Mailbag: Can Bruins Beat Heavy Teams in the Playoffs? | Pucks with Haggs
In this Mailbag episode of Pucks with Haggs, Joe Haggerty takes the helm solo to delve into a crucial question from listeners: Can the Bruins beat heavy teams in the playoffs?
This episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast is brought to you by PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
This episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast is brought to you by PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
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00:00 Pucks with Hags is powered by Pricepix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS
00:06 Media Network.
00:07 Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast.
00:09 As always, I am your host, Joe Hagerty.
00:11 You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com.
00:15 Apply for a premium subscription.
00:17 You get all of my NHL and Bruins writing sent straight directly to your inbox.
00:21 I also file columns after every single Bruins game for the Boston Sports Journal, so check
00:25 that out at bostonsportsjournal.com.
00:27 Greg Vardar and Mike Giardi, a host of talented writers covering all the major sports here
00:32 in Boston.
00:34 Pucks with Hags is powered by Pricepix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS
00:39 Media Network.
00:40 Pricepix is the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America and the easiest
00:46 and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports.
00:49 Instead of battling thousands of other players that could be pros or sharks, you simply pick
00:52 more or less than on two to six player stat projections and watch the winnings roll right
00:58 in.
00:59 For example, David Pasternak, you can pick shots on net.
01:01 Charlie McAvoy, you could pick hits.
01:04 You could pick Jason Tatum points rebounds for the Celtics.
01:07 You could pick anybody on the Red Sox.
01:11 I don't know if they're actually going to come through for you, but you might want to
01:13 pick losses for the Red Sox as a team.
01:16 I know you can't do that stat projection, so you would have to pick, I guess, Byron
01:21 Bellow, Brian Bellow, is that his name?
01:23 Strikeouts, walks, something like that.
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01:33 Download the Pricepix app today and use the code CLNS for our first deposit match of up
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01:45 Pick more, pick less.
01:48 It's that easy.
01:49 I would pick less for every single Red Sox player.
01:51 That's basically what I'm trying to tell you.
01:53 All right, let's move on to the podcast.
01:56 I believe this is the 77th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, the Ray Bork episode
02:03 of the Pucks with Hags podcast.
02:05 I will be answering some of your questions.
02:06 This will be a mailbag edition for the most part.
02:11 Three to two shutout win for the Bruins over the Capitals on Saturday night.
02:16 Solid shootout win.
02:18 Bruins did a really good job of killing off a Hampus Lindholm double minor high sticking
02:22 penalty in overtime.
02:24 Basically the entirety of overtime, they were short handed.
02:27 They managed to kill off that penalty.
02:28 Jeremy Swin made a bunch of saves.
02:31 They got goals from Lindholm actually during the game and Johnny Beecher had a nice play
02:37 unassisted.
02:38 A nice five hole goal after speeding past everybody and scoring, showing his value.
02:45 We'll get into this, but one of the things I really liked about that game against the
02:48 Capitals was some of the guys there scratching and clawing and fighting for fourth line jobs
02:53 right now showed up, whether it was Beecher scoring that hustle goal, whether it was Jacob
02:58 Lauko had, I think, three hits, four blocked shots in like eight plus minutes of ice time,
03:05 less than 10 minutes of ice time.
03:07 He was in, James Van Riemsteyck was out.
03:09 Van Riemsteyck didn't do much of anything in the game that he had played before that.
03:15 It's starting to feel like, at least to start the playoffs, JVR might be one of the players
03:19 on the outside looking in because maybe he's a little banged up.
03:22 Maybe he's slowed down a little bit.
03:24 Certainly I think he's less effective in a bottom six role than some of these other guys
03:29 that can bring energy, physicality, all kinds of different things.
03:32 Guys like Lauko, Beecher, Jesper Boquist.
03:36 Certainly Justin Brezow, I think, is starting to show that he deserves to be in the lineup
03:40 as well.
03:41 So I think that's something that's really interesting to watch is just this developing
03:45 competition for the fourth line, certainly in parts of the third line as well, where
03:52 it looks like maybe Danton Heinen is locked in a top six winger job right now with the
03:58 way that he's played down the stretch.
04:01 And so that pushes everybody down into these third and fourth line competitions, skating
04:06 with guys like Trent Frederick, who is obviously a lock to be on that third line, and Morgan
04:13 Geeky as well, looking like he's locking down that center position on the third line.
04:19 So that stuff's going to be interesting to watch.
04:22 The biggest thing that I found from that three to two win over the Capitals, though, aside
04:26 from just getting the win, good win against a team that's hungry in Washington, that's
04:31 clawing for points, that you had to match their intensity and their willingness to win.
04:36 And to make plays in order to get the result.
04:41 Hampus Lindholm, I thought was one of his best games.
04:43 Yes, he did have the high sticking penalty in overtime.
04:47 He's had for my money way too many high sticking penalties this year, but had over 26 minutes
04:53 of ice time, had the first goal of the game where he just threw a shot on net from the
04:59 point, a wrist shot through a flash screen.
05:01 I think it was Marcian in front of Lindholm, the goalie for the Capitals, ends up going
05:07 through and nobody stops it, nobody blocks it, and ends up going in the back of the net.
05:12 Kind of an unlikely goal, but it went in because Hampus Lindholm put a shot on net, something
05:18 that Jim Montgomery has been preaching to his players.
05:22 So he gets the second goal of the season, played over 26 minutes, blocked a few shots.
05:30 Great defensive game, goal saving play in the opening minutes of the game when Alex
05:37 Ovechkin got a shot on net, Jeremy Swayman kicked out a rebound, couldn't control the
05:41 puck when the rebound popped out, got kind of out of position as he was scrambling.
05:46 Connor McMichael looked like he was going to have an open net to shoot at with Swayman
05:49 sort of out of position.
05:51 All of a sudden Lindholm comes out of nowhere, gets his stick along the goal line and deflects
05:56 the puck from going in, saves a goal.
06:00 Really allowed, I think, along with Swayman playing really well in those first few minutes,
06:04 the Bruins to get their footing when they didn't start very well in that game and keep
06:08 the Capitals off the board.
06:10 And then eventually Lindholm scores the goal to get the momentum back and the Bruins were
06:14 kind of off and running in a competitive game after that.
06:17 But massive play early in that game from Hampus Lindholm, massive defensive play that impacted
06:23 the game and he goes out and scores the goal too that was also impactful.
06:28 And I thought he played a pretty solid defensive game.
06:32 Perhaps no coincidence that he had a very good game skating in a pairing with Charlie
06:37 McAvoy, something the Bruins wanted to look at here down the stretch, just with matchups,
06:41 with stuff they might want to do in the playoffs.
06:43 And for me, when I see Charlie McAvoy and I see Hampus Lindholm playing together in
06:50 a pairing down the stretch right before the playoffs, it reminds me a little bit of 2011
06:56 with Dennis Seidenberg put with Zidane O'Chara, where why not put your two best defensemen,
07:01 two guys that can play close to 30 minutes a night, two guys that two big time defensemen,
07:07 shutdown defensemen that are in the prime of their careers and can play in all situations.
07:12 Why not put them together in the playoffs where they can shut down the other team's
07:15 best line, where they can play about 30 minutes a night and really cut the game in half?
07:19 You can have those two out there kind of locking things down for half of the game.
07:23 You know, a lot of special team situations and also plenty of five on five when the other
07:27 team's best players are out there.
07:30 And then you can kind of piece together with Brandon Carlo, with Matt Grislyk, with Parker
07:34 Wetherspoon, with Kevin Shattenkirk, if he's out there, with Andrew Peake, who I think
07:40 has been excellent, too, by the way, played over 21 minutes in that game, blocked a bunch
07:45 of shots, had some hits and looked really strong again in that game and is really in
07:50 a hunt for the playoffs and will be in the playoffs for the first time in his NHL career
07:55 after kind of languishing in Columbus before getting traded to the Bruins at the deadline.
07:59 So why not put McAvoy and Lindholm together or at least think about putting them together
08:05 as this monster pairing at the top of the defense that you can throw out there for half
08:11 the game and then figure out the rest with the other four defensemen as you go through?
08:18 I think that's something they should look at.
08:20 I'm glad they put them in a pairing last night.
08:22 I'm glad the Bruins won and both defensemen played well.
08:26 Maybe it's something they'll go back to, but I certainly liked that move by Montgomery.
08:31 I liked giving that pairing a look and I like the idea of putting them together in the playoffs
08:36 against another team's best line, especially if it's sort of a big, heavy line to shut
08:39 them down.
08:40 So I thought that was an excellent move and it was really encouraging to see Lindholm
08:45 respond the way he did in the play game the way he did because I was writing about it
08:50 earlier.
08:51 He's got two goals, what, 28 points, something like that this year.
08:57 He's a plus player, like plus 15, whatever.
09:01 But he had, I think it was 10 goals over 50 points last year, was like around a plus 30,
09:06 I think, maybe more than that.
09:09 And it just makes you realize how much of a down year he had offensive production-wise
09:15 and how different a year this was for him.
09:18 And I think the changing of the personnel, not being as dominant offensively, not playing
09:25 puck possession in the offensive zone as much as they did the year before, not having the
09:30 juggernaut offensive team, I think it might have affected Hampus Lindholm more than anybody
09:36 else on this team as far as what he could bring and how he had to play.
09:40 I think he could afford to be much less of a guy taking risks offensively, much less
09:45 of a guy really playing up and being aggressive in a lot of those situations because they
09:51 just didn't have the puck in the offensive zone long enough, didn't have possession long
09:54 enough for him to kind of set up or to take risks or to do different things on the ice
10:00 that he was doing the year before to create.
10:03 And it really changed things.
10:04 I just don't think he wasn't as good a player this year as he was last year.
10:07 That's part of it.
10:08 But I think it also has a lot to do with the personnel changes for the Bruins and how different
10:13 they are this year that it affected him and his production maybe more than anybody else.
10:18 Yeah, David Pasternak went from 60 goals last year and he's probably going to be around
10:23 50 this year.
10:24 You know, dropping 10 goals is pretty significant.
10:26 That's a significant drop off in goal production.
10:29 But he's also upped his assists, upped his playmaking, setting career highs in assists,
10:34 and will still be way up in the points category, certainly up over 100 and close to what he
10:40 did last year.
10:41 But also interesting to see his goals are down a little bit, but the point production
10:45 is not nearly as off a cliff as it is for Hampus Lindholm.
10:47 So maybe that will get him going a little bit offensively as well, playing with Charlie
10:51 McAvoy in a situation where he's out there with usually the best players against the
10:56 other team's best players, and maybe they can attack them defensively as well.
11:01 So maybe this will be a good thing for him to finally unlock a little bit of what he
11:05 has to give in the playoffs and to offer, because we are now going 11 straight games
11:10 over the last two seasons with Lindholm in the playoffs for the Bruins, zero points,
11:15 zero impact in the game positively really.
11:18 Got hurt two years ago in Carolina after taking a big hit and was never the same in that series
11:25 to this past series, playoff series last year, going against Florida, really being suffocated
11:31 by that Florida 4 check, no points, no real impact on that series in a positive way, and
11:37 really struggled against the Florida 4 check.
11:39 So maybe that can be different this time around if you put him with Charlie McAvoy.
11:43 All right.
11:45 Let's also give credit quickly.
11:47 Jeremy Swaman played really well in that game last night.
11:49 He's been sort of up and down at times.
11:52 But he's played, and this means something to me, he's played really well in the important
11:58 games and he's been given a lot of the important games down the stretch.
12:01 And that tells me, I think, how the Bruins are planning to use him, think they're still
12:05 going to use him.
12:07 He played in both games against Toronto, won those.
12:09 He played against the Florida Panthers, won that game.
12:11 He played against the Washington Capitals, another team that will be a playoff team and
12:15 has played really well down the stretch, won that game in the shootout.
12:20 And he's had to, and when the competition has been there and when the team has played
12:23 well in front of him, he's won and he's looked just as good as he did in the first half,
12:27 even if the post-All-Star break numbers haven't been as good for him.
12:31 I'm not one of these people that really thinks that we need to stir it up and create a goalie
12:36 controversy about who's going to start game one.
12:38 I still think it's going to be Swaman based on the way they've used him and the games
12:43 that they've put him in, the situations they continue to put him.
12:45 They're playing him like the number one, putting him against all the tough opponents and all
12:49 the big matchups and he's coming out with wins in all those games.
12:52 So I think that's meaningful and I think the Bruins are paying attention to that.
12:57 The Pucks with Hags podcast is powered by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner
13:02 of the CLNS Media Network.
13:04 Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up, whether it's the
13:07 tournament season or the fight for playoff home court.
13:10 It goes beyond the hockey that we're talking about.
13:12 We're talking about basketball as well.
13:14 There's no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year.
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14:00 Pick more, pick less.
14:02 It's that easy.
14:08 With the last win over the Washington Capitals, Bruins also over 100 points for the sixth
14:12 straight season.
14:14 That including 2021 when COVID cut the season short, and I think they only end up with like
14:18 73 points.
14:19 They played 50 something games.
14:21 So you kind of throw that season out.
14:24 It would have been over 100 points that year as well, obviously, with 30 games to go in
14:29 the 70s.
14:31 But over 100 points, six straight seasons would be seven straight seasons under Don
14:36 Sweeney.
14:37 I think that's notable.
14:39 I think that's something you need to recognize that there's been regular season excellence
14:44 that they've been doing it year in and year out, no matter who's leaving.
14:47 You've had some great players, all of fame players leave over the last handful of years,
14:52 whether it was Dane O'Chara a few years ago now, whether it was Bergeron and Crecce this
14:57 summer.
14:59 You've seen excellent players, impact players, Torrey Krug left not too long ago, leave the
15:06 Bruins fold and either go somewhere else or retire.
15:10 And the Bruins just continue.
15:11 The beat goes on with them.
15:12 The culture lives on.
15:14 And I think that's a credit to the players.
15:16 They're still in that room.
15:17 It's a credit to the management.
15:18 It's credit to the organization that they continue to find players to bring in that
15:24 will perform, find players that will replace or have players step up that will replace
15:29 the players that left, i.e.
15:30 Charlie Coyle stepping up and really doing a lot of the things that Patrice Bergeron
15:36 did before and playing that way and really playing well.
15:40 I know he struggled a little bit as of late and maybe the usage that he had all year is
15:44 kind of wearing him down a little bit.
15:46 But I got to tell you, he's had a great year and you would hope and expect that he would
15:52 be able to get up to that level once the playoffs start, even if he's kind of conserving here
15:59 down the stretch.
16:02 But he's had an excellent year and they wouldn't be in the spot that they were in if he didn't
16:07 step up performance wise, step up leadership wise, step up really in every way.
16:13 So that's a real credit to him and what he's been able to do.
16:16 But the Bruins would not be able to continue to churn out 100 point seasons and be among
16:21 the best in the NHL if they didn't have guys like Charlie McAvoy that stepped up when the
16:25 time was right and when the call came.
16:28 So credit to them, credit to him and just job well done, not only being over 100 points,
16:34 but also being the second team to clinch the playoffs behind just the New York Rangers.
16:38 Doesn't mean anything about what they're going to do in the playoffs, but I think you should
16:41 tip your cap and at least recognize regular season accomplishments while the regular season
16:46 is going on.
16:47 We'll have plenty of time to dissect the playoffs and to focus on that once it gets here in
16:51 a couple of weeks.
16:52 All right, let's answer some questions.
16:54 Hi, Joe.
16:56 I have some comparisons.
16:57 I see some comparisons between the comparisons between this year's overachieving Bruins and
17:02 the Stanley Cup winning team in 2011.
17:04 If you have time on an upcoming podcast, could you do a quick comparison of the 2011 Bruins
17:09 lineup versus this year's team?
17:11 If this team gets stellar goaltending at the playoffs like that team did, we could easily
17:15 win a few rounds.
17:17 Thank you.
17:18 Love the podcast.
17:19 Roger Perry via the Facebook fan page.
17:20 Thanks, Roger.
17:21 Glad you like the podcast.
17:22 This is a really good question.
17:26 I don't see the parallels between this team and the 2011 team.
17:31 I got to be honest with you.
17:34 The goaltending, I would say yes, that year they had to Geraskin, Tim Thomas and Tim Thomas
17:40 was out of his mind.
17:42 Excellent that year.
17:43 I don't think they've had either.
17:45 You know, Swain's been an all star this year.
17:46 There's no question about it, but I don't think we're talking about Jeremy Swain in
17:50 as a Vesna trophy winner like we did that year with Tim Thomas.
17:53 Tim Thomas had one of the best years during the regular season and during the playoffs
17:57 of any goalie in NHL history.
18:01 So I wouldn't put Jeremy Swain's performance this year or even their combined performance
18:05 into that category or even close to that category.
18:09 Not to mention, I think Tim Thomas had a little bit better of a playoff track record by that
18:15 point.
18:16 I mean, he greatly vastly improved it with what he did those playoffs, winning the con
18:20 Smythe and shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals,
18:26 shutting out the Vancouver Canucks in Game seven of the Stanley Cup final.
18:30 The numbers that he put up were among the best ever in a playoff, some massive save
18:37 games, some huge saves along the way in those series.
18:43 So I put it this way.
18:46 I think the only way this Bruins team this year, this edition of the Boston Bruins, who
18:51 have been a very good team, one of the best in the Eastern Conference, certainly a playoff
18:54 team and better than we thought they were going to be, because I think a lot of people,
18:57 myself included, thought they were going to be a wildcard team.
19:01 But I think the only way this team is going to win multiple rounds, go on a deep run in
19:07 the playoffs this spring and really maybe surprise us with what they do in the postseason,
19:12 and I hope they do because there's nothing better than a playoff hockey atmosphere in
19:17 Boston.
19:18 So I hope they go on a two month sojourn through the Stanley Cup playoffs and go all the way
19:22 to the end just because it will be great entertainment and it'll be good for the fans.
19:27 But the only way I think that's going to happen is if their goaltending gets super hot.
19:32 If one of those two goalies goes on a run, gets hot, stays hot and steals a series or
19:38 two, steals a bunch of playoff games, whether it's Jeremy Swaman or Allmark, and I think
19:43 Swaman's got more of a chance to do it just because I think he's at a point where he could
19:48 still prove that to be that guy and could show if he plays, you know, lights out in
19:53 the playoffs that he should and could be that guy.
19:57 I think Lina's Allmark has had multiple chances to do that now and has shown that he wears
20:01 down when he's playing game in and game out in the playoffs and starts to, I think, show
20:07 signs of fatigue.
20:08 I think starts to do out of character things in the net, gets too hyperactive, loses some
20:13 of his technique, certainly takes risks and does things and makes mistakes that he doesn't
20:18 need to that lead to like easy goals that the other team score.
20:21 There were two or three games in that Florida series last year where Allmark did things
20:25 that led to very easy goals for Florida that were based on what Allmark did, the mistake
20:30 he made, the risk he took, whatever he did.
20:34 That's very unlike him because usually he's quiet, smart, economical, doesn't, you know,
20:38 make a lot of mistakes that are going to give easy chances to the other team, is just a
20:42 sound, calm goalie.
20:44 And I just didn't think he played calm at all in the playoffs.
20:46 Maybe that was partially Matthew Kachuk getting in his head.
20:49 Maybe that was him getting worn down physically and mentally from the strain of the playoffs.
20:55 Whatever it was, I still maintain, and I've said this since last spring, that Jeremy Swain
21:00 should have started game five of that first round series against the Florida Panthers
21:04 when things really like reverse the other way.
21:07 That's really when the series turned, when they were not able to win game five at home
21:13 up in the series.
21:16 And that's where they got into trouble.
21:19 And that was the game Patrice Bergeron came back.
21:21 That was the game Brad Marchand couldn't finish off a breakaway at the very end that could
21:28 have clinched the series.
21:30 And let's be honest, Patrice Bergeron was banged up.
21:33 His back was hurt.
21:34 They were not going to win the cup last year, I don't think, anyway.
21:36 I think they were probably going to lose in the second round regardless of what happened
21:39 against the Panthers just because they were a banged up unit.
21:41 A lot of guys were hurt.
21:44 But I think the easy second guess, an easy thing that they should have done differently
21:50 was to rest Linus Allmark in game five, put Swainman in, put him in a less pressure situation
21:55 than throw him into game seven of that series, which was a really tough spot to put him in.
22:00 But all that being said, I think you're onto something with the goaltending because I think
22:05 that's the only way, Roger, that the Bruins are going to win a multiple playoff rounds
22:11 this spring and potentially go on a deep run that could get to them the conference final,
22:15 Stanley Cup final, whatever.
22:17 I don't think they are.
22:20 I think they are capable of winning a first round series based on their talent, based
22:23 on the level of play that they've been at, based on the matchup.
22:27 Some of the teams they might play, whether it's the Capitals, the Islanders, the Leafs,
22:31 the Red Wings.
22:35 Certainly I think the Lightning would give them problems if that ends up being their
22:37 first round opponent.
22:38 I wouldn't favor them in that kind of a series.
22:42 I think they would have trouble with them.
22:45 But I think there's some very winnable opponents in that first round for the Boston Bruins.
22:48 The problem becomes as you advance deeper into the playoffs, better teams that you're
22:53 playing, more apt and able to expose your weaknesses.
22:56 I think there are some weaknesses on this Bruins team and on this roster this year.
23:00 I don't think it's anywhere close to a juggernaut with few weaknesses like last year's roster
23:07 was going into the postseason and going into the playoffs.
23:10 They just couldn't address every issue they had in the roster at the trade deadline based
23:14 on their salary cap situation and based on the lack of assets that they had to trade.
23:20 So they added Pat Maroon and Andrew Peake.
23:22 They had some toughness, some physicality, some heaviness, which they definitely needed.
23:25 But they could have had more.
23:27 They certainly could have used a center that could win faceoffs, even though Johnny Beecher
23:30 has done a serviceable job there.
23:33 They I think could have used another top six winger so they don't have to put Dan Heinan
23:38 in that position.
23:39 I think he'd be much better off as a third line winger on this team and have somebody
23:43 else that would be a legit goal scoring top six kind of winger to put with some of the
23:48 other skilled players.
23:49 But they're doing the best they can.
23:52 This Bruins team has got, I think, five guys that are under $800,000 a year contract-wise
23:58 for the season, basically on the veteran minimum.
24:02 It's amazing that they've operated with that many guys, making basically the veteran minimum
24:09 on that NHL roster and still gotten 100 points this year and been one of the best teams.
24:13 I think that speaks to how good their best players have been.
24:17 But also them scouting the right players, getting good fits, getting great seasons out
24:23 of a lot of guys that had to sign very modest contracts to play on this Bruins team, and
24:33 really helped them get through a season where the salary cap was going to be an issue.
24:36 I think they've navigated that actually very well, given all the challenges that they had.
24:41 You can sit here and say, "Yeah, that's Don Sweeney's fault," whatever, the salary cap
24:47 troubles, the cap penalties they had to pay for Bergeron and Creech's contracts last year.
24:51 Of course, the buck always stops with the GM, but I didn't hear many people complaining
24:56 last year when the Bruins went for it, when they signed Bergeron and Creech, the incentive-laden
25:00 deals for one more, that last dance, when they maxed out with all the trades that they
25:08 made, bringing in Demetri Orlov, Garnett Hathaway, Tyler Bertuzzi, keeping all the players that
25:13 they did for that team last year.
25:17 There were no complaints at the time.
25:18 That's what they wanted to do.
25:19 That's what they had to do.
25:20 It was Bergeron's last year, and they were trying to win it with him there.
25:24 They didn't.
25:25 They disappointed, and they went out in the first round, but I'm not going to fault them
25:28 ever for going for it and then having to pay the salary cap, Piper, this year after going
25:35 for it last year.
25:36 I think that's just part of competing and going for it is the price you pay.
25:40 Getting back, Roger, to your question about the 2011 team, the one thing I would say that's
25:46 very different, well, first of all, center play.
25:50 You had Bergeron and Crecce in their prime in 2011 as your top two centers.
25:55 Pavel Zaka and Charlie Coyle are excellent.
25:58 They've done very well this year.
26:00 I think they've gotten the most out of their abilities.
26:02 They're both going to end up with 20 goal seasons.
26:04 They've both been pretty productive, and I think done the best they can, but they are
26:08 by no means the same kind of presences that Bergeron and Crecce were as top six centers
26:14 on that team.
26:16 They don't really have the makeup, I think, as far as that goes.
26:20 Built around their top two centers, basically the whole team was built around that and their
26:24 number one D in Zidane Ocara.
26:27 They don't have a stopper like Zidane Ocara on the back end.
26:31 You didn't see them blowing third period leads, and you didn't see them going overtime all
26:34 the time because they couldn't close out teams late in the third period when Zidane Ocara
26:38 and Patrice Bergeron were on the ice at the end of those games.
26:41 That just didn't happen.
26:42 They didn't have these crazy goals that are being scored late in games against the Bruins
26:48 that I think is going to come back to hurt them in the playoffs when those two were around.
26:52 We're talking about Hall of Fame defensive players and two-way players here, so that's
26:55 no shame on the guys now when comparing them to guys like Char and Bergeron, but those
27:00 players were there.
27:02 Those kind of players are not really here now on this team, so that's a way that I think
27:06 they're different.
27:07 The other part is just the toughness element.
27:09 The fourth line back then was Gregory Campbell, Sean Thornton, Daniel Pae.
27:14 Thornton and Campbell were both willing and combatants at all times.
27:19 It was a veteran fourth line that really played well together and had a veteran presence to
27:24 them.
27:25 The guys that they have now are not like that.
27:28 Jesper Poukwis, Johnny Beecher, Jacob Lauko.
27:32 Pat Maroon is more in that vein when he comes back and plays and will maybe bring a little
27:36 bit of that Merlot sort of feeling to the fourth line when he jumps on there, or Justin
27:43 Brezow when he's been on there.
27:44 They've had a lot of young guys on minimum contracts playing on that fourth line, which
27:48 is very different from the fourth line that they had before.
27:51 Just in general, that team was a different era, obviously, but that team had a lot of
27:58 guys that could drop the gloves and fight on those teams.
28:01 They were very intimidating.
28:02 They were very physical.
28:03 They beat the living tar out of the Canucks and bullied the Canucks in that Stanley Cup
28:07 series.
28:08 So entertaining, so fun to watch.
28:11 People still rave about the entertainment value and the level of entertainment of that
28:15 Stanley Cup final, one of the best ever based on the two teams hating each other and the
28:19 style of play and the way it went down and all that.
28:22 But they don't have that kind of team now.
28:26 They don't play that way.
28:27 They play more like the Canucks did, to be honest with you, in 2011.
28:31 And we saw that in 2019 when they played against the Blues.
28:34 The Blues were more the bullying, physical heavy team and they were pushing around the
28:39 Bruins and the Bruins have to be very vigilant to not let themselves get pushed around because
28:44 I think sometimes they tend to default to that happening when they play physical teams.
28:51 So it was good to see them stand up to Florida the last time they played them when Florida
28:55 was trying to push them around, trying to bully them.
28:58 Hampus Lindholm gets his first NHL fight when Sam Bennett's all over him.
29:02 To see those kind of things is good, but it also sort of, for me, magnifies how different
29:08 this team is than they were in 2011 too, as far as the toughness goes, as far as the so
29:13 many guys that could fight on that team in 2011 and did instill fear in opponents and
29:20 were just a different sort of feeling when they went on the ice together.
29:25 So I don't see a comparison, to be honest with you.
29:29 I think it's interesting that you did.
29:30 I'm glad that you asked the question, but I just don't see that comparison between 2011
29:35 and this team now.
29:37 Not only because Brad Marchand's the only holdover from that team that's on this team,
29:41 but just because I just don't think they play the same way.
29:44 I don't think it's the same kind of makeup of team.
29:46 The only area where I would say, and you mentioned it, is maybe the goaltending could provide
29:52 that level of goaltending to help them win, and it would have to.
29:56 Their goaltenders are going to have to be out of their minds.
29:58 Linus Allmark and Jeremy Swinman are going to have to be hot and playing at an elite
30:03 level right out of the gate if the Bruins are going to roll for two months and win the
30:07 Cup.
30:08 That's something that the Bruins would not have won in 2011 if Tim Thomas wasn't the
30:14 best goalie in the world and having one of the best goalie seasons of all time in the
30:17 NHL.
30:18 So that part of it, I'm with you, Roger, but I love the question.
30:22 I think it was a great one.
30:23 Thanks.
30:24 Feel free to send us questions anytime.
30:26 Glad you like the podcast, and we'll keep on cranking them out for you.
30:30 All right.
30:31 Hi, Joe.
30:32 I am sorry to hear about Derek Forward's dog, Darla.
30:35 Derek Forward's dog, Darla, passed away last week.
30:37 Very sad.
30:38 Thoughts are with Derek and the people, his friends that he had taking care of Darla when
30:45 he was on the road.
30:46 I am a dog lover and can relate with having to let them go to doggie heaven.
30:51 That's @MagnusSheltie on Twitter.
30:55 Me too.
30:56 I am a firm believer, and I've heard this.
30:58 It's a cliche, but it's true.
31:01 The only bad day in a dog owner's life will be the last day that the dog is alive.
31:06 When the dog passes away, it has to be put to sleep, whatever the situation is.
31:14 It's sad, and there's no question about it.
31:16 That's why your heart goes out to somebody like Derek Forward in a situation like this,
31:20 especially when it's been an older dog that you've had for a long time.
31:24 It is really tough, and it's just like losing a person.
31:27 I have young kids, and I have older dogs right now.
31:32 They've had some health issues, and there's been times when you weren't sure if they were
31:36 going to get pulled through or not.
31:38 This is the first time the kids have really had to deal with that situation.
31:41 To see it through their eyes, to see how upset they get, it reminds you just how much it
31:46 shatters you when you lose your dog.
31:49 Thoughts go out to Derek Forward.
31:50 I hope you're doing okay with Darla's passing, and you're not missing her too much.
31:55 I'm sure you're missing her a ton, though.
31:58 I'm sure when the time is right, you'll end up finding another dog to take care of.
32:02 Maybe won't be as beloved as Darla, but that time will come, I'm sure.
32:08 Thoughts are with you, Derek Forward, on the passing of Darla.
32:10 I know Bruins Nation is very sad about it as well.
32:13 I'm sure they've sent you plenty of messages to make you feel good, because a lot of people,
32:17 I think, got a lot of enjoyment out of your stories, your pictures, everything you had
32:22 with your dog, the relationship you had with your dog.
32:24 I think it hit home with a lot of people.
32:28 Let's move on to the next one.
32:30 Joe, do you really think the way they're constructed, they can hang in a seven-game series with
32:36 a heavy team?
32:38 That's from SME Great.
32:43 Do I think they can hang with a heavy team?
32:44 Yes, I do think they can hang with a heavy team.
32:47 Do I think they can beat a heavy team in a seven-game series?
32:51 I don't know.
32:52 I'm not sure about that.
32:53 I still do not think, after watching those Florida games, that if they are matched up
32:58 with them for a seven-game series, that it's going to go any different than it did.
33:04 I just think when you see them against the Florida Panthers, who are a fast, tough, physical,
33:11 just dedicated team that knows who they are, knows how they want to play, is going to punch
33:16 you in the face and keep punching you and try to wear you down over a playoff series,
33:21 where the Bruins are reactive to them.
33:24 It's like the Bruins wait for Florida to do something to them, and then they react to
33:28 it.
33:29 There are times when that doesn't.
33:32 There are outliers, and there are examples of that not happening.
33:35 Charlie McAvoy, I think, he will play physical.
33:39 He was throwing big hits in that game against Florida.
33:41 I think he was initiating.
33:42 I think he was leading the way of the way the Bruins need to play.
33:46 I just think more people need to follow Charlie McAvoy's lead, and he can't be the one that's
33:50 constantly doing it.
33:51 Marshan, too, same thing.
33:54 He dropped the gloves and fought a six-foot-four guy in that game as well.
33:59 Those can't always be the guys.
34:00 It's got to be other people stepping up and fighting back or really setting the tone physically
34:06 or going at the Florida Panthers before they can get a chance to go at you and get you
34:11 to retaliate and take a stupid penalty, a careless penalty.
34:19 When you're playing against a heavy team and you are not the heavy team in the playoffs,
34:22 I think you're always at a disadvantage because I think over a seven-game series, that heaviness,
34:26 that physicality is going to wear you down.
34:29 It's going to make your defensemen start to hear footsteps.
34:31 It's going to get you to start losing battles in front of your own net.
34:34 It's going to knock players out of the series.
34:36 It's going to make guys tentative, going in full bore for pucks.
34:41 I think all that stuff will happen over the course of a series if you let it.
34:48 That's part of the beauty of the playoffs is it comes down to will just as much as it
34:53 does skill and ability.
34:55 It comes down to the will to win, the will to wear down and intimidate the other team
35:01 and really just take over the series.
35:04 I think that's a big part of every playoff series is seeing that happen in hockey physically
35:09 and mentally.
35:11 I think that's something the Bruins have to fight through.
35:13 It's going to be tougher against heavier teams like the Panthers, especially with the way
35:18 that they forecheck and the fact that they've got so much skill too.
35:20 They're a deep-skilled team.
35:22 They've got Bobrovsky, who I think since the All-Star break has a 925 save percentage.
35:28 He's been playing brilliant some of his best hockey too down the stretch.
35:32 You're talking about a great goalie along with everything else and a guy that's played
35:35 a lot in the playoffs and has a lot of experience there.
35:39 I think this is my read on the Bruins.
35:41 I think they can win a first-round series against a number of teams.
35:45 I think they've got the talent to do it.
35:46 I think they've got some of the parts to do it between the goaltending and the top-end
35:53 defensemen that they have.
35:56 Like I said before, I really liked McAvoy and Lindholm playing together.
35:58 If you could do that in a first-round series and lock down the other team's best players
36:02 and have them play in 30 minutes a night, why not?
36:06 I think the Bruins are good enough offensively and they're good enough top to bottom to beat
36:13 a team in the first round, to beat some of these other teams that have flaws kind of
36:16 like they do.
36:18 Once you start getting into the Carolinas, the Floridas of the world, the New York Rangers,
36:23 some of the better teams, Tampa Bay Lightning, some of the better teams in the East that
36:26 you might see in the second round of the playoffs, I think that's when you're going to start
36:30 to have problems.
36:31 I think that's when they're going to have trouble winning.
36:32 I think that's when they're going to get worn down by bigger, stronger teams, deeper teams.
36:37 I think that's when some of the weaknesses and some of the things that we've seen crop
36:41 up at time to time with the Bruins are going to come home to roost.
36:44 And I think that's natural.
36:45 I think that's just where they are.
36:47 And at the end of the year, we, in the summertime, we may come to look at this playoff experience
36:53 and at this whole season as really good playoff experience for Jacob Lauco, for Johnny Beecher,
36:59 Mason Lowry, if you can get him in, Justin Brezow, you know, some of the younger guys,
37:05 Parker Weatherspoon, Andrew Peake, some of the other guys, even Jeremy Swayman, who frankly
37:11 has not played enough playoff games because they've, you know, gone with the other guy
37:15 too much.
37:16 I think this could be a real good chance to really get him into the playoffs, have him
37:20 start a few games in a row and see what he can do.
37:23 But I think those things are what we're going to look at, I think, is the key elements of
37:29 this playoff run is getting some of those guys some experience for next year when I
37:33 think over the summer, they're going to add to this team, they're going to have the cap
37:36 space, they're going to have the ability to.
37:38 And I think next year could be not only a good team based on, you know, guys coming
37:43 back, the core group staying together, but being able to add significant pieces to it
37:47 and really making a deeper team that could be, you know, like the team was a couple of
37:53 years ago, sort of in that juggernaut category.
37:55 Because if you add one or two quality players to what they already have, and maybe add a
37:59 little more size, physicality, toughness with an impact player, man, you're talking about
38:04 a team that's going to be difficult to beat and a much better team and a true contender
38:08 in every sense of the word.
38:09 So I still look at this as a transition year, this whole postseason, what we're seeing right
38:14 now.
38:15 But with that being said, Bruins always have a chance with the goaltending they have with
38:19 some of the skill players that they have with the talent that they have the high end talent
38:23 at each position, they can beat anybody.
38:27 And you know, if they can find a way to be a little more physical, I just don't think
38:31 it's in their nature to be as physical as some of these other teams.
38:34 And they're certainly not as heavy.
38:35 But if they can find a way to combat that and battle that and become that a little bit
38:39 more embrace that, you know, maybe they'd have a better chance.
38:42 But I still think one of those heavy teams is going to take them down.
38:44 So I think that's a good observation.
38:46 SME great.
38:48 Hags were the bees physically dominated in the last two games in Florida.
38:53 How did the bees respond in a seven game series?
38:55 Kevin Chase 18.
38:57 Well, I think they got to respond like they did in the last game.
39:00 They stood up to them.
39:01 You know, they didn't lose their composure.
39:03 They didn't take penalties.
39:05 The refs were, you know, letting a lot of it go.
39:07 Frankly, they were letting Florida get away with a lot.
39:10 And I think they'll do that in the playoffs, too.
39:11 And that's just who they are.
39:14 But you have to respond to it.
39:15 You have to stand up for yourself.
39:16 You have to be willing to stick your nose in like Lindholm was when Bennett was really
39:20 trying to take advantage of him.
39:23 You have to have an attitude about it that you're not going to back down when you're
39:26 five foot nine.
39:27 Brad Marshan taken on six foot four defenseman and dropping the gloves with him.
39:32 I think Trent Frederick is going to be a big presence and he's going to have to be.
39:37 I think he's been too quiet lately and I think he's going to have to really bust out in a
39:43 playoff series.
39:44 I think a guy like Brazzo, you add to the mix, is going to help.
39:47 Big body.
39:48 He's not obviously a killer out there, but I think he can help, especially against a
39:52 bigger, stronger defenseman core if he can get down low.
39:56 So you know, and Morgan Geeky is another guy that I think will be built for the playoffs
40:00 because he's a bigger, stronger body that has good second, third effort skill.
40:04 And you know, it's kind of a throwback player in a lot of ways.
40:06 So it'll be interesting.
40:08 I think they're a little more well equipped to deal with some of the things against Florida
40:12 this time around, especially knowing what to expect and having some success against
40:15 them now in the regular season this year, even though they got pushed around a little
40:19 bit.
40:20 But it's not going to turn into like this, like arms race where the Bruins are bringing
40:25 in all these tough guys and it's going to be this like war going on the ice because
40:29 they're just not built that way.
40:31 Like that's not how they're going to win.
40:33 They're going to win by scoring goals on the power play.
40:36 If Florida puts them on it, they're going to score goals by, you know, withstanding
40:41 a lot of what Florida is doing, standing up for themselves, fighting back when it's necessary,
40:47 but not, you know, getting dragged, getting drug dragged down into the alley for an alley
40:52 fight against the Florida Panthers.
40:53 Cause I just don't think personnel wise, they have enough guys that can do that.
40:57 I do think the guys that can do that and should play that way and can have a little bit more
41:01 of an attitude, the guys I mentioned, geeky, um, uh, Pat Maroon when he comes back, certainly,
41:09 um, Trent Frederick, uh, you know, Charlie McAvoy, Andrew peak, I think has that capability.
41:14 I think they've got some guys now that can at least play that way or could be comfortable
41:18 playing that way.
41:19 So those guys really need to take the lead when it comes to that stuff and, um, you know,
41:24 stand up for their teammates.
41:25 Uh, some of the other ones that, uh, aren't as comfortable doing that.
41:28 Uh, but they're going to have to, you know, they're just going to have to get out of their
41:33 comfort zone when it comes to those situations and stand up to it and fight back and maybe
41:38 earn some penalties along the way.
41:40 Um, and that's the only way they're going to beat a team like the Florida Panthers.
41:43 So, uh, it'll be interesting.
41:46 I continue to think that, uh, they could win in the first round, but second round against
41:51 Florida might be where it ends for them.
41:52 I think that's going to be a tough matchup for them.
41:54 Um, but the road, I think to the Stanley Cup final is going to go through Fort Lauderdale.
41:58 They're going to have to beat that Panthers bully and they should have to, frankly, if
42:02 they're going to advance deep into the playoffs.
42:04 So, uh, you know, the games have been entertaining.
42:06 That last game in Florida was fun.
42:08 I was full of passion, uh, and it felt like a playoff game.
42:11 So it'll be an entertaining series at the very least.
42:13 So that'll be good.
42:14 And I think the Florida Panthers have definitely taken on some of that villain role, uh, when
42:18 it comes to the Bruins and their fans.
42:20 So that stuff will be all good.
42:22 It'll be entertaining either way.
42:23 And I think that's good news for everybody.
42:25 Um, all right, that's it for this week's show.
42:28 Uh, thanks for listening.
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44:11 All right, that's it for this episode of Pucks with Hags.
44:14 Thank you very much for listening.
44:15 We'll see you at the ring.
44:16 [inaudible].
44:17 [inaudible]
44:22 [inaudible]