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. 

Comically Bad

 The Toronto Maple Leafs are the funniest losing team I have ever seen in my short 32 years on the planet. On Monday night they once again blew a 3-1 series lead and were eliminated in the playoffs. I would rather be a fan of the Sabers then the Leafs. At least with Buffalo you know your out before Christmas. The Leafs had the best record in the north divison this season and everyone had them pegged as a cup favorite. I even said on this very blog that they would easily beat the Canadians in 5. I was so close to being right. Then I realized oh yea, Toronto doesn't ever finish a 3-1 lead. It is seriously comical at this point. What makes it even better and more hilarious is that once it hit 3-1 everyone wrote them off. It would have probably been better if they went down 2-1. But in any event the leafs are done in round one again. Now that the second round is underway and we know all the matchups I am going to share my predictions for round 2.

Boston vs New York Islanders

This one is interesting. Through 2 games it it still tough to call. Game 1 was all Boston start to finish minus a fluke goal early by the Isles. Game 2 seemed to be going in the same direction with Coyle just having his way with the D on that sweet opening goal. But from there it kind of went down hill. The Bruins did battle back and eventually tie the game and send it to over time but a freak bounce of Lauzon sent Cizikas on a break away and he buried the game winner. Overall after 2 games I do think the bruins have the better team and they will get passed the islanders. Bruins in 6.

Carolina vs. Tampa Bay

The Lightning are healthy for the first time all season and it has shown so far in the playoffs. Getting back Kucherov and Stamkos was exactly what they needed. I had them losing to the Panthers but I wrote that blog before they announced Kucherov and Stamkos were back. Had I known that I would have said no problem for them. Carolina made fairly easy work of the Predators in the first round. But they are gonna need a lot more out of Aho and Stall if they hope to get past Tampa. I don't think they have it. Lightning in 5.

Winnipeg vs Montreal

Ok this series I never imagined would happen. Winnipeg swept the oilers and did it with ease. McDavid and Drastial were completely irrelevant in the series. The jets exploited that and marched easily to the sweep. Montreal as I stated in the opening paragraph didn't have a chance in hell of getting past the Leafs. Until the leafs went up 3-1. But even though they took them to 7 games I didn't really see much that would make me think they will catch fire here and take out Winnipeg. I just don't think Carey Price is that good. People ay hes one of the best but he has only made it out of the first round once in his career. I could entertain the conversation if he even lost a few conference finals but hes never been there. So I don't think this year is going to be any different. Jets in 5.

Colorado vs Vegas

Tom Wilson only got a 5 thousand dollar suspension for slamming someone's head into the ice causing him to miss the remainder of the season. Ryan Reeves pulled someone down and had a knee on their face until he realized it and moved it and he gets 2 games. The NHL Safety department is a bigger joke then the leafs in the playoffs. Not only did they get this one wrong they basically told the league that Wilson in untouchable. For Vegas to lose a guy like Reeves for 2 very important games in the second round is gonna be tough. He may only get 8-12 minutes a night but hes the emotional leader more teams need. Colorado on the other hand is playing at a pace I have never seen before. Nathan McKinnon has to be one of if not the fastest player in the league. He just moves through defenses like nothing. I'm sure McDavid would do the same if he ever got out of the first round. Cale Makar is becoming one of the best shut down defenseman in the NHL. Those 2 guys alone are gonna take this team very far in the future. As much as it pains me to type this. I think Avalanche in 6.

Those are my round 2 predictions. In round 1 I went 4-4 so not to bad. I just didn't count on Toronto crapping them selves again and for Edmonton to get bent over like they did. Hopefully I do a little better this time around.

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