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FAT ELVIS (another great 74 original) and epstein are finally coming around to what Convict and I have been saying about this Bruins offense for months. Of course when we said it we were sternly lectured on how we must not know anything about hockey.

shockdoct {l Wrote}::slapfight

Hey shock - I'm trying to merge this into the 'Bruins trade Kessel' post but am proving why I'm just a maroon name around here.

Endless Mike {l Wrote}:FAT ELVIS (another great 74 original) and epstein are finally coming around to what Convict and I have been saying about this Bruins offense for months. Of course when we said it we were sternly lectured on how we must not know anything about hockey.

I was concerned about losing Kessel. I understood why the B's couldn't keep him but I was still concerned. The B's really miss Kobasew though.

I know I'm late on this one, but Scottie Hartnell's hair is a bad joke.



Also, Ray Whitney is not the answer. In terms of getting a goal scorer, they need to go big or go home.

bignick33 {l Wrote}:In terms of getting a goal scorer, they need to go big or go home.

He also needs to be amazing at defense and have no interest in being paid fair market value.

Luckily the B's won't delve too deep into the FA market to find a big time scorer better than Satan so, assuming trade, the contract just has to fit under the cap as he will already be under contract. ::some retarded emoticon::

And aside from Kovy there don't seem to be a bevy of solid scorers on the market. Seems like it's gonna be hard to go big this year as opposed to chances in years prior. Things should to sort themselves out more when Lucic comes back and Begin gets as far away from the first line as possible.

Endless Mike {l Wrote}:FAT ELVIS (another great 74 original) and epstein are finally coming around to what Convict and I have been saying about this Bruins offense for months. Of course when we said it we were sternly lectured on how we must not know anything about hockey.

I think you have to at least be fair and see what impact Lucic being back in the line-up has. If we consider to score 1 and 2 goals per game when he comes back, then I'll come over to the dark side.

And now Bergeron breaks his hand and is out for ~6 weeks. This means that Chara is next in line for a big injury in about 4 weeks.

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:And now Bergeron breaks his hand and is out for ~6 weeks. This means that Chara is next in line for a big injury in about 4 weeks.

Shit timing... does he still go to Vancouver?

buconvict {l Wrote}:

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:And now Bergeron breaks his hand and is out for ~6 weeks. This means that Chara is next in line for a big injury in about 4 weeks.

Shit timing... does he still go to Vancouver?

Doubtful but not ruling out the possibility. Would suck if he didn't given everything he's been through the past two years.

Tonight against Ottawa, Blake Wheeler had two redirect goals, right in front of the net. Do you believe in miracles?

bignick33 {l Wrote}:Tonight against Ottawa, Blake Wheeler had two redirect goals, right in front of the net. Do you believe in miracles?

Apparently Blake sold his soul to Satan.

Sorry, had to go there.

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:

bignick33 {l Wrote}:Tonight against Ottawa, Blake Wheeler had two redirect goals, right in front of the net. Do you believe in miracles?

Apparently Blake sold his soul to Satan.

Sorry, had to go there.

That was disappointing at best haha. Good win for the B's last night and now they're saying Lucic could be back on Saturday Night which could be huge.

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:

bignick33 {l Wrote}:Tonight against Ottawa, Blake Wheeler had two redirect goals, right in front of the net. Do you believe in miracles?

Apparently Blake sold his soul to Satan.

Sorry, had to go there.

So Miroslav gets a $700K contract and a new soul in the same week. Good for him.

Endless Mike {l Wrote}:

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:

bignick33 {l Wrote}:Tonight against Ottawa, Blake Wheeler had two redirect goals, right in front of the net. Do you believe in miracles?

Apparently Blake sold his soul to Satan.

Sorry, had to go there.

So Miroslav gets a $700K contract and a new soul in the same week. Good for him.

He only gets something like $350k or $400k since the contract prorated (that's also the cap hit). Still a good week for him regardless.

eepstein0 {l Wrote}:

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:

bignick33 {l Wrote}:Tonight against Ottawa, Blake Wheeler had two redirect goals, right in front of the net. Do you believe in miracles?

Apparently Blake sold his soul to Satan.

Sorry, had to go there.

That was disappointing at best haha. Good win for the B's last night and now they're saying Lucic could be back on Saturday Night which could be huge.

Looch is back tonight. Wheeler, that SOB, just scored on the PP AGAIN off a tip of a D-MO shot. Maybe he's getting lessons from Recchi.

Edit: and Satan scores his first goals for Boston about 2.5 minutes later. Good start against a very good Chicago team.

Savard is hurt and we're getting absolutley waxed by Chicago. Great.

The amount if injuries this team has suffered is ridiculous. Every time someone comes back someone else gets hurt. MRI on Savard's knee tomorrow. With this season's luck it'll be a torn ACL and MCL and they'll have to amputate his leg.

At some point people need to stop acting like the Bruins are the only team with injuries and accept the fact that the team that was eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs last year downgraded itself over the summer while other teams upgraded and are simply better teams.

buconvict {l Wrote}:At some point people need to stop acting like the Bruins are the only team with injuries and accept the fact that the team that was eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs last year downgraded itself over the summer while other teams upgraded and are simply better teams.

Their top 6 entering the season has played 7 games together so far.

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:

buconvict {l Wrote}:At some point people need to stop acting like the Bruins are the only team with injuries and accept the fact that the team that was eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs last year downgraded itself over the summer while other teams upgraded and are simply better teams.

Their top 6 entering the season has played 7 games together so far.

So the Bruins got demolished by the Blackhawks at home last night because Savard wasn't playing? There is no reason for their mediocrity other than injury?

buconvict {l Wrote}:

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:

buconvict {l Wrote}:At some point people need to stop acting like the Bruins are the only team with injuries and accept the fact that the team that was eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs last year downgraded itself over the summer while other teams upgraded and are simply better teams.

Their top 6 entering the season has played 7 games together so far.

So the Bruins got demolished by the Blackhawks at home last night because Savard wasn't playing? There is no reason for their mediocrity other than injury?

Well the Hawks are the best and deepest team in the NHL and the Bruins, as constructed last night with Mark Recchi as the second line center and Adam McQuaid getting significant minutes, are not. Phil Kessel would not have made a difference last night. Of course some guys have regressed to varying degrees (Wideman, Thomas, Krejci, Ryder, Chara come to mind) but the injuries to the most important players this year are certainly a big reason for their mediocrity. Savard has been out multiple weeks twice. Lucic has been out multiple weeks twice. Bergeron is out for multiple weeks. Stuart is currently out for multiple weeks. Ference is out for multiple weeks. Krejci was coming off of serious hip surgery and has finally started to get going. They have lost their top four forwards for extended periods, often at the same time, and have been forced to move guys like Steve Begin, Byron Bitz, and old Mark Recchi into top six action and allow guys like Andy Wozniewski and Adam McQuaid to actually see the ice. Of course it's not the entire reason for the B's mediocrity (see regressions) it is easily the biggest reason they are struggling.

The question is really are the B's regression back to the mean or is it just the injuries/young guys not producing? There are rumors floating around that the Blackhawks could actually add Kovulchuk before the dealine as a rental, not sure how that one works Caps wise.

Luckily, the conference is so mediocre that they should coast into a 4/5/6 seed (or better if they get frisky before the trade deadline) once their team gets healthier. Last night, Thomas stood on his head as Paille and others blew great scoring chances, but Dan Boyle kicks the rebound on one of Paille's chances them into his own net, and they steal two huge points against one of the best teams in the NHL.

That was an AHL roster if I've ever seen one. The centers were Recchi, Begin, Sobotka, and Whitfield. And they somehow won.

That was an AHL roster if I've ever seen one. The centers were Recchi, Begin, Sobotka, and Whitfield. And they somehow won.

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:That was an AHL roster if I've ever seen one. The centers were Recchi, Begin, Sobotka, and Whitfield. And they somehow won.

It's astonishing to me that we're still 5th in the East with this current roster.

eepstein0 {l Wrote}:

flyingelvii {l Wrote}:That was an AHL roster if I've ever seen one. The centers were Recchi, Begin, Sobotka, and Whitfield. And they somehow won.

It's astonishing to me that we're still 5th in the East with this current roster.

Horrendous conference. Grittier team than most (I guess).

Flyingevil you'll appreciate this, I'm at the Verizon Center now for the Caps/Philly game and the place is hopping. I'll give it about 10 minutes before a fight breaks out. If any of you want to see a fun place to watch hockey, come down to DC on a weekend when the B's are playing the Caps, this is a great environment.