ihabs1993

My mistake. The site changed the man you should follow to someone on the forum. His name without the at sign is Brad_OnAir

I think it’s completely fair to say that last night’s Bruins-Canadiens tilt was an instant classic. It had a bit of everything. Pretty decent hits, including a beautiful check from Patrice Bergeron on Rene Bourque that saved an odd man rush on a broken play. There was a fair amount of offense, as both teams combined for seven goals. And are the Stanley Cup Playoffs ever complete without a bit of late game heroics and incredible goaltending? Yes, this game had it all. I would say that this game was perfect for the game of hockey with the exception of one glaring detail. The hateful remarks made on social media and at TD Garden in Boston after P.K. Subban scored the game winning goal in the second overtime have sent civil rights back 50 years. I have never felt more disgust for anyone in my entire life as I did last night for the select few who sit behind their computers or their smart phones and spew the most violent, evil things that can ever be said to a human being. To start, I first need to go back. Back to around January in a game against the Ottawa Senators, where Subban scored the game winner in an emotional overtime game. Upon scoring the goal, Subban celebrated by tugging on the CH on his chest. This is nothing truly unsportsmanlike, yet many news outlets ripped Subban for being too cocky. Don Cherry would say that he needs to quit doing this sort of thing so that he doesn’t make Canada look bad at the Olympics. Subban did not go out to center ice and pretend to defecate on the Senators logo, he merely embraced his own team’s logo. Fast forward to Saturday, January 18th. Hockey Night in Canada game of the week against the Toronto Maple Leafs. After scoring what would turn out to be the game winner, James VanRiemsdyk openly mocked Subban’s celebration by tugging on the Maple Leaf on the front of his jersey. Nothing would be said about this. Nothing. Fast forward to last night. Subban scores the first goal of the second round, slipping a shot past goaltender Tuukka Rask from the point to put the Canadiens ahead. He did not celebrate whatsoever. He put his fist out for his teammates to bump, then skated off the ice. Now let’s look at the Bruins’ goal celebrations. Reilly Smith’s was nothing. He merely hugged his teammate and skated off the ice. It’s the next two that bothered me. Upon tying the game, Torey Krug pounded his chest in what can only be described as an overexcited imitation of Tarzan. He wouldn’t be criticized by anyone. Next, Boychuk points about five or six times at the crowd. While not over the top, if this were Subban, it would be noteworthy. Fast forward one more time (I promise) to the overtime game winner. Subban absolutely unleashes a bomb from the point that beats Rask. What does Subban do? Merely puts his hands in the air, and waits for his Canadien teammates to ambush his as he has just given his team a 1-0 series lead. If Subban does what Krug does, do the Bruins complain about it? Absolutely. Double standard for sure. Moving on to where the fans got a bit too far into the game. As Subban serves a minor penalty, fans bombard him with racial slurs and violent sentiments. Why weren’t these fans ejected from the game? If you have ever paid the outrageous price for NHL tickets, you have basically signed a contract saying I will not act obscenely at the game. Most of the time, stadium personnel look past the common curse as they know there’s really no way of getting everyone in an emotionally charged crowd to stop cursing, however this is where they need to draw the line. As Subban and the rest of the Canadiens skated off the ice at the end of the game, they were bombarded by racial slurs yet again, but some have reported that physical objects were thrown as well. Why aren’t these people getting arrested for assault? Take away the aspect of a professional sporting event and put this situation on the street and this is assault. Period. Today, Bruins president Cam Neely spoke out against the racism. Here are his comments: "The racist, classless views expressed by an ignorant group of individuals following Thursday's game via digital media are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization." I fully commend Neely in his efforts to stop this hate from spreading, but it needs to go further than this. I would say that this is enough, but unfortunately, this is not the first time that racism has been attached to the Bruins fan base. We all recall what happened with Joel Ward of the Capitals after his OT goal eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs. The Bruins need to be harder on their fans, especially when you have fans like this on Twitter: First Attached file What we need are more fans like this: @BradMarsh8_OnAir Give him a follow on Twitter Second attached file What needs to happen in this game is similar to what happened what Montreal booed the American anthem in a series against the Bruins in 2011. The Canadiens’ public address announcer preluded the national anthems by first listing all of the American players currently on the Canadiens roster. This list included Canadiens’ captain Brian Gionta. The Bruins need to remind their “fans” that the first player of color that played in the NHL broke into the league with the Boston Bruins. I’m speaking, of course, of Willie O’Ree. They can also add that the Boston Bruins recently drafted P.K’s younger brother, Malcolm Subban, and he is currently playing goaltender for the Bruins’ affiliate in Providence. One thing is clear. The change will need to come from inside the Bruins organization. What Neely did was a start, but until every fan is like Brad On Air, we won’t be able to move forward from this ugly incident. Side note: I am posting this in good faith that we can have a respectful conversation about the issue. I think in order to eradicate racism in our game, it needs to come from us; the fans who write about the game we love so much. Therefore, any comments that stem from racial inequalities or violence towards any human being based on race will be reported. Do not engage those who base their thoughts in states of anger or hate. “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” –Martin Luther King Jr. Thanks for reading ihabs1993 #StopTheIgnorance

Everyone breathe. You lost in game 7 by one goal. The Flyers organization shouldn't and probably won't start a fire sale because of a loss like this. If this happens next year, then I'd say it's a yard sale. Just breathe.

Agreed! Haha...He's a huge part of the Bruins youth movement on the blue line with Krug. I couldn't stand watching Bruins games when he first broke into the league because literally every announcer said he was just like Bobby Orr. I think that's a huge mistake. They're setting the kid up for failure real fast. He's not going to be Bobby Orr. No one is. Let Dougie be Dougie... As long as we still call him that

I'm sorry. The title made me think this was the Star Wars Hockey league. Just random assortments of letters. Thanks Russia

League will unveil the schedule in it's entirety later today but we know that game one is Thursday at 7:30 EST and game two appears to be set for Saturday at 12:30!!! Keep checking the NHL site today to find out when the rest of the series is! Good luck Topher!! GO HABS GO

I think this look does it for me. Puck was there for sure. Goalie never had it and, for once, Chris Lee was in the right spot. I hate Chris Lee and when looking at this the first time, I thought he blew the game. Watching it again and looking at @Polaris922 's zoom-in, it was the right call. The one thing I wonder about is the "intent to blow the whistle" aspect of the play as the Sharks broadcasters claimed should have been the deciding factor of the goal. Besides this one play, the Sharks just gave up after that goal.

You nailed it there. Chara is only effective because of his size and at times his antics are borderline beer league. Keith is the only player among the three that is the complete package. Pietrangelo needs to be on this list. Hands down the second best defenseman in the league behind Keith. This is Chara's last run for a Norris and it will fall short. He has burned himself out by playing long minutes deep into the playoffs over the past few years.

Oh nostalgia... For sure, this is going to be a long series. You might be right about the Rangers because whatever team comes out of this series is going to be beat up and injured.

I don't really care about looking back to 1988. I was only talking about the most recent series because those are the only ones that are relevant. On Budaj, can you think of any other goalie in the league who had two wins in two games against the Bruins? Not to mention the fact that he's a back up goalie. Say what you want about my word choice, but Budaj has the Bruins' number!!!!!

Picture Goon Scene: Doug Glatt and the Halifax Highlanders are hanging on to whatever is left of their postseason hopes. As the clock hits zero and chaos breaks out on the ice, Ross Rhea sits in a diner in St. John's, Newfoundland, knowing full well what happens next. Two unstoppable forces must collide. Only one can move on. He has to fight Doug "The Thug" Glatt. Enter; reality The Montreal Canadiens were in the very same position as Ross Rhea Saturday afternoon. While everyone knew that this meeting between the Habs and the Bruins was highly likely, if not inevitable, we now have closure. The Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens will meet in the Atlantic Division Final, in what promises to be the meanest playoff series in the Eastern Conference. This is the kind of story that keeps hockey alive. The two biggest rivals in the sport will face off on the largest stage that they have shared in quite some time. Historically speaking, the Canadiens have dominated the series, with a record of 24-9 in 35 playoff meetings. However, the Bruins have gotten the best of the Habs as of late in the quest for Lord Stanley, with Boston capturing the last two series against Montreal. If there is any team in the league that can beat the Bruins, it's those pesky little Frenchmen. Montreal was 3-1 against the Bruins this season winning both games in Boston and one more at the Bell Center. The intriguing aspect of this match up is the goaltending situation for Montreal. Both games in Boston between the two clubs this year were played by Peter Budaj, the Canadiens' back up to Carey Price. Does Budaj start the series against Boston? His numbers against the Bruins in just this year alone are spectacular. In Boston, Budaj is an astounding 2-0 with only allowing 2 goals on 64 shots to finish with a .969 save percentage. Personally I think that Price starts game one against the Bruins and if he's terrible, Budaj gets the next one. IF the Habs can take atleast one game in Boston, where they haven't lost since January 12th, 2012, they can win this series. If Boston can take the first two games, this could be a quick series. What do you think? Thanks for the read Ian ihabs1993

@yave1964 The rest of the Atlantic division, and realistically, the rest of the conference, better look out for this team to be a force in the east for the years to come. You really hit the nail on the head when talking about their talented youth movement. I mean they have an embarrassment of young riches at their disposal; Palat, Stamkos, Johnson, and they have Drouin who WILL PLAY NEXT YEAR waiting for his chance. Not to mention that they finally have what every contending team has and that's solid goaltending in Ben Bishop. Even their goaltending depth is scary with huge backups in Lindback and, eventually, the Latvian Monster (I didn't want to butcher his name). Even though their exit from the playoffs wasn't ideal, they are going to be a dominating force in the league very soon and I wouldn't be surprised to see them challenge the likes of Boston and Pittsburgh for top spots in the conference within the next 3 seasons.

Gotta go with Varly on this one. He was outstanding this year on a young team that no one expected to be where they are and Varlamov is a huge reason why they are there. You can say the same about Bishop, but for my money Varlamov is the better tender. About Rask... It's not like he doesn't belong there because he is probably the most athletic of the three goaltenders. I mean Bishop is mostly a threat because of his size and Varlamov is so sound position wise, but Rask is so athletic that he can abandon his form and make incredible saves. The reason he doesn't win it this year is because of this: His back up Look at his numbers. Chad Johnson had an incredible year too. Playing in 27 games with the B's this year, Johnson went 17-4-3 with a .925 save percentage and a goals against of 2.10. Johnson also put up 2 shutouts, which ranks him pretty high among back up goaltenders. Why does this matter? It matters because you could put Vesa Toskala in net for Boston, and he could have ok numbers. That's saying something. I don't mean to take anything away from Tuukka here. Honestly, as the Habs gear up to face him and the Bruins in the second round, I think he is going to be a frustrating opponent for Montreal. I just think that when it comes to such an incredible defensive team such as the Bruins, goaltending could be average and they would still have a chance to go deep into the playoffs. Rask will have a few Vezina trophies before his career is through, but it won't happen this year.

Even I thought this series was going to be more closely fought! Habs going for the sweep tonight. If it happens, it would be the first sweep for the Canadiens since 1993 when they swept the Buffalo Sabres in the 2nd round. They won the cup that year. Last time Montreal had a 3-0 series lead, it was against the Bruins in 2008(?) and the Bruins pushed the series to game 7 where Montreal eventually won and took the series. Hope the Habs can get it done tonight! Go Habs go!

Coming this fall: Liam Neeson in: Back to Bruin

Ok, @bunnyman, I'll bite... Explain

Just a question that I really want an answer to: Why is it that whenever there is a big name player who is either a free agent looking to sign somewhere or a player being shopped, the teams that are "interested" are always the same 5 teams? Those teams are the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. Are they seriously interested in everyone, or is it just because they are large markets? I thought of this when I saw Bobby Mac on NBCSN talking about some college free agent that could make it into the NHL soon and before he could say what teams were interested, out loud, I said "I bet Boston and Philly want him" and what do you know, they're interested. Thanks for the read. Ian ihabs1993

I like the concept of it. Who knows, this could start some unconventional divisional rivalries, such as Montreal and Tampa Bay who are slated to play each other in the first round right now. It puts a greater importance on inter-divisional play. I'm not going to make a complete judgement of it until I see how it functions in real time.

I think fighting has and will always have a place in this game, IF DONE CORRECTLY AND WITH CLASS. For instance, the first NHL game I ever went to was a Habs-Isles game on the island. Habs trailed 4-1 with 15 minutes to go in the game when Georges Laraque dropped the gloves with Mitch Fritz. Habs ended up scoring 4 straight to win the game in regulation. If you think that fighting can't change the outcome of a game, I think this is a perfect counterpoint. What Shawn Thornton did to Brooks Orpik is goonery and that needs to leave the game fast. In the area of the safety of the players, I think it's obvious that every player knows what they're getting into when they AGREE to drop the mitts. Therefore, we need to eliminate the "player cannot remove his helmet" because I think the classiest thing a player can do is remove his helmet prior to a fight, like Jarome Iginla used to do all the time. With that being said, there needs to be more to stop "fights" like Emery V. Holtby where there is not an AGREEMENT to fight. Fighting is a part of hockey. It's here to stay. I will loose a massive amount of respect for the game if players lose the ability to stand up for each other. Cheers Ian ihabs1993

I guess that's fair, but the reason why a majority of the cups go to American Teams is because a majority of the league is in America. Why are there franchises in Florida? Phoenix? And possibly soon to be one in Seattle? There are incredible markets in Canada to expand the game like Quebec City and Markham Ontario, who are begging the league for franchises! If there were 27 teams in Mexico, you would expect them to have a majority of the championships as well. Canada is the epicenter for hockey in the world, and I'll tell you why: If you turn on ESPN late at night after every major sport has finished, what do you see? I can almost guarantee that unless Ovechkin or Crosby have hat tricks, it's going to be LeBron James talking about why he wants to wear the black face mask instead of the white one. Canada breathes hockey. Free agent day, July 1st, falls on Canada day and most Canadian hockey fans spend the day partying but still keeping a close eye on which players sign with which teams. Finally, I have no idea what Maple Leaf team you've been watching. They're as wildly inconsistent as any other non-playoff team. They're being carried by a somewhat solid goaltending tandem and Phil Kessel's remarkable year.

@jammer2 Good Stuff! Although I'll probably be pulling for the ducks or the blues when Montreal is out lol

Good points. I'm always hesitant to count out the Senators, at least in the short term, due to the amount of times that they've burned teams, including my Habs, in situations that they've had no business being in. But I believe you posted something earlier about the Senators pissing away a few incredible rosters in such a short time which makes me nervous to declare them a contender for the years to come. As for the Flames, I feel like they've been in a rebuild since they went to the finals (which I forgot to mention in the original post lol). They've got a long way to go. The Oilers are the most promising Canadian teams in the middle of a rebuild, but I'm afraid that if they don't make the playoffs next year, they might have to restart the rebuild. The Jets have had such a bad time getting rid of the Thrashers' stink that they haven't been able to create their own identity. Paul Maurice helps for sure and their youth is impressive. I don't want to talk about Vancouver. Toronto is having a hard time differentiating between truculence and goonery. Montreal has a good core of players, but there are players on the team that are not pulling their weight (Murray, Bourque etc). Not to mention that the coach doesn't want to use his players properly. Montreal isn't going anywhere until that coach is gone.

I completely agree with what you're saying about the players on Canadian teams not being from Canada. I think it's much more than that though. It's never about the name on the back of the sweater, it's all about the logo on the front and how men of all nations come together to win. As a Habs fan, I don't care if the captain, coach or GM can speak French. All I care about is winning and the want to compete. Unfortunately, a good portion of the Habs' fan base does not agree with me, but I digress. The fact of the matter is that the Canadian franchises, especially the older ones, feel an entitlement to the game. By this I mean that they feel like they should be in the running for the cup every year. Thanks for the read!

Every once in a while, I put on my dad's 1993 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champions t-shirt and feel proud, but also somewhat sad. The years just seem to fly by, don't they? If a Canadian team doesn't win the cup this year, which is highly likely, the drought will extend to 21 years since the last Canadian team has won the cup. This is a far cry from the days of old where the Canadiens used to win the cup or at least be in contention for it just about every year. Of course, then you could just buy the best players in the world instead of todays draft era which has made the game very interesting. So who is going to liberate Canada from years of mediocrity? It would be different if a Canadian franchise came close every year but that's not the case as only four Canadian teams have made it to the final since Patrick Roy and the Habs last hoisted the cup (Canucks 2x, Oilers and Senators). I guess what I'm asking is when is this drought going to end and who is going to win it? Will the Oilers' rebuild lead them to a cup as their youth turns to experience? Will the Flames find a championship general manager who can build the team through the draft? Will the Canucks be able to thrive in the post Luongo era? Will the Jets be able to move outside of the mediocrity that forced them to leave Atlanta? Will the Leafs be able to find more consistency in their players, present and future? Will the Senators be able to find an identity in the post Alfie era? And will the Canadiens be able to restore glory to the Great White North with the likes of Price, Subban and Pacioretty? I know one thing's for sure.... It won't be this year. Ian ihabs1993

@B21 @Polaris922 @nossagog I truly didn't wish to start this flame war. You guys are loyal fans, I get that but truly you must see SOME of the things we talk about, right? And I'm not buying the whole "You guys are just mad because our team is better than your team" thing. Have you seen any "I hate those dirty Blackhawks, Blues or Ducks" posts lately? I sure haven't (And two of those teams have better records than the Penguins and the other is tied in points with a game at hand). There's clearly something different about your team that makes them an object of anger for the rest of the league. And my disdain for the Penguins is reasonable. Remember a few years ago in the playoffs where Staal was hurt ACCIDENTALLY by Subban's skate blade and everyone in Pittsburgh cried bloody murder, including those insufferable announcers of yours? Even today, the Roots sports guys bring it up the first time P.K. touches the puck in a Habs-Pens match-up. Then remember when Matt Cooke did virtually the same thing to Erik Karlsson and everyone claimed that Cooke wasn't that kind of player anymore? There's a double standard there that is pretty clear to me. Just ask Torts, he'll tell ya Sorry if I made anyone too frustrated with my opinion. Until something else substantial happens, I'll hold my tongue when it comes to the Penguins and their fans. Thanks again Ian ihabs1993