Boston Bruins Playoff Race Tightens | Bruins News | Ep. 136

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

0:02 Speaker 2: Please?

0:03 Speaker 3: I need something to do.

0:13 Speaker 2: I'll jack shut it out of trouble bocking this same.

0:19 Speaker 1: Today, here's a chance pop fa right down with goalie Scars.

0:22 Speaker 4: Oh my one a.

0:23 Speaker 2: Move by the rookie too.

0:24 Speaker 3: On one plaster not moving in set.

0:28 Speaker 1: On his own oil dances in podcast at home right

0:33 Speaker 1: away corner paster Chester. What is that for?

0:41 Speaker 2: Most?

0:51 Speaker 1: Welcome in everyone to another episode of Bruins Tape to tape.

0:55 Speaker 1: I'm your host today, Caroline with a K and hoy

0:58 Speaker 1: do we have a lot to talk, so let's just

1:01 Speaker 1: get right into it and welcome in my fabulous co

1:03 Speaker 1: host Maria from Watertown.

1:05 Speaker 2: Hello Maria, Hello Caroline. Even though it's cloudy, it's a

1:10 Speaker 2: sunny day in Bruins Nation.

1:12 Speaker 1: It is it is, and it's been quite the week,

1:16 Speaker 1: not just for the Boston Bruins, but literally every team

1:19 Speaker 1: in the East. It's been a nail bier And I

1:24 Speaker 1: almost want to say that this year, hopefully I'm not

1:27 Speaker 1: cursing it, but this year it's not a doodle bug race.

1:31 Speaker 1: In fact, I feel like it's very different from past

1:34 Speaker 1: years because those teams that are fighting for a playoff spot,

1:40 Speaker 1: every single one of them people had opinions on before

1:44 Speaker 1: the start of the season and at the start of

1:45 Speaker 1: the season, and I would argue that every single one

1:47 Speaker 1: of those teams fighting for a spot has something to prove,

1:52 Speaker 1: whether it's Columbus or Ottawa, Detroit at Boston, Pittsburgh, all

1:58 Speaker 1: of these teams that are really down to the wire.

2:02 Speaker 1: It does not feel like a doodle bug race at all.

2:05 Speaker 2: No, And if we remember correctly and we go back

2:09 Speaker 2: to the preseason predictions that were on NHL Network, there

2:14 Speaker 2: were hardly any writers even had the Boston Ruins in

2:18 Speaker 2: playoff contention. And you know, I myself had predicted early

2:23 Speaker 2: on that I thought they would be competitive, but I

2:26 Speaker 2: didn't think they would make the playoffs. And I am

2:29 Speaker 2: fine to be proven wrong. I will be happy to

2:32 Speaker 2: be proven wrong. But things are getting a little too

2:36 Speaker 2: close for comfort.

2:38 Speaker 3: Man.

2:38 Speaker 2: There is very very limited, if no margin for era

2:43 Speaker 2: with about what eight nine games for most.

2:47 Speaker 1: Teams luck in this season, yes, exactly, And going into

2:52 Speaker 1: the week, all of those teams that I mentioned had

2:55 Speaker 1: the same number of games played.

2:57 Speaker 3: Right now, it's a little uneven. Again.

2:59 Speaker 1: We've got we'll set the table to showcase what we're

3:02 Speaker 1: going to be discussing later which is the playoff picture

3:06 Speaker 1: at hand. But you've got Boston and Columbus with seventy

3:10 Speaker 1: four games played, but you've got Montreal with seventy three,

3:14 Speaker 1: Ottawa and Detroit also with seventy three games played, and

3:17 Speaker 1: all of these teams are well within the margin of

3:21 Speaker 1: error you have. And actually even Philadelphia has kind of

3:24 Speaker 1: snuck up out of nowhere with also eighty six points

3:28 Speaker 1: for them, Detroit and Ottawa, and you've got eighty eight

3:31 Speaker 1: points for Columbus although they are fighting potentially for that

3:36 Speaker 1: third spot in the metro, so they're currently tied in

3:40 Speaker 1: points with Pittsburgh, although tiebreaker being in favor of Pittsburgh,

3:45 Speaker 1: and then Montreal with ninety four points, so it is

3:50 Speaker 1: absurdly tight. It is very stressful to be watching all

3:54 Speaker 1: of these games as a Bruins fan, but it is

3:58 Speaker 1: a pretty fantastic.

4:00 Speaker 2: But all the Bruins can do is focus on their

4:04 Speaker 2: own game and get points, points, points, points exactly.

4:11 Speaker 1: Before we talk a little bit more about that big picture,

4:14 Speaker 1: let's talk about a little bit of news semi around

4:17 Speaker 1: the rink, because again we're going to be really focusing

4:21 Speaker 1: on this playoff picture, but the biggest news for the

4:23 Speaker 1: Boston Bruins. Outside of Boston is the fact that James

4:28 Speaker 1: Hagens has signed his ATO and is currently in Providence.

4:31 Speaker 1: He's played a few games and he seems to be

4:33 Speaker 1: settling in nicely. He's had his first goal, he's had

4:36 Speaker 1: a few assists. It seems like he's also really starting

4:40 Speaker 1: to adjust to the pace of play. Obviously, D one

4:45 Speaker 1: hockey is fast hockey, but the AHL is even faster

4:49 Speaker 1: and the NHL is even faster than that, and so

4:52 Speaker 1: it was a great idea, of course to have him

4:55 Speaker 1: get started in Providence as soon as possible. But knowing

4:59 Speaker 1: and understanding and the fact that Bruins' playoff picture could

5:02 Speaker 1: come down to the final games, do we see him

5:08 Speaker 1: for a game?

5:09 Speaker 2: I don't think it's wise. I don't think it's wise

5:12 Speaker 2: to do so. You are battling for your playoff positioning.

5:17 Speaker 2: You have got guys right now that have been there

5:21 Speaker 2: throughout the course of the battle. With his playoff positioning,

5:26 Speaker 2: I'm not sure I see the benefit to James Higgins

5:31 Speaker 2: right now in his development. I could be wrong, but

5:36 Speaker 2: you know, the question is who do you pull out

5:39 Speaker 2: of the lineup to do so? And let's not forget

5:43 Speaker 2: that regular season games are one level and playoffs are

5:48 Speaker 2: a whole other level. And I know there's been a

5:50 Speaker 2: lot of conversation about you know, well, you know, they

5:54 Speaker 2: did it with Charlie McAvoy, and they did it with

5:56 Speaker 2: Tory krug and you know, I know people are excited

6:00 Speaker 2: I did about seeing what this young man can do

6:03 Speaker 2: for the future of Boston Bruins. I'm just not sure

6:07 Speaker 2: that it needs to happen right now.

6:10 Speaker 3: But yeah, well, and I think you make a really

6:12 Speaker 3: good point in that. Yeah.

6:14 Speaker 1: Sure, Charlie McAvoy, Tory Kruge, they came in during the

6:18 Speaker 1: playoffs and at the very end. But there were two

6:21 Speaker 1: very big differences, one being Charlie McAvoy was and is a.

6:27 Speaker 3: Completely different beast of a player.

6:30 Speaker 1: Higgins is obviously an excellent player, seventh overall pick, but

6:34 Speaker 1: I feel like where Chuck he was at a similar

6:39 Speaker 1: point in his career. First of all, McAvoy was older,

6:42 Speaker 1: I believe he was twenty, and he was much more ready.

6:48 Speaker 3: And also the Bruins playoff picture was very different.

6:52 Speaker 1: They were already, if not already in the playoffs. I

6:56 Speaker 1: can't remember the timing exactly, but it was already a

7:00 Speaker 1: done deal in terms of what the playoffs were gonna be,

7:03 Speaker 1: and that is not the case today.

7:05 Speaker 2: No, And you know what if if the Bruins end

7:07 Speaker 2: up with that ex by their their name, that says

7:10 Speaker 2: they've clinched and you've got a couple of games left,

7:13 Speaker 2: all right, fine, yeah, right, bring them up? What do

7:15 Speaker 2: you you know? Bring them up and see, give them

7:18 Speaker 2: a taste, give them a right, give them a little

7:21 Speaker 2: bit of a flavor. But I just think it's it's

7:25 Speaker 2: a risky move. I agree, speaking of I think possibly

7:31 Speaker 2: risky moves before the playoffs. The other big piece of

7:34 Speaker 2: news around the rink is the.

7:36 Speaker 4: Fact that Bruce Cassidy is our shit as the head

7:41 Speaker 4: coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, replaced by John Tortorella, who.

7:49 Speaker 1: I had to check this because it felt weird. Tortorella

7:54 Speaker 1: was let go as the Flyers head coach almost exactly

7:58 Speaker 1: to the day, a year ago from his announcement. It

8:01 Speaker 1: was like a year and two days, and we don't

8:05 Speaker 1: have any additional information.

8:08 Speaker 3: Nothing has come out. However, this is weird.

8:14 Speaker 1: This is kind of suspicious because it's a time of

8:19 Speaker 1: year that you really don't make a ton of changes.

8:23 Speaker 1: And it's a strange time to make a coaching change,

8:27 Speaker 1: regardless if you are in the playoffs or out of

8:30 Speaker 1: the playoff picture.

8:31 Speaker 3: So I believe for Tortorella when.

8:34 Speaker 1: He was fired as the Philadelphia head coach, the playoff

8:37 Speaker 1: picture was there is no playoffs for this team, and

8:40 Speaker 1: so typically you just let them finish it out and

8:44 Speaker 1: then you part ways when the season is over. The

8:48 Speaker 1: Vegas Golden Knights are in a playoff position. They've not

8:52 Speaker 1: played very well in the last ten to fifteen games. However,

8:57 Speaker 1: because they are blessed to be in that ridiculous Pacific Division,

9:02 Speaker 1: it seems like you don't have to be very good

9:06 Speaker 1: to be in a prime spot. And yet, with two

9:11 Speaker 1: weeks to go in the regular season, the Vegas Golden

9:14 Speaker 1: Knights decide he's out towards is in, And you've got

9:20 Speaker 1: a team that has a brand new.

9:24 Speaker 3: Coach just before the playoffs.

9:27 Speaker 1: I can't imagine how that is a good idea at all.

9:33 Speaker 1: So this is my speculation because of the timing and

9:37 Speaker 1: the weirdness and the potential for disruption for the players.

9:42 Speaker 1: Something was not good there. Something must have happened. You

9:49 Speaker 1: don't just fire a coach two weeks before the playoffs,

9:52 Speaker 1: when the players have been playing his system. It's a

9:55 Speaker 1: huge change, and to bring in Tortorella, to me, signals

10:02 Speaker 1: that ownership or whoever's making the decisions, has decided that

10:09 Speaker 1: significant change needs to be brought in because John Tortorella

10:12 Speaker 1: has earned the reputation, for good or for bad, as

10:17 Speaker 1: being the coach you bring in when you need to

10:19 Speaker 1: fix things and you need a serious guy to do it.

10:22 Speaker 1: It's like boot camp fixing, not the we're gonna, you know,

10:27 Speaker 1: hold hands in kumbaya and build a team to fix it.

10:30 Speaker 1: He comes in to fix really broken teams.

10:34 Speaker 3: What's your take?

10:35 Speaker 2: So I too think it's an odd timing for this

10:39 Speaker 2: to happen with eight games left in the season. It

10:42 Speaker 2: has happened before. I think Larry Robinson way back took

10:48 Speaker 2: over as interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils

10:52 Speaker 2: with eight games remaining, and the Devils ended up winning

10:55 Speaker 2: the Stanley Cup that year. Next. We all know Bruce

10:59 Speaker 2: Caps City quite well here, and we know that Bruce

11:03 Speaker 2: Cassidy's ways can be a bit harsh, yes, And we

11:09 Speaker 2: also know that his messaging after a period of time

11:14 Speaker 2: can sometimes fall on deaf fears or become very old.

11:19 Speaker 2: Now if perhaps players I heard a little snippet of

11:24 Speaker 2: what Elliott Friedman said earlier about this, and it seems

11:28 Speaker 2: that players had gone to management and ownership earlier on

11:34 Speaker 2: and they've ACKed Bruce. Now whether or not that message

11:38 Speaker 2: from players grew even louder this time around. But they're

11:43 Speaker 2: not bringing in a guy who's any softer or fuzzier

11:47 Speaker 2: then no, But my understanding. I also understand though too,

11:52 Speaker 2: that you know, Tortorella was part of the USA men's

11:57 Speaker 2: hockey team coaching staff, and by all accounts, guys like

12:02 Speaker 2: playing for Twrdorella. He can be he can be rough

12:07 Speaker 2: and tough, but nine percent of the time he has

12:11 Speaker 2: his players backs. Yeah, and Vegas has been getting also

12:15 Speaker 2: shitty goaltending. Now, I don't know is that a coaching

12:19 Speaker 2: issue or whatever, but you know this is this is

12:22 Speaker 2: a Golden Knights organization who discards players and coaches like

12:28 Speaker 2: you know, we take out our trash yep. So you know,

12:32 Speaker 2: as shocking as it is not shocking, right, And you know,

12:37 Speaker 2: maybe they felt that they needed to do this because

12:40 Speaker 2: maybe they feel that they are a better team than

12:45 Speaker 2: what they are showing in that brutal Pacific Division. Yeah,

12:50 Speaker 2: and they wanted to give themselves a better opportunity at

12:54 Speaker 2: making a run for a Stanley Cup. I don't know,

12:57 Speaker 2: but it did seem to like come out of virtually nowhere.

13:02 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you've mentioned and it's a well known thing

13:07 Speaker 1: where like you said, Vegas has a tendency to I

13:11 Speaker 1: don't throw away players have no qualms about turning their back.

13:15 Speaker 1: I even let's say that there was there was nothing sure,

13:20 Speaker 1: it's entirely possible that there was no incident or whatever happened.

13:24 Speaker 1: It's then a really crappy thing to do as an

13:29 Speaker 1: organization to dump a coach at this point for a

13:34 Speaker 1: multitude of reasons. One that coach has given you almost

13:39 Speaker 1: the entire season. You're not going to get you know,

13:42 Speaker 1: you're not going to give them the courtesy to finish

13:44 Speaker 1: it out. If the writing's on the wall, writing's on

13:47 Speaker 1: the wall, fine.

13:48 Speaker 2: But if the players have tuned them out, right, If

13:51 Speaker 2: players have tuned them out, and you're in this brutal

13:55 Speaker 2: of a division and on paper you look good, right, right,

13:59 Speaker 2: but you're not playing up to that level of that potential,

14:03 Speaker 2: then what is the organization seems supposed to throw the

14:07 Speaker 2: season away. And if you got and if you have

14:09 Speaker 2: players pitching, you know, leaders on the team. If I'm

14:13 Speaker 2: not saying that they somewhat happened here in Boston with Bruce,

14:19 Speaker 2: which you know, it's like you say to you saw Bruce,

14:21 Speaker 2: maybe you want to change a style a little bit.

14:25 Speaker 1: You know, I mean, look what happened in Boston. He

14:29 Speaker 1: lost the room. That happens to every coach eventually, right,

14:33 Speaker 1: the messaging just becomes stale. But I think it's kind

14:36 Speaker 1: of also really crappy on the part of Vegas that

14:40 Speaker 1: if that's what it was, if there was otherwise no

14:44 Speaker 1: other incident, You've now also made people pause around Cassidy.

14:50 Speaker 1: And I'm not saying that he's going to have a

14:53 Speaker 1: harder time finding a job, but it might not be

14:55 Speaker 1: as easy because people will want to say, well, what

14:58 Speaker 1: happened happened in a way that's a little bit more

15:01 Speaker 1: suspicious than you know, the natural parting of ways. When

15:04 Speaker 1: the season ends, right, the timing is just bad, you know, odd, Yeah,

15:11 Speaker 1: for a team that's in in you know, and and

15:13 Speaker 1: again maybe management and ownership the year feels that they've

15:18 Speaker 1: been underachieving and now you do have leaders and senior

15:23 Speaker 1: players on the team saying he's just you can't with

15:27 Speaker 1: him anymore. You know, you just can't and you can't

15:31 Speaker 1: just allow your season to be very we believed flushed

15:35 Speaker 1: down the toilets. Yeah, agreed. So we will find out more,

15:39 Speaker 1: I'm sure in the coming days.

15:41 Speaker 2: But yeah, I'm sure there'll be more tea that comes out.

15:44 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's one a statement on behalf of the Vegas

15:49 Speaker 1: Golden Knights to bring in someone like John Tortorella. He

15:52 Speaker 1: is not some sort of warm body placeholder at all.

15:56 Speaker 1: He comes in, He's coming to work. Keep an eye

15:59 Speaker 1: a little on that should make for some interesting playoff

16:02 Speaker 1: hockey out west. But let's shift back over to the

16:07 Speaker 1: Bruins and this playoff race and the insane week that

16:12 Speaker 1: we experienced. It was the last four games of microcosm

16:17 Speaker 1: of what this entire season has been. We had a

16:20 Speaker 1: disastrous game against the Toronto Maple Leafs first, and luckily

16:28 Speaker 1: for us, unlike how we've seen during this particular season,

16:33 Speaker 1: there wasn't some sort of multi game skid to follow

16:37 Speaker 1: said disastrous game. However, it was still a little bit

16:42 Speaker 1: of a roller coaster from that point on. So let's

16:46 Speaker 1: talk really briefly about the Toronto game, because I mean,

16:51 Speaker 1: you know, we don't want to necessarily rehash some of

16:54 Speaker 1: it in the sense that we've been here before. They

16:58 Speaker 1: didn't show up. They were just an embarrassing product out

17:03 Speaker 1: on the ice. Their power play who continues to be

17:08 Speaker 1: just deplorable. But Maria, you'd made a comment to me

17:13 Speaker 1: before we started recording today about how this horrible game

17:18 Speaker 1: actually laid the foundation for what we saw later in

17:21 Speaker 1: the week.

17:22 Speaker 3: Explain, So, when.

17:24 Speaker 2: You play in the manner in which you play against

17:28 Speaker 2: the Toronto Maple Leafs, where you're just bad in every

17:31 Speaker 2: phase of the game, absolutely bad. And you know, let's

17:35 Speaker 2: start with the surprising choice of goaltenders for this game,

17:40 Speaker 2: where you know, Jeremy Swayman started this game and we

17:45 Speaker 2: were all guessing that it would have been the opposite,

17:48 Speaker 2: because then they had a game the very next night

17:50 Speaker 2: in Buffalo which we all said, listen, this is going

17:53 Speaker 2: to be a statement game for the Sabers. Corpse is

17:56 Speaker 2: going to play against the Leaves, and Swayman will play

17:58 Speaker 2: against the Sabers blah blah blah. But the manner in

18:02 Speaker 2: which the Bruins played that game, to me, made it

18:07 Speaker 2: seem almost as if two things. They were either looking

18:11 Speaker 2: their head to the Sabers game and or to some

18:15 Speaker 2: degree disrespecting their opponent on Tuesday night against the Leaps,

18:20 Speaker 2: both very I think. I think it's im plausible to

18:25 Speaker 2: some degree. But then players are calling themselves out m

18:30 Speaker 2: HM and their coach, who I think they obviously clearly

18:36 Speaker 2: clearly respect, yes, clearly listen to, clearly want to play for,

18:43 Speaker 2: follows them all out and basically says everybody was bad

18:47 Speaker 2: tonight except for Jeremy Swinman, and he was absolutely right

18:54 Speaker 2: to do that. Now, that could have gone again. I

18:58 Speaker 2: hate to compare and contrast, but if this was last season,

19:03 Speaker 2: that would have been a sliding down the hill so

19:07 Speaker 2: fast that you wouldn't be able to stop it.

19:12 Speaker 1: If it were December, that's exactly what would have happened,

19:15 Speaker 1: or even a little bit in January. We're not that

19:18 Speaker 1: far removed, No, we're not that far removed to me.

19:22 Speaker 2: To me, that's to see the way that they bounced

19:26 Speaker 2: back in the game against Buffalo Folk volumes about the

19:32 Speaker 2: focus and the understanding of what needs to be done

19:37 Speaker 2: to get yourselves.

19:39 Speaker 3: Into the playoffs. Yes, yeah, one hundred percent.

19:43 Speaker 1: I think You're absolutely right in that they came off

19:47 Speaker 1: a series of wins prior to this Toronto game where

19:53 Speaker 1: they were showcasing all the best things about this Boston

19:57 Speaker 1: Bruins team, and to play against the Leafs and be

20:03 Speaker 1: so badly embarrassed. I'm glad it happened to some degree

20:08 Speaker 1: because it was the wake up call that they needed

20:10 Speaker 1: to survive the rest of this particular week and perhaps

20:14 Speaker 1: give them something to go after, to dig down for,

20:18 Speaker 1: because playing against Buffalo and Minnesota and Columbus really really

20:27 Speaker 1: tested them. This team, unlike last year, has an identity. Unfortunately,

20:35 Speaker 1: it means they have to grind it out. That is

20:37 Speaker 1: their identity.

20:38 Speaker 2: No, no, that is their idea. And they do display resiliency, yes,

20:45 Speaker 2: and more often than not display a no quit demeanor. Yes.

20:53 Speaker 3: Yes.

20:54 Speaker 1: However, the concern that I have with that is they

20:59 Speaker 1: don't make anything easy. Nothing is easy, nothing is effortless.

21:05 Speaker 1: Everything requires every ounce of what you have in the tank.

21:10 Speaker 2: And they and they do make things. They're the creators

21:13 Speaker 2: of their own wounds.

21:15 Speaker 1: Oh yeah.

21:15 Speaker 2: For example, that Columbus game, the Columbus game just on Sunday,

21:20 Speaker 2: in the first period, they were awful. The only the

21:25 Speaker 2: only player who was ready to play the first period

21:28 Speaker 2: of that hockey game against the Blue Jackets was Jeremy Swayman. Yeah.

21:33 Speaker 2: Two turnovers in the first period directly led to two

21:37 Speaker 2: goals for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

21:40 Speaker 1: Yes, well, I love to see that resilience and especially

21:46 Speaker 1: just the grind it out, not giving it up, not

21:49 Speaker 1: giving up.

21:50 Speaker 3: How sustainable is that? Truly? It is exhausting as a fan.

21:54 Speaker 1: I can't even imagine how it is as a as

21:58 Speaker 1: a player. You know, we've we've seen other games, you

22:01 Speaker 1: and I we watch other games on TV and whatnot.

22:04 Speaker 1: And there are other teams out there that are just

22:07 Speaker 1: completely effortless that they are these machines, right, think Colorado,

22:12 Speaker 1: and you've got the Boston Bruins coming into Buffalo or Columbus,

22:17 Speaker 1: and both of those teams, while Buffalo is fairly comfortable

22:23 Speaker 1: in their position in terms of the playoffs, both teams

22:26 Speaker 1: I believe had played did they play, They also played

22:31 Speaker 1: the night before and had recently I believe, come off

22:37 Speaker 1: of losses. So the Boston is coming in and they

22:41 Speaker 1: are playing against teams that are also hungry for wins. Yes, Buffalo,

22:46 Speaker 1: like I said, Buffalo is in a much better position

22:50 Speaker 1: than Boston, but I feel like they still have a

22:55 Speaker 1: what I would call a good chip on their shoulder,

22:57 Speaker 1: like we've got a lot to prove, right, We're not

22:59 Speaker 1: gonna slide back into how things are, like what you

23:01 Speaker 1: see is for real, and so you know they're going

23:04 Speaker 1: in with the right kind of attitude saying that's a win.

23:07 Speaker 1: We have to get Columbus. They're fighting for a spot now.

23:12 Speaker 1: Granted they are much closer to a third place spot

23:16 Speaker 1: in their division than Boston is, but they'd come.

23:19 Speaker 3: Off of a couple of losses.

23:22 Speaker 1: And not to skip too far ahead about Columbus, but

23:26 Speaker 1: that one was kind of going into that game that

23:29 Speaker 1: was a one hundred percent must win game, not just

23:33 Speaker 1: because of how much closer, of course we're getting to

23:37 Speaker 1: the end of the season, but the fact that we

23:39 Speaker 1: got to play them again. We have one more game

23:41 Speaker 1: against them, and we're potentially looking at a wild card

23:45 Speaker 1: spot fighting for it with them. I didn't know until

23:48 Speaker 1: yesterday that the Columbus Blue Jackets have the third best

23:54 Speaker 1: goal differential in the first period with a plus twenty one.

23:57 Speaker 2: But they also have one of the worst in the

23:59 Speaker 2: third period.

24:00 Speaker 1: I know well, but still the other two teams being

24:04 Speaker 1: Colorado and Carolina, and sure enough we saw exactly why. However,

24:11 Speaker 1: part of that was, of course, because the Boston Bruins

24:13 Speaker 1: did not show up on time to this game, and

24:17 Speaker 1: they were exceptionally lucky that they were able to get

24:23 Speaker 1: those lost minutes back. Now, the game against Buffalo also

24:28 Speaker 1: started behind, were able to force it into a pretty

24:31 Speaker 1: quick overtime. Do you see a difference in those two

24:36 Speaker 1: games in that game, the Buffalo game versus the Columbus game.

24:41 Speaker 2: Well, the difference is is the Bruins have a tendency

24:46 Speaker 2: this season to sometimes let the other team dictate the

24:50 Speaker 2: style of But okay, you know at this point of

24:54 Speaker 2: the season how you need to play, how the coaching

24:57 Speaker 2: staff has coached you to and it's hard. It's really hard, right,

25:05 Speaker 2: because you have to play both ends of the ice

25:09 Speaker 2: with this style that Marco has implemented. There is no

25:14 Speaker 2: if anta butts about it. You have to frig and

25:17 Speaker 2: play both ends of the ice. And if you're not

25:19 Speaker 2: willing to do that, it's going to be along sixty minutes.

25:24 Speaker 2: And so, for whatever reason, for whatever reason, when the

25:29 Speaker 2: Bruins hit the ice on Sunday night against the Blue Jackets,

25:34 Speaker 2: they allowed Columbus to run rough shot over them. And

25:39 Speaker 2: it wasn't until very very late in that first period

25:43 Speaker 2: where Tanner, Jano and Mark Castilek had a couple of

25:47 Speaker 2: heavyweight bouts saying, Okay, you think you guys are going

25:51 Speaker 2: to do this all night, we have news for you.

25:55 Speaker 2: This is what's going to happen if you think you're

25:57 Speaker 2: going to keep playing this way. Not only was it

26:00 Speaker 2: a message to the Blue Jackets, it was also a

26:03 Speaker 2: message to their teammates, right, wake up, wake the bleep up.

26:09 Speaker 2: Uninspiring hockey in that game that first period was like,

26:14 Speaker 2: are you kidding me? I can't watch this, I can't

26:16 Speaker 2: can't watch this. Yeah, yeah, And then you start thinking about,

26:20 Speaker 2: oh my god, here it comes the Monday morning quarterbacking

26:24 Speaker 2: about swaymen playing back to back games and the criticism

26:28 Speaker 2: with regard to that, and and you know my thought

26:31 Speaker 2: on that, right, you got to be the guy, has

26:35 Speaker 2: to be the guy. He has to bear the brunt

26:39 Speaker 2: of the workload for likely the remaining portion of the season,

26:44 Speaker 2: and if they get into the playoffs, dude, then that

26:46 Speaker 2: is yours until you say otherwise.

26:49 Speaker 1: So and I want to say, I mean, I'm sure

26:52 Speaker 1: the I'm sure the players know these things. I want

26:55 Speaker 1: to say that prior to Swayman's back to back start,

27:00 Speaker 1: which I had a feeling was coming because of how

27:02 Speaker 1: good he's played, I knew it was coming. I wasn't

27:06 Speaker 1: sure if it was a good idea, but I knew

27:07 Speaker 1: it was coming. I also think he is incredibly competitive,

27:12 Speaker 1: and I want to say I could be totally making

27:14 Speaker 1: this up that this is the only other goalie who's

27:17 Speaker 1: done this, but I know he has done this. I

27:19 Speaker 1: believe I heard that there's only one other goaltender who

27:22 Speaker 1: has played in back to back games this season in

27:26 Speaker 1: this way, and it was Soroken. And he's no nobody

27:31 Speaker 1: goaltender either. So I wouldn't be surprised if there is

27:36 Speaker 1: also a motivation for Jeremy Swayman to be not just

27:40 Speaker 1: the guy in Boston, but to be a legitimate guy

27:43 Speaker 1: across the league. I think there's still plenty of people

27:46 Speaker 1: who don't know who he is, or he has said

27:49 Speaker 1: it himself. He has set it himself that he wanted

27:52 Speaker 1: to be the guy. Now you're putting your money where

27:56 Speaker 1: your mouth is, and I know people are saying, you know,

27:59 Speaker 1: I've seen it on my social media feed.

28:01 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I want to see what he does in

28:03 Speaker 2: the playoffs.

28:03 Speaker 3: Look all right, Well, one step at a time.

28:05 Speaker 2: When you get into the playoffs, it's because he helped

28:08 Speaker 2: get you into the playoffs, all right? Can we just

28:11 Speaker 2: like it? Well?

28:13 Speaker 1: And and we had this whole conversation in our discord group,

28:16 Speaker 1: which again, if you haven't joined in, you should totally

28:19 Speaker 1: stop in for game day chats. But after that first

28:23 Speaker 1: period we were discussing the fact that he was great,

28:27 Speaker 1: the team in front of him.

28:28 Speaker 3: Was garbage and garbage.

28:30 Speaker 1: Are we looking at a situation where we wasted a

28:34 Speaker 1: Did we waste a good Swayman start?

28:38 Speaker 3: Start?

28:38 Speaker 2: Would have been a very fair question if the results

28:42 Speaker 2: were different. But I have to say I didn't see

28:45 Speaker 2: that come back coming. No, And I had said in

28:48 Speaker 2: the discord, just we just need a goal, We need one.

28:52 Speaker 2: They needed one goal, right because they came out the

28:56 Speaker 2: Bruins came out hot in that second period. They were

29:01 Speaker 2: a totally different team from the first period to the

29:05 Speaker 2: second period. And I think Columbus was a little bit

29:09 Speaker 2: shell shocked.

29:10 Speaker 1: Yes, because they Bruins have been bad in the second period, right, No, yeah, no, No,

29:16 Speaker 1: it's not a small sample size.

29:18 Speaker 2: But generally they are bad in the second period, so

29:21 Speaker 2: their hard work was rewarded and the power play actually

29:26 Speaker 2: came through in a really big way against Columbus. And

29:30 Speaker 2: I have to say that was probably that game against

29:33 Speaker 2: Columbus on Sunday night was probably my favorite game of

29:36 Speaker 2: the year to watch. I felt like it was a

29:40 Speaker 2: playoff game, which.

29:42 Speaker 1: Is funny because I felt that the game against Minnesota

29:46 Speaker 1: was actually one of my favorite games of the season

29:49 Speaker 1: because I thought it was It was a lot of fun,

29:52 Speaker 1: and part of me wonders if Boston's slow start, non

29:57 Speaker 1: start in the first period against Columbus was again another

30:01 Speaker 1: situation where they came off of what I would call

30:04 Speaker 1: one of their more effortless wins against a good team

30:10 Speaker 1: in the Minnesota Wild. You know that game, You look

30:13 Speaker 1: at it on paper and you think, well, Minnesota is

30:17 Speaker 1: the better team. They have the more depth, they've got

30:22 Speaker 1: Quinn Hughes that they have more, they've got spectacular goaltending,

30:28 Speaker 1: and Boston just owned that game for fifty minutes of

30:35 Speaker 1: effortless ownership on their part. And you know, they got

30:40 Speaker 1: a little squishy for a stretch and the third, but

30:44 Speaker 1: on the whole, one of the most fun games that

30:47 Speaker 1: I've seen Boston play all season, and that's a little

30:51 Speaker 1: bit of my concern. Now, I'm thinking, are we seeing

30:54 Speaker 1: this kind of a pattern where Boston has a great game,

30:58 Speaker 1: a fun game, high energy game, an energizing game, and

31:03 Speaker 1: then they go into their next game that is a

31:08 Speaker 1: very much so must win, not just for point collecting

31:12 Speaker 1: like the Minnesota game was, but because of a legitimate

31:16 Speaker 1: threat on their position in the playoff structure. And then

31:20 Speaker 1: they go and they you know, they don't start on time. Fortunately,

31:24 Speaker 1: unlike with the Toronto game, they woke up and did

31:28 Speaker 1: not allow that to go on. So do we are

31:32 Speaker 1: we worried that this is something that could we could

31:35 Speaker 1: be seeing again, where Okay, what's this next game going

31:40 Speaker 1: to look like? Because they were able to eke it out,

31:42 Speaker 1: so what, they're proud of themselves, and they forget to

31:45 Speaker 1: play when they play against Dallas.

31:48 Speaker 3: I don't know, are you worried?

31:52 Speaker 2: I'm worried, yes, because you know, instances like that can

31:57 Speaker 2: still rear their ugly head, but they can ill afford

32:03 Speaker 2: to have regular recurring instances of periods like that period

32:08 Speaker 2: against Columbus because you know, I know you've heard me

32:11 Speaker 2: say this before you have to work all that much

32:14 Speaker 2: more harder to come from behind. It takes so much

32:19 Speaker 2: more effort and energy to play from behind, and if

32:25 Speaker 2: you don't start on time, especially in the playoffs, it

32:29 Speaker 2: can cost you. It can cost you a series. And

32:32 Speaker 2: there's just no other way to say it. So my

32:35 Speaker 2: hope is that these are, you know, buckets of cold

32:39 Speaker 2: water that get slapped in their faces. It seems to

32:42 Speaker 2: me they are enough leaders in that room that have

32:46 Speaker 2: the voice to be able to say we're not playing

32:49 Speaker 2: like this, We are not going to play like shit

32:53 Speaker 2: again for an entire game.

32:55 Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, so.

32:58 Speaker 2: That makes me feel a little bit more confident about

33:02 Speaker 2: the resolve of this this group of Ruins players.

33:06 Speaker 1: Well, let me hear your thoughts on your favorite least

33:12 Speaker 1: favorite player, because I feel like you went through all

33:15 Speaker 1: the emotions yesterday. Ampas lynn Holm.

33:19 Speaker 2: Huh, he's driving me bonkers this season.

33:25 Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't understand.

33:28 Speaker 2: You know. We see snippets of good play and then

33:33 Speaker 2: I see snippets of did you really just turn the

33:36 Speaker 2: puck over like that? Did you really just get another

33:38 Speaker 2: stick in fraction? And so I don't know if he's

33:41 Speaker 2: in his own head at this point but he certainly

33:45 Speaker 2: hasn't been the same consistent player since he came back

33:49 Speaker 2: from his injury. So you know again now I'd rather

33:54 Speaker 2: see him on power Play Unit number two than Mason Lorik,

33:58 Speaker 2: thank you very much. Yes, but I also said in

34:02 Speaker 2: our discord, I don't understand what the aversion is to

34:05 Speaker 2: given Nikita Zadora a shot on that second power Play unit.

34:11 Speaker 2: The guy can skate, he's strong on the puck ferry.

34:15 Speaker 2: He's got a good hard shot. What have you got

34:18 Speaker 2: to lose at this moment in time.

34:22 Speaker 3: I don't know. I can't keep I can't keep.

34:24 Speaker 2: Watching either lynd Holm or Laura and sometimes Macaboy giving

34:31 Speaker 2: up oddman rushes when you're on a freaking power play, Right,

34:35 Speaker 2: I'm okay with Chuck.

34:36 Speaker 3: He's staying on the power Play because.

34:40 Speaker 2: He's he's in beast mode and we will talk about

34:43 Speaker 2: his stats in a little bit. He's giving that second unit. Now,

34:49 Speaker 2: you have other options, You have other options, and I

34:54 Speaker 2: don't understand, right, what have you got to lose?

34:58 Speaker 3: I don't know. I said this exactly last night.

35:01 Speaker 1: I don't really want to see Hampus on the power

35:05 Speaker 1: Play two unit.

35:06 Speaker 2: Yes, you did, you did, really don't. And my response

35:09 Speaker 2: was limited options. They do have limited options in that regard,

35:15 Speaker 2: but it doesn't mean we have options, right, It doesn't

35:18 Speaker 2: mean that you have no options, which is why. And

35:20 Speaker 2: I said this, I don't know when I even said

35:24 Speaker 2: it to the guys on Morning Brew and Jeffy was like,

35:27 Speaker 2: I know, I agree with you. That's this is when

35:29 Speaker 2: the power play struggles were like it was bad, it

35:33 Speaker 2: was really really bad. Yeah, And I know they don't

35:36 Speaker 2: have a lot of practice time because of the schedule

35:39 Speaker 2: that they've been having. Maybe that's part of the concern that,

35:42 Speaker 2: you know, they don't have time to work someone else

35:45 Speaker 2: in these guys that have already been worked in to

35:48 Speaker 2: that second power play unit.

35:49 Speaker 1: But my biggest issue with hampuslim Home quarterbacking the power

35:54 Speaker 1: Play unit has been his He's been very weak on

35:59 Speaker 1: the lately and he's not carrying the puck in like

36:03 Speaker 1: he used to.

36:04 Speaker 2: Something is awry because he is a very fluid skater,

36:10 Speaker 2: very fluid skater, and he's got decent hands, yes, but

36:15 Speaker 2: he's not doing that since he came back from his injury.

36:21 Speaker 1: Yeah, he can't seem to not either, he can't seem

36:27 Speaker 1: to get it in, get it in deep. His passes

36:31 Speaker 1: are being intercepted. He's making bad decisions about where to

36:37 Speaker 1: send that puck and those get intercepted, and you see

36:41 Speaker 1: these shorthanded chances by the other team. I would be

36:45 Speaker 1: curious just to see zadorof because of how strong he

36:48 Speaker 1: is on the puck. But besides that, I mean, it

36:52 Speaker 1: seems like everybody else is humming along, and even even

36:58 Speaker 1: Hampus got better. He had some key, very important moments

37:03 Speaker 1: during that particular.

37:04 Speaker 2: Game right right, and he's he's been on my nerves

37:08 Speaker 2: because of the number of stick infractions. We've been kind

37:10 Speaker 2: of you know, tongue and cheeking about it. But it's

37:13 Speaker 2: been frustrating to watch, which is why I wonder if

37:19 Speaker 2: there is again something else he in his own head.

37:23 Speaker 2: And also whatever injury he had, is it lingering or

37:28 Speaker 2: has it had an impact on his skating, because he

37:32 Speaker 2: doesn't seem to be skating as fluidly into you know,

37:38 Speaker 2: the opposing end of the ice as he had been

37:42 Speaker 2: in his previous season with the Bruins.

37:45 Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, So let's talk about then your stick taps,

37:52 Speaker 1: because we have the same votes. This week, we had

38:00 Speaker 1: week of travel Zaka multi games. We had Jeremy Swayman

38:06 Speaker 1: playing about as good as we have ever seen him play.

38:12 Speaker 1: And we had a head coach who not only was

38:17 Speaker 1: calling players out right, but we've got a coach who

38:21 Speaker 1: was actually showing emotion on the bench. So walk me

38:26 Speaker 1: through your stick taps and what stood out for you

38:29 Speaker 1: for these folks.

38:31 Speaker 2: So let me just give you some numbers for my

38:33 Speaker 2: stick tats. Yes, in the month of March, Ruins have

38:38 Speaker 2: played fifteen games. Pavel Zaka has thirteen goals and eight

38:44 Speaker 2: assists for twenty one points. Pasta is next in line,

38:48 Speaker 2: seven goals, thirteen assists for twenty points. Victor Arvidson I

38:53 Speaker 2: love this man five goals, twelve assists, seventeen points. Charlie

38:57 Speaker 2: McAvoy a beast six points, Tennis sixteen points. Ksey Middlestat

39:05 Speaker 2: has eleven points. Even Elias Lindholm is working his way

39:09 Speaker 2: back up there again. Right. The one guy I really

39:14 Speaker 2: still feel that he's got to get his ass moving

39:18 Speaker 2: is Morgan Geeky. That line he's got points, Zaka, Ardvdson

39:25 Speaker 2: and middle stat has been killer. Absolutely, they are quickly

39:32 Speaker 2: becoming lethal weapons. They are Boston Bruins. So they all

39:37 Speaker 2: get my stick taps. And I really do hope that

39:42 Speaker 2: the Bruins reach an agreement to extend Ardwitdsen in the

39:47 Speaker 2: off season because I think this guy, this guy epitomizes

39:54 Speaker 2: being a Boston Brwin. I think he likes playing here.

39:57 Speaker 2: I like watching him play here, works his ass off.

40:00 Speaker 2: He clearly has developed a great rapport and working relationship

40:06 Speaker 2: with Pavel Zaka. I think Zaka has been rejuvenated. We've

40:10 Speaker 2: never seen him play like this before ever. This is

40:14 Speaker 2: a career waiting for right, yes and again, waiting forever.

40:19 Speaker 3: It seems coming.

40:20 Speaker 2: It's all coming at a good time, all coming at

40:23 Speaker 2: a good time. And Jeremy Swayman, he's been a workhorse

40:28 Speaker 2: and he's going to continue to need to be a workhorse.

40:33 Speaker 2: And I thought I heard some snippets on a couple

40:36 Speaker 2: of different podcasts about you know, doesn't a conversation doesn't

40:40 Speaker 2: of votes potentially for Swayman and Jack Adams votes for

40:46 Speaker 2: Marco Storm.

40:47 Speaker 1: Yes, yes, well, And also in regards to Arvidson, not

40:52 Speaker 1: only is he all of the things that you said,

40:54 Speaker 1: but he also is a great ambassador for Marco's Storms

41:00 Speaker 1: system because it fits him like a glove quite frankly,

41:05 Speaker 1: and he's also a leader in that room. I guess

41:09 Speaker 1: he speaks when he needs to speak, Yes, exactly, I'm

41:16 Speaker 1: I'm loving all of those particular choices. Now, the penalty box,

41:23 Speaker 1: we didn't talk much because it irritates us to no end.

41:30 Speaker 1: Mason Laurai remind I'm now, I'm not remembering the exact game. However,

41:37 Speaker 1: he had a game that was so atrocious. I think

41:41 Speaker 1: it was Buffalo. I fully expected the coach to staple

41:46 Speaker 1: his butt to the bench.

41:47 Speaker 2: I thought he was I thought he would get a

41:49 Speaker 2: healthy scratch. Didn't. And he wasn't the only one. I mean,

41:54 Speaker 2: the Maple Leafs game was bad. I think he had

41:57 Speaker 2: some some, a greef some. It was two games. At

42:02 Speaker 2: the Maple Leafs game, he clearly was out muscled. Oh

42:07 Speaker 2: godsled on more on one occasioned And I've said this before.

42:12 Speaker 2: Needs needs to be stronger on the puck, and he

42:16 Speaker 2: needs to win up battles. And I think there was

42:19 Speaker 2: a little bit of a carryover into the Buffalo game.

42:22 Speaker 2: He wasn't the only one that was bad in that

42:24 Speaker 2: Toronto game, but unfortunately he stood out to me, maybe

42:30 Speaker 2: because I watched him with a little bit more pressure

42:33 Speaker 2: I than anyone else.

42:35 Speaker 1: On his decision making. His defensive decision making was not.

42:40 Speaker 3: Great. You know, the we heard in both.

42:43 Speaker 1: Broadcasts comments about how he has improved his defensive game,

42:51 Speaker 1: because that was a massive, massive issue in the start

42:55 Speaker 1: of the year, and he's been fine since he's been

43:00 Speaker 1: moded down to the third pairing, and so it was

43:03 Speaker 1: kind of funny that in the last in those two

43:06 Speaker 1: broadcasts it was discussed how much he's gotten better. And

43:09 Speaker 1: then he had two of the worst games that he's

43:12 Speaker 1: had in quite a long time.

43:15 Speaker 3: And I was I was honestly shocked that he wasn't benched.

43:21 Speaker 1: And he actually was a scratch on Sunday against Columbus. However,

43:26 Speaker 1: it was not a healthy scratch. He's suffering from some

43:29 Speaker 1: kind of mild, minor upper body to which I asked, well,

43:33 Speaker 1: is it bonehead ititis? Because he certainly was being like that.

43:38 Speaker 1: But whatever, his issue is considered minor enough that he's

43:44 Speaker 1: not expected to be out. But I will give a

43:48 Speaker 1: stick tap to Yoki Haru who came in because he's

43:52 Speaker 1: been one who's been a healthy scratch quite a bit,

43:56 Speaker 1: and he stepped in, he stepped up, he had a

43:59 Speaker 1: solid game. It was as if he hadn't missed a beat,

44:02 Speaker 1: and so I was very pleased to see whatever happens

44:08 Speaker 1: should the Bruins make the playoffs, that they've got some

44:15 Speaker 1: depth in their defense that anyone can come back in

44:19 Speaker 1: and pick.

44:20 Speaker 3: Up where the other left off.

44:23 Speaker 1: So but Mason Lowery, it's been a minute since he's

44:27 Speaker 1: been in the penalty.

44:28 Speaker 3: Box for us, but boy did he earn it.

44:34 Speaker 2: Again.

44:35 Speaker 3: He's not the only one.

44:36 Speaker 2: But you know, at this at this point, critical point

44:40 Speaker 2: of the season, can't and again you know you've got

44:44 Speaker 2: you can't have stuff like that. I mean, and this goes,

44:47 Speaker 2: this goes across the whole lineup, because you know what

44:52 Speaker 2: I also have in my penalty box is the Bruins

44:57 Speaker 2: have been giving up way too many odd man rushes,

45:00 Speaker 2: especially on the tower play. Like it's one thing if

45:03 Speaker 2: your power play, you know, isn't isn't operating to its fullest,

45:09 Speaker 2: it's a whole not a ballgame. When now you're giving

45:12 Speaker 2: up constant shorthanded opportunities like that that just simply cannot

45:19 Speaker 2: happen in today's NHL. You just can't let it happen.

45:22 Speaker 3: It's too fast. So that needs that needs.

45:24 Speaker 2: To be cleaned up and I know they don't have

45:27 Speaker 2: a lot of time to practice and whatnot, but it

45:32 Speaker 2: seems to me that the Bruins do it with too

45:37 Speaker 2: much regularity.

45:39 Speaker 1: Yes, it's again this particular team, whether it's the team

45:45 Speaker 1: construction being that Jenga block where they've gotten a little

45:50 Speaker 1: bit more flexible in that they've gotten a little bit

45:52 Speaker 1: more robust in the sense that if you're missing a piece,

45:55 Speaker 1: it's not going to totally collapse the team. But in

46:00 Speaker 1: a similar vein, if they don't keep their foot on

46:05 Speaker 1: the gas with whatever situation is at hand, they seem

46:10 Speaker 1: to not be able to keep up. Like there's no

46:14 Speaker 1: room for any kind of cruise control anywhere with this.

46:20 Speaker 1: But we have a couple of big games coming up

46:26 Speaker 1: this week. They're eight remaining games, five of them are

46:32 Speaker 1: on the road, which.

46:35 Speaker 3: Does make me nervous.

46:36 Speaker 1: However, the Columbus game was the first time that Boston

46:41 Speaker 1: has been over five hundred on the road since game

46:45 Speaker 1: number one.

46:46 Speaker 2: Oh god, well, all right, well we're trending upward. We're

46:49 Speaker 2: trending upward. Listen. They got to figure out if they're

46:54 Speaker 2: going to make a playoff one, they're going to be

46:56 Speaker 2: able to figure out how to steal a game or

46:58 Speaker 2: two on the road.

46:59 Speaker 3: They they just taxes.

47:01 Speaker 1: Yeah, and who knows, the Buffalo game could very well be.

47:09 Speaker 3: Preview to the first round.

47:12 Speaker 2: Should be that that would be such a fun series

47:15 Speaker 2: and that would will certainly go six to seven games one.

47:20 Speaker 1: Because if just briefly looking at the standings, and again

47:25 Speaker 1: we're recording this on Monday the thirtieth, we've got Boston

47:30 Speaker 1: is in the first wild card spot and Buffalo, well,

47:35 Speaker 1: we'll see Buffalo is neck and neck with Tampa right now.

47:39 Speaker 1: Technically based on the first tiebreaker, Tampa is in first

47:45 Speaker 1: place in the Atlantic. Buffalo, Sabers and the Canadians are

47:49 Speaker 1: in second and third. But who knows that could change

47:52 Speaker 1: because Sabers, this.

47:55 Speaker 2: Is how Tyson Atlantic is in the last ten games.

47:58 Speaker 2: I just saw this post, yep.

48:02 Speaker 1: And they and we all all play each other. There's

48:04 Speaker 1: a lot of Atlantic games happen.

48:06 Speaker 3: In this.

48:09 Speaker 2: Yeah, Buffalo six two and two, Montreal seven three and oh,

48:12 Speaker 2: Boston sixty two and two, Ottawa six three and one. Yes,

48:16 Speaker 2: this is tight, tight, tight, folks, Yes, mm hmm.

48:22 Speaker 1: Yeah, you've got in terms of Atlantic Division games, you've

48:26 Speaker 1: got the Habs playing the Panthers and the Lightning.

48:29 Speaker 3: Boston is playing the Panthers and the Lightning. The Senators are.

48:33 Speaker 1: Playing the the Panthers and the Lightning and the Sabers.

48:38 Speaker 1: So it's a very divisionally heavy end.

48:44 Speaker 3: To the season, so Strap and everyone, because it's.

48:49 Speaker 2: Almost as if the NHL schedule listen to what they

48:51 Speaker 2: were doing not.

48:54 Speaker 1: I mean, it makes for exciting times, I guess. But

49:01 Speaker 1: we've got the Stars coming up. Obviously, every point matters.

49:06 Speaker 1: This is an opportunity to collect points because this is

49:11 Speaker 1: not only not a divisional game, it is not even

49:14 Speaker 1: a conference game.

49:16 Speaker 3: Still, big points.

49:17 Speaker 1: The Stars have clinched that, there's no reason I would

49:22 Speaker 1: think that they would ever let off a guess.

49:24 Speaker 2: They can't because that's the last thing you want to

49:27 Speaker 2: do heading into the playoffs. You want to be playing

49:30 Speaker 2: your best hockey exactly playoffs, regardless of whether you have

49:34 Speaker 2: clinched a spot yet or not. So it's not going

49:37 Speaker 2: to be a cake walk by any stretch of the imagination.

49:41 Speaker 3: No.

49:42 Speaker 1: So from there, Boston heads down to the state of

49:46 Speaker 1: Florida where they're going to be playing the Panthers on

49:50 Speaker 1: Thursday and the Lightning on Saturday, and then immediately after

49:58 Speaker 1: that they're going straight to Philadelphia and playing a game there,

50:03 Speaker 1: so again.

50:06 Speaker 3: Three games that are pretty.

50:09 Speaker 1: Much must must get a point let's just put it

50:15 Speaker 1: this way, must get a point in at least three

50:19 Speaker 1: of those four games.

50:20 Speaker 3: In my opinion.

50:21 Speaker 2: Well, overall, the Bruins had a great week. It played

50:25 Speaker 2: four games and came away with six points. So that's

50:30 Speaker 2: that's a good week's work.

50:31 Speaker 3: So happy.

50:32 Speaker 2: They just need to keep that mojo moving forward.

50:38 Speaker 1: So thanks again everyone. Make sure you like and subscribe

50:42 Speaker 1: for more content, and be sure to leave a rating

50:44 Speaker 1: and review to help other Bruins fans find us. You

50:47 Speaker 1: can support the podcast by joining our Patreon or following

50:50 Speaker 1: us on our socials at Tape to Tape mk and

50:53 Speaker 1: on substack at Tape to Tape mk dot subsack dot com,

50:57 Speaker 1: and as always, go Bes bass

51:13 Speaker 2: St