The Future

I'll start off by saying this. Do not blame that playoff run on the goaltending. I don't care who you play. Whether it's a QMJHL team, an ECHL team, an AHL team, much less an NHL team, when you play as poorly as the Flyers as a whole played against the Bruins, a 7-3 loss at home, a 3-2 overtime loss at home, two 5-1 losses on the road, you ain't gonna beat anybody I just talked about. Anybody. All right? And that was a disgraceful performance in my opinion. We threw that series. We gave it away by doing that. We gave 'em the freakin' series. In my opinion that sucked. You can't play like that and expect to win a series. Holy crap I do not know who the hell we think we are when we do something like that. Unbelievable. 3 blowouts. We scored seven goals all series. That might be an NHL record. That's pitiful. I mean it's absolutely pitiful to perform like that. Aboslutely pitiful.

What's that? THE FUTURE? Don't talk about...THE FUTURE! You kidding me? We want to sign a goalie with a seven million dollar cap hit and you want to talk about THE FUTURE?!?!?!? I just hope this does not burden the franchise for the next decade!

Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 Live Blog

Over 1000 regular season games. Over 100 playoff games. It has come to this. Two teams. One game. One night. One winner. Stanley Cup Cup Finals. Bruins. Canucks. Eight Eastern. Five Pacific. NBC. CBC. Let's do this.

Game 7: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG!

Blah Blah NHL Discipline Blah Blah Blah Rant Blah Blah Blah

Someone please explain to me how this is a 4-game suspension.....



But this does not even get a hearing.



Want the difference between the two in terms of how they should be treated with discipline? Last time I checked, you cannot piledrive someone into the boards like Boychuk did. And if you break down CBC's angles screen by screen (because all NBC gave was shitty angles that show nothing), you can clearly see Boychck did just that. The main crime Aaron Rome committed was he hit Horton late. Not only did Boychuk hit Raymond late, the actual check was much more vicious.

Though while I am pointing out stupid things Boston Bruins did, Patrice Bergeron, once a victim of this, elbowed a guy in the head.

And here is Brad Marchand being an ass just because he "felt like" it.



But go on, people. Keep believing the Canucks are the only team in this series that uses dirty tactics. Yeah. Sure. Whatever.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 6 Live Blog

If you are looking for some pre-game reading, here is a post I wrote yesterday on this series.

Game 6: Canucks @ Bruins 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG!

The 2011 Stanley Cup Finals: Enough With The Hypocrisy And Self-Righteousness

Never before in my memory has a Stanley Cup Finals been so charged with emotion over "clean" and "dirty" play between the teams. Bruins fans see the Canucks as whiny divers. Canucks fans see the Bruins as complainers and hypocrites. It goes both ways. I could devote a whole series of posts to fan behavior and perceived fan behavior, but I will avoid the generalizations that come with that. Instead, I will focus on the hypocrisy of this whole thing.

I have said it multiple times now that both teams have players with dirty tendencies. Thanks in large part to a Twitter pal of mine (now @TheGreatDane36, though knowing him that will change very shortly) I have some videos which illustrate exactly what I am talking about. Hopefully this sheds the light on what I am talking about. This is not a pro-Canucks post. This is not a pro-Bruins post. This is not an anti-Canucks post. This is not an anti-Bruins post. This is calling it right down the middle. It's the way it is with these two teams. Love it or leave it. Follow the jump for videos and examples of members of both the Canucks and the Bruins partaking in less than clean activities.

I Wish I Got CBC On My TV

During the pre-game of yesterday's Bruins-Canucks Game 5, NBC viewers got Dan Patrick feigning excitement for 15 minutes. CBC got this bit of awesomeness.



Even more fitting considering the game that followed. For those wondering, the song used here is "Weapon" by Matthew Good.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 Live Blog

Game 5: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

Jonah Keri Should Never Write About Hockey Ever Again

I am pretty sure Jonah Keri knows little about hockey. If he does, the article he wrote for GQ today does not show it. In fact, in bashing Boston Bruins fans, he shows an utter ignorance of the sport, the culture of the sport, and an ignorance on what makes a good piece of writing, something I figured a guy who wrote a book might actually know how to do. Here is an FJM-style of take down of his article. His words are in italics, my commentary is in the normal font you see on this site.

First off the headline: The Boston Bruins vs. The World. Why everyone - yes, everyone - outside of Boston is rooting against the Bruins in this year's Stanley Cup Finals. And why the city deserves nothing less.

The crowd at TD Garden had spent the night in a state of frothy delirium, singing, chanting, double-fisting. Down 2-0 in the series, their Bruins had potted 12 goals in the ensuing two games. Two bloody massacres, filling Boston with the kind of braggadocio it'd been missing for a solid 10 minutes. Back from the brink of elimination and now just two games short of their goal, Bruins fans had a new battle cry:

"WE WANT THE CUP!"

Yes. The same battle cry that has infiltrated Edmonton, Los Angeles, Binghamton, Vancouver, Vancouver, and Vancouver. But no, those "braggadocio" Bruins fans are alone in chanting "WE WANT THE CUP!" before any Cup has been win. Keep believing that, Jonah. You are only one paragraph one and you already have a gross mischaracterization. It does not take a rocket scientist to conclude that more will be coming up.

Of course you want the Cup. Everyone wants the Cup.

Did I mention they want the Cup in Vancouver? Because they want the Cup in Vancouver.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 4 Live Blog

Game 4: Canucks @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

The Appalling Lack Of Consistency Of The NHL's Discipline System

As I am sure you all know by now, Aaron Rome knocked out Nathan Horton in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, sending Horton to the hospital and Rome to the dressing room early. Horton's out for the series with a severe concussion. Rome is out for the series with a four-game suspension. On the surface, it may seem like a fair punishment and just desserts for Rome, who may have done permanent damage to Horton's playing career. But in Gary Bettman's NHL, unfortunately, this exposes a much deeper problem.

There is no doubt that Aaron Rome hit Nathan Horton way late. But what happens if the hit did not have that nasty result? Chances are Rome would just get a 2-minute interference penalty and it would never be spoken of again. While a counterfactual argument, it is at least worth a thought here. Remember the violent hit where Zdeno Chara sent Max Pacioretty into the stanchion? Remember how many games Chara got? Yep. Zero.

Bad hit. Awful result. Zero game suspension.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 3 Live Blog

Game 3: Canucks @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

Tim Thomas Bites On Burrows's Fake; Canucks Win Game 2 In Overtime

Sorry I did not have these up last night. But anyway, here are videos of the NBC and CBC feed from last night's Bruins-Canucks overtime where the Canucks took a 2-0 series lead. In case you missed it (cough*cough*LikeMe*cough*cough*) and want to re-live everything, these YouTubers have done us a great favor by posting the overtime in its entirety. So prepare some popcorn, sit back, relax, and enjoy last night's overtime!

CBC feed (Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healy)



NBC feed (Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire)



The Canucks now have a 2-0 series lead heading into tomorrow night's Game 3 in Boston. The Bruins played two close hockey games so you can't say the Bruins are out of it yet, but the Canucks on paper are arguably the best team in the league and a force to be reckoned with in these finals. Assuming they do not have a two game lapse like they did against Chicago, I do not see a scenario in these Cup Finals where the Canucks cannot beat the Boston Bruins twice in five games. If I'm a Vancouver fan right now, I'm liking those odds. If I'm a Bruins fan, I'm hoping the Bruins can get some friendly rolls and fluke goals, because they may very well need those in order to win this thing.

Lastly, while Bruins fans can argue that Burrows should have been suspended for this game and I would agree with them in principle, do not act like this is a major injustice and an NHL conspiracy theory against them. Remember Game 6 in this year's Eastern Conference Finals when Nathan Horton sprayed water on a fan? Horton did not get suspended for that. The ensuing Game 7 ended 1-0 in favor of Boston. Guess who scored that lone goal.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 2 Live Blog

Game 2: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

CBC's Awesome Pre-Series Montage

While American viewers had to deal with NBC cross-promoting The Green Lantern in their pre-series montage, CBC viewers got treated to something way more awesome. Instead of making hockey second fiddle to a lame movie, CBC gave their viewers a montage illustrating the passion, excitement, and awesomeness of this year's post-season to one of today's biggest international hit songs. Put another way, it is really, really awesome.



Just how lame was NBC's Green Lantern montage in comparison to that? Well, unfortunately, I cannot show you because no one felt it was worthwhile to upload to YouTube.

Raffi Torres Scores The Game 1 Winner In The Final Minute

Well that was something. After 59 minutes and 41 seconds of scoreless hockey, Raffi Torres scored the game-winning goal for the Vancouver Canucks to give them a 1-0 win in Game 1 and a 1-0 lead in the series. Follow the jump to view massive amounts of media, including final goal as seen and heard on both NBC and CBC, in addition to proof the goal was in fact onsides and a peculiar sign off from Mike Emrick.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 Live Blog

Game 1: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

2011 Stanley Cup Finals Schedule

Here is the schedule for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. I have very little rooting interest in this series, although if the previous rounds of these playoffs are any indication, this should still be one hell of a series to watch. (all times ET)

Stanley Cup Finals

#3 Boston Bruins vs. #1 Vancouver Canucks

Game 1: June 1: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)
Game 2: June 4: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)
Game 3: June 6: Canucks @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)
Game 4: June 8: Canucks @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)
Game 5: June 10: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)
Game 6: June 13: Canucks @ Bruins 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)
Game 7: June 15: Bruins @ Canucks 8:00 (NBC - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, ItG: Glenn Healy, SR: Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman)

May 27 Playoffs Live Blog

Well here we go. Game seven. Lightning. Bruins. Someone's going to Vancouver. Someone else is going home. For my thoughts heading into this game, click here.

Game 7: Lightning @ Bruins 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, SR: Scott Oake)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG!

May 25 Playoffs Live Blog

Game 6: Bruins @ Lightning 8:00 (Versus - Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, ItG: Pierre McGuire) (CBC - Bob Cole and Garry Galley, SR: Scott Oake)

Game 5: Thunder @ Mavericks 9:00 (ESPN - Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy, SR: Doris Burke)

Save Of The Playoffs? Save Of The Playoffs

Amazing