Dojji

Wow Paps wow.

SPLIT SPLIT SPLIT!!!

Now why couldn't Paps do this BEFORE he had the go-ahead run in scoring position/

Splitter low and away. Please.

Make him beat you, Pap. Don't beat yourself.

Walker sucker-punches Aaron Ward. Possible broken orbital bone. Walker needs to take some time off. Like the rest of the playoffs would be nice.

This game is officially to be renamed Bay'sBall. yeah. Knew it was dumb when I said it. Went with it anyway.

JASON BAY!

O well, I'll take that.

Be a heck of a time for #1, David.

You can start throwing strikes now.

Stay angry for Tuesday, Bruins!!!

Carolina really playing some stupid hockey here.

I love Shawn Thornton. Took the hit twice to clear the puck. then drops the gloves.

Chara not on the bench for 3rd. EDIT: here he comes. EDIT2: He's fine.

Yeesh, I think the next callup is Boychuk unless Hunwick rushes back. Please be OK, Z.

nd 2. Tell me Chara's OK... Please tell me Chara's OK...

NOT CHARA!!! NOOOOO!!!!

Heck of a job there by Bergeron.

Logical fallacy: False dichotomy. There is NO guarantee that retaining Thomas costs us Kessel. As analyzed by benefit of hindsight? Sure. My point is that at the time we thought much the same about Toivonen and Raycroft as we thought now. The fact that the league exposed them doesn't mean that Rask will get exposed, but it certainly does mean that one shouldn't be so sure about sure-thing prospects. You can't put a goaltender on the 4th line while he gets his head on straight. There is a sentiment about Rask that it's possible to get into his head. There have been periods of time when Rask seemed either too emotional or else bored and distracted in the AHL. That definitely worries me. Until that one is resolved one way or the other I propose to put the Bruins in a position where Rask is a luxury rather than a necessity. Again with the false dichotomy re: Kessel. Chiarelli wouldn't have signed Thomas if he thought he was in any danger of losing his top scorer. Bergeron's place on the roster is in FAR more jeapordy than Kessel's. Be that as it may, if you make me choose between Kessel and Thomas, you're basically asking me whether my version of these Bruins would be a defensive club or an offensive one. My answer is that Thomas is, right now, far more important to our defense than Kessel is to our offense. Not that losing Kessel wouldn't hurt -- a lot -- but we can build better offense without Kessel than we can build a defense with a rookie and a scrub in the net. Also a big part of the strength of this team last year was two all-star caliber goaltenders. I have no problem with repeating that phenomenon with Thomas as Jedi master and Rask as young Padawan absorbing his passion and work ethic. This hockey team just got done paying a goaltender $4M to sit on the bench. If it becomes obvious that Thomas would get more playing time elsewhere believe me when I say that Chiarelli would find a buyer for Thomas. This series is not over. This is all basically the same thought. I don't think the cap is as big a problem as people make it out to be. With the bonus cushion coming down we pick up some cap space that we aren't accounting for. I'm not sure that's possible. Look, I'm not denying that Rask is a great prospect, but he's still a prospect. Meaning he hasn't panned out yet. Planning on him as if he had seems foolish to me. That's my point here. If he'd played a significant number of consecutive NHL games at any point I might agree with you, but with such limited NHL exposure it seems too big a risk to take. Yeah, guys with 20 goal scoring ability and Kobasew's physicality and Sturm's speed are a dime a dozen, right? There's a whole lot of second lines begging for a guy like Kobasew or Sturm. Heck, Montreal would kill to add a Kobasew to their roster. As for Sturm, we should certainly wait and see how he comes back to proclaim him toast. Nothing I've heard suggests that he won't come back just as good as before. These guys aren't only players another team would take, we could probably get a decent return for either of them. Sure, agreed. But there were too many quality chances for me to think that Thomas was going to shut anyone out last game. When the defense gives the puck away multiple times 15 feet or less from the crease no one pitches a shutout. I'm not saying Thomas doesn't share some responsibility for the outcome of the series so far but right now he's back on the list behind at least 6 other players including Chara. So far so good/

We already learned that with Hansen and Delcarmen.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090510&content_id=4658746&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos And fare the well, Javier Lopez./

So can I officially call Zambrano my DH-P? Heck, if Boston had Zambrano in its rotation right now it might voluntarily waive the DH rule every 5 days the way things are going with the big fella.

You also can't assume you won't. That's why a smart GM prepares for either contingency. If Rask takes over Thomas's deal is not so large he cannot be traded. If Rask does not take over we have an above average option who can take over immediately -- as he's done each of the last 4 years when the nominal Plan A fell through. Either way, it's smarter to keep Thomas than it is to expose Rask. Even if Rask blew everyone away it still would be smarter to have Timmeh around. Rask is going to be a trenendous goaltender... by all accounts.... sure, I'll buy that in the same way I bought Toivonen and Raycroft. Both of them had a similar buzz, and both of them fell flat on their faces when given the NHL starter's job in exactly the same way you want to give it to Rask. Heck, Toivonen and Rask were even very successful in much more NHL action than Rask has had so far when they were GIVEN that job. So yeah, I'll buy that in exactly that same way, meaning I'll keep my receipt and my return ticket handy and a backup plan available on immediate notice, and see if the kid can take over on merit. That way if Rask does succeed in winning the starter's job, it's because he's playing better than an above average tender. Not just because there was no one else like the other 2 times (in the last 6 years!) we tried to move a goalie of future dominant superstar awesomeness in the regular lineup. You say he's not going to fail. I say we're talking about a rookie here, even if he dominates eventually he might not do so in his first season. If he doesn't I'd rather have Timmy Thomas between the pipes for half my games or more than Ty Conklin -- and so would you. Why am I reminded of the Mark Teixeira discussion? You know, when you to shell out for an expensive prime veteran and I wanted to roll the dice on a dominant rookie of the future? I think Thomas is a great goaltender but I'm dealing in facts. The fact is that TT is above average right now. Whatever else he may be, the fact that he is better than the majority of starting goaltenders is statistically indispuable. A below average goaltender does not get nominated for the Vezina or stand among the league leaders in key goaltending categories like SV% Also, a guy who is above average is not necessarily a downgrade right now vs. a guy who is going to be great. Even accepting the premise of eventual guaranteed dominance, we're still talking about a rookie with some learning and growing to do. Just ask Carey Price. No, it isn't, because I'm not saying Rask WILL follow in the footsteps of Toivolen and Raycroft. I'm simply saying it's sufficiently possible that I'm not prepared to gamble the whole team's future on it with a reasonable alternative handy. it also could have been disastrous. Look at the Habs to see why. You know as well as I do that what people were saying about Price is about what they're saying now about Rask. Do not assume that all the ability he'll have at his peak is there now. It is not. When he stays will you shut up about Thomas? With the bonus cushion going away Boston has room to spare to promote Rask and sign K&K. Worst case scenario is that Kobasew and/or Sturm move on at draft day. And if Magical Super-Goalie X makes those two saves we still lose 2-1. Thomas didn't excel, but he's hardly to blame here. You can't win if you don't score goals and you can't win if you can't get out of your own way. All those turnovers in the neutral and defensive zone are a far bigger problem than an above average goaltender. Yes. Especially if the defense wakes up and does its job. Especially Ferrence and Chara who have both been ridiculously bad. This season is in the hands of our offense and specifically in the hands of Bergeron, Lucic, Krejci, Kessel, Chara, Wideman and Ryder to step their games up, clear their heads, and play some quality hockey.