Thank You Kessel

I love winning. Dontcha love winning? Like, it's better than losing?

The Bruins raked the Leafs into the forest (running out of Leafs/autumn/defeat items here) last night, 2-0. Tim Thomas with the shutout. GAA of 0.60 and a save percentage over .980, who woulda thunk it?

• That Seguin kid, he's gonna be something someday. Snapped home a shot, displaying quick wrists, beating Gustafson. Bergy also connected again on the PP with a rising one-timer from the point, beating Gustafson high-glove.
• Nathan Horton didn't get on the scoresheet tonight but he scored in other areas just as important. He got into a scuffle with Dion Phaneuf and handled himself okay. Apparently it had been going all night, just verbal stuff, then after a faceoff, the sticks, gloves, helmets all came off and Horton went after him like a hurricane, roundhouse blows. Horton got the takedown, but Phaneuf performed some Phaneuf-ery and punched Horton after Horton threw him down. That got Horton pretty hot, so he kept punching away while Phaneuf was on the ground. Horton got the extra 10 for that, but it was worth it. I never though Horton was the type to throw down, but check out this battle with Arron Asham. Took him to the woodshed there. Nice work there, kid.
  
• Yah, surely you've heard about the chant (sounded like it started in Balcony Sec 314 or so) of "Thank You Kess-el" after the Seguin goal. It was pretty loud and among one of the better chants witnessed at the Fleet Garden in awhile. Great fun. As usual, the Loge was oblivious to there even being a hockey game on the ice. Game program lists Kessel at, no lie, 6-2 202 lbs. My ass. He's 5-10 and about 185 soaking wet, holding an anvil. He said he couldn't care less about the chants, etc. but we know we're in his head - which is why we chant & boo. Behind that tow-headed exterior lies a fragile, awkward, and sensitive lad...and we're going to destroy him emotionally, brick by brick.
  
• Mark Stuart pretty much mugged him in the corner, stole his lunch money, Kessel fell, and the crowd went nuts. Yeah.
  
• Milt Schmidt night at the TD Center, I missed most of it due to heavy traffic getting into the city. Dude is 92, appeared as alert as ever, started playing w/ the B's at age 12 or something, held all positions in the organization. I can barely skate.
  
• Key Word to Last Night: "Toxic". I musta said "holy shit, the d-combo there is toxic" about 400 times last night. Usually Ference was one of those 2 d-men. During the post-game, Beers said Ference has been doing well, but ya know, if I can tell you suck, then you suck. McQuaid was in for the injured Boychuk. I'd rather see Bartkowski or Kampfer.
• Ryan Spooner update: 7-8-15 totals in 10 games for the Peterborough Petes, slipping to 31st in scoring.
• Trade Wheeler. Do it soon, get some picks for him. Banish him to Phoenix or someplace where we won't see him. Saw a toddler with a Wheeler jersey on my way out, I almost called DSS because that's just child abuse right there. My buddy's 13 year old son almost started liking Wheeler during the B's/Rangers game and I diverted him to Seguin.
  
• Guy who sat to my right smelled like my late grandfather. Some cologne/aftershave from the 40's was employed there, methinks. And the dude talked to his wife the whole game, pretty much sewed a quilt and bought a few purses during the game as well.
  

Blake Wheeler Sucks Ass

Do ya think Blake Wheeler googles himself every once in awhile? Do ya think he'll catch that headline and go, oh, yeah, I suck massive dogballz?

Check out Stephen Harris' article from Sunday's Herald, where Blake Wheeler says he does not need to work on his physical game or his aggressiveness. He also thinks his work in the corners was much improved this past season. He did admit that he needed work on his skating and balance.

Let's pile it on. Here's a video of Blake Wheeler's "fight" against Ryan O'Byrne



Ya know what? Ryan O'Byrne, you suck, too. Remember that own goal you scored vs. the Isle last year?




Wheels got square wheels. Your time here is done. If you want to play hockey in Boston, you never say, "well, I don't think I need to work on my aggressiveness". You say, "My life as a Boston Bruin is incomplete because I have not scored 50 goals, gotten 200 PIM and won the Stanley Cup all in the same year. Anything else is failure."

Savvy Back For 2nd Round

Marc Savard is going to be available for Round 2, but Mark Stuart is not.  What does this mean for the lineup?  It means that one of the forwards becomes a healthy scratch.  It has to be Thornton.  Begin and Paille are your #1 PK unit and that PK unit was the difference in the series against the Sabres.  For the same reason, Wheeler gets the edge over Thornton because he also logs a lot of PK time.  It has to be between those two.

It's very disappointing that Stuart won't be back.  The Ference/McQuaid D pair of doom is already showing signs of breaking down and would be especially vulnerable against Jordan Staal and Pittsburgh.  Claude will do his best to have the top 4 out there for Malkin and Crosby, but Jordan Staal is no slouch and could be a difference maker in a series against them when he gets to pick on Ference/McQuaid.

Does Vladdy get demoted to 4th line duty and less than 10 minutes of TOI per night?  Let's hope not.  The kid is made for the playoffs and it would be sad not to see him with a regular shift.  Perhaps they'll ease Savard into things by giving Sobotka occasional shifts in the top 9 at even strength to spot Savvy.  Bergeron is one of the best two-way centers in the league so he's not moving to wing.  Krejci and Savard are not moving to wing either.  That means Vladdy either centers the 4th line, gets spot duty or plays wing with one of the big three.  The primary candidate for demotion from the top 9 is of course Wheeler.  We'll see what Claude comes up with.  Don't bother believing anything they run in practice.  This might be one of those things they don't want to tip to their opposition before the puck drops in Game 1.