Heart And Soul

8 in a motherfucking row!!! I hate to say I told you so but feel free to browse back through the honey pot archives to read my post where I told all those who were snapping their ankles jumping off the wagon to relax we would be fine.  Well 8 wins and a rapid rise back up the East later and all is well with our Big Bad Bruins!

So many reasons why everything has turned around for us.  Offensive depth, our amazing duo in net and on and on...however another major reason I like to point to is the player I consider to be the Heart and Soul of the B's...Bergy!

Cool as a Cucumber, always dependable, offensively gifted yet defensively responsible year in and year out to me he is the Bruins MVP.

A steal in the 2nd round (45th overall) in 2003, Bergy made the B's lineup as an 18-year old with basically one year experience in major junior.  Its pretty much unheard of to stick with the big club as an 18 year old when you're a second round pick and just as rare for a player who only had one year major junior experience.  But it just goes to show how good this guy is.  From his rookie year when I fell in love with the style this guy played through now 8 full seasons later.

Just 26 years old and he will already play his 500th game as a Bruin in the next couple months keeping in mind he missed an entire season due to the lockout in 04-05 and of course missed almost a full season in 07-08 after the viscious Jones hit from behind.

Stats are stats and of course don't lie but to me the biggest intangible with Bergy is he knows how to win.  His resume now boasts a World Junior Championship, World Championship, Olympic Gold Medal and yes of course topped off with a Stanley Cup Ring.  How many players in the game today can bring that experience to a team...and at 26 years of age??

I've taken some heat for this in the past but I truly consider Bergy to be an elite player in the NHL.  Anyone who has debated this with me always point out the fact that they don't think his offensive numbers put him in that category.  To me Bergy is a guy I want on the ice in the last two minutes of a game whether we're up a goal OR we're down a goal.  That sums up who he is and what he means to our team.

Part of his under rated nature I believe also is what he does in the face-off circle. Puck possession is a huge part of the game and who does Coach throw out more then any other player when we need to win a key draw?? Living near Toronto I had to listen to Leaf fans and media blow their load over David Steckle and how amazing he was on face-offs...well here is our guy who brings that to our team and unlike Steckle doesn't need to skate to the bench as soon as he wins the draw!

The ultimate compliment a player can recieve is from other players in the league. And even though I can't stand him...ask Pussy Boy Crosby which player he loves playing with? World Juniors, Olympics Crosby would go out of his way to let it be known he wanted to play on a line with Bergy...what does that tell ya?  Ask Marchy and Segs who really makes their line go?  He makes it easier for those around him to do their thing because he takes care of so many of the "little" things when he is on the ice!

Anyway in the midst of this 8-game winning streak I thought it would be a great time to pay tribute to the player I really think makes this team go moreso then any other.  Please give me feedback whether you agree or disagree?? Do you have another Bruin that you think is moreso the Heart and Soul of our Bruins? Again feedback always welcomed people!

- Ashley

Feeling Better Yet?

Okay so maybe we're not quite out of the woods yet but does everyone feel a lil bit better about our beloved Bruins today then they did say a week ago?

I have personally been on record as stating that everything would be okay (feel free to check my twitter feed or even a previous blog entry)...but I do know how up tight so much of our fan base had been over our start.

So yes to those perhaps still on the fence as to which direction we're headed can we at least agree the past three games have been a very positive sign pointing towards the return of the Big Bad Bruins??

What I am most excited about is that most things everyone was pointing too as being broken are what has been going for us the last few games.

First and foremost two of the "whipping boys" seemed to be the bffs!  I won't sugar coat it and say they were very good for the first 10 games of the season but boy o boy have these two stepped it up!  Reunited with Looch joining the line once again along with Magic Hands Krejci these three looked like their old selves over this stretch.  Not JUST scoring goals but getting back to doing all the little things right - playing physical, driving to the net, showing plenty of emotion - they once again give us that 1,2 punch to go along with Bergy's line.

Speaking of Bergy's line...how sweet was that Segs goal last night?  A beautiful feed from Bergy and a nose for the net from Segs avoiding Tavares to get open and bury his 8th of the season.

Something else I have preached when I go on my tangents about why we will be okay is because of our depth.  And a little stat I read last night that will back me up on this point...in our past three games we have had 18 different players record at least one point! 18 different players...think about that..only 18 skaters plus 2 goalies dress for a game.  So even lets say there were 2-3 lineup changes total in those 3 games that would mean every skater but 2 or 3 in our past 3 games have recorded a point!!! That's depth.

Also last night how nice was it to see Tuukka get a win?!?! Rasky is without a doubt one of the more hard luck goaltenders in the NHL.  Let's not even get into how many teams this guy would be a number one goalie but how many quality starts does this guy put in without getting rewarded?? I was thrilled for him last night to finally have the boys play a full 60 mins in front of him and see Tuukka get the W!

Now all this being said yes there are a few slight areas that concern me...primarily with our back end.  Our goals against obviously has been great the past few games but we still seem to give up too many careless plays in our own zone.  I love Johnny Bullets but he is seriously prone to brain cramps sometimes.  Last night on the Islanders second goal he just carelessly flips the puck to clear it from his own zone..doesn't get much on it...Grabner knocks it down and after a give and go with Tavares got the Islanders right back in the game!  This is just one example but I would LOVE to see the costly careless mistakes be decreased.  I'm not worried about Big Z long term at all but even he hasn't seemed himself so far this season.

I think we're on the verge of a nice long streak where we win 8 out of 10 or so and jump right back into the thick of things in the East.  Thank god PC sticks to his guns and doesn't follow twitter. Or else Coach would be gone, Looch would be traded, half the P-Bruins would be in Boston right now instead of Providence and the Zamboni driver would be fired because ice conditions at home aren't up to par! I've truly heard it all over the past month...now come on Bruin fans unite and lets enjoy beating the fuck out of the rest of the NHL!
Big Bad Bruins are back!

- Ashley