BRUINS GDT GAME 33 12/27 7:40 PM - A wounded bear shuffles off to Buffalo - TNT, MAX, 98.5 WBZ-FM

[Dennis Bonvie]

I'm okay with a transitional year, and therefore -- in theory -- don't expect much.
Frankly, I'm waiting for Succession, with Charlie taking over, and booting both Sweeney and Neely to the curb.
They inherited a still excellent core, and they've done some good things. But it's been eight years, and I'm tired of the reruns. That is, Bergeron, Krejci and 2019 withstanding, it's one and done and back with the same approach next time.

It's clear to me that for whatever reason, Sweeney does not value team toughness/physical intimidation/"All for one, one for all," etcetera. It's clear that overwhelmingly, his teams have been easy to push around and easy to beat in the playoffs.

I'm heartily sick of him, Neely, and the entire lame ass enterprise. It's O'Connell Lite. and it tastes like sh*t.

These are not the managers to oversee a significant transition, reestablishment of prototypical Bruins hockey, or anything else.

I desperately want to move on.



A modicum? Perhaps you might reassess.

It's been one and done the last two years. Last season it should never have happened, but many, many things went wrong.

The 4 years prior to that the B's got past the first round, including a Cup final, game 7, at home.

 

[lopey]

Trying to get to my daughters place in Sudbury ontario. Im stuck in Toronto. The fod os supposed to lift today. I need to get there to see my grandkids.

 

[JerseyBruin]

I hate the space our wingers give other teams D .We have this system where our players will only chase it so far then retreat .It looks like killing a penalty 5 on 5.

Yes, absolutely, they try to push everything to the outside allowing the points in essence to be open . That works well with our D and goaltending in general but when the forwards get hemmed in the zone and tire the system breaks down. IMO Last years group of forwards were more adept at playing the defensive structure for longer stretches. This years group get stationary and stop moving their legs and causes our Dmen to drift out of position much easier.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

A few bits, in no particular order:

A lot of fans and media types underestimated Patrice Bergeron's value to the Boston Bruins for a long time. It wasn't until he added significant scoring production that he received acclaim.

Those who followed Patrice closely understood how dominant he was in the faceoff circle and beyond. I'm not certain we understood how central to Boston's success he was.

Not a stats person but will look for a piece published upon his retirement. The numbers relative to Bergeron's impact on the Bruins' defensive game are eye popping, never mind offense.

So, there's that. Krejci too.

That things went swimmingly through the regular season last year can be attributed to a] far greater depth; b] greater talent; c] the novelty of Montgomery's "system" -- predicated on getting to the puck in the defensive zone and a full throttle rush -- had opponents flat-footed for a time.

The Panthers solved this riddle in the first round with a relentless forecheck and physical play, thus handing the rest of the NHL a cheat sheet on how to beat the Bruins, to paraphrase Nick Colageo.

This season, the Bruins are no longer a high-octane, smooth-running machine with reliable scoring depth.

It's thin gruel at best, and that's not Montgomery's fault.

As Brian Sutter would say, Sunny Jim doesn't have the horses.

The D corps is a a mess and you have to ask why. Carlo is having a career season. Forbort is more valuable than those eager to jettison him imagine or admit.

Matt Gryzlick (oft injured), Hampus Lindholm (clearly frustrated and exhausted), and Charlie McAvoy (gun shy and beat up) have vastly underperformed.

Now, again, why?

To me, on defense, this is about an inability to execute a system that opponents are wise to and can, evidently, easily disrupt.

Relative to Boston's defense, the Bruins are easily knocked off the puck and offer little physical resistance, never mind initiative (as with the rest of their lineup, save Frederic, Lauko and Steen, which tells you everything you need to know about their team toughness). D corps cannot break out cleanly with a pass or carrying the puck; they're soft as puppy poop, do not check, cannot clear their crease, and therefore, surprise surprise, wind up hemmed in their own zone not for seconds, but minutes.

This is the worst defensive Bruins team I've seen in a long time.

On paper, this should be a top D corps. Whatever is ailing Gryz, Lindholm and Charlie can be corrected, beginning with bringing in size and intimidation.

Nonetheless it seems to me the main reason for the clusterf*ck is a system that is not working, hasn't for a long time, and must be redrawn or discarded.

I realize it's unfair and probably untrue, but I don't believe Jim Montgomery is up to the task.

That's harsh and of course it is a transitional season. Yet, from overreliance/overburdening goaltending, to shortening the bench and exhausting his best players, to juggling lines from shift to shift FOR MONTHS, I am not sanguine about this head coach going forward.

Too much chaos, too little stability, less than sound judgement.

Again, I realize this criticism is harsh. I also realize I'm not an NHL coach.



Hear hear, and there there!

Completely agree about Bergeron. He was irreplaceable.

Remember when Chris Kelly's comeback to Marchand's needling was, " better hope Bergeron doesn't retire, that'll be the end of your career too."

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Yes, absolutely, they try to push everything to the outside allowing the points in essence to be open . That works well with our D and goaltending in general but when the forwards get hemmed in the zone and tire the system breaks down. IMO Last years group of forwards were more adept at playing the defensive structure for longer stretches. This years group get stationary and stop moving their legs and causes our Dmen to drift out of position much easier.

Last year's 4th line was actually effective.

Not so much this season.

 

[Gordoff]

Last year's 4th line was actually effective.

Not so much this season.

4th line, 3rd line, first and second lines (whichever mixed bag that Monty is calling them) are all "not so much.''

 

[Sheppy]

Meh.

 

[BruinsFanMike82]

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

They really love shoving Patrick Brown down our throats lol

 

[hrdpuk]

I'll offer my worthless $.02 .

Granted Sweeney built the team but it's JM's job to create a system that is capable to take full advantage of the team's roster .
The B's have a very good roster and are hard to play against
The game plan needs some tweaking and that's on the coach . Flexibility and innovation are needed

Come on Jim show us you have it !

 

[Mione134]

They really love shoving Patrick Brown down our throats lol

And he usually does nothing. So that's fun.

 

[TD Charlie]

Quite possible the least excited I've ever been for a regular season game. Go team. Yay.

 

[DaBroons]

I'll offer my worthless $.02 .

Granted Sweeney built the team but it's JM's job to create a system that is capable to take full advantage of the team's roster .
The B's have a very good roster and are hard to play against
The game plan needs some tweaking and that's on the coach . Flexibility and innovation are needed

Come on Jim show us you have it !

The entire defensive system is predicated upon center-ice men who are good at faceoffs and strong defensively; but most importantly, they are key to the breakout. That's all been lost with the absence of Bergeron, Krejci, and Nosek. Beecher is good at faceoffs, but that's about it for the replacement 3.

Shattenkirk is what he's always been, which is strong offensively, but terrible in his own zone. McAvoy and Lindhom are surely not healthy. And don't call them Shirley.

 

[Bridges31]

Makes sense. The 4th line has been so terrible that changing it by adding a hard checker like Brown is the solution.

 

[The don godfather]

I slapped 5 bucks on the bruins today I'm so confident of the return of the roaring bear. we got this is. Jake is gonna be solid and the trade chatter will stop. Book it!!

 

[UConn126]

If they lose to Buffalo again I'd say it's time for a major shake-up

I'm not sure what we can do realistically. I'd start by shipping out our UFAs, Gryz and DeBrusk. Neither have looked great but hopefully their past performances can be factored in to their trade value.


From there you could try to buy a couple cheap vets. Maybe Seattle would sell Eberle, or you could probably get Hoffman from San Jose. Neither option is exciting but its a shake up without breaking the bank.


I also think it's incredibly rare to see too many moves until we get closer to the deadline. I think the team needs to show signs of improving on their own before we start trying to add.

 

[SPLBRUIN]

Seeing Brown inserted into the lineup is a very uninspiring decision, makes us slower and less talented. Sweeney for some reason thought he was physical, haven't seen it yet.

 

[smithformeragent]

I'll offer my worthless $.02 .

Granted Sweeney built the team but it's JM's job to create a system that is capable to take full advantage of the team's roster .
The B's have a very good roster and are hard to play against
The game plan needs some tweaking and that's on the coach . Flexibility and innovation are needed

Come on Jim show us you have it !

Hmmm

 

[smithformeragent]

I slapped 5 bucks on the bruins today I'm so confident of the return of the roaring bear. we got this is. Jake is gonna be solid and the trade chatter will stop. Book it!!

 

[JRull86]

I'm so sick of Patrick Brown.

Brings absolutely nothing to this lineup.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

A few bits, in no particular order:

A lot of fans and media types underestimated Patrice Bergeron's value to the Boston Bruins for a long time. It wasn't until he added significant scoring production that he received acclaim.

Those who followed Patrice closely understood how dominant he was in the faceoff circle and beyond. I'm not certain we understood how central to Boston's success he was.

Not a stats person but will look for a piece published upon his retirement. The numbers relative to Bergeron's impact on the Bruins' defensive game are eye popping, never mind offense.

So, there's that. Krejci too.

That things went swimmingly through the regular season last year can be attributed to a] far greater depth; b] greater talent; c] the novelty of Montgomery's "system" -- predicated on getting to the puck in the defensive zone and a full throttle rush -- had opponents flat-footed for a time.

The Panthers solved this riddle in the first round with a relentless forecheck and physical play, thus handing the rest of the NHL a cheat sheet on how to beat the Bruins, to paraphrase Nick Colageo.

This season, the Bruins are no longer a high-octane, smooth-running machine with reliable scoring depth.

It's thin gruel at best, and that's not Montgomery's fault.

As Brian Sutter would say, Sunny Jim doesn't have the horses.

The D corps is a a mess and you have to ask why. Carlo is having a career season. Forbort is more valuable than those eager to jettison him imagine or admit.

Matt Gryzlick (oft injured), Hampus Lindholm (clearly frustrated and exhausted), and Charlie McAvoy (gun shy and beat up) have vastly underperformed.

Now, again, why?

To me, on defense, this is about an inability to execute a system that opponents are wise to and can, evidently, easily disrupt.

Relative to Boston's defense, the Bruins are easily knocked off the puck and offer little physical resistance, never mind initiative (as with the rest of their lineup, save Frederic, Lauko and Steen, which tells you everything you need to know about their team toughness). D corps cannot break out cleanly with a pass or carrying the puck; they're soft as puppy poop, do not check, cannot clear their crease, and therefore, surprise surprise, wind up hemmed in their own zone not for seconds, but minutes.

This is the worst defensive Bruins team I've seen in a long time.

On paper, this should be a top D corps. Whatever is ailing Gryz, Lindholm and Charlie can be corrected, beginning with bringing in size and intimidation.

Nonetheless it seems to me the main reason for the clusterf*ck is a system that is not working, hasn't for a long time, and must be redrawn or discarded.

I realize it's unfair and probably untrue, but I don't believe Jim Montgomery is up to the task.

That's harsh and of course it is a transitional season. Yet, from overreliance/overburdening goaltending, to shortening the bench and exhausting his best players, to juggling lines from shift to shift FOR MONTHS, I am not sanguine about this head coach going forward.

Too much chaos, too little stability, less than sound judgement.

Again, I realize this criticism is harsh. I also realize I'm not an NHL coach.



Hear hear, and there there!

The absence of Bergeron is absolutely a factor.

Monty's near-compulsive line juggling has bothered me basically from the start of his tenure, but it worked so well last year that it seemed completely unreasonable to criticize it. Now though, it seems to have gone into over-drive, and the more the team has struggled over the last month or so the more he changes things up, and it really feels like the resulting lack of consistency and inability of the team to build some stability, chemistry and identity are a part of the problem.

Jim surely knows better than I do but my two cents is he'd be better off focusing less on changing up the combinations to generate something and spending more time refining the team's tactics. How exactly is the question, but that's what he's paid for.

 

[Mione134]

Makes sense. The 4th line has been so terrible that changing it by adding a hard checker like Brown is the solution.

Does he check? Because the games I've watched he's brought none of that edge

 

[KrugAvoy]

Someone needs to mess with Patrick Brown's alarm clock so he'll be late to team meetings and be forced to get benched

 

[The don godfather]

Its all business today folks just watch and see.

 

[NDiesel]

I'm so sick of Patrick Brown.

Brings absolutely nothing to this lineup.

It's the same shit every year. Gotta meet the quota of at least one useless vet who they believe somehow brings more to the lineup than any of the guys in Providence.