Ten Reasons Why The Bruins Won the Stanley Cup

1. They out coached Vancouver.
2. They out goalied Vancouver.
3. The Bruin's defense was superior.  
4. Unexpectedly, the Bruin's offense was superior.
5. Vancouver lacked depth and degraded as Dan Hamhuis and Mason Raymond went down.
6. The Bruin's rallied when Nathan Horton went down as Shawn Thornton was inserted into the lineup.
7. Vancouver power play was stifled.
8. Vancouver lacked discipline (cheap shots, diving).  
9. Vancouver lacked character. 
10. Bruins had Rene Rancourt, in Game 6 he did three (3) fist pumps and wore a yellow vest and tie (reportedly borrowed from Ryan Herron).  

Nathan Horton for Aaron Rome

Nathan Horton for Aaron Rome, the Canucks will take this any day of the week.  The Bruins lose one of their top forwards for the remainder of the playoffs, the Canucks lose a journeyman player.   I know Rome's a good guy, but give me a break.  In the biggest hockey venue of the season, he decides to make a lateral, leave-your-feet, late head-shot hit on Nathan Horton.  Doesn't do much for the game, doesn't say much for the league and because Rome lost his poise, his actions could have a very real effect on the outcome of this series.

Interesting comments from NHL SVP of Operations Mike Murphy, Murphy claims the Rome hit would have been legal if it were not late.  That's like saying the drunk driver would have been sober if he drank only twelve beers instead of fifteen.  Watch the video again Mike http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYqTE3cnuQ he went for the head, it was still a lateral hit and he left his feet. You might want to turn the reins over to Brendan Shanahan now before this series gets any uglier.  Really, where do they get these guys?

The league did not bring this incident on, however, the player did.  Until the players take ownership of the problem and start respecting one another, these types of occurrences will continue.  The NHL, despite a new disciplinarian, loses yet another opportunity to eliminate blind-side hits.  Rome's suspension is nothing - he should have received at least 10 games into the regular season next year. 

Other notes....referee Stephen Walkom did the Bruins a huge favor by giving Shawn Thornton a "preventative misconduct".  The Bruins need Thornton's presence in game 4, had he played out the remainder of game 3 he quite possibly would have done something to warrant a game suspension.  Momentum is a funny thing, the Bruin's have woken up and it's highly likely this will continue...remember my prediction, Bruins in 6.

Reality Bites

Do you think Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins of yesteryear would have let Alex Burrows score two goals and an assist in a game subsequent to biting one of their teammates?  I'm doubting Burrows would have made it beyond the first period.  OK, so the NHL disciplinary office messed up once again, but really, what did you expect here?  Even Henrik Sedin joked about the incident in an NBC snippet where he introduced his twin brother and "vegetarian" line mate Alex Burrows.  I'm still shocked Burrows went unscathed through the entire game, but let's move on.

The Bruins power play gives the Canucks a decided advantage.  The Canucks can actually take good penalties with a high likelihood the Bruins won't score - in fact a 92% likelihood they won't score.  This confidence effectively means the Canucks can clutch, grab and otherwise take full liberties with the Bruins.  For Vancouver, this results in no real penalty other than a lost opportunity cost from an offensive perspective.  Manny Malhotra's return to the Canuck power play won't make life any better for the lethargic Bruin power play.   To compound matters, Vancouver's power play effectiveness in the playoffs is just under 30%.  In fact, the last series against San Jose they were 37% effective.  A bit daunting for the Bruins, every third penalty they give up will statistically result in a goal for Vancouver. 

Is Claude Julien thinking of dressing Cam Neely, Terry O'Reilly or Shawn Thornton next game? 

Pre Game Warm Up

As you prepare for tonight's Stanley Cup opener between the Bruins and Canucks, check out the following links:

Time To Go - Dropkick Murphys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP5g-Pjpg_I

Nutrocker Live - Dropkick Murphys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOISP4xnw-Q&feature=related

Top 10 Stanley Cup Playoff Upsets 
http://www.toponlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/10-greatest-nhl-playoff-upsets/
(not certain how the 1971 Bruins playoff elimination to Canadiens missed this list, see my May 1, 2010 entry "The Caps, The Red Sox and The Crappy Feeling Index")