Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruins Fan
My thoughts on last nights game Boychuck is killing us, he been on the ice for the last seven goals scored against us and has been responsible for all of them.
Julien has got to get Recchi off the PP he has 0.0 points in 19 games and skates like he has snow shoes on,he has to give that ice time to Seguin.
The forwards have got to get in front of the net and make things happen.
Overall the team has got to cut down on the turn overs and not get caught out of position.
The B's got to keep up the heavy checking and not get caught up in a chippie game.
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The big things the Bruins need to do on the power play is improve their puck speed and get Charra back on the point where he can do some damage. Look at that 5 on 3 last night. Every single time a Bruin got a pass they stopped for a second, almost like they were trying to think of what they had to do next. It allowed the Canucks penalty killers to readjust the triangle and re-setup. While the Canucks never really got their passing game in gear last night look at their power plays in comparison, the puck is almost always in movement passing all over the ice. It doesn't allow the PK to setup and they end up chasing the play instead of controlling it.
As for Charra in front of the net, yes he's a big body but Luongo plays so far back in the net now that Charra's not really effective at screening him. He's also so tall that Luongo just has to drop into a low butterfly and he's know only peering around Charra's legs instead of his torso. Charra doesn't have the tipping ability of a Lucic or other natural forward, he's simply too tall and gangly for close quarter rebound scrambles and most importantly he gets out of the way of every shot which means Luongo gets line of sight. If he's back on the point he's either going to have a valid scoring chance or at the very least put some hurt on the Vancouver shot blockers... and given that 2 of Vancouver's 4 top scorers are also our top shot blockers that's always a good play from the Boston perspective.
The other big thing the Bruins need to adapt to is the speed of counterattack from the Canucks. Neutral zone turnovers killed the Sharks and they did the same to the Bruins last night, every scoring chance Vancouver had when they finally started playing their game in the 3rd was off a turnover and counterattack.
From Vancouver's perspective they just need to keep exploiting their strengths, speed and depth. I was amazed at how much latitude Charra allowed them last night, I'd expect that to change on Sat. They also have to start shooting more and positioning for the rebounds Thomas is well known for instead of trying these pretty passing plays to catch him out of position. While that does work, obviously, it's not the way to beat him.
I think these games are all going to be very close unless either Thomas or Luongo has one of their meltdown games. If Luongo does have one, and I fully expect he will, I really hope Vigneault has the sense to pull him quickly and let Schneider in to help salvage the situation.