The B's Are Back -- Kind Of...

As I wait for baseball games to start mattering again, I've had a lot of time to get amped up for the start of the Bruins season. For the second year in a row, I've been able to go to the home opener at the Garden ice, and for the second year in a row, I've watched the Bruins disappoint a sell-out crowd that was completely drunk with excitement (or just drunk).

A big problem for the B's last year, the lack of a consistent, go-to goal scorer, got much worse this off-season with the loss of Phil Kessel, the young-gun who looked ready to take on that role. However, when you have the reigning Vezina winner between the pipes (not to mention the Norris winner in front of him) and, oh yeah, the Jennings Trophy on display at the pre-game kick-off event, maybe you can get by without as much offense. It brought Boston the best regular season record in the East just six months ago, hopefully it will work again.

Last night, though, it was almost impossible to pick out the weakest area on the team: not because there were none, but instead too many. Of course the horrible passing and lack of speed through the neutral zone made me sick, but I don't think that did the most damage as the Bruins fell to the Capitals 4-1. The bad luck Boston has had this year (and last year against the Penguins) is opening at home against a team with a superstar forward.

Despite the individual accolades, the B's get their strength as a unit; being able to push out four effective lines and never giving up an easy side on defense. The team that took the ice last night adorning the black and gold lacked any hint of these strengths that brought so much hope to Boston hockey fans. The flaw in giving up these big holes with lack of communication and cohesiveness was that last night (like last year) they were across the ice from one of the elite players of this decade.

As much as you can hate Ovechkin (especially in the home-opener after hitting Savard well behind the play and out of a ref's sight and then making sure to wimp-out and just draw the penalty when Chara went in for a retaliatory fight), it's impossible to note that his ability of ALWAYS being open is anything less than genius. The only way to keep him (or Crosby) in check is to put a Lucic or a Wheeler on him. Without a physical player glued to the #8 on his back wherever he roves all over the ice, the Bruins don't beat the Caps--not to mention any other team.

But the biggest hope I can draw on is that the B's started with a home opener loss last year, they had the same struggles finding the right line-mates, and their special teams were a weakness even on a power play. Still, they found a way to prove all the doubters wrong. My guess is that it had something to do with the other trophy holder on the squad: the Jack Adams winner on the bench. Let's just hope Claude can work some magic in a season that has the bulls-eye square on Boston's back.