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2022-23 Playoffs; The Quest for The Cup

I have no idea why Ullmark has decided to abandon his precision approach and try the Tim Thomas method but it really hasn't been working out for him. Yes. there have been giveaways and starting Cliffy ahead of Griz really didn't work out but Ullmark is straight up pissing down his leg. Coughing up unnecessary rebounds, dropping to his knees with the puck on the outside constantly, grossly out of position and flopping is hardly representative of the Vezina quality performance we saw all season.

Montgomery has to be considering if it is realistic to start Swayman in a winner take all game after 6 games on the pine. OTOH how can anyone feel good about starting Ullmark right now?
FWIW even at the risk of sending the kid's career into a tailspin I'd go with Swayman. TBH though, to keep something akin to a rotation going I'd have gone with him in game 3 or 4 too and they won those. To me, the rotation was an important part of what made their regular season what it was and a 2 to 1 ratio would have made for a fresher Ullmark in a potential 7th game. Of course that's just my uninformed simp 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' logic. Montgomery and Essensa are in that room every day and they don't seem prone to making 'gut' decisions, there must have been some reason they broke the rotation. Now if they switch they run the risk that Swayman has gone cold.
Great post. Ully has been ugly. Unbelievable turn of events in terms of what we've been watching all season.

This is on Monty though. He's got to do something sooner than G7 when half the team was in the crapper prior to G1/2. Swayman should've started G2 and G6.

You either hope Ully does a 180 back to the regular season after throwing up on himself for 6 games or hope Sway wants the pressure and has the confidence to bail out his guys. I'm starting Swayman G7.
 
Great post. Ully has been ugly. Unbelievable turn of events in terms of what we've been watching all season.

This is on Monty though. He's got to do something sooner than G7 when half the team was in the crapper prior to G1/2. Swayman should've started G2 and G6.

You either hope Ully does a 180 back to the regular season after throwing up on himself for 6 games or hope Sway wants the pressure and has the confidence to bail out his guys. I'm starting Swayman G7.


We're always hearing that Swayman has the confidence of a gunslinger. I spent the afternoon re-watching the past couple of games, they were even worse the 2nd time around. It's time to sit Clifton back down and put Swayman's legendary confidence to the test. Clifton was truly horrific and Ullmark looked fried to this old goalie's eyes. He is not just fighting the puck, he's fighting the puck while trying to play goal AND defense.
 
We're always hearing that Swayman has the confidence of a gunslinger. I spent the afternoon re-watching the past couple of games, they were even worse the 2nd time around. It's time to sit Clifton back down and put Swayman's legendary confidence to the test. Clifton was truly horrific and Ullmark looked fried to this old goalie's eyes. He is not just fighting the puck, he's fighting the puck while trying to play goal AND defense.
It's time for Sway.
 
Love hockey ...
Played many years sport I so love ...
But these guys sacrifice much to get to the cup ... never understood the loyalty **** ... played better without Krecji and even Bergeron and our goalie is either tired and/or Injured ... would Belichick make the same decisions or even Alex Cora or Bruce Arena ... hell no ... respect for the sacrifice of the team ... this respect thing in hockey ... I hate it ... needs to end ... for all teams ... respect the sacrifice of the many and not of the one or 2. These guys play for the Stanley Cup ... nor for participation trophy.
 
We're always hearing that Swayman has the confidence of a gunslinger. I spent the afternoon re-watching the past couple of games, they were even worse the 2nd time around. It's time to sit Clifton back down and put Swayman's legendary confidence to the test. Clifton was truly horrific and Ullmark looked fried to this old goalie's eyes. He is not just fighting the puck, he's fighting the puck while trying to play goal AND defense.
I appreciate your takes on this. I am a casual fan, so I can't say X is bad, or this guy sucks. I do feel that Ullmark is out of the net a lot, to the point of me yelling at the TV to say in the GD net! Florida certainly has all the momentum right now.
 
I appreciate your takes on this. I am a casual fan, so I can't say X is bad, or this guy sucks. I do feel that Ullmark is out of the net a lot, to the point of me yelling at the TV to say in the GD net! Florida certainly has all the momentum right now.

Momentum is a malleable thing in hockey, never more so than in a game 7. It seldom carries over past the final horn and a change in it is never more than a hit, save or goal away. Just look no further than the sea change in momentum after the disallowed goal the other night for an example.

Thanks for the kind words btw. My takes, such as they are, come from a love and understanding of the game. I do love me some Pats but I bleed Black n Gold. That said, my observations come from a dispassionate knowledge of the game itself, what I see watching the games and read about the team not a homer's love of it. I don't claim any special insight to the organization or the team's current scheme other than what anyone who follows the team closely might have, albeit it tinged with a goalie's perspective.

Certainly I'm no Deus or Triumph like savant who can magically see through to the deeper workings of the hearts and minds in an organization and pontificate on high with a certainty of knowledge that brooks absolutely no doubt.

Disclaimer: no one should make (or in Triumph's case make but not pay) any hockey wagers based on anything I might say.
 
Momentum is a malleable thing in hockey, never more so than in a game 7. It seldom carries over past the final horn and a change in it is never more than a hit, save or goal away. Just look no further than the sea change in momentum after the disallowed goal the other night for an example.

Thanks for the kind words btw. My takes, such as they are, come from a love and understanding of the game. I do love me some Pats but I bleed Black n Gold. That said, my observations come from a dispassionate knowledge of the game itself, what I see watching the games and read about the team not a homer's love of it. I don't claim any special insight to the organization or the team's current scheme other than what anyone who follows the team closely might have, albeit it tinged with a goalie's perspective.

Certainly I'm no Deus or Triumph like savant who can magically see through to the deeper workings of the hearts and minds in an organization and pontificate on high with a certainty of knowledge that brooks absolutely no doubt.

Disclaimer: no one should make (or in Triumph's case make but not pay) any hockey wagers based on anything I might say.
Get the first goal. Don’t be running uphill all night
 


I was going to post that.
I don't mean to pile on Clifton. He genuinely seemed to have come on in a big way in the first half of the season and looked like he'd 'found' his game but he was an open bleeding wound for Boston in game 6. Between his missed assignments, giveaways and positional errors he looked like a virtual newcomer to the B's system. The knock on Griz is he can frequently get muscled off the puck but the Bruins system calls for staying off the boards and done correctly it's a system that should maximize his talents. It is imperative Boston gets to the puck quickly and move it fast tonight. The D-men should already know their outlets before they get to the puck Griz's strong suit.
 
Panthers were backs against the wall game 6 and wanted it more.

Hard to duplicate that kind of hunger again. Bruins win and move on.
 
Get the first goal. Don’t be running uphill all night

Just have to go out there and play Bruins Hockey. Be smart with the puck, trust each other and each do their own jobs. NO HERO HOCKEY!
 
Just have to go out there and play Bruins Hockey. Be smart with the puck, trust each other and each do their own jobs. NO HERO HOCKEY!
Home ice ain’t gonna win the game. Bruins cannot be passive. They need to forget about the goaltending. If Sway is off, they will likely lose. The shame would be if Sway was great and they lost because they were not aggressive enough.
 
Home ice ain’t gonna win the game. Bruins cannot be passive. They need to forget about the goaltending. If Sway is off, they will likely lose. The shame would be if Sway was great and they lost because they were not aggressive enough.

?
There's nothing 'passive' about the Bruins' scheme.

What it does require is for everyone to keep moving and play it the way it is designed. If everyone else is cycling properly and someone decides to have a dumbass moment abandoning his assignment trying to do more, that's when the wheels come off the wagon. For instance, there's no excuse in this system for both defenseman to be below the crease line without the puck but we saw it multiple times in Game 6. **** like that just can't happen tonight if they expect to move on.
 
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I want to punch this team right now, Wtf.
 
They stink. Gotta win that faceoff and get the puck out. They barely tried
 
Question for @maust or anyone else who knows this team well: Are the Bruins a well-conditioned team? Are they considered physically tough?
 
Vibes of Van-Chi 2011. Chicago was down 3 games to none (or 1). Toews scored to tie game 7 with a minute left, but Van won in OT. God knows what will happen, but Boston gives up a lot of goals late it seems
 
This whole series I’ve never seen a team so bad at moving the puck out of their own zone. Andy Brinkley said it best, the best pass at moving the puck out of their zone tonight was by Swayman, that says it all.
 
Question for @maust or anyone else who knows this team well: Are the Bruins a well-conditioned team? Are they considered physically tough?
They have been good in 5 minute 4 on 4. The longer it goes, you gotta like Florida I am afraid
 
I hope the B’s match the Panthers intensiTy.
 
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