Bruins Blank Blackhawks; Thornton Needs 40+ Stitches

No doubt about it, the Bruins are playing playoff hockey. After clinching the playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, the Bs have showed no signs of slowing down. Last night, they hosted the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, who are currently clinging to 8^th place in the Western Conference. Facing a team playing desperate hockey is always a challenge, especially when you are not approaching the 2-points with a do-or-die mentality. Fortunately, the Bruins are more energized and focused than ever.

#12 on the NHL career
scoring list (1,532 pts)

Zdeno Chara (14) and Johnny Boychuk (3) broke a scoreless tie with goals coming in a 2:20 span in the second period. Mark Recchi, the 43-year-old right-winger, had the helper on Boychuk’s goal giving him his 1,532^nd career point. This moved him ahead of Paul Coffey and in to 12^th place on the NHL’s career scoring list. He is now 47 points behind Ray Bourque, who holds the #11 slot with 1,579 points. Recchi announced after the game that if the Bruins win the Stanley Cup, he will retire. Horton added a goal in the third period, his 24^th of the season.

Tim Thomas earned his 9^th (25^th career) shutout, his second in three games, stopping all 32 shots. He is currently the League leader in goals-against (1.96 GAA) and save percentage (.940). Just think about that last statistic for a second … Thomas has stopped 94% of the shots that came his way this season. That is ridiculous. The second best percentage in the League is .929 (owned by Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators). Thomas, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2009, is looking like the obvious candidate again this year.

A scary moment on the ice last night came at 3:31 of the 3^rd period when T1AOB favorite Shawn Thornton collided with Fernando Pisani behind the Chicago net. The two got tangled up against the boards and Thornton ended up catching the blade of Pisani’s skate above his right eye. Gushing blood, the Bruins enforcer skated towards the Boston bench. When passing the Chicago bench, however, he was met by some chirping that he didn’t care for. Despite the fact that he was profusely bleeding from the head, Thornton went at the bench. Don Van Massenhoven, the official escorting him off the ice, was able to separate him from the Blackhawks bench before things escalated. Chara continued the scuffle after Thornton’s exit, exchanging words with the considerably smaller Patrick Kane.

Um ... Chicks dig scars?

Thornton’s J-shaped wound required over 40 stitches. He was not allowed back on the ice, if that is any indication of how gnarly this injury really was. It is unclear when the Bruins winger will return to action. Team doctors first must determine how Thornton’s cut will fit under his helmet – if the helmet doesn’t add pressure/create rubbing, he could return as soon as Saturday. He will most likely be wearing either a cage or a visor, something that (safe to say) will not be appreciated by Boston’s resident tough guy.

"I'm fine," Thornton said in post-game comments. "I guess I was lucky. It could have been worse. It could have been on the eye. No headache, no concussion, no nothing. It was just throbbing a little bit from getting stitches, but nothing bad." When asked about the incident at the Chicago bench, Thornton explained, "something was said.  Obviously I can't swear when I talk to [the media]. There was some stuff said that I'm not happy about. I'm going to find out who it was and I will deal with it in my own way."

"Those guys on their team chirp a lot. I don't know if it is right when someone's face is half across the other side of their face," said Thornton. "But it is a tough game and people have to live with their actions. If you guys ever find out who it is, don't be afraid to send me a Christmas card."

The Bruins, who have allowed just three goals in their last five games, return to action tomorrow night against the Maple Leafs. They are now a comfortable 7 points ahead of Montreal in division standings and sit just 3 points behind Washington for 2^nd place in the Eastern Conference.

The Frozen Four Field Has Been Set ... Next Stop: St Paul, MN

It physically pains this UNH Wildcat to write the following statement, but facts are facts. This weekend highlighted the first two rounds of the 2011 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey DI Championships and today, only four teams are left standing: Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame. 

No love for Hockey East in the finals this year. Merrimack and Boston College both exited in the first round while UNH advanced to the second round ... but after three periods of lack-luster play, fell to Notre Dame, 2-1. It should be noted that this is only the second time since 1993 that a HEA team has not advanced to the Frozen Four (2005 being the one exception). In that time, a Hockey East team was named National Champion 7 times. 

Anyway, if UNH won last night, I'd probably still be drunk and writing prose that would make your head spin, breaking down every aspect of the first two rounds of the tourney. But we know how this story ends. I'm tired and still hungover and so, instead, you can just look at this bracket:

Some little nuggets of information to take with you in to the April 7th and 9th games:

• The 2011 Frozen Four semifinals will highlight a pair of CCHA-WCHA matchups (Notre Dame and Michigan for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association; Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association)
• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hold an 18-10-4 all-time record against the UMD Bulldogs. Their last meeting was on January 3, 2009
• The Michigan Wolverines are 45-40-4 all-time against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux
• North Dakota outscored their opponents 12-1 through the first two games of the tournament
• The ND Fighting Sioux, the tourney's last remaining #1 seed, will be playing for their 8th National Championship in program history
• The last time the Fighting Sioux raised the national championship trophy was in 2000, after defeating the Boston College Eagles, 4-2
• In their 6-1 romping of Denver, North Dakota saw goals from all four of their lines and one of their pairings ... which is an indication of how dangerous this team really is
• The Michigan Wolverines, who won the first-ever NCAA tournament championship in 1948, are in the hunt for their 10th National Championship in school history
• The Wolverine's 9 championships are the most in tournament history
• Notre Dame picked off two Hockey East (Merrimack and New Hampshire) teams to advance to the semi-finals
• This would be the first National Championship for the Fighting Irish, who made it to the championship game in 2008 but lost to Boston College
• Minnesota-Duluth is located about two hours north of St Paul and will obviously be the regional favorites
• The UMD Bulldogs were the number 1 team in polls earlier this season but lost some momentum during the year. They entered the East Regionals as a #3 seed
• This would be the first National Championship for the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
• North Dakota is the only team left standing that boasts a Hobey Baker candidate on their roster: Matt Frattin (Cam Atkinson of BC and Andy Miele of Miami-OH were both knocked out in the first round). The Hobey Baker winner will be announced April 8th

Despite All the Hype and Drama, It Was All About Two Points

Last night marked the final meeting of the regular season for Original Six rivals, the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens. Going in to last night, the Bs owned just one win in five meetings this season against the Habs. They also held a three-point lead over the Canadiens in the Northeast Division standings. Oh ya, it was a mere 16 days after Montreal fans went bat-shit crazy, inciting police involvement after Zdeno Chara’s hit on Max Pacioretty.

Speculation ran rampit. Would this be a retaliation game? Retribution for the hit (and post-hit comments)? Would Chara, who had been at the center of the firestorm, be a target? Also, with Montreal seemingly owning Boston’s number this season, would the Bruins be able to maintain their divisional standing as the regular season winded down? Would this game be an indicator of playoff performance? In Boston (and I am sure in Montreal as well) anticipation for this game was palpable.

It took just 61 seconds for the Bruins to set the tone for last night’s shredding of the Canadiens. Chara, the man that started all the drama, got things started with shot that bounced off of Carey Price’s pads. Johnny Boychuk, who grabbed the rebound, netted his second goal of the season. Chara and David Krejci were credited with the assist.

Both Chara and Krejci would end the night with three assists apiece.

By the end of the first period, Gregory Campbell and Nathan Horton joined Boychuk in scoring (their 11^th and 21^st of the season, respectively). Horton’s goal was the only powerplay goal of the night (the B’s went 1-for-6).

Despite the high expectations for fighting, the only real skirmish came in the second when Campbell and Paul Mara exchanged blows. Both served five for fighting. The referees were clearly running a tight ship, making sure that any exchanges of words did not escalate.

Scoring resumed in the third with goals from Horton and Adam McQuaid (his third) coming in a 28-second span. Price, who was playing in his 200^th career game, was pulled from goal. He had 28 saves. Alex Auld played the last 15 minutes of the game, making six stops and giving up two goals. Tomas Kaberle earned his first goal as a Bruin on a snap shot a little more than halfway through the period. Approximately two minutes later, Campbell netted his second of the night while the Habs were enjoying a 3-on-5 advantage.

Tim Thomas earned his 8^th shutout of the season (the 25^th of his career), a career best for the Boston netminder. He had 24 saves on the night.

As the final minutes ticked off the game clock, the Boston fans taunted Montreal with chants of “Ole ole ole” … perhaps the most entertaining part of the game. This 7-0 beatdown was the worst between these two teams since October 1998.

As it turned out, what Jack Edwards dubbed “the most anticipated game of the Bruins’ regular season”, wasn’t much of a game at all. The Habs were outshot 41-24. But, in a lot of other ways, this was very much indeed a statement game. This win essentially solidified the Bruins standing in the division. Montreal has just seven games left (while Boston has 9) making it exceptionally difficult for them to reclaim the top seed. With Philadelphia and Washington already clenching the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins have put themselves in a good position to take the third.

And that is what this really should have been about. Not Pacioretty and Chara. Not Recchi’s comments. Not an absurd Canadian Mountie investigation. Last night was all about two points.

That’s all that mattered.

Quote of the Day - Shawn Thornton

"I don't want to really pump our own tires but I think, arguably, we have the toughest team in the League and I don't think anyone really wants to come in and over exaggerate that part of it. We don't even think about it because we're so confident with that ability so we just go out and play and if that stuff needs to be taken care of, we have no problem taking care of it."

- Shawn Thornton (on expected revenge in tonight's game) 

Celtics Lose Lead In The 4th, Fall To The Memphis Grizzlies

With 26 seconds remaining in the game, down by 1 point, Rajon Rondo grabs his 11^th rebound of the game and pushes the ball down the court … Doc Rivers assumed he would find Paul Pierce in transition. Celtics fans were anticipating a dish from RR that would result in the go-ahead basket. Unfortunately, that is not how it played out …

Instead, Rondo drove to the hoop himself and missed. In hindsight, Doc said he should have called a timeout. But that’s thing about hindsight – it’s always 20/20.

In the end, it all came down to Paul Pierce who made an off-balance and desperate attempt to hit the trey at the buzzer and force overtime. The shot missed, the Memphis Grizzlies won with the final score of 90-87 and Tony Allen cued up an over-the-top celebration with enough fist-pumps to make the cast of Jersey Shore take notice.

With about three weeks left of the regular season, this is not the time to be experiencing late-game collapses and/or offensive struggles. Obviously, the major roster overhaul a month ago has created a serious disruption in team chemistry – however – with 12 games remaining on the schedule, the Celtics need to figure out how to remedy these issues. And quickly.

The Cs, who are 50-20 after last night, have lost five of their last nine and currently trail the Chicago Bulls by a full game for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Fortunately, they still own a 1.5 game advantage over the Miami Heat.

Boston returns to action tomorrow night against the Charlotte Bobcats (28-42) at home before setting out on a four-game road trip.

Bruins Finally Win ... Milestone Night for Chara and Lucic

Good God the Bruins have been bad. Nope, scratch that. Watching the Bruins as of late has been brutal. 1-3-3 in their last seven? That is certainly not the way you want your team to be playing as the regular season dwindles. This is especially true going in to last night’s game, as the B’s hosted (arguably) the conference’s most dangerous team: the NJ Devils. Allow me to explain that statement. The Devils were riding high on a late season surge (23-3-2 in their last 28) and knew that the playoffs, while a long shot, were not unattainable. It was a must-win scenario and they truly had nothing to lose.

Thornton scores his 9th goal of
the season, a career high

As expected, NJ came in to the game guns blazing. They dominated the first half of the period, out-shooting the Bruins 14-1 and recording the first goal at 11:05. Fortunately for Boston fans, the Bs were quickly able turn things around. They took 16 of the period’s final 22 shots and tied the game on Shawn Thornton’s 9^th goal of the season. This is a career high for #22.

After Thornton’s goal, the Bruins settled down and began to play like a team that is headed for the post-season. They fought for loose pucks, controlled play in the neutral zone and even – if you can believe it – capitalized on the power play.

Zdeno Chara scored his 13^th goal of the season on a power play at 8:17 in the second. This goal, which would be the game winner, marked the Captain’s 400^th career point. Prior to Chara’s goal, the Bruins power play unit had scored just twice on 34 opportunities.

Lucic reaches 30-goal milestone

Milan Lucic had a big moment last night, lighting the lamp at 16:31 in the 3^rd period on a shot from the left circle. It marked Looch’s 30^th of the season, making him the first 30-goal scorer since Phil Kessel in 2008-09 (36 goals). "It feels great I was able to get that 30th, but the biggest thing here today is it felt like we played Bruins hockey again," Lucic said post-game.

Mark Recchi made it 4-1 on an empty-netter with under a minute until the final horn.

With the win over the Devils, Boston has extended the division lead over Montreal to 3 points (90 points total). The Bruins have ten regular season games left, seven of which will be played on home ice. Considering their home versus away records (17-12-5 H, 23-10-5 A), I am not sure if this is a good thing. The Canadiens, who have eight regular season games remaining, travel to Boston tomorrow night. This game should be considered a must-see, not only for the playoff implications, but also for the Chara/Pacioretty/crazy Canadians drama that is sure to ensue.

Boom! And Just Like That, BU Starts Dancing

The BU Terriers rallied and defeated StonyBrook, 56-54, winning them the America East championship and earning them a bid to the NCAA tournament. 

Canadians Are PISSED

"After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline.  This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly - with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards.  I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous.

This was a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface. In reviewing this play, I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career."

- NHL Vice President, Mike Murphy 

That was the official ruling of the NHL, announced on Wednesday afternoon, in response to the unfortunate-but-ugly hit on Montreal's Max Pacioretty. When Habs fans heard that no further discipline (suspension or fine) would be imposed, they. went. BAZERK. Encouraged by a local media outlet, fans blew up the phone lines of the Montreal Police demanding a that criminal investigation be launched. It took less than a day before the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutors for the Crown publicly called for a police investigation. Additionally, AirCanada threatened to pull it's NHL sponsorship ties unless rules to prevent serious injury be made more stringent. 

Neither Pacioretty, who suffered a severe concussion and fractured his 4th cervical vertabrae, nor the Canadiens organization have provided any indication that they will participate in this investigation.

Canadian law requires intentional conduct as the basis of an assault charge - something that has consistently been deemed as absent in regards to this incident. Tuesday's referees, Chara and the League all acknowledge that this was an unintentional result of a play in a relatively violent sport. 

Cringe-evoking? Yes.  Tragic? Absolutely.  Criminal? Not even a little.

Pursuing criminal charges for on-ice "crimes" is not something new for our Neighbors to the North. The Province of Quebec has had three criminal cases in the past few years (involving the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League). None of which resulted in jail time or criminal records for the accused.

It's somewhat surprising that this is the incident on which many are choosing to erect their "too much violence in hockey" argument. A five minute major for interference and a game misconduct more than qualifies as just-punishment in this instance. What about the elbow to the head that Dave Bolland just took from Pavil Kubina? Kubina was served a 3-game suspension and fined $60,096.76. And even that wasn't all that horrific (still a douche move though). 

If you want to wage a war against the violence in hockey, do it on the backs of jokers like Todd Bertuzzi, Matt Cooke or Marty McSorely. Calling Zdeno Chara a dirty player because of one freak accident in a 13-year career is as ridiculous as it is stupid. Canada, I get it. You're pissed. But seriously, learn how to pick your battles.

Max Pacioretty vs A Stanchion at the Bell Centre

Yikes. And I thought 'Death at the Garden' would have been an appropriate headline after the Celtics trades last month. But look at Zdeno Chara proving me wrong ...

The chatter has been non-stop since Max Pacioretty got mangled against the center glass last night - but if you look at this clip above, you can see that this was not the malicious hit that it, at first glance, appears to be. It's clearly interference - which is why Chara goes to the box - but other than that, it's really just a matter of wrong place/wrong time for Pacioretty. Obviously, Habs fans are calling this retaliation for the scuffle that ensued the last time the Bs traveled to Montreal ... but I'm not sure that argument holds water. These two may not like each other (that's obvious) but that does not mean that there was intent to injure on this play. A suspension would be an egregious overreaction by the League.




(This should go without saying, but we here at T1AOB hope that Pacioretty is okay, recovers fully and is ready to meet this team again in the playoffs. As of this morning, he was able to successfully move all of his extremities.)