Bruins off season off to a good start

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Despite the hurt still being there, here I am am writing a quick blog about the Bruins. If you ask me, this is the most important off season the B's have had for quite some time as they look to bounce back from the worst play off loss in team history.

With that being said, Peter Chiarelli has wasted no time bringing back incumbent players he wants on this team. Last week he resigned Shawn Thornton to a two year deal, and most importantly signed Dennis Seidenberg to a 4 year deal over the weekend. After coming over in a deadline day trade, the left handed defenseman was simply amazing while being paired with Zdeno Chara. Despite playing on 17 games for the Bruins, he had a +9 and helped solidify the blue line for the Bruins.

The new 4 year deal costs the Bruins $13 million and averages a $3.25 million cap hit per season. That's a relatively cheap price for a top 2 defenseman, especially since Dennis Wideman is going to cost you $3.97 million for each of the next two season. Yuck! The signing pretty much finalizes the position for the team as they now have Chara, Seidenberg, Ference, Wideman, Boychuck, Stuart and Hunwick. Thankfully, this should provide Chiarelli plenty of time to deal with Bruins lack of scoring. With the draft coming up, hopefully the Bruins can assure themselves of taking Taylor Hall. I'd even be open to Bruins using their other first round pick this season in a package to get them the #1 overall pick just to make sure.

Hockey East teams face rough roads to Frozen Four

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Hockey East conference has had a representative in the national championship game in 16 of the last 20 seasons and each of the last four. Can one of the three teams in this year's field make it? The paths of each team are not easy, but if there's one thing a couple of them have, it's history on their side.

But before we get into that, let's just take the time to go over some general Hockey East history within the tournament and let's see if you can make an argument it being the toughest conference in college hockey. All of these facts are according to Hockey East.

• At least two Hockey East teams have qualified for the Frozen Four 13 times since the league formed in the 1984-85 season. The second-highest number of times that has happened for a conference in that span is five (WCHA, CCHA).
• Since 1993, 17 of the 34 teams that have advanced to the national championship game have been Hockey East teams and twice both teams vying for the title were from the conference. Since the formation of Hockey East, only one other conference has been able to do it once (WCHA).
• Over the last 12 seasons, Hockey East has dominated in terms of Frozen Four qualifiers with 20. The WCHA is second with 14.
  

We'll let those facts just speak for themselves. But with that said, are any of the teams in this year's field at all strong enough to make it to Ford Field for this year's Frozen Four?

Boston College: Northeast Regional (DCU Center - Worcester, Mass.)

History: BC holds an impressive 31-20 (.608) record in what we'll call from here on out at the Hockey East Era (1985-Present). No team in the conference has made more tournament appearances and only one Hockey East team has made more Frozen Four appearances than the Eagles, who sit at 18 and 10, respectively. The Eagles have gone to six title games in that time and have won two of them. They are the only Hockey East team to win more than one national championship in the 2000's. BC won the whole thing in its last tournament appearance in 2008 before missing the tourney altogether last year.

This year: Boston College has the shortest trip to its regional game, needing to just drive down the Pike about 30 minutes to Worcester. But that just might be the easiest part of the whole trip. Boston College is ranked third in the USCHO Poll and also in their bracket are No. 4 North Dakota, No. 8 Yale. It's the only bracket that has more than one team that received first-place votes in the poll.

The Eagles, who are the first seed in the Northeast Regional, will take on Alaska, who scooted in as the last at-large team. But make no mistake, the Nanooks are not to be looked past. Boston College is third in the nation in goals per game, but Alaska has done a pretty good job of keeping the puck out of the net, ranking ninth overall. Some think the travel might have an adverse affect on the Alaska squad, but seeing as the team has to travel to Michigan, Ohio and Indiana just to play a lot of its league games, it shouldn't be much more of a problem than any regular-season game. The problem for the Nanooks will be the fact that they have had difficulty scoring this season and the tandem of Parker Milner and John Muse has been one of the best in the nation behind a terrific defense.

Should the Eagles get past Alaska in the first round, either North Dakota or Yale will stand between them and the Frozen Four.

The Boston College-North Dakota history in the tournament has been well-documented. The two teams met in the 2000 and 2001 NCAA championships, each taking one apiece. Since then, the Sioux and the Eagles have met up in the tournament four times, all in consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2008. In 2005, North Dakota topped the BC in the quarterfinals, but the Eagles have had the last laugh(s), beating the Sioux for a spot in the title game the next three years. And, of course, we can't forget the regular season game in 2007 in which the ice at Conte Arena started to melt after a power outage and the game was called after two periods because there was too much fog. This year, North Dakota comes into the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning 12 of their last 13 games, including the WCHA Final Five (beating the nation's 11th, 1st and 6th-ranked teams consecutively). Goalie Brad Eidsness is eighth in the nation in terms of goals against average with an impressive 2.09 mark over nearly 2,330 minutes this season.

Should the Eagles take on Yale, they will be facing oneof the most dynamic scorers in the nation in Broc Little. In fact, Yale is the top-scoring team in college hockey overall, averaging more than four goals per game. Especially impressive is Yale's power play, which converts on nearly one quarter of all of its opportunities. The Bulldogs are missing their best play in Sean Backman, which has to be a major concern, but the rest of the team has proven itself to have more than enough firepower to compete. On top of that, the Bulldogs live up to their name with physical play, which could come into play against a smaller team like Boston College.

New Hampshire: East Regional (Times Union Center - Albany, NY)

History: UNH has made 16 appearances, including the second-longest active streak in college hockey with nine consecutive tournament bids. Honestly, it could be said that this team more than any other has squandered its chances in the tournament with an unimpressive 11-15 mark in the playoffs, but they have been to four Frozen Fours and two title games. Last year very easily could have been another appearance for the 'Cats, who outplayed Boston University for most of the game, only to have a puck go off the Jerry Pollastrone's glove as he attempted to stop a shot and into the net in a game even BU coach Jack Parker said his team was "very, very fortunate" to have won.


This year: In Albany, New Hampshire may face two teams that will hold distinct home ice advantages in RIT and Cornell. And let's not forget No. 2 overall Denver, who at several points this season held the top spot.

Cornell will be the Wildcats' first-round opponent in a battle of two contrasting styles. Cornell is defensive-minded all the way and it shows in their stats. They boast what some consider the best goalie in the nation in Ben Scrivens, whose 1.78 GAA is tops in the country. As a result, Cornell is tied with top-ranked Miami for first in the Division I in team defense (1.85 goals/game). UNH, on the other end of the spectrum, relies on outgunning opponents, ranking 11th in the nation in team scoring, led by Hobey Baker hopeful Bobby Butler, who is second in the country in goals scored.

Should the 'Cats move on to play Denver, they run into a team that still feels like it has something to prove after losing two WCHA tournament games. Denver is a very ballanced team with good offense and a better defense. Bruins draft pick Joe Colborne is the man to watch with the game on the line as he is tied for first with eight game-winning goals this year. It would also be an interesting storyline of two Florida Panthers draft picks between the pipes in Brian Foster and Marc Cheverie. Cheverie is second in the nation in winning percentage behind BC's Parker Milner, but keep in mind Cheverie has played 32 games (24-5-3) to Milner's 13 (10-2-1).

If the 'Cats next opponents be RIT, they would be facing a true Cinderella story. RIT was ranked 25th in the PairWise Rankings and was a far cry from an at-large bid, but won the AHA, so none of that mattered. The Tigers are in the first national tournament in the school's history and carry with them a 10-game winning streak. Should they be able to beat No. 2 Denver, the momentum would definitely be on their side. RIT has been a pretty explosive offensive team and their team defense has been subperb with Jared DeMichael (2.00 GAA) between the pipes. Granted, some stats might be skewed a bit by the fact they play in a weak conference, but the fact of the matter is RIT is a balanced team, something UNH has had some difficulty with this season.

Vermont: West Regional (Xcel Energy Center - St. Paul, Minn.)

History: Vermont has only been a part of Hockey East since the 2005-06 season, but have already become a viable threat as part of the league, going to the Frozen Four last year in its first appearance as a Hockey East team. They beat Yale, then Air Force in a double-overtime game and then were victimized by a tough-luck goal in a loss to BU after outplaying the Terriers pretty much all game, preventing them from moving on to the title game. The Catamounts, who were part of the ECAC before joining Hockey East, have been to five tournaments altogether and have made it to the frozen four in two of them.

This year: As the No. 4 seed in the West, Vermont takes on maybe the softest of the top seeds in Wisconsin. The Badgers are certainly a great team, but some consider North Dakota or even Cornell to be better squads. Wisonsin lost to St. Cloud State in the Frozen Five, but salvaged the tournament with a win over Denver, otherwise the Badgers surely would have lost a No. 1 seeding. If there's one thing Wisconsin knows how to do, it's score. In a year when the WCHA has been very tough, the Badgers ranked first in the league and second in the nation in scoring offense. Scoring has been a problem for Vermont this year, ranking in the bottom half of th3 country in that respect, so the Catamounts may end up relying heavily on Rob Madore, who has had a habit of coming up with big perfomances in the postseason.

Should the Catamounts advance, it could be the team that beat the Badgers in the Final Five that they face next. St. Cloud State has been in the top-10 in the polls for the better part of the season. While not an elite team in any area, St. Cloud is proficient in all of them and has hung with what might be the most difficult conference schedule this year. The one place where St. Cloud is deficient is on the penalty kill, but likewise, Vermont is one of the worst in the country in that department.

Northern Michigan is another team that isn't overly impressive in any area, but gave itself a major boost by making it to the CCHA final. What would make this matchup interesting is in making it to the final, the Wildcats knocked Ferris State out of tournament consideration in the process and was one of the reasons UVM ended up in the tournament at all. As one of the better defensive teams in the nation, Northern Michigan could prove a challenge to a UVM team that just plain doesn't score many goals. Even a couple of goals could end up in a win and a ticket to the Frozen Four for the Wildcats.

Bruins should pass on Kovalchuk

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Bruins 2009-2010 season has been a disappointing bust thus far. With that being said, it doesn't mean Peter Chiarelli should trade away the young foundation of this team to bring in a rental like Ilya Kovalchuk. Yeah, yeah I know the Bruins can't put the puck in the net, but is Kovalchuk really going to take this team to the Stanley Cup, much less the Conference Finals? No, I don't think so. For the longest time, I've been an advocate of Chiarelli trading a draft pick, a young, established player and a prospect for Kovalchuk, but a conversation I had the other night has completely changed my train of thought.

The B's have been completely decimated with injuries this season, and that has been the major reason for the lackluster season so far. They've lost significant time from the likes of Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, & David Krejci. All of whom are major contributors to the Bruins offense. In my mind, Krejci has never recovered from his hip injury. He came back too soon, and it's affected his play all season. If this team is healthy, and that most likely will not happen at all this season, they're still a very good team. In addition to the injuries, they have had several players suffer through underachieving seasons. Blake Wheeler, with the exception of a recent hot streak, has not played up to par. Neither has Michael Ryder. Krejci has looked terrible recently, but I still blame that on his balky hip.

If the Bruins are going to make a move, I think they should still look to the south for a trade partner. Instead, let's take a look at the Hurricanes. Instead of Kovalchuk, why not make a move for Ray Whitney. He's netted 16 goals already, and is pretty much a sure fire 25 goals a year guy. He also will not cost you a good young player like Lucic, Krejci, Bergeron or Wheeler. While we're talking about the Hurricanes, why don't we bring back Aaron Ward. Peter Chiarelli made a major blunder by trading him away and bringing in Derek Morris. Ward would help solidify the defensive corp. Both these moves are low cost moves that would help the team now without mortgaging the team's future. I don't mind the Bruins trading their own first round draft pick, but they need to hold onto the Maple Leaf's pick that could potentially be a lottery pick. Hopefully their recent moves will not drastically improve that team.

The Big Bad Bruins Are Back

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Bruins played the Carolina Hurricanes last night for the first time since the Canes knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Both were coming off disappointing first game losses and looking to rebound.

Right from the drop of the puck the B's came out flying. Just four minutes into the game Marc Savard scooped up a rebound and put it past Cam Ward to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins kept the pressure up and eight minutes later scored again after Zdeno Chara took a shot from the point that Cam Ward kicked out and was put right back in by Michael Ryder making it 2-0 Bruins. It would take just 38 seconds for the Bruins to put in another one as Black Wheeler deflected one past Ward. The play would be reviewed and it showed that the puck did go off Wheeler's skate, but he had not kicked it so the goal stood.

The second period started out just like the first with the Bruins keeping the pressure on, but Carolina also got some of their own pressure. Then with a little less than ten minutes gone in the period Marco Sturm got his first of the year and his first since returning from an injury that kept him out of almost all of last year.

Just two minutes later the Bruins scored again. This time it was Dennis Wideman making it 5-0 and the third pp goal of the game for the B's. With the Bruins in total control they seemed to get off their game a bit and Carolina got their first goal of the game as Scott Walker deflected a shot pat Thomas which was eerily similar to his game winner in last year's Game 7.

That goal seemed to spark the Bruins who once again got the pressure back on Carolina and scored again as Shawn Thornton put a quick one past Michael Leighton who had replaced Cam Ward.

With the game well in hand you knew things were going to get out of hand very soon. Then it happened. With under a minute left in the period Milan Lucic checked Jay Harrison into the boards and Harrison decided he wanted to go with Lucic. It was a great fight with both landing punches, but Lucic landed the better as he opened Harrison up pretty good.

The very next play Andrew Alberts hit Marco Sturm into the boards up a little high, Sturm had sustained head injury last year and Savard took offense to this as he went right over to Alberts and started to throw a few punches although Savard still had his gloves on. Then everyone jumped in and pretty soon there was four guys in each penalty box.

The Bruins would get the final goal of the game as Matt Hunwick got his first of the season making it 7-2. The game had one more scrum as Shawn Thornton fought Andrew Alberts with Thornton getting the best of the punches in.


News and Notes
It was the first time the Bruins had seven different goal scorers in a game since Jan. 18, 2003.

The Bruins had 21 shots in first period which was more than all three periods of the opener, 20 shots.

The Bruins honored longtime broadcaster Fred Cusick, who passed away on September 15th at the age of 90. Cusick was the Bruins' Radio broadcaster from 1952-1970 and TV broadcaster from 1971-1997. During the first media timeout of the second period, the TV booth was dedicated at the "Fred Cusick Broadcast Booth." His trademark “Scoooore!” still gives me chills.


Who's next?
After 2 games in 3 nights the B's don't play until Thursday. The Anaheim Ducks visit the Garden for their only appearance in Boston this season.

Redemption Time for the Penguins

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Once the Bruins were knocked out of the playoffs, which seems like months ago, I knew there would be a Stanley Cup Finals rematch from a year ago. The Eastern Conference Champion Penguins, after a hard fought seven game battle with Washington, swept the Hurricanes with ease, propelling themselves back to the finals. The Wings, in my opinion, have had the tougher road getting to the finals. Detroit squeaked past the Ducks in the second round with a 4-3 win in game seven and had three overtime games against the Blackhawks which ended in five.

The biggest factor in this series has to be age. The Penguins are led by the 2 best offensive players in hockey, Sidney Crosby (age 21) and Evgeni Malkin (22). Pittsburgh also has a great young goalie in Marc-Andre Fluery (24). Detroit has pretty much the same team as last year's Cup winning team. They are a team comprised of old veterans that know how to win playoff hockey games. The major problem the Wings are dealing with is that their age is catching up with them and they are starting to break down physically.

Detroit, who won in six games last year against Pittsburgh, is looking to become the first NHL team with back-to-back championships since the Red Wings did in 1997 and 1998 with several of the same players. The Wings, who have won four titles in the last 11 seasons, are built on a foundation experienced (or old) players such as captain Nicklas Lidstrom (39), Tomas Holmstrom (36), Kris Draper (38), and Kirk Maltby (36). But Detroit does have some "younger" players in Pavel Datsyuk (30) and Henrik Zetterberg (28), the two led the team in scoring in the regular season. Not to mention the raised from the dead goaltender Chris Osgood (36 years young) who has come back from obscurity to have a good playoffs.

The banged-up Red Wings expect to have Lidstrom back on the blue line Saturday night after he was forced to sit out the last two games against Chicago because of an undisclosed lower-body injury, who do they think they are the Patriots. Draper, sidelined for all but four games during the postseason, should also return along with defenseman Jonathan Ericsson just a few days removed from surgery following an appendicitis. Datsyuk is still the biggest question mark, will be a game-time decision. The Red Wings clearly could have used more time off, but now face playing four games in six nights and five in eight, advantage Pittsburgh. My prediction for the series is Penguins will win the Cup at home in Game 6 dashing the hopes of another Detroit repeat.

Hockey Note: Red Wings forward Marian Hossa will be playing in second straight Cup Finals. Last year he was a late season acquisition by the Penguins and helped them to the Finals against Detroit. Hossa decided to turn down an offer from the Penguins in the off-season and sign with more experienced Wings team at a lower salary. Now he faces his old team. Karma?

B's Downgrade 'Canes to Tropical Storm

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


There were a few major stories that play out through game 1; loose pucks, turnovers and goaltending. Each played a vital role in the Bruins 4-1 victory over the 'Canes.

Boston nabbed a 1-0 lead just 1:34 in when Michael Ryder chased down a loose puck behind the Carolina net and passed it to Aaron Ward at the point. Ward, a former Hurricane, shot it toward Carolina goalie Cam Ward, and David Krejci tipped it home.

Throughout the rest of the 1st period the B's lacked the urgency you need in a playoff game. It finally bit them in the seat of their pants when Mark Stuart turned the puck over at the 'Canes blue line creating a 3 on 2 going towards the Bruins' zone. Ryan Bayda carried the puck over the blue line, then dropped it to Jussi Jokinen who, with 1:10 left in the period unleashed a slap shot that snuck between Thomas’ pads. An instant later, Bayda steamrolled Thomas, earning a visit to the penalty box for goalie interference. Carolina had seemingly taken control of the game after Jokinen tied it at 1.

Boston took the reins back and the lead at 7:21 into the second when Milan Lucic tipped a Phil Kessel shot, setting up a room service rebound for Mark Savard. He cleaned up the loose puck for his first goal of the night.

Then at 12:41, Ryder stole a Tuomo Ruutu pass in the neutral zone and broke in on a 2-on-1 with Blake Wheeler. Ryder, who is on fire in the playoffs, chose to keep it and whistled a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Ward.

The latter part of the second period and the beginning of the third period became a flurry of turnovers. The Bruins coughed up the puck multiple times causing Tim Thomas to show why he is a Vezina Trophy finalist. “Realizing that goal was a little ugly, I wanted to do everything I could to save everything else to redeem myself,” Thomas said. He did with two phenomenal game saving saves. The first was a kick save on a Ryan Bayda tip at the end of the second period. The second was with a pad save on an Eric Staal backdoor play early in the third. Thomas continued his stellar goal play the remainder of the game finishing with 26 saves.

Sloppy played led to the final Bruins goal. Lucic stole the puck at center ice he dropped it for Kessel, which got stolen by Matt Cullen. Cullen turned it over to Savard, then tipped it up to Kessel, who brought it into Carolin's end, Savard took a drop pass from Kessel and beat Ward, who gave little effort to protect the net to ending the scoring for the evening.

The Bruins created their goals from fore checking and great center ice transitions into the offensive zone, but if the B's continue to turn the puck over to the 'Canes, Thomas won't be able to stop them all.

Perfect Day for Game 1

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


May 1, May Day. May Day is synonymous with international workers day, the perfect day to start the second round of the Bruins Playoffs. The history of the Boston Bruins has always been of a blue collar team that works hard, is physical and creates their own opportunities. That is the reason why May Day is the perfect Holiday for the Bruins; they are the ultimate hard working team. The B's are the best team in the Playoffs as shown in the Montreal series that concluded 9 days ago.

Aaron Ward was on WEEI yesterday morning describing the makeup of the club,"We are a group of guys that are hard workers, we're not based on talent alone. We don't have a Hossa, Datsyuk and Zetterberg. We have four hard working lines and three great defensive pairings and a goaltender that -- goaltending duo that stand on their head." Don't get me wrong, the Bruins have talent in Phil Kessel, Mark Savard, and David Krejci. Without players like Aaron Ward , PJ Axellson and Shawn Thornton the B's wouldn't have the grit to advance very far.

Puck drops in 30 minutes, let's listen for the "Mayday" calls from the Hurricanes.

Stanley Cup Conference Semifinals

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


Chicago vs. Vancouver

The Blackhawks' last game against the Canucks featured a third-period brawl that had everything from WWE-style body slams to hair pulling. Clearly they won't have to wait for the hatred to build when their second-round playoff series starts Thursday night in Vancouver.

Physical play will be nothing new for the young Blackhawks, who saw plenty of intimidation attempts from the more experienced but injury-riddled Calgary in the first round. The Canucks will have to continue the intense, hard-nosed style that marked their four-game sweep of St. Louis in the first round to get by the youthful Hawks. They need to stop taking as many penalties as in the prior round, although Vancouver did killed off 23 of 24 of those.

Chicago's youth will come through to beat Vancouver in 7 games.

Detroit vs. Anaheim

The Ducks used the same formula they used in winning the 2007 Stanley Cup -- clutch goaltending, timely scoring and one of the deepest blue lines in flawless fashion to neutralize the top threats from the Sharks. With the Shark series in the rear view mirror, the Ducks must find a way to neutralize the defending Cup champion, a team that seems to be hitting its stride. The Wings dispatched a game Columbus Blue Jackets club in the first round with a champion-like display of overall team hockey and good goaltending from Chris Osgood, who had a pedestrian regular season.

Detriot has an assortment of perennial All-Stars and NHL award winners. Their coach has led the team to four straight 50-plus win seasons, they can play a speed game or exhibit some muscle in the trenches, and they are the defending Stanley Cup champion.

Even with the great defensive hockey that the Ducks play, Detroit will be too much to handle and will win the series in 5.


Washington vs. Pittsburgh

This is the matchup NHL fans has been waiting for all season. This series brings together the NHL's top three scorers during the regular season -- Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, plus two of the three Hart Trophy finalists in Malkin and Ovechkin. Now factor in some harsh words between Crosby and Ovechkin during the regular season and this series becomes must-see TV. What I think the real story of this series will become is goaltending.

After Jose Theodore allowed four goals in Game 1 against the Rangers, a 20-year-old rookie from Russia named Simeon Varlamov was called upon in Game 2. He wound up winning four games for the Caps, including two shutouts, and limited the Rangers to just seven goals in six games. He turned 21 Monday -- he looks it -- but he doesn't play like it.

Marc-Andre Fleury stole Game 4 with a 45-save effort and kept the Penguins in Game 6 once the team fell into a 3-0 hole. He wasn't spectacular, but he gives his teammates the confidence that he'll make all the important plays.

Varlamov's young skills won't be enough to stop the extremely deep offensive Pens after 6 games.


Boston vs Carolina series preview coming soon...

Bruins sweep! Put the beatdown on the Canadiens

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Boston Bruins put together about as complete a series as possible while sweeping the Montreal Canadiens.  Despite the fact that Montreal was the 8th seed, it's never easy for the B's to play, and beat, the Habs in the playoffs.  What they did in the four games was firmly establish themselves as a sure fire threat to take the Stanly Cup.  

Montreal is never an easy place to play, and the Bruins showed the pressure wasn't going to affect them.  The Canadiens played exceptionally well in the first period of games 3 & 4, but were only able to come out with a tie at best during each game. That in and of itself, helped break the Canadiens as the Bruins dominated the last two periods in both games.  

The series itself was a hard fought, chippy and intense series with many great performances by the Bruins. Both teams did a good job of playing physical and finishing their checks. My co-MVP's are goalie Tim Thomas, who finally showed he can win in the postseason, and former Canadien Michael Ryder, who scored 4 goals and 3 assists during the series.  The Bruins used good goal tending, a solid defense and an effective offense to beat the Canadiens soundly in all 4 games. 

John C, one of our loyal FFS readers, has pointed out several times that the Bruins have won this series thanks in part to their amazing discipline.  I totally agree with him.  With the exception of Milan Lucic in game 2, the Bruins only took the Canadiens bait after the game was essentially won.  In my mind, the real reason the B's swept the Habs has to be their play on special teams. The Bruins didn't allow a power play goal at all during the series as the Canadiens went 0 for 8. On the power play, the Bruins were only 4 for 16, but just happened to go 0 for 6 in game four drastically reducing their percentage.  

The next round should be much more of a challenge.  For now, Bruins fans need to sit back and wait to see who the next opponent will be.  On a side note, the Bruins announced the signing of former Bemidji State goaltender Matt Dalton.  Dalton had an great season for the Beavers helping them reach the Frozen Four for the first time in school history. 

Ryder's on the Storm

By Jim Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Michael Ryder has got to be loving this playoff series so far against his former team.  Ryder, who played the first four years of his career in Montreal, is having a great series against the Habs. He's been able to exact some revenge on an organization that shunned him during the first round of the playoffs last season.  He missed most of the series against the Bruins last year because he was in the dog house.

Ryder, who scored 27 goals during the regular season, has been solid so far. In the first three games, he has 2 goals and 2 assists for a total of 4 points.  He scored the eventual game-winner last night with 2:39 seconds left in the 2nd period.  He scored the goal because he was able to position himself in the right place at the right time.  He's had a knack for doing that in his first season with the Bruins.  Now, he and the Boston Bruins are in place to humiliate the Montreal Canadiens and their fans during the 100th season of the most storied franchise in the NHL. They enter Game 4 on Wednesday night with a chance to end the Habs' season on their home ice. For a diehard Bruins fan, the only thing nicer would be winning the Stanley Cup.  

I say we get greedy and go for both.

Bruins win it with a bang

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

After the Bruins scored 2 first period goals from Phil Kessel (13:11) and David Krejci (14:41), the game looked as if it were going to get out of hand. With a little over 3 1/2 minutes left in the period, Montreal's Christopher Higgins calmed the crowd when his shot passed the reached of a stretched out Tim Thomas (26 saves).

Boston came out in the second with the lead but with a lack of urgency. "We did stop," Aaron Ward said to the Associated Press. "That's what got us in trouble in the second period. We stopped playing our system with the effort and level of intensity. We sat and watched them play a perimeter game, run us around, and when a team does that in the playoffs, it's hard to push back." It showed with under three minutes left the B's turned the puck over in their own end Alex Kovalev ripped a one-timer over Thomas' shoulder to tie it at 2.

The Bruins got their best chance to retake the lead midway though the third when P.J. Axelsson drew a crosschecking penalty from Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges in front of Carey Price (35 saves). Bruins coach, Claude Julien, decided to shake up the powerplay line putting Captain Zdeno Chara on the point, removing rookie pointman Matt Hunwick and Kessel for Michael Ryder. Who says Julien can't coach in the playoffs. The B's put more and more pressure on Price, squeezing the penalty killers closer to the net. Seeing Montreal collapsing towards Price, Mark Savard drove to the net, passed it perfectly out to Chara who was waiting for the one-timer. Chara blasted the puck past Price and almost through the net with his slap shot.

"He's got a bomb," said Ward. "It took him until the third period to let it go. But he's an intimidating guy with that shot. He's our leader. If there's any question in years past - people were critical of him being captain, and I have no idea why - he's proven himself to be worthy of it. He's got the attention and the respect of every guy in this locker room."

In the remaining 8+ minutes Boston played great defense and Thomas made some game saving stops. In the waning seconds of the game, Kessel netted an empty net goal to wrap it up. In well known Canadian fashion Montreal Maxim Lapierre took a cheap shot at Kessel with Lucic coming to his defense. After the final buzzer, the Canadians did it again, this time with Mike Komisarek bloodying Hunwick over the right eye ensuing a bench clearing scuffle that wrapped up the night. That just shows what kind of a club Montreal really has.

On a funny note, My wife and I were sitting in the Orlando Ale House (local sports bar) watching the game when Chara scored the game winner. I stood up yelling and clapping, after a couple seconds I look around and people were staring at me like we were in a library and shouldn't make any noise. Nobody was even paying attention to any of the TVs for any of the sports that were on. Orlando has no passion for sports.

Bruins vs. Canadians The Gloves Come Off Tonight!

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


With five games to go in the season, I took one look at the standings and saw the Canadians floating around the 7th or 8th seed for the playoffs. At that point, I had a feeling the Bruins would be facing Montreal to get redemption for last year's game 7 debacle, it was inevitable.

Starting from the off-season you could tell the 2 teams were moving in different directions. The Habs didn't make an impactful move at all, as where the B's made a couple upgrades. Forwards, Blake Wheeler and former Canadian veteran Michael Ryder provided need depth and scoring ability.

The Bruins dominated the six regular season match ups going 5-0-1. Recently, Montreal backed their way into the playoffs going 2-3-1 in April. But, this is the playoffs and the most hated rivalry in hockey so anything can happen. Look for a Bruins blowout in game 1 followed by 4 or possibly 5 closer games with the B's advancing to the next round. The 7:00pm puck drop can't come soon enough.

The Stanley Cup Playoff Preview! Part 2

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Eastern Conference

#1 Seed - Boston Bruins
The Bruins, for the first time in years, have a real chance to advance deep in the playoffs. Bruins GM, Peter Chiarelli, has put together a team that has excelled in all facets of the game. The key for the B's success starts with their defense and goaltending. Captain Zdeno Chara headlines a group of tall strong defensemen, that when they hold both blue lines, they initiate Boston's opportunistic offsense. Tim Thomas will have to prove himself worth of his new stout contract this postseason. Look for a long series against the hated Canadians.

#2 Seed - Washington Capitals
The Caps rely on their top three offensive stars, Alex Ovenchkin, Nichlas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin, to get most of the goals and assists. Mike Green, 23 year-old defensemen, finished the season playing in only 68 games, attaining the most goals (31) and points (73) by a defensemen in the NHL. He's the best young offensive defensemen in the league, no doubt. Washington's power play is outstanding with all of those goal scorers. Goalie, Jose Theodore has never propelled a team deep through the playoffs.

#3 Seed - New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Govenor, Jon Corzine, declared April 14, 2009, Martin Brodeur Day. Jersey should declare the season of Spring the "Season of Brodeur". If the Devils do go deep in the playoffs, which I don't see happening, Brodeur will be the reason for there success, his 3 Cup Wins came on his best playoff performances (1.64 GAA), not that his career postseason 1.96 GAA is to shabby. Unlike other years, Jersey does have a pretty good offense led by 24 year old Zach Parise's 94 regular season points. If Brodeur does get hot watch out.

#4 Seed - Pittsburgh Penquins
Pittsburgh is the most dangerous lower seed in the playoffs. They have a great offense and a great goalie. The downfall is that they are a very young team. However, with last year run to the Stanley Cup Finals will help the youth factor. The Penguins are facing their hated rival, the Flyers, in the first round which they should win in 5.

#5 Seed - Philadelphia Flyers
Philly had a chance with a win or overtime loss in the final game against a Rangers team that had nothing to play for, to sew up home ice in the first round. They were winning 3-2 after two periods came out and let up a goal 4 1/2 minutes in and the another 4 1/2 minutes later let in another goal which put them in Pittsburgh for game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. That showed me a lot about the Flyers; they'll be out of the playoffs quick.

#6 Seed - Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina may give the Devils all they can handle in the first round of the playoffs. They play with grit and determination especially in the defensive end which leads to offensive opportunities. If goalie, Cam Ward, can bring back his 2006 Stanley Cup winning performance we would have a show down of two great goalies. But really, how likely is that?

#7 Seed - New York Rangers
The Rangers are the only playoff team that doesn't have a player that scored 30 goals or attained 60 points for the regular season. With that said, they have a good defense and a great goalie in Henrik Lundqvist so they have a chance but highly unlikely against the Capitals. Lundqvist would have to steal a few games to advance.

#8 Seed - Montreal Canadians
Montreal is another defensive minded team but, unlike the Rangers, their goaltending situation is shaky to say the least. Carey Price has had a sophomore slump, coming off of a great rookie year, including a playoff series win against the Bruins. This year's Bruin team is more balanced and is ready to pound the cheap shot Canadians. Not even the refs can win this series for the Habs.

The Stanley Cup Playoff Preview! Part 1

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Spring is here, the temperature is heating up and so are the Stanley Cup Playoffs! The next two month of dramatic hockey will determine who will skate around the ice with the Cup raised above his head. This is one of the most evenly matched playoffs that I can remember, every team had at least 91 points to end the year. Here is a breakdown of the 16 teams who have earned the chance to bring home a championship.


Western Conference


#1 Seed - San Jose Sharks
The Sharks amassed the most points in the NHL (117) during the regular season claiming home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Led by their two offensive stars, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, can San Jose finally break through the past years of playoff disappointment? With that in mind GM Doug Wilson brought in three former Cup-winning defensemen to sure up the blue line; Dan Boyle, Rob Blake and Brad Lukowich. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov will have to drastically improve his sub-par 30-27 lifetime postseason record to help his team to a cup.

#2 Seed - Detroit Red Wings
Detroit, Central (Norris) Division champs, were the last team to win back-to-back Cups, 1997 and 1998, will be trying to duplicate that feat. The remarkable thing is five of the players who competed for both of those '97 and '98 championship teams are on the Red Wings' active roster in 2009 (Kris Draper, Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom, Kirk Maltby and Chris Osgood). Detroit kept its nucleus together from the 2008 Cup team and didn't make any big acquisitions in the off-season. Goaltending will be an issue, Chris Osgood and Ty Conklin split time during the season. In the playoffs, a team needs stability in net, so who will it be Osgood or Conklin? I'd go with the experienced Osgood.

#3 Seed - Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks beat out the Flames for the Northwest Division Title. The Sedin boys led the way each accumulating 82 points, what do you expect from a set of twins. The key for them to win is defense, they have big blue liners and a great goalie in Robert Luongo that's a recipe for a nice playoff run.

#4 Seed - Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks are led by 3 former 1st round picks; Martin Havlat, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews. Their defense in decent backed by Brian Campbell and Brian Keith. Nikolai Khabibulin, goalie, had one great posteseason with the Lightning winning a Stanley Cup. This year he's been splitting time with Cristobal Huet, another journeyman goalie. The Blackhawks will need to score five goals a game in hopes of getting past the first round. They're in luck, they'll be playing the Flames!

#5 Seed - Calgary Flames
The Flames have 2 great players in Jarome Iginla and Mike Cammalleri, and nobody else worth mentioning. Their goalie, Mikka Kiprusoff had one great run in the playoffs 5 years ago and has done nothing since.

#6 Seed - St. Louis Blues
The Blues are a young gritty team with hopes of an upset over the Canucks in the opening round. They probably should have traded away Keith Tkachuk at the trade deadline to better themselves for the future. Besides Tkachuk, their top 5 players, led by former Bruin, Brad Boyes, are 26 years old and younger. Look for St. Louis to be deep in the playoff a year from now, if they can acquire or develop a goalie.

#7 Seed - Columbus Blue Jackets
This the 1st playoff appearance for the Blue Jackets since they came into the league in 2000. The only way they can stay in the playoffs longer than one series is if their rookie goalie, 20 year old Steve Mason, continues the phenomenal run he's had this season. Mason's my pick for rookie of the year. In 61 games this season he has a 2.29 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. I see Mason shocking the Red Wings.

#8 Seed - Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have the hardest task of all the teams in the Playoffs, going up against the top ranked Sharks. Anaheim has the talent to actually compete with San Jose but the roster isn't set right. Their talent is very young and very old with nobody decent in their prime. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan all future stars are 23 or younger. Scott and Rob Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, and Chris Pronger all 34 or older. Not a good mix .


Eastern Conference preview coming soon...

BU Terriers bring home the National Championship

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Chad, thank you very much for the post game review last night.  I appreciate you picking me up for slacking.  As I'm sure you know, I had too much of a good time last night.  Last nights' game was one of the most frustrating, for a diehard BU fan, and the most exciting games of hockey I've watched in a long, long time.  Miami (Ohio) simply outplayed Boston University for 59 minutes and 1 second.  I had been texting some of the Premium Seat Holders at Agganis Arena, who were down in DC for the game, about how the better team was going to win and how disappointing the loss was going to be for this team.  

Boy, was I wrong.  Realistically, the Terriers didn't show up in this game until the very end. They had choked.  As a BU fanatic, I'm not going to sugar coat this.  They should have lost the game, but somehow, some way they turned the jets on with about 3:30 minutes left in the game. Jack Parker, in a stroke of genius, pulled the goalie with that 3:30 minutes left and put the game in the hands of his offense and defense.  For two and a half minutes BU put unbelievable pressure on the Red Hawks and never allowed them an empty net shot.  With 59 seconds left Zach Cohen made the game 3-2, and with just 17 seconds left Nick Bonino unbelievable tied the game.  My wife was trying to go to sleep at that time, so she lambasted me for being so loud.  I'll take the wrath of my wife for that, because the Terriers did something so amazing just by tying the game.  

From there, Boston University took over the game in overtime.  Once they tied it up it was BU's game.  I knew it, the fans knew it and by the way Miami played, they even knew it.  I have to say that the winning goal was even a fluke.  Colby Cohen, Zach's older brother, scored the game winner with 8:13 left in the first overtime.  It was supposed to be a hard slapper from the point, but was deflected by a Miami defender's leg, shot up in the air and went well over the right shoulder of the Red Hawk's goalie into the net.  The only thing I can say is that it was meant to be.  

I can't wait until the celebration at Agganis this week

Go BU!

Any more room on the BU bandwagon?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the biggest college hockey fan in the world, but during the NCAA tournament, I've been pulling for the Boston University Terriers with a little help from FFS Staff members Jim Ingram and Josh Bremberg.

I was at the Northeast Regional with Jim and Josh in Manchester, N.H., to watch BU beat Ohio State, and have been simply amazed with BU's skill -- now that's obvious everyone tells me-- and how it seems to come through in the clutch.

Tonight's championship game against Miami (OH) took the cake, however. Trailing, 3-1, late in the third period, the Terriers put together one of the greatest late-game comebacks I've ever seen, in any sport. BU, after pulling its goalie, scored two goals in a 41-second span (the equalizer with 18 seconds left in regulation) to send the game into OT.

Mind you, nothing is ever impossible but down by two goals that late, the driver was already warming up the bus and some BU fans were already sobbing (if it was you, it's OK to admit it).

Just simply mind-boggling is the only way I can describe that comeback. Lucky? Definitely. Amazing? Hell, yes.

If something like that can't get you fired up, then you're not a real sports fan and you probably shouldn't be reading anything on fanfanaticsports.blogspot.com

Regardless of who ended up winning, that final minute of play in the third period is one I'll never forget. Neither will BU or Miami (Ohio).

In OT, both teams had great scoring chances, but the Terriers delivered the final blow with a goal that deflected off a defenseman and high into the air and over the goalie and into the net to send the BU faithful into a frenzy.

It was a fitting ending to an amazing comeback for the top-seeded Terriers. 

I hope the BU bandwagon has room for one more fanatic now!

$20 Million for Tim Thomas?

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

With the Eastern Conference all but sewn up, the Bruins have decided to lock up their goalie for the foreseeable future as well. The question is, did the Bruins overpay to keep soon-to-be free agent, Tim Thomas? Well, let’s look at the deal.

Reportedly Thomas, 34, will make $6 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11, $5 million in 2011-12, and $3 million in 2012-13. The Bruins were smart enough to have an escape plan. Because Thomas signed the deal before age 35 the Bruins have the right to be able to buy him out at any time, cut their dollar commitment by one-third, and be able to spread the payments over twice the remaining term of the deal. With that clause, the B’s could keep the young Finnish phenom Tuukka Rask and Thomas until Rask is ready for the job full time.

Now, is $6 million to much for a 35-year-old goaltender? I say no. Let’s look at his stats: currently Thomas is the league leader in both goals-against average (2.11) and save percentage (.932). Over the last two regular seasons, no NHL goaltender has posted a better save percentage than Thomas (.927) and only Martin Brodeur (2.21) and Evgeni Nabokov (2.22) have registered better goals against averages than Thomas’ (2.26). The one thing that does bother me about the deal is that this rewards Thomas for his regular-season accomplishments. His postseason stats are inconclusive because of the lack of experience. His one postseason, 7 games last year, Thomas had a .914 save percentage with a 2.65 goals-against average is not good enough to get the job done. Now Brodeur, 36, gets $5.2 million per year although he took a huge home-town discount. Nabokov, 33, makes $5.3 million per year which seems about right for the caliber goalie he is. But, they have something that Thomas doesn't, 18 years combined as starting netminders in the playoffs. With the lack of playoff knowledge, the Bruins must have a good feeling about Thomas for the upcoming postseason to pay him the big bucks before he comes through.

With the numbers Thomas is putting up this season, most likely he will win the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in the regular season. But if Thomas can steal a series or two, and God help us hoist the Stanley Cup over his head, he’ll be worth every penny they’ll be paying him. If not, I say take advantage of the escape clause and let the Rask era begin in Beantown.

Look for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs preview!

What's Bruin? The Home Stretch Edition

By Jim Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Boston Bruins have had a fantastic season thus far. With 9 games remaining in the regular season, they are not just playing to hold on for the #1 seed in the East and home ice advantage. Yes, that is hugely important, but what matters more is not having to face the New Jersey Devils or the Washington Capitols until the conference finals.

The Bruins currently have a 5 point lead over both teams which is not a comfortable lead with only 9 games left. The Bruins and Devils have played the same amount of games, but the Capitols have played 2 more games than both teams. Washington is finishing the season very strong as they've won 14 points going 6-2-2 over the past 10 games. Washington also has the easiest remaining schedule of the three teams.

While Washington may be the Bruins biggest threat to overtake them in the standings, the New Jersey Devils are the team I would fear the most in the playoffs. The Devils have Marty Brodeur back healthy for the playoffs, an amazing defense, and finally have some bonafide scorers in Zach Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner and Patrik Elias.

Despite that, I fully expect the Boston Bruins to enter the playoffs as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They had an inspired win last Sunday against the Devils, nearly a week of of rest since that game, and are relatively healthy at this point. I wouldn't be too worried about Phil Kessel missing a few games this weekend. If the playoffs started today, they would face off against the hated Montreal Canadians. Many people may look back to the last time they've faced off in the first round of the playoffs, and be a little worried. This team is too gritty and too hard working to fall in the first round.

If the Bruins can secure the #1 seed, then anything short of making the Conference Finals is a disappointment in my opinion.

Please check back for much more hockey coverage as the season wraps up, we all start to grow our playoff beards and get ready to hoist the Stanley Cup!