|
Brown: Thomas, you're good...FOR ME TO POOP ON!
Boston played a fantastic 40 minutes of hockey and headed into the third period up 3-1 while having to face a myriad of 5-on-3 power plays. Boston killed each one but eventually let the Kings come back in the game and Los Angeles would win in a shootout. The beat-up Bruins can't (or shall I say, shouldn't) be able to use the injuries excuse when it comes to this loss because all they had to do was play defense during the third period.
It's a little disheartening to see a team play a good two periods than fall a part in the third and eventually give up a point. Glass half full says 'Gee whiz, it was fantastic to leave the west coast with 3 out of 6 points' but the glass half empty says 'The Bruins blew that game and has done it so many times now this season'. Sorry, but I'm a glass half empty guy on this particular topic.
Time and time again we've watched the Bruins go into the third period with leads only to leave the game with one or zero points. It's frustrating as to why a team can play a spectacular two periods, then decide to stop playing in the third. At some point, you can't blame coaching for that, you have to blame the players.
With that said, Tim Thomas had another great game out west against an LA team that would be 5th if they were in the East (exactly where Boston is with 54 points, while LA is 8th in the West with 57). Thomas stopped 31 of 34 shots (11 on the power play!) and played well until the Boston defense (see defenders and forwards...not the defensive pairings) decided to stop playing, especially on the Brown goal where Shawn Thornton was out of position.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Good
Tim Thomas. Thomas was spectacular in his start against San Jose and he was just as good in his start against Los Angeles. Thomas' first goal was a mistake for sure and he should have had it. The last two goals where because the defense allowed both Brown and Kopitar to get into a high scoring area and bury the puck. The only knock against Thomas should be his performance in the shootout because both goals were savable, but outside of that his game was spot on yesterday.
The Offense. Three goals against an Olympian is a damn good day. The Bruins were able to get some great goals from Ryder and Satan, cycle the puck and throw the puck on net to make things happen (Blake Wheeler goal). Boston looked like a well-poised team in the first two periods and should have walked away with two points while LA left with none.
The Bad
Shootout. The shootout was ugly for Boston. It seemed as if all three shooters were out of gas by the time the shootout rolled around because Krejci or Satan didn't really make a move on Quick.
The Ugly
Defense. Holy smokes was the defense bad in the third period or what? The defense was soft and allowed Justin Brown and Anze Kopitar walk into the slot and rip a shot past Thomas. Yes, the officiating was horrendous and they're getting an "ugly" as well, but since the Bruins were able to kill those penalties, it's a moot point. The Kings didn't win yesterday, the Bruins lost.
Officiating. "Hello refs, what game were you watching?" "Hey ref, are you pregnant because you missed that period" "Insert anti-referee statement". The officiating, especially in the third period, was horrible. The Mark Stuart cross checking call was bullshit, especially when Stoll did the same thing to Whitfield later in the game (and there was no call of course). There seems to be an on-going problem in the NHL, oh wait, who officiated yesterday? Kerry Fraser? Case closed.
|
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 