rician blast

That pic looks like maybe the puck was over the line by a pubic hair...that said I believe the league did the absolute right thing in NOT overturning the call on the ice. Simply to close to say that the ref got it it wrong. As it turns out it made no difference and that's a good thing. The Canes played exactly the way I feared they might...careful execution, very opportunistic...almost B's-like. This is the way they looked down the stretch in the regular season...they can stifle an opponent when they play within their own system. However, let's look at it another way...eliminate the short-handed goal and you're looking at a 1-goal game and if not for Cam Ward the B's could have potted a couple. The Bruins did not play all that bad, but they'll have to find a way to get one in Carolina.

The 'roids thing, as I've said before, doesn't work me up too much because I think a lot of these guys were/are doing it to keep up with other guys who are also doing it. But tipping pitches? If I were pitching, lopsided game or not, and this f***bag is tipping off my pitches to the opponent so that ultimately HE can pad is numbers, I'd be beyond pissed off. He's f***ing with guys careers, potentially, and he knows that, which makes it all the more contemptuos. If true, this is one of the worst things I've ever heard of...it's one thing to cheat under the assumption that "every one else is doing it" but to deliberately f*** over your teammates in an effort to help your own numbers down the line is disgusting. If this is true, I hope this whole thing blows up in his face...that some very concrete evidence comes to light...and that he gets what he deserves either by the league or by the players he f***ed over.

I very dominant performance by the Bruins. If this is all the 'Canes bring through the series than I seriously over-estimated them. They looked lie world beaters down the stretch, winnin 17 of 20 or something like that, but last night they were outclassed badly. It's only one game, but a helluva performance it was. And Thomas was great, could have been a different game if he hadn't made a couple of big stops.

Kobasew>Wheeler. Can't demote him to the 4th line.

I wouldn't imagine Julien would screw around with the lines at all yet. Hell, their coming off of a 4 game sweep. I think Axe on the 1st line is a smart move, keeps the lines more balanced, makes it very difficult for the opponent to match up with the 2nd and 3rd lines.

Didn't Canseco also insinuate that he believed ARod used as far back as high school? Has this guy been proven wrong yet about any of his accusations?

Tonight's key...keep it at worst a scoreless tie through the 1st half of period 1...get each line, even the 4th, at least two shifts to get up to game speed....then play a very opportunistic game, because as the game goes on the Bruins should become stronger. Avoid the potential pitfall of the layoff...falling behind early. Then start punishing their D-men while keeping a forward up high for defensive purposes. Be ready to pounce in a defesnive screw up and when those opportunities arise bury them.

THIS is why you don't run out and extend guy's contracts too soon. Last year weren't some folks here saying the Sox should give him the big bucks now, before he tests free agency? Gotta see how this all plays out...last night was a strange performance.

Over on HFBoards there's a few fans who saw a fair amount of the Huricanes series and are being pretty thorough in their explanations regarding some deficiencies they saw in Carolina...unbalanced scoring for one and several posters felt Cam Ward was NOT great...if they're right I may be giving that squad too much credit, we'll get a look Friday though.

s***...even the Yankees bullpen couldn't have f***ed up that season.

Why not mark your territory like wolf...if you pee on the coach and carpet, bet they'll let you have the room all to yourself. So what of it'll smell like Jerome Avenue? Sacrifices, Sean....sacrifices.

Red Wings in the West. Too much depth and somehow they manage to get by in goal. Vancouver? Nah. Chicago? Still not sold on them, though they're loaded with young talent and Khabibulin can be tough. Anaheim? Hmmm...intriguing. I suspect they give Detroit a tough time but Detroit's depth is the key. Several VERY good D-men and Jonas Hiller is fkn unreal. In the East? I'm very afraid of this Carolina team. They were the only team in the East that I predicted would upset their opponent in the first round. I actually was hoping for B's-Pens, thought we matched up well with them. Cam Ward can be an absolute beast in goal, and they've got two very good center icemen on the first and second lines. Beware the Whale in this series. I'm cautiously optimistic about a B's-Wings final and I think that series would go deep...in fact of all the potential matchups, I think the B's would be the Wings the toughest foe because of their scoring depth and a tough 'D'. If Carolina beats the B's? I'm going out on a limb and saying it's a 'Canes-Wings final. EDIT: Seems Melrose and a bunch of other analysts are jumping on the Carolina bandwagon now...this could be a good thing, it'll gear the B's up that much more. As someone else pointed out on HFBOARDS, it's like football when a wild card team wins their game dominantly and the "experts" jump on board...forgetting why the top seeds are the top seeds. So I wonder if I TOO am getting affected by the 'Canes-hype?

In my opinion it is Thornton's STYLE, more than a lack of effort, that is the problem come playoff time. Regular season games are played much differently in the regular season than the playoffs from a defensive perspective. Thornton spends much of his offensive zone time behind the net, often with his back to the play, possessing the puck and looking to thread the needle. In the regular season that seems to be an effective way to pile up points. In the playoffs there is a premium put on (1) packing it in around the goal (how many shots even make it through nowadays?) and pressuring the puck. Joe doesn't get the time and the space to operate in the playoffs like he can in the regular season. In addition, teams do a much better job of matching D-men to the ket offensive players of their opponent. during playoff games. I think these factors make it significantly more difficult for a player of Thornton's style to live up to the point totals he puts up in the regular season. In Thornton fans see a big strong guy who they think should be able to play whatever style of hockey is necessary to win...but that ain't Joe. He is no power forward...he succeeds with space and time...take it away and he's not nearly as effective. My point? I think it's not so much that he isn't trying but that he isn't as good as his regular season numbers seem to say he is. I don't think he'll ever win one if he's the go-to guy

Optimism...hmmm... we're not NY Rangers fans?

I pray that Lucic doesn't waste his time with that guy. My concern if they play the Rangers is Lundquist.

But wait, Susan Waldman said that in the heat of July and August the ball doesn't carry, so it won't be as big of a problem. What a fkn moron. Same woman that once said "Perfect pitcher's pitch, 0-2 fastball right down the middle."

Way too early to make such claims. Remember he's a RFA, as such wouldn't command as much on the market as an UFA. Yeah they've got to get a deal done with Krejci too, but there may be a way to make this happen. Fernandez will be off the books, Axe could be gone, and I think they'll look at moving Sturm and his $3.5m cap hit. Until recently I suspected Bergeron would be goine, not so sure now...not sure if his strong play helps him stick or makes teams more willing to trade for him and accept his $4.5-$5m salary.

- Ortiz's average, at .196, is up to roughly half of Sabbathia's weight

Not the worst news I've ever heard.

On HF Boards I posted this thought.... The Bruins have been disciplined this series and because of that have capitalized on PPs. What Lucic did was, IMO, either very selfish or at the least a display of his inability to keep his cool. Joe Thornton did this in his early days and teams would goad him time and time again into cross checks and such. Lucic will have to work very hard to let other teams know he won't be drawn in like that again. After his little jam with Schneider, Lucic could have easily skated away from that area or, after seeing Lapierre approach him, goaded Lapierre into a dumb penalty. For the good of the team he can't do what he did.