-That's about as big a overreaction to a minor boarding call as you're gonna see. Lucic didn't leave his feet and it clearly wasn't a head shot. Just because Spacek looked like he just got stabbed with a trident doesn't mean toss Luc out of the game. Of course....
-It was hard to notice Lucic was gone the way things have been going for him. He's been invisible the whole series, and it continued before the hit this game. I mean at this point he has to be hurt, right? That is not the same Milan Lucic who scored 30 goals this season.
-Will he or won't he be suspended for Game 7? Again I'm not saying it looked like he didn't leave his feet or go for the head, he clearly didn't do either. The refs shaped the rest of Game 6 after that call. Will the NHL step in and sway Game 7?
-The Bruins power play has gone beyond levels of ineptitude. You know those days when you want to play pickup basketball but you only have 9 people, so you've gotta play 5-on-4, but the team of 4 doesn't seem to mind because the team of 5 is a bunch of JV-caliber players? The United States Special Olympics team probably has a better power play unit at this point.
-The root of the PP troubles? Tomas Kaberle. He's easily the most over-hyped mid-season acquisition by a Boston team since Eric Gagne to the Sox back in '07. And the Sox could just hide Gagne in long relief duty. What can the Bruins do with Kaberle? Move up McQuaid or Boychuk to play the point with Chara on a man advantage? No thanks.
-Looking real fortunate that Chiarelli decided not to sign Kaberle to an extension. Whether PC wanted to wait to see how Kaberle adapted to playing on a contending team or whether they didn't offer him enough money/years, I don't know. But I sincerely hope the Bruins pull the plug on this experiment after the season.
-But will Chiarelli be around to oversee personnel moves? And on that note, is tomorrow night Claude's last stand? Firing Chiarelli would be a foolish move, in my opinion, but there's no doubt that Claude's rear end is on the line tomorrow night. And remember, just making it to the next round might not save him either.
-Listen I said this morning, the Bruins would be well-advised to win this game. They've been eliminated in Game 7's each of the past three seasons, and going back to before the lockout, have been done in by Game 7 four consecutive post-season trips now. Will this team be blown up should they lose tomorrow night? Doubtful, with Chara/Lucic/Krejci/Thomas/Bergeron all locked in to long-term deals. But if we're to think that this cast will at any point bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to Boston, doesn't it have to be sooner rather than later? Tim Thomas is 37. Chara is 34. Father Time doesn't hold off forever. It all comes down tomorrow night for these Bruins. Are they up to the challenge, or is this just the latest bunch of underachieving frauds to dawn the black and gold? We'll know tomorrow.
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| What're you made of, Claude? Put up or shut up. |
Another reason they are struggling with the pp is that with chara and kaberle taking the point, bergeron can't play his usual role as a fourth forward on the pp. Also losing kampfer has definitely showed.
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