in regulation, Jason Chimera was banished to the penalty box for holding, and the Bruins had themselves an opportunity to end the series with a power-play goal.

“When you talk about tonight, that’s probably the most frustrating part of our game, was that power play that could have ended the series and the game……. Your power play can win you hockey games, and tonight it didn’t.” — Claude Julien

If there was ever a position in which a struggling power-play could erase all it’s previous woes, it was right then and there. Unfortunately for Boston, the man advantage was once again ineffective, producing zero high quality scoring chances throughout the entire two minutes.

Just one minute into the overtime period, the B’s had yet another chance to end the game – and the series – on their terms, when a loose puck bounced directly onto the stick of Patrice Bergeron who was staring directly at a yawning Washington goal.

“It kind of exploded – just rolled on my stick and the puck was bouncing I just tried to go quick because obviously there wasn’t a lot of time and the puck wouldn’t settle.” – Patrice Bergeron

Uncharacteristically, number 37 sent it wide of the net, allowing the Capitals to convert on a scoring chance of their own just ninety-seven seconds later. The loss marks Boston’s third home-ice defeat in a game seven over the past four seasons as the 2011 Champions have been sent to summertime much earlier than they had envisioned.

“It’s hard to swallow, tough to understand right now. I think obviously it’s going to take us a couple of days to sink that one in, we obviously weren’t ready for being done right now.” – Patrice Bergeron

My Thoughts

– I’ll be back on Thursday and Friday with more fallout from this series and a disappointing end to the Boston season. Locker clean-out day is slated for Friday morning. Be sure to check back then for player reaction and analysis.

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Joel Ward (1 Goal/Plus-1 Rating)

2) Tyler Seguin (1 Goal/7 Shots)

3) Braden Holtby (31 Saves)

Series:  Washington WINS 4-3

Thanks For Reading!

Just a quick hit to get you all ready for Game 7 tonight at the TD Garden. If you’d like my full write up on tonight’s pivotal match-up, you can read my “Five Predictions For Game 7″ piece.

Series: Tied 3-3

Location: TD Garden

Time: 7:30 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NBC  Sports Network (Emrick, Olczyk, McGuire)– 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Marchand–Peverley–Bergeron

Lucic–Krejci–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston

Paille–Campbell–Caron

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Boychuk–Ference

Zanon–Mottau

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Rask

Scratches– …… Joe Corvo, Shawn Thornton, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Anton Khudobin

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger was officially ruled out of the 2012 Playoffs by General Manager Peter Chiarelli during a press conference last Wednesday morning.

Adam McQuaid (Upper Body) — In what’s become one of the more unpredictable injuries of the season, Boston’s dependable blueliner will again be absent from the lineup on Wednesday.

Opposing Goaltender: Braden Holtby (6 GP/1.60 GAA)

Prediction:  You can find my full Game 7 written prediction here. I hope you all enjoy.

This will be the ultimate test of will for a Boston club that dealt with and survived an extreme amount of adversity throughout last year’s postseason. Today we will see what the 2011-’12 Boston Bruins are all about in a do-or-die, winner-take-all situation.

Capitals 2, Bruins 3

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Photo: Flickr

The two most notorious words in sports: Game Seven. The mere mention of the phrase is enough to kick-start the heart of hockey fans across the globe. It’s the most entertaining event in sports for fans with no vested interest in either team playing. But for people who have pledged their allegiance to either of the two sides, it’s an excruciatingly long sixty-plus minutes of heart-in-your-throat action.

On Wednesday evening the defending champion Boston Bruins will look to prolong their title defense in game seven of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Washington Capitals. Here are my five predictions for what you will all see at the Garden this evening.

1) Jordan Caron WILL Be In The Lineup

– With the upper body injury to Patrice Bergeron one could only assume that the Bruins will once again dress sophomore power forward Jordan Caron, at the expense of one of their other bottom-six skaters. The 21-year-old Caron provides Claude Julien with flexibility in case number 37 becomes more severely injured and cannot fulfill his normal allotment of ice-time. Caron has the ability to play a grinding fourth line role but also possesses the required skill set to skate on one of the B’s first two offensive units. While many believe that it will again be Shawn Thornton who will be relegated to the press box as Caron enters the lineup, I am of the opinion that Benoit Pouliot will be the odd man out on Wednesday. After taking a late penalty in back-to-back games, the Alfred, Ontario native seems to have reverted to the player that was a healthy scratch for the Canadiens during last year’s postseason. Whether it be Pouliot or Thornton to take a seat, expect Jordan Caron to be in the Boston lineup on Wednesday.

2) Alex Ovechkin WILL Be A MAJOR Factor

– Held to just one goal in the first six games of the series, the Russian uberstar has been well contained by Boston’s top defense pair of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. However, the Great Eight was buzzing during Sunday’s game six, scoring Washington’s only goal of the third period and creating an abundance of chances for both he and his teammates. I’d expect that to continue tonight with the Capitals’ supremely talented left wing picking up at least one goal for his team on this, the grandest of playoff stages.

3) Braden Holtby Will NOT Crack Under Pressure

– It seems as through Boston sports fans are under the impression that Washington rookie netminder Braden Holtby  is going to “wet the bed” so to speak and come unraveled right before their very eyes on the pressure packed ice of the TD Garden. Those folks could not be more off based in their assumptions. Back in June I remember speaking with a colleague of mine and I told him with confidence that Holtby would have more NHL success than either of Washington’s other 22-year-old goaltenders, Michael Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov has since been dealt to Colorado and while Neuvirth has enjoyed a solid 2011-’12 campaign, he’s been far from a superstar in net.

Through six games of this series the Boston Bruins have learned exactly why I made those remarks about the Saskatchewan native just nine months ago. He’s shown both skill and composure en route to a 1.60 playoff GAA. If he hasn’t cracked through the first six games of this series — even after the Bruins scored two goals in twenty-eight seconds in game five — there is no evidence to suggest that he will turtle tonight, despite it being his first career game seven appearance.

4) Game Seven WILL Be Decided By ONE Goal

– This Bruins vs. Capitals’ series has been history-making, in the sense that is has been the first series in NHL history to have it’s first six games decided by only one goal. This is a tremendously surprising statistic, being that the NHL has been widely recognized as the league with more parity that it’s professional sports counterparts. I believe that tonight will be no different, as these two squads will set another record, making this the only series in history to have all SEVEN games decided by one goal.

5) The Bruins Will Survive

– If last year’s remarkable run to Lord Stanley taught us anything, it’s that the Black and Gold can never be counted out. Amassing five consecutive wins in games in which they’ve faced the possibility of elimination, the B’s have certainly been in this situation before. Just last summer they became the first team in history to win three game sevens en route to a championship. While it does feel a bit different — and maybe not for the better –  for the city of Boston to have confidence heading into a decisive game seven, I have a hard time picking against the Bruins at home in a do-or-die scenario. My pick would be Boston over Washington 3-2 with the game-winning-goal to come late in the third period.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

The 20-year-old former second overall draft choice had been one of Boston’s best defensive forwards throughout the first six games of this series, but simply hadn’t been able to find the score sheet. After a quiet first two periods, number nineteen was buzzing in the third frame, creating a plethora of offensive chances for both he and his team.

“I think in this series we’ve had a lot of chances and opportunities and I haven’t been bearing down and finishing them off and it’s just really nice to get that feeling off your back.” – Tyler Seguin

Boston had previously allowed three one goal advantages to slip through their grasp before Seguin’s fourth career playoff tally would allow them to escape elimination — at least for the time being –.

The B’s would take a 1-0 lead for the second time of the series at the 5:56 mark of the opening period when Rich Peverley deflected an Andrew Ference shot past Capitals’ netminder Braden Holtby. Washington would quickly erase that deficit as less than four minutes later, defenseman Mike Green would unleash a slapshot from the left point that deflected off Greg Zanon and into the Boston net. It would be the first goal for the former Norris trophy candidate since October 22, 2011. Top line pivot David Krejci would wake from his playoff slumber towards the end of the period when he redirected a Milan Lucic pass into the Caps’ net to give the B’s a 2-1 lead as the two teams went to the locker rooms at the first intermission.

It wasn’t until the 19:18 mark of the middle frame that either team would get on the board again as the Capitals would draw even on power forward Jason Chimera‘s first goal of the postseason. Before Chimera could make it down to score, it looked as if he caught Brad Marchand up high with an elbow to the face, causing the B’s 5’9″ agitator to fall to the ice with blood spewing from his face. Whilst many Boston fans were looking for a penalty call, the replay indicated that number 63 simply hit his own face with his stick and the officials on the ice were correct in their decision to let the goal stand.

Just past the midway point of the third period it was Seguin who would rush up the right wing and fire a perfectly placed wrist shot into the mask of Holtby, allowing defenseman Andrew Ference to capitalize on a rebound in front. NHL uber-star Alexander Ovechkin would blast a one timer past Tim Thomas directly off an offensive zone face-off won by Nicklas Backstrom to once again tie the score with less than five minutes left in regulation.

Game seven is slated for Wednesday evening back in the Hub at 7:30 PM.

“It’s been a great series. Washington’s a great team and we were battling. Game 7 at the Garden it’s what we’ve been working for, home ice advantage so we’re going to seize the opportunity.” – Tyler Seguin

Ben’s Three Stars:

1)  Tyler Seguin (1 Goal/1 Assist)

2) Andrew Ference (1 Goal/1 Assist)

3) Alexander Ovechkin (1 Goal/7 Shots)

Series:  Tied 3-3

Next Game: Wednesday April 25, 2012. 7:30 PM. TD Garden, Boston, MA.

Thanks For Reading!

Photo: Flickr.

Facing the possibility of becoming the second consecutive defending Stanley Cup champion to fall in the first round of their title defense, the Boston Bruins will take to the Verizon CEnter ice on Sunday afternoon with their season on the line.

Series: Washington Leads 3-2

Location: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

Time: 3:20 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NBC (Emrick, Olczyk, McGuire)– 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Marchand–Bergeron–Peverley

Lucic–Krejci–Rolston

Pouliot–Kelly–Seguin

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Boychuk–Ference

Zanon–Corvo

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Khudobin

Scratches– ….. Mike Mottau, Jordan Caron, Andrew Bodnarchuk

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger was officially ruled out of the 2012 Playoffs by General Manager Peter Chiarelli during a press conference last Wednesday morning.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — The B’s back up goaltender has been practicing with the team, but is not quite ready to return to action.

Adam McQuaid (Upper Body) — In what’s become one of the more unpredictable injuries of the season, Boston’s dependable blueliner will be forced to sit out again on Sunday after not making the voyage south to DC.

Opposing Goaltender: Braden Holtby (5 GP/2.00 GAA)

Prediction:  Nine times out of ten in the NHL postseason, the more desperate team in each games normally ends up the winner. It’s been no different this spring as you’ve seen in game four in Los Angeles, games four and five between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and game five just last night in Phoenix. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. While I would not be surprised if the Bruins’ are to force a game seven back at the TD Garden, I also wouldn’t hold my breath for it. Washington very much appears to be the more confident of the two squads and playing in front of a raucous red crowd of 18,000-plus that can only increase.

This will be the ultimate test of will for a Boston club that dealt with and survived an extreme amount of adversity throughout last year’s postseason. Today we will see what the 2011-’12 Boston Bruins are all about in a do or die situation.

Bruins 2 , Capitals 3

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Troy Brouwer’s tie-breaking second tally of the series came at the most inopportune time for the B’s, with just a minute and twenty-seven seconds left on the third period clock. The collective life was completely sucked out of a raucous TD Garden when Benoit Pouliot was banished to the penalty box for what head coach Claude Julien called a “very weak call” of slashing. It wouldn’t be long after that the former-Chicago Blackhawk would streak down the right side wing and beat Tim Thomas with a glove-side wrist shot.

The Bruins had mounted not one but two comebacks prior to Brouwer’s late marker, erasing both a 2-0 and a 3-2 deficit. It began right around the mid-point of the game when Washington would be the first to find the twine.

At the 11:16 mark of the second period the Capitals would take advantage of a befallen Joe Corvo and pin the B’s into their own defensive zone. After a lengthy offensive sequence it would be game four hero Alexander Semin who would push home a rebound to give the Caps a 1-0 lead.

Just over three minutes later, Washington would double their lead after a wrist shot from gritty third line pivot Jay Beagle deflected off the stick of Boston blueliner Johnny Boychuk and past Tim Thomas to make it 2-0 in favor of the visitors.

It was at the end of the period that a two-goal outburst in a matter of only twenty-eight seconds by the Bruins would even the score at two. First it was German defenseman Dennis Seidenberg who would snap a wrist shot past Capitals’ rookie goaltender Braden Holtby to cut the Washington lead in half. On the very next shift Brad Marchand would poke a rebound through Holtby’s five hole to bring the score to a tie.

“I jumped by their forward and Looch (Milan Lucic) made a great pass to the outside and all I was trying to do was get the puck on net and somehow it found the back of the net.” – Dennis Seidenberg

The B’s would face even more adversity after former-Bruin Mike Knuble would corral a Joel Ward rebound and slide it into the Boston net for a 3-2 Washington lead just three minutes into the third period. After a stretch of fourteen consecutive failed power-play attempts, the B’s would finally break through when Johnny Boychuk released a rocket slapshot that blistered right past Holtby and into the Capitals’ net.

Boston would swarm the Washington end for the better part of what was left in the third frame, but it would be the Caps who would come out on top after scoring on a power-play that many felt should not been granted in the first place.

“Tough call.  I will leave it to you guys, but it was a tough call to make at 2:15 in the game.  It is a grind out there.  Sometimes you get the calls and sometimes you don’t. To call that at the end it is disappointing but there is nothing you can do about it.” – Benoit Pouliot

My Thoughts

– The one thing that the B’s have going for them is the simple fact that they’ve been here before. While they didn’t necessarily face an elimination game six on road ice, they did confront (and overcome) numerous occasions in which they were in a must-win situation. Game three in Montreal, game three against Vancouver and game five against the Lighting were all situations in which the Bruins were in desperate need of a victory and were able to come through.

If they’re not prepared, they could become the second consecutive Stanley Cup champion to lose in the first round of their title defense.

“It’s do or die for us, and we have to make sure we leave it all out there and try to force game seven. But we’re in their rink. They’re going to be coming out hard, so we got to be prepared.” – Brad Marchand

“It’s good to know that we’ve been in tough spots before and responded well. Having said that, we got to do that. You got to bring it and do it. It isn’t, it’s not going to be for granted that we’re going to do it. It’s up to us in this room.” — Tim Thomas

It’s certainly an unfavorable situation, but if the 2011 Bruins taught us anything, it’s that you can never count out the Black and Gold.

“We may be in trouble, but we’re not dead.” – Claude Julien

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Dennis Seidenberg (1 Goal/1 Assist)

2) Troy Brouwer (1 Goal)

3) Mike Knuble (1 Goal)

Series:  Washington Leads 3-2

Next Game: Sunday April 22, 2012. 3:00 PM. Verizon Center, Washington, DC.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

With the Red Wings out of the playoffs, has Nicklas Lidstrom played his last game? Photo by Bridget Samuels.

The Detroit Red Wings were the first team in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs to get eliminated in the opening round as they lost to the Nashville Predators 2-1 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals at the Bridgestone Arena.

It was the Red Wings earliest playoff exit since 2006 when they were ousted in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers in six games.

Jiri Hudler scored the lone goal for the Red Wings and Jimmy Howard kept his team in it, but it wasn’t enough, despite making 23 saves.

It was a repetitive pattern as the Predators scored first once again at 16:10 of the first period when David Legwand went along the boards and stripped the puck away from Kyle Quincey and then fed it to an open Alexander Radulov, who fired a one-timer from the slot and roofed it past Howard to take a 1-0 lead.

The Red Wings tied it at 13:45 of the second period when Henrik Zetterberg  started the play by carrying the puck into the Predators’ zone. He shot the puck at the net; Valtteri Filppula tried to deflect Zetterberg’s shot, but Hudler jammed home the rebound past Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne (21 saves) to make it 1-1.

But the dagger that struck the hearts of Red Wings’ fans occurred 13 seconds into the third period when Radulov took the puck from Brad Stuart, who failed to clear the puck in the neutral zone. Radulov passed the puck over to Gabriel Bourque, who drew two Red Wings skaters, then drop-passed it  to Legwand, who fired a high-wrister past Howard.  The Red Wings had their chances, but at the final buzzer, the better team won.

Congratulations to the Nashville Predators, who came in and outplayed the Red Wings. If there was an MVP in this series, it would have to be netminder Pekka Rinne as he posted a 4-1 record with a 1.81 goals against average and a .944 save percentage. He stole Games 3 and 4 from the Red Wings and stopped 81 of 84 shots. Performances like that win playoff series.

There weren’t many highlights for the Red Wings in the five games that they played in the opening round of the playoffs. Only two players on the team were on the plus side as Cory Emmerton and Gustav Nyquist each posted a +1 rating against the Predators with five players ending up on the even side. Henrik Zetterberg and Jiri Hudler led the team with two goals each with Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk leading the team in points with three each. And that’s about it, which doesn’t say much.

Some of the best players didn’t play like the best players. Johan Franzen played his best in Game 5, but where was he in the first four games? Valtteri Filppula was held goal-less, while Todd Bertuzzi did little besides the scrap with Shea Weber in Game 2. Brad Stuart’s time in Detroit could come to an end, and his -5 showing with some turnovers on the side could help push him out the door.

As far as Jimmy Howard is concerned, he didn’t have the greatest of series as his 2.64 goals against average and .888 save percentage speaks for itself. He was hung out to dry on some of the goals that he gave up, but there were a few that he should have stopped. Next year, there will be a bigger bulls-eye placed on the Red Wings’ number one netminder.

As the players head home and ponder what could have been, some could possibly represent their countries in the upcoming 2012 IIHF World Championships in Sweden and Finland. But the most pressing questions will be answered this summer.

The main concern around these parts is regarding the Captain, Nicklas Lidstrom. Has he played his last game for the Red Wings?  As a fan who closely watches this team, I’m going to say it’s 50-50. Lidstrom will turn 42 next week and it would be great to have him back for another season. And yes, it would be awesome for him to take part in the 2013 Winter Classic against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Ann Arbor on January 1. At the end of the day, it’s his call and whatever decision he makes, we should all respect it. Hands down, Nicklas Lidstrom the best defenseman to have skated on an NHL rink since Bobby Orr.

Whether or not Lidstrom returns for the 2012-13 season, it’s time for Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland to roll up his sleeves and get to work. He can’t have this same lineup when the Red Wings start the season in October. Several players’ contracts are up such as Lidstrom, Ty Conklin (who won’t be back), Tomas Holmstrom, Jiri Hudler, Brad Stuart (all Unrestricted Free Agents), Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Kyle Quincey (Restricted Free Agents).

With the Red Wings’ cap space over $4 million and depending on who will or won’t re-sign with the team, there will be some star talent that will test the waters. As I’ve said in a couple of blogs this season, Predators’ defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber will both be on the open market on July 1st. Either or both of them would bring a tremendous boost to the Red Wings’ lineup. Speaking of the blueline, Dennis Wideman (Capitals) and Matt Carle (Flyers) also would be viable options. Forwards Alexander Semin (Capitals), Zach Parise (Devils), P.A. Parenteau (Islanders) would also be nice fits on the forward lines.

We can’t forget about the kids down in Grand Rapids, especially defenseman Brendan Smith and forward Gustav Nyquist. Both had a combined 32 NHL games played (Smith-14, Nyquist-18) with each contributing a goal and six assists. It’s just a glimpse of what they can do and the future is bright for both future stars who could enter the 2012-13 NHL season on the Opening Night roster.

Even though the Red Wings were ousted early in the first round, it was a season of milestones for the franchise. We got to see the Red Wings set an NHL home record with 23 straight wins, as well as see Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom play in their 1,500th and 1,oooth games, respectively. Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock was behind the bench for his 400th win against the Phoenix Coyotes. Let’s not forget the Red Wings playing in their 21st straight year in the playoffs, which is the longest active streak in all of the four major sports leagues.

Despite the Red Wings early exit in the first round, my rookie season covering the team at Hockey Independent was fun and entertaining. There will be no Stanley Cup parade, but let’s hope that some free agent signings will be as enjoyable and that the Red Wings can make another run at Lord Stanley. Until next time….

While it’s quite impressive to see that the Boston Bruins have received a bevy of contributions from their bottom-six forward group, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that without consistent production from their top players, they may not make it out of this first round.

In an effort to help his team break out of the offensive slump that’s engulfed them throughout their series with the seventh seeded Washington Capitals, Bruins’ bench boss Claude Julien opted to give his forward units a complete makeover in advance of Saturday’s game five at the TD Garden. Based on lines from Friday’s practice, the new trios look like this:

Daniel Paille—Patrice Bergeron—Rich Peverley

Milan Lucic—David Krejci—Brian Rolston

Tyler Seguin/Jordan Caron—Chris Kelly—Benoit Pouliot

Brad Marchand—Gregory Campbell—Shawn Thornton

The most obvious and surprising change there is Brad Marchand’s demotion back to the Merlot line, where he spent the entire first half of last year’s regular season. After watching Thursday’s 2-1 defeat at the Verizon Center, it was clear as to who was playing well and who had some areas to improve upon, which likely played a large part in Julien’s decision to alter his lines.

A popular question amongst the Twitter-sphere on Friday was as to if Jordan Caron would be making his playoff debut on Saturday. And if so, whose spot in the lineup would he take? Many suggested it to be sophomore sensation Tyler Seguin. While I would agree that the B’s could use the added grittiness and net-front presence that Caron can provide, I wouldn’t agree with the notion that number nineteen should be sat down. Seguin’s absence from the score sheet has been a major detriment to Boston’s postseason success but he did show signs of improvement during game four, creating opportunities for both he and his linemates.

As referenced above, the Boston third line has been unquestionably the team’s most consistent trio of the series, picking up three of the Bruins’ seven playoff goals. However, beyond that, the B’s haven’t received much else in the way of offense from any of their forward corps.

Contrast In Performance From The Top-Six Brings Teams To Equal Footing

Rich Peverley’s two tallies – one in game 3 and one in game 4 – account for the only two goals scored by Boston forwards currently skating on one of the top two lines during their conference quarterfinal series against Washington.

There is no denying the fact that the absence of 2011 playoff hero Nathan Horton is a huge factor in the struggles of the B’s top-six. Number eighteen provides the Bruins with a constant physical presence and one of the deadliest wrist shots on the team as well as the chemistry he creates with both Milan Lucic and David Krejci.

Despite this, there truly is no explanation behind the complete lack of offensive production from Boston’s superstars. The top line (for most of the year) of Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand accounted for nearly 30% of the Bruins’ goals (79 of 269) during the regular season, the most of any Boston trio by a significant margin. On line two, Peverley (who missed a large portion of the season with an MCL injury) Krejci and Lucic combined for sixty goals and 165 total points. Much to the displeasure of hockey fans in the Hub, only Peverley (2 Goals) and Bergeron (1 Assist) have been able to find the score sheet this series.  The other four? Zero goals, zero assists, a combined -2 rating and 36 shots on goal.

On the other side of the ice, the Washington forwards have perfectly fit to a tee the definition of “top-six forwards”, ranking 1-6 in points scored for the Caps during this postseason. NHL mega-star Alexander Ovechkin and gritty power forward Brooks Laich lead the way with four points (1G/3A each) whilst Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom have a goal and an assist each in the series. Former-Chicago Blackhawk Troy Brouwer has also picked up a goal and game four hero Alex Semin has tickled the twine twice in four games.

The stark contrast in production levels from the top-six from each of these teams is what’s made this series has tight as it’s been. Boston hasn’t been able to capitalize on their distinct advantage both between the pipes and on the defensive end.

While I still firmly believe that the B’s will be able to bounce back on Saturday and emerge from this offensive malaise, if they’re not, they could be polishing off the golf clubs a lot sooner than they’d hoped.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Much to the chagrin of Black and Gold supporters hoping for the chance to seal the series on Saturday, the B’s were stopped cold in their tracks during a 2-1 loss to the Caps on Thursday thanks to 44 saves from netminder Braden Holtby.

The 22-year-old Saskatchewan native stopped each and every puck that the B’s threw his way including thirteen in the third period to seal a one-goal home-ice victory for the Capitals.

To say that things didn’t get off to the type of start that the Bruins had envisioned  may qualify as a candidate for the understatement of the year award. After a questionable non-call that saw Alexander Ovechkin jump on the back of Boston defenseman Andrew Ference and remove him from the play, the Capitals proceeded up the ice with a 2-on-1 breakaway. Power forward Brooks Laich would slide the puck through the legs of Brian Rolston and over to Marcus Johansson at the 1:22 mark of the opening frame. The 21-year-old Swede made no mistake, sending it into the top shelf to give Washington an early 1-0 lead.

“It was an odd man rush. They made a good play. The puck rolled and stuck right to Johansson’s stick. He was able to bury it top corner.” — Tim Thomas

In typical Bruins’ fashion, Boston would not go down without a fight, evening the score just past the mid-point of the first period. It was Rich Peverley who would carry the puck down the wing and fire a wrist shot through Holtby’s five hole to pull the Bruins in to a 1-1 tie. Despite Thursday’s contest being without doubt the most wide-open of any of the games thus far, neither team could find the twine again until the tail end of the middle period.

After yet another questionable call went against the Bruins – conspiracy theorists may suggest that it stems from Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis’ most recent comments – Patrice Bergeron would be sent to the penalty box with 2:07 on the clock in the second period. It was on the ensuing power-play that Washington would regain their lead after a wicked wrist shot from Alex Semin blazed right past the glove of Tim Thomas and into the Boston net. Even after the Caps had scored the eventual game winning goal while he was in the box, Boston’s always-humble alternate captain was quick to defend the referee’s decision.

“He made that call. It happens fast for me, for him. I’m obviously not going to complain about it.” – Patrice Bergeron

As the second period came to a close and the third period progressed, it appeared as if the Capitals had taken back most of the game’s momentum, controlling play for the better part of the final twenty-plus minutes.

Boston would amass fifteen total shots after Semin had given the Capitals the lead, but simply couldn’t solve Holtby as they fell 2-1 at the Verizon Center. Thursday’s win by the Caps has also assured that there will indeed be a game six played right back here in Washington, DC at some point on Sunday.

My Thoughts

– While it was evident that Braden Holtby was in top form on Thursday, most of the Bruins’ 45 shots on net wouldn’t exactly be characterized as “high quality scoring chances”. A large portion of Boston’s best opportunities to score came on shots that the Caps’ ‘tender was able to get a clear look at, which of course makes the shot far easier to stop.

“He saw everything tonight, that’s for sure. I can’t say there’s too many shots that he didn’t see. He likes to glove pucks, he likes to hold on to it, so like I said we’ve got to get more bodies in front of him.” – Rich Peverley

– In game three, the Black and Gold did an excellent job in disrupting the crease of the Caps’ rookie goaltender and didn’t allow him to find a rhythm. Thursday’s game four was a completely different story as much like games one and two, the majority of the B’s scoring chances had to come from the outside. The overwhelming theme in the Boston locker room after Thursday’s difficult defeat was that the team needed to do a better job in establishing it’s presence in front of the Washington goalkeeper.

“I think our pressure was good. Now it’s about finding the loose pucks. It’s there, we’re in the area, we just haven’t found the loose pucks for the rebounds. We’ve got to be better.” — Patrice Bergeron

“Obviously there is a lot of loose pucks around the net that they cleared and we didn’t get to.  The net front presence has to be better, not just screening but also finding those loose pucks. They’re finding them better than we are. So, there’s probably not a good enough commitment in that area right now until we get that we are going to be struggling to score goals.” – Claude Julien

Ben’s Three Stars:

1) Braden Holtby (44 Saves)

2) Tyler Seguin (6 Shots)

3) Alex Semin (1 Goal)

Series: Tied 2-2

Next Game: Saturday April 21, 2012, TD Garden, Boston, MA.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

WASHINGTON, DC–On Thursday afternoon, the Boston Bruins will have an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Washington Capitals with a win in game four of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series. After a bit of late-game heroics lead the B’s to a 4-3 victory on Monday evening the team will look to secure a Verizon Center sweep and earn the chance to complete the series on Saturday in Boston.

X-Factor: Through three games this postseason the Bruins’ first two offensive units have produced a grand total of one goal. While the contributions from the bottom-six have been an invaluable asset to the B’s early success in these playoffs, they must see improved production from both the David Krejci line and the Patrice Bergeron line if they are to finish off the Caps in this series. Bergeron was quick to praise the recent play of Boston’s third and fourth lines during an interview following Thursday’s morning skate in Washington.

“They’ve been great all year. They give us some scoring. Depth this time of year is very important and right now it shows. It’s about every line doing their job.” – Patrice Bergeron

Series: Boston Leads 2-1

Location: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

Time: 7:30 P.M. (EST)

TV/Radio Info: NESN (Edwards, Brickley, Funayama) – 98.5 The Sports Hub (Goucher, Beers)

Tonight’s Lineup (Subject To Change):

FORWARDS:

Lucic–Bergeron–Peverley

Marchand–Krejci–Seguin

Pouliot–Kelly–Rolston

Paille–Campbell–Thornton

DEFENSE:

Chara–Seidenberg

Boychuk–Ference

Zanon–Corvo

GOALTENDER:

Thomas

Khudobin/Rask

Scratches– ….. Mike Mottau, Jordan Caron

Injuries:

Nathan Horton (Concussion) – Boston’s top right winger was officially ruled out of the 2012 Playoffs by General Manager Peter Chiarelli during a press conference last Wednesday morning.

Tuukka Rask (Groin) — The B’s back up goaltender has been practicing with the team, but head coach Claude Julien did confirm to us this morning that no. 40 isn’t quite ready to return to action.

Adam McQuaid (Upper Body) — In what’s become one of the more unpredictable injuries of the season, Boston’s dependable blueliner will be forced to sit out again on Thursday after not making the voyage south to DC.

Opposing Goaltender: Braden Holtby (3 GP/2.00 GAA)

Prediction: Despite the suspension to Nicklas Backstrom, I believe that the Capitals will still find a way to pull out a game four victory. In sports it is often times the more desperate team that wins the game, and I think that old adage will hold true once again on Thursday at the Verizon Center. However, if the B’s are able to get off to a hot start and take the crowd out of the game, it’s entirely possible that we could be heading back to Boston with the Bruins holding a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Bruins 4 , Capitals 5

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Now in his fifth season with the Black and Gold – and the fifth consecutive year that he’s brought playoff hockey to Causeway Street – it appears as if Julien will indeed have that same luxury during the 2012 playoffs.

Through three games of their first round series against the seventh seeded Washington Capitals, the Bruins have amassed a grand total of six goals. Before the series began, if I’d of told you that against such an offensively gifted squad like the Caps, the B’s would be up two games to one despite only scoring six goals, you’d have thought I was crazy. Now, if I told you that they would do so with only one tally of contribution from their top six forwards, you’d have thought I’d reached the Tyson Nash level of insane.

Rich Peverley’s wrist shot goal in the opening minute of the second period during Monday’s game three was in fact the only goal of the series recorded by a Bruins’ player currently skating on one of the team’s top two offensive units. In most situations, a team with it’s top two lines engulfed in such struggles would easily fold from a complete lack of offensive production. But as the Bruins proved throughout last spring and early summer, their bottom six is fully capable of off-setting their stars’ struggles even on the grandest of playoff hockey stages.

“It’s huge” said winger Brad Marchand of his team’s incredible depth.  “That’s why we won last year, because our depth guys always stepped up at the right time.” – Brad Marchand

“Any time we can chip in, it’s a bonus” remarked a humble Brian Rolston after a Wednesday afternoon practice at the Kettler Ice Plex just south of Washington. However, the contributions of both his line (featuring Chris Kelly and Benoit Pouliot) and the fourth unit (Daniel Paille—Gregory Campbell—Shawn Thornton) cannot be undervalued. Their commitment to hard work and solid defensive play, along with their ability to find the score sheet during clutch moments allow coach Julien to expand his playoff bench while most opposing coaches tend to shorten theirs.

“If the top two lines aren’t scoring and the bottom two are, it really makes a big difference. That’s why we’re such a tough team to play against, because we have that overall depth and lots of guys stepping up at the right time.” – Brad Marchand

If the Bruins are to advance past the first round for the fourth consecutive campaign and make a legitimate attempt to defend their championship, it’s fairly obvious to assume that they will need significant offensive contributions from the top forwards that they’ve relied on all season long. If the likes of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Tyler Seguin are to find their stride this postseason, the Bruins will once again possess the deepest and most versatile forward core in the National Hockey League.

–> Here’s a look at Bruins head coach Claude Julien’s press conference from this morning after the Bruins had a full practice at the Capitals’ training center in Arlington, Virginia.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com

Jiri Hudler scored the Red Wings' lone goal in a 3-1 home loss in Game 4. Photo by JPowers65.

The Detroit Red Wings are on the brink of elimination after their 3-1 loss in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators.  With a 3-1 series lead, the Predators are in the driver’s seat and are one win away from pushing the Red Wings out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jiri Hudler scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, but Jimmy Howard had a less memorable game by giving up all three goals in the third period (on seven shots) and stopped a total of 14 shots.

It seems like the more shots the Red Wings fire at Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne, the stronger he plays. That was the case again as Rinne made 40 saves with 17 of them in the second period.  Another player on the Predators who has been a thorn on the Red Wings side is Kevin Klein, who scored the deciding goal at 6:25 of the third period. Klein also provided tight defense by blocking some key shots for the Predators.

The game plan for the Red Wings was to take control from the get-go, which they did, but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities. They also failed to cash in on the power play and went 1-for-7 with the man-advantage.

After a scoreless 40 minutes, it seemed that the Predators were going to take the lead at 1:28 of the third when David Legwand scored from a bad angle, but the whistle was blown at around the same time, but the goal was disallowed. It was thought to have given the Red Wings some momentum, but the Predators struck back 27 seconds later when Alexander Radulov skated from behind the Red Wings’ net and fired a shot that redirected off of Todd Bertuzzi’s skate, but Gabriel Bourque was there at slot and fired a shot that beat Howard on the glove side.

With a man-advantage, the Red Wings tied it up 79 seconds later when Niklas Kronwall fired a shot from the point which was redirected by Hudler, who was in front of the Predators’ net, making it 1-1.

The Predators regained the lead at 6:25 when Martin Erat skated coast-to-coast and drew the attention of three Red Wings’ skaters and Howard which led to Erat passing the puck to an open Klein and fired the puck into an open net.

With 55.8 seconds left in regulation and Howard pulled for an extra skater, Henrik Zetterberg took a penalty at the wrong time was sent to the box for high sticking which killed any chance of the Red Wings tying it up. That came true 17 seconds later when Legwand scored a power play goal as he stripped Danny Cleary of the puck in front of the Red Wings’ net and tipped it in, sending the Red Wings fans home.

The Red Wings had control for most of the game and after the outcome, it was a game that they deserved to lose. They even held the Predators without a shot for the first 9:44 of the second period.  They had their chances, but at the same time, they shot themselves in the foot, especially with the Klein goal when three skaters (including Nicklas Lidstrom) drew the attention of Erat. Howard overplayed the one-on-three rush by getting out of his crease, which led to an open skater and an open net.

How can the Red Wings solve Pekka Rinne? Besides firing high shots, (which they did in Game 2) they have to create traffic in front of the net just like Hudler’s PP goal early in the third. Despite Hudler’s size, perhaps have Johan Franzen or Todd Bertuzzi (who are bigger and stronger) than Hudler in front of the Predators’ goal. Wouldn’t putting either of them in front of Rinne (who is 6′ 5″ without skates) create a distraction for him?

Jimmy Howard didn’t have a great game and that will draw a bigger bullseye from the critics. In almost every NHL city a goaltender’s fate is decided if he helps bring home a Stanley Cup. Detroit is one of the few cities in the league that has the bar raised even higher and Howard has to raise his “A+ Game” sooner rather than later or he’ll be placed along with Curtis Joseph and Tim Cheveldae as Red Wing goalies who were labeled as scapegoats after not winning the Stanley Cup.

I hate to throw it out there, but have we seen Nicklas Lidstrom play his last game at the Joe Louis Arena? I would like to see the Red Wings return for Game 6 against the Predators, but we’re facing reality and if the Predators wrap up the series in Nashville on Friday, we may have seen the last of Lidstrom, who will turn 42 next week. Will he want to come back to go through another training camp and play another season? It’s premature to think this, but let’s hope that the Red Wings win Game 5 so we can host Game 6 and enjoy watching one of the best defenseman to have played the game.

It’s either win or enjoy tee time, possibly with the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they head back to Nashville for Game 5 on Friday at the Bridgestone Arena.

1) The first things I’ve noticed since arriving in Washington is the city’s overall efficiency and convenience for both residents and visitors. With seemingly every popular attraction accessible from one of the many public Metro stations — for those in Boston, think of it as the DC alternative to the MBTA Subway system, yet a lot cleaner and faster — and a bevy of maps and information booths placed carefully throughout the city, it’s easy for any amateur tourist (like myself) to scope out every nook and cranny of the Capital. Also, another small contraption that I found both interesting and highly valuable is the countdown clock that’s found at each and every Metro stop, letting you know exactly how long you’ll have to wait for your train. This, I’m sure comes in handy on many occasions for commuters traveling to and from the workplace on a daily basis.

2) Submerged within the 400 level of the Verizon Center was where I took in Monday’s game three action in one of the oddest locations for a press box that I’ve ever come across. To put it into perspective, if the gentleman immediately in front of me was to stand up (which he did, far more often that I would have liked) it would severely affect my sight-line. Another adverse affect that comes with being so close to the hoards of screaming fans is having to listen to their loud (and often times profane) comments. While I will admit that it’s possible to hear screaming fans from the Boston press box, it’s far easier and more often done in DC. On the other side of the coin, the Capitals do deserve some credit for providing us with a state-of-the-art media lounge and a bevy of in-game snacking options.

3) Throughout Monday’s game, I had to repeatedly glance up at the countless “Division Champions” banners hanging from the Verizon Center rafters just to make sure I was in the right building. Cheering each and every time, without fail, a member of their beloved Capitals fell to the ice and proceeding to rain down with a chorus of boos upon realizing that there would not be a penalty called, the Caps’ fans make the Verizon Center feel a lot like the Centre Bell up in Montreal. Of course things like this happen in arenas across the NHL, it’s a natural part of being a fan and seeing things through bright red-colored glasses (in Washington’s case). However, Capitals’ fans took things to a whole new level of referee trolling on Monday, even breaking into a “Refs, You Suck” chant on multiple occasions. To be completely honest, it was truly an embarrassing display of fan-hood from all that partook in it. The below video is from 2010 but shows, on a small scale, what exactly I am talking about.

Click here to view the embedded video.

4) If you haven’t already heard, Nicklas Backstrom’s cross-check to the face of Rich Peverley has bought  the Caps’ superstar pivot a one-game suspension. The ruling has DC in an uproar and Capitals’ fans demanding answers. While I have not been able to see Brendan Shanahan’s suspension video, the guess here would be that Backstrom’s match-penalty (and automatic suspension) was upheld simply due to the fact that it was his THIRD cross-checking penalty of the game.

5) After an off-day on Tuesday, the Black and Gold will be back on the ice Wednesday at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, VA. I’ll be sure to provide you all with some insight from there via Twitter and will be back with more tomorrow.

Note: If you’d like to check out some professional quality (I kid, of course) photos from my many stops in DC, you can do so, here.

Thanks For Reading!

“LIKE” Us On Facebook: HockeyIndependent Bruins

Give Me A Shout On Twitter! : @BWoodward_HI

Or You Can E-Mail Me At BWoodward.HI@gmail.com