Maple Leafs 2, Bruins 1 (Series tied 3-3)

That 4-1 pounding in Game 1 seems like ages ago.

This Bruins team really pisses me off. They no longer hold leads. Not in games, not in series. It was once a trademark of this team under Julien, that when they were up 2, they'd win. And once again, they've blown a 3-1 lead.

James Reimer has gained all the confidence in the world. And why not? He has all of southern Ontario behind him, and the Bruins have allowed his success. The B's forwards have not been able to consistently get body position in front of the net in order to take advantage of the rebounds Reimer allows. Is Marck Recchi available tonight?

Some Bruins have improved in this series over their regular season form. Milan Lucic, for instance. Nathan Horton as well, although in Game 6 in the box score claims he played 17:38 and I didn't notice him on the ice at all.

Other Bruins, such as Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin, have played worse than their regular season form. Neither have scored. Marchand has 2 assists and is -1. Seguin has no assists and is even. In the regular season these two combined for 34 goals and were the top 2 goal-scorers on the team. No THREE Bruins could combine for that many goals. Marchand and Seguin scored 27% of the Bruins goals in the regular season. So that's one fourth of the offense not producing in this series.

I also think the Bruins aren't as talented as we thought they were. I think this team essentially has two fourth lines. The third line has been meaningless in these games. Kelly and Peverley are both -3. So not only are they not scoring, they're getting scored on. Which goes against the Claude Julien system.

This team has scored 17 goals in the series. The Krejci line has 9 of those. Defensemen have 5. So only 3 goals have been scored by lines 2 through 4. Three goals from 9 forwards.

Horton and Lucic are each +8 in this series. Krejci is +7. The Bergeron line is -1. The Peverley line is -3. The Campbell line is even. Only one line is scoring. The second line can't score. The third line isn't scoring, and is allowing goals. The fourth line is doing what it does with its minimal ice-time. Only two lines are doing their jobs. The Bergeron line is capable of doing better. I don't think the Peverley line is.

This Game 7 tonight is an important game for the direction of this team. With a win, then things are fine. With a loss, then there needs to be a serious reevaluation of the coach, the staff, and the roster.

-The Captain

Flyers 5, Bruins 2

I don't care if the Bruins win or lose these games down the stretch. I don't care about winning the Northeast Division. The playoffs are all about matchups, not seeding. I care about how poorly this team is playing. They show up, give us one good period, then they cruise.

And the mistakes are getting worse. Both David Krejci and Brad Marchand, two of the best forwards on the team, made inexcusable turnovers in the middle of the ice.

Just a sidenote, I don't mind Julien sitting Marchand for the remainder of the period after that giveaway, but it aggravates me that he did nothing after Lucic made bad play after bad play, yet one mistake from Marchand and it's ride the pine time.

Anton Khudobin compounded things with a truly bad goal. The Bruins were down by 3, which is just about insurmountable for this team's offense to overcome. Even with Power Plays. Krejci made it a 4-2 game, but another turnover 13 seconds later made it a 3-goal game again.

One bright spot was that a trio of newcomers generated the other Bruins goal. Wade Redden scored it, assisted by Jagr and Carl Soderberg.

I'm tired of turnovers. I'm tired of an impotent Power Play. The playoffs are a week away. This team will be brushed aside if they don't change their ways by then.

B's host the Lightning Thursday night.

-The Captain

Bruins 3, Maple Leafs 2 (SO)

The Bruins needed this win. More accurately, they needed to not lose. What's the difference? Well, the positive impact of winning this game isn't nearly as significant as avoiding what the negative impact of losing would have been.

It was good to see Milan Lucic score a goal. Hopefully it doesn't take him 15 more games to score his next goal (that would be the second-to-last game of the season, which emphasizes how close to the end of the season we are coming). This team cannot succeed with just the Bergeron line scoring.

By the way, can we stop calling the line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Seguin the "second line?" This line is obviously the primary line. They're the scoring line. Look at the three shooters the Bruins sent out for the shootout: Seguin, Bergeron, Marchand. This is the #1 line.

It was this line that scored the tying goal. Marchand sent a puck deep into the zone, Dougie Hamilton won a battle on the boards and protected the puck, then Bergeron finished with a backhand goal.

Let's not get overjoyed about scoring 2 goals and winning in a shootout, especially against Toronto. This team is still relying on one line, and a few defensemen, to generate their offense. And once again there was a facepalm inducing goal scored when Andrew Ference was on the ice.

This team doesn't need a trade to right itself. Although a trade might help, just adding a few pieces or adjusting lines won't solve the fundamental inconsistencies from players like Lucic and Krejci. As well as the complete lack of offense from the 3rd line.

Lucic needs to continue to play like a first line forward. EVERY NIGHT. Or at least TRY to play like a first line forward. Too often he just cruises around the ice, completely unnoticed, and you look at the box score after the game and see he played 17 minutes. And you ask yourself "When? I never saw him."

Bruins host the Canadiens Wednesday night.

-The Captain

Bruins 2, Senators 1

The Bruins took an important 2 points out of their game with the Senators last night. However, some things about this team still concern me.

The Power Play remains absolutely useless. They don't even get shots on goal. And that's inexcusable. How do you not get shots to the net when you have more players than your opponent?

This team isn't scoring. The Seguin-Bergeron-Marchand line is producing, but every other set of forwards is struggling. Dennis Seidenberg scored the game-winner in the 3rd. And although Daniel Paille, normally of the 4th line, scored in the 2nd, it was because of Tyler Seguin's net-drive, which drew the attention of the Ottawa defense.

The Bergeron line has become the first line. The Krejci and Peverly lines have become ineffective.

This team WILL NOT advance far in the Stanley Cup playoffs with only one line and a useless Power Play.

The Bruins are in Toronto Saturday night. Then the Leafs are in Boston on Monday. Then the Habs come to town on Wednesday. This is a key stretch of divisional play. The B's are 2 points behind Montreal, with a game in hand.

-The Captain

Capitals 4, Bruins 3

Last night was a great chance for the Bruins to pick themselves up after a tough divisional loss. They came out strong, apparently unfazed by the loss to Montreal or the chatter that followed. They even scored a Power Play goal.

This team is rarely up by 3 goals, and maybe that's a good thing. They seem to play worse when up by 3. They play their best when leading or trailing by a goal or two. When they get a 3 goal lead, they settle in. That pattern repeated itself last night.

Look at Washington's OT goal. Four Bruins on the ice, none skating with any drive or purpose, just floating around on the ice.

The Bruins didn't do much to add to their lead once they went up 3-0. Here's an alarming fact, not a single Bruins forward scored a goal in open play. Marchand scored a penalty shot, and the other two goals came from Chara and Hamilton. The lack of offense from forwards not named Marchand is a problem for this team. And they're getting almost no production from the 3rd line.

Then there's Rask. He wasn't bad. He wasn't great. He only saw 26 shots, and only saved 22. This team can't rely on Rask to play like a robot night in and night out. They have to make more plays in front of them. And they need to string together 3 consecutive periods of quality play.

Important divisional game Thursday as the Maple Leafs come to town.

-The Captain