Boston Bruins Playoff Pressure Rises | Bruins News | Ep. 135

0:00 Speaker 1: Can you start a podcast with me? Please? I need

0:04 Speaker 1: something to do all Jack, send it out and talk

0:14 Speaker 1: about to say thanks time watch today. Here's a chance

0:20 Speaker 1: pop fa right down the goalie scars, Oh my one

0:23 Speaker 1: a move by the rookie to on one plaster not

0:25 Speaker 1: moving in marsh get on oil dances in podcast. Wait

0:32 Speaker 1: at home right away corner poster Chester.

0:40 Speaker 2: What is that for? Most?

0:50 Speaker 1: Welcome in, everyone to another episode of Bruins Tape to tape.

0:53 Speaker 1: I will be your host today, Maria from Watertown. We

0:57 Speaker 1: are recording today's episode on Monday, March twenty third, after

1:02 Speaker 1: another busy slate of games for the Boston Bruins that

1:06 Speaker 1: will take a little bit of a dive into. But

1:09 Speaker 1: before we get down to the business of talking hockey,

1:12 Speaker 1: I'd like to welcome in my lovely co host Caroline

1:16 Speaker 1: with a K. Welcome in and congratulations on your hockey

1:19 Speaker 1: season being completed.

1:22 Speaker 2: For a much needed time to catch your breath. Yes, finally,

1:27 Speaker 2: the youth hockey season is done and over with and

1:30 Speaker 2: I have free time. My time is my own for

1:33 Speaker 2: the most part, for at least a couple more months.

1:37 Speaker 1: Until the next until the next slate of activities that

1:40 Speaker 1: your daughter brings home to you exactly. But anyways, the

1:46 Speaker 1: Bruins again, they've had a busy week, which we touched

1:51 Speaker 1: upon in our last episode. This is definitely a sprint

1:55 Speaker 1: to the finish. We are going to talk about the

2:00 Speaker 1: Bruins grinding things out for themselves and hopefully taking charge

2:06 Speaker 1: of their own destiny for a change. We'll talk about

2:10 Speaker 1: Lucas Reichel's debut. And also we are officially now on

2:16 Speaker 1: James Hagen's watch. I know because the Boston College Eagles

2:20 Speaker 1: were defeated in the Hockey East tournament over the weekend,

2:25 Speaker 1: so it should be interesting to see what transpires with

2:30 Speaker 1: that player in the coming days. Yes, yep, we've heard

2:35 Speaker 1: that he's giving it some thought.

2:39 Speaker 2: I think we all kind of know what the ultimate

2:42 Speaker 2: conclusion is going to be. It's whether or not he

2:45 Speaker 2: wants to start right now or next week or whatever.

2:51 Speaker 2: I can't imagine someone of his caliber is going to

2:58 Speaker 2: sit on the bed for terribly long on that shelf.

3:02 Speaker 1: So well, I would yeah, and I would like to think.

3:05 Speaker 1: I mean, it is, it is a really big jump,

3:08 Speaker 1: it is. So I'm wondering that, you know, even if

3:11 Speaker 1: he does make the decision to say, you know, what

3:13 Speaker 1: I do want to play up with the big boys,

3:16 Speaker 1: whether they'll be time and providence before he makes any

3:20 Speaker 1: kind of appearance with the Boston Bruins. Yeah, well, and

3:24 Speaker 1: you have to also consider the needs of the Boston

3:27 Speaker 1: Bruins at this point in time. You know, we're going

3:29 Speaker 1: to be talking about the playoff.

3:30 Speaker 2: Race and what they need to be doing, how they

3:35 Speaker 2: need to be focused going into those final few games.

3:38 Speaker 1: And while we are all very very excited to see

3:42 Speaker 1: Hagen's play in Boston, is his arrival something that we

3:50 Speaker 1: can squeeze in. I mean, certainly we've seen in the

3:52 Speaker 1: past once playoff, the playoff picture becomes a little bit clearer,

3:57 Speaker 1: they'll start to give, especially some of the older guys

4:00 Speaker 1: some load management and then they'll bring up the young folks.

4:03 Speaker 1: But it's kind of hard to say if that's gonna

4:05 Speaker 1: happen this time around, because I think that the Bruins

4:09 Speaker 1: are really gonna be fighting for that spot down right

4:12 Speaker 1: down the stretch. So is there a time is it

4:15 Speaker 1: appropriate to throw him in for a game or two? Maybe,

4:19 Speaker 1: because look at Richel. But on the other hand, didn't

4:23 Speaker 1: they do that with Tory Krug? Yeah?

4:26 Speaker 2: And I think I mean the same similar thing happened

4:28 Speaker 2: with Charlie McAvoy. He came in, Jeremy Swayman came in

4:31 Speaker 2: at the very end, but I think playoff pictures were

4:34 Speaker 2: a little bit more clear. The other thing is Hagen's really,

4:38 Speaker 2: I'm sure is considering the fact that he's in peak

4:44 Speaker 2: physical conditioning to play at a high level. Now, whether

4:48 Speaker 2: it's he goes to Providence or gets a call up

4:52 Speaker 2: for a handful of games in Boston, one would also

4:55 Speaker 2: have to imagine that the transition would be moderately easier

5:01 Speaker 2: going immediately in, as opposed to an entire summer where

5:06 Speaker 2: you're just doing your usual conditioning thing and you don't

5:09 Speaker 2: know necessarily if that's what you should be doing because

5:13 Speaker 2: you've never experienced what they need from you. So I'm

5:17 Speaker 2: sure there's a lot.

5:18 Speaker 1: To be considered. I mean, he's also still very young,

5:21 Speaker 1: and this is a very important point in his career,

5:25 Speaker 1: in his life and his development. Right. I just want

5:28 Speaker 1: to caution people. The people that you know are just

5:32 Speaker 1: chomping at the bit to have this player join the team. Yes,

5:36 Speaker 1: we're all excited about seeing how he'll be able to contribute,

5:39 Speaker 1: but if he comes in the lineup, that means somebody

5:42 Speaker 1: else is coming out of the lineup, and when the

5:44 Speaker 1: Bruins are in the thick of what they're doing right

5:48 Speaker 1: now and every point matters, I'm not sure. I don't

5:53 Speaker 1: want to call it a distraction, but that is another

5:56 Speaker 1: added layer that has to be looked at by management

6:01 Speaker 1: and more so the coaching staff. It'll be interesting to

6:04 Speaker 1: see what develops over the course of days and maybe

6:09 Speaker 1: even you know, a week or so, to see where

6:13 Speaker 1: that young man lands. The other bit of Bruin's news

6:17 Speaker 1: is that we had the debut of Lucas Reichel, and

6:21 Speaker 1: I think it was a very successful debut. And honestly,

6:25 Speaker 1: my viewpoint on that was when you encirc sometimes a

6:30 Speaker 1: new member of your team or you know, bring someone

6:35 Speaker 1: up and they're trying to make the most of their

6:38 Speaker 1: opportunity and they come in with an energy level that

6:43 Speaker 1: you think is sometimes been a little bit lacking, it

6:48 Speaker 1: becomes contagious. And I thought his energy level on Thursday

6:53 Speaker 1: in his debut against the Winnipeg Jet, I think it

6:57 Speaker 1: filtered down to everybody else because I thought that game

7:02 Speaker 1: was really fast paced.

7:05 Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, that was definitely a shot in the arm.

7:08 Speaker 2: We see when there are various kinds of changes that happen.

7:12 Speaker 2: Whether it's GM changes or coaching changes or player changes,

7:19 Speaker 2: all of those things can result in these little bumps,

7:22 Speaker 2: a little boost. Sometimes change is good and in this case, exactly,

7:26 Speaker 2: You've got a kid who he was an immediate impact.

7:30 Speaker 1: I mean immediate. He scored on his first day.

7:34 Speaker 2: Yeah, I've enjoyed watching him that first game. That night,

7:39 Speaker 2: I had actually started listening to the game because I

7:42 Speaker 2: was in the car, and my very first question to

7:45 Speaker 2: the Discord group when I got home was what's up

7:49 Speaker 2: with him? Because I keep hearing his name, And then

7:52 Speaker 2: shortly after I asked how he was doing, he scored

7:55 Speaker 2: his first goal. He's very noticeable, and I hope it

7:58 Speaker 2: keeps going that way.

8:00 Speaker 1: So for his sake, I think it's incumbent upon these

8:03 Speaker 1: players that are given the opportunity to make the most

8:07 Speaker 1: of the opportunity you are given, make it hard for

8:12 Speaker 1: the coaching staff that have to take you out of

8:15 Speaker 1: the lineup. Yes, exactly, exactly. Let's right now, before we

8:20 Speaker 1: dive into the week that was for the Bruins, let's

8:23 Speaker 1: take our usual spin around the rank and we're going

8:27 Speaker 1: to start with some really sad and tragic news in

8:32 Speaker 1: that Jesse Pearce, who is a writer for NHL dot

8:37 Speaker 1: com and was also very heavily involved in the Minnesota

8:41 Speaker 1: Wild Flaky community, she and her three children tragically passed

8:46 Speaker 1: away in a house fire on Saturday. And you know,

8:50 Speaker 1: there are absolutely no words and anybody can say that

8:53 Speaker 1: can speak to the devastation of something like that occurring.

8:59 Speaker 1: I just I can't even you can't even fathom it.

9:02 Speaker 1: I can't even imagine it. You know, you feel heartbroken

9:05 Speaker 1: for family and friends who are left behind in a

9:09 Speaker 1: situation such as this. So our condolences to Jesse's family

9:15 Speaker 1: and friends. Yeah, horrible, horrible news. Anyways, so yeah, we

9:20 Speaker 1: we we move on. We have two teams that have

9:23 Speaker 1: officially clinched playoff spots, no big surprise, the Colorado Avalanche.

9:28 Speaker 1: They've pretty much been a bit of a wagon for

9:30 Speaker 1: most of the season. They've had some ups and downs.

9:34 Speaker 1: They kind of bring them back to earth on occasion.

9:36 Speaker 1: The other team that has also clinched a spot despite

9:40 Speaker 1: a loss on the night that they did clinch with

9:43 Speaker 1: the Dallas Stars.

9:44 Speaker 2: Well, and I do have to say, you know, all right, yes,

9:48 Speaker 2: well done Colorado, Well done Dallas.

9:52 Speaker 1: However, it's a heck of a lot easier to do

9:56 Speaker 1: that in the West. Yeah. Well, and you know, we

10:01 Speaker 1: talked a little bit about this off air before we

10:04 Speaker 1: started recording, and we'll touch upon it now. But that

10:08 Speaker 1: Pacific Division is a bit of a joke. There are

10:12 Speaker 1: teams in the Eastern Conference who are boasting better records

10:18 Speaker 1: than some of the teams in the Pacific, who are

10:21 Speaker 1: not going to make the playoffs. They're chasing like wild

10:24 Speaker 1: cart spots. Yet some teams in the Pacific Division are

10:28 Speaker 1: likely going to make the playoffs with less than ninety

10:31 Speaker 1: points under their belts. I mean, they're likely not going

10:34 Speaker 1: to get to one hundred point mark.

10:36 Speaker 2: No, at this point, the last I heard, to make

10:39 Speaker 2: the playoffs in the East, teams are going to have

10:44 Speaker 2: to get one hundred points, and it's something like eighty

10:51 Speaker 2: is the threshold to make it in the West. And

10:55 Speaker 2: part of that is the significant drop off in points

11:01 Speaker 2: in the Pacific. So, to put some context again, it's

11:05 Speaker 2: March twenty third when we're recording this, so might change

11:09 Speaker 2: a tiny bit by the time you hear this. In

11:12 Speaker 2: the Pacific, you have Anaheim, they have eighty two points,

11:17 Speaker 2: eighty two points, eighty two points, which is less than

11:23 Speaker 2: every team already in.

11:25 Speaker 1: The playoff structure in the right, that's your division leader, right, Okay,

11:32 Speaker 1: Vegas with seventy eight, Edmonton with seventy seven, the Kings

11:38 Speaker 1: with seventy three, and so I mean Vancouver only has

11:42 Speaker 1: fifty points this season. Fifty points. And I know we've

11:47 Speaker 1: talked a little bit back and forth about this in

11:49 Speaker 1: the East, where you know, is is it parody? Is

11:53 Speaker 1: it mediocrity? But I guess I have to lean more

11:56 Speaker 1: towards because I've said, you know, a little bit of mediocrity,

11:59 Speaker 1: but now looking at this, I have to say it's

12:01 Speaker 1: more there's more parody in the East.

12:04 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we're just spoiled, Maria in that the

12:07 Speaker 2: competition is that much tighter and that much better in

12:11 Speaker 2: the East. There's always been a tighter competition in the East.

12:14 Speaker 2: It's been like that for a very very long time.

12:16 Speaker 2: But this seems to me like a very stark contrast

12:20 Speaker 2: in comparison.

12:21 Speaker 1: That is what is gross about the playoff formatting right now.

12:25 Speaker 1: And there's been a lot of conversation about that recently,

12:28 Speaker 1: both during national broadcast games by their analysts on TNT

12:34 Speaker 1: and ESPN, and you know, you listen to guys like

12:37 Speaker 1: you know, Chris Chellios and Mark Messier, and no, I

12:41 Speaker 1: don't think that they Darren Pang was very vocal about it.

12:44 Speaker 1: They are not enamored with this formatting why soever, because

12:49 Speaker 1: you are going to have some really good elite teams

12:53 Speaker 1: who are going to wind up getting knocked out of

12:56 Speaker 1: the playoffs. And I think that's a disservice to the

12:59 Speaker 1: players in the franchises who have worked hard under a

13:04 Speaker 1: striped calf, because the cap is real in the NHL

13:09 Speaker 1: and it just doesn't seem to be a good system

13:13 Speaker 1: of rewards here, and I think it does a disservice

13:17 Speaker 1: to the fans. This is the Stanley Cup playoffs are

13:21 Speaker 1: the best professional sports playoffs by far of any of

13:27 Speaker 1: the four major sports. And then to potentially have it

13:32 Speaker 1: watered down because you're all too stubborn to make changes,

13:37 Speaker 1: it's nonsense and it's I think it's bullshit, but it

13:40 Speaker 1: is to us right well. And Gary Bettman recently just

13:45 Speaker 1: came out too saying he's like it's not changing, blah

13:47 Speaker 1: blah blah. It's like, okay, well, this is why we

13:50 Speaker 1: blew you no. Because they want some of these small

13:52 Speaker 1: market teams right to get playoff gates. Right, Well, whatever

13:56 Speaker 1: it takes to get Edmonton there, right, What is this?

14:00 Speaker 1: I just wonder if this will be a topic of conversation,

14:04 Speaker 1: you know, at potentially at owners meetings or the next

14:07 Speaker 1: GM meetings, because there's there's been a lot of chatter

14:12 Speaker 1: about it, especially this season because of what you're seeing. Now,

14:17 Speaker 1: can they justify it by saying, oh, well, it's just

14:20 Speaker 1: because Colorado and Dallas and Minnesota have just been beaten

14:24 Speaker 1: the piss out of all these chains in those divisions

14:28 Speaker 1: within their conference. I don't know, maybe there's some of that.

14:32 Speaker 1: They're that good because you're gonna be playing teams in

14:34 Speaker 1: your division the most, right, You're gonna have your four

14:37 Speaker 1: games there, then you're gonna have three games with the

14:40 Speaker 1: teams and the other division in your conference. Well, if

14:43 Speaker 1: the other division in your conference is terrible, you're going

14:47 Speaker 1: to rack up points. You are going to rack up

14:50 Speaker 1: those points. And I'm not saying that those three teams

14:53 Speaker 1: that you mentioned are not legitimately good and not a legitimate.

14:58 Speaker 2: Threat, like they absolutely are, but the hurdle is not

15:02 Speaker 2: nearly as high as it is for.

15:05 Speaker 1: Teams in the East, right, right, right, right right. I

15:07 Speaker 1: feel like that's just how it's going to be for

15:09 Speaker 1: a little while. So kind of a preview to the

15:13 Speaker 1: penalty box, the East versus the West situation, because again

15:19 Speaker 1: as a Bruins fan, I'm irritated as a hockey fan

15:22 Speaker 1: in the East, like I love this, this is this

15:25 Speaker 1: is fun, this is what it's all about. But it's

15:27 Speaker 1: not fair, Maria, It's not fair. No, but we all

15:30 Speaker 1: know life isn't fair. So it's just to me, like

15:34 Speaker 1: the resistance of even considering making a change, I think

15:37 Speaker 1: there is there is what pisses me off. And this

15:41 Speaker 1: is where I think there's a big difference between the

15:45 Speaker 1: NHL and the NFL. Say what you will about Roger

15:49 Speaker 1: Goodell and sometimes those owners, they do listen and they

15:53 Speaker 1: do make changes all the benefit of their league, of

15:58 Speaker 1: their players, and of fans. AnyWho, we digress. Next bit

16:03 Speaker 1: of news around the rink. AJ Greer was apparently suspended

16:07 Speaker 1: for three games for his actions during a game he

16:12 Speaker 1: boarded playing center Zari And that wasn't in person too,

16:17 Speaker 1: That was pretty that was a pretty well you know

16:19 Speaker 1: there's a suspension coming when they say in person, yes, yes.

16:23 Speaker 1: And then the final bit of news from around the

16:26 Speaker 1: rink is Alex Ovechkin. Yes, a thousand goals, a thousand goals.

16:34 Speaker 1: This guy is just an enigma. He's just unbelievable. He's

16:40 Speaker 1: certainly earned that, and he's it's kind of funny. He's

16:43 Speaker 1: a player who has evolved certainly over his career to

16:48 Speaker 1: the point where at this at this juncture, he's his

16:52 Speaker 1: one job is to stand in his spot and shoot

16:55 Speaker 1: the fuck and still can get it in. You know,

16:57 Speaker 1: he doesn't have to skate around the ring like crazy

17:00 Speaker 1: person anymore.

17:01 Speaker 2: At forty one years of age. He can just stand

17:03 Speaker 2: there and he gets it in. So that's all that matters.

17:06 Speaker 2: And he keeps racking it up and somehow nobody can

17:09 Speaker 2: stop him.

17:10 Speaker 1: No, it's just an amazing it's an amazing feat and

17:14 Speaker 1: I just wonder if it's going to be a feat that.

17:17 Speaker 1: I don't know i'll see it in my lifetime again.

17:20 Speaker 1: But it's crazy. Yeah, absolutely crazy. So congrats to the

17:25 Speaker 1: great eight. Yeah eight. All right, Now down to the

17:29 Speaker 1: business of the Boston Bruins. Since our last episode, the

17:34 Speaker 1: Bruins have played four games. They had two I guess

17:39 Speaker 1: I want to say kind of frustrating. I don't want

17:42 Speaker 1: to say heartbreaking but frustrating overtime losses, one to the

17:47 Speaker 1: New Jersey Devils by a score four to three and

17:50 Speaker 1: the other to the Montreal Canadians by a score I

17:54 Speaker 1: know three, that one, That one pisses me off more

17:56 Speaker 1: than the Devil's one did. But it's mostly just because

18:00 Speaker 1: it's the Halves, right, yes, just because it's always about

18:03 Speaker 1: beating the halves. But they did secure two points, but

18:08 Speaker 1: their level of play was okay. You see instances of

18:15 Speaker 1: good play and then instances of what are you guys doing?

18:18 Speaker 1: Like how are you letting these guys basically have the

18:21 Speaker 1: run of the front of your net where you're you know,

18:25 Speaker 1: solely relying on your goaltender. And Jeremy Swayman has been so, so,

18:32 Speaker 1: so good. Even if Marco Stern gave him credit for

18:38 Speaker 1: that huge win against the Red Ones on Saturday eight night,

18:42 Speaker 1: if it wasn't for Swaymen, not only did he keep

18:45 Speaker 1: them in the game, but he pretty much won that

18:48 Speaker 1: game for him.

18:49 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was an interesting week because the Devil's game

18:53 Speaker 2: that game was insane.

18:57 Speaker 1: The Bruins came out, they were doing.

19:00 Speaker 2: Fine, and the Devils came back and they made their

19:04 Speaker 2: push and they couldn't do it, and so they decided

19:07 Speaker 2: to not play hockey anymore.

19:11 Speaker 1: And it turned into a circus. On one hand, highly

19:14 Speaker 1: entertaining because you just kept thinking, like, what what are

19:17 Speaker 1: we doing here? It was a little.

19:20 Speaker 2: Bit frustrating that the Bruins lost that, like in the

19:25 Speaker 2: very final couple of seconds, seconds of Oh my god.

19:30 Speaker 1: I hate those type of goals, I really really do,

19:33 Speaker 1: because and I hate the fact that you attitude to

19:36 Speaker 1: nothing lead and you came out the second period and

19:39 Speaker 1: you weren't ready for the push from the Devils. Simply

19:43 Speaker 1: weren't right.

19:45 Speaker 2: But then the Devils had this complete collapse of discipline

19:50 Speaker 2: and the Bruins did a pretty good job of staying

19:54 Speaker 2: the course. It was just irritating because we've seen how

19:59 Speaker 2: many times they've had those games and then they became

20:04 Speaker 2: they became the undisciplined ones, and they blew the game

20:08 Speaker 2: because of their lack of discipline.

20:10 Speaker 1: And yet here's a game where the opponent.

20:12 Speaker 2: Did what they have done in the past and the

20:17 Speaker 2: Bruins didn't get rewarded.

20:19 Speaker 1: So that was a little bit frustrating. And then of

20:21 Speaker 1: course in Montreal, I mean and just just at least,

20:25 Speaker 1: you know, Pasta Pasta Nemo was sent and received by

20:30 Speaker 1: Pasta about the need for him to shoot more, shoot

20:34 Speaker 1: more and try to score goals. And so he did

20:37 Speaker 1: have a goal and Pavel Zaka's continuing his teir as

20:42 Speaker 1: well thankfully, right another HATI watch, I'm curious about Pasta.

20:48 Speaker 1: So they interviewed him during I think the Detroit game,

20:52 Speaker 1: and he kind of would reference something to the fact

20:54 Speaker 1: that he's like, oh, yeah, I changed sticks whatever. Okay,

20:58 Speaker 1: maybe that's a thing. However, I wonder if he was

21:02 Speaker 1: maybe trying to take on too much responsibility in trying

21:07 Speaker 1: to feed and support other players to get them to,

21:15 Speaker 1: you know, score goals. And because we've certainly seen that,

21:18 Speaker 1: like his points this season are primarily in assists. He

21:23 Speaker 1: got his five hundredth career assists the other night. Something

21:27 Speaker 1: happened in the last week or so where I don't know,

21:32 Speaker 1: like you said, Memo received the decision was it's been

21:35 Speaker 1: nice that you're trying to help others and trying to

21:40 Speaker 1: get depth scoring with your playmaking. However, however, you are

21:46 Speaker 1: our lead scorer. That's your job.

21:49 Speaker 2: Yeah, we just need the goals, right, so sometimes you're

21:52 Speaker 2: trying to It's like you've got, you know, kids, and

21:56 Speaker 2: you're trying to teach them how to do things like

21:58 Speaker 2: we're gonna fold the laundry together, or we're gonna cook

22:01 Speaker 2: a meal together, so you can learn how to do that.

22:03 Speaker 2: But sometimes you only have five minutes and you're like,

22:06 Speaker 2: you're not I'm doing it. I'm gonna do it because

22:07 Speaker 2: I can do it faster, and we're gonna so we

22:09 Speaker 2: can get the thing done. And so I kind of

22:11 Speaker 2: wonder if there's a little bit of that going on,

22:13 Speaker 2: right because he certainly has taken charge.

22:17 Speaker 1: Well, and he needs to because he is our elite scorer,

22:21 Speaker 1: and I can appreciate we have him for a reason

22:24 Speaker 1: what he's been doing. But now it's it's crunch time. David. Yes,

22:28 Speaker 1: I was worried going into that Detroit game because of

22:32 Speaker 1: how similar the two teams were going into it with

22:37 Speaker 1: their stat lines, with the stat lines of individual players.

22:44 Speaker 1: I was concerned that once again, as we have seen

22:49 Speaker 1: this Bruin's team do time and time again, that they

22:51 Speaker 1: were going to make Gibson the Detroit goalie, look like

22:55 Speaker 1: a right right and I think Pasta's actions on the

23:02 Speaker 1: ice really obviously helped prevent that from happening. So that

23:06 Speaker 1: was a big relief that that didn't happen. And there

23:08 Speaker 1: was some depth to that game in terms of scoring

23:12 Speaker 1: as well. So I'm happy. I'm happy.

23:14 Speaker 2: It was a messy start to the week, but they

23:17 Speaker 2: finished strong and that's all that we can hope for

23:22 Speaker 2: at this point because of the remaining schedule.

23:26 Speaker 1: And that Winnipeg game game, we need to touch upon

23:29 Speaker 1: that because you know that saw Hunter hellibuck in't it?

23:35 Speaker 1: And boy, oh boy, he looked a little bit lost

23:39 Speaker 1: and out of sorts. The Bruins end up ended up

23:42 Speaker 1: winning that game six to one, with a variety of

23:47 Speaker 1: different scores, but goals by I think six different players. Yeah,

23:52 Speaker 1: well the Bruins. Yeah. Which when when is the last

23:55 Speaker 1: time that flippant happened? It's been a minute, It's been

23:58 Speaker 1: a minute. The ones that did not score, who would

24:01 Speaker 1: have been a continuing source of concern in that game, Yes,

24:05 Speaker 1: or Morgan Geeky and Elias Lindholl Yes, although one of

24:10 Speaker 1: them did score a goal in Detroit. He did, And

24:14 Speaker 1: let me tell you a funny story about that, because

24:17 Speaker 1: true to form, for me, I call morning brew up

24:20 Speaker 1: and this is what happens when I call out a player.

24:23 Speaker 1: How many times has this happened? Oh my god, call

24:26 Speaker 1: him out during my phone call? What is wrong with him?

24:29 Speaker 1: Is there a lingering issue? Does he have a malaise?

24:32 Speaker 1: How long are we going to wait for this guy

24:34 Speaker 1: to get going and lo and beholds he answers the call.

24:39 Speaker 2: So now you just got to call in and complain

24:41 Speaker 2: about Morgan geeky and we should be good.

24:43 Speaker 1: I guess you will be my next target for next

24:45 Speaker 1: sea if he doesn't get off the schneg here with

24:47 Speaker 1: these upcoming games. And I think those two guys not

24:50 Speaker 1: going too have had a detrimental impact on the power

24:54 Speaker 1: play as well. Yes, like the Bruins entries on the

24:57 Speaker 1: power plays are just on belief and not in a

25:01 Speaker 1: good way, and not in a good way.

25:03 Speaker 2: Well, and I feel like it's Bruin's tradition over the

25:05 Speaker 2: last five years that it's this time of the season

25:08 Speaker 2: when the power play just ceases to exist.

25:13 Speaker 1: That's the three years at a row bread we have

25:15 Speaker 1: been giving, you know, Steve Potts so much, so much

25:18 Speaker 1: credit or the change is made to the power play.

25:23 Speaker 2: But we've got one, two, three, four, five divisional games left.

25:29 Speaker 2: We also have games against two games against Columbus. They

25:36 Speaker 2: have actually finally made the jump into their the third

25:40 Speaker 2: spot for their division. However, it's all still super close,

25:45 Speaker 2: so that game's gonna matter. We want to see them

25:49 Speaker 2: do well against Toronto just because it's Toronto anyways.

25:53 Speaker 1: But important we've got Buffalo and that's that Buffalo game.

25:59 Speaker 1: Pay attention to that because I think Buffalo's going to

26:02 Speaker 1: want to make a statement. Yes, I agree, yeah.

26:06 Speaker 2: Because it's been have they I can't remembers have the

26:10 Speaker 2: Bruins played Buffalo since they got good.

26:12 Speaker 1: I don't think so. I don't think so. I don't

26:14 Speaker 1: think so. So this is gonna be the first time

26:16 Speaker 1: that they've played against each other since their meteoric rise.

26:19 Speaker 1: The Bruins have probably one of the hardest remaining schedules

26:23 Speaker 1: of yes, any team in the league. They need to

26:26 Speaker 1: have their head on swivel and they need to be focused,

26:29 Speaker 1: and they need to play complete sixteen minute games. Here.

26:32 Speaker 1: You cannot take your foot off the gas against any

26:35 Speaker 1: of these opponents. Who is getting stiff taps this week

26:39 Speaker 1: from us So.

26:40 Speaker 2: Obviously Pasta for his five hundred assists, that's absolutely massive.

26:48 Speaker 2: It puts him at number nine. I mean, he's still

26:51 Speaker 2: been at number nine in assists, but he's closing in

26:56 Speaker 2: pretty quickly on Wayne Cashman, who has five hundred and sixteen.

27:00 Speaker 2: So I think that it's still very much so a

27:02 Speaker 2: possibbility for him to put himself into eighth place overall

27:06 Speaker 2: in Bruin's history. But then also just the fact that

27:09 Speaker 2: he's really stepped it up and it's been again that

27:13 Speaker 2: bumpy ride since the Olympic break, and his leadership has

27:19 Speaker 2: been outstanding, absolutely standing. And you know, speaking of leadership,

27:24 Speaker 2: the other team leader, Charlie McAvoy, I mean, he's been

27:28 Speaker 2: with the exception of maybe one or two games, he's

27:32 Speaker 2: been that powerhouse workhorse that we love to see that

27:36 Speaker 2: we always want to see more of. He's been having

27:39 Speaker 2: those kind of games, So that's been fantastic to see

27:42 Speaker 2: and we just we want to keep seeing more of that.

27:44 Speaker 2: So that's another stick tap for me as well as

27:47 Speaker 2: of course the debut for Riichel and Jeremy Swayman. Ami

27:52 Speaker 2: Swayman has been pretty damn good, pretty damn good, and

27:56 Speaker 2: he needs to keep being pretty damn good if this

27:58 Speaker 2: team is going to have any chance.

28:00 Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely, he cannot take his foot off. Nope, nope, no, no, no, no, nope,

28:07 Speaker 1: I agree agree penalty box, who's in the box?

28:12 Speaker 2: Well, power Play continues to be just absolutely atrocious, although

28:16 Speaker 2: on the flip side, I forgot one other stick tap

28:19 Speaker 2: than the penalty kill.

28:21 Speaker 1: We can only have one, apparently at any given time

28:23 Speaker 1: we're gonna have one. So power Play. As much as

28:27 Speaker 1: I have always enjoyed Boston having a very strong pqu,

28:32 Speaker 1: it was nice when they had a really good power Play,

28:36 Speaker 1: and the fact that it stinks is terrible. Elias Linnholm,

28:41 Speaker 1: we need more from him. That was nice, but he

28:43 Speaker 1: needs to build on that, right, and both in the

28:47 Speaker 1: power Play and five v five it is imperative that

28:52 Speaker 1: he and Geeky get going again. Yeah, figure it out, guys,

28:57 Speaker 1: figure it out sooner rather than later, please. And then

29:00 Speaker 1: of course my complaints about playoffs. Yeah, we touched upon that.

29:05 Speaker 1: You know what, it's heer, No, it's not right, but

29:08 Speaker 1: no one's going to listen to us. So that's going

29:11 Speaker 1: to wrap up this week's episode. We touched upon the

29:14 Speaker 1: Bruins have another busy slate of games, all with significance

29:19 Speaker 1: and implications to their playoff positioning, so we will follow

29:25 Speaker 1: up with another episode next week in the hope that

29:29 Speaker 1: we have nothing but good things. Yes say after this

29:33 Speaker 1: series of games, but in the meantime, please make sure

29:36 Speaker 1: that you like and subscribe to find more content, and

29:41 Speaker 1: please be sure to leave a rating for us that

29:43 Speaker 1: helps other Bruins fans find us. You can also support

29:48 Speaker 1: our little podcast by joining our Patreon or by following

29:53 Speaker 1: us on our socials. You can find us at tape

29:56 Speaker 1: to tape MP and on substack at tape to tate,

30:02 Speaker 1: n K dot substeck dot com. Any closing thoughts, go

30:06 Speaker 1: bees Gobs