Thomas Digs Deeper

Yesterday I said Tim Thomas would need to speak to clear the air about his decision to not attend the Bruins day at the White House. Well, Thomas spoke and, personally, I think he dug himself a deeper hole.

ESPN Boston — “[The controversy] is all media-driven and it has been from the start. Everything that I said and did was as an individual. It was not as a representative of the Boston Bruins,” Thomas said Friday at All-Star Weekend in Ottawa. “All it has to do is with me. But it’s separate from hockey. That’s my personal life and those are my personal views. Those are my personal beliefs. It has nothing to do with hockey. It has nothing to do with this All-Star Game. It has nothing to do with the Boston Bruins.”

Ohh Timmy. Why do you need to keep opening your mouth. Like a kid who keeps trying to deny stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Your own personal views do not matter in this situation. This is a TEAM event and you acted like a selfish kid instead of being with the TEAM.

As much as this is going to pain me to say, even Scott Hartnell gets what I’m talking about. He had this to say from the same article;

Flyers winger Scott Hartnell was less sympathetic.

“I’m not a big political guy or whatever but for me it’s a team event and should be an honor to be in the White House no matter what your political views are,” Hartnell said. “It would’ve been the right thing to do to go there and enjoy the day and who’s gonna say he’ll ever have another opportunity like that to go there again?”

Team Chara v Team Alfredsson

For the second consecutive season the NHL held their fantasy All-Star draft with Zdeno Chara and Daniel Alfredsson as the team captains for this season.

Surprisingly Chara received a nice ovation from the Ottawa faithful when he was introduced on stage as one of the captains. Considering he usually gets booed every time he touches the puck when he is in Ottawa.

For Bruins fans it was entertaining watching Zdeno Chara make Tyler Seguin sweat in the green room as he waited until the second to last round before before Chara selected Seguin. Chara also avoided taking any Vanouver Canucks and got snubbed on a handshake by Carey Price…Fuckin Canadiens.

Logan Couture took the honors from Phil Kessel as the last pick in the draft.

The teams broke down like this, by pick:

Team Chara
Assistant Capt — Joffrey Lupul
Pavel Datsyuk
Tim Thomas
Evgeni Malkin
Marian Hossa
Kimmo Timonen
Corey Perry
Carey Price
Phil Kessel
Ryan Suter
Jimmy Howard
Brain Campbell
Patrick Kane
Dion Phaneuf
Jarome Iginla
Dennis Wideman
Marian Gaborik
Jordan Eberle
Tyler Seguin
Jamie Benn

Team Alfredsson
Assistant Capt — Henrik Lundqvist
Erik Karlsson
Jason Spezza
Jonathan Quick
Claude Grioux
Kris Letang
Steven Stamkos
Brain Elliot
Shea Weber
Daniel Sedin
Dan Girardi
Keith Yandle
Milan Michalek
Henrik Sedin
James Neal
Alexander Edler
John Tavares
Scott Hartnell
Jason Pomminville
Logan Couture (Last Pick)

Let’s Squash the Thomas Issue

Ok, so were officially in the All-Star Break, the fantasy draft will happen tonight in Ottawa. So while we have a few days away from the season I want to squash the Thomas issue and say my final words.

Today Joe Haggerty of Comcast Sports New England had a story about Thomas on csnne.com today. He had this today;

The 37-year-old netminder has been in the middle of a media/political firestorm over the last three days after choosing an individual political decision over joining the rest of his teammates in Washington D.C.

The move was admirable on the level of standing up for one’s belief system. That, after all, is what freedom is all about.

But it was also inherently selfish, given the predictable way it overshadowed that day’s celebration of the Bruins’ Cup championship. Thomas has been painted in the past as a “me-first guy”, and there were big elements of that in deciding to go rogue while the rest of his teammates were with the President.

The Bruins knew about Thomas’ decision for months, but didn’t announce it beforehand. They didn’t want to compromise the enjoyment level of their players visiting the White House by worrying about Thomas’ political inactivity.

Ok so here we go:

Point #1 – It was a TEAM event, no part of the Bruins trip to the White House had any political meaning other than just being honored as a champion of their sport. Every major sports champion gets a day at the White House as invited guest of the president. By Thomas choosing not to go, he made it a political issue and put himself first over the TEAM.

Point #2 – Be a man. Ok, so Thomas chose to make his big political point by refusing to set foot in the White House. A move you told management, months ago, you were going to make. Be a man about it and face the media and give them your reasons why. Instead he waited until the end of the day and from behind the locked door of his hotel room, he wrote a Facebook post on his fan page stating his reasons. Give me a break. Be a man, get in front of the camera (because this isn’t going away and now he has to face national media at the All-Star Game) and just take the heat and make your comments.

Point #3 – How will this affect the team. When you have 30 guys (lets include the practice squad) in a locker room, there will be 30 different personalities. Obviously the topic of politics is always a hot-button issue even amongst family at the dinner table. Will Thomas not showing up for a team event affect how the team will play down the stretch. Probably not. I don’t think guys on the team will hold a grudge against Thomas for being a no show. However, I think for the length of time this is a hot topic and all the players on the team are forced to answer questions about it because (back to point number 2) Thomas won’t speak to the media, this is how it has become a distraction.

Point #4 – My final point. I think Thomas is on his last legs in Boston. If we remember back to when Curt Schilling was a prominent member of the 2004, curse breaking, Red Sox team. He played a key role in brining the team a championship. Schilling is a guy who should be greeted with a hero’s welcome anytime he shows up in Boston. But how is he viewed? Most people hate him, because his is opinionated, political and constantly runs his mouth when he should keep his mouth shut. Now, I’m not saying Thomas runs his mouth but he is now a political issue, which is going to have people wondering what he will do next. Not to mention he made his big political statement during a time in the season where he has been playing his worse hockey.

If this media frenzy doesn’t go away any time soon, I wouldn’t be surprised if Thomas is traded. He would not be traded because of his political beliefs but more because he is 37 years-old, becoming a distraction and the 23 year old Rask has been playing like he did in the 2009-10 season when he was the starter. Not to mention Thomas’ job is Rask’s for the taking and its only a matter of time before Thomas is just too old to play on a nightly basis. Which is a case of age and would be the same even if Thomas kept his mouth shut and went to the White House.

The Bruins play four games in six days coming out of the All-Star break. The team is two points behind the Rangers for first in the Eastern Conference. They also begin their second half against the surprisingly hot Ottawa Senators who sit four points behind the Bruins in the division.

There is no room for distraction the rest of the season. Its time to buckle down and focus on defending the Cup.

By the way. Thomas, if you have such a problem with the US government. You didn’t seem to hae a big problem when you were elected to the Olympic team to represent our COUNTRY

B’s Drop Last Game Before Break

With one game left before the All-Star break the Bruins decided it wasn’t important to show up and play against the Capitals and they would probably just give them a win. The Bruins got spanked 5-3 in the Nation’s capital. Not to mention the Caps were without Ovechkin, Green and Backstrom.

The Bruins got a lucky bounce with 2:14 left in the first period when Peverley (8) tried to squeeze a pass to Milan Lucic in front of the net but the puck deflected off the Caps defenders stick and past Vokoun giving the Bruins the 1-0 first period lead.

It was all down hill from there. The second period began with two goals from the Capitals in the first 2:55 of the period. Tyler Seguin (19) continued to stay hot with a sick backhand goal to even the score 2-2. Not to worry though Bruins fans, that lead was relinquished 2:02 seconds after the Bruins tied the game.

Before the periods end, Marchand (17) found the back of the net during the power-play to even the score 3-3 heading into the third period.

For the second time in two games the Bruins allowed a hat trick from an opponent when Mathieu Perrault beat Tuukka Rask 7:18 into the third period to give Washington a 4-3 lead, which they would not give up. Former Bruin Dennis Wideman put the nail in the coffin with a 200 foot empty net goal with twenty-seven seconds left on the clock.

The Bruins have just been awful in the past week. The team has gone 3-2-1 over that time span and breaking even scoring and allowing 21 goals.

It will be good for the team to have a week of to rest up and prepare for the stretch run as they push for the playoffs and continue to defend the trophy which is theirs until eliminated.

The B’s will next take the ice on January 30 at home when they take on Ottawa.

Pre-game Skate; B’s/Caps

Since the Bruins have arrived in D.C, Tim Thomas has been stealing the headlines with his no-show at the White House while the team was honored for winning the Stanley Cup last season. Well the real reason why the Bruins are in Washington is for their game tonight against the handicapped Capitals.

The Caps are without Ovechkin (due to suspension) and stud defenseman Mike Green (due to injury). The game will be the final game before the All-Star break for the Bruins.

Nathan Horton has a mild concussion and will miss his first game of the season. As for Thomas, he is not projected as the starter according to the nesn.com projected starting line-up’s.

Projected Bruins lines
Forwards
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Rich Peverley
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Benoit Pouliot-Chris Kelly-Zach Hamill
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton
Defense
Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg-Joe Corvo
Steven Kampfer-Adam McQuaid
Goalies
Tuukka Rask
Tim Thomas
Scratches: Andrew Ference (suspension), Nathan Horton (concussion)

Projected Capitals lines
Forwards
Marcus Johansson-Mathieu Perrault-Alexander Semin
Matt Hendricks-Brooks Laich-Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera-Jeff Halpern-Mike Knuble
Cody Eakin-Jay Beagle-Joel Ward
Defense
Karl Alzner-Dennis Wideman
Roman Hamrlik-John Carlson
John Erskine-Dmitry Orlov
Goalies
Tomas Vokoun
Michal Neuvirth
Scratches: Alex Ovechkin (suspension), Nicklas Backstrom (concussion), Mike Green (abdominal surgery), Jeff Schultz

Are You Kidding Me!!

As most of you are aware the Bruins had a ceremonial trip to the White House today to meet the President of the United States. One member (a key member) of the team chose not to join the club in the ceremonies.

Tim Thomas, the star of the Bruins Stanley Cup run last season had told Peter Chiarelli, months ago apparently, he would chose not to attend the White House trip.

CBS Boston — Thomas released a statement on his Facebook page about his decision:

“I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT”

Who the hell does this guy think he is? I mean c’mon Timmy. Who gives a shit about politics and what your views on government are, your being honored as A TEAM by the nation, in the nations capital. Doesn’t matter who currently is the President is when your team wins and gets to be honored at the White House. Don’t be a stubborn old man and stay home because your politial beliefs, you go because you are part of the team and you support the team.

Even Tomas Kaberle made the trip from where ever the hell the Canadiens are right now because he was part of the team. And at the end of the day that is what this is all about…YOUR A F-IN TEAM. PERIOD.

Bruins Honored at White House

Obviously winning a championship is a very special moment in a players career and the history of a franchise. Being in America one of the coolest features of winning, in any sport, is the invitation from the President of the United States to the White House to be honored as that sports champions.

Today the Bruins were the guest of President Obama and as a gift they gave the President his very own Boston Bruins game jersey.

Twitter is blowing up with comments from media and reporters who follow the Bruins and are in attendance for the ceremony. Bruins beat writer John Bishop is at the White House and tweeting on the @NHLBruins page on twitter. Some of the things he has said…

“President Obama praised the Boston Bruins Foundation and for raising over 7-million dollars”

“The President called 63 ‘a little ball of hate.’ Later asked Brad about the nickname”

“President Obama said he’s happy to welcome the Stanley Cup Champions to the White House. ‘Wicked happy to be here.’”

..by the way a quick side note. How did did Kaberle get a prime spot right behind the President, in his pin-stripe pimp suit. 

It should also be noted Tim Thomas chose not to attend the ceremony, there was no reasoning given yet but Thomas will explain why on his Facebook page.

Also, here are some pictures taken by the Bruins beat writer from the ceremony.

Obama with his Bruins Jersey

Obama with Bruins in background

B’s Take Down Flyers in Shootout

Coming off a heart-breaking overtime loss to the Rangers the Bruins needed to bounce back and try and get two points in Philadelphia. The B’s did earn their two points but it did not come easy as they had to take down the Flyers in a shootout to notch the 6-5 win.

Now usually this is the part in my game recaps where I break down the scoring and pretty much the overall flow of the game. But I’m going to switch things up a bit. I AM SO SICK OF TIM THOMAS. I don’t know how long we are going to let this cute little act go on about, well he won us the Cup last year its OK if he decides to suck for an entire month. I mean seriously, He has been consistent with GA all season (15 GA in 8 starts in Oct, 16 GA in 9 starts in Nov, 13 GA in 7 starts in Dec) but for some reason he has decided to shit the bed in January. He has given up 19 goals in 7 games this month. As a team the B’s have given u 5 goals in two of his last three games both tie a season high in GA.

Yes, fatigue is probably setting in from playing in 82 games last season (including playoffs) and sure its still January and after Tuesday’s game against Washington the team will have a week of for the All-Star break. Yea, and Tuukka has been playing out of his mind so its allll good right? WRONG. What is the team going to do if he (Thomas) goes on the same trend in March. Lets say the final seven games of the year Thomas goes 4-3-0 and gives up 19 goals like he has this month and Tuukka goes 7-0-1 and gives up 12 goals. I”m sorry to all my Tim Thomas loving friends out there, but if you tell Rask he needs to sit out the playoffs because Thomas “deserves” to start, well you can say bye bye to a Cup and Tuukka Rask your future starting goaltender.

Phew, felt good to get that off my chest. Now back to the game. Bergeron (15) got the Bruins on the board early, early like fifty-seconds into the game early.

Thirty-four seconds after Bergeron’s goal, Lucic and Sestito squared-off in the days first fisticuff throw down.

The Flyers gained the momentum from the fight as Talbot scored to tie the game for the Flyers. But the Bruins netted two more goals before the period ended to take a 3-1 lead into the locker room. It was Seguin (18) on the PP and Lucic (17) who were the goal scorers for the B’s.

Chris Kelly got into a fight between the Seguin and Lucic goals. Kelly came to the defense of his teammate Steven Kampfer who got destroyed right in front of the Bruins net.

Kampfer seemed to be targeted in the head on the check he took. Will Brayden Schenn be suspended, probably not. Most likely he will get a slap on the wrist from Brendan Shanahan, unlike Ference who is currently serving a three game suspension.

B’s saw their 3-1 lead diminish when they gave up a natural hat-trick to Scott Hartnell in the second period.

Shawn Thornton felt left out of the action so he squared off with Jody Shelley in the middle of the second period.

Krejci (11) and Campbell (6) put two goals home for the Bruins in the third to get the lead back but gave up another goal to Talbot to find themselves tied 5-5 at the end of regulation.

Boston won the shootout 2-1 on goals from Krejci and Seguin.

B’s take on Washington Tuesday in the nations capital at 7 p.m.

B’s Lose in OT During Final Seconds

This game had all the makings of a playoff match-up it was hard hitting, fast pace, low scoring and came down to the final seconds to determine a winner. The New York Rangers prevailed in the matinee 3-2 with just 0:03.2 seconds remaining in overtime.

Boston controlled the pace of play in the first period, especially in the first four minutes of the game. The Bruins kept the puck deep in the Rangers end of the rink for a good two minutes without turning the puck over.

The first period ended scoreless but the B’s had three power play opportunities they could not cash-in on.

Joe Corvo made the first idiot play of the second period. With time winding down on a Bruins power play, Corvo carried the puck deep into the Rangers end and while parallel with the goal line took a, no angle, slap shot on net. The Rangers defenseman intercepted the shot scooped the puck out of the zone to Ryan Callahan, just out of the box, who carried the puck into the B’s zone on a 2-on-1 and ripped a shot, short side beating Rask on his blocker side.

The Bruins needed a spark after the Callahan goal. Claude sent Shawn Thornton onto the ice to challenge the biggest Ranger on the ice, in Mike Rupp. Although Thornton didn’t win the bout he gave his team the spark it needed.

Boston answered the Callahan goal 1:57 later when Andrew Ference (4) took a hit from a Rangers forward behind the Bruins net while trying to break the puck out of the zone. Ference then jumped into the play and was the third man high, received a pass from David Krejci, paused for a second, pulled the puck to his back hand and beat a sprawling Lundqvist for the goal tying the game 1-1.

Marian Gaborik picked up a loose puck which came off the stick of Dennis Seidenberg after he blocked a shot attempt. Gaborik fired the puck on net, handcuffing Rask as the puck squeezed just between the glove and body of the net minder.

Bruins Adam McQuaid (2) evened the score just before the periods end. Off the face off Andrew Ference dished a pass across the blue line to McQuaid, he walked in and took a slap shot which deflected off a diving Brian Boyle and propelled over the shoulder of Lundqvist.

The game remained 2-2 through the end of the third period and most of overtime.

It wasn’t until Andrew Ference was assessed a 5 minute major and game misconduct for this hit, which gave the Rangers a power play for the final 3:10 of overtime.

The B’s did a good job killing the penalty but it was the final seconds of overtime which finally got to the Bruins. A scramble for the puck in front of the net, ended up on the stick of Marian Gaborik who found just the right opening to beat Tuukka Rask and win the game.

The Bruins will most likely be without Ference in future games because he made a hit which made a big noise and if your a referee in the NHL and a Bruin makes a hit like that it is now grounds for a game misconduct and probably a chat with Brendan Shanahan.

This game had all the makings of a playoff game, with every goal in the game, it had that pit feeling in the bottom of your stomach that something wasn’t going well. The Bruins still have yet to score more than two goals on Lundqvist in a game.

B’s get back at it tomorrow in a game probably no one will watch because everyones attention will be on the Patriots v. Ravens game which starts the same time as the Bruins, 3 p.m.

Pre-Game Skate; Bruins/Rangers

When the season started most people probably didn’t think it would take until the middle of January for the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, possibly the league, to meet each other.

The Rangers (62 points) visit TD Garden to take on the Bruins (61 points) with the winner claiming sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers could pose problems for the Bruins considering the B’s have never scored more than two goals on Henrik Lundqvist…EVER. In fact Lundqvist is a career 16-5-2 with a 1.50 GAA and a .914 sv% against the Bruins.

This game, although in January, could be a potential playoff match-up, especially deep in the playoffs.

Possibly some added motivation for the Bruins today, according to @NHLBruins on Twitter, Marc Savard is in the building to watch this afternoons game.

It is a 1 p.m. tilt, so crack some beers, light the fire, ignore the snow and enjoy.