Post-Game Talk: Bruins Fall to Sabres 4-2

[KnightofBoston]

Is the sky falling in Boston or is that just snow?

 

[LSCII]

Hey! Those are cup champions youre talking about!

Sure, and they still could be again. That being said though, if you go the route of quantity over quality, and have a roster full of guys who skew towards the grinder side instead of skill, you better play gritty hockey. This team right now is not. So they have a roster of 2nd and 3rd line types, but they aren't playing to their strengths, IMO...

 

[8spokesontheB]

Sure, and they still could be again. That being said though, if you go the route of quantity over quality, and have a roster full of guys who skew towards the grinder side instead of skill, you better play gritty hockey. This team right now is not. So they have a roster of 2nd and 3rd line types, but they aren't playing to their strengths, IMO...

Their problem is they don´t shoot. Seriously.

Last night Milan passing to Kretchy was just absurd.

Shoot it, boys. Shoooooooooooooooooooot it.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

Just addressing a few issues I see here in the thread. Toughness, check. Dobby while not run, certainly had more to deal with than Miller. Krejci did get run and hit quite a bit too and was poor because of it.

NO finish....well of course, but I think this team can finish when it bears down. Either Miller was in their heads last night, or they just thought they would blow about five clean shot and three two on ones and go without a shot.

Ference. Yes he was directly responsible for the first goal and played badly for a period after that but he got better.....the effort was there. Sorry to say this but Seidenberg and Chara are declining and it will show in the overall d. Ference is fine.

No effort third....I don't think it was a no effort third. I think it was a We are going to toy with them for two periods and when they decide to shorten the bench and play we will be caught short. Showboating and coasting is not the mark or a good team and I am sure Julien will have something to say about it.

Seguin..Here it is the world's biggest I told you so....I yelled about this all of last year and I was RIGHT...Seguin is extremely lacking in both hockey sense and toughness. That is a bad combo. I dont expect him to be a mucker with his frame but he had better have the sense to use his speed to drive people back to make passes...He does the opposite he drives right towards people for shots. Might as well move him to center at this point as it will at least give him more space and maybe his sense will develop some.

I agree with the exception about Seidenberg.I think he is getting better and in regards to Chara ,he certainly has struggled but still think he will rise to the occasion come playoff time.I think Seguin is struggling partly because teams are not letting him use his speed through the neutral zone,he has to figure a way around it.Yes,I agree his hockey sense and toughness are suspect but he has too much raw skill to be a nonfactor.

 

[unifiedtheory]

I'm late to this **** show because to forget the game I immediately got hammered. If we are going to lose, losing on a Friday or Saturday makes this the ultimate bail out.

Andy Ference was god ****ING AWFUL! I love Andy but he needs to be scratched. We all know that there is either good Andy or bad Andy and this usually comes before or after injury. We need to make our own, he needs to sit. The third pairing is a massive liability.

David Krejci was our best forward, again.

Patrice Bergeron had his best period of the year (the 1st) and then kind of disappeared.

Tyler Seguin might have had his best game of the year. He was putting his body in place where he is not comfortable and he worked hard. IF he does that on a regular basis the goals will come.

Dennis Seidenberg had his worst game of the year.

The 4th line did absolutely nothing.

We were not physical, again. This is becoming a disturbing trend.

Dougie Hamilton is going to be a ****ing rock star.

Dobby was poor.

We are snake bitten, big time. 2 posts and a cross bar.

In the end, we TOTALLY dominated this game through 2 periods. It felt like the 7-4 debacle. Ryan Miller did what great goaltenders do, keep their team in the game and hope to steal it. I swear, once this team starts getting some bounces and plays a team that does not have a good goaltender we will start blowing teams out.

 

[rcduthie77]

I'm late to this **** show because to forget the game I immediately got hammered. If we are going to lose, losing on a Friday or Saturday makes this the ultimate bail out.

Andy Ference was god ****ING AWFUL! I love Andy but he needs to be scratched. We all know that there is either good Andy or bad Andy and this usually comes before or after injury. We need to make our own, he needs to sit. The third pairing is a massive liability.

David Krejci was our best forward, again.

Patrice Bergeron had his best period of the year (the 1st) and then kind of disappeared.

Tyler Seguin might have had his best game of the year. He was putting his body in place where he is not comfortable and he worked hard. IF he does that on a regular basis the goals will come.

Dennis Seidenberg had his worst game of the year.

The 4th line did absolutely nothing.

We were not physical, again. This is becoming a disturbing trend.

Dougie Hamilton is going to be a ****ing rock star.

Dobby was poor.

We are snake bitten, big time. 2 posts and a cross bar.

In the end, we TOTALLY dominated this game through 2 periods. It felt like the 7-4 debacle. Ryan Miller did what great goaltenders do, keep their team in the game and hope to steal it. I swear, once this team starts getting some bounces and plays a team that does not have a good goaltender we will start blowing teams out.

Agreed 100%. Aaron Johnson has played reasonably well in his short stints of playing time, I would like to see him back in the lineup over Ference.

If the Bruins decide they need an upgrade over both, there are rumblings out of San Jose that a defenceman could be available. I've read Demers, Murray, Braun, Irwin and Petrecki could all be available to sort out their logjam.

 

[ORRMAN]

One game; remain calm.

 

[Bi Coastal Bawse*]

Kept saying yesterday AJ should be playing instead of AF

Would like Murray or Petrecki

 

[Paddington]

Finally got around to watching the game. This loss ticked me off more than any other in recent memory. How many times are they going to outplay Buffalo and struggle to win? Miller and the posts drove me nuts but the lack of finishing is REALLY getting to me. Oh, if the old saying, "To be the man, you have to beat the man" holds true, does that mean Buffalo is the best 3rd period team in hockey? Because I think they have outscored Boston 7-1 in the 3rd in the 2 losses.

Thankfully, I'm an optimist. Bring on the Jets!

 

[the overrated]

The "glue' has weakened. It's time for Ference to go.
The defense has not contributed: Look at the stats.
Our #1 defenseman is Dougie. A 19 yr old Rookie with 6 pts
Chara-5
Seids-4
Ference-3
Boychuk-2
McQuaid -0
Johnson-0

That's where the problem is.

It's not Krecji. He is #1 point total of 12

Third line is a problem as well.
Pev- 5
Kelly- 3
Bourque-2 Weak link

Fourth line
Campbell- 3
Paille-3
Thorton -1 Hasn't played well either.

I'd add the one line that you omitted from your post to the "problem" list, too ... the fact that 2/3 of the second line (and the line that a lot of people called the "real first line" for the last year+) is underperforming so much offensively is hurting this team. 4 goals, total, between Bergeron & Seguin is hard to overcome for a team that's rather reliant on offense from the top 2 lines.

 

[MTaylorJ1]

To be fair I was a Ryder guy all the way along, back when I was hosting BTR I would consistently sing his praises.

As for why Dallas would move either, Jagr is going to be a UFA and Ryder has played well for the Stars, they could easily see him as a sell target to get them a solid return.

Although I am not opposed to the idea of R.J. Umberger either. He would still fit the bill for what I'd like to see with 49 & 48 on line 3.

Umberger the player would be a great fit, Umberger the contract...would not.

 

[bruinmann77]

Again another game without a 60 Min effort.

 

[KrejciMVP]

says "KrejciMVP"... If I'm the poster child for being biased against him, you're the poster child for the opposite. Criticizing some as a weak in a 3 word post is pretty awesome though.

I believe Krejci had a bad game. As he did against NYR. Weak on the puck, poor decision making, not engaged physically.

You're in a dreamland. Seriously. What's in the water up in Halifax these days. Please worry more about Seguin rather than the guy leading the team in assists and points.

 

[Kaoz*]

You're in a dreamland. Seriously. What's in the water up in Halifax these days. Please worry more about Seguin rather than the guy leading the team in assists and points.

I'm rural, my water is more then fine.

Your pleas to worry about other players on the team and leave Krejci alone won't likely happen if he continues to play like he did against the Rangers and Sabres.

The fact that the second youngest guy on the team who is in his 3rd pro season has had an inconsistent start to the season worries me a whole lot less then the fact that our #1 center who is in his 7th pro season has suffered the same inconsistency throughout his career.

tl:dr Inconsistency is troubling from anyone, more so when it comes from the guys who've been around for a while.

 

[the overrated]

I'm rural, my water is more then fine.

Your pleas to worry about other players on the team and leave Krejci alone won't likely happen if he continues to play like he did against the Rangers and Sabres.

The fact that the second youngest guy on the team who is in his 3rd pro season has had an inconsistent start to the season worries me a whole lot less then the fact that our #1 center who is in his 7th pro season has suffered the same inconsistency throughout his career.

tl:dr Inconsistency is troubling from anyone, more so when it comes from the guys who've been around for a while.

Hopefully I'm not a poster child in any direction so can interject: I agree that Krejci's had two 'meh' performances lately, but I'd say that the list of forwards that weren't inconsistent in those games is pretty short. All of them, IMHO, were inconsistent & underwhelming.

And to take it a step further, I think that either Krejci or Marchand have had the fewest inconsistent & underwhelming games of all the forwards all year. So to focus on the one player for those two games is somewhat short-sighted, IMO.

I'm more worried, and less likely to currently focus on, the guys that have more good games than bad games this year, and am more concerned when Bergeron will snap out of it offensively & when the 3rd line will start to play like they're capable of.

 

[LouJersey]

Always one forward that escapes any criticism. Anyone see Patrice Bergeron for most of this season? Very visible for two periods last game. Not so much the whole season.

Krejci leads the team in scoring which somehow means less then winning face-offs around here.

 

[LouJersey]

Hopefully I'm not a poster child in any direction so can interject: I agree that Krejci's had two 'meh' performances lately, but I'd say that the list of forwards that weren't inconsistent in those games is pretty short. All of them, IMHO, were inconsistent & underwhelming.

And to take it a step further, I think that either Krejci or Marchand have had the fewest inconsistent & underwhelming games of all the forwards all year. So to focus on the one player for those two games is somewhat short-sighted, IMO.

I'm more worried, and less likely to currently focus on, the guys that have more good games than bad games this year, and am more concerned when Bergeron will snap out of it offensively & when the 3rd line will start to play like they're capable of.

Perfectly stated as always.

 

[Kate08]

Ference had become an en vogue scapegoat, I see.

He has been an absolute train wreck this season, but you're not losing games based on the work of your 3rd defensive pairing. Of bigger comcern at this point, IMO, are the big guns on both sides of the puck that seriously need to step up.

 

[MTaylorJ1]

Always one forward that escapes any criticism. Anyone see Patrice Bergeron for most of this season? Very visible for two periods last game. Not so much the whole season.

Krejci leads the team in scoring which somehow means less then winning face-offs around here.

Haha, Teflon Bergeron?

I haven't been all that concerned with any of the Bruins top 6 to be honest. Bergeron and Seguin just need some puck luck and I'd like to see Horton's physical game pick up a little bit. I do wonder if splitting him up from Lucic gets him to do that because there isn't a player on that line who would already be expected to.

 

[LouJersey]

Haha, Teflon Bergeron?

I haven't been all that concerned with any of the Bruins top 6 to be honest. Bergeron and Seguin just need some puck luck and I'd like to see Horton's physical game pick up a little bit. I do wonder if splitting him up from Lucic gets him to do that because there isn't a player on that line who would already be expected to.

I agree. It will come for these guys. Just hate that DK cant sneeze funny without people trying to get rid of him.

Our bottom 6 is a major concern. They have been bad.

Our lack of physicality is another. We win when we dictate.

 

[Kaoz*]

Hopefully I'm not a poster child in any direction so can interject: I agree that Krejci's had two 'meh' performances lately, but I'd say that the list of forwards that weren't inconsistent in those games is pretty short. All of them, IMHO, were inconsistent & underwhelming.

And to take it a step further, I think that either Krejci or Marchand have had the fewest inconsistent & underwhelming games of all the forwards all year. So to focus on the one player for those two games is somewhat short-sighted, IMO.

I'm more worried, and less likely to currently focus on, the guys that have more good games than bad games this year, and am more concerned when Bergeron will snap out of it offensively & when the 3rd line will start to play like they're capable of.

Not "Meh"... bad.

As for Bergeron, his production will likely spark once Seguin starts burying some of those chances he's currently missing. He's an inconsistent offensive producer and always has been. I'd venture a guess that at the end of this short season he and Krejci will be within a few points of each other yet again, he'll heat up, Krejci will cool off and then likely again vice versa.

But that's just talking about offensive production. I know Bergeron escapes criticism often from me because regardless of production, there are very few mistakes in his game. His effort is consistent, and I don't believe at all debatable. He continues to make the smart plays. When Krejci goes on his down spells his games are more mistake filled. He's making bad decisions with the puck, he's trying to get too creative instead of making the smart play, he's turning the puck over easily in the neutral zone or offensive blueline.. sometimes like the other night in NYR right in front of his own net to the oppositions best player.

Even when Bergeron makes a mistake there are plenty folks who will call him out on it. Not even making mistakes, when he isn't producing he gets very little slack even though he continues to bring the effort and Selke calibre play. When he came back from concussion he was often railed against because he couldn't produce. With Krejci on the other hand the mistakes, often glaring, are glazed over or completely ignored for whatever reason. He never makes a bad play, it's always a meh play. When he isn't producing, he of course must be fighting through or recovering from injury. He comes with a lot of built in excuses when in reality it's far more likely that he's simply the equal to Bergeron's inconsistency offensively.

 

[BRUINS since 1995]

Always one forward that escapes any criticism. Anyone see Patrice Bergeron for most of this season? Very visible for two periods last game. Not so much the whole season.

Krejci leads the team in scoring which somehow means less then winning face-offs around here.

---------
I just can not understand the competition for fans between PB and DK.

On a team you need a go to guy for important faceoffs and a go to go guy for points. One is not more important than the other.

If somebody looking at the game can't see Bergeron, he should stop looking his wife during the game. Production shall come, actually lack of O confidence seems around him and Seguin.

I can not also understand how somebody could not be happy with DK first 12 games.

But I am concern on how the team is responding up to now. They won but did not play that good. I think they lack size and physical presence on the forwards. If we look on a stats base, third line is in trouble and our fourth line got beating up.

The next ten will be a good indicator of what will be needed for the Big rune at the end. My view up to now is a big winger, especially for the third line.

 

[BRUINS since 1995]

Not "Meh"... bad.

As for Bergeron, his production will likely spark once Seguin starts burying some of those chances he's currently missing. He's an inconsistent offensive producer and always has been. I'd venture a guess that at the end of this short season he and Krejci will be within a few points of each other yet again, he'll heat up, Krejci will cool off and then likely again vice versa.

But that's just talking about offensive production. I know Bergeron escapes criticism often from me because regardless of production, there are very few mistakes in his game. His effort is consistent, and I don't believe at all debatable. He continues to make the smart plays. When Krejci goes on his down spells his games are more mistake filled. He's making bad decisions with the puck, he's trying to get too creative instead of making the smart play, he's turning the puck over easily in the neutral zone or offensive blueline.. sometimes like the other night in NYR right in front of his own net to the oppositions best player.

Even when Bergeron makes a mistake there are plenty folks who will call him out on it. Not even making mistakes, when he isn't producing he gets very little slack even though he continues to bring the effort and Selke calibre play. When he came back from concussion he was often railed against because he couldn't produce. With Krejci on the other hand the mistakes, often glaring, are glazed over or completely ignored for whatever reason. He never makes a bad play, it's always a meh play. When he isn't producing, he of course must be fighting through or recovering from injury. He comes with a lot of built in excuses when in reality it's far more likely that he's simply the equal to Bergeron's inconsistency offensively.

---
Kaoz, it might have been right last year and the years before for DK and you are concern with projection of his past coming in his play this year. But DK this year up to now is playing well and production is consistent.

 

[22Brad Park]

I'm rural, my water is more then fine.

Your pleas to worry about other players on the team and leave Krejci alone won't likely happen if he continues to play like he did against the Rangers and Sabres.

The fact that the second youngest guy on the team who is in his 3rd pro season has had an inconsistent start to the season worries me a whole lot less then the fact that our #1 center who is in his 7th pro season has suffered the same inconsistency throughout his career.

tl:dr Inconsistency is troubling from anyone, more so when it comes from the guys who've been around for a while.

Krecji has been one of if not Bruins best players this year.How come you never say a word about Bergeron who has been pretty well stinking the joint up all yr?Good on faceoffs yes,but what a bout scoring some goals for ice time he gets and fact he centring 2nd line.Maybe its him killing Seguin.He thinks about defence way to much on a team struggling to score goals.

 

[BRUINS since 1995]

My other concern with the Bruins is PP.

They lack organisation. I do not beleive is the players. I would like to have a look at practice, log play books to see where the problem is. It just can't be on the players, it has been for too long now.