Hello ladies and gentlemen, it is so good to be writing this after quite the hectic weekend. No one, for the most part, cares about the personal stuff though, so lets get right to the hockey shall me?

2/6/2010 - Vancouver Canucks @ Boston Bruins

Vancouver traveled into Boston as the Bruins have lost 9 games in a row and looked to get back on track. I was at this game, so my thoughts about it may be a little hazy. In the first period, the Bruins played very well, but it is something that we're used to. The book on these guys goes a little something like this:

• 1st Period: The team plays very well and will potentially get a one or two goal lead. During this first period, the Bruins play with emotion, fire and depression as they scratch and claw their way towards a win.
  
• 2nd Period: In the second period, the team comes out a little flat and emotionless but is able to hold the opposition off for awhile. Eventually though, there will be a defensive breakdown and the opposition will score, heading into the second intermission either tied or down by one goal.
  
• 3rd Period: This is where the team will once again come out playing flat an emotionless, but begin to make mistakes such as taking bad penalties or allowing numerous odd-man rushes. It is during this period where the opposition will score either one or two goals, potentially putting the Bruins away.
  
• Possible OT/Shootout: It is during this time that the Bruins will "play for the point" and not make the mistakes needed to lose a game. Once the game goes into a shootout however, they will lose due to making zero moves on a goalie.
  

So the game against the Canucks went like this, as did the two previous games before this one against Montreal and Washington. The Bruins ended up losing 3-2 in a shootout. Roberto Luongo was masterful in net after the first period and ended up stopping 41 of 43 shots. Tuukka Rask was just as good, stopping 29 of 31 shots.

2/7/2010 - Boston Bruins @ Montreal Canadiens

The Bruins looked to end a 10 game losing skid in Montreal and Claude Julien started Tuukka Rask, a move that surprised many. After the game, there was a lot of speculation regarding the trade status of Tim Thomas, but we won't comment on that until there is some sort of official word.

The Bruins took a 2-0 lead after the first period thanks to Adam McQuaid's first NHL goal/point and Marco Sturm's seventeenth goal. While Bruins fans have seen this before, what they haven't witnessed in awhile is a team that can keep a lead, and that's exactly what Boston did.

Tuukka Rask was downright phenomenal in net for Boston, stopping all 36 shots that came his way, including a few odd man rushes and breakaway attempts by Montreal.

Boston ended up winning 3-0, thanks to Sturm's 18th goal of the season and the Bruins FINALLY snapped their losing streak.

The Boston Bruins welcome the Montreal Canadiens into the TD Fleetmut Centarden tonight is hopes of ending an 8 game losing skid that has seen the team fall from 5th to 12th place in the Eastern Conference. The sick thing is boys and girls, if the Bruins win tonight they will find themselves in or around 8th place. The Eastern Conference standings, especially 6-13 are only separated by 5 points and will make the last two and a half months of the season very exciting.

The Bruins currently sit in 12 place (55 points) in the Eastern Conference and are 1-7-2 in their last ten games. Their latest loss being a 4-1 stinker thanks to the high-powered Washington Capitals. The Habs haven't fared any better this season, sitting at 7th place (58 points) in the Eastern Conference and are 4-4-2 in their last ten. The Habs are coming off of a 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks.

Bruins' Three Keys To Winning

1. Physical Play. The Bruins need to be physical if they want to win this game. It seems as if their physical game has been lost from the team, but last season it was their heart and soul. Whether it has been through injuries (Lucic, Stuart) or through osmosis (Chara doesn't have one fighting major this season), the team needs to bang along the boards, throw down the gloves and rip someone's head off. Stuart's hit on Anize Kopitar SHOULD HAVE been the spark, but it wasn't. What's that say about this team's character?

2. SCORE A FUCKING GOAL OR TWO, PLEASE! I apologize for my language (ok, I don't), but seriously, SCORE A GOAL! When the Bruins played Washington a couple of days ago they had 42 shots on net, 42! How many goals did they score? One. Unfortunately, this isn't a Bruins team that can win game 6-5 anymore, but they aren't a team that can win1-0 either. Their defense isn't that good, their goal tending hasn't been other-worldly and their offense down right sucks.

3. Play 60 Minutes. How many times has we, as Bruins fans, said "If only they played 60 minutes of hockey" (or some variation of that statement). I think the last time this team played a full 60 tilt was in December against the Thrashers or during the Winter Classic. Hell, you could make a case they did it against San Jose as well, but unfortunately, that's it. There have been numerous times that this team has taken a lead and packed it in only to lose when it is all said and done. The B's need to play 60 minutes of hockey, if they do that, they can win.

Greg Wynshynski over at Puck Daddy had something on their website regarding the release of Islanders defenseman Brendan Witt. His article got me thinking about the Bruins and their recent struggles at the defensive position.

I'll be the first to acknowledge that my knowledge of Witt's playing style isn't up to par. I know he's a gritty defenseman who is slowly declining in terms of play and is on the bad side of 30 (34). However, is it worth bringing in a guy like Witt if it is at all possible to get rid of a Dennis Wideman or Andrew Ference (who more than likely isn't coming back when he hits the free agent market)?

Well Witt doesn't have the offensive numbers (2 goals and 3 assists in 42 games and a staggering +/- of -18), but he isn't an offensive defenseman like Derek Morris or Dennis Wideman. If you compare Wideman's totals and Witt's totals they are relatively close, except in assists. Wideman has 1 more goal (3 to 2), 13 more assists (16 to 3), a better plus/minus (-15 to -18) but also costs a lot more.

Witt will make $3M total this season and $3M next season before he is an unrestricted free agent. Wideman, unfortunately, will be here longer and for more money. Wideman's contract is up after the 2011-2012 season and has totals of $4M ('10-'11 season) and $4.5M ('11-'12) season. That's a lot of dough for a guy who has been a constant problem on both sides of the ice.

So my question to the Bruins faithful is "If Brendan Witt worth picking up?". Why can't the Bruins waive a guy like Wideman, who has clearly struggled since the puck first dropped in October? Is it a thing of pride? Are they afraid that if they waive Wideman it will admit mistake to the rest of the NHL? Wideman isn't worth keeping on the ice, especially at $4M+ over the next two seasons (not counting the $3.75M he's made this year).

A guy like Witt can provide some toughness on a team that is surely lacking some. With Milan Lucic out for a large portion of the season, the only one who's had the nuggets to drop the glvoes has been Shawn Thornton (and Adam McQuaid in between plane trips).

At some point Wideman has to be considered a cap casualty by Peter Chiarelli and the bunch. I think Witt is worth taking a flier on, I mean, he stopped a fucking SUV for Christ sakes! What do you think Bruins fans?

If you were to drive into Boston today via the Tobin Bridge, you may look down into the Charles River and see a sea of black and gold paraphernalia floating with the tide. This paraphernalia may have come from passer-bys throwing their stuff into the river in disgust, but I believe it is the Bruins fan base taking the plunge, much like their team has done in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Bruins are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games and are coming off of a fresh loss to the best team in the NHL, the Alexander Ovechkins...I mean Washington Capitals. The Bruins entered the second period with a 1-0 win thanks to David Krejci's tenth goal of the season, but they couldn't fend off the highest scoring team in the NHL.

Through the final two periods, the Capitals only put up 21 shots (compared to Boston's 29 in the second and third combined) but managed to score 4 goals and extend the Bruins current losing streak to eight games.

Jose Theodore looked like it was 2004 again as he turned away 41 of 42 shots while Tim Thomas stopped 22 of 25 (1 goal was an empty net goal). Thomas wasn't the issue however as both Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick (an awful pairing, by the way) were the cause of two Washington goals.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good

Effort. The Bruins outplayed, outwitted and virtually dominated the best team in the NHL, but as usual couldn't finish the game. I like what I saw on the ice for most of the game, so the effort isn't coming into question. The real question here is "Where the hell is the talent?"

The Bad

Offense. Once again the offense is useless. The Bruins scored 1 goal on 42 shots...1 GOAL ON 42 SHOTS!? What the hell man? It's not like Jose Theodore is a goalie that can carry a team, this isn't 2004 anymore. Sometimes I wonder if the Bruins lack of offense is due to shot selection, but when you pepper a goalie with 42 shots, there is just a point where you give up.

The Ugly

This team. I think it's time to come to the conclusion that this team just isn't good. It pains me to say that just as much as it pains me to watch these guys play. The days of flashy, high scoring games may be over this season. I'm not sure what it is that is making our Bruins look like a shadow of themselves. Some will point to Claude, some to injuries, while others will ring the 'underperforming bell' but whatever it is, this teams just isn't that good right now.

The Boston Bruins welcome the Washington Capitals to the TD Fleetmut Centarden tonight, although I'm sure they won't be rolling out the red carpet. The Bruins have certainly been struggling this year while Washington, a once dreadful franchise has been riding high all season. They have held the top spot in the Eastern Conference for (virtually) the entire season and are 10-0-0 in their last ten games! The last 10 games for the Bruins are 10 that the fans wish never happened as they've struggled to go 1-7-2.

Tim Thomas will start in net for the good guys while Jose Theodore will man the pipes (TWSS) for the Capitals.

Lets be serious though, no one really cares about this game. The only reason people will watch, the only reason it will be on Sportscenter, the only reason it will be talked about on the radio tomorrow is one reason:

That's right people, everyone will want to watch this game because of snaggletooth Ovechkin, who may or may not be the abandoned step-son of Richard Kiel (of Happy Gilmore fame).

Thanks to Sports Illustrated for this one

For the Bruins to win this game though, they will have to find a way to stop the Capitals high powered offense (1st in the NHL with 3.83 goals per game), incredible power play (26.3% success, 1st in the NHL) and star players like Baby Kiel, Semin and Backstrom.

Yesterday Brian Burke held a press conference and the entire hockey world held its collective breath to find out what he did. Slowly but surely news started to come out that the Toronto Maple Leafs made two trades, virtually back to back. Here is what they were:

Toronto/Calgary trade

To Toronto:
------------
D Dion Phaneuf
F Fredrik Sjostrom
D Keith Aullie

To Calgary:
------------
F Matt Stajan
F Niklas Hagman
F Jamal Mayers
D Ian White

Toronto/Anaheim trade

To Toronto:
------------
G J.S. Giguere

To Anaheim:
-------------
G Vesa Toskala
F Jason Blake

Now, I could sit here and debate who won and lost out of either deal, but that's not my job mostly because I don't care. The real question here is now that Brian Burke has made these trades, does it put pressure on Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to make a trade?

The short answer is simple and sweet; yes.

However I don't like working with short answers because then I have nothing else to talk about. I believe that the moves Burke made yesterday, coupled with the play of the Bruins, has certainly added some pressure on Chiarelli to get a trade.

At the beginning of the season many of the "national" newspapers, magazines and hockey-related shows had the Bruins in the Stanley Cup facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks. Throughout the season we've watched this team fly high and fall hard and are currently licking their wounds to the tune of a 6 game losing streak.

Throughout January, the Bruins have played their worst stretch of hockey in over a year (I wouldn't call the loss to Carolina in the playoffs last year their worst stretch of hockey) and a half. Their record in January is 3-11, which is an absolute disgrace.

So what exactly is the pressure for Chiarelli? What area does he need to address to make this team a contender, or at least, in the playoffs? The Bruins are currently in 11th (55 points) but they're two points of of 6th (Flyers, Panthers and Rangers have 57 points) and only 10 points back of 5th (Red hot Senators have 66 points).

Statistically the numbers should tell Peter that the Bruins need offense. Their offense is offensive and is the worst offense in the NHL. The Bruins average 2.34 goals per game, which ranks them dead last with teams like Carolina (14th in the East with 45 points, 18th in the NHL with 2.63 G/G), Toronto (15th in the East with 45 points, 17th in the NHL with 2.64 G/G) and Edmonton (15th in the West [last in the NHL] with 38 points, 27th in the NHL with 2.51 G/G) actually putting pucks in the net. Does anyone see a problem here? A team that is fighting for a playoff spot has a worse offense then teams who are bottom feeders!

The bright spot throughout the season has been their defensive effort. Per usual, the Bruins are ranked in the top ten for goals against per game (2.43), but when you give up more goals than you can score, what happens? You lose!

It's clear that Chiarelli needs to make a move for a scorer. When the rumors came out that Boston was actually making a run at Phaneuf, I wanted to run down to the Garden and shake Chiarelli like a British nanny watching a toddler.

I know I don't speak for Bruins nation, or whatever the hell you want to call yourself, but I believe that Chiarelli doesn't make a move for an Ilya Kovalchuk, Ray Whitney or Martin St. Louis then the fans will be beyond pissed.  People didn't pay overpriced and inflated ticket prices to watch a team struggle to keep its head above water or think about tanking the season for a shot at two good picks.

Chiarelli has come out and stated that there is no way they will trade Toronto's 2010 1st round pick and I'm glad he did. The difference between saying and doing are two totally different things.If Chiarelli trades away Toronto's pick, which at this point would guarentee us no worse than #2 overall, for a rental player then there better be an uproar over it.

Chiarelli knows he has the worst offense in the NHL, but will he do something about it? Brian Burke isn't content with a last place team and a couple big moves that may help Toronto in the future. If a bottom of the barrel team is trying to get better, than what's the excuse for the General Manager of an under performing squad?

Joe Gill from Boston Sports Then And Now was the brain behind the Boston Sports Blogapalooza, which is currently in the planning stages.

The idea of the event is simple, to get all Boston bloggers, whether they are fan-based (like we are), media outlet based or somewhere in between together to talk sports, enjoy some laughs and also do a little bit of netoworking.

Anyway, I believe in what Joe is trying to do and Something's Bruin will be making every attempt to make it and you should too!

Head over to Boston Sport Then And Now and check it out!

The Bruins continued their losing ways over the weekend, dropping both of their games, but at least they came away with a point.

Friday 1/29/2010 Boston Bruins @ Buffalo Sabres

The Bruins went into Buffalo looking to pull off a win against the (arguably) best goaltender in the NHL. Ryan Miller stood on his head in the third period and held off a flurry of shots as Boston dropped their fifth straight game, a 2-1 loss to Buffalo.

Tuukka Rask started in net for Boston and stopped 21 of 23 shots while Ryan Miller stopped 30 of 31, 12 of them in the third period.

To be fair, it wasn't for a lack of effort though. Boston came out firey and tough, playing Buffalo stride for stride, but as usual, they couldn't get any breaks. Miller was on point and looked sharp throughout the game. If they played anyone else, they would've won.

Saturday 1/30/2010 Los Angeles Kings @ Boston Bruins

Speaking of anyone else, the Bruins came back to Boston on Saturday night to face the LA Kings, who defeated the Bruins in overtime two weeks earlier in LA. Per usual, the Bruins had trouble starting the game off on the right foot as Dustin Brown scored on the power play in the first period. A returning (and hopefully healthy) Marco Sturm tied the game up for the good guys with a power play goal on his own in the second period.

In the third period the Bruins actually took a lead (HOORAY!) as Mark Recchi scored a power play tip-in goal. Anze Kopitar, probably one of the most underrated players in the NHL, tied the game 4 minutes in with a snap shot past Thomas.

The Kings ended up winning in a shootout.

The Bruins finished the weekend losing their sixth straight game. Now that February is upon us, the Bruins have 7 games left before the Olympic break and the schedule is tough. The Bruins will be facing Washington (once, 1st in the East), Montreal (twice, 10th in the East), Vancouver (once, 3rd in the West), Buffalo (one, 3rd in the East), Tampa Bay (once, 15th in the East), Florida (once, 7th in the East).

Yesterday I wrote how firing Claude Julien was a mistake because it isn't his fault the Bruins are playing like a bunch of d-league hockey players. After I wrote that piece however, Julien decided that I needed to put my foot directly into my mouth and made a self-imposed gag order where he wouldn't talk to the media about his players.

Last week, Julien called out Dennis Wideman because (for all intents and purposes) he's been much more of a liability to this team then he's helped it. Currently Wideman is has a plus/minus of -12 WHICH IS RANKED 256 OUT OF 272 NHL DEFENSEMEN! Cut to yesterday where apparently Claude spoke to media about not speaking to the media anymore. Claude stated:

"I'm just going to keep my answers pretty plain, because when I say too much some people tend to twist it whatever way they want..." - Coach Julien per CSNNE.com

This is where my piss really begins to boil because Julien brought this upon himself. When Claude became coach of the Boston Bruins, he was brought in because he was a tough, defensive minded coach who took no bullshit from anyone. When the Bruins squeaked into the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens, Julien sat Phil Kessel in Game 4 because he wasn't playing sound, competitive hockey.

"Phil Kessel is a good player and he will be a good player," Julien said yesterday morning. "He's a 20-year-old player right now that has gotten much better than he was as a 19-year-old. Right now it's about putting a team on the ice that can compete against the kind of competition that we've got and we needed more grit..." - Julien on why he sat Phil Kessel

Yes, Claude Julien sat the best Bruins goal scorer IN THE PLAYOFFS because he wasn't playing competitive hockey.

Claude, where are those coaching tactics this year? Instead of inspiring his players with healthy scratching under performing players like Dennis Wideman and Michael Ryder, Julien has allowed them to play uninspired and flat. Please don't give me the injury excuse either. Like I've said before, I would rather watch hungry AHL players than this uninspired bullshit. This team has been playing this way since they dropped the puck against Alexander Ovechkin in the season opener. Yes, the team couldn't even get fired up in the season opener!

This rant is going to be about Julien's performance as a coach however, I want to direct this towards Julien's comments about his self-imposed gag order. I would like to remind Claude Julien where he coaches his hockey team. Boston has been known for its cut-throat media, especially with the Red Sox. It has been documented for years how brutal the Boston media has been towards Red Sox players, the most recent being Manny Ramirez (and vice versa).

I believe that Julien came out yesterday and made his statement for one of two reasons:

1. Wideman came to him and they had a sit down about his comments.
2. Other players on the team complained about what was said.
3. Someone from management is making him do this.
   

If either one is correct than Julien mustn't blame the media for what happened, but he should blame himself, the players and the front office for finding players who can't take the heat. Last year everyone (media, fans, players) had a virtual love fest because they were winning, and winning handedly. This year is a totally different monster however and it seems as though the players can't hack the tough questions.

Julien has every right to call out his players and the media/fans (when I say media, sometimes I include the fans as well because of blogs, Facebook groups, Twitter etc) has every right to comment on it! Although I haven't read anything that has "twisted his words", what did Julien think would happen? Did he actually believe that people would look at his comments about (arguably) the worst player on the team, shrug their shoulders and continue waving their black and gold pom-poms? Sorry Claude but when you muster up the testicular fortitude to say something the fans and media have been saying for months, there is going to be some talk about it.

In a city where your fanbase is fairly small (compared to the other three sports) but very passionate, to distance yourself from them could mean the beginning of the end.

Listen Claude, I know that I'm just some piss ant fan blogger (please read that if anyone ever considers me a "journalist" than you must get your head examined) whose word means absolutely nothing, but ordering a gag order because someone may have taken your words out of context is foolish.

Maybe last year was a fluke and you are a total fraud. I feel like a fool for defending you yesterday, but I'll continue to say that you're the right coach for this team. Start setting limits with your players and stop coddling them because their pride was hurt. My pride is hurt when you guys take the ice and play a game like you did in Carolina or against Ottawa, so where the hell is my satisfaction?

(I CAN'T GET NO...sorry about that, listening to the Rolling Stones as I write this.)

So Claude because of your words, you may have very well began to dig your own grave here in Boston. The media and the fans are a very powerful tool and have had players ran out of town before, what the hell makes you so different?

For a different take on this, please head over to Hub Hockey and read Chris' thoughts on the state of the Bruins, fans and media. It's a little different than what I have here, but he's did an absolute fantastic job! Everyone should check it out.