Boston Bruins

Matt Carroll
Jack Christian
English Comp 102
September 26, 2011

“Cue the Duck Boats”

The Boston Bruins have started of their pre-season strong with a record of 3-1. Coming off of a 2011 Stanley Cup Championship, the Bruins have been playing to their potential and living up to their name showing everyone why they won the championship last year. So far they have beaten the Canadians twice which is huge because it is a huge rivalry between us. They also beat the Islanders once and lost to the Senators. After losing to the senators in their opening game, they came out strong against both the Habs (Canadians) and Islanders and really taking it to both of these teams. Losing Michael Ryder and Marc Savard will be a big loss to Boston. Although Savard only played about half the season last year due to concussions, he was a great center for Boston and a great contribution when it came down to winning games. Michael Ryder coming off the 2011 season with 18 goals and 23 assists totaling 41 points will be another huge loss for the B’s. After releasing about 27 players from the Bruins training camp, Boston has decided to keep Joe Corvo from the Carolina Hurricanes and Benoit Pouliot form the Montreal Canadians. Joe Corvo, a defensemen, looks very strong so far pairing up with Zedeno Chara. Benoit Pouliot coming off of a 30 point season with 13 goals and 17 assists is going to be playing right wing. He will most likely be playing on the third line with Greg Campbell and Rich Peverley.

I went to the exhibition game against the Montreal Canadians on September 25, and have reason to believe that they have a shot at repeating another Stanley Cup championship. The team came out very strong in the first period letting the Habs know they were ready to play. They spent the first 2:30 seconds in the Canadians zone applying a lot of pressure on them forcing them to make plays. Boston put three quick shots on Habs goalie forcing him to make saves and not give up any rebounds. Cole Gomez scored a breakaway goal for Montreal against Tukka Rask at the 6:55 mark making the score 1-0. Before the goal Tyler Seguin’s line was applying a lot of pressure on Habs goalie Anton, getting off three quick shots. Tyler Seguin is an up and coming player for Boston and I believe will be a great contribution to the Boston organization. He had a slow start to the 2010-2011 season but really stepped it up in the playoffs last year scoring a few goals. He worked hard in the off season gaining about 15 pounds which made him stronger and will allow him to be tough and more aggressive in the corners while fighting for the puck against big defensemen. The bruins responded within a minute scoring 2 quick goals within 20 12 seconds of each other. This shows that the Bruins have a lot of heart and determination and not letting the Canadians goal affect them. Joe Corvo scored on the power play and 12 seconds later Campbell responded with another goal. Throughout the game Seguin and Corvo have been playing with a lot of energy and momentum which is a great sign for Boston. It is great to see a new player and an up and coming player can help out the team. The Habs seem to be getting frustrated with the Bruins because they are taking bad penalties, showing us that the Bruins are working hard. In the second period Boston drew another penalty allowing the bruins to go on their second power play of the night. Brad Marchand scored at the 8:41 mark giving the bruins a 3-1 lead. Two minutes after the goal, Bruins left winger Daniel Paille put one over the Montreal goalie’s blocker making the score 4-1. The Bruins are really taking it to the Habs this game causing them to take dumb penalties giving the bruins an advantage. Later on in the second period McKelvie got a penalty for interference allowing the Habs to get a power play opportunity. This did not phase the Bruins at all. Zedeno Chara scored a short-handed goal with only 36 seconds left in the period. Compared to last year, the bruins have really stepped it up on both the power play and penalty kill. Last year the bruins were going through the playoffs and had a tough time on the power play. At one point they were 0-27 on the power play however they were still winning games. This year, in their second pre season game, they have already scored two power play goals, In the NHL 25% is a great percentage for a team to have while on the power play. In the game against the Canadians they scored 2 out of 3 on the power play which is roughly 66%. I also noticed that the Bruin's penalty kill is just as good as last year. They killed all their penalties except for one. Chara even scored on one of the penalty kills which is very impressive in the NHL. Later on in the game, the Habs scored 2 more goals but the B’s answered right back with another 2 making the final score 7-3. Even though the Bruins did not lose a lot of players this year, I’ve noticed a few changes form the game than last year. Last year the Bruins struggled on the power play. When I went to the game I noticed they had good movement while moving the puck, and had quick passes while working it around the Montreal zone in order to catch the Habs off guard. They weren’t stagnant and were able to put away two goals during the power play. Tim Thomas was his usual self saving 31 out of 34 shots. With Thomas playing to his maximum potential, we have a very good chance at having a winning record, making our way through the play-offs and on to the Stanley Cup Championship. The Bruins back-up Goaltender Tukka Rask, is a great back-up for Boston. He has the potential to play just as good as Thomas as we’ve seen in the 2009-2010 season. Having a good back-up goalie in the NHL is essential and Boston has that advantage. The new players including Corvo and Pouliot fit right into the Bruins line-up. They have great chemistry with other players on the team even thought they are new to the organization. Corvo scored a goal during the Montreal game which is great for Boston and could be a great sign for the upcoming season.
After going to the Bruins game and watching a couple other games on television, things are really looking good for Boston. They have worked hard in the off season improving on their weaknesses and it has really shown. Every part of their game looks good and they are the right track to another Stanley Cup victory.