The Achilles heel of the Bruins game finally bit them in the ass. Some how they were able to make it through last season's playoff run with one of the worst power plays I've ever seen. This year they weren't that lucky. It's probably not fair to boil down this loss to one power play, but it's hard to ignore. With two minutes and change left in the game and possibly the season, the Bruins got a man advantage and couldn't even get the puck into the offensive zone. It was embarrassing. If this team is going to become a perennial power they are going to have to fix the power play. There is no excuse, with all the offensive weapons this team has, for not being able to put a competent power play on the ice. Chiarelli needs to hire a coach to just work with the power play because Julian obviously has no clue how to fix or coach the problems this team has had for over a year now. It's not a small problem and needs to be addressed in the off season or we won't be seeing another Cup in Boston any time soon.
Beyond the power play, the Bruins were just physically dominated by the Capitals. It's an odd thing to say about a team that has supposedly prided itself with their physical play, but it's the honest truth. The Bruins couldn't get any presence at all in front of the net and all their offensive play was confined to the perimeter of the zone. As much praise as Holtby has received for his performance, the Capitals defense should be the real story of this series. Holtby was proven to be less then spectacular in game seven as he seemed to bungle ever puck that hit him, but that Capital defense wouldn't let the Bruins through to capitalize. The B's certainly missed the physical play of guys like McQuaid and Horton, but there are enough big guys on the roster that this team shouldn't have been so over matched.
Some other notes on the game...
-- There is a fine line between toughing out an injury and hindering your team by playing hurt. This might seem like a blasphemous question but, wouldn't the B's have been better off playing Thorton then Bergeron? Bergeron was more then a none factor in these last few games and the team was obviously missing physical presence. We needed Thorton on the ice and could have done without an injured Bergeron.
-- Taking things into consideration like the benching of Thorton, the horrible power play, the shuffling of centers in the power plays, I have to say, Julian isn't a great coach. He's good and obviously has a successful defensive system when everyone buys in, but he lacks in a lot of areas that prevent this franchise from becoming a dynasty. I don't think I'm calling for him to be fired, but maybe there needs to be a shuffle with the assistants that surround him, bring in some people that can better make up the areas he lacks.
-- I grew more appreciation for Chara, his game and his leadership last year during the playoffs, but still, is there any question who the best defensmen on the team is? Dennis Seidenberg was brilliant during this series like he was most of the year and continues to do so totally unnoticed. The Norris finalists came out today and once again Chara's name is on the ballet, but for my money the award should go to Seidenberg.
-- I guess you can't win a seven game series with only one line working at a time. The top line yesterday seemed to be the only one that could put any pressure on the Capitals and it just wasn't enough. You had to be hoping for a full team effort if the B's expected to walk away with a win and all we got was one line. Oh well, there's always next year!
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