Why is Boston such a good organization?

[ManofSteel55]

That's about the literal opposite of the thing that happens.

Almost every time they get out of the first round at all, it's in 7 games.

I think the vast majority of our round 1 losses have also gone 7 but I'd need to look that up to be sure. I know of at least 3 that did, 2 against Montreal and the recent one against the Kitties.

The last time one of our first rounds didn't have a game seven was 2010 against the Sabres. Which went to game 6.

Ever since then, including the 4 Leafs series and 2 against Montreal, it's always gone 7, and very frequently to an overtime in game 7.

Tell me you didn't get it.

 

[BB79]

I think fans of damn near every NA sports team would trade the success of ether of those franchises if it meant sucking for a little while

More than likely, I'm just saying those teams are having their struggles now. Who knows how long it'll be before they'll be contenders again. Plus the Red Sox went 84 years without a WS and the Patriots were horrible for ages before they got Brady i.e. the Bears curb stomping them in Superbowl XX and losing again to Green Bay 11 years later. We suffered for ages with those two teams before they went on their runs.

 

[JaegerDice]

Hawks were better imo

I mean, that's pretty much a fact.

Beyond the fact that they won the thing, they had the better of play throughout the series.

I can't imagine Bruins fans look at the loss in 2013 as badly as they look at the loss in 2019, when they had actually been the better team for the first half of the series.

 

[McGarnagle]

I mean, that's pretty much a fact.

Beyond the fact that they won the thing, they had the better of play throughout the series.

I can't imagine Bruins fans look at the loss in 2013 as badly as they look at the loss in 2019, when they had actually been the better team for the first half of the series.

100%.

2013 was a series they *could've* won if they were absolutely perfect, but they missed their chances. The entire time Chicago was the better and scarier team.

2019 they *should've* won. They were better than the Blues and completely choked away their opportunity.

 

[Dellstrom]

I mean, that's pretty much a fact.

Beyond the fact that they won the thing, they had the better of play throughout the series.

I can't imagine Bruins fans look at the loss in 2013 as badly as they look at the loss in 2019, when they had actually been the better team for the first half of the series.

Yep. Chicago was the better team. Bruins had their chance to make it difficult and likely take it in game 4 OT, and you never know what happens in a game 7, but the "ifs" didn't matter since the Hawks didn't let them. Was a great team and a great series.

2019 was agonizing. Blues were a scrappy and very good team, but no reason we lost that year. I remember they came out flying in game 7, let up a stinker after carrying the play for the whole period, and just gave up. I will say ROR is one of the few players I've seen make a fool out of Bergeron in his career.

 

[McGarnagle]

Yep. Chicago was the better team. Bruins had their chance to make it difficult and likely take it in game 4 OT, and you never know what happens in a game 7, but the "ifs" didn't matter since the Hawks didn't let them. Was a great team and a great series.

2019 was agonizing. Blues were a scrappy and very good team, but no reason we lost that year. I remember they came out flying in game 7, let up a stinker after carrying the play for the whole period, and just gave up. I will say ROR is one of the few players I've seen make a fool out of Bergeron in his career.

2013 they were up 2-0 in game 1 before the Hawks came back to tie it in the third (it's been a while since I've watched but I believe Oduya had a fluke goal that deflected off a couple defensemen along the way). Then in triple OT Daugavins decides to pass up an open net and dangle into a turnover and Shaw scores a few minutes later. Game 4, Chris Kelly also had a wide open net that couldn't been the difference and missed it.

What's notable is that both of those chances were set up by beautiful passes from Tyler Seguin, but when they lost the series it became a knock on Seguin that he didn't have many points in the finals and that if he gave us half of Kane they win the series.

2019 was infuriating because they came out on fire in game 7 but got snakebit, then ROR capitalizes on one counter attack and everything shifted. Then Marchand's incomprehensible brain fart line change put us down 2-0 and it let the Blues go into a shell the rest of the game and we had nothing. I think the effort was there in game 7 but it just wasn't their night - it was games 2 and 5 when they lost the series, partially their fault for falling asleep in the OT of game 2, then there's the Acciari hook that ultimately decided game 5, don't get me started.

 

[613Leafer]

They traded Thornton, Kessel, and Seguin in their early/mid-20s, for what largely sound like reasons related to not fitting into team culture. All highly drafted forwards that had produced at the NHL level and had many years of top line production ahead of them.

They're a team that has consistently demanded high effort, 200ft play, physical play, etc from their players for the past two decades. They also don't just demand it, but put their $$ where their mouth is and move on from guys if they aren't buying in.

Their ability to find Krejci, Marchand, Lucic, Carlo, McAvoy, Pastrnak, etc with non-top 10 picks is I'm sure largely due to the scouting staff, but I also think the team culture helps them squeeze more out of guys than other teams would. If you're on a team like that, you're more likely to eat/train right, not party to an absurd extent, buy into the system the coaches are preaching, etc.

 

[sxvnert]

They were. Now the entire org, top to bottom, have turned into a bunch of whiners.

 

[KingsFan7824]

More than likely, I'm just saying those teams are having their struggles now. Who knows how long it'll be before they'll be contenders again. Plus the Red Sox went 84 years without a WS and the Patriots were horrible for ages before they got Brady i.e. the Bears curb stomping them in Superbowl XX and losing again to Green Bay 11 years later. We suffered for ages with those two teams before they went on their runs.

More like fell bass-ackwards into Brady.

 

[BB79]

More like fell bass-ackwards into Brady.

Took a chance on a guy that everyone else wrote off. I'm sure every single one of them wishes they did the same.

 

[BB79]

They traded Thornton, Kessel, and Seguin in their early/mid-20s, for what largely sound like reasons related to not fitting into team culture. All highly drafted forwards that had produced at the NHL level and had many years of top line production ahead of them.
.

I think the only reason Thornton was traded was Bruins GM Mike O'Connell was desperately trying to save his job. He made that stupid trade then was fired later that season

 

[nbwingsfan]

I think the only reason Thornton was traded was Bruins GM Mike O'Connell was desperately trying to save his job. He made that stupid trade then was fired later that season

What’s crazy is I think he took the literal first offer presented to him IIRC. Didn’t a bunch of GMs come out and say they had no idea he was on the block and would have absolutely offered more?

 

[PB37]

I think the only reason Thornton was traded was Bruins GM Mike O'Connell was desperately trying to save his job. He made that stupid trade then was fired later that season

Plane ride from hell was the final straw. They didn't like the clique that was forming with Thornton, Boynton, and Raycroft not being the team players they wanted them to be and then the incident on the plane was bad enough that Mrs Jacobs stepped in and wanted them to trade Thornton. In a year's time, all three were gone from the team.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Took a chance on a guy that everyone else wrote off. I'm sure every single one of them wishes they did the same.

Of course every team does, but the Pats didn't "get" Tom Brady. Maybe if they purposefully waited until the 6th rd, knowing he'd still be there, and then shocked everyone by naming him the #1QB at the start of training camp that same year, but that didn't happen. Brady wasn't Brady until he became Tom Brady. He was just a dude before Bledsoe got hurt.

It's like saying the Sharks got Pavelski. No, Paveski was a random 7th rd pick, who happened to become a terrific player.

 

[613Leafer]

Plane ride from hell was the final straw. They didn't like the clique that was forming with Thornton, Boynton, and Raycroft not being the team players they wanted them to be and then the incident on the plane was bad enough that Mrs Jacobs stepped in and wanted them to trade Thornton. In a year's time, all three were gone from the team.

Which again, speaks to the "culture" Jacobs has instilled on the team, via the management /coaching hires, and via shipping out some very good players. And while the trade returns on some of those weren't good (Thornton and Seguin specifically), the benefits of the culture the Bruins have created seems pretty evident.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Yep. Chicago was the better team. Bruins had their chance to make it difficult and likely take it in game 4 OT, and you never know what happens in a game 7, but the "ifs" didn't matter since the Hawks didn't let them. Was a great team and a great series.

2019 was agonizing. Blues were a scrappy and very good team, but no reason we lost that year. I remember they came out flying in game 7, let up a stinker after carrying the play for the whole period, and just gave up. I will say ROR is one of the few players I've seen make a fool out of Bergeron in his career.

I wouldn't say Chicago was the better team in 2013, if anything they're as even as we've seen between SCF opponents.

The 2013 Finals was a coin flip and was decided on 1 or 2 bounces here and there.

game 1: 3OT
game 2: OT
game 3: 2-0
game 4: OT
game 5: 3-1 with an ENG
game 6: 3-2

One game was decided by more than 1 goal.

But yes, 2019 stings more. That was a pure choke job. The worst part was losing games 5 and 7 at home

 

[Hockeyville USA]

2013 they were up 2-0 in game 1 before the Hawks came back to tie it in the third (it's been a while since I've watched but I believe Oduya had a fluke goal that deflected off a couple defensemen along the way). Then in triple OT Daugavins decides to pass up an open net and dangle into a turnover and Shaw scores a few minutes later. Game 4, Chris Kelly also had a wide open net that couldn't been the difference and missed it.

What's notable is that both of those chances were set up by beautiful passes from Tyler Seguin, but when they lost the series it became a knock on Seguin that he didn't have many points in the finals and that if he gave us half of Kane they win the series.

2019 was infuriating because they came out on fire in game 7 but got snakebit, then ROR capitalizes on one counter attack and everything shifted. Then Marchand's incomprehensible brain fart line change put us down 2-0 and it let the Blues go into a shell the rest of the game and we had nothing. I think the effort was there in game 7 but it just wasn't their night - it was games 2 and 5 when they lost the series, partially their fault for falling asleep in the OT of game 2, then there's the Acciari hook that ultimately decided game 5, don't get me started.

I actually think they lost the series in Game 4. Up 2-1 in the series, tied in the 3rd period (despite being outplayed), and then O'Reilly scores on a rebound off Rask's pad far side, Blues tie the series. If the Bruins get that game to OT and win, up 3-1 going home to win the Cup at home. Killed their momentum and shifted it back to the Blues.

 

[UConn126]

100%.

2013 was a series they *could've* won if they were absolutely perfect, but they missed their chances. The entire time Chicago was the better and scarier team.

2019 they *should've* won. They were better than the Blues and completely choked away their opportunity.

Your 2019 take sounds like Vancouver fans in 2011.

That Blues team deserves a little credit, they were very good. Well balanced roster with a lot of physical players + a hot goalie. That's a pretty proven formula in the playoffs.

 

[RogerRoger]

What’s crazy is I think he took the literal first offer presented to him IIRC. Didn’t a bunch of GMs come out and say they had no idea he was on the block and would have absolutely offered more?

The Panthers had a deal in place Luongo for Thornton one for one, but the Panthers owner didn't want to pay such a high salary to Big Joe, since that was the reason he wanted Luongo out.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Harry Sinden (kidding)

 

[HairyKneel]

John Wensink was the catalyst

 

[bigbadbruins1]

realistically it was good/ lucky drafting in later rounds. They haven't had many draft picks, but they generally hit on the ones that they do make... minus "that" year, but JDB is a top 6 forward which anyone would really take as a player from the 10-15 pick range, but Senyshyn and Zboril ended up being complete and utter busts, dragging that draft into the negative when you consider barzal was taken with the next pick.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

realistically it was good/ lucky drafting in later rounds. They haven't had many draft picks, but they generally hit on the ones that they do make... minus "that" year, but JDB is a top 6 forward which anyone would really take as a player from the 10-15 pick range, but Senyshyn and Zboril ended up being complete and utter busts, dragging that draft into the negative when you consider barzal was taken with the next pick.

Not surprisingly, another thing that David Krejci is underrated for/flies under the radar. 2004 2nd rounder out of Czech U20, good numbers in junior there, but nothing that would scream "one of the most underrated players of the post 2005 lockout era". Goes to the Q, solid numbers, and then jumps to the A and is a stud off the bat, hits the ground running in Boston, and never looks back. Certainly a lot of luck, good scouting, and good development there.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Yep. Chicago was the better team. Bruins had their chance to make it difficult and likely take it in game 4 OT, and you never know what happens in a game 7, but the "ifs" didn't matter since the Hawks didn't let them. Was a great team and a great series.

2019 was agonizing. Blues were a scrappy and very good team, but no reason we lost that year. I remember they came out flying in game 7, let up a stinker after carrying the play for the whole period, and just gave up. I will say ROR is one of the few players I've seen make a fool out of Bergeron in his career.

2019 Marchand made the most brutal line change ever in that game 7. Was all downhill from there.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

I’m sure a lot of it is the system but going from Thomas to Rask to Ullmark to Swayman is insane