Boston Bruins: What are We Even Doing Here? | Ep. 81

0:00 Speaker 1: Oh no, no, that did not just happen. Are you

0:04 Speaker 1: kidding me?

0:04 Speaker 2: Right?

0:05 Speaker 3: Enough of that really just happened.

0:14 Speaker 4: To that?

0:15 Speaker 3: Barshad Tigers allow Fisher the shot stars, Brad shot the

0:20 Speaker 3: center and that one kicked aside, but it dropping back?

0:24 Speaker 3: Why boy, bushats crap star Brad mar shot. He'll dump

0:28 Speaker 3: it up, shot take it, Marshan, He'll drag it right

0:32 Speaker 3: in for a chance here.

0:33 Speaker 4: Stop.

0:36 Speaker 3: Thanks about the boards of Brad Marshall bring suns Gone

0:39 Speaker 3: trips ahead.

0:40 Speaker 1: But Marsha Judge, I am flying solo tonight as my

0:54 Speaker 1: co host, and the person responsible for keeping me on

0:58 Speaker 1: track and driving this US is taking care of some

1:03 Speaker 1: family matters. Her daughter is in the thick of trying

1:07 Speaker 1: out for a travel hockey team, so I want to

1:10 Speaker 1: wish Caroline and her daughter, Allison all the best of

1:13 Speaker 1: luck with those tryouts. So, unfortunately you are all stuck

1:19 Speaker 1: with me tonight for what will likely be an abbreviated

1:23 Speaker 1: episode of Bruin's Tape to Tape as the Bruins get

1:27 Speaker 1: ready to start their West Coast road trip against the

1:31 Speaker 1: Las Vegas Golden Knights. And since we last had an episode,

1:36 Speaker 1: things have not gone well for our Boston Bruins, that

1:41 Speaker 1: is probably an understatement at this point in time. So

1:45 Speaker 1: before I take a dive into, you know, the game,

1:48 Speaker 1: since we had our last episode, we'll do our usual

1:52 Speaker 1: spin around the rink to catch up on some league

1:56 Speaker 1: wide news, and I'm going to start with Bruce cass

2:00 Speaker 1: who the Bruins will be facing his team tonight and

2:05 Speaker 1: came under fire for some comments he made postgame comments

2:11 Speaker 1: he made which those of us who remember Bruce Cassidy's

2:16 Speaker 1: tenure as the coach of the Boston Bruins was not

2:19 Speaker 1: shy about calling out players publicly in the media and

2:25 Speaker 1: it may have led to some of his demise as

2:28 Speaker 1: the coach of the Boston Bruins, and he hasn't really

2:31 Speaker 1: changed his ways with the Vegas Golden Knights, and specifically

2:36 Speaker 1: he came under fire for how his team performed or

2:40 Speaker 1: didn't perform, as the case may be. In a loss

2:44 Speaker 1: to the Buffalo Sabers recently, we have Bruce basically called

2:50 Speaker 1: out his team to paraphrase, didn't respect the game at

2:55 Speaker 1: all and cost them a win. And specifically he pointed

3:00 Speaker 1: his finger at Thomas Hurdle, who was apparently had an

3:06 Speaker 1: open net and tried to force a pass through to

3:10 Speaker 1: another teammate rather than taking the shot and icing the

3:15 Speaker 1: game with an open net goal. And Bruce Cassidy didn't

3:20 Speaker 1: mince any word when asked about that play, where he

3:24 Speaker 1: quote unquote said, I'd like to see him shoot the

3:26 Speaker 1: puck in the net and the end the game. That's

3:28 Speaker 1: what I'd like to see, said Cassidy, with steam practically

3:32 Speaker 1: coming off his head at this point. I think the

3:35 Speaker 1: whole team would like to see that. So of course

3:38 Speaker 1: that drew the attention of likely his team, which is

3:42 Speaker 1: what he wanted to do, but also the media in

3:46 Speaker 1: terms of again, this is not an uncommon tactic of

3:51 Speaker 1: Bruce Cassidy, and though he has seemed to rain it

3:57 Speaker 1: rained it in with the Vegas Golden Nuts, Leopard never

4:01 Speaker 1: changes this spot. So I wanted to touch on that

4:05 Speaker 1: because we remember, oh so well how many times Bruce

4:09 Speaker 1: called out players in the media, specifically especially during his

4:14 Speaker 1: last year as a coach of the Bruins. An update

4:17 Speaker 1: on ov watch is he has eight goals remaining to

4:23 Speaker 1: break Wayne Gretzky's record, with what likely is I believe

4:27 Speaker 1: about fourteen games left in the season, so not a

4:33 Speaker 1: tall task, but still a bit of a daunting task,

4:36 Speaker 1: and I think we as fans are maybe hoping that

4:40 Speaker 1: he gets it done this season so this doesn't linger

4:45 Speaker 1: to start into the following season. And I'm sure Ovie

4:48 Speaker 1: would like to get past this too, as his team

4:52 Speaker 1: is primed for a very deep playoff run because the

4:57 Speaker 1: Caps are just taking name and numbers every which way

5:02 Speaker 1: you look. So that's the update on ov Watch, And

5:06 Speaker 1: the last thing I want to touch on briefly is

5:09 Speaker 1: that general Managers and the Commissioner had GM meetings earlier

5:15 Speaker 1: in the week and there were a number of things

5:18 Speaker 1: that were on the table during the course of those

5:22 Speaker 1: meetings a couple of days meetings in Florida, but I'll

5:26 Speaker 1: just point out the most pertinent ones in that. Betman

5:29 Speaker 1: indicated that talks on a new collective bargaining agreement with

5:34 Speaker 1: the NHLPA will start sometime during the first week of April.

5:39 Speaker 1: The current agreement that the players have is set to

5:42 Speaker 1: expire in September of twenty twenty six. Representing the NHL

5:48 Speaker 1: Players Union is now Marty Walsh, who has been instrumental

5:56 Speaker 1: in his leadership in the past. He's had experience at

6:01 Speaker 1: all different levels, including a stint in Washington d C

6:06 Speaker 1: as a labor union leader. So I am I'm excited

6:12 Speaker 1: in with respect to the fact that I think for

6:15 Speaker 1: the first time in a very long time, the NHLPA

6:21 Speaker 1: has someone who is an advocate for them, and he

6:26 Speaker 1: will be a pitbull and he will take no crap

6:30 Speaker 1: whatsoever from Marty or the owners. So I'm excited to

6:35 Speaker 1: see how these negotiations play out. So I'll be paying

6:40 Speaker 1: attention to that, as I think all of us will

6:43 Speaker 1: be paying attention to that. The other item that came

6:47 Speaker 1: out of it that I think is relevant is that

6:50 Speaker 1: there had been talk about exploring potential changes to the

6:55 Speaker 1: overtime format for regular season games and even the playoff

6:59 Speaker 1: format where it comes to seedings and whatnot. And it

7:03 Speaker 1: seems to me that that balloon was burst very quickly

7:06 Speaker 1: by Commissioner Betman, and he has no desire whatsoever to

7:11 Speaker 1: change the overtime format for regular season games or the

7:15 Speaker 1: playoff format. And I frankly think that the overtime format

7:19 Speaker 1: for regular season games is not true to the game

7:24 Speaker 1: of hockey. I'm not a fan of the shootout. I

7:27 Speaker 1: have never liked the shootout. I don't believe in their

7:31 Speaker 1: heart of hearts that the players like the shootout, I

7:35 Speaker 1: think a majority of them would rather keep playing until

7:40 Speaker 1: there is a winner. And I don't see the harm

7:44 Speaker 1: in extending the overtime from you know what it is

7:48 Speaker 1: right now to an additional two or three minutes, because

7:52 Speaker 1: I think it's exciting hockey, it's pure hockey. I don't

7:58 Speaker 1: think the shootout is pure hockey. But that's just one

8:01 Speaker 1: woman's opinion. But be that as it may. The commissioner

8:05 Speaker 1: said said no, so we will move on. The other

8:10 Speaker 1: pertinent piece of information that came out of these meetings

8:14 Speaker 1: is there's been a long conversation about video review and

8:20 Speaker 1: video replay and coaches challenges and a lot of controversy

8:25 Speaker 1: with regard to goaltender interference and the review of those

8:30 Speaker 1: goaltender interference calls. Now, you know, most of you who

8:34 Speaker 1: listen to this podcast are fans of the Bruins, and

8:38 Speaker 1: we have been on both the winning and losing ends

8:42 Speaker 1: of goaltender interference calls, as likely every team across the

8:47 Speaker 1: league has experienced. And it makes absolutely no sense to

8:53 Speaker 1: me how some of these video replays are going down.

9:00 Speaker 1: When we can all rewind our TVs, we can all

9:04 Speaker 1: look at the big screens in the arenas and see

9:10 Speaker 1: that in a lot of instances, the contact that is

9:15 Speaker 1: being made with goalies is incidental or the opposing player

9:21 Speaker 1: is being pushed in to the goalie by one of

9:26 Speaker 1: his own teammates. Now, I understand that, you know, it's

9:33 Speaker 1: exciting to have goals and it's exciting to keep goals,

9:39 Speaker 1: and I thought that was the point of the video replay.

9:42 Speaker 1: But when we're taken away good goals because you simply

9:47 Speaker 1: can't make a common sense decision when you can see

9:52 Speaker 1: clearly that there's incidental contact. And honest to God, it

9:58 Speaker 1: seems to me that the league is getting to a

10:00 Speaker 1: point where they're treating goalies like the NFL treats quarterbacks.

10:07 Speaker 1: You can't so much as sneeze on the goalie, in

10:11 Speaker 1: which case the officials are ruling it a goaltender interference calls. Now,

10:16 Speaker 1: I want to share some stats with you that that

10:20 Speaker 1: is on NHL dot Com. You can read this for yourself.

10:23 Speaker 1: But so far this season, there have been one hundred

10:29 Speaker 1: and eight reviews for goalie interference, with sixty two of

10:34 Speaker 1: them resulting in overturned goals. That's more than half and

10:39 Speaker 1: we haven't even finished the season. Yet the season before,

10:43 Speaker 1: eighty eight reviews with forty eight overturned again more than half,

10:49 Speaker 1: twenty twenty two to twenty three, eighty five reviews with

10:53 Speaker 1: forty two overturned again more than half. Now, the league

10:58 Speaker 1: believes this is a result of parody in the league

11:02 Speaker 1: and how close games are being played. And I say

11:06 Speaker 1: to them, I beg to differ with you, because I

11:10 Speaker 1: think if you take a deep dive into a lot

11:12 Speaker 1: of those, you'll see that the result is the incompetence

11:17 Speaker 1: of the officials in making a determination between an actual

11:22 Speaker 1: interference call on the goalie and incidental contact on the goal.

11:27 Speaker 1: So I'm not buying what they're selling when it comes

11:32 Speaker 1: to goaltender interference and the logic that is being applied

11:36 Speaker 1: as to how they're being reviewed. But they seem to

11:40 Speaker 1: think that they're doing a good job. But I don't

11:43 Speaker 1: believe that I am the only fan that feels the

11:45 Speaker 1: way that I feel when it comes to goaltender interference calls,

11:50 Speaker 1: because frankly, the fact that you have one hundred and

11:53 Speaker 1: eight of them all ready before the season is even

11:57 Speaker 1: over tells you all you need to know. And I

12:00 Speaker 1: think goalies are getting much more savvy about how they're

12:04 Speaker 1: selling goaltender interference calls, so kudos to them for, you know,

12:11 Speaker 1: making the system work for them. But I still don't

12:14 Speaker 1: believe that all of these that were overturned were legitimate

12:20 Speaker 1: goaltender interference calls. So there's our spin around the rink.

12:26 Speaker 1: I am going to take a brief pause so that

12:29 Speaker 1: we can hear from our sponsors, and then I'll come

12:33 Speaker 1: back to take a quick look at what the Bruins

12:38 Speaker 1: did or didn't do in their most recent games.

12:41 Speaker 4: Gear up and support the pod. The Bruins are making

12:44 Speaker 4: their push, and there's no better time to show your support.

12:48 Speaker 4: Whether you need a fresh jersey, a cozy hoodie for

12:50 Speaker 4: those chili playoff nights, or the perfect hap to rep

12:54 Speaker 4: the team every day. The NHL Shop has you covered

12:58 Speaker 4: with the trade deadline, playoff off season all coming up.

13:01 Speaker 4: Now's the time to stock up on all your Boston

13:04 Speaker 4: Bruins and NHL gear. Plus, when you shop through our

13:07 Speaker 4: affiliate link, you're not just supporting the team, you're also

13:11 Speaker 4: supporting your favorite Bruins podcast. So grab your gear and

13:14 Speaker 4: help the pod. Check out the affiliate link in our

13:17 Speaker 4: show notes.

13:19 Speaker 2: This NHL season has been as unpredictable as a puck

13:22 Speaker 2: rolling on its edge. No one knows where it's going,

13:26 Speaker 2: But that just means that there's time for your favorite

13:30 Speaker 2: team to figure things out and games left for you

13:33 Speaker 2: to get in on the action. At Draft Kings Sportsbook,

13:36 Speaker 2: an official sports betting partner of the NHL, it's super

13:40 Speaker 2: easy for first timers to get started. Try betting on

13:43 Speaker 2: something simple like picking a team to win or an

13:47 Speaker 2: anytime goal scorer. Go to the Draft Kings Sportsbook act,

13:52 Speaker 2: select your team and place your first bet, and if

13:54 Speaker 2: you're new to Draft Kings, listen up. New customers bet

13:58 Speaker 2: five dollars to get one hundred and fifty dollars in

14:01 Speaker 2: bonus bets instantly. Download the Draft King Sportsbook gap now

14:06 Speaker 2: and use code THPN. That's code THHPN for new customers

14:11 Speaker 2: to get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets

14:14 Speaker 2: instantly when you just bet five bucks only on Draft Kings.

14:19 Speaker 1: The Crown is yours.

14:21 Speaker 3: Gambling problem call one eight hundred gambler In New York

14:24 Speaker 3: call eight seven seven eight hope and Y, or text

14:26 Speaker 3: hope and Y four six seven three six nine. In Connecticut.

14:29 Speaker 3: Help is available for problem gambling call eight eight eight

14:31 Speaker 3: seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG

14:34 Speaker 3: dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill, Casino

14:37 Speaker 3: and Resorting Kansas twenty one and over. Agent eligibility varies

14:40 Speaker 3: by jurisdiction. Void in New Hampshire, Oregon, in Ontario. Bonus

14:43 Speaker 3: bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issueance.

14:45 Speaker 3: For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG dot

14:49 Speaker 3: co slash ft ball NFL Plus Premium offer available only

14:52 Speaker 3: to new and former NFL Plus subscribers. Additional NFL Plus

14:55 Speaker 3: premium terms at NFL dot com.

14:57 Speaker 1: Slash terms Welcome back, folks, and thank you for hanging

15:01 Speaker 1: in with us, and thank you to our sponsors. So

15:05 Speaker 1: the Bruins have played three games since we last had

15:11 Speaker 1: an episode. They played on March thirteenth and they lost

15:15 Speaker 1: to the Ottawa Senators miserable loss by a score of

15:20 Speaker 1: six to three. They then faced the Tampa Bay Lightning

15:25 Speaker 1: two nights later on the fifteenth that was a six

15:28 Speaker 1: to two loss. And then the icing on the cake

15:32 Speaker 1: was on Saint Patrick's Day where they lost in overtime

15:36 Speaker 1: to the Buffalo Flippin' Sabers. Now I know For those

15:42 Speaker 1: of you that do tune in, you likely may have

15:45 Speaker 1: listened to our snapshot episodes on these games. So I

15:50 Speaker 1: apologize if I'm repeating myself, but let me start with

15:53 Speaker 1: the game against Ottawa and the issue that totally totally

15:59 Speaker 1: pissed me off with regard to this game is Joe

16:03 Speaker 1: Sacho and Jeremy Swayman. First of all, Swayman was absolutely horrendous.

16:09 Speaker 1: He sucked in that first period, sucked and you could

16:12 Speaker 1: tell he wasn't ready to play, wasn't getting set, wasn't

16:17 Speaker 1: tracking the puck, whatever it was. You could tell early

16:21 Speaker 1: on that Swayman wasn't going to be able to bail

16:24 Speaker 1: his team out given the ferocious and aggressive and relentless

16:31 Speaker 1: for check of the Ottawa Senators. Yet the head coach

16:35 Speaker 1: sits there and watches one goal go in, two goal going,

16:40 Speaker 1: three goals go in, four to one, and you don't

16:43 Speaker 1: think that it may be feasible to utilize your time

16:48 Speaker 1: out and rain your guys in, have a conversation, have

16:53 Speaker 1: a you know, green yell, do whatever a coach does,

16:56 Speaker 1: but at a minimum, to stop it. Our attempt to

17:00 Speaker 1: stop the momentum of the Ottawa Senators. In my mind,

17:05 Speaker 1: Joe Saco and Jeremy Swayman gave their teammates and the

17:10 Speaker 1: players no chance to win that game because you had

17:15 Speaker 1: a goalie who couldn't stop a beach ball if it

17:19 Speaker 1: was shot at him that night, and a coach who

17:23 Speaker 1: stood there with his hands in his pocket and didn't react. Yes,

17:28 Speaker 1: he pulled Jeremy Swayman to start the second period and

17:31 Speaker 1: put Jonis Copersalo in, but by at that point to me,

17:36 Speaker 1: too little, too late. And I've seen coaches do this

17:41 Speaker 1: across the league, some some a more adept at doing

17:46 Speaker 1: it than others. And I get why you feel the

17:50 Speaker 1: need to hold on, But when your team is drowning

17:54 Speaker 1: in the manner in which it was, and that those

17:58 Speaker 1: are that was a game that was huge point swing

18:03 Speaker 1: for your team, and you don't pull out all the stops,

18:07 Speaker 1: to me, you failed as a coach. Okay. So then

18:11 Speaker 1: we move on to the game on the fifteenth against

18:14 Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Lightning. Jeremy Swayman back in net. I

18:18 Speaker 1: think some of us were a little surprised to see

18:21 Speaker 1: that he was back in the net after the debacle

18:25 Speaker 1: in Ottawa, but he was better and he kept the

18:29 Speaker 1: Bruins in that game, and things were looking really good

18:34 Speaker 1: for the Bruins at the end of the first period

18:37 Speaker 1: because it was a one to one game and Swayman

18:42 Speaker 1: looked like he had his head on straight for this game.

18:46 Speaker 1: And then we go to the second period, where again

18:50 Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Lightning come out with a fierce and

18:55 Speaker 1: ferocious and aggressive for check as if they took a

18:59 Speaker 1: blueprint from the Ottawa Senators game. They are skating into

19:04 Speaker 1: the Boston Bruins neutral zone untouched, untouched. And in the

19:10 Speaker 1: second period, the Boston Bruins, who has a roster full

19:16 Speaker 1: of NHL professional hockey players, do not get one shot

19:23 Speaker 1: on goal, zero, zero shots on goal? And how how

19:31 Speaker 1: do you think that you're going to win a freaking

19:34 Speaker 1: hockey game when you take no shots on goal? It

19:39 Speaker 1: was one of the worst periods of hockey that I

19:44 Speaker 1: have seen them play, and there have been lots of

19:47 Speaker 1: them this season. It's a sad testament. It's a sad statement,

19:51 Speaker 1: but it's a true statement that there have been many

19:56 Speaker 1: unfortunate periods. But ja as the second period against the

20:01 Speaker 1: Tampa Bay. But you should be the desperate team. How

20:06 Speaker 1: are you not playing like a desperate team if you

20:10 Speaker 1: truly want to give yourselves a chance to even make

20:14 Speaker 1: the playoffs in a wildcard spot. It's it's it, And

20:20 Speaker 1: one has to ask the question because now we're at

20:22 Speaker 1: the point where we have transitioned a big part of

20:27 Speaker 1: the roster, a relatively big core part of the roster,

20:32 Speaker 1: and we're still seeing the same issues that have plagued

20:36 Speaker 1: this team from the start of the season. And when

20:39 Speaker 1: do we start pointing our fingers at this coaching staff?

20:44 Speaker 1: When is anybody going to start holding the Boston Bruins

20:49 Speaker 1: coaching staff accountable for where we find ourselves this season.

20:55 Speaker 1: I'm waiting for anybody to answer that question because I

20:59 Speaker 1: want them held accountable at this point. And I'm not

21:03 Speaker 1: sure that if we're going into a new era of

21:07 Speaker 1: Bruins hockey, I'm not sure I want to go into

21:10 Speaker 1: it with this current coaching staff, maybe except for Goaliebob.

21:15 Speaker 1: But I even have to wonder about Goaliebob because we've

21:19 Speaker 1: seen instances of Jeremy Swayman not looking like the franchise

21:25 Speaker 1: goalie that we're expecting him to look like. But again,

21:30 Speaker 1: those are all those are all questions and issues that

21:35 Speaker 1: Don Sweeney cam Neely, the ownership needs to figure out,

21:39 Speaker 1: because if we believe what we hear that they want

21:44 Speaker 1: this to be a quick, quick retool, I don't see

21:48 Speaker 1: how you're going to get there with this current coaching staff.

21:52 Speaker 1: So the Bruins finished their three games at home while

21:57 Speaker 1: these this three games with a loss to the Buffalo Sabers,

22:03 Speaker 1: and they started that first period basically sleepwalking through that game.

22:09 Speaker 1: And I don't know if it was a matter of

22:12 Speaker 1: maybe they don't respect the Sabers, maybe they thought the

22:16 Speaker 1: Sabers weren't going to show up to play. But if

22:19 Speaker 1: it wasn't for Nikita Zadorov's fight in that first period,

22:26 Speaker 1: there would have been absolutely no energy coming from the

22:30 Speaker 1: Boston Bruins. So I'm going to give him credit for

22:35 Speaker 1: at least injecting some type of life into them to

22:39 Speaker 1: basically say, let's wake the hell up, because these guys,

22:44 Speaker 1: the Sabers came to play a real hockey game, and

22:48 Speaker 1: the Bruins in the first period, for the most part,

22:51 Speaker 1: did not come to play a real hockey game. And

22:55 Speaker 1: I have to say that. You know, Jonus Corposalo has

22:59 Speaker 1: been doing his job well all season long. You know,

23:05 Speaker 1: he's had a little leak here or there, but for

23:08 Speaker 1: the most part, given how long he goes idle between games,

23:13 Speaker 1: the fact that he has played as well and as

23:17 Speaker 1: competently I think is a big credit to him, and

23:23 Speaker 1: you know, relishing his role as as the backup goalie

23:28 Speaker 1: for the Boston Bruins. And these are my stick tacks, folks.

23:32 Speaker 1: So I'm going to give Jonas Corposalo a stick tap

23:36 Speaker 1: for doing his job. Well, I'm going to give Nikita

23:39 Speaker 1: Zadora some kudos for stepping up. I think he's trying

23:44 Speaker 1: to establish himself as a bit of a leader on

23:48 Speaker 1: this team. And even though you know, there's been some

23:53 Speaker 1: issues with you know, his play on the ice, particularly defensively,

23:59 Speaker 1: I will give him credit for trying to be a

24:04 Speaker 1: leader right now when there is a leadership I believe

24:07 Speaker 1: a leadership void on this team. And stick taps go

24:12 Speaker 1: to pasta geeky and soaka, because if these guys don't

24:17 Speaker 1: put the puck in the net, this team is porked

24:20 Speaker 1: night after night. And here we are again in twenty

24:24 Speaker 1: twenty five, talking about a Boston Bruins team that only

24:29 Speaker 1: has one line that can actually score. How far back

24:34 Speaker 1: do we need to go before we solve this problem?

24:39 Speaker 1: This is an issue, and this this blame lies squarely

24:42 Speaker 1: with Don Sweeney because he hasn't addressed the needs and

24:47 Speaker 1: the gaping holes that we all know this team has

24:51 Speaker 1: had as far back as I likely could go even

24:56 Speaker 1: further back, but I'll go back to the dreaded two

24:59 Speaker 1: thousand in nineteen year where they lost to the Saint

25:03 Speaker 1: Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup finals because again, we

25:06 Speaker 1: only had one line that could score. So you know,

25:10 Speaker 1: you can swap out players all you want, but until

25:13 Speaker 1: you remedy this situation and get real balanced scoring on

25:19 Speaker 1: this team, I think the Boston Bruins are going to

25:22 Speaker 1: be in a world of hurt for the short term.

25:25 Speaker 1: So those are my stick taps, My overall penalty box

25:29 Speaker 1: is And I said it earlier. You know, I'm I've

25:33 Speaker 1: been disappointed in Jeremy Swayman. I understand he missed time

25:39 Speaker 1: because of his contract negotiations, but he's had an ample

25:43 Speaker 1: amount of time to get his shit together, and there

25:46 Speaker 1: are instances where you see what he can be. But

25:50 Speaker 1: then there are those instances such as the game against Ottawa,

25:55 Speaker 1: where you're like you got to bail your team out,

25:57 Speaker 1: like you've got to stop the bleed, either with a

26:01 Speaker 1: key save or you just can't let in soft goals.

26:06 Speaker 1: My friend, that that is demoralizing to the guys in

26:11 Speaker 1: front of you and the guys on the bench. You

26:14 Speaker 1: have got to be the guy that plugs the leaks.

26:18 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but that's what you're getting paid for and

26:21 Speaker 1: you need to start. You need to start doing it

26:24 Speaker 1: or the fan base is going to turn on you

26:29 Speaker 1: and Nail turn on you in a quick hurry. Just

26:32 Speaker 1: ask took a rask about that, mister Swayman, and you

26:37 Speaker 1: know I'm keeping down Sweeney and cam Neely in the

26:40 Speaker 1: penalty box. I'm still not over the trade of Brad Marshand.

26:44 Speaker 1: I still think there's something that is missing in the

26:47 Speaker 1: details of how that trade went down. And it really

26:51 Speaker 1: pisses me off that now Brad has been in a

26:56 Speaker 1: full participant twice now with the Florida Panthers in no

27:00 Speaker 1: contact jersey, which leads me to believe he's likely going

27:05 Speaker 1: to be ready sooner than any of us thought he

27:09 Speaker 1: was going to be ready to play for his new team.

27:12 Speaker 1: And again, what do we have currently in return for

27:18 Speaker 1: this player? Do we have anything to show for it?

27:20 Speaker 1: Right now? When we needed something to show for it

27:23 Speaker 1: right now, we do not, So for that, I'm keeping

27:27 Speaker 1: these guys in the penalty box. So the Bruins start

27:32 Speaker 1: their road trip tonight in Vegas, and you know, for

27:36 Speaker 1: the most part, I think a lot of us are

27:39 Speaker 1: waving a white flag on this season. I don't see

27:44 Speaker 1: how the Bruins stand a chance of getting in as

27:48 Speaker 1: an eight seed in the Wildcard short of them pretty

27:53 Speaker 1: much winning out all of the rest of their games.

27:57 Speaker 1: And folks, I don't know about you, but my confidence

28:01 Speaker 1: level in that happening is pretty close to a zero level.

28:05 Speaker 1: And when I hear people like Andrew Raycroft, who covers

28:10 Speaker 1: the team, has his podcast with Billy Jaffey on Morning Brew,

28:15 Speaker 1: basically acknowledging at long last that this team doesn't have

28:20 Speaker 1: a chance of missing of making the playoffs. I don't

28:23 Speaker 1: know how else we can look at this at this point.

28:27 Speaker 1: So they have games against tonight, They're playing the Vegas

28:32 Speaker 1: Golden Knights. Then they're playing the San Jose Sharks, who

28:39 Speaker 1: are by statistics, the worst team in the NHL right now,

28:44 Speaker 1: the worst team in the NHL right now. But am

28:47 Speaker 1: I going to pencil that in as a win for

28:49 Speaker 1: the Bruins. Hell no, not the way I've seen the

28:52 Speaker 1: Bruins playing all season long. Then you've got the LA

28:56 Speaker 1: Kings and the Anaheim Ducks. Now these teams are all so.

29:02 Speaker 1: The Los Angeles Kings are eleventh overall in the league,

29:06 Speaker 1: the Vegas Golden Knights fifth overall in the league. Then

29:10 Speaker 1: you've got the Ducks, who are your twenty fourth overall

29:14 Speaker 1: in the league, Boston Bruins. The Ducks are twenty fifth,

29:17 Speaker 1: and the San Jose dead last worst team in the league.

29:20 Speaker 1: So you tell me what your faith level is at,

29:24 Speaker 1: because I believe that this is not a team that

29:29 Speaker 1: is likely to make the playoffs. Do I want to

29:33 Speaker 1: see competitive hockey? Of course, I want to see competitive hockey.

29:38 Speaker 1: But am I going to stay awake to watch games

29:40 Speaker 1: at ten o'clock ten thirty, ten pm? Yeah? No, my

29:44 Speaker 1: DVR is going to be working overtime, Folks. I will

29:47 Speaker 1: watch these games, but I likely won't watch them in

29:50 Speaker 1: real time. If, in the interest of full disclosure, if

29:54 Speaker 1: things were different, and they were, you know, right on

29:56 Speaker 1: the cusp of a playoff seating, okay, then you have

30:01 Speaker 1: my attention, and you know I'll pour myself coffee all

30:05 Speaker 1: night long to stay awake to watch these games, but

30:07 Speaker 1: not so tempted to do it right now. So with

30:11 Speaker 1: that I leave you with thank you for listening, thank

30:15 Speaker 1: you for watching. Please follow us on all of our

30:19 Speaker 1: social medias. You can find me on X at Maria

30:23 Speaker 1: of H two otown. You can find the show account

30:27 Speaker 1: on X as well at Bruins Tape to Tape. You

30:31 Speaker 1: can like us, subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

30:36 Speaker 1: And we thank you all for the time and for

30:39 Speaker 1: the support. And let's see if we can watch some

30:44 Speaker 1: good fun hockey in the upcoming games. Until next time, folks,

30:49 Speaker 1: go bes SI