Portions of this column are meant to be read with a grain of salt.
OK, David Krejci. We get it. You’re the Bruins’ No. 1 center.
We know how fed up you are hearing about Patrice Bergeron’s two-way play and his consistency and his Selke Trophy. You’ve won the Stanley Cup more recently than Pavel Datsyuk and you showed Ryan Kesler what he could do with his Selke in the historic 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
Rask/By S. Bradley
I guess five shutouts in a 48-game season just don’t count as much as they used to.
In fact, stats in general don’t seem to matter if you look at the three finalists the NHL general managers picked for the Vezina Trophy, which goes every season to the goaltender considered the best by a vote of the GMs.
The Bruins have won 58 percent of the draws through three games of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against Toronto.
In the aftermath of the Bruins taking a 2-1 series lead Monday night in Game 3, there was some talk about cheating on the draws, and center Tyler Bozak even admitted that the Bruins were just cheating better than him.
Marchand/By S. Bradley
The 48-game schedule doesn’t provide us with a great sample size.
But if you’re wondering about Brad Marchand’s inability to find the back of the net in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against Toronto, you might be interested to know that playoff teams kept Marchand off the score sheet a lot this season.
David Krejci is supposed to be the Bruins’ No. 1 center.
He’s talked about serving in that role from around the time it looked like Marc Savard might never be the same right through present day. And for long stretches of the last several years, Krejci has been that player.
Chara/By S. Bradley
In his defense, Toronto coach Randy Carlyle was giving the Bruins and coach Claude Julien credit for their ability to get the Zdeno Chara-Phil Kessel matchup on the road almost as well as they do it at home.
But in telling the media Sunday that he thinks Chara might play close to 35 minutes for the Bruins in Game 3 Monday at Air Canada Centre, Carlyle showed he’s not much of a student of recent Bruins history.
Ference/By S. Bradley
Defenseman Andrew Ference just completed his second league-imposed suspension for an illegal hit in as many seasons.
This ban was just one game, and the Bruins missed him in Game 2 Saturday, as they dropped a 4-2 decision and let Toronto tie up the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at one game apiece.
Jagr
Jaromir Jagr didn’t make any excuses Sunday for his poor play in the tied-up Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against Toronto so far.
In fact, Jagr didn’t say anything. When approached for an interview, he put up two hands, said he had to fix something, packed up his equipment bag and made a bee line for the Bruins’ players’ lounge while several media members made bewildered looks about what just happened.
Kessel has woken up/By S. Bradley
Wake up, everybody. It’s playoff time in the NHL.
If some of the Bruins’ better offensive talents didn’t get the wake-up, now’s as good a time as any to shift out of regular-season gear and play as though the season is on the the line.
Dougie Hamilton
Many like to call the time around the trade deadline the “silly season.”
When it comes to coach’s comments, one could also apply that title to the playoffs.
Peverley might be back/By S. Bradley
Just in time for Game 1 of the Bruins’ Eastern Conference Quartefinals series with Toronto, the entire team got healthy.
That allowed coach Claude Julien to align three of his forward trios the way he had them at the start of the season.
Julien
The NHL is abuzz with debate over the hit Eric Gryba threw at Montreal forward Lars Eller Thursday night in Game 1 of the playoff series between Ottaw and the Canadiens.
Eller had to leave the ice on a stretcher and spent the night in the hospital with facial injuries and a concussion.
Ference
Defenseman Andrew Ference’s ability to play for the Bruins in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Toronto Saturday was part of the collateral damage from the physical play of Game 1 Wednesday.
Boychuk/By S. Bradley
Andrew Ference earned himself a hearing Thursday afternoon with the NHL discipline office to discuss his elbow to the head of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at TD Garden Wednesday.
Ference got away with one/By S. Bradley
Andrew Ference was caught by CBC cameras delivering a healthy elbow to the head of Toronto center Mikhail Grabovski during the Bruins’ 4-1 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Wednesday at TD Garden.
After the game, Ference pleaded ignorance about the play in question.
