Gentlemen,
It is an honor to share my sick obsession of the Bruins with
people who love the game as much as I do. As you referenced before Coach, if
you haven’t laced ‘em up you just don’t understand. The last couple months have
been painful to bear as we watched out boys play in Europe and we couldn’t go
to the Garden to watch the greatest game there is. But as much as it hurt us to
deal with this lockout, I don’t think this will hurt the Bruins, in fact, it
can only help them on the ice. This team is oozing with grizzled veterans who
now know what it takes to win a cup. Not only do they have the championship
pedigree, they have some serious skill. Seguin and Bergeron owned the Swiss
league. Chara brought physicality to the KHL. Rask was able to post solid
numbers in the 8 games he played in Europe. Not to mention several other Bruins
who kept their game sharp while the suits battled it out in CBA negotiations.
All that is behind us now as we have a shortened, 48 game sprint to the playoffs.
In my humble opinion, the Bruins are in great shape. Tuukka Rask doesn’t have
to play a full season as he tries to fill Tim Thomas’ shoes. Less grueling work
that body needs to endure before the playoffs the better. Rask has all the
ability to be the guy for Boston for years to come now he just needs to put in
work. The core forwards are ALL back except for 1 spot on the third line that
can be filled by numerous prospect options. Bourque, Knight, Spooner etc all
have a chance to snag that spot with Caron hurt. With Seguin gelling with Bergeron
and Marchand and Horton healthy, the top two lines should be up there with the
top lines in the league. On the back end,
the exciting potential of Dougie Hamilton playing with the likes of Chara, Seidenberg,
Boychuck Ference and Mcquaid is too tantalizing to dismiss. Sure there will be a few hiccups in his
transition to the NHL from the OHL but there is a bright future for Dougie as
he will learn from the best.
The Bruins need to get physical and stay physical. The
Northeast division rivals beefed up their physicality with the likes of Steve
Ott going to Buffalo, and Brandon Prust going to Montreal . Toronto is stuck in
the mudd until they can find a goaltender (Bobby Lu) and Ottawa can always
provide a tough test. The Bruins will be seeing these teams a lot so get used
to the division rivalries heating up.
Even though the lockout shortened the season, we will still
be able to test our meddle against top notch teams like Philly Pittsburgh and
the Rangers. All potential playoff opponents. Not having to travel cross
country will also help the bruins fight off the fatigue of traveling often. God
bless playing in the eastern conference.
If our boys in the black and gold can stay healthy, hit the
ground running and avoid losing streaks, there is some serious potential for
this team to get a high seed for the playoffs. With their chemistry, speed and
physicality, they can bruise their way into facing a western conference team in
June.
Boy am I glad that hockey is back and I can wait to watch as
much hockey as possible in the next four months. As well as contributing to
what could be a great gig for Coach and Prevost.
Go Bruins!
-Todd
