This wrap is now happening late enough for everyone to have found out the narrative of the game if you were really that interested in it, so let’s just get right to my always brilliant and incisive commentary, shall we?
- Andrew Brunette, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp – not working. On paper it seems like it should, but Brunette can’t keep up with these two in transition, and Toews isn’t a pure enough passer to make Sharp on a wing matter. On top of it all, Sharp is really starting to fight it, evidenced perfectly by the shorthanded 2-on-1 in the second where he slowed up and changed his angle completely to make a bad pass on his off wing. Were he more confident, he would have strided that out and fired that on Thomas.
- Duncan Keith and Nick Leddy – STOP THAT. Two Keith cock-ups led to both Boston goals, and he was damn lucky that Rich Peverley completely missed the net in over time. How in the fuck does Duncan Keith get beaten on a forecheck by a good stride and a half by Johnny Boychuck? Seriously Joel, you’ve not only killed your best defensive pairing by seperating them (7-2), but now you’re killing your best defenseman individually by saddling him with an inexperienced and ill-fitting partner. If Quenneville wants to get serious about winning hockey games, he should have broken up this pairing in February.
- Speaking of Quenneville – John Scott. I guess it’s pretty tough to drown a guy that tall in roster depth, huh? And if you’re going to benching Rusty Olesz in favor of Scott, don’t you kinda have to waive him if you’re Stan? That’s pretty indefensible cap and roster management by all involved.
- Wasn’t this supposed to be the summer Marian Hossa got healthy for the long haul? Whoops.
- Not all is bleak however, first and foremost, with Patrick Kane. I guess it doesn’t matter who is on his line this year, he will be motherfucked if he’s going to be denied a point a game. Look out.
- Seeing Dave Bolland and Patrice Bergeron face off against one another all night was like trying to put two like-poled magnets next to one another.
- Nice to see Bryan Bickell got the memo about his coaches wanting him to hit people.
- For being outshot pretty handily (though I don’t seem to remember 13 B’s shots in the first), the vast majority of the Hawks were in the black on Corsi. Shows you how adept a team the Bruins are at blocking shots, or at least forcing the Hawks to miss the damn net.
- Don’t look now, but Steve Montador and Sean O’Donnell are quietly forming a very nice third pairing. EARN YOUR MONEY, MARTANOR!
- For as good as Corey Crawford looked during the game, he seemed to come out a lot further and more aggressively in the shoot out than I remember him doing. The whole thing is a toss up and a farce anyway, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
- Joe Corvo is still a woman beater and still a fucking asshole, in case anyone needed a reminder.
- If we’re going to break balls for the power play song and dance (and yes, motherfuckers are dancing now), then I have to give credit where it’s due. Nice work by the UC staff by using The Walkmen’s “The Rat” during some kind of Dave Bolland montage, as well as the now seemingly regular use of Naked Raygun’s “Soldier’s Requiem” during stoppages. More big ups to Phil Russell, my mom’s favorite Hawk from back in the day, who was signing 8×10’s during intermissions, and was kind enough to sign something for her, and couldn’t have been nicer about it.