Observations on tonight's 3-1 loss to the Bruins.
--Dave Randorf and, ugh, Gary Galley on the call.
--Sven Andrighetto on a great backcheck to contain Brad Marchand very early in the game, nullifying what could have been a dangerous breakout for the Bruins.
Michel Therrien, in his press conference discussing Alex Semin, talked about how his addition to the lineup at least allowed some youngsters to spend another couple of months in the AHL polishing their game. Sven Andrighetto had perhaps the best performance of a bleak season overall for the Bulldogs in 2013-14, but didn't progress as expected last year, even being a healthy scratch a couple of times, with head coach Sylvain Lefebvre speaking of him needing to be more consistent.
Those extra couple of months, the fact that he wasn't handed an NHL job after an up-and-down season last year, and his strong start to the season in St. John's, may have shone through in that attention to detail and effort on defence.
--The scariest thing about Zdeno Chara these days is his physiognomy, and for Bruins fans, the turnover machine he has become.
--I hate the phrase 'good goal'. It's unnecessary. Why not say a 'goal' if it's legitimate, and not a 'goal' if it's not scored legally.
--Gary Galley speaking of Jeff Petry and Alexei Emelin playing on their off side for a sequence on one shift as if it's customary, by design, instead of something that happened during that specific shift, two partners switching sides because of the way play developed.
So obviously Hab-hater Gary Galley didn't do any preparation for the game, doesn't know that there are three established, stable defencemen on each side, and they don't play on their off-side, like Sergei Gonchar did last season, by choice, by preference.
--Dennis Seidenberg giving Tomas Plekanec a brazen crosscheck late in the period, well after Tomas had released a shot on net. No possible explanation why that wasn't a crosscheck or interference penalty, except for Daddy Campbell explaining that the NHL"sells hate".
--What's more despicable, Brad Marchand's guilty scan around the ice to see if any refs saw his two-handed whack at P.K. Subban, or P.K.'s attempt to embellish the severity of the infraction? I think the answer is obvious, but Don Cherry would disagree with me on what's plaguing the league.
--Adam McQuaid selling hate on Daniel Carr well after a whistle, being very brave against a player fifty pounds lighter than he is.
--Bruins looking around in disbelief when they're whistled for a penalty. Shocked. C'mon boys, it's in your DNA, that's what you Boston brutes do, is break the rules constantly. Daddy Campbell can't give you a Get Out of Jail Free card for every situation.
--Lars Eller contributing to the cause, to the Greater Good by dishing out a hard hit on David Krejci. Clean but effective, knocking him off the puck and maybe out of the game.
Maybe Lars is smarter than I am, concentrating on their frontline players, instead of worrying about the dregs like McQuaid or Dan Carcillo.
--Torey Krug is the poster boy for facilitated aggression, a yappy little dog who agitates and trusts that the goons on his team will prevent his assassination.
--I may have snorted dismissively when the Canadiens snapped up Paul Byron on waivers, after checking his measurables on HockeyDB, but I give, I give... Heck of a good young player. I appreciate him beyond the grudging "He's fitting well on the team" and "He's having a good start" I was willing to concede at first. I like the kid outright, without need for context and qualifiers.
--Claude Julien stalking off the ice at the end of the second, irked. Complaining about something.
--I often marvel at how P.K. and Andrei Markov especially are magicians with the puck, how they can walk the blue line with it, let a forechecker draw ever closer, sucker them in before dishing off to a teammate. Andrei will feint this way and that, look at one teammate and target him with a pass on the forehand, get his shadower to lean that way, and then dish off on the backhand through his skates.
On the shorthanded goal, Jeff Petry got bit, being at a standstill and having his desperate pass cut off by Zdeno Chara. I guess you get burned sometimes.
--And Loui Eriksson might have had the slowest breakaway I've ever seen. Good job by him protecting the puck.
--Mike Condon has to make at least one of those two saves.
--It's ugly when Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara rejoice together.
--Beating the Bruins isn't so easy when Tuukka Rask doesn't implode spontaneously.
--I'm thinking Charles Hudon gets in the game tomorrow, if scoring is becoming an issue?
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