It has been a while. Definitely haven't been writing as much as I would have liked. But I guess it's not to bad for the first year doing it. I think going forward and into next year, I won't try to write every day, just before and/or after every game. I think it'll feel like less of a chore.
Anyway, this season has turned out pretty crazy. I was just reading through some of my old posts...pretty good mix of totally inaccurate and dead on. I think now would be a good time to look at my terrible season predictions....
This is from September 30th 09...
---
East
1. Bruins
2. Capitals
3. Penguins
4. Hurricanes
5. Flyers
6. Devils
7. Rangers
8. Canadiens
9. Panthers
10. Senators
11. Maple Leafs
12. Islanders
13. Sabers
14 Thrashers
15. Lighting
East Division Winner:
Bruins
West
1. Sharks
2. Red Wings
3. Flames
4. Canucks
5. Blackhawks
6. Blue Jackets
7. Ducks
8. Blues
9. Predators
10. Oilers
11. Kings
12. Wild
13. Stars
14. Avalanche
15. Coyotes
West Division Winner:
Blackhawks
Stanley Cup Winners:
Bruins vs Blackhawks: Bruins Win
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You can see the current standings, here .
So I was very hit or miss on some of these teams...mainly the Bruins and Coyotes...
Bruins hugely under performed and the Coyotes have greatly exceeded expectations.
As for the West, Avs also had a pretty good run for a while, but they're on the bubble now. No 14th place, but still, would have been cool to see them end up higher. The Red Wings as well, they're battling for a playoff spot which is a surprise.
But aside from the Bruins and Buffalo in the East, I was pretty close with most. Buffalo did not have the best start to the season if I recall...but Ryan Miller has been tearing it up, especially since the Olympics. Atlanta is still somehow in the mix after dropping Kovalchuk (enjoy Russia next year ya douche). Toronto has had a good run recently, but theyr'e still in 29th giving that pick some potential still. Doesn't look like they're going to go any lower then 29th as Edmonton is bottom of the barrel with 55 points...what the hell happened there huh?
Speaking of Olympics...Canada v USA probably one of the best hockey games I've seen in my life. Both games were out of control. It was definitely Canada's Gold to lose though. As they essentially had the NHL All-Star team.
Bruins are playing Buffalo tonight. Julian is gonna let Thomas play back-to-back games, amazing! He hasn't been playing bad...just needs some offense in front of him. See game vs the Flames.
That Flames game was nuts. Got to go to it and for a 1 o'clock game, very lively in there. Suppose it helps when you win 1 at home and you score some goals...
Showing posts with label tim thomas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tim thomas. Show all posts
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Player Analysis: Wrap Up. Home Opener! Lets Go BRU-INS!
(final) Player Analysis:
Steve Begin (GP 2, G 1, A 0, Minus 1): I'm not too familiar with Begin, but I know he is here to replace Yelle. I personally liked Yelle and think it would have been a better idea to keep him around for another season, but from what I've heard Begin will be an upgrade. We didn't take a huge cap hit picking him up at $850,000 for this year, which was nice. I'm not sure what Yelle was asking for, but I can't image it was much more then what we paid Begin. Begin, was minus 6 last year with Montreal, if nothing else, I'd like to see him turn that into a plus 6. Should be interesting with him being on the same line as Thornton seeing as they're both pretty willing to throw down.
Marc Savard (GP 4, G 2, A 3, Even +/-): Easily the best performer in the pre-season. But who would expect anything less? Savard was denied an opportunity to play on Team Canada this year, which will only drive him to be more of a beast this year. If he can feed Sturm like he fed Kessel last year, we'll be saying "Kessel Who?!" by the All-Star break. This is just a fun guy to watch, the no look passes, the shots from ridiculous angles, what a monster. It's also fun to watch him run his mouth, he's not afraid to get up in anyone's face. He'll be in the top 5 assist leaders this year no doubt.
Johnny Boychuk (GP 5. G 1, A 1, Even +/-): The "future" of the Bruins defense. I wasn't able to watch him play much this pre-season, but I've heard good things. A goal and an assist as a defensemen in the pre-season isn't to shabby either. He's a healthy scratch for tonight's game, but I'm sure we'll be seeing him sooner then later with Hunwick's weak play as of late.
Tim Thomas (GP 3, W 2, L 1, GAA 2.27, SV% .921): Timmy Beast. Oh how far we have come. It's like watching your kid grow up. From a questionable backup, to a backup, to a he should be the number 1 guy, to the number one guy, to FINALLY HE'S THE NUMBER ONE GUY! So much doubt the entire time. I have been a fan Timmy since the Raycroft backup days. And now look at him, all grown up, winning trophies, potentially playing on Olympic teams. Awesome. Some call him unorthodox, I say that's the "no quit" attitude throwing him around the net. Bottom line is this, he makes the stops, who the hell cares how he does it. His job is to keep the puck out of the net and he does just that. We should expect to see an even better season from Thomas this year with the addition of Morris and I'm sure he'll be a candidate for the Vezina again this year as his play only improves every year.
Summary: The Bruins will be the dominate team in the east this year. Strong up front despite the goal scoring efforts of Phil Kessel being missed. Excellent defense provided by Chara and others. A one-two goalie combo to kill for. Insane depth at every position. With Julien's "Defense First" approach the Bruins, even if they do not take first place, will be an incredibly difficult team to play against and will make the playoffs without a doubt. They should dominate the SouthEast division again this year and I'm sure with the improvements made within Toronto, Montreal and Ottowa, there will be no shortage of drama with inter-division play.
All I have to say is this. If you've been an idle Bruins fan and have been thinking about getting back into the Bruins, now is the time to start. This team has so much depth and young, up and coming talent, you can't help but get excited. If you can't make it to the games, watch them on TV. No TV? Listen to them on the radio at 98.5 FM The HUB. It's time to get excited about hockey again!!!!
Bruins open tonight against the Caps. I'll be at Fan Fest in a few hours and at the game tonight, keeping any eye out for the Kanye poster and being as loud and obnoxious as possible. I'll try to get some pictures or something, though expensive cameras and large amounts of alcohol, typically do not go well together. So I can't make any promises.
This is the first time in 5 years that the Bruins have opened at home, so lets hope they put on a good show.
LETS GO BRU-INS!
Steve Begin (GP 2, G 1, A 0, Minus 1): I'm not too familiar with Begin, but I know he is here to replace Yelle. I personally liked Yelle and think it would have been a better idea to keep him around for another season, but from what I've heard Begin will be an upgrade. We didn't take a huge cap hit picking him up at $850,000 for this year, which was nice. I'm not sure what Yelle was asking for, but I can't image it was much more then what we paid Begin. Begin, was minus 6 last year with Montreal, if nothing else, I'd like to see him turn that into a plus 6. Should be interesting with him being on the same line as Thornton seeing as they're both pretty willing to throw down.
Marc Savard (GP 4, G 2, A 3, Even +/-): Easily the best performer in the pre-season. But who would expect anything less? Savard was denied an opportunity to play on Team Canada this year, which will only drive him to be more of a beast this year. If he can feed Sturm like he fed Kessel last year, we'll be saying "Kessel Who?!" by the All-Star break. This is just a fun guy to watch, the no look passes, the shots from ridiculous angles, what a monster. It's also fun to watch him run his mouth, he's not afraid to get up in anyone's face. He'll be in the top 5 assist leaders this year no doubt.
Johnny Boychuk (GP 5. G 1, A 1, Even +/-): The "future" of the Bruins defense. I wasn't able to watch him play much this pre-season, but I've heard good things. A goal and an assist as a defensemen in the pre-season isn't to shabby either. He's a healthy scratch for tonight's game, but I'm sure we'll be seeing him sooner then later with Hunwick's weak play as of late.
Tim Thomas (GP 3, W 2, L 1, GAA 2.27, SV% .921): Timmy Beast. Oh how far we have come. It's like watching your kid grow up. From a questionable backup, to a backup, to a he should be the number 1 guy, to the number one guy, to FINALLY HE'S THE NUMBER ONE GUY! So much doubt the entire time. I have been a fan Timmy since the Raycroft backup days. And now look at him, all grown up, winning trophies, potentially playing on Olympic teams. Awesome. Some call him unorthodox, I say that's the "no quit" attitude throwing him around the net. Bottom line is this, he makes the stops, who the hell cares how he does it. His job is to keep the puck out of the net and he does just that. We should expect to see an even better season from Thomas this year with the addition of Morris and I'm sure he'll be a candidate for the Vezina again this year as his play only improves every year.
Summary: The Bruins will be the dominate team in the east this year. Strong up front despite the goal scoring efforts of Phil Kessel being missed. Excellent defense provided by Chara and others. A one-two goalie combo to kill for. Insane depth at every position. With Julien's "Defense First" approach the Bruins, even if they do not take first place, will be an incredibly difficult team to play against and will make the playoffs without a doubt. They should dominate the SouthEast division again this year and I'm sure with the improvements made within Toronto, Montreal and Ottowa, there will be no shortage of drama with inter-division play.
All I have to say is this. If you've been an idle Bruins fan and have been thinking about getting back into the Bruins, now is the time to start. This team has so much depth and young, up and coming talent, you can't help but get excited. If you can't make it to the games, watch them on TV. No TV? Listen to them on the radio at 98.5 FM The HUB. It's time to get excited about hockey again!!!!
Bruins open tonight against the Caps. I'll be at Fan Fest in a few hours and at the game tonight, keeping any eye out for the Kanye poster and being as loud and obnoxious as possible. I'll try to get some pictures or something, though expensive cameras and large amounts of alcohol, typically do not go well together. So I can't make any promises.
This is the first time in 5 years that the Bruins have opened at home, so lets hope they put on a good show.
LETS GO BRU-INS!
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