Endicott hockey

Over the years I have blogged and posted numerous stories from the hockey world that just prove why hockey is the greatest sport in the world. Then I realized I have never really told my blog followers the stories of the Endicott College hockey team. Every kid that grows up watching hockey always idealizes the pros. Ovechkin, Crosby, Bergeron etc. We are lucky to live in Beverly and Beverly is home to the Endicott College Gulls. Both my kids play youth hockey and we practice and have games at Endicott's home rink the Raymond J Bourque arena. Most nights prior to our mite practice the men's team is on the ice having their own practice. The kids will all line up at the door and fist bump the team as they end their practice. Not a single member of the hockey team walks by without every kid standing there getting a fist bump or high five. Simple enough. Quick interaction and everyone goes about their day. Well that never just ends it for kids. We have been going to the home games for the gulls since last season. This year we have not missed a single home game. My kids have arrived for each game and proudly lined up for pre game fist bumps. They bang on the glass during warmups and will get a smile, head nod, stick tap on the glass from passing players. Most of which are focused on warming up for the upcoming game but still take 3 seconds to make a kid smile. Again small interaction and lets move on to the game. Being a hockey player and knowing there are a few who read my blogs we don't tend to pay attention to the crowd during the game. Its typically all business. Kids don't understand that. Mine included. So each offensive zone faceoff the gulls line up for Dylan and Ryan are both proudly banging on the glass hoping for some acknowledgement. I try to tell them they players need to concentrate on the faceoff but again I am proven wrong and most of them, notably first line wing Jackson Sterrett always skate over see the boys standing and give them a little head nod kind of letting them know "Yeaaaa buddy lets gooo". This happens every game and the boys light up. This season Endicott decided to sell jerseys from the programs history as way to raise money. Dylan and Ryan asked me to get them one and how could I say no? Ryan picked out number 11 for one of his favorite players Zack Mazur. Dylan chose 16 which I thought was an nod to his dad who wore 16 my whole career. Nope I wasn't so lucky. Dylan chose that for his favorite player big 6'2 defenseman AJ Martinelli. They were pumped and excited to wear them to the next game. Off we went. Everyone smiled as the kids walked by in their much to big jerseys. During the game these 2 ladies walked by us and informed us they were the girlfriends of the players on the backs of the jerseys and would the boys like to meet them after the game. Dylan and Ryan jumped with excitement. They would finally get to meet the players instead of just a quick fist bump. That particular game ended in a shootout loss for the Gulls. But after the game the boys waited very patiently until the moment finally came. Out came AJ and Zack and the boys smiles were ear to ear. Now remember these guys just lost a shootout. They could have just said hello and went on their way. But as I said in the opening sentence. Hockey is the greatest sport in the world. AJ and Zack spent easily a half hour with the kids. Asking about their own hockey careers. Thanking them for being at the game and letting them know they do notice them going nuts in the crowd. They took a few pictures, signed their jerseys and said their goodbyes. This all could have ended right there and I think the boys would still be Endicott fans for life. But I wouldn't be so eager to tell this story if it did. The next time the practice schedules aligned the boys were ready for fist bumps and to say hi to their 2 new friends. Well I'm not certain if AJ or Zack said anything about the meeting but more then a few players now knew their names and all came over to say hello after practice. Further helping the dream of 2 young hockey players. 

Now in hockey injuries happen. Its a way of life. AJ ended up suffering I think a lower body injury and he missed a few games. So during the practices he would be off to the side doing leg work or riding the bike trying to get back on the ice. We would show up to the rink and AJ would literally stop his rehab workout to come over and say hello to Dylan and Ryan as well as my wife and I. This is a young man who is battling and injury during his senior year he absolutely does not have to stop what he is doing just to say hello. But he did. More then once. The BYH program had an odd practice one night where myself and one other coach would be the only ones running a practice for 4 teams. So the Endicott head coach RJ Tolan said he would send some players to help out. AJ, Zack, Jackson, Andrew Kurapov among others showed up and helped out that night and it is still the best practice we have had all season. There are a few more stories I can tell from this team but I think I've made my point. You go to any professional game in any sport and there are hundreds of kids and adults yelling and asking for autographs, pucks etc. Most of them walk by. The Kindness, Humbleness, and just overall decent human beings that are currently a part of the Endicott College men's hockey team I think can not be matched. They have taken the lives of 2 kids and made them the stars of the show on their own game nights. The kids always talk about "we know the team, We are friends with them" Like they are just guys in the neighborhood. Honestly that is what they are. They aren't up tight college kids. They aren't egotistical athletes. They are hockey players. They are Gulls and they are the stars of tomorrow in the eyes my kids. 

Dylan's new goal is to get them to a game of his so he can "go top shelf in front the the Gulls"

Ryan wants nothing more then to be the next goalie of the Endicott Gulls because his friends Atticus, Ryan and Krysten can show him how. 

Stick taps from this father to all of the Gulls including coach Tolan for being the greatest people the hockey world has seen. Thank you all for making my kids lives that much better every time they see you guys. 

GO GULLS!!!!!

To Be Young Again

 In my return post I mentioned that I was coaching youth hockey again. I am head coach of my sons mite 2 team. I also said that starting to blog again I would take the occasion to brag about him and his skills and his team as much as I can. So most of this post will be just that. 

His love for hockey easily runs in his DNA. I mean when I have him watching hockey almost 24/7 it's hard for him to love another sport. I'll give you the back story of his start in hockey. 

We got him into learn to skate right before the pandemic. He did a full season so about 22 weeks. He progressed a lot and ended the session with a stick in his hand. Then the world shut down. I could have had him out there but my wife and I just decided not to. So now skip ahead to 2022. He missed one full year of hockey which for his age would be cross ice. (maybe I'll do another post about the money grab that is) and we figured one more year of learn to skate/Learn to play would be beneficial. He took that a ran with it. Within 3 classes he had the stick back and he never looked back. Now here we are. He tried out with our cities youth hockey program. He did well in my eyes but I'm his father so I only saw the best. When I signed up to coach I knew I would see his evaluation scores and I was very surprised to see how high he scored. He was assigned to the mite 2 team. In our city their are 4 mite teams. Being on the 2s was a big deal. This was in March. Why they do tryouts in March for a season that doesn't start until September is beyond me. Now I was thinking what are we gonna do between now and then. I did not want his skills or what he learned to fade. Enter Endicott College. They run a program called Super Gulls. It is an 8 week skills based clinic that is run by the coaches and players from Endicott men and women's hockey. It was the best thing I have ever stumbled upon. Not only was it affordable it ran from late spring until end of august. In 8 week sessions. It kept him on the ice all spring and summer and he got better and better every week. Once our season started in mid September he was more then ready. 

The Valley youth hockey league starts their seasons with a parity schedule to make sure each team is properly placed and wont get killed or wont kill every team each week. Our first 3 games were a bit of a mismatch. We played 2 mite 1 teams who were very skilled and we lost by a lot. But the last game we had was against a comparable mite 2 team. We skated to a 4-4 tie. The best part being Dylan (my son in case I didn't mention that) scored not only his first goal but he netted his first hat-trick! Now, As a coach we tend to try and keep our raw emotions in check. Sure we cheer when our team scores and yell when there's a bad play but outside of that you are there to teach the game. Well, After Dylan's first goal he came off the ice and ran right into my arms and the flood of emotions came out. It got real misty in there real quick. In that moment I was both a proud coach that my player scored a goal but I was also the proudest father that my boy got his very first hockey goal. After the game I took the game puck, taped it up and we took the customary NHL style "My first hat trick" picture. He is now going over every NHL player who he has more goals then. He is proudly telling everyone that he has more goals the Connor McDavid. 

Ryan (my other son incase I never mentioned it) is also playing hockey. Him being younger we tried the pre pandemic learn to skate that Dylan did but it did not take as well. I chalked it up to age. We signed him up for the same learn to skate Dylan did. He took a little bit to catch on but once he did he shed the milk crate and was doing laps. He spent most of the 18 week session on the skating side but no stick. Then the coaches running that approached us and said we think Ryan is ready for a stick. So for the last 2 classes he was on the "stick side". He could not have been happier. We quickly found out we would have a similar problem that we had with Dylan where he would now be off the ice until mid October when he starts cross ice. Once again enter Endicott College. We emailed the coaching staff and asked if they would allow a 2018 birth year to participate in the clinic. They said absolutely and welcomed him with open arms. Ryan wen through the same drills as everyone and he got better and better. The first time he did a "hockey stop" Not that T stop or pizza stop crap but a genuine hockey stop he looked for us in the stands and his smile could have lit the world up for all eternity. He kept getting better and better and we were confident he would have no problems come cross ice time. Well, He decided to throw a wrench into that. He came to us one day and proudly said the words every hockey parent I'm sure prays they never hear. "I wanna be a goalie". we brushed it off and just said yea ok well you have a full year before you even play with a goalie because cross ice doesn't use them. Thinking this would end it and he would forget we went about business as usual. This kid must not have known we did not take him seriously. Every scrimmage during Super gulls camp he would skate right to the net during his shift and proceed to save everything. No goalie equipment needed. This made us have to take a long look as things. The youth organization we play for has a stipulation that if your kid wants to be a full time goalie and they play 60% of their games in net, then they will waive the tuition for the child. So it could be a money saver in one way or another. 

That is just a little insight into my boys hockey careers and one of the main reasons I wanted to start blogging again. If for nothing else, Just to have a place to talk about their hockey careers and to brag about their successes. Oh! and talk Bruins. 

Opening Night

 Finally the time has come. Camp is over. Roster is set. Tonight is the greatest day on the calendar for Bruins fans. It is opening night. This is the Bruins centennial season and there will be a lot going on during the year as well as tonight. My hope is that it doesn't effect the on ice product. Sometimes when teams have these long drawn out pre game ceremonies it takes them awhile to find their legs and that can put them behind early. Lucky for them Chicago played last night and traveled post game to Boston. Maybe that will bode well. Boston has a lot to live up to after last season. No one expects the regular season success from last year but they did return both goalies. They brought in some great role players. You are never gonna replace the grit, presence and leadership that Bergeron provided but I think they have done a good job of identifying those players who can carry the load and lead them into battle. 

Speaking of Chicago. Last night they opened the season against Pittsburgh. Dare I say they look as good as those mid 00s teams? Connor Bedard is 100% the real deal. Kid is fast, smart, aggressive. I thought that given his size he might struggle in the corners or the dirty areas in front of the net. I was very wrong. He did look a little complacent during the second period but he came out in the third as if the coach's saw that and got into him a bit. He definitely is not afraid to shoot the puck. He had something like 7 shots on goal last night. This kid is here, he's ready and he is going to be very fun to watch. 

Last night was also the Vegas banner ceremony. I have said this since they have been in the league. Vegas puts on the best pregame shows. I'm sure everyone has seen the videos online of their pre game shows and last night was no different. They dragged out a huge slot machine and rose the banner out of it. Banner looks great the rings even better. Whatever they are doing in Vegas is working. I don't see another team in the west that is ready to take them down. We will have to see how the season plays out. 

In the past I have given my prediction of how I think the playoffs will shake up. Who is gonna win the cup and all that. Might as well keep this tradition alive. If you agree or disagree let me know. 

East champ: Tampa Bay

West Champ: Vegas 

Cup winner: Vegas again! 

New season new posts

 Hello Everyone. I'm back again. I took a year away to Reevaluate things and come up with an approach to this blog thing that I think will get the most out of me. First I am going to start with not putting so much pressure on my self to always have a post. I will post when I can or when I think of it. Second I am not going to put so much emphasis on followers and readers. This was started as a way for me to just put out my hockey/sports thoughts but I became so encompassed in having people follow or like each post that when I  didn't get the numbers I wanted I would get turned off to posting anything. My goal now is to just get back to what I love doing. Talking sports. If people read, share, like, comment then great. If not well at least I have a platform to complain about things that is not just a Facebook post or a Tweet. After all that Id like to share some thoughts on my beloved Boston Bruins. 

PATRICE BERGERON. I wrote it in all caps because that is what he deserves. For almost 20 years he gave his everything to being a Bruin. Winning a cup in 2011. Playing with a punctured lung in 2013. Becoming Captain. Every time he pulled on the spoked B he represented exactly what the fans want in a Bruin. I was more then lucky enough to meet him twice and he was just as advertised. Humbled, Down to Earth and amazing. I am well aware he will never see this post or blog but I wanted to say Thank you for being the best example of what a professional athlete should be. I can not wait for the night when number 37 hangs in its rightful place among the best to have every donned the black and gold. 

Last season, the expectations were extremely high. Huge regular season and the hype was there for another cup. Most of us know what happened. I have been watching this team my whole life and I was shocked that they plummeted that bad. However I am ready for this new season. Blank slate. Old faces have come back. New faces have made the roster. The 2023-24 Bruins might very well shock us all again but with a far more positive outcome. 

The Patriots. What can I say about them that hasn't already been angrily said by the collective fan base over the last 2 weeks. All the comparisons. Was it Bill? Was it Brady? Is this a winning system? I think the last 2 weeks have shown that unfortunately the golden years we have all come to enjoy in Foxboro are over. This is beyond even dysfunction. Mac Jones is not completely at fault. When you come into the league and have a different coordinator every year, I'd imagine its hard to accomplish anything. I posted about this on Facebook yesterday. Is this was it feels like to be a Jets fan? Or is this what the elder fans tell us the team was like pre Brady? I could understand if they seemed even slightly competitive. But I honestly can not see them winning 2 more games this season. Rebuild happen all the time in every pro sports league and I accept that. But this is not a rebuild. This is a Hall of Fame coach not wanting to move on because he still has something to prove. It is beyond time for ownership to step in and make a change. If its not to fire the coach then fine, take away his GM duties and hire a small team to do that for him. Let him focus on football. If the Kraft family is not willing to do this then we as fans are in for a repeat of the 80s/90s brand of football. 

One final note. I have started coaching again. My son is now a Mite. He plays for the Mite 2 team. He has already surpassed any expectation I had for him as a hockey player. Watching him play the sport which I love has given me more happiness then I have had in a long time. My youngest son will start in a few weeks and he has been saying for months now that all he wants to do is be a goalie. I don't know how much my wallet will enjoy that but he is 100% in for it. Part of these new posts will be updates on them and their games. Which is why as I said at the beginning I am not going to stress about readers and followers and comments. Because at the end of the day, I just get to brag about my kids. 

 

Crickets on Causeway

 NHL free agency started last week. Even before the start date teams were franticly making moves to free up some money and cap space. Other teams have decided to just throw caution to the wind and spend money like Scrooge Mcduck. The Penguins were rumored to be losing the core 3 of their team or at least some of them. But in some late night dealing they came to terms with Kris Letang to keep him a penguin for life. That led a lot of people to think well, Malkin is leaving now. Surly they cant afford him also. Nope wrong again! The day after it was reported that Malkin was going to test free agency and that he felt Pittsburgh didn't think he was good anymore he turns right back around and signs a 4 year 24 million dollar deal to stay in Pittsburgh. This deal will in theory keep the core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang as penguins for the remainder of their careers and push back the inevitable rebuild there for a few more years. 

Some other big names that will have new homes this season and for the next few years actually would include goaltender Cam Talbot. After being relegated to the bench in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury, Talbot said he did not wish to spilt time with the 3 time Stanley cup champ. GM Bill Guerin heard this plea and did the right thing by moving Talbot. It just so happened that the team he went to, The Ottawa Senators have decided they don't like watching hockey in June anymore. Not only did they bring in Talbot, They shipped out Matt Murray and brought in Claude Giroux and on draft night they traded for Alex Debrincat. Of all the teams in the Bruins division Ottawa seems to have made the most moves in order to improve. 

Like him or not everyone had their eye on Evander Kane during last season and especially during that playoff run by Edmonton. Kane had 13 goals and 17 points in the Oilers playoff run this season. Playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl he found his way back in to the light. The Oilers were going to let him test his worth in free agency but decided to lock him up instead with a 4 year 20 million dollar deal. Again, Like him or not he makes that team just that much better. 

A few other things of note have happened in the very short time of the off season. 3 time Stanley Cup champ Duncan Keith has decided to call it a career. One of the best shut down defensemen and the backbone of those 3 cup winning black hawk teams he will be missed by everyone in the league and probably thanked by some goal scorers who no longer have to go into a corner with him and attempt to come out with the puck. 

One last big story to shake up the NHL this off season already. Johnny Hockey! People have known for a while that he is not happy with how things have gone in Calgary. He was essentially passed over for the captaincy and there has been rumors he did not get along with GM Brad Treliving. Even still a player of his caliber should be kept. The Flames knew this and offered him an 8 year deal worth somewhere in the range of 90 million dollars. Gaudreau turned it down saying this was far beyond money. He shocked everyone by signing with Columbus. In his introductory press conference a reporter asked him if he was happy with his decision, The response was "I'm not in Calgary anymore so yea I'm happy." I don't think this makes the Blue Jackets and instant contender but it definitely ups their chances.

After all of this now i can get to all the moves the Bruins have made. Oh right! THEY HAVE NOT MADE ANY MOVES!!!!!! They traded Eric Haula and got Pavel Zacha. But other then that its been cricket on causeway. I've said all along they need to have a plan in place in case Bergeron decides not to come back. So far they have zero plans. With all the reports of Krejci possibly re signing there is hope but also, What if he doesn't? You have no plan in place should these 2 things not happen. You fired the coach. Brought in a coach with more DUI's then wins in the NHL and you think not having a back up plan is a great idea! I am so sick of this management just sweeping everything under the rug. If you are going to rebuild then do it. Trade everyone, Re sign Pastrnak and then build around him. But stop feeding the fans this "we are still competitive" Bull shit. The Leafs are competitive but they still don't win. Is that what we are becoming? The Toronto Maple Leafs? First round exits while the fan base is lied to about "making moves". I will say it now, The Bruins will be a 500 team this year. Maybe worse. The issue is that still wont be bad enough to get a high draft pick. So we will be stuck in this boat again next season until management gets their heads out of their asses and either admits to and starts a rebuild or we get some new management in there to shake things up. But i for one think it is dark days ahead for the black and gold faithful. 

Dark days ahead

 My last post was a hopeful entry about the playoffs and how i thought the Bruins would make a deep run and things would be good. Clearly i was very wrong. Not only did they get completely embarrassed in 7 games by Carolina, They decided to make things worse by scapegoating Bruce Cassidy. Sweeney, Who by the way doesn't have a contract after next week decided the coach was the reason they lost in the first round. Yea. It was definitely the coach. Not the missed drafts you have had. Not the fact you've blown the trade deadline the last 4 years. Not the fact you never replaced Krejci. No No its definitely the guy who won coach of the year 2 years ago and had made the playoffs every year he was here. Yea definitely his fault. Now I'm 33 years old. I grew up at the tail end of the Harry Sinden Era. I suffered through the gap years of Mike O'Connell. Don Sweeney for all the good he did as a player in Boston is by far the worst GM the bruins have had in the last 33 years. To add to that point, Cam Neely should share some of the blame. He is above Sweeney. if Sweeney has failed this much then Neely should be blamed for letting it happen for so long. The title of this post is Dark Days Ahead. That statement could not be more true. Just on a very basic level of the information that is known as of now. 2 out of your top 5 guys are going to be out until at least mid November. Marchand and McAvoy both had off season surgery. Bergeron still has not decided if he will hang up the skates or not. DeBrusk still wants to be traded, Although now with Cassidy gone he may change that tune. Add to that they will end up with a new coach and a new system. None of those things equal fast success. When i say dark days ahead I very well maybe understating that. 

Which brings me to my next rant. The Bruins fired Cassidy and have zero desire to go out and hire a big name. The list i saw of the guys getting interviews was an abomination. One has prior NHL head coaching experience. David Quinn. This leads me to believe that management has decided that the next few years are going to be down years. The list of available coaches this off season has never been better. Sure there are a lot of personalities on that list and Barry Trotz turning down 7 million was laughable but your telling me and the fans that the 5 names you put out were the best you could do? If that is the case then fire everyone, Tell Bergeron to retire and lets blow everything up start fresh. At least then we would know that's the plan. What really pisses me off though is that even if the Bruins wanted to try and tank the season and try to get a top pick to go out and draft Connor Bedard, They couldn't. With the way the roster is built now as is. They couldn't lose that many games even if they tried. We have a better roster then the bottom half of the league and would not lose the amount of games required to put them in the lottery. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe they stay strong and competitive this season but if my hockey experience has taught me anything its that all these signs point to a very dark time for the Boston Bruins.

 

Playoff Preview

 Last week I promised a more in depth preview of the NHL playoffs. Well, It starts tonight so the following is how I think the first round will go. 

Boston-Carolina

This series is going to be much better then people realize. Yes, the Hurricanes destroyed the season series with the Bruins. Yes, They out scored them 16-1. But this is the playoffs. Things change. Carolina is going into this series with their 2 back up goalies. Both of which have never played in the playoffs. Raanta has not faced the bruins since 2016. Not that that matters for much but its something. In terms of the games inside the game, things like powerplays, faceoffs, last change. I think both teams have ups and downs in these areas. It is widely known the struggles of the Boston powerplay but i think the in game coaching of Cassidy will be a bigger factor then some think. Patrice Bergeron is the best faceoff man in the league once again and that will come in handy for those late game wins in the defensive zone. 

Could this be Bergeron's last hoorah for the black and gold? My personal thoughts are that it will depend on how this post season goes. If Boston makes a deep run and either wins the cup or losses in the ECF or even the cup final then I say he comes back. If they get handled in the first round or even a short series second round I think he hangs them up. Sadly, as much as I love the Bruins. I think their window has closed and it may be a while before the cup is back on Causeway St. 

Toronto-Tampa Bay

Everyone who watches hockey as much as I do is foaming at the mouth for this series. The 2 time defending champion Lightning against the on fire during the regular season Maple Leafs. Toronto fans are in full playoff mode again. "This is our year" "Matthews is a god". There is a reason Tampa has won the last 2 years. It has been 18 years since the Leafs have won a series. 2004! Toronto may be the higher seed but it will take a lot for them to beat the Lightning. Tampa Bay is entering this post season actually having a healthy core of Stamkos, Kucherov and company and if you think that they are just gonna let the hopes and dreams of a city starved for success dictate when their summer starts well then fans are in for a rude awakening. 

Florida-Washington

I have said in conversations that I didn't want the bruins to play Florida in the first round. President trophy winners. First trip to the post season as the favorites since 1996. So many years of missing the playoffs. They have finally put it all together it seems. I think they are gonna steam roll the first round. Shock everyone with their skill, speed and hockey sense. But then that's it. They will explode in the first round and not have anything left for a deep run. That's ok. They have built this team for success for future years and that is what they will have. This year however I see them going one and done. Which when you think about it is more sad then normal as this has got to be the last shot at a winner for Jumbo Joe Thornton. He is the new Ray Bourque. Guy plays close to 20 years and has come close a couple times. He deserves a winner. 

New York Rangers- Pittsburgh

For years the Rangers have been an after thought in the league. Good but not great. This year could be different. Between the scoring explosion from Kreider or the rough veteran leadership of Reeves the Rangers seem to have put together what could be a solid playoff run. Pittsburgh on the other hand is i think on the downward slide. You cant take away the talent and skills of the core 3. Letang, Malkin and Crosby but are they enough to keep the Penguins in the cup conversation? I don't think so. Those 3 have maybe at most 2-4 years left and for the team to commit to building around those guys for that short of a window doesn't seem like a good plan. This could be the last we see of the Penguins dynasty of the 2010s.

Colorado-Nashville

Colorado is the odds on favorite to win the cup. They have almost the complete package of things needed to win. They have grit. Youth. Goaltending. Pests. Coaching. All of it. I have them picked to win the west and play for the cup. Unfortunately  Nashville just doesn't have what is needed to stop them. This one could be a very quick and ugly series. 

Minnesota-St. Louis

Marc-Andre Fleury has missed the playoffs only once in his entire career.  Prior to the trade deadline it looked as though that streak would be stopped. But the hockey gods understood their job and come deadline time the flower was sent to Minnesota. Add his solid net minding to an already potent and fast offense and you have the set up for what could be a long playoff run. On the other side of the puck. St. Louis is no push over. They have a tough hard nose team who always find ways to dig down deep for a win. In all the first round match ups in both the east and west this series is probably the most evenly matched and the hardest to pick a winner.

Calgary-Dallas

The Flames have flown under the radar this season to the point of being first in their division. They have an odd mix of talent. Definitely enough to get them deep into the playoffs. Dallas on the other hand has had an amazing season from Joe Pavelski. They signed him for cheap money and he has more then earned his pay. But is he enough to get the Stars over the hump? Sadly i don't think so. The flames are to talented and have much more star power no pun intended. 

Edmonton-LA

I will bet Wayne Gretzky is praying TNT doesn't pick up one of these games. This one is shaping up to be a great series. Will this be the year Connor McDavid finally wins a round? Will Dustin Brown have one last moment in the sun before calling it a career? This series has so many intriguing story lines. It's hard to pin point just one of them. This will be a fast moving high scoring series that will no doubt have a lot of pushing, shoving and general dislike for one another. I do however think that Edmonton is the far superior team but if recent history has taught us anything it's that anything can happen in the playoffs. 

That's it. That's all i got. I hope some people agree but i hope more people disagree. If you disagree please make that known. I would love a good back and forth. With the success of the regular season could this finally the year that the cup goes back to Canada? The 3 Canadian teams in the playoffs are all high seeds and have what it takes to win. But of the 3, Calgary is the only one not snake bitten over the last few seasons. Toronto as everyone has seen cant get out of their own way in the first round. Edmonton has the best player in the NHL and still cant win a round. Could that change this year? Lets find out. IT'S PLAYOFF TIME!!!!

 

Playoffs

 Its that time of year again. The NHL playoffs are upon us. While the regular season still has a couple games left, Most of the first round matchups have been set and we are ready to go. The Bruins baring anything crazy and unforeseen will face the Hurricanes in the first round. Some might think this is not a good match up for Boston. I can see that point. Carolina went 3-0 against them outscoring the bruins 16-1 in those 3 games. Some might say that is a bad omen for a playoff series but you have to take into account a few factors. First, In one of those games the Tuukka experiment was still in full swing and he let in 5 goals. Second, The teams haven't met since the trade deadline. In one of the game Boston was with out Bergeron and Marchand. I am not saying all these things mean that Boston is primed to just steam roll the hurricanes but these things should be considered. Now you also have to add in the fact that Carolina's Starting goalie and the only netminder on their roster with playoff experience is hurt and not sue to return until at least mid series if at all in round 1. That would leave the hurricanes with career back up Antti Rannta and young rookie Pyotr Kochetkov the latter of which has only played in 3 NHL games in his short stint. All these things point to good news for the Bruins. Right? Well before we start gassing up the duck boats you need to remember that Carolina still has a very dangerous offence. Powered by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. They can move the puck very well as a team and will take a deficit and turn it in to a lead in the blink of an eye. Should Boston make it past the first round it would almost certainly mean a matchup with the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers.

One other first round matchup in the east i wanted to talk about is the potential series of the Leafs and Lightning. Why is this one note worthy? For the simple fact that It will further prove that Toronto is either cursed or just plain not good. They have all this noise around them about being the best and this is their year. Matthews scored 60 this year. Their powerplay is deadly good. Guess what? Tampa Bay is the 2 time defending champs. They are not some team who just snuck into the playoffs by stroke of luck. They belong in the post season. If Leafs fans think they will just breeze into the next round then oh man they are more delusional then i give them credit for.

I know this was short post but i just wanted to get some early thoughts out there. Once the playoff matchups are official I will have a post that breaks down what i think about each match up in both the east and west. 

Thanks for reading. 

Busy weekend in sports

 This past weekend had a lot of good things coming out of the sports world. It was opening weekend for baseball. The Masters tournament took place and the NHL continued its blazing path to the postseason. I wanted to touch on all or most of those things in this post. 

Starting with Baseball. After spending most of the winter not sure if there would even be a baseball season this year we were finally able to crack a beer, Eat some peanuts, Do the 7th inning stretch and watch some baseball. Opening weekend is always fun and interesting. There are new faces in new places and there is always some getting used to new line ups. With the extremely shortened spring training this year the first few weeks of the season should provide some steep learning curves. The Red Sox have come into the season with the same questions they typically have this time of year. What will the bullpen be able to do for them. I think this weekend was a decent indicator that they may not be the big issue everyone thinks. The starting pitching on the other hand that is a question. Just based on the limited watching i did over the weekend. Admittedly i was more tuned into the Masters. The Sox bullpen seemed to plug the holes left by the starters. Will that change as the season goes on? I'm certain it will. But for this opening series they looked like they can handle it. One other notable thing i noticed was the amount of Sox fans absolutely hitting the panic button on Trevor Story. The shiny new 100 million dollar second baseman went a sad 1-9 with a walk. The one hit being a double. The knock on him is having played the first part of his career in Colorado, Curve balls weren't a thing to him. Alas on the road he suffered from what i will call Pedro Cerrano syndrome. He cant hit the curve. That was evident this weekend as Yankee pitching just obliterated him with curve after curve and Story could not catch up to them. Hopefully he will spend some time in the cages as being at Fenway will be a drastic change from the thin air of Coors Field. Story did however look very comfortable at his new position of Second base. One of the questions about his signing was how would he react to being moved across the diamond to second. He handled the transition well making no errors. While Xander Bogerts did have one error at short. Some have said that with Story signing such a big deal this offseason to come to Boston that that could spell the end of Xander's time here. I think there is still a lot to be determined with that and for now the Red Sox and their fans should all be happy with the fact that they have 2 young talented players in the middle of their infield and that's often a luxury teams don't have. If both players hit as well as they have been known to then i think Sox fans might be in for a decent summer.

Thursday began the 86th Master Tournament from Augusta National Golf club. 91 players made up the field with 51 making the cut come Saturday. Now for those that know me this is the one golf tournament i will watch from start to finish. I love everything about it. The course, The stories, The challenge. Everything. One day i will hopefully be able to attend a day in person. There were many story lines from the weekend. For me the main one was Tiger Woods. 18 months ago he was involved in a horrific car crash. Doctor's told him he would probably never play competitive golf again and there was at the time a slight chance he wouldn't even walk right after. Fast forward to last Sunday. Tiger showed up to Augusta and took a practice round. He walked the course. Said he felt good after. He did another of these practice rounds on Tuesday. Again said he felt good. He announced Wednesday that he would play in the Masters. And play he did. He came out on Thursday and shot a 1 over 71. Unfortunately that is all the highlights i can tell you about. Tiger ended the weekend shooting a Career worst 78 at the Masters. Watching him over the tournament you could tell every step he took was giving him immense pain. When he would crouch down to read a green for a putt he was not getting near a low as he used to. It showed in his putts as he had 4-3 putts and 1-4 putt over the weekend. Something i can never remember him doing. After his final round he was asked how he felt and what the plan was going forward. He did commit to playing at ST Andrews for the British open as that is his all time favorite course but we also confirmed he will never be able to play a full time schedule again.  What this means for the 5 time Masters Champion and former world number 1 golfer is that at this stage of his career he may only be more of a ticket grab then anything else. Which in my opinion is quite sad. 

Rounding out my weekend of sports viewing was the continued race for the playoffs in the NHL. The Bruins had 2 very winnable games over the weekend and managed to only win 1. The powerplay is very much feeling the absence of David Pastrnak as it has now gone 0-16 since he has been out. If they hope to climb higher in the final standings they are going to need to figure out a way to supplement his production on the PP. I intend to have a more in depth playoff preview in a couple weeks once the field is set. But for now i will leave you with this. If the Bruins plan to make a dep run they are going to need a lot more from the third D pair and also one of the 2 goalies is going to have to finally emerge as the guy they can ride for 8 weeks in May and June. 

I want to say thank you to everyone who reached out to me after reading my comeback post last week. weather you come here for a different view on sports that you don't hear on the radio or TV. Or if you come here to support me and my non sense i appreciate it. If ever there was a time for more people to find something to bring them together this would be it. Please share the blog page to your own Social media if you want. More followers means i can do more with everything. 

Thank you all! 

Remember me??

 Hello to all my loyal followers. Yes its me. I know its been forever since my last post. Actually less then a hockey season, My last post was for opening week in the NHL. There have been a few reasons for my absence and just for clarity this is going to be a long post. Sports stuff will be at the bottom so if you want to skip this part fine. The main reason for my absence was timing. I took a good role at work and the timing wasn't great to be at work, come home and make a decent sports blog. Then that led to some depression of not being able to do what has been a passion of mine and that's talking sports. So I took a break. I watched games without worrying about what I was going to say or if I would get a post out in time. For the first time in a while I went back to just watching. Fast forward to early this year. I hit what I am calling a very dark spot in life. I hated my self. I hated my body image. Getting older. Not being where I thought I should be. Wondering if I was good enough for my kids, My wife, My friends and family. It took a lot out of me. I didn't even enjoy watching sports anymore cuz I wasn't in the field anymore. I wasn't working at NBC sports Boston, I wasn't at the Sports hub. But even through all that I wanted to still talk sports. So, In late February I decided id start climbing out. I have a lot of good people around me. Some that probably don't read this. Some that do. But im going to thank everyone of them. Starting with my wife and kids. They have always been there for me and its still the most amazing feeling coming home from work and having my 6 year old say hi dad. Having my 4 year old ask me who the bruins are playing. I know I haven't been the best husband but through it all my wife has stuck by me and I can not express into words how much that means to me. Next I want to thank as loud as I can someone who has become the best sounding board and is one the most genuine people walking gods green earth. Charlie. My introduction to you started with my friendship with your daughter. From there we were texting about BBQ smokers and recipes. Then it changed to the Bruins. And then when my depression hit hardest you were one of the first people to text me make sure first I was ok and then give me advice, An ear, A laugh. Anything. I owe so much of this comeback to you and i promise one day I will find a way to make that up to you. Next is Mike. Mike we have been friends since high school and have played hockey on the same team or some summer showcase together since forever. You sent me a random text one day during one of the harder times I was going through. And simply asked "Hey want to skate" What you might not have known was that at that time I had not skated in close to 18 months. Im pretty sure the last time I did was when I coached a Rockport. So having that back in my life just set the fire going. And is the sole reason I am in such a better place now. That simple hour on the ice with the boys. Doing what I've loved since I was 3 years old was the perfect medicine. Not to put to fine a point on it, I think you may have saved my life. I love you with every fiber of my being for that. Ok, I know there are a lot of other people who have reached out and said if i need anything to call them and I know im forgetting someone as most of these things tend to do. But quickly just to name a few. Angel, Jen, Aaron, Chris, Ryan, Matt, Jackie, Larry, Frank. Again I know im missing a few people and im truly sorry for that. Most likely they don't read my blogs anyways haha.

I know that's not really what the few people who come to read this blog come for but I really needed to get that off my chest and out in the open. If anyone reading this ever needs help or someone to talk to about their own problems i am always here. Reach out VIA text if you have my number or DM me on FB either on the blog FB page or my own. Everyone needs to know there is someone who will just listen and not pass judgment. 

Ok now let's get to the reason that all 7 of you read this blog. SPORTSSSSSS

Starting with the Greatest weekend in sports. The Masters. Tomorrow 91 golfers will descend upon Augusta National and try their shot at winning the Green jacket. I have always said that the course at Augusta is the most beautiful course on the planet. The pageantry of it all just makes for a great weekend of golf. But Tuesday morning the golf world got the best news it has had in a long time. 5 Time masters champion, Former number 1 in the world golfer Eldrick Tiger Woods is going to compete. Now some might ask why this is big news. Especially those that don't really follow golf. But 18 months ago Tiger was in a major car accident. His legs were broke or at least damaged and he said shortly after he would never be able to walk a course with out pain or play competitive golf. Essentially retiring. But thanks to modern medicine and obviously his millions of dollars he and his medical team have got him back to a point where he is pain free enough to walk the grounds of Augusta for 4 days. I've always been a tiger fan. But in hi absence from the game i have come to enjoy other players. Im not saying tiger will win. But his decision to play and the determination he has sure does make it a very good story and it makes for a great weekend. 

As I mentioned my new role at work in the beginning of this post I left out a person who has sort of rekindled my feelings for baseball. I know on this blog many many posts ago i covered a Paw-sox game. I've always liked baseball but haven't really watched much in recent years. Well my co worker Dan Johnson has changed that. He is a baseball fan through and through. And a die hard sox fan. We have been talking baseball all through the lockout and now i have watched or at least followed every spring training game for the sox. So I think you may be seeing a slight uptick in my posts about our boys of summer. So thank you Dan. 

The NHL season is down the final month. The teams near the bottom or at the bottom are slowly starting to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Lets be honest, Some of those teams have been out since November. A few surprise teams that are either in or unless they implode will be in would include the Bruins and the Leafs. The Leafs have been one of the hottest teams all season. As they have been for a few years. But need I remind Bruins fans everywhere that the leafs always die in the first round. The way its shaping up right now it look like the Bruins could end up playing the leafs in the first round for the first time since 2013. I doubt the series will end up like it did then as both teams have a much different look now. But hey I can dream right? Another surprise from this season is the Florida Panthers. Led by Jonathan Huberdeau and his 102 points (as of this post) they have very quickly become the favorite in the east. If anyone watches hockey as much as I do you should recall that 26 years ago the Panthers went all the way to the cup finals where they lost to the newly moved Colorado Avalanche. Looking across the standings and having seen them play this season, There is a real shot that that could end up being the finals this year as well. The Avs are having an incredible season led by Cale Makar. He is probably one of if not the best defenseman in the league. He will lead that team for years to come and be the anchor on the blue line that Colorado has been looking for since the days of Adam Foote. With arenas back at full capacity this years Stanley Cup playoffs will have that loud home ice advantage feel again and that's exactly what these teams have been needing.

I am going to save Football and basketball for another post. I need to get some thoughts together on the NBA and there is just to much for this already lengthy post to put anything about the NFL yet. I may do a blog on just the NFL off season. That being said Tom Brady is not retiring and that's amazing. Im not ready to have a football season without him. No matter who he is playing for. 

I know this post was long and if you have made it to here and read the whole thing then I truly thank you. If you skipped the beginning and came right to the sports that's fine also. At least you gave the main part of this a read. I will try to post every other week if not more. But for now I just wanted to thank people, Welcome my self back. And hopefully bring in some new people on this sports journey. Im hoping to have the podcast back soon as well. I've been looking into some ideas and it might lead to a Vlog instead of a podcast. But that's still being planned. For now just give me 10-12 minutes of your time to read my rants and talk sports. As always there is the blog Facebook page where you can comment on what you think about my takes. It is always where we can interact and have a good back and forth if you have a differing opinion. If its good and its productive I will put it in a post. 

Thank you all again. Its good to be back.

Brad

The Boys are back

 There is a song that usually gets played right after thanksgiving and right up until new years. However the timing of it is all wrong. Right now it is "The most wonderful time of the year". ITSSSSS HOCKEY SEASONNNNN!!!!!!! Time for family fights about who is better. Friendly wars about which play from last night was the silkiest. From 10/12 until sometime in mid June we will have hockey at least 4 nights a week! I promised and NHL Preview and this is where I've come to shatter dreams, piss people off, and find a few random hills to die on. So without further dudes (name the reference) in the words of Joker. HERE WE GO. 

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

Pittsburgh, Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, Rangers, Islanders, Philadelphia

Finally the return of normal divisions. Last year the make shift divisions made no sense and eventually the cup final ended up being 2 eastern conference teams. But that's in the past and now we are back to 82 games and normal divisions. 

This one is always tough because there really is only 3 teams that ever make any real noise in terms of a playoff push. Pittsburgh for as much as you hate them always seems to find its way to the top of this division or at least in the playoffs. I don't expect much to change their. They didn't loose anyone of real value in the expansion draft and they have a healthy Malkin and Crosby for at least the start of the season. Goaltending may be an issue for them but again they are really fighting off 2-3 other teams. The hurricanes are a joke and ROD the BOD cant fix them. The Blue jackets fired Torettela in the offseason and frankly that's stupid because he may not have made them a cup contender but he made them relevant even after the whole Patrik Laine fiasco. New Jersey is attempting to re tool by signing Dougie Hamilton to a monster deal this off season and they didn't trade Subban. At least not yet. I don't think they sniff a playoff spot but they could be heading in the right direction. The rangers didn't get worse but they certainly didn't get better. They signed Ryan Reeves in the off season for some added muscle which will be good but he's going to be out some time after that injury in the pre season. They also have refused to name a captain instead naming 6 alternates. Come on boys you need one vocal leader and Krider is it. I think im just going to skip right over the flyers because well come on really? I saw an article the other day about how the Capitols are trending down and so many people lost their mind. But why? That's not wrong. They did not get any younger and they didn't add anything of note in the off season. Ovi is getting older, Oshie is heading towards the back 9 and Backstrom is well, He hasn't been good for a while now. That's not to say ovechkin isn't going to compete for the scoring title but that alone will not put them in the playoffs. Finally, The islanders. Arguably the best team coming out of last year with so much talent and poise. They signed Zdeno Chara which will add a lot to that back end. While they did lose eberle to the Kraken they didn't get worse. I look for them to lead or at least compete with Pittsburgh for this division crown.

Atlantic Division

Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Tampa Bay

Its always fun writing about this division because unless something drastic happens there are 2 teams from it that make the playoffs anyone else just barley will sneak in to that third spot. Ill save the obvious for last. Buffalo will be lucky to win 20 games this year. That entire franchise should be relegated to the AHL maybe even lower. All the way from ownership right on down to the team it is the definition of a dumpster fire. They have one of the best players in the world in their building and they essentially ran him out of town. Eichel will not play another game for the Sabers. Read my post about training camp to understand why. Detroit won fair much better. They have a budding superstar who is refusing to get the Covid vaccine and will most likely be deemed in eligible. I have thoughts on that but this isn't the post for it. The panthers are getting back Aaron Ekblad after a horrific injury last year and even though they lost the NHL's raining iron man in Keith Yandle, they did sign Jumbo Joe which will for nothing else add much needed veteran leadership to a slightly younger team. Montreal made the cup finals last year (god that hurt to type). That was the biggest fluke of the season. They were not a cup contender, they had the benefit of not playing the American teams until the third round of the playoffs so yea they shocked some people. Once Tampa figured out their game it was very quick work for them to repeat as cup champions. Ottawa is probably going to be near the bottom again as well, They have a lot to figure out. Toronto should be decent this year at least until the first round of the playoffs. They have so much talent but like the oilers they just cant seem to put it all together. Tampa Bay will no doubt be top in the league again. They have a full year from Stamkos and Kucherov and they have added Corey Perry who should make them a little better then that bottom 9. Boston didn't lose a single important piece to the kraken. They did lose David Krejci. Now some might say that's fine. I think we will miss him more then we know come playoffs. They signed Hall which is already in the cards when he came here and for the first time in a long time someone other then Tuukka Rask will be the starting goalie. Again this isn't the post for the conversation but ill just leave it at its the right choice. 

Western Conference

Central Division

Arizona, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

As we move on to the West, there are a number of good teams in this conference that just need to find someone that can get them over that hump weather it be a player, coach, GM. Most of the teams in this conference have 1 of the 3 but need that additional piece. Arizona is the exception. They are so bad that their own arena decided that they are not going to renew the lease for the team making them essentially homeless after this season. Now before everyone thinks this means they are going to move the team, there is already plans in place to move the team back to Scottsdale where they played before moving to the Gala River arena. So don't get your hopes up of seeing them move. I think however they saw the dwindling fan base and decided that they needed to make a splash. They did this by bringing back the best logo and jersey in NHL History. The Kachina!!! Its back full time as the home and away sweater. They will wear the old red coyote logo for 9 games as an alternate jersey. Chicago gets their captain back this season after he missed all of last year with a rare and random disease. That's going to help the offense a lot. They also went out and got them selves a Vezna winning goalie. Marc-Andre Flury. If you haven't heard this story yet the cliff notes version is he was traded and never told about it. He found out on the 12th green when he phone started blowing up cuz he was trending on twitter. If i were him im firing everyone on my PR team. Also shame on Vegas for not giving him  heads up either after he led you to 2 conference finals, 1 cup final and is the reigning vezna winner. One more interesting factoid. The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs in 3 of the last 4 seasons and have not made it past the first round since they won the cup in 2015. Marc-Andre Flury has never missed the playoffs in his entire NHL Career. So they have that going for them. Colorado will once again be a top contender in the west. They have a great lineup top to bottom and with Cale Makar on the back end they have one of the top defenses in the league. They may very well win the west. Dallas is one of those teams that should be good every year but somehow they cant string together consecutive years of good teams. They made the cup finals 2 years ago and were a favorite to go back last year but they stumbled a bit. Hopefully this year they can get back on track. Minnesota deserves a better hockey team. The Wild are just bad. Not buffalo bad but just bad. They don't have a decent goalie, Coach isn't great and the team needs top 6 help. I see them in the bottom of the league again. Nashville, is also one of those up and down teams. But even in their down years they still manage to squeak out a good season and sneak into the playoffs. I can see them doing that again this year. St. Louis' window for being good has been shut firmly. After winning the cup they have done nothing to show the same resurgence.  I expect they will make the playoffs but look for an early exit from them. Winnipeg is the most frustrating team in this division. They are loaded with talent and they win. They win a lot. But they cant seem to win when it matters. They swept the oilers last year and they got pounded by Montreal. They should have steam rolled them. Im not sure how to predict where they will end up but i suspect they will be in the playoffs again. How far they go will be anyone's guess.

Pacific Division

Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver, Vegas

As i wrap up this NHL Preview i want to say that i hope everyone who reads this will comment on the blogs Facebook page with who they think will win the cup and if you have anything to add to the conversation leave that as well.

Anaheim has not been good since Gordon Bombay led the team. Im not kidding with the exception of 2007 the ducks have not really been a factor in the NHL playoff picture. I don't see them making the playoffs or really having any kind of decent season. If they win more then 30 games i will be shocked. Calgary is another one of those teams that i want to be good. I really do. They have talent, No not lucic. They have decent coaching and they seem to be right on that cusp of putting it all together. Then they implode. Bottom of the barrel in the all Canadian division last year and i suspect same thing this year with divisions back to normal. Edmonton. What to say about the Oilers. On paper and on the stat sheet they are hands down the best team in the NHL. They have the best player in the world in McDavid and his line mate Leon Draisaitl knows how to get him the puck as well as finish on his own. Those 2 guys alone should be able to win them a few playoff rounds. But for some reason that i cant figure out they never can string together anything. I know they will make the playoffs this year and i can only hope they make it past the first round. Id hate to have to compare them to Toronto in terms of not making it past round 1. Los Angeles lost their prestige long ago and I don't see them getting it back anytime soon. They have some up and coming guys but still need a few pieces to make them good again. The Sharks are a raging mess. When they signed Karlsson it was supposed to put them over that hump and get them into cup contention. But since they brought him in its been nothing short of a disaster. Now you throw in the added distraction of Evander Kane who is probably your best forward. They obviously didnt replace him in the line up but now they are left with attempting to do so until that all gets figured out. I don't see them having a good season. Vancouver tried to get better this year by signing Oliver Ekman-Larson. Will that one new guy help a team who has done next to nothing since losing to the Bruins in 2011? Maybe not but i think they wont be as bad as in years past. They might be 9-10 in the conference but will miss the playoffs for at least a few more years. I saved the 2 newest teams for last. Vegas decided to put all their eggs into to Robin Lenher basket. Not a bad thing but when your other guy wins you the vezna and you trade him without even informing him that just sets you up for bad juju. I think Vegas will compete and be good as normal this season. They should be in the top 4-5 of the conference. Finally we end with the newest NHL team. The Seattle Kraken. They didn't get as loaded of a roster as Vegas did when they came into the league but still they have a few guys with some real talent. They did also did something Vegas didn't do in its inaugural season. They named a captain. Mark Giordano. Good choice as he's probably the guy with the most experience on the team. Its always fun watching new teams and see how the rest of the league responds to them. I don't think they will have near the amount of success as Vegas did but none the less they will be fun to watch. 

Well there you have it. My NHL preview. I hope you like it and agree with it. If you don't or have suggestions please comment on the Facebook page. Also if you read this could you share it to your page. Let people know what I have. I would like to get more followers. For those that do read it all the time I appreciate your support.  

Stories from camp

 The 2021 NHL season is finally upon us. Training camps all around the league are now open with Preseason games having been played yesterday. There are so many different story lines this year that i wanted to do a training camp post before i do an NHL Preview post. Lets dive in. 

The Seattle Kraken are the leagues newest team. Having been added 2 years ago as the leagues 32nd franchise they now finally have a roster and are working hard to find the right lines and such. They opened up their camp with all the buzz a new team should have. They packed their practice facility with fans eager to see their new home town boys. Nothing crazy has happened yet at their camp but one notable thing is they played their first ever NHL contest on Sunday. It started off rocky but they battled back and ended up winning 6-4. Not a bad way to start your franchise off. Even if it was just the first pre season game. 

Buffalo. Oh sweet Buffalo. You have a generational talent in your building. Someone who has very quickly become one of the faces of the NHL and it seems like your doing everything possible to push him out the door. This whole saga with Jack Eichel started sometime last year when it was reveled he would need an operation. I don't remember all of the details but it pretty much comes down to Eichel wants to have a certain type of surgery and the Sabers want him to have a different kind. Eichel has become very vocal about it as well as vocal about the direction of the team. Fast forward to this offseason. It was all but decided that he was going to be traded away, but buffalo holding all the cards balked at the offers they were getting and requested a kings ransom for the superstar. Now with the season fast approaching Eichel still has not received the surgery he needs which has caused him to fail his entry physical and causing the Sabers to have to put him on IR. Where the sabers messed up and made this even more of a mess was after this they came out and said they were taking the C of his jersey stating that the captain "should be the heart beat of the team" Not a great choice of words for a guy who can score 60 goals with his eyes closed. When Eichel does eventually get the surgery he needs he will be out for a bit of time but i think its entirely possible that he will never play for the Sabers again and that is just sad for an organization that is trying to get out from under the black cloud that currently encircles the franchise. 

Now, I'm going to make a lot of people angry with my next take. But this needs to be said and if you don't agree well oh well. GET YOUR COVID SHOT!!!!

Detroit Red Wings Tyler Bertuzzi has come out and said he will not get his Covid shot. That he feels it violates his personal choice. Now, I don't have an issue with the reasoning. My issue lies with the general principal. You have a job in which you make millions of dollars. Your employer, in this case the NHL has decided that to further protect its league, Players, fans they are requiring everyone to be vaccinated prior to the season. That is 100% their right as a private company. If Bertuzzi or any other player decides they don't want to get it then great your contract is now void and you no longer are employed in the NHL until such a time where the vaccine is either no longer required or you decide to get the shot. If he wants to put up a stink about it the Red Wings should say fine we are suspending you without pay for conduct detrimental to the team. They have used that line for far less and in this case i don't think the NHLPA would put up much of a fight. 

Bruins camp. My favorite time of year. New guys coming in. Old guys getting comfortable and usually 1-2 good battles to watch. Jake DeBrusk is one of those battles. He had a horrible year last year that found him spending some time at the end of the bench and even on the 9th floor. He is looking to bounce back. He looks good so far and was instrumental in the win Sunday against Washington. Personally i think he is honestly on showcase mode for Boston. They are gonna play him during the pre season, show other teams what he can offer and then trade him. In my opinion he is just not the right fit for his style of play. He's gritty but not gritty enough, He's skilled but not skilled enough. Hes just not a good fit. Ill be interested to see how that turns out. 

Tuukka Rask. Boy where do i start, I don't wanna have a long drawn out thing on him so i'll just say this. Don't come back. Thank you for your service but don't come back. The Bruins signed Ullmark in the off season and with the amazing season Swayman had last year the goaltending room is all set. If they want to bring him back on that league minimum deal and stick him upstairs to consult fine. But he doesn't touch the ice. Its been too close to many times with him. It's time for him to move on. 

My next post will be a funny one about which 90's/00's Jerseys i think the NHL should bring back full time. With Arizona announcing that they are going back full time to the kachina, I think that's a great topic to discuss while camps are going on. If you have a favorite please comment and let me know. Maybe your pick will make my list. 

NFL Preview 2021

 Last night the 2021 NFL season kicked off. The Cowboys took on the defending champion Bucs. The game was actually very good. It was a shootout which i did not expect. Both Brady and Dak threw for close to 400 yards each and both threw 3 TDs with Brady getting 4 on the night. I must say i did not think the cowboys were going to make that a game but i was shockingly surprised with how well Prescott played. Brady who entered his 22nd NFL season last night looked really bad on the first drive of 3 and out. After that it was if time never moved for him. On the Bucs second drive of the night he took them about 94 yards and boom into the end zone. He spread the ball around to everyone, Gronk got a TD pass, His 100th catch from TB12. Antonio Brown had a TD score as well. Overall Last night gave me zero reason to not think that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wont be the NFC representative in the super bowl this year. Which brings me to the overall point of this post. My 2021 NFL Preview and predictions. Ill go division by division instead of team by team to make the reading a little easier. So without further ado here we go.

AFC EAST

Patriots, Dolphins, Jets, Bills 

For 20 years the Pats dominated this division from start to finish. Last year with out TB12 and with Cam Newton at the helm the pats missed the playoffs. This year they have turned to rookie Mac Jones. I think their time as a dominant team in the division is winding down. However this year could see them as the AFC east champs. As normal the Jets are trash. They let Sam Darnold  go Carolina and have already named Zach Wilson the week 1 starter. Without a decent offense and with no defense to speak of id look to see the jets maybe win 4 games and finish last in the division. The Bills and Dolphins will be the 2 teams that are going to give the pats a run for their money this year. Defending AFC champion Bills are back and ready for another successful season behind QB Josh Allen. Add a healthy Stefon Diggs to his arsenal of weapons and i can see the bills winning 11-12 games and being top in the division for most of the year. Those 2 games against New England might actually have some meaning to it. The Dolphins have decided to go all in on second year QB Tua Tagovailoa. They really are putting all their eggs in his basket too as they let Ryan Fitzpatrick walk away to the Washington Football Team. I don't see the Dolphins winning much more then 6 or 7 games but as i mentioned they could be a thorn in the side of the Bills and Pats. I would say that 2-4 of those wins will come against the Pats and Bills making it much harder to pick whos going to take the division crown.

Prediction- Pats win division

AFC NORTH

Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Steelers

This In my opinion will be the most fun division to watch. The Steelers just re signed defensive star TJ Watt and Big Ben came into camp looking much slimmer and much more agile. Keep in mind they did go 11-0 to start the year last season before epically falling off a cliff. Baltimore seems like the favorite to win this division and with the continued success of Lamar Jackson they should have no problem keeping up with Pittsburgh early on. The Browns are the dark horse of this division. 3 years ago the city of Cleveland was just hoping for the team to win a game. My how far they have come. Baker Mayfield who i think most thought was just going to be another cog in the revolving QB door in Cleveland has emerged as one of the premier QB in the league and he will lead the browns to great things but unfortunately for him those great things may be capped off at winning records rather then playoff appearances. That leaves the cross state Bengals left on this list. Coming off an Torn ACL 2nd year QB Joe Burrow is looking to bounce back and led the Bengals back to the 8-8 record they have come to know and love. They improved the O-line a little bit to hopefully keep Burrow off his back as much this year but they forgot to go get him decent targets or even a fraction of a defense. I see them winning about 5 games all year. 

Prediction-Steelers win division

AFC SOUTH

Texans, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

The AFC South is in my opinion the second worst division in the NFL. There is just nothing of value here. The Titans ran away with the division last year behind a career resurgence from Ryan Tannehill. Add to that the freakish strength of Derek Henry and i see no reason why the Titans don't run away early with this one. The Colts are still trying to find a new identity after Andrew Luck retired. They went out this off season and signed Carson Wentz. Knowing his history with injuries i don't see this working as a long term option for them.  Jacksonville is on my crap list simply for bringing in and then cutting Tim Tebow. I'm still bitter. But they have a great future with Trevor Lawrence having let Gardner Minshew walk away this off season. There will be some learning curves and I'm sure some bumps in the road but i think in 2 years the Jags will be competing for the division. Houston is almost not worth mentioning because they are such a train wreck. JJ Watt did all he could on that defense and it still wasn't enough so he had no choice but to leave. Tyrod Taylor was named the starter which seems like a step in the right direction but without Deandre Hopkins or really anyone to throw to this may just be a season long work out for him to show the other NFL teams he can still play.

Prediction-Tennessee wins division 

AFC WEST

Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers

Rounding out the AFC i think i may have misspoke when i said earlier that the AFC south is the second worst division. This one would give it a run for its money. The Broncos have the feel good story with Teddy Bridgewater assuming duties under center this year. Jon Gruden and the raiders get a new stadium this year and a name change as they have moved the Las Vegas And the chargers are still playing in a converted soccer stadium. The chiefs are the best team in the entire AFC and are going to have this division wrapped up by Thanksgiving. 

Prediction- Kansas City and its not even close. 

NFC EAST

Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Redskins

This is hands down the worst division in all of pro football. Which is sad because i think the Cowboys have at least on paper one of the best teams in football. How they cant string it together is just beyond me. The opening night loss to the Bucs may be an L but damn they took Tampa to the brink. One or two calls the other way and Brady has his first ever loss to Dallas. The Giants only news worthy story of this season is going to be when they retire Strahan's number later in the season. Philadelphia is an interesting story. They have 2 solid Quarterbacks. Jalen Hurts who no doubt will be the starter but he is being backed up by Gardner Minshew. Jalen has a history of injuries so it wouldn't surprise me if  Minshew sees a bit more time then originally planned. Washington Football Team signed journeyman and resident beard god of the NFL Ryan Fitzpatrick in the off season. This makes the 276th NFL team he has played for. Fitzmagic is always good for a fast start and maybe a 4-4 split before the season goes off the rails. Id say look to see something similar. 

Prediction- Cowboys win division

NFC NORTH

Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

For some reason this one has been oddly competitive over the years in terms of second place. The packers are once again set up to win the division seeing as that Aaron Rogers is back and hes got the team to sign some of his favorite people to shut him up. They wont compete for the super bowl by a long shot but they will win the division. Chicago has a very good QB battle on their hands. Do they go with and stick with Andy Dalton? Or do they go to Justin Fields? Fans in Chi-Town seems to have made it clear that they want the rookie. That is gonna be fun to watch. The Lions are...well the Lions. They will play on thanksgiving but that will be the highlight of their season. 

Prediction-Packers win division

NFC SOUTH

Falcons, Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers

Tampa Bay returned all 22 starters from the Super Bowl. They went out on opening night and somehow looked even better then last year. With a full year for Antonio Brown and if Gronk stays healthy i would be shocked if they don't repeat as Super Bowl Champs. Atlanta is once again going to be the train wreck of this division. I said it last year and ill say it again this year. Its time to move on from Matt Ryan. Carolina went out and got a shiny new QB in Sam Darnold. Just kidding he came from the Jets and hes going to be horrible. McCaffrey needs to jump ship fast before he wastes all his talent on a team going no where fast. New Orleans will have to start a season for the first time in almost 20 years without Drew Brees under center. Last year the thinking was that Taysom Hill would fill that role while they looked for someone better. Then they signed Jameis Winston. Once the Bucs got Brady there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that Winston would ever touch the field for Tampa again. He signed on with New Orleans and shocked many by his quick learning of the playbook. He fought and won the starting role this year. He could lead them to a wild card spot but probably no further.

Prediction-Tampa Bay wins it all! 

NFC WEST

Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, Rams

Finishing up my 2021 NFL Preview we end with the NFC west. I remember years ago the Seahawks one this division with an 8-8 record. Long gone are those days. Arizona signed JJ Watt and Deandre Hopkins in the off season to give Kyler Murray help on both sides of the ball. Adding Watt to Chandler Jones sounds like a great idea but remember, Houston's defense at one point had JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Vince Wilfork, they still couldn't win. Perhaps this will be different but i think you need more then just really good edge rushers to have a successful season. San Francisco spent most of the off season quashing rumors that it was sending Jimmy G back to New England. They did not do much in terms of upgrading the team and will most likely miss the playoffs this season. Seattle will always be a tough team to determine their season because they are very streaky. If Wilson can string together a few good games in a row they can be a very dangerous team. But that hasn't happened in a while. They will get their home wins as usual because i do believe they have the hardest stadium to play in even when the team isn't doing good. Finally the Rams are the Rams. They caught a little fire the year they made the super bowl but have since fizzled out and will stay that way for a while. Jalen Ramsey thinks hes the best corner in the game but when your team is giving up 25-30-40 points each week it doesn't matter how good you think you are. 

Prediction-Arizona wins division

Hopefully you have stuck with me through this prediction blog. I'm planning on doing one for each sport as they start so look forward to those. If you disagree with any of my predictions or think i hit the nail on the head leave a comment on the blogs Facebook page and let me know. 

As always i appreciate the support. Thanks 

Opening weekend

 This is the last weekend for a while with out some sort of football game going on. Weather it be High school, College or Pro. This is the best time of year before hockey season. This weekend kicks off the full slate of college football games. Headlining at least my watching will be the Alabama VS. Miami game tomorrow. Everyone knows that Bama is slated to be in the playoff again and will continue to dominate the NCAA for years to come. What i don't think people realize is that the Miami Hurricanes are finally back to what some experts are saying the golden days of the U. They start the season in the top 25 again for the 3rd year in a row. Alabama being a heavy favorite may have their work cut out for them. Season openers are always hit or miss for teams. Years ago they were treated as pre season with D1 power houses playing the Umass and the Old dominions of the world. Now with the push for more money and sponsorships the first game of the year for some of the teams is the highlight of their season. Alabama is by far the toughest opponent at least on paper that Miami will face all season being that they play in the ACC. They wont see Clemson until maybe the ACC title game and that is only if the tigers continue their current success having lost Trevor Lawrence. Its looking like the Hurricanes are poised to once again climb to the top of the ACC. It should be a great game Saturday and if all the experts are to be believed it will be a high scoring shootout. 

Moving on to the NFL now, HOLY SHIT WHAT HAPPENED IN FOXBORO? I had a few people who thought Mac Jones was gonna beat out Cam Newton for the job but no one and i mean noooboddyyy thought they were going to out right cut him. That being said, I understand it and i accept it. Newton was going to cost to much to be a back up, They still need to re structure Gilmore's deal so from a money perspective it made sense. It also makes sense for them to keep Brain Hoyer as the back up. For as bad as he is on the field he has been in the system for so long that he is a great second coach for Mac to learn the play book. Horrible NFL QBs make decent QB coaches. The Mac Jones Era may have started a bit sooner then most people hoped but that doesn't mean it was the wrong choice. Do the Pats make the super bowl because of it? Probably not but i think it does put them in the post season. It definitely makes that week 4 game against TB12 a lot more interesting. The past vs the future. I still think Tampa wins by a land slide but at least the story lines will be fun leading up to it. 

I really haven't been paying to much attention to the other teams around the NFL this pre season. Sometimes ill flip on a game or ill read a story or two but nothing crazy this year. I think ill wait til week 1 to make my assessments on the teams. 

In closing i want to send out my heart felt condolences and sympathy's to the families of Jimmy Hayes and David Patton. 2 amazing athletes and great people that were taken way to soon. May they Rest in Peace.

Jimmy Hayes 11-21-1989/08-23-2021

David Patten 08-19-1974/09-02-2021

Football is back

 With the touch football game in Canton Ohio done with the NFL season can finally begin. The first pre season game for the Patriots is tonight! The conversation of how good is Mac Jones can finally be talked about for real. For the last few months its been whos better him or Cam? Is he ready? My only thoughts on this are that do people really think if Mac Jones is not ready for the bright lights of Gillette that Bill would consider starting him over Newton? Yes newton is no more then a band aid at this point until Jones is ready but he is still a very capable QB. A lot will be decided in the next few weeks but pay close attention to the number of snaps both take and who is out there with them for those snaps. This will be the first time in a very very long time that the patriots will have an honest battle for QB1. My money is on the rookie. ROLL TIDE.

There has also been quite a lot of stories coming out of different NFL camps this pre season already. Once again the cowboys look awful. Also Carson Wentz is once again hurt although he may be ready for week one which gives him enough time to get hurt again and be out for the season.  Its hard to make any sort of real prediction on my part without seeing any pre season highlights so for now i will reserve judgement. 

I did see the very very sexy video that was put out by the Jacksonville Jaguars that showed Trevor Lawrence throwing a TD into 2 defenders and hitting this great 6'5 tight end named Tebow! That's not something that can be taught, Its just pure talent from a stud TE. That story and combination is sure to have more air time as the season gets closer. 

On the hockey front, Holy crap what a whirlwind free agency so far. First I want to start with how bad Vegas bent over their once franchise goalie. They traded him and didn't even tell him. Marc Andre Flurey found out he was now a member of the Chicago Blackhawks on twitter because he name was trending. This man just won a vezna! He led you to the Stanley Cup finals and 2 western conference finals in the 4 years you've been a team, At least give the man a phone call. 

To my shock and surprise the Bruins were not quiet on day one. I put out one Facebook status about them being asleep at the wheel and not 10 minutes later they signed Nick Foligno, Linus Ullmark and Derek Fobort. 3 Big name players who will definitely help fill various roles. 

Not so much to my surprise 14 year veteran David Krejci decided to go back to his home country and continue his career. I don't think this was a very big surprise but it still leaves a big void on the bruins second line. As critical as I've been of Krejci and his play as of late he is a very solid second line center and one of the best faceoff men in the game. Ideally id like to see the second line now become Coyle, Hall, and Smith. But that seems more like wishful thinking.

I will have a post soon with my preview for the full NFL season as well as some talk of my fantasy football teams. I have some drafts coming up soon.

As always thanks for reading and for the continued support. I've decided I'm going to start leaving trivia questions or something of the like in these posts and ask that people answer them on the blog Facebook page. I need to get more interactions on that platform if i want this to take off more then it has. 

That being said here is the first one just to see who pays attention. What is the team motto of the Dillon Panthers? Please submit your answers at Facebook.com/beantownbanterpodcast

You voted for this

Yesterday I put a poll up on our Facebook page asking what you the readers and followers would like to read about since hockey season is coming to an end. You voted on a general what's going on in the wide world of sports so here we go.

Starting with hockey obviously, The Stanley Cup final is under way with the lightning holding a 2-0 lead on the (take deep breath) Montreal Canadians. Ugh i almost couldn't type that. This is not coming from a bruins fan the Montreal has zero business being in the final. This is already showing signs of the giant mismatch that it is. Tampa is one of the most dynamic teams and can beat you in any number of ways. Yes I am in the group who thinks they are breaking the rules by being 18 million over the cap. But as long as they sweep Montreal and make it look embarrassing then I'm ok with it for this season. 

The NHL did have their award night a few days ago and i was shocked to see Marc Andre Fleury receive his first vezna trophy. I could have sworn that a man with 3 cups 1 conn smythe and just a ridiculous overall save and GAA% that he would have more then one. But alas he finally got it and it is much deserved. The league MVP was no shock Connor McDavid. He was only the second player in NHL history to be the unanimous Choice. Anyone know the other? If you know it leave a comment on this post and tell me who it was. First right answer will get a shout out. After he won though I did find it funny during a conversation with my neighbor we recapped his 2021 playoffs. How many games did he help his team win? How many points did he get in the post season? This is why hockey doesn't have an overall MVP and they have a regular season one and then a playoff one. Who knows maybe next season he will make it out of the first round. 

The expansion draft is a few short weeks away. That's always a fun time to see what teams put up what players and who Seattle will ultimately end up with. I'm hoping that they come out with a jersey for the Kraken before at least the main NHL draft. Mainly because daddy needs a new jersey.

Baseball is always going to be a third rate sport to me. Once the sox won in 04 i really haven't fully invested in a season since. But there are a few things this season that have made me look up a few more highlights then i normally would. First lets talk about this whole Sticky Tack stuff with the pitchers. At first i thought it was a joke. But then i realized its baseball. How much more of a joke could it be. Then i watched Phillies manager Joe Girardi ask for Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer to be checked 3 times in 6 innings for sticky stuff and he (Girardi) was promptly tossed after the third time of max coming up clean. The next thing that is causing me to watch a little more of America's past time this year is Shohei Ohtani.  Now you wanna talk about MVPs? This guy is the literal definition of MVP. As of this post he had 28 home runs to lead baseball he also leads the AL with 4 triples. Oh and did i mention he also pitches? Because that's kind of important. In 12 games on the bump he is 3-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 83 strikeouts. So that means not only does he rake at the plate and plays the field he can also throw lights out baseball. These type of numbers have not been seen since some guy named George Herman Ruth did it close to 100 years ago and from I've read that Ruth guy was pretty good at baseball as well. If i watch any baseball this season it will be the Halos of Los Angeles. 

Basketball will be entering their finals this coming week and so far the first team in is the Phoenix suns. From what i hear they haven't made it since 1993. Which also happens to be the last time the Canadians won the cup so history may not be on my side on this one. 

Finally Football is gearing up for training camps and most of the Pats camp will be open to the public. finally some sense of normal life for the upcoming NFL season. My eyes will be on the Mac Jones vs Cam Newton battle for Pats QB and I will also be paying very close attention to the Jaguars camp, No not for Trevor Lawrence but for the one and only Timothy Tebow. 

Thank you again to all who voted and all who continue to read this blog and the links to your own personal pages. Any exposure is very helpful to me and i will eventually get the podcast side of this back up and running. In the mean time if you haven't already and you just read from someone else's status share then please leave a comment on the blogs Facebook page and please hit the follow and like button!  

End of an era

 The Bruins season came to an end on Wednesday night. Having watched the game i can say with confidence they did not deserve to win that game. I think fans knew that going into Uniondale and trying to win a pivotal game with that crowd was going to be a hard task. Add to that the goalie situation, It was almost doomed before the puck dropped. But now that the season is over we can take a look at somethings that i think need to change and things that need to be explored. 

Lets start with the aforementioned goaltending issue. I whole heartedly hope that Bruins fans have watched Tuukka Rask play his last game for the bruins. People always talk about Elite goaltending. Funny thing though the ones who are actually Elite are never talked about. I knew after the 2013 season that the bruins would never win a cup with Rask in net. I don't blame the loss that year on him at all but just watching how he played you could tell he would always get you right there and then implode. Another example is Carey Price. He has been regarded as one of the best goalies in the league or even of his generation. Let me ask you, What has he won? How many conference finals has he been to? Tuukka at least has been to 3 cup finals and a few conference finals in his time here. But as the saying goes Always the brides maid never the bride. The bruins "window" has always been attached to the core guys of Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, Rask but no one every took a longer look at Rask because of his regular season success. Now lets go over his excuses. This season it was "well I wasn't 100% I had a torn labrum and other nagging injuries." Last year it was "I have to leave the bubble for a family emergency" And in the loss to St. Louis it was the lack of shots faced in each game made him ill prepared for the on slot of shots in game 7. Again I'm gonna ask you the readers to think, When has someone who is supposed to be elite made so many excuses for why he cant get over the hump. I hear it a lot out of Lebron James. Heard it a lot from Payton Manning. But you never hear much from the guys who know how to win. As i said at the beginning of this I whole heartedly hope and believe that Tuukka has played his last game for the bruins. His current injury has him pegged for a January/February return next season. So lets say he resigns with Boston. We start the year with Swayman and whoever at backup. Are the bruins just supposed to push him aside when Rask comes back? Yea I'm good. Rask said today in his exit interview that he only wants to play for Boston and that he wont play for another team. Well it looks like its retirement for you then bud. Might be for the best since your body is very fragile. Need to keep it healthy for all those family emergencies. 

The second elephant in the room for Boston this offseason is David Krejci. Long has he been labeled as one our core guys but its long past time we moved on from him. He cost to much money for the little production he has when its needed. Yes he regularly scores 20-30 goals. But anyone can do that against the Sabers, and coyotes. We need him in the playoffs and recently hes been missing. The expansion draft is on July 21st. I cant see a valid reason why Krejci's  name isn't on the unprotected list. The market for high impact low risk second line players is going to be huge this year. Boston can find someone much cheaper for a higher value. 

Jake DeBrusk. he was drafted 3 spots ahead of the islanders Matt Barzal. As you saw in this series who do you think won that draft? DeBrusk had a very good first year. He was tough, fast, smart with the puck. Recently and most notably this post season he has been one of the worst bruins on the ice. He was on the 9th floor for a few games and that's honestly where he should have been all year. He is another guy who I wouldn't mind seeing on the unprotected list. 

Last thing on the bruins. Hall and the defense. The Bruins finally got Taylor Hall this trade deadline. He made an immediate impact. While he wasn't as productive as most would have liked in the post season he is someone the bruins need to lock up for the future. He is not far removed from the being the league MVP. under the right coaching and on a team with much more ambition then the Sabers I think he can thrive. As for the defense. I think this season there was just a rash of injuries. Miller started the season on a tear and was easily the best defenseman we had. Injuries caught up to him and he missed a lot of time. I think with a solid off season of rehab he will come back and be the Defensive leader the bruins need. Brandan Carlo will no doubt come back stronger and ready. Having been knocked out of the season by Wilson WHO ONLY GOT A 5K FINE i think he has a lot to prove coming back. All in all the defense for the bruins is not as big a question as this post season may have led us to believe. 

Ok, Now lets get into the final 4. Montreal, Vegas, Tampa, Islanders.

First off, Holy crap! Who would have ever thought the Canadians would sweep Winnipeg? Not me that's for sure. Is it possible that Cary Price finally leads them to a cup final? I'm not sure they will get past Vegas but after what they have pulled off so far I'm not sure anyone can predict what they are going to do. 

Montreal Vs. Vegas

As I eluded to, what Montreal is doing right now is so far beyond comprehension that i dont have the words for it. They took Toronto a team everyone picked as a heavy favorite to win the cup to 7 games and then beat them. Then they faced Winnipeg who just swept the Oilers and shut down Connor McDavid and promptly swept them out of the playoffs. They came in as a team that under the previous playoff format would not have even qualified and they have so far been the best story in the whole post season. Vegas on the other hand, Has also done some amazing things this post season. They got past a tough high flying Minnesota team and then they took out the heavily favored Colorado Avalanche after being down 2-0. Led by energetic Captain Mark Stone and flanked by offensive threats Riley Smith and William Karlson the golden knights are a force to be reckoned with. This series will be the better of the 2 to watch in my opinion. Putting personal feelings and my Black and Gold blood stream. I think Montreal takes this series in 7.

Tampa vs. New York Islanders

The Islanders took care of the Bruins last round. They did it behind some solid goaltending in Semyon Varlmov. And the goal scoring of Matt Barzal and Kyle Palmari. Add to them the Defense and shot blocking of JG Pageau and the shut down blueline play by defenseman Adam Pelech, the islanders made it look easy against Boston even though it went 6. Tampa on the other hand took care of the hurricanes rather easily. Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton said "we lost to team that was 18 million over the cap". While this is true it doesn't really matter. Those salaries aren't what beat you, it was your lack of ability to score when needed and your terrible clearing of the puck from your zone. The NHL has not had a repeat Stanley Cup champ since the Penguins in 2016-2017. But if anyone has a good shot at it its going to the the lightning. I think they win this series in 5.

One last note on the Bruins. There were a number of things they did wrong against the islanders that ultimately led to their demise. One of the main things I can say is that for the first time since hes been here Bruce Cassidy plain and simple got out coached. Barry Trotz had the better matchups, He made the better play calls. Cassidy made the mistake of starting a whiny and hurt Rask over Swayman and I truly believe that if Swayman had started game 6, Boston would be playing game 7 tonight at the garden instead of making tee times for this weekend. I don't put all the blame on the coach. He can only do so much with what is given to him. This idea that Don Sweeny and Cam Neely make a great front office has been debunked for good. Sweeny had a great trade deadline this year but it was his only good one since hes been the GM. He whiffed on the draft that cost us Matt Barzal and left us with Jake DeBrusk and 2 other guys who have yet to make a decent impact at the NHL level. I think that his short comings are starting to pile up against his successes and its not looking good. I think a shake up in management might be the key to what Boston needs in order to cash in on this "window" that seems to closing a lot faster then anyone hoped.