Tag: NHL

Clear Your Schedule for August 1st

The NHL is coming back. Play returns on August 1st. All teams qualifying for the play offs, including teams that will play in the extra play-in round will be assigned to either Edmonton (the Western Conference teams) or Toronto (the Eastern Conference teams).

It is my great hope that the good people of those two historic Canadien cities are smarter than any of their American cousins and will do what is necessary to keep COVID-19 from decimating the league and putting an end to play once again. MLB and the NBA are also expected to come back before the end of the summer, but they are going to be playing in the USA, which means everyone is going to get sick and many of them are going to die… because Americans are too fucking stupid to wear masks and not go to bars.

Please, good people of Edmonton and Toronto… help a brother out. I needs me some hockey.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that the labor (labour) agreement the league and the players just ratified includes sending NHL players to the next two Winter Olympics? Well, assuming we ever have Winter Olympics again.

This is all good news. It could all go horribly wrong if COVID-19 gets it’s way, but for now I am going to believe that this is good news.

August 1st. Be there or be a knob, you hosehead.

HOCKEY!

‘Member Hockey? Yeah, I ‘Member!

Sometimes I like to look back through this blog to see what happened on this day in history.  I’ve got posts going back 14 years now so there is the potential for a lot of stuff.  This morning before work I did exactly that.  I read every post (well, I skimmed every post) made on the 10th of April in each year from 2006 through 2020.

One thing of note was a post in 2010 where I mentioned the Bruins scoring three goals on a single penalty kill.  I did not remember that at all.  Let me rephrase to keep with the South Park ‘Member Berries theme, I did not ‘member that at all.

Wouldn’t you know it, some one posted this video onto the Bruins subreddit today.  It recaps all three of the goals.  It was an NHL record, as Jack Edwards will tell you in about three and a half minutes.

So, do you ‘member hockey?  Yeah, I ‘member!

The Domino I Hoped Would Not Fall, Will Fall

The NHL is expected to suspend the regular season today.  The commish has a call with the ownership group at 1:00pm Eastern (they are probably all on the call as I type this).  After the shit show in the NBA last night*, it is expected he will temporarily pull the plug.

I was sincerely hoping this would not happen*.  David Pastrnak is sitting on 48 goals for the season.  I was really hoping the league would keep operating long enough for him to score two more.  When was the last time the Boston Bruins had a 50 goal scorer? According to this article, the last time was when Cam Neely did it in ’93/’94.  I was really hoping Pasta would tick this box before things went bad for the league.  The Bruins have a game tomorrow in Buffalo.  Couldn’t Commissioner Bettman give him one more game to see if he can pot two more goals?

Oh well.  They are telling teams to look into booking games through July.  I just hope Pasta doesn’t cool off during this unfortunate break in the season.

In closing, here is a list of Boston Bruins 50 goal scorers:

  • Phil Esposito
    • Scored 76 goals during the 1970-71 season
    • Scored 66 goals during the 1971-72 season
    • Scored 55 goals during the 1972-73 season
    • Scored 68 goals during the 1973-74 season
    • Scored 61 goals during the 1974-75 season
  • Johnny Bucyk
    • Scored 51 goals during the 1970-71 season
  • Ken Hodge
    • Scored 50 goals during the 1973-74 season
  • Rick Middleton
    • Scored 51 goals during the 1981-82 season
  • Cam Neely
    • Scored 55 goals during the 1989-90 season
    • Scored 51 goals during the 1990-91 season
    • Scored 50 goals during the 1993-94 season

 

*Unlike the NHL, the NBA has confirmed players have COVID-19.  The first, NBA patient zero, if you will, was joking about the virus just a couple of days ago.  During a press conference the rocket scientist made a show of touching all of the microphones, effectively guaranteeing that all of his teammates who were interviewed after him caught the virus that he was already carrying.

*This is sarcasm.  Like, .  Everyone in North America knew this was coming and it’s not a bad thing.

I’ve Seen It, Carry On

Okay everyone, I have seen the first episode of Star Trek Picard.  You don’t have to worry about spoilers around me anymore, I am up to speed.

How was it?  Episode one is better than episode one of The Manalorian.  It’s not even close.  I am completely, 100%, totally hooked.  Give me the next episode right now.

Right.  Now.

On an unrelated note, the NHL All Stars Skills Competition is on the tube right now.  In all my years of following hockey there has never been an all star game that wasn’t stupid.  When they started doing the skills competition is was a breath of fresh air.  The players clearly loved it, it was fun, it was exciting, it was infinitely better than the stupid all star game itself.

I haven’t watched a skills competition in a few years.  When did this become even more boring than the game?  I mean this thing is oppressively boring.  It is soul crushingly, disturbingly, boring.  The 3-on-3 women’s game is just starting and that should kick things up a notch, but the skills competition itself is just awful.  It is maximum snooze.

Game 1 in the Books

After losing all four games against the Ottawa Senators this season, the Bruins heroically took game one of their first round playoff series against the Senators.

The post season is underway and somehow, magically, the Bruins are part of it… and they won’t get swept!

This has been a pretty good night, right?

Go Bruins!

 

I will post my first round predictions eventually.  Or I won’t.  I don’t know.

What the Hell, Tuukka?

Last year the Bruins needed to win their last game to have a shot at making the playoffs.  Their goalie, Tuukka Rask, however was sick that day and couldn’t play.  They lost that last game and didn’t qualify for the playoffs.

This year the Bruins had already qualified for the playoffs but needed a win in their last game to avoid getting stuck with a first round match up against the seeded Washington Capitals.  Tuukka didn’t call in sick this time, but the team did give him the day off.  The Bruins lost, the Maple Leafs won, the Bruins dropped to the bottom seed in the Eastern Conference and will now face Washington in the first round.

Awesome.

I don’t really blame Tuukka, but what the hell, Tuukka?!  When we are down three games to none against the Caps are you going to take a day off for game four too?

 

ADDENDUM:

Okay, I guess there still is one way that the Bruins could jump back up to third in the division and not have to face Washington.  Something along the lines of Toronto losing today in regulation.  I guess that would make us even in the first tie breaker, which Toronto currently wins, and the Bruins have the second tie breaker.  Something stupid like that.  It doesn’t matter.  They still gave Tuukka the day off for a must win game, and Tuukka still accepted it.  Dude should have gone to the coach and said screw you, I’m playing.

Bruins – Deja Vu All Over Again?

The Bruins have nine games left.  They are the third seed in the Atlantic division with 82 points.  Toronto is in fourth with 81 points and they are sitting in the second Eastern wild card spot with 11 games left.

Or, that was the case before play started tonight.  Toronto just beat Columbus.

So now the Bruins are out of the Atlantic playoff spots and are sitting in the second wild card spot.  The Islanders are four points back with 11 games left.

Why do I feel like I’ve seen this movie before?

Each of the last two years the Bruins have collapsed in the last days of the regular season and dropped out of the playoffs at the last second.  Am I wrong in fearing that we’re being set up for the same fall this year?  They’ve already lost three in a row.  Is the collapse under way?  I don’t want to believe it, but damn it the evidence is clearly stacking up.  Three final stretch chokes in a row?

It can’t happen again…

Can it?