Stanley Cup Roundup

As always, there are some seriously good series being played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. All Original Six teams made the playoffs, the top two markets in the country (New York, LA) each have two teams in the mix, Canada was well-represented, and there are no teams from truly poor hockey markets like Phoenix or Nashville. And we're already rid of the Vancouver Canucks.

Sharks 4, Canucks 3 (OT) - Sharks win series 4-0

Vancouver went with Cory Schneider and it didn't really work out. This was a matchup between teams that perennially choke in the playoffs, so one of them had to advance and one had to be embarrassed. I had to post a pic of a hot girl in Vancouver colors, since I won't have a chance to post anymore in the upcoming weeks.

Blackhawks 3, Wild 0 - Blackhawks lead series 3-1

Chicago only lost 7 games in regulation this season, and Minnesota doesn't appear to be much of a match for them. The Wild aren't healthy and the Blackhawks have Patrick Sharp, who had 2 goals in the game and has 4 in the series.

Senators 3, Canadiens 2 (OT) - Senators lead series 3-1

Only 8 penalty minutes in this game. There were about 30 times as many penalty minutes in the previous game. Montreal got conservative in the 3rd period and it screwed them. Ottawa grinded out a pair of goals. Carey Price appeared to hurt his groin at the end of the 3rd and backup Peter Budaj allowed the Kyle Turris game-winner. Ottawa scares me more than any other team in the East. They're getting 110% from their talent and they've been working their asses off all season. Every game they played against the Bruins was close and they got better and better against the B's as the season progressed.

Islanders 6, Penguins 4 - Series tied 2-2

The Penguins have the best skaters in the NHL. No doubt about it. They're stacked. Unfortunately, their goalie is Marc-Andre Fleury. He allowed 6 goals on 24 shots. One fourth of the shots on goal went by him. And some of them were hideous. He's allowed 14 goals in the last 3 games, and Vokoun might get the start in Game 5.

Tonight's games...

7:00pm - Bruins @ Maple Leafs - Bruins lead series 2-1 - NESN/NHL Network
The Bruins need to remain consistent. Tonight they have an opportunity to start burying Toronto's grave. They also have an opportunity to give Toronto a second life.

7:30pm - Capitals @ Rangers - Capitals lead series 2-1 - NBC Sports
The Rangers were up against it and Game 3 and came through. Washington looks good, they have Ovechkin, they have depth, and the Rangers don't seem to know how to win playoff series. However, the Caps will have to find another gear to knock them out.

9:00pm - Kings @ Blues - Series tied 2-2 - CNBC
The defending Champions don't look as sharp as they did last year. I haven't seen much of this series but St. Louis has looked good from what I have seen. And Jonathan Quick has looked human.

10:00pm - Red Wings @ Ducks - Series tied 2-2 - NBC Sports
This series is a big reason why Detroit will be moving to the Eastern Conference. A fanbase in the Eastern Time zone is forced to watch playoff games at 10:00pm. On weeknights. Not good for business. One good thing is if Detroit wins they could face Midwest rival Chicago in the next round. And if Anaheim wins they could face California rival LA.

-The Captain

Islanders 2, Bruins 1

Before last night the Bruins had won 5 of 6, and yet their fans were unhappy. Why? Because their play was uninspired, relaxed, inconsistent, and sometimes careless. They played the same way last night, against a decent team struggling for a playoff spot, and it bit them.

When is Milan Lucic going to get a healthy scratch? Or be once again demoted for the 3rd line (for longer than a game)? Claude Julien had the balls to scratch Phil Kessel in the playoffs. He kept Tyler Seguin on the bench as he developed. And this season he's moved Seguin to the 3rd line. Is Julien afraid of Lucic? This guy is playing with half a heart for almost all of his shifts.

The Bruins wore camouflage warm-ups pre-game, Lucic seems to wear camouflage during games because he is invisible on the ice.

And he makes the most obvious and dumbest mistakes with the puck. In his defensive zone he attempted a BLIND, slow, backhanded pass across the width of the ice. Of course it was intercepted. Lucic has no conception of where he is on the ice, and how careful he should be in certain spots.

Dougie Hamilton was a healthy scratch. Because Adam McQuaid came back. I guess Matt Bartkowski is better than Dougie Hamilton these days. If solid, mistake-free hockey is so important to Julien, why does Bartkoswki get rewarded for it and Lucic evades punishment for lack of it?

And has Hamilton been making mistakes? Has he been costing this team goals? He's been helping them score goals. He's been playing very sound at his position, especially considering his age. Hamilton was a healthy scratch. Why? Because taking care of the puck is vital. Unless you're Milan Lucic.

I apologize for my vexed frustrations. This team is like a rock band that has a great drummer, good guitarists, a capable bassist, and lead singers that sound like cats being anally raped. They ruin the whole act. And the manager seems to favor the singer over everyone else.

The B's travel to Raleigh to play the godawful Hurricanes. That should be a win, despite how crappily Lucic plays.

-The Captain

Bruins 4 Islanders 1

The Bruins came out strong in this game, just dominating. They got up 1-0 on a Adam McQuaid slap shot, but then kind of died out the rest of the period and the Islanders were able to tie it. It could've been worse if Rask wasn't again on top of his game.

The Bruins players must have got an ear full, because once the 2nd period the Bruins crushed this team. Marchandgot his 10th goal of the season, and he really is so much better than I thought he was. I always liked him as a pest, a guy you would hate unless he is on your team, but the kid has skills, and crashes the net the way I would love to see other Bruins play.

David Krejci got his 5th goal of the season, and that put the game out of reach. The Bruins added an empty net at the end of the game.

With the win the Bruins are 12-2-2 and have won 4 straight. They are playing some of the best hockey I have ever seen a Bruins team play to start a season. They really don't have any major flaws.

Their next game is tomorrow against Ottawa in Boston.

Bruins @ Islanders Preview

The Bruins have played the least amount of games of any NHL team. It's been a damn impressive start, but at some point this is going to even out, and one hopes they will have the legs for it. Yet, that is the reason I am such a big fan of this team. They are overall a pretty young team, and they are just so deep. I think that's why they will end up being in 1st place in the East.

The Bruins are in New York tonight, and they are 7-1-1 on the road. Boston has won 15 of 19 meetings and has outscored New York 36-19 during a 7-1-1 stretch at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders have let up the most goals int he NHL, and that will be the difference tonight. I have all the confidence in the world that the Bruins will not let up more than 3 goals tonight, and I think they will easily score at least 4.

Bruins win 4-2
Player of the Game: Bergeron
Game starts 7:30pm

Tim Thomas's Contract Sent to Long Island

The Bruins have traded Tim Thomas to the Islanders. So instead of not playing in Boston, Tim Thomas will not be playing in Uniondale. The Bruins received a conditional 2nd round pick in either 2014 or 2015. What pick the Bruins get will depend on if Thomas plays for the Islanders this season.

So the Bruins no longer have to bear Tim Thomas's $5 million cap hit. And the Islanders were able to reach the minimum salary cap number without paying a player. That's a nice little loophole the Islanders found.

And maybe finally, Bruins fans can stop being melodramatic about what Thomas did, since he no longer has an impact on the salary cap. The word from Thomas's agent is that things are still "status quo" for the now former Bruins goalie. At the moment, he seems just as uninterested in playing for the Islanders as he was to play for the Bruins.

The Bruins no longer have to carry the burden of his cap hit. So it's time to get over it, people.

And if you want to accuse Thomas of being selfish, and not putting his team first, the Bruins were very honest with him that they were looking to move him to another team. So is Thomas disloyal to Boston and the Bruins because he didn't want to stick around and be traded away from Boston and the Bruins? He should have been loyal to the team that didn't want him?

Of all the selfish things athletes sometimes do, deciding to take a year off, and forfeit $3 million in salary to do it, does not seem to be high on the scale. I have yet to hear or read a coherent argument that what Thomas did is especially selfish and deserves as much crap as some Bruins fans enjoy heaping onto him.

The level of criticism he's been the subject of has greatly outweighed what he did.

And if you think Thomas wasn't a good teammate, remember this?

And for the surly and sour people out there who still dislike Thomas, please don't wear any Bruins Stanley Cup hats or t-shirts. You wouldn't have those without Thomas.

-The Captain

Tim Thomas Traded To Islanders

The New York Islanders have acquired goaltender Tim Thomas in a trade with the Boston Bruins, the teams said. The Bruins acquired a conditional second-round pick in 2014 or '15 in the deal. ESPN

Good riddance to the douche. It's funny, Thomas quit on the team and they were able to trade his douche corpse to the Islanders. Thomas will not be playing this year and is looking to come back next year, so he can play for the Olympics.

I know Rob will defend Thomas to death because of what he did, but Thomas is a douche and my thoughts became a reality this morning when D&C were interviewing Dale Arnold (You know someone who covers the team and around them all the time) and said Thomas was an absolute distraction last year, and that his teammates did not like him. He said that Andrew Ference and Tim Thomas didn't even acknowledge each other in the locker room and it was a very uncomfortable locker room last year due to him. Also, he said the Bruins were looking to move him last year, but because of his personality many GM's "didn't want to deal with his volatility."

He could have been an absolute legend here in Boston, much like Ray Allen, but chose his ego over that. Thomas will always be remembered for putting on the greatest show by a goalie ever, but will always have a "yea, but" after that statement gets made.

Later Thomas, you dickbag.