• last year
On this episode of Pucks with Haggs, host Joe Haggerty is joined by guests Mark Divver and Mick Colageo to discuss whether the Bruins are contenders or big pretenders after an 8-1 dismantling at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets. That, and much more!

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Transcript
00:00Pucks with Hags is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app.
00:05Welcome to the Pucks with Hags podcast powered by Price Picks,
00:08the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:12I believe this is the 148th episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast,
00:16so thank you for listening and tuning in. I'm your host, Joe Hagerty.
00:20You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com.
00:23Subscribe and get yourself a premium membership.
00:25You get all my Bruins and NHL writing sent straight directly to your inbox.
00:29I also write columns three times a week for the Boston Sports Journal,
00:32so check out bostonsportsjournal.com. Some great stuff on the Patriots,
00:36the Red Sox, the Celtics, and of course, the Boston Bruins there,
00:40so check all that out with me today. I have long-time friends and colleagues,
00:44Mick Colaggio and the New England Hockey Journal's Mark Diver.
00:47Gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us.
00:50Pleasure.
00:51Let's also thank our sponsors real quick.
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01:11Let's also thank the folks at GameTime. If you need any kind of tickets, go to GameTime,
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01:29Download GameTime today. What time is it, Mick?
01:31GameTime.
01:34GameTime. That's right, Mick. Good job, buddy.
01:37All right. Let's get into it, Mark and Mick.
01:428-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.
01:48I mean, that was just an ass-whooping.
01:50They've had several of these on the road this year against good teams,
01:54against Dallas, against Carolina. Similar to that, it was 3-1 after the second period,
01:59but definitely they weren't playing great. You could see some looseness defensively and
02:04some bad penalties and some other things going on, and just the bottom completely dropped out
02:10in the third period. 8-1 loss.
02:14I guess the first thing, guys, I would just ask each of you, and Mark, we'll start with you,
02:19what was the biggest thing that stuck out to you at the end of this loss to Winnipeg last night?
02:26Well, that the previous wins, the winning streak, we knew it was against teams that
02:37aren't at the top of the league, and that certainly was reinforced last night against
02:44one of the better teams in the league. And I think at this point, the reality is this is
02:50where the Bruins are. They're not one of the top teams. They can't necessarily play with the
02:56Winnipeg Jets. Some nights, yeah, they can, but I think this is who they are at this point.
03:06I think that's the message to me. You don't expect to lose by seven goals, for God's sake, but
03:12against a very good team, they're going to come off short many nights.
03:19Yeah, and I think, look, like I said, this is the third time that it's gotten away from them
03:24against a good team, a playoff-caliber team, Dallas, Carolina, and now Winnipeg, and I think
03:29that's not a coincidence. When that happens to you several times, and it's kind of the same
03:35blueprint, that's not an aberration, that's not an outlier, that's kind of where you're at, and that's
03:39the reality check right now for this Bruins team. I did some of the numbers, five and nine against
03:46teams in the playoff structure right now this season, the Bruins. They've been outscored by 24
03:52goals in those 14 games. They have a minus-24 goal differential against the playoff teams,
03:58against the playoff-caliber teams in the league. So they've won some, lost more than they've won,
04:03gotten blown out a few times, and it hasn't been close a few times against these teams. So
04:07when they don't bring anything but their best, they get smoked by these good
04:10playoff teams, and that's just where they are right now. It continues to look to me
04:16like this is a first-round exit kind of team. This is a team that's probably
04:21going to get in the playoffs. They're third in the Atlantic division right now. They can beat
04:25the weaker sisters and the teams that they're supposed to beat, but they go up against
04:30the iron and they can't get it done. So that looks to me like the kind of team that gets into the
04:34playoff structure, gets in on a wild card maybe, and then is out five, six games in the first
04:41round, and that's it. You got to go back to the drawing board a little bit. Mick, anything that
04:46you took from last night's game, an overriding impression, and just your thoughts on what we're
04:50talking about here with the Bruins struggling against contenders and playoff teams, and really
04:55kind of showing maybe some of the flaws that this team has. The Jets have been the team that has
05:01been running out of gas in games and being tired with a tough schedule and with injuries, and
05:09obviously they were looking for a correction game. They didn't want to wilt again,
05:15but the Bruins shouldn't have been the team that wilted. It should have been toe-to-toe,
05:21and if there's something that I sense with the Bruins is that much like the 0-9-10 team,
05:28offense does not come easily for the Bruins. They struggle to generate offense, and if they
05:34feel like they've failed and it sets in as individuals and it becomes a collective, morale
05:40sinks and structure goes away, and thus you get a third period like you got last night,
05:47and it even affected Swayman finally with that shot out of the corner.
05:51I just think that Joe Sacco right now, his task is pretty much to
05:58try to get these guys to believe that they're better than they are, or try to find in them,
06:07if the Bruins believe what is in this roster can get there, can generate offense,
06:15and hang with good teams that have structure. Otherwise, we're going to start seeing the
06:22personnel, the shift of the season is going to go away from Bruins' dressing room to what they
06:28have on the whiteboard, and see if this team's going to start making some tweaks, start trying
06:33to get into a trade market, things like that, because right now it seems like there's a crisis
06:38of faith inside the group that they don't feel like they can generate the offense needed,
06:44and that's when you see them fall apart a little bit.
06:49Well, yeah, and the word I would use, Mick, is there's a fragility to this team and this group
06:54that hasn't been there before. I think there is a definite when things aren't going their way,
06:59when things start to go against them, especially against good teams, you see them crack and break
07:05much more than they had in the recent past. You just see these kind of moments, small pockets
07:12like the third period, where it just completely falls apart on them, and they can't reverse
07:15course. And look, I'll give credit, the difference last night from them getting whipped like dogs
07:22against Dallas and Carolina, and just taking it, was there was some fight at least in them last
07:28night. Trent Frederick got pissed, started a fight, probably didn't start it with the right
07:33guy because it was a guy that's never fought in the NHL, definitely not a fighter, and I think
07:37Winnipeg was not happy about that, that he picked a fight with the Gustafson kid.
07:41And then Kostelik goes at it with a six-foot-seven behemoth right after that, and that was a long
07:47time coming. Stanley had been, you know, he had pasta a couple times, there was stuff going on
07:51in that game, but they fought, and then you had Adam Lowry tangling with Nikita Zdorov right after
07:58that. So the one positive I took from last night's game is that it was a blowout loss, it got ugly,
08:04but at least some of the Bruins players showed that they were pissed at the end of it,
08:08and that they were going to go down fighting, and that they were going to do something about it
08:11instead of just taking it like they did in the first 20 games of the year, and not having any
08:15pushback or anything. You know, am I being a Neanderthal, Mark, thinking that way? Liking
08:20to see a couple of fights there at the end, or was this something that was something good to
08:24see from the Bruins? Well, if you are being a Neanderthal, Joe, I'm right there with you.
08:30Fighting good, Mark. Me like fighting.
08:37In some of those earlier blowouts, the Dallas game, they just took it. They just took it.
08:42Nobody stood up and said, okay, yeah, we're getting blown out here, but I'm pissed, and
08:47I'm going to try and do something about it. So there was that last night to, you know,
08:53at least keep you from shutting the TV off and going to bed. You know, but
09:00one thing that, against Winnipeg and against some of these other teams,
09:04one thing that stands out to me is the deficit in high-end skill that these teams have,
09:11that the Bruins have, compared to these teams like Winnipeg, Dallas, Florida.
09:18The Bruins don't have those guys up front. They don't have Kyle Conner. They don't have
09:23Stephen Shifley or some of the other guys who just, you know, are so offensively gifted.
09:31The Bruins have a handful of them, but they have to work so hard to put the puck in the net,
09:36and when it doesn't go in, like last night, they, and the other guys,
09:41everything they touch seems to go in, then they're going to get blown out.
09:45Yeah, we're going to get back to that in one sec, because I think that's a great point, Mark,
09:51but Mick, your thoughts on the fights there at the end of the game, and
09:56the Bruins kind of showing a little piss and vinegar there at the end of the game,
10:00that they weren't happy about the way things were going, at least some of them were anyway.
10:03Yeah, I wasn't really clear on the circumstances of Frederick's matchup there, how that evolved,
10:10but the fact that they fought, and the fact that they won the fights,
10:14well, they were 2-0-1, you know, I'll give Zydor off a tie, but I think that, but Kastelik...
10:22Well, and Kastelik, I give a huge amount of credit for, because he's a gigantic human being.
10:28Extend him ASAP, and pay, you know what, I know that the Maple Leafs made a mistake with a grinder
10:35forward, who was a tough guy, and wound up overpaying him, and it turned out to be one
10:38of the worst contracts in the league, I think just probably 10 years ago, can't remember his name,
10:44I don't think Kastelik is that kind of player, he looks to me, even in the playing of the game,
10:49like he understands very much what's going well, what's not going well, and how to react to it,
10:55and how to compete. I love what this kid brings, I feel like he's injected, he is so far and away
11:02the seventh player on this team, at this stage of the season, that, you know, this is the kind
11:11of player you need more of, and if you're not going to get high-end elite skills, at least get
11:20this. And a great identification by the Bruins on getting this guy in the Elmark trade, the best
11:28thing about it so far. Yeah, he was definitely, like, the element, the sandpaper, the physicality,
11:35the attitude that he brings, like, all that is something that was really not present on the
11:41Bruins' fourth line the last few years, and was really missing from that group in big amounts
11:48over the last few years, and they did a great job of identifying that kind of player to come in and
11:53be that guy, to the point where he's played on other lines now, because they're trying to get
11:57other players to play that way, and kind of get them dragged into the fight, and I think Kastelik
12:02can do that. But yeah, I've really liked what I've seen of him. I agree with your sentiments
12:07about extending him and making sure he's a longtime Bruin. I think he plays like a Bruin.
12:11I think he plays the identity that this fan base wants for this team. I think they appreciate him
12:17already, and I think he understands that, too. Like, I think he likes that, and he's voiced this
12:21a few times, that I think he enjoys knowing that the Bruins fans and the people that follow hockey
12:26in Boston kind of like his game and like what he brings and appreciate it, where maybe, you know,
12:32and we've seen this in Ottawa, where they kind of come down on Brady Kachuk sometimes for being a
12:36physical player and for playing the way that he plays. Like, you know, I don't know what's going
12:42on in Ottawa with the fans up there, but like, if you don't like the way Brady Kachuk plays,
12:45I think it's a you problem. It's not a Brady Kachuk problem, but maybe Kastelik was feeling
12:50that way when he was with the Senators, and now he's come to a place where everybody like sort
12:54of embraces the way he plays and isn't looking for, like, everybody to play with, you know,
12:59skill and grace and speed and, you know, be a finesse guy, and the hard-nosed, blue-collar kind
13:05of style of play is appreciated here. I mean, when you get your butt kicked on the road,
13:09especially in Canada, and you start fighting, you better win the fights,
13:15especially if you're a team like the Bruins or the Flyers. You better win the fights,
13:19because if you don't, then it's going to be like those battles against the mid-80s Canadians,
13:23where they had more tough guys than you did. Your toughest guys were tougher than their toughest
13:27guys, but if it was just somebody regular on the team, oh, all the time they'd get overmatched,
13:34you know, and so a lot of humiliation comes with that, and who's your daddy kind of moment,
13:42and yeah, do the Bruins go out looking like jerks last night? Good, let them. Take something,
13:48you know, get on the bus with some pride and, you know, let's go to the next one and see if
13:54you can figure out what's wrong with your team. I love Trent Frederick. He's a great kid. I think
13:59he's very popular in the room. I am okay with him being an a-hole, more on the ice. I think that's
14:05better for him and better for his game, and it's going to make him more effective. Like, if he
14:09wants to pick a fight with somebody like that and, you know, make a point, like, I'm totally fine with
14:13it, Mark. Frederick's a guy that has been so in and out this year and I think has struggled with,
14:18like, his identity of who he is as a player this year that a little more of that, I think,
14:23would go a long way towards him finding his game consistently night in and night out.
14:27Yeah, and he's just, he's really just come to life in the last few games,
14:32and yeah, he needs to be, he needs to be that guy. He needs a little
14:36Kostelik in his game, or a lot of Kostelik. You know, he's not, yeah, he can put the puck in the
14:44net once in a while, but he's not going to get by on that and, you know, he's not, he's not that
14:49skilled, you know, if he's, if he's skilled at all, but he's got to be, he's got to be a banger.
14:56He's got to be an instigator. He's got to be a guy who, who does things like he did last night,
15:02drops the gloves, and, you know, I feel like sometimes he's,
15:06he's a little too polite or a little, he waits to see, okay, do you want to fight me?
15:12Yeah, he's too honorable for his own good.
15:15You're going to fight. You're going to fight. It's, it's up, you know, I'm making that decision.
15:20He's, he's, maybe he's too nice of a kid. He is.
15:23You know, he wants to play within the code or whatever you want to call it,
15:27but sometimes you just got to drop them in and wade in there. And I wish, I wish he did more of
15:33that. Yeah, no, I agree. One other quick thing on hockey wise from last night, the Bruins, when
15:38they struck, not only is it the finishing end of the game, but just up and down the ice, there's
15:44so many fumbled pucks. It makes you think, boy, is the ice bad tonight? And then you have to see
15:48the opponents play the puck shooting these rink wide passes and it's fine. It can, everything
15:53connects. And you say, how come they can play the game at that pace? And the Bruins can't,
15:57I don't know. They all got the wrong kind of tape on their sticks or I'm not sure what half the time,
16:03but I, but I, you know, sometimes I wish I, you know, if I was like a, a little curmudgeon,
16:09like Eddie Shore coaching that team, I'd like grab everyone's hockey stick in there
16:14and do like a thousand strands of old school friction tape on their things and say,
16:18now pass the puck tape to tape and bend your knees, Madagascar, you know, and, and, you know,
16:24and, and, and let it be, let them find some chemistry at the pace that they can create it.
16:29But I just find the Bruins are tremendously sloppy and what should be routine plays. And
16:34when those go awry, you're always chasing the game.
16:37Yeah. And at this gets into, and this is the point Mark made earlier,
16:42what you see against teams like Winnipeg and, and specifically last night, I thought
16:48was the centers got dominated by Winnipeg centers. The, the play down the middle,
16:55man, Elias Lindholm, I thought was exposed last night and Shifley just dominated him and Shifley.
17:01It's interesting when you look at it a certain way, because when Bergeron and, and Crecci retired,
17:09who were the two biggest names that you heard might be coming in to replace them with the
17:13Boston Bruins. It was Elias Lindholm and it was Mark Shifley. Those were the two big names we
17:16heard that might be available. That might be candidates that the Bruins were probably looking
17:21at and potential. Obviously Shifley ends up signing an extension with Winnipeg and stays
17:26there long-term and the Bruins eventually get their man in Elias Lindholm. But last night,
17:31two of those goals that Elias, that Shifley and Kyle Connor scored five on five Lindholm was on
17:38the ice for his line was out there. He missed the net with six shots, Elias Lindholm. There
17:43was a play early in the game where Marcian had a perfect setup for him in front of the net.
17:47He just completely fans on the shot. And there was another time he got set up by somebody else
17:52and he fanned and kind of missed again. And, you know, I've seen this too much in the first few
17:58months of the season with Lindholm, where he gets set up for scores that a really skilled NHL player
18:04would just hammer home for a goal and would take care of. And he either misses it or he can't fully
18:09connect on it. And he certainly doesn't do enough damage to create an offensive opportunity.
18:14And now we're looking at guy, Lindholm was minus three last night. Like I said, missed the net
18:18with six shots. He is now on pace for eight goals and 36 points this season. That is his full season
18:26pace as far as far as his offensive production goes right now. And we're talking about a guy
18:31that got signed to a seven-year huge money deal, 54 plus million dollars this off season.
18:38Now, if this doesn't change, the Bruins are in real trouble. You know, if he, if this is who Elias
18:44Lindholm is, and this is all he's going to be like, as much as I like the fact that he hustles,
18:50that he's a pretty good two-way player, that he's got at least a little more physical than I thought
18:53he was going to be. And like, there's some things like back checking wise, hustle wise that I like,
18:59it's going to be a disaster if he can't produce more than this offensively.
19:03And they're tying up this kind of cap space with this guy and, you know, what they thought
19:07was going to be versus what he actually is. If he gets routinely outplayed by guys like Mark
19:12Shifley, they're going to lose every time they play a good team because their best players can't
19:16hang with the other team's best players. My question to you guys, Mick, and I'll start with
19:20you is what have you seen out of him? Do you think this is maybe just him, you know, getting used to
19:25his new surroundings and, you know, taking some time to get better because he's had some good
19:29seasons in the NHL? I know last year, like towards the end of the year, he was kind of in a third
19:34line center role in Vancouver, and maybe some have viewed him as ideally a third line center
19:39on a really good team, sort of a Charlie Coyle type. But he's also a guy, you know, that's put
19:44up 40 goals and 80 points in the league before in a season. And he's definitely had some good
19:47offensive seasons. Like, is this who he is? Do you think he's better than this? Like,
19:52where are we at with Elias Lindholm? Ooh, hell of a question. But I agree with your observations on
19:59him. I think that he has a lot of subtlety and polish to his without the puck game.
20:08With the puck, I feel like he needs elite wingers in order for his own production to go up.
20:15Not that he's going to be a passenger to their offense. He can interact with those players,
20:20I think. But if he has to be the main featured player who's going to produce offense,
20:25then I think people are going to be disappointed. I remember one time when Patrice Bergeron was
20:30first making $5 million a year, and he wasn't putting up great numbers. And there was some
20:36in our ranks who thought that he wasn't a $5 million player. Now, inflate that,
20:40that's probably about what Lindholm money is now. And Bergeron, you know, because he's such a hockey
20:48freak, he taught himself how to hit a one-timer from the circle. He taught himself how to play
20:53the bumper. He taught himself a lot of stuff that he just never stops. Like Donnie Sweeney
20:58was asked one time about Bergey and comparing him to Ray Bork as far as his intensity of
21:06commitment to the game goes. And Donnie said, I played with Raymond and Ray could step away from
21:10the game. Bergeron, he said, is unbelievable. He said he never, ever stops thinking about hockey
21:17and how to get better and what the team can do better. He never, ever gives it a rest.
21:22And I don't know Lindholm enough to know where he fits into this. The polish on his defensive game
21:30makes me think that there's going to be some of that there because he does some very high-end
21:34stuff when it comes to closing and surprising players and taking the puck from them in the
21:38middle of the ring. So there's some acumen there in him that's rare. And that's why the Bruins
21:44obviously saw that and liked that and said, we need that in our lineup. And because they saw
21:49production, even after Kuchuk left Calgary, he had a good year. And so they thought, well,
21:56it's all there. We need all we need to know here. And so, but it hasn't happened offensively for him
22:03yet. I hate it when guys in general try to shoot the puck, you know, 400 yards when it only needs
22:09to go 10 feet. And especially with today's synthetic sticks, everybody can make a goalie
22:15flinch from 35 feet. Why not just take the pass and not feel like you're going to go down to one
22:21knee and try to drill it through the glass, you know? And so I just like to see a more relaxed
22:26approach to the finishing plays on these guys' part. You know, it's almost like they're afraid,
22:30how am I going to look if this puck doesn't go in? It's going to look like I didn't try,
22:34you know, just do what you think makes sense.
22:38Mark, I'm going to get your thoughts on Lindholm in one sec, but I also want to take a pause in
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24:08the one overriding question, Mark, I guess I have about Linholm, and it's hard to say because I
24:12didn't watch a ton of him when he was on the West Coast. I did see him from time to time and thought
24:17he was a solid two-way center, is how much of this might be him continuing to get used to the guys
24:24he's playing with or just being in a new team and being in a new situation and, you know, sort of
24:29becoming automatic with knowing what guys are going to do in certain situations to be able to
24:33finish off those plays? And how much of this is maybe he's just not as offensively skilled as we
24:39thought he was? Like I, there's been a handful of times I've seen him in the early going in the
24:45first few months, not be able to handle or do something with a pass that one of his line mates
24:50has given him. And this has happened in the bumper during the power play. This has happened during
24:55five-on-five play. And you wonder if it's just not there or if he's just not expecting the pass
25:01and he's not ready for it. Maybe he's to Mick's point, squeezing the stick super hard and trying
25:07to really like impress everybody. And, you know, that is causing him to miss chances that he
25:12usually gets. Like, what exactly are you seeing with Linholm, who I think we all can agree is not
25:19a line driving kind of center. He's definitely a complimentary center, but he should be better
25:23offensively than he is right now. Yeah. You hope, you hope that it's an adjustment thing that,
25:31you know, moving across the continent to a new city and, you know,
25:35with your family and a new team, new line mates, new teammates, all of that.
25:41Yeah. You can understand that that could take some time to, to fit in. But too many,
25:48too many nights, I find myself thinking that this is a guy who's passed his prime.
25:55We've seen his best. He's had his best years. And now he's, he's not, he's not going to reach,
26:04you know, the, the, the, the point where he was in Calgary, maybe. And, you know, it's not,
26:12and if that's the case, then boy, that contract is an albatross. Yeah. Seven years.
26:18They're going to be looking to, I don't know, trade them. Who's going to take it, buy them out.
26:26You know, I don't, I don't think, I don't think that helps your financial situation, but, you know,
26:31I, I have, you know, like you, I didn't, you know, how many late games that I watched to,
26:38to check out Elias Lindholm over the last few years, not that many, but I thought I expected
26:44more. I thought he was better and maybe he is, and maybe he'll, he'll prove us wrong here, but
26:52he needs to get going on that. If he's going to, if he's going to prove it,
26:55prove that we're wrong. Some of the stuff we're saying here.
26:58Yeah. I mean, it's going to be a long season. It's going to be a long duration of his time
27:03in Boston. If he is getting paid to be at least a top six center in the NHL and he's routinely just,
27:10you know, coming on the short end of the stick, coming out on the short end of the stick against
27:15guys like Shifley and other players he's matched up with. And especially in the playoffs too,
27:19like it's not going to get any easier in the playoffs when you're going up against those
27:22guys, every single game in a seven game series. And he just needs to bring more than he is right
27:27now. And it's still in the honeymoon phase where like, you can make excuses for him that it's about
27:33feeling the pressure of the contract. It's about a new teammates. It's about new city. It's about,
27:38like you said, moving all the way across the country and getting like, you know getting,
27:44getting comfortable and getting situated and all that stuff. Like he's still in that phase where
27:48like all of that, I think is viable. And then maybe there's more there, but I just, I think
27:53he has been a big disappointment to this point with what he's been able to bring consistently
27:58in a night in night out basis. And if this is all that there is, man, that it is going to be a tough
28:03contract to deal with both from a salary cap perspective and what you could possibly do with
28:08him. All right. Big question for you, Mark. At this point, like are the Bruins pretenders,
28:17are the Bruins contenders, like where are you at just with what you've seen? Is there any shred,
28:23are we being too tough on them where this might've just been an off night and, you know, they could
28:27go and rip off like four wins on the rest of the road trip and, you know, we won't be talking about
28:31this anymore? Or do you think this goes deeper than that? Well, I think they are right now,
28:38they are pretenders. And I don't think there's a trade, they can't trade their way out of this.
28:44No, I don't think they can get better by a trade, but can they boost themselves to the point where
28:52they're more than a team that, you know, a first round casualty? I don't really see it with what
29:00they have now, you know, at this point. So, you know, I don't think, I think you don't want to
29:09overreact to last night because the Jets are a powerhouse right now. But, you know, I don't see
29:16a Bruins team that really looks like it's going to go anywhere come April. So that's where I'm at
29:25right now. Yeah, no, I agree that look, trading for a winger would certainly help that can put
29:34the puck in the net, get like a Jake DeBrusque type replacement. I think that would certainly
29:37help them offensively a little bit. And if they can score a few more goals, I think it's going to
29:42put less pressure on everybody else. But like, I think you're also entering a territory based on
29:46the way Lindholm is played. Like, do you need to like start looking for another center? Is this
29:52something where you need to, you know, and I don't know how they would do that salary cap wise,
29:57they'd probably have to trade somebody of significant cap it in order to make that happen.
30:01But is that something you have to have on your radar now to say, all right,
30:04this guy is not a number one center, we need to still continue to search and look
30:08for a number one center, Mick. Pretender or contender right now? And how far away do you
30:14think they are from contender status? I'm still struggling with the whole equation of how did
30:21this team contend for the President's Trophy most of last season, actually lead it for a while,
30:27finish only a few points away from it, win a round. I know Florida went six, but they were down three,
30:34one, they were never winning that series. They go and they get what they get. And you say,
30:39what was the one thing they took away? And that's Lena Selmark. And I say, okay,
30:46how's the goaltending been? Well, other than the fact that Swayman hadn't had a camp,
30:51I felt like his game was really coming. And I thought it was great the other night at home.
30:55Last night, the only goal I would say was all him was that one out of the corner. I think it was
30:59the second to last one. So I don't feel like goaltending has really been the issue with this
31:04team. I feel like Corpus Ali has been very good. I feel like Swayman has been consistently getting
31:09better. Last night was a stinker. Good teams have stinkers. Daryl Sittler night, 76.
31:16I'm starting to wonder if maybe the Bruins aren't going to leave Matty Potra and Providence as long
31:22as we thought, because against good opponents, they struggle for offense. And if this kid's
31:28starting to feel it, maybe the idea of leaving him there to just bake in the oven for a year
31:34isn't really, they may be looking for internal solutions and thinking that, look, obviously,
31:40Mark can speak to this because he's, you know, sees the Providence Bruins had quite a nice win
31:44quite a nice weekend there and an uptick and what his impressions are of the Potra
31:50situation. And is this a blip on the screen or is this something you think the Bruins might
31:55entertain? Yeah, we're going to get to the Providence because having Mark on, I definitely
32:01want to get down to what's going on in Providence. We're going to do that in the last segment, but
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33:12CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply, but again, download the GameTime app, create
33:17an account, use the code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download GameTime today. What time
33:23is it, Mick? GameTime! And I wonder when it's gonna be GameTime for Hampus Lindholm, who I thought was
33:29the Bruins' best player along with Pavel Zaka in the early stages of the season. They're starting
33:35to miss Hampus Lindholm with it not being GameTime. Well, let's face it, when Bergeron and Krejci both
33:42go out of their careers at one time, you suddenly become and you say, okay, we are a defense-centric
33:48team now. We got McAvoy, Carlo, Lindholm, that's our big three. Now they've added Zdorov to that,
33:54the growing low-rise brand, and say, okay, this is what our team is now. Well,
34:00I can't forget that now, you know, and say this offense is a work in progress. And there's a lot
34:05of it that's a little old, a little young, and a little patchwork. It's really not a great group
34:10of forwards right now. So the fact that they wanted to stabilize it with Lindholm, I neglected
34:17to mention that Hampus Lindholm was a very important player for them this season until he
34:22went down blocking that shot. And they have missed him because really, a four-man, the way
34:28they try to make up for their lack of pop up front is by having that four-man attack. And McAvoy,
34:34you know, some game, some not game, you know. And when it's going well, they talk about how
34:40great it is, but it's not going that well often enough. No, well, last night it definitely wasn't.
34:45And I agree with you on Lindholm. Like, we can talk about his work in the D-zone and what he
34:50does, killing penalties and some of the other stuff. But like, he was noticeable as the fourth
34:54man on the rush and like helping to create things offensively this year before he got hurt. He was
34:59really definitely helping them. Mick, you kind of answered this before, but I'm going to say a
35:03Twitter question of the week real quick from BabeRuth52. Joe, stop the gaslighting. Call out
35:09Swayman for what he is, nothing but an average goalie. Look, I'm with Mick. I think Swayman,
35:16obviously got off to a slow start, missing training camp, you know, struggled, which we all
35:21thought he was going to do. He's a 26-year-old kid that's only had a couple NHL seasons under
35:25his belt. He's not the veteran NHL goalie status yet where he can get himself ready on his own
35:31and be ready to go at the start of the regular season. He needed the reps in training camp.
35:35He definitely missed them. I think he's also felt the weight of the contract that he signed
35:39and felt the expectation that goes along with it and the weight of being the number one goalie
35:44and not having, you know, Tuca or Alina Selmark by his side anymore. I think all of this stuff,
35:50Mark, has gone on. And I think there are times early in the year where he looked like he was
35:55working his way into it. But I don't really think he's been the issue to a big degree with what's
36:00gone on here with the Bruins when they've had games like this. This has been more about allowing,
36:05you know, quality chances in the slot, allowing the best players to get in really good position
36:11to score goals, tic-tac goals, backdoor goals, coverage issues, like all kinds of things that
36:16are going on that aren't the goaltender's fault and are just giving quality chances to the other
36:20team all the time. I don't really think this has been a Swayman issue, even though I think some
36:24fans are pissed at him and probably holding it against him that he held out and missed all the
36:29training camp and blaming him now. But I don't think this has been, for the large part, a Swayman
36:33problem. I think the goaltending's been fine. I think Swayman's game is headed in the right
36:42direction, last night notwithstanding. Although, like you say, it was a team effort, a team downfall
36:50last night, not the goaltender. But, you know, as far as the fans, some fans being, you know,
36:58nothing Swayman can do will be good enough. Just, I mean, that was the way it was for 10 years with
37:05Tuukka Rask, for God's sake, you know? Like, nothing he could do would be good enough. So,
37:11I think the goaltending's been fine. It's been good, or it's been fine, I should say,
37:19and Swayman's game is going in the right direction. That's the least of the issues.
37:25Yeah, I agree. I think the play in front of him is the problem, much more of the problem than him.
37:30Like, has he been as, like, sort of superhuman as he was at times last year to this point? Probably
37:35not. But you also can't consistently expect your goaltender to play at that level all the time.
37:41Like, you can't make the kind of mistakes that you make in front of him and think he's always
37:45going to save your bacon, like, every single time. That's just unrealistic. And it's not
37:49sustainable for a hockey team. Providence Mark, I guess first of all, how has Patra
37:56looked down there? How has he acclimated? What kind of a role has he been playing?
38:02Well, I'd say his game's on the upswing. He had a very good weekend,
38:10you know, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, goals in all three games,
38:18playing well on both sides of the puck, and just, you know, improved over when he first arrived.
38:26And, you know, he had some games, you know, frankly, where, you know, it was just,
38:38you didn't notice him. You did not notice him. It was like a flatline situation. And,
38:45you know, one thing about the Bruins fan base is there's no in between.
38:51The guy's either a Hall of Famer or he's a bust. And, you know, when I pointed out a couple times
38:58on Twitter that, you know, maybe his game wasn't going that well, and, you know, the outrage,
39:05the, just the, you know, the fanboy and fangirl, you know, outlook that this guy is the future,
39:17and, you know, he's this and he's that. Well, he's none of those things right now.
39:21He's playing in the American Hockey League. So, you know, yeah, he had a good weekend.
39:30Is he going to go to Boston and have an impact? Geez, I have a hard time.
39:34I have a hard time seeing that. Can he help, you know, a little bit? Yeah, he probably can.
39:41But is it better for his game all around and long-term for him to stay in Providence
39:46a while longer? It doesn't have to be from now until the end of the season.
39:51Right.
39:51But, you know, build on these three, these last three good games and go from there. And,
39:58you know, I think the same things that you saw in the NHL, you know, getting bounced off the puck,
40:06you know, not being able to win races all the time, you saw that in the American League,
40:12the same as you did in the NHL. Lately, that's been a little better, you know,
40:18it's been a little better. So, you know, like I said, it's going in the right direction. I
40:25wouldn't mess with it right now unless, you know, if there's an injury, a center goes down or
40:30something like that, then yeah, okay, you got to do it. But I think he's where he needs to be at
40:36this point. And let's see what happens going forward here. Can he continue to build on this?
40:45There's been an outcry with the offensive struggles for the Bruins. Everybody,
40:49the same fans that you're talking about, have been crying about like,
40:53where's Fabian Lysel and why isn't he up? Why hasn't he been doing anything in Boston? Why
40:58hasn't he gotten a chance up there yet? And like every time I look at his numbers in Providence,
41:02he ain't lighting it up down there and he's been a minus player. And, you know, it doesn't look
41:06like he's deserved the NHL call. Just what have you seen out of Fabian Lysel to this point this
41:12year? He continues to be just a mystery. With the ability that he has, the skating ability,
41:27the ability to shoot the puck, I don't know why his numbers aren't better.
41:33But, I mean, he makes the same, they preach certain things in his game that he needs to do,
41:40and he makes the same mistakes over and over and over again. And he's in year three now.
41:49Yeah, he's not the youngest kid in the NHL anymore. He's not. And be that as it may,
41:56though, I think you're going to see him probably sooner rather than later, because we're at the
42:02point now, and I believe his entry-level contract, I believe this is the last year.
42:08Yeah.
42:10Whether he deserves it or not, and he probably doesn't, or whether he's, you know, has earned it
42:16at this point, which he hasn't, I think you're going to see him up. Just they need to see,
42:21they need to see this kid. Where does he stand against NHL players? What can he do? Can he do
42:27anything? Is there any, you know, what does he need to continue to work on? So I think
42:33at some point, you know, in the not too distant future, I think he's going to,
42:40they're going to take a look at him and see what they have.
42:42And perhaps on some level, there's also a hope that he can come up and do some good things,
42:47and then maybe some other NHL teams will notice, and he becomes like, you know, a value-
42:53The old trade showcase. The old trade showcase, yes.
42:57The old-fashioned trade showcase. But like, I mean, that, you know, if he came up and he flashed
43:02for a game or two, like, that's the kind of player with a skillset that, you know,
43:06maybe would intrigue another team, just based on what he can bring to the table.
43:10Yeah. I'd like to see him flash for a game or two down here before that happens. But,
43:19you know, he's a first-round pick. They've invested something in him, and they're going to,
43:25they're going to give him a look at some point, whether he deserves it or not.
43:29Um, any, anybody else or anything else of note going on in Providence as far as the
43:35players down there, players that have been doing well, trending in the right direction,
43:40guys that have surprised you, like anything that's noteworthy going on right now with the Peabros?
43:45Not really. It's pretty much what you expect from these guys. And the veterans, you know,
43:49the guys like Patrick Brown and Vinny Leteri, you know, are just, you know, I admire the way
43:57they go at it, the way they go at their business day after day and game after game. These guys are
44:03real pros. Now they're not going to get a call up and go up and be difference makers in the NHL,
44:11but they certainly are setting an example for some of the kids down here for, you know,
44:17this is how you do it. This is the way you play. But, you know, Jeffrey Vielle the other day scored
44:25just a spectacular shorthanded goal. You know, I didn't know he had that in his game, but
44:33it really was a great play. And, you know, there's a guy who came up to Boston and did exactly what
44:41no one had to tell him what to do. He knew what to do.
44:44It felt like we were turning the clock back to the 80s with that recall.
44:48He did his eight minutes or whatever he got, and he had an impact. You know, he had,
44:55who was that game against? I can't remember, but he had,
45:01it was Columbus against Columbus. You know, Columbus knew, they knew he was out there.
45:07Okay. They knew what he was about. So there's that. I don't think he's going to, you know,
45:13he could come up in a situation maybe the next time they play Winnipeg and see what he brings.
45:19But, you know, other than that, it's been pretty much, pretty quiet. They've struggled
45:27at times. You know, they're short on D. They have young D, some kids who probably don't
45:32belong in the league. They should probably be in the coast. But, you know, it's a learning
45:39experience for them. You know, Providence has had elite goaltending in the last few years.
45:46It hasn't been elite this year so far, but Brandon Busse had a couple of good games over
45:52the weekend. So hopefully he's finding his game. Mark, when I saw them a few weeks ago,
45:57I thought Riley Duran was really good. He seemed to play kind of the way Cole Koepke plays,
46:02and to an extent the way Kastler plays, kind of getting up and down the ice really hard,
46:06and the forecheck, straight line skating. And when I talked to him after the game,
46:12and then I talked to Moujanel after the game, everybody was, the consensus was is that he
46:18didn't start the season well, but this was the way they needed him to play, and it was good to see.
46:23Has that continued for him? Has he been able to be a good forechecker for them?
46:28What's going on with Duran's game in your mind right now?
46:31He has been. He has done that some games. Other games he hasn't, and he's been a healthy scratch
46:38a handful of times. I think with him, it's just a, this is a learning experience for him. First
46:45year out of college, the night-to-night consistency is something that hasn't been there.
46:53Hasn't been there.
46:58The other thing is the offensive game, and now I know they're not going to ever
47:03count on him for offense as probably a fourth-line player, but
47:09you'll like to see a little bit more of that from him. He goes, at times he goes long stretches
47:18without really having a chance or doing much. Maybe it's his line mates or the line isn't going,
47:27but you like to see a little bit more offense, a little bit more chances out of him,
47:34but the consistency is the thing. When he's dialed in, he's capable. When he isn't,
47:44then he's kind of just another guy. As a first-year pro, this is part of the learning process.
47:51100%. I think that was definitely the expectation for him coming out of college, and for all those
47:57college players, that's definitely an adjustment in their first year. I remember Farinacci saying
48:02that last year was a big adjustment for him too, especially the second half of the year,
48:05just dealing with the grind of the HL schedule, but I think we're going to see bigger and better
48:10things out of Riley Duran, no question about it. Mark, Mick, thank you very much for joining us.
48:15Let's thank our sponsors real quick. PrizePix, download the PrizePix app today and use the code
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48:48Download GameTime today. What time is it, Mick? GameTime. GameTime. That's right, Mick. Mark,
48:55Mick, thanks for joining us. Thanks, guys. Yeah, thank you. Everybody else out there,
49:01thanks for listening. We'll see you at the race.

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