Nine Bruins-Canucks thoughts for you on the morning of what promises to be an epic Game 6 at the Garden.
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1. I don't know how strongly you feel about this, but in my mind, Roberto Luongo can't be allowed to receive the Stanley Cup on Boston soil. He and Max Lapierre and Alex Burrows can't be allowed to skate the Garden ice holding that trophy.
If that's to happen in British Columbia, then so be it. Just not here.
2. I know the consensus of those covering the game in Vancouver was that the Canucks were the hungrier team in Game 5 and deserved the win. Even Claude Julien, whose team was out-hit, 47-27, admitted, "we didn't work as hard as we did in the last two games.''
But after watching the game a second time (CBC replay on NHL Network, which I highly recommend) it felt like the B's had more chances and more possession time than the Canucks -- in the first two periods, anyway. Patrice Bergeron and Chris Kelly had golden chances in the first and then in the second, after killing off a Vancouver power play, the Bruins had a couple of terrific shifts that held the Canucks pinned in their zone for several minutes. The pressure resulted in clear chances for Zdeno Chara (an offensive disappointment in the playoffs) and Brad Marchand. The B's just couldn't convert.
Physically, though, the B's weren't quite the same. Which was odd. A letdown when you're two wins away from a championship? Surprising, but frankly not out of character for this Bruins team. All season, they've only been at their best when they've had to have it.
Like tonight.
3. The CW (conventional wisdom) coming out of Boston after Games 3 and 4 proved to be wrong. The B's have not "imposed their will'' on the Canucks, at least not to the point where a road win was in the cards. As it stands now, it looks like the B's just jumped on them for a few games in Boston.
And perhaps the B's will do the same again tonight. But those expecting the Canucks to crawl into a hole and die were sorely mistaken.
4. How do you explain Luongo's petty comments about Tim Thomas? Is he jealous of the attention Thomas has been getting? Is he insecure? Just an a-hole? I'm going with all of the above.
5. Obviously, Thomas is the kind of player who responds to such comments. It's a dumb thing for the Canucks to do, but they continue to do it. I fully expect Thomas to be motivated by the chatter.
The bad news for the Bruins? There really isn't any more room for improvement with Thomas. In the five games this series, he's held Vancouver to one, two, one, zero and one goals, respectively. Unless Thomas finds a way to start scoring goals for his forwards, or unless he pitches a shutout for the next 120 minutes, it's hard to imagine he could have more of an impact than he's already had.
6. In other words, you can't win a game 0-0. Unless the B's do a better job of finishing their chances (particularly on the road), Thomas won't be enough.
Again, I thought the B's did a decent job of putting themselves in position to score Friday. Unfortunately, the officials kept putting them on the man advantage, and that ruined everything. When you get the first four power plays of a game, you have to score on at least one of them. You just have to. You knew when the B's put up another donut they were done. It was the same story in Game 1, when they failed to convert on a four-minute double-minor and a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:34.
If the B's had just a bad power play -- and not a historically awful one -- this series would be over.
7. Which brings me to....Greg Campbell on the power play for three turns in the first period. This was a move so bad I almost liked it.
It was surprising and unconventional, which are clearly not adjectives you would often attach to Claude Julien. Campbell had logged some power play minutes during garbage time in Boston (he was on the ice for Mike Ryder's late strike in Game 3), but few could have expected him to be the choice in the first period of a scoreless road game deep into the Stanley Cup Finals.
Half of me wants to give Julien credit for playing a hunch and taking a chance. He doesn't do that enough. But the other half screams what the rest of you were screaming: Greg Campbell?! A fourth-line grinder and penalty killer on the power play when a goal can shift the balance of the series? Yikes.
8. Which brings me to....Tyler Seguin.
The rookie received only 12 seconds of power play time on the night and received just three shifts, total, in the first period. Yet by the third period, Seguin was skating alongside David Krejci on the first line. He played seven shifts in the third.
That late-game ice time wasn't hard to decipher. Seguin was out there because the B's were desperate for a goal and Julien felt he was a good option in that situation.
I just don't get why Julien didn't feel that same desperation in the first period, particularly on the power play. Luongo entered the game teetering. The Vancouver crowd was prepared to turn. An early goal could have meant everything for the Bruins. Why was the motivation to score a goal not the same in the first 10 minutes as it was in the final 10?
The handling of Seguin feels very inconsistent. If Seguin doesn't have the trust of the coaches or the veterans in the room, then don't give him a uniform. Or bury him on the bench. But if he's prepared enough to receive big offensive minutes in the third period of a one-goal game, he should be prepared enough to get those minutes in a scoreless game in the first period.
9. This is why I'll never be a fan of Julien's style. Not aggressive enough offensively and too subservient to veterans. Both these traits explain why he'll err on the side of Campbell and Mark Recchi, but not Seguin.
That said, please don't make the mistake of thinking I'm blaming Julien for Friday. I'm not. Honestly. I'm just carping. The B's had enough quality chances over the first 40 minutes to take a lead into the third period, and it never should have come down to the Seguin thing.
If the B's don't win this series it will come down to the power play, which is only partially Julien's fault, and the B's lack of finishing touch up front, which is the main ingredient in their power play woes and has nothing to do with the coach.
--Felger / CSNNE
* * * * *
1. I don't know how strongly you feel about this, but in my mind, Roberto Luongo can't be allowed to receive the Stanley Cup on Boston soil. He and Max Lapierre and Alex Burrows can't be allowed to skate the Garden ice holding that trophy.
If that's to happen in British Columbia, then so be it. Just not here.
2. I know the consensus of those covering the game in Vancouver was that the Canucks were the hungrier team in Game 5 and deserved the win. Even Claude Julien, whose team was out-hit, 47-27, admitted, "we didn't work as hard as we did in the last two games.''
But after watching the game a second time (CBC replay on NHL Network, which I highly recommend) it felt like the B's had more chances and more possession time than the Canucks -- in the first two periods, anyway. Patrice Bergeron and Chris Kelly had golden chances in the first and then in the second, after killing off a Vancouver power play, the Bruins had a couple of terrific shifts that held the Canucks pinned in their zone for several minutes. The pressure resulted in clear chances for Zdeno Chara (an offensive disappointment in the playoffs) and Brad Marchand. The B's just couldn't convert.
Physically, though, the B's weren't quite the same. Which was odd. A letdown when you're two wins away from a championship? Surprising, but frankly not out of character for this Bruins team. All season, they've only been at their best when they've had to have it.
Like tonight.
3. The CW (conventional wisdom) coming out of Boston after Games 3 and 4 proved to be wrong. The B's have not "imposed their will'' on the Canucks, at least not to the point where a road win was in the cards. As it stands now, it looks like the B's just jumped on them for a few games in Boston.
And perhaps the B's will do the same again tonight. But those expecting the Canucks to crawl into a hole and die were sorely mistaken.
4. How do you explain Luongo's petty comments about Tim Thomas? Is he jealous of the attention Thomas has been getting? Is he insecure? Just an a-hole? I'm going with all of the above.
5. Obviously, Thomas is the kind of player who responds to such comments. It's a dumb thing for the Canucks to do, but they continue to do it. I fully expect Thomas to be motivated by the chatter.
The bad news for the Bruins? There really isn't any more room for improvement with Thomas. In the five games this series, he's held Vancouver to one, two, one, zero and one goals, respectively. Unless Thomas finds a way to start scoring goals for his forwards, or unless he pitches a shutout for the next 120 minutes, it's hard to imagine he could have more of an impact than he's already had.
6. In other words, you can't win a game 0-0. Unless the B's do a better job of finishing their chances (particularly on the road), Thomas won't be enough.
Again, I thought the B's did a decent job of putting themselves in position to score Friday. Unfortunately, the officials kept putting them on the man advantage, and that ruined everything. When you get the first four power plays of a game, you have to score on at least one of them. You just have to. You knew when the B's put up another donut they were done. It was the same story in Game 1, when they failed to convert on a four-minute double-minor and a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:34.
If the B's had just a bad power play -- and not a historically awful one -- this series would be over.
7. Which brings me to....Greg Campbell on the power play for three turns in the first period. This was a move so bad I almost liked it.
It was surprising and unconventional, which are clearly not adjectives you would often attach to Claude Julien. Campbell had logged some power play minutes during garbage time in Boston (he was on the ice for Mike Ryder's late strike in Game 3), but few could have expected him to be the choice in the first period of a scoreless road game deep into the Stanley Cup Finals.
Half of me wants to give Julien credit for playing a hunch and taking a chance. He doesn't do that enough. But the other half screams what the rest of you were screaming: Greg Campbell?! A fourth-line grinder and penalty killer on the power play when a goal can shift the balance of the series? Yikes.
8. Which brings me to....Tyler Seguin.
The rookie received only 12 seconds of power play time on the night and received just three shifts, total, in the first period. Yet by the third period, Seguin was skating alongside David Krejci on the first line. He played seven shifts in the third.
That late-game ice time wasn't hard to decipher. Seguin was out there because the B's were desperate for a goal and Julien felt he was a good option in that situation.
I just don't get why Julien didn't feel that same desperation in the first period, particularly on the power play. Luongo entered the game teetering. The Vancouver crowd was prepared to turn. An early goal could have meant everything for the Bruins. Why was the motivation to score a goal not the same in the first 10 minutes as it was in the final 10?
The handling of Seguin feels very inconsistent. If Seguin doesn't have the trust of the coaches or the veterans in the room, then don't give him a uniform. Or bury him on the bench. But if he's prepared enough to receive big offensive minutes in the third period of a one-goal game, he should be prepared enough to get those minutes in a scoreless game in the first period.
9. This is why I'll never be a fan of Julien's style. Not aggressive enough offensively and too subservient to veterans. Both these traits explain why he'll err on the side of Campbell and Mark Recchi, but not Seguin.
That said, please don't make the mistake of thinking I'm blaming Julien for Friday. I'm not. Honestly. I'm just carping. The B's had enough quality chances over the first 40 minutes to take a lead into the third period, and it never should have come down to the Seguin thing.
If the B's don't win this series it will come down to the power play, which is only partially Julien's fault, and the B's lack of finishing touch up front, which is the main ingredient in their power play woes and has nothing to do with the coach.
--Felger / CSNNE
