Finding a silver lining in a mountain full of garbage

This makes me very happy; the Boston Bruins continue their domination over the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the UND vs. UNO game, my wife’s cousin asked me what I thought and I told him, I was a fan of the Boston Bruins from 1988 to 2011 and I had to wait a long time to watch them win a Stanley Cup. I am not going to let this team ruin day. I am no too upset about this. This is just one part of the season. There’s a lot of season left. This is one game.

I must admit, I didn’t think that the season would play out like this, not with the players that this team has on the roster. So far, this team is under achieving and they’re really not doing much on the ice. Tonight they played better. I think it’s all minor things that the coaching staff will fix and fix quickly. If not, the coaching staff will sit the players that aren’t playing well and try another player.

As far as fixing what ails this team, It will happen either tomorrow night, next weekend, or soon. A Dave Hakstol team will not continue to play like this for very long. This is a coach that bag skated his team after they lost 1-0 to the BSU Beavers in November of 2011. If he doesn’t have their attention, he will soon.

I thought that UND played well against UNO tonight, In the second period. Bad goals have killed this team so far this season. I also think the goaltending has been poor all-season long. I also think that the forwards have been lazy getting the puck into the offensive zone and the defensemen have been doing things a step slow.

UND has lost four straight game for the first time since 2006. Something has got to give. So, their either going to get their act together and play well, or their going to get buried in the bottom half of the NCHC standings, time will tell. They have a tough schedule ahead of them in November. 

Related articles

• Boston Bruins: Three Up, Three Down From the Second Half of October (thehockeywriters.com)

SCF Game four: Patrice Bergeron first goal of the game

Talk about over the top... Here's the first goal that was scored by Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron on the power play to make the game 4-3 in the waning moments of the second period. Bergeron would score again to open the third period to tie the game. Bergeron now has (9g-6a—15pts) in the Stanley cup playoffs.

Breaking it down further, Bergeron now has (6g-2a—8pts) in the past two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To quote the guys on NBC, "is Bergeron is officially becoming the city of Boston's Mr. clutch?

(Video) 2013 SCF Game three... Bickell and Chara scrum; Marchand vs Shaw game ending fight.

What a fitting ending to an awesome game between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks. Things got nasty at the end, so things are going to heat up it would appear. With the win tonight, the Boston Bruins have now won 11 straight game threes.

The Boston Bruins have also killed off 26 straight power plays, that's why the Blackhawks are 0/11 on the power play. Incidentally, the Boston Bruins have not given up a power play goal since game five of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New York Rangers when Dan Girard scored a power play goal at the 10:39 mark of the first period. That goal gave the Rangers a brief 1-0 lead.

Also, Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara had seen enough and sent Chicago Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell a message. I honestly don't think that Bryan Bickell has any idea what he was getting into with Chara. Chara is one of the toughest players in the NHL. As far as the Brad Marchand and Andrew Shaw fight goes. Meh! Give me a heavy weight bout anytime.

Patrick Kane's Hat Trick sends the Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup Finals

And then there were two. You can bet that the 6'9" Zdeno Chara will be glued to Patrick Kane during the Stanley Cup Finals. You can also bet that "the little ball of hate" Brad Marchand will be in Jonathan Toews grill, much like Henrik Zetterberg was during the second round the playoffs.

So, here's how the Stanley Cup Finals shake out. Boston Bruins 28-14-6 regular season, 12-4 playoffs vs Chicago Blackhawks 36-7-5 regular season, 12-5 playoffs... Game one kicks off on Wednesday Night at 7:00 p.m. at the Mad House on Madison.

(Video) Brad Marchand and Chris Kunitz incident

Okay, I have to admit that this was a bush league move, I admit it, I am not condoning this play one bit. It's a cheap play. I don't know any Boston Bruins fan or media member that excused this play. It's unacceptable. 

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was given a two minute minor penalty for kneeing and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Kunitz was given a two minute minor for slashing. 

(Video) Patrice Bergeron's game winning goal; Bruins lead series 3-0

Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron scored the game winning goal at the 15:19 mark of the second overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 double overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Assisting on the game winning goal was Brad Marchand and Jaromir Jagr. This was the longest game of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the win, the Bruins take a 3-0 series lead and can close the series out on Friday at home.

The Boston Bruins have outscored the Penguins 11-2. Who would've thought that the Penguins with their high flying lineup, would be held to two goals through three games? Not me.

Against the Bruins, Evgeni Malkin (0g-0a—0pts) -5 Sidney Crosby (0g-0a—0pts) -2 Jarome Iginla (0g-0a—0pts) -3
— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) June 6, 2013

Against the Pens, Brad Marchand (2g-1a—3pts) +4 Patrice Bergeron (2g-1a—3pts) +3 Nathan Horton (2g-3a—5pts) +6
— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) June 6, 2013

Related articles

• (Video) Patrice Bergeron wins Game 7 in OT (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Brad Marchand Shows Penguins He's Not Your Average Pest And Other Leftover Bruins Thoughts (boston.cbslocal.com)

Matt Cooke and Brad Marchand gif

(Click your mouse on the picture to get the picture to move)... What's that thing about karma? You can also tell who the actual skilled player is.  I think this is better than revenge. It's also a good example of how effective that the Boston Bruins have been in getting the Pittsburgh Penguins off of their game. I also believe, that the Bruins have also done a very good job not getting wrapped up in the extra stuff after the whistle causing them to have to kill a bunch of senseless penalties.

(Video) Brad Marchand scores 28 second in

Great shot of Brad Marchand's opening goal for the @nhlbruins. #StanleyCup #PITvsBOS PIC: twitter.com/NHL/status/341…
— NHL (@NHL) June 4, 2013

Brad "the Little Ball of Hate" Marchand scores 0:28 seconds into the first period for the Boston Bruins in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marchand would go on to score two goals in tonight's 6-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Fitting Penguins Humor; Sidney Crosby crying about the officiating already

Haha this is funny @jroadsreal @goon48 twitter.com/bergcar5/statu…
— gretchen berg (@bergcar5) June 2, 2013

Someone put this on twitter last night, I know it's old but it fits with the current Pittsburgh Penguins, especially with Sidney Crosby whining about the officiating after last night's game. Apparently, Sid bad mustache and all didn't watch the game between the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings.

Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette --- Before Marchand's hit on Neal, Matt Cooke sent Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid into the boards in the second minute of the second period, earning a major penalty for hitting from behind, a game misconduct and a review from the NHL, which could decide to suspend Cooke.

Some of the Penguins' discontent stemmed from Marchand getting a two-minute boarding penalty for the hit on Neal, not something similar to Cooke's penalties. "I don't see the difference, really," Crosby said.

Crosby, rarely one to publicly criticize officiating, said the way referees Chris Rooney and Brad Watson called the game contributed to the overflow of emotion.

"It's tough," Crosby said. "They're letting a lot go out there, and the more it gets like that, the more it's going to escalate. You can only control and channel that stuff so much. You keep letting guys do that stuff, you're just going to push the envelope. That's something we obviously want to stay away from, but it's kind of a natural thing when it gets like that."

Asked if it was also a matter of the Bruins trying to get under the Penguins' skin, Crosby didn't back down.

Look, I don’t think anyone is questioning whether the hit that Brad Marchand put on James Neal was worthy of a five or not – I get that – the call probably should have been a five minute major and I was surprised that it wasn't. Now were going to have to put up with Crosby's excessive whining the rest of the series every time his team doesn't get a call.

Marchand boards James Neal: Dust up at the end of the period, Malkin vs Bergeron fight

I thought that Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was lucky to remain in the game after his hit on Penguins forward James Neal. This could have been a five minute major. There could be two suspensions coming from this game, when it's all said and done. Probably not though. This was not a good hit, dangerous hit. Marchand is a repeat offender as well.

Video of dust up at the end of the period included as well.

Malkin and Bergeron fighting is why the playoffs are rad. Also, I like fighting.
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) June 2, 2013

Sorry but Crosby has no right to go after Rask, Crosby cut into Rask's path and gave him a bit of an elbow
— Erik Erlendsson (@erlendssonTBO) June 2, 2013

Marchand takes a bad penalty. Not worse than Cooke but still a stupid penalty, only gets 2 minutes, luckily #DailyLive
— Bruins Daily (@BruinsDaily) June 2, 2013

Zdeno Chara gets hit in the face by Ryan Callahan, no call on the play

The Officiating has been poor in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, there is no doubt about it. This is an obvious high stick by Rangers forward Ryan Callahan on Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara that went uncalled, that should drawn a double minor penalty. Four officials on the ice and no one saw it. The Officials did manage to call a very weak penalty on Jaromir Jagr that was much less serious than this.

Brad Marchand wins it in O.T. for the Bruins... 3-2

The Boston Bruins were lucky to get the win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, the Boston Bruins outshot the New York Rangers 48-35 and had a 16-5 edge in shots in the overtime period. New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist kept the Rangers in the game by stopping 45/48 shots.

Brad Marchand had two points in the first six games that he played in during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, now has three point in two games and (1g-4a—5pts) in eight games. Patrice Bergeron had two points in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, now has four points in last two games and has been a big part of the Bruins turn around.

Marchand get speared “in the privates”

It's pretty obvious why Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand wasn’t very happy with Maple Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk after Wednesday’s Game 1. Yikes, I am also happy that Marchand didn't connect with van Riemsdyk, that might have ended up being a suspension.

Boston Strong and National Anthem, Bruins and Sabres game - Daniel Paille goal.

Unbelievable night in Boston, Massachusetts. I don't believe that there were very many dry eyes in the arena tonight, I know there wasn't in my living room at home tonight. According to Mike "Doc" Emrick, every Boston Bruins player lives with in the city of Boston.

“Boston is a tough and resilient town," President Obama said. So are its people

Bergeron and Marchand back in the line up for the Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Look who's back in the line for the Boston Bruins... From the Bruins blog. Bergy and Brad Marchand aka the Little Ball of Hate are back in the lineup for the Bruins.

Projected lineup:

Gregoy Campbell-David Krejci-Jaromir Jagr
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Danny Paille-Chris Kelly-Nathan Horton
Milan Lucic-Rich Peverley-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Dougie Hamilton
Andrew Ference-Wade Redden

Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin

Anton Volchenkov suspended four games for elbowing Brad Marchand

Brendan Shanahan bans Anton Volchenkov for four games, for his elbow on Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand.

NEW YORK – New Jersey Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov has been suspended for four games, without pay, for elbowing Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand during NHL Game No. 591 in New Jersey on Wednesday, April 10, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 15:11 of the second period. Volchenkov was assessed a five-minute major for elbowing and a game misconduct (Rule 45).

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Volchenkov will forfeit $91,891.88. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

For a full explanation of the Department of Player Safety's decision, complete with video, please click on the following link:

I know there are some that are some fans that are applauding Volchenkov’s actions, but the fact remains that Marchand has concentrated on playing hockey this season and has scored (16g-17a—33pts) in 38 games for the Bruins this season.

Is this supposed to be funny Harrison Mooney?

So is this supposed to be funny? Is that really humorous to others? I am just wondering? I wonder if Harrison Moody would think it was funny if one of the Sedin Twins or Alex Burrows was on the receiving end of dirty elbow or hit from behind like Marchand was tonight?

In today’s game where concussions are prevalent as missing teeth, do we really want to make light of dirty hits like this? Puck Daddy used to be a good hockey blog before they hired this clown. [click to view]

It's a tough situation for Volchenkov. It's easy to elbow Marchand in the head, because a) he's so small and b) he really makes you want to. But it goes without saying that you're not allowed to do it, so while applaudable in some circles, it's suspendable in others.

Not funny dude. Having watched Matt Cooke end Marc Savard's career with a dirty elbow, I don't see anything funny about this dirty, bush-league hit what-so-ever.

Anton Volchenkov's dirty elbow on Brad Marchand

This is a dirty, bush-league hit and it’s a violation of the NHL’s rule 48. The Head is targeted; it’s pretty cut and dried. I am going to be very surprised and disappointed if Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov isn’t given a 3-4 game suspension for this dirty and unnecessary hit on Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand.

Seriously, there is no defending this hit. I don’t care what you think of Brad Marchand, this is not acceptable. These are the types of hits we’re trying to eliminate from all levels of hockey. Volchenkov is a repeat offender. Volchenkov was given a five minute major for elbowing and a game misconduct.

I expect the Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Player Safety to be giving Mr. Volchenkov a call tomorrow and I expect that Volchenkov will be getting suspended by the National Hockey League. What do you think?

Again, I predict a 3-4 game suspension.

No update on Brad Marchand from the Bruins. Claude Julien said he hadn't spoken to the doctors before he spoke to the media.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) April 11, 2013

Phone hearing for Volchenkov this morning, FYI...
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) April 11, 2013

Sweet goal by Boston's Brad Marchand

This is an awesome goal by Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, this was the 14th goal of the season for the Little Ball of Hate. This was also the game tying goal for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins would go on to score two more goals by Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton.

As of late, the Boston Bruins have been goal starved,  but not this time, as the Boston Bruins scored four unanswered goals in 14:04 of the second period. This was after they had just given up a goal by Hab's defenseman P.K. Subban at the 2:53 mark of the second period.

Brad Marchand fights Mike Ribeiro

Brad Marchand fights Mike Ribeiro w/SlowMo 3/16/13: youtu.be/IbDIG_mdLms?a via @youtube
— dafoomie (@dafoomie) March 16, 2013