Friday, April 18, 2008

DEMONS EXCORCISED


The last time the Bruins won a game in Montreal was December 4th 2006. The last time the Bruins beat Montreal by more than 2 goals was April 7th 2004. That should give you a good idea as to how dominant the Canadiens have been. But that dominance appears to be slipping away.

Alexei Kovalev put the Habs ahead 1-0 in the 1st, thanks to matching interference and diving penalties, which created a 4 on 4. It really could have been just a diving penalty, but the rules are different in Quebec. Maybe the NHL rule book is translated into French in a weird way.



The Bruins came inches away from tying it at the end of the period. Krejci stormed up ice and drove all the way to the net. The puck bounced off goalie Carey Price, off Krejci's body, then off the elbow of the goalposts, bounced around behind the net, and Price swiped it out of the crease before Milan Lucic could tap it in.

The Bruins evened things up 7:45 into the 2nd with only their 2nd power play score of the series. Phil Kessel, who had been scratched from the lineup in games 1 thru 4, returned to the ice and wristed home his own rebound to make it 1-1.



Early in the 3rd period, Carey Price got too cocky with his puck handling. He had the puck in his glove, then dropped it in front of him to set-up a Canadiens rush up the ice. But instead, the puck bounced a little funny, and Glen Metropolit was all over it, gladly accepting Price's early Christmas present.



Carey Price has been great this series, but he's only 20 years old. No 20 year old is immune from getting a little rattled. And after he allowed the Metropolit goal, Price was very, very rattled.

Zdeno Chara got involved in the scoring with a one-timer on the power play. The NHL's fastest shooter loaded up on the blue-line, got a great pass from Dennis Wideman, and the shaken Price was unable to even see the puck, let alone stop it.



The Bruins didn't sit back with a two goal lead. Shorthanded, David Krejci set Marco Sturm free with a great leading pass. Sturm's speed and wrist shot did the rest to make it 4-1 Bruins.



To seal the deal, Vladimir Sobotka scored one of the strangest goals of the series. He was all alone in the Bruins offensive zone, with three Canadiens hovering around him. He was just skating around along the boards. He reached the corner, and fired a surprising 90 degree shot on net. Price was nowhere near ready, and the puck bounced into the net to make it 5-1.

All 5 of the Bruins' goals came from players who had yet to score in this series. The Bruins had scored 5 goals the entire series coming into game 5. They doubled that to 10. Each team has scored 10 goals this series.

Game 6 is Saturday night in Boston.



Source:
ESPN.com
BostonBruins.com

Photo Credits:
Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz

CELTICS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

The Celtics finished the regular season with an NBA best record of 66-16. The last time the Celtics had 60+ wins was 1985-86, which was also the last time they won it all.

They won the #1 seed in the East, which means they get to play 8th seeded Atlanta. The Hawks were 37-45. The Celtics beat the Hawks in all three of their meetings this season. Atlanta never scored more than 90 points against the C's, and the C's never scored fewer than 98 points against the Hawks.

Here are the dates of the games:

Game 1: Sun 4/20 - 8:30 PM - vs. Atlanta
Game 2: Wed 4/23 - 8:00 PM - vs. Atlanta
Game 3: Sat 4/26 - 8:00 PM - @ Atlanta
Game 4: Mon 4-28 - 8:00 PM - @ Atlanta
If necessary:
Game 5: Wed 4/30 - TBD - vs. Atlanta
Game 6: Fri 5/2 - TBD - @ Atlanta
Game 7: Sun 5/4 - TBD - vs. Atlanta

Considering a 3-0 season series, and a .350 differential in winning percentage, the Celtics should sweep this series, or possibly win it in 5.

Source:
ESPN.com

WHERE'S YOUR MESSINA NOW?


Mike Mussina had nothing, Manny Ramirez had everything, and Josh Beckett had just enough for a 7-5 Red Sox win last night.

Manny got the scoring started early with a solo homer in the 2nd. Pedroia hit an RBI single in the 3rd, then Manny hit a towering 2 run bomb. In his last 4 at-bats against Mussina, Manny is 4 for 4 with 3 homers, a double, and 6 RBI. Varitek made it 5-0 with an RBI single. Drew added RBIs 11 and 12 with a 2 run double in the 5th.

Mussina got chased out after 3 innings of work. None of his pitches looked good. His fastball had no bite, his changeup was out over the plate, it was fun to watch.

Beckett struggled through the bottom of the inning, allowing 3 runs. But with a 4 run lead and the bullpen worn out from Wednesday's mess, he was kept out there, and it worked out. Beckett settled down in the 6th, and retired the last 10 men he faced. He threw a season high 105 pitches in 8 innings of work.

Papelbon struggled in a non-save 9th, allowing the first earned runs of his career in April and in Yankee Stadium. But it was a non-save situation, which closers sometimes struggle with.

A 2 for 5 night from Youkilis helped boost his average to .371, 3rd best in the AL.

Manny's two homeruns tie him for 2nd in the league with 5. He now has 495 in his career, which puts him 24th all-time. He also is tied for the AL lead in RBI with 18.



The Sox come back to Fenway for a 4 game wrap-around series against Texas. Daisuke goes against Luis Mendoza tonight. We'll also get to see former Sox farmhand Kason Gabbard pitch on Monday against Clay Buchholz in the Patriots Day game.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Jeff Zelevansky