After Saturday afternoon's pathetic choke job, Bruins fans have every right to be nervous heading into tonight's massive game 5 (Versus 8pm).
Building a 3 goal lead and chasing Dwayne Roloson out of the game should have been enough to hold off the Lightning and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, but nothing ever comes that easy for the Black and Gold.
They were victimized, once again, by their inept power play, defensive breakdowns, and straight up lazy skating. People have already started pointing the finger at Claude Julien for the lack of effort, but doing so only shifts the blame from the players who can't seem to respond to changes in in-game situations.
Here are a few things to look for heading into tonights pivotal game 5
*Whoever you want to blame for a loss like that, the B's have to respond, and they have to respond tonight at home. Game 5 is going to huge and will probably determine the series winner. The earliest reports out of Tampa say that Roloson will get the start and try to shake off the cobwebs. Roloson has looked pedestrian so far against the Bruins, so this is either a vote of confidence from Guy Boucher, or a form of gamesmanship, because I think there is no way in hell that Roloson starts the game.
*While Roley the Goalie has certainly made all 5 Tampa fans cringe in the last few games, Tomas Kaberle has done the same for fans in the Hub. People are even calling for Rookie D man Steve Kampfer to replace Kaberle in the lineup, failing to note that he has some of the same defensive shortcomings as Kaberle. Kaberle is staying in the lineup folks, but don't expect much more than 12-13 minutes of ice time including the Power Play.
*Tim Thomas has been spectacular at times in these playoffs, but is prone to make a few mistakes, as we saw in the 2nd period on Rapture Day. He has never been one to play the puck well, and when he tries, bad things happen. Thomas did a poor job with the puck behind the net, which forced a Boston turnover and led to the first Tampa goal. The indecision has to stop especially with a 3 goal lead. Tampa's aggressive forecheck created pressure and helped get the ball rolling with their first goal.
*Which brings me to my next point, the defense. 48 hours after shutting down Tampa like an elementary school in Providence, The Bruins' blueliners played afraid, turning the puck over repeatedly and not imposing their will physically. After leading 3-0, the entire team basically stood around and waited for things to happen, far from their proactive effort in game 4. Offensively, they were about as bad as you could get in the 2nd and 3rd periods, as they were suffocated by the Tampa forecheck. The Tampa 1-3-1 forecheck got more publicity than the Tampa 2 defense in football, but I have noticed that they are often sending 2 forwards into the Bruins' zone, and it worked like a charm in game 4. Remember when all we needed was a "puck moving defenseman?" Well yea, its time to start moving that puck.
*The Power Play sucks. I mean, how can anyone analyze their struggles at this point. Switch lines? Sorry bro. Put in Seguin? Sorry bro. Dump the puck in the corner and hope it goes in? That doesn't work either. At this point, im really starting to question what the goal of the power play is for this team. Is it to score, or is it to control the puck for two minutes so that the other team doesn't score? Who knows at this point. Will the Bruins fail to score on the power play tonight? Will the sun rise tomorrow?
*The first line needs to step it up. Tonight. 2 shots as a LINE isn't going to cut it whether its Roloson, Smith, or me in net for fucks sake. Hurt or not, Lucic needs to elevate his game tonight and get it going because he doesn't look like the guy who scored 30 goals (5 ENG) this season.
*I think games like tonight are why the Bruins stick with Julien, as he will be able to provide some stability to this lineup by not switching players around. I am predicting a big game for Nathan Horton, as he will continue his clutch ways anthe Bruins will take game 5 with a chance to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since I was watching Pee Wees playhouse.
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