Hey ddubs...

[the mugs]

Please tell me you're not LYAO...

Boston Globe 9.22.03

Potvin shows rust in first game for Bruins

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Bruins coach Mike Sullivan had a game plan with regard to his goalies heading into yesterday's exhibition game against the New York Islanders. He wanted to play Felix Potvin for two periods and put in Tim Thomas for the final 20 minutes. But Potvin, who last played against an NHL team back in January with the Kings before injuring his knee, gave up six goals on 16 shots before Sullivan pulled him for Thomas.

"It obviously wasn't his best night," said Sullivan, whose club was thumped, 6-2. "But we certainly didn't help him, that's for sure. When you give a team that many chances to score, it's going to end up in the back of the net no matter who's in goal. I know Felix is a better goaltender and it wasn't his best night, but he certainly wasn't the reason why we lost."

But Sullivan realized fairly early that Potvin had some rust, so Thomas went in halfway through the second.

"I just felt it would maybe give our team a boost," Sullivan said. "It obviously wasn't Felix's best night, but he's going to have plenty more opportunities, so that was just the decision I made."

Potvin acknowledged it wasn't a stellar performance.

"Obviously, you want to have a better start," he said. "But it has been a while since I played. Fortunately, there are seven more games to get ready. Tonight it didn't go the way I wanted it to go, but there are seven more games. I've got to play better, but it's not time to start panicking. We've got almost three weeks of training camp. I've got to keep going."

Sullivan elected to go with a stripped-down defense, giving his young players a chance, but all his guns up front -- Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, and Glen Murray -- were available. As it turned out, it was 18-year-old Patrice Bergeron (who scored his second exhibition goal) and veteran Michal Grosek providing the Boston offense -- both goals in the third period.

"The one thing we can take from it is we played a team that was more desperate than we were," said the coach, who was clearly unhappy. "We played a team that was better in the critical areas of the ice. I thought we turned the puck over too many times. When you do that, you give a team too many chances to score."

Sullivan said he wouldn't single out the lack of experience behind the blue line, which showed.

"Part of the [exhibition] process is to evaluate players against other NHL players," he said. "We wanted to put some young guys in and see where they stack up against NHL players. The Islanders had some pretty good NHL players there tonight. It was a good test and it certainly is revealing." . . .

The Bruins' next exhibitions are tomorrow night in Halifax, Nova Scotia, against the Penguins and Wednesday night against the Red Wings in Detroit.

 

[the mugs]

Detroit Free Press 9.25.03

Detroit Free Press 9.25.03

Practice makes perfect; Wings blast Bruins

Detroit prevails, 9-0, on 49 shots vs. Boston

If only all practices yielded such immediate results.

After devoting much of the previous two days to fine-tuning their special teams, the Red Wings used them with gusto Wednesday night to rout Boston, 9-0, at Joe Louis Arena.

Five of the goals came during power plays, helping Detroit to a 1-2 record in exhibition play.

"Guys were conscious about their position and that's important," coach Dave Lewis said. "They did the things we practiced and asked them to do, and then things happen."

The Wings finished 5-for-10 with the man advantage while holding Boston to 0-for-5. Almost everyone in red had fun, except perhaps Dominik Hasek, who faced only nine shots through the first half of the game and 20 total. "You try to stay focused the whole game," Hasek said, "But 7-0 after second period, you know . . ."

No one in white had fun, least of all Felix Potvin, who gave up seven goals on 30 shots before being relieved at the midway point by Andrew Raycroft. The pair faced 49 shots.

Tomas Holmstrom had two goals, Mathieu Schneider had a goal and two assists, and Henrik Zetterberg had three assists. Steve Yzerman played a full game and scored his first goal.

Among the many who scored for Detroit were 19-year-old Jiri Hudler, who got his third goal in as many games off a tic-tac-toe play with Zetterberg and Derian Hatcher 13:09 into the opening period. With the smarts of a player 10 years his senior and the skills of a budding star, Hudler looks capable at times of challenging for a spot on one of the top two lines.

Asked why he thinks he's been so successful, Hudler said, "I don't know. I think I play with great players. I think more games, I feel better."

Hudler spent most of camp with Brendan Shanahan and Holmstrom, but played against the Bruins with Yzerman and Jason Williams. He saw heavy minutes on power plays, and scored on a five-on-three.

"He looks very good, very confident," Lewis said. "He's good on the power play."

Wednesday night's bonanza eventually became too much of a good thing. By the time the third period was underway, the Wings were so comfortable they used minor leaguers Mark Mowers and Darryl Bootland on a power play.

"Everything we did," Lewis said, "was pretty successful. It's a good reward."

 

[ddubs]

LOL, mugsy. No, I'm not LMAO. I actually like Potvin, and still believe he can do an adequate job for the B's. I just think Cechmanek is a HUGE upgrade for the Kings. When Potvin was with the Kings, he was very good on the initial shot, but the longer the opposition keep the puck in the zone, the worse he gets. He tends to give up a lot of rebounds and I just pray that the puck bounced to a King to clear it out. Give him some time, bud, he's still the best goalie Boston has, IMO.

How's Girard??