Powerplay Outage: Hiller, Ducks Beat Bruins 6-1

Is it too late to change the Boston Bruins motto from “Big and Bad are Back” to “Ten Minutes of Offensive Pressure, Fifty Minutes of Mistakes”?

While it’s still extremely early in the season, there’s no doubting that after a 6-1 demolition of the hometown boys thanks to the at-the-time winless Anaheim Ducks following the steam-rolling of Carolina last Saturday, the fans in the Hub are beginning to wonder what they’re in for this season.

My best advice? Don’t jump off the bridge when there’s still 79 games of hockey left.

Heading into tonight’s showdown at the TD Garden, the Bruins were seemingly back to their offensive-juggernaut ways after lighting up the ‘Canes for 7 goals during a Saturday night physical affair in Boston. Tonight however, Jonas Hiller and the rest of the Anaheim (no longer mighty) Ducks were more than ready. After getting peppered by 19 shots by Boston in the first period of play and only letting one Marco Sturm slapshot get by him, the feeling that this was going to be a difficult night for the Boston offense was beginning to reverberate throughout the minds of the Garden Faithful.

From there on out, it was all Anaheim.

Following an interference call on Matt Hunwick for his rather bizarre knock-down to 6′4″ Evgeny Artyukhin and questionable hooking call against Marco Sturm, the Ducks, who boasted the fourth best powerplay in 2008-09, were set up with one minute and 53 seconds of a five-on-three advantage. Turns out they’d only need a minute and thirty seconds of it to jump ahead.

It was a Teemu Selanne bullet that went by Tim Thomas, who was being screened by Corey Perry uncontested that tied that game and wouldn’t you know it, it was Teemu again who put the puck by a sprawled out Tim Thomas a minute later to give Anaheim a lead they would never relinquish.

After Corey Perry’s goal midway through the second period put the Ducks up 3-1, the Bruins seemed simply unmotivated to win, a sight similar to last week’s home opening against the Washington Capitals. Anaheim, who adopted the idealogy of quality over quantity finished the period with three goals on just six shots whereas the Bruins were held to just one goal on 30 shots through 40 minutes of play.

In similar fashion to the aforementioned game last week, Bruins netminder Tim Thomas gave up three more soft goals in the third period, including a very bizarre shorthanded goal by Corey Perry with under a minute to play and the Bruins were done.

When it comes to tonight’s loss, the Krejci line can simply not feel good about the way they played tonight. Frequently offsides and defensively irresponsible is no way to go through a game, boys. All three members of the Bruins’ second line, Blake Wheeler, Michael Ryder and David Krejci finished the night with an upsetting -3.

Kudos to Boston’s fourth line tonight, which was creating offensive chances and throwing the body around all at the same time. Shawn Thornton, who has a knack for scoring highlight-reel goals was kept off the scoresheet but had a very impressive night when it came to moving the puck around and skating.

All and all, the story of tonight’s loss rests on the unsuccessful powerplay put forth by Boston. The Bruins were 0-6 on the advantage, falling to 4-19 on the season.

Dumb Quote of the Night

“*Sarcastic cheers*” – As Thomas stopped the puck after giving up the sixth goal in the closing minute of tonight’s loss.

Yes, Thomas did get shelled tonight, yes he was looking foolish at times, but why are you booing the Vezina Trophy winner from last season after a rough game? For one, the Bruins defense was not giving Thomas any help whatsoever and secondly, wouldn’t you prefer Thomas to work out the kinks from the off-season in October as opposed to in April?

Jersey-Spotting of the Night

A man walking throughout the balcony tonight in Section 314 was sporting a lovely Boston Red Sox away jersey, bearing the last name “Yankees Suck”, featuring the number 24:7. Interesting to say the least as this last name was so long that it makes Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson look like a nameplate belonging to Steve Ott.

What’s Next?

The Bruins will take to the ice in Boston on Saturday night as John Tavares makes his TD Garden debut when the New York Islanders come to town. The Isles are 0-0-2 on the season following an overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators in Canada’s capital tonight. I’m about 95% sure that following tonight’s frustrating effort put forth by Tim Thomas, who stopped 24 of 30 shots, that the Bruins will give the nod to Finnish phenom Tuukka Rask.

If you haven’t done so already, follow me on Twitter!

Leafs Invite Former Bruin Jason Allison To Camp

Perhaps a footnote if happening in any other month, but with the dreadfully slow month of hockey news in August this stuck out. It appears that, according to the Toronto Globe & Mail that the Toronto Maple Leafs have invited former Bruins captain Jason Allison to their camp on a try-out basis.
If you reside on the West coast, you probably remember Jason Allison best from his tenure with the Kings, where he, Adam Deadmarsh and Ziggy Palffy created the "LAPD" line for the early 2000's Kings team. However, if you're from Boston you remember Allison as the consistent performer and buffer of captains between Ray Bourque and Joe Thornton.

Throughout his tenure with the B's, Allison was a consistent performer for a well, average Boston club. In his fully healthy seasons in the Hub, Allison put up 76 points or more and even in an injury-riddled season that held him to just 37 games, Allison continued to perform strongly and finished with 28 points.

Allison's best stat with Boston was undoubtedly his playoff numbers. The 6'3 center scored 19 points in 18 career playoff games in Boston.

As he left Boston and went on to Los Angeles, Allison continued to be a strong performer before a neck injury shortened his 2002-03 campaign and subsequently kept him off the ice in 2003-04. Allison's return to the NHL came in 2005-06 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was expected to provide an added veteran presence and size to the Toronto line-up.

Despite his 60 points in 66 games for Toronto, Leafs fans were not pleased with the seemingly lackadaisical effort Allison seemed to put out on the ice. In the midst of personal problems within his family, Allison left the game and hasn't returned since.

However, Leafs GM Brian Burke is willing to role on the dice and grant Allison an invitation to Leafs camp on a try-out basis. Does the 34-year old Allison still have the legs and skill to compete in the NHL? Can the Leafs pull off a Claude Lemieux to San Jose like move and add this veteran on a two-way contract?

Either way, it's a win-win for up and coming Toronto Maple Leafs.

10 Players The Bruins Need To Get Hot

As the Bruins continue to struggle to find their pre-All-Star Break form, it makes us wonder what the heck is going wrong? We all know the special teams haven't been there, and the late game lapses are reason for concern. Even in the Bruins recent wins over the Sens and Islanders, they were on the defense clinging to their leads as the opposition were incredibly aggressive on the attack as time winded down, leaving Bruin fans holding their breath. These are the ten players I believe the Bruins need to get hot and/or return to form to be successful.

10) Shawn Thornton - This may seem a little different telling a 4th line winger to get hot, but it's true. Shawn Thornton has been a physical presence on the Bruins roster since his arrival. As of late however, teams are taking their liberties with the Bruins star players. It's time for Thornton to return to the raw and aggressive tenacity to intimidate the Bruins opponents.

9) Andrew Ference - Before fracturing his tibia in the Bruins 6-1 romp of the Canadiens in November, Boston Bruins defensemen Andrew Ference was off to a career year. He had 7 assists and a +9 in 16 games. Since returning in late January, Ference has been out of sync greatly. He's struggled defensively, posting a -3 with 8 assists and 16 penalty minutes in 25 games in 2009. His improvement is necessary for the success of the Boston defense as a whole.

8) Patrice Bergeron - Deja vu struck the TD Banknorth Garden on December 20th 2008 when Patrice Bergeron went down on a Dennis Seidenberg hit. After missing 37 days with a concussion, number 37 was ready to return. Since returning, Bergeron has posted a -2 with 3 goals and 12 assists. Granted the goals and assists are there for a 3rd line center and Bergeron has been playing better on the powerplay, but his shot selection and looks must improve. His .033 shooting percentage is unacceptable, especially for a guy who plays the point on the powerplay.

7) Michael Ryder - The Bruins big off-season signing has been spectacular this season. However, the B's sniper has had some trouble finding the back of the net. He's scored just 2 goals on 19 shots in his past 10 games. There's no doubting a healthy and effecient Ryder gives the Bruins a dangerous weapon on the wing and powerplay.

6) Blake Wheeler - We all saw this coming, didn't we? A rookie coming straight into the NHL from the NCAA, at some point he'd cool down, right? Compare a 40 game season to an 82 game one, and there's bound to be a few cold spots in there. Wheeler's struggled heavily to put the puck in the net in 2009, netting just 5 goals in 34 games. Compared to his 13 goals in 37 games in 2008 this was quite a drop off. If the 22 year old winger out of Minnesota can get going on the top line with Savard and Kessel, good things are bound to happen.

5) Marc Savard - This year, there's been no debate as the role as Boston's top center has been filled by Marc Savard. He's the team leader for both points and assists, but has seen his plus minus dip lower since February. Since February 1st against Montreal, Savard is a -5. Along with a rumored wimp out against Penguins captain Sidney Crosby when challenged to a fight, the production of Marc Savard as the team's number one center and powerplay threat must resume.

4) Dennis Wideman - At one point this year, debates were beginning of who was better on the powerplay, Zdeno Chara or Dennis Wideman? Well, I think it's safe to say Chara's the better powerplay defensemen. Wideman, has scored only 19 points (4 G 15 A) in 35 games in 2009. His production from the blue line has slowed down and his effectiveness on the powerplay is disappearing, as he's registered just 2 powerplay points (both assists) in 22 games since February. Without the success of the powerplay, the Bruins struggle, and that's been shown.

3) Milan Lucic - Now, rarely is someone critical of the 20 year old from Vancouver, but I think it's time someone is. He's practically a cult hero in the city of Boston, but where's his production gone? He's almost been a total non-factor out there in his last 25 games. Lucic is a -4 with just 3 goals and 8 assists. He's not dropping the gloves nearly as much as he should to let these type of stats show, getting in just 2 fights in those 25 games.

2) David Krejci - Boston's best kept secret, David Krejci. Has he been figured out? Bruins fans hope not. His drop in production since 2009 could be attributed to the struggles of linemates Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder or it could be that teams are now aware of how dangerous these guys really are. Either way, if the 23 year old Czech can start dishing out the puck with such skill as he's shown, the Bruins could run with 3 deep lines of forwards.

1) Phil Kessel - All right, everyone probably thinks I like to pick on Kessel. But it's true, Phil Kessel needs to heat it up for the Bruins to succeed. He's been given the reins as the Bruins number one offensive weapon, and it's time to show it. The 2009 Phil Kessel has been half the player of the 2008 Phil Kessel. He's scored just 7 goals in his past 29 games with a +1. Compared to his 24 goals in the previous 37 games, the dip is unacceptable to the Bruins offense. Maybe it was his 'bout with mono that hit him hard, but it's time to light the lamp Phil.