Thursday, March 6, 2008

Maple Leafs, Tonight, Must Win


The Boston Bruins face-off against a division rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden. The Leafs have been streaking a little bit lately(6-3-1 in their last 10 games) and the Bruins have been going through a two game brain fart (outscored 11-2 in their past two games, we all know the results). The Bruins are currently going through a six game stretch over the course of nine days and through the first three games they have taken three points, a win, and an overtime loss. This will be the sixth meeting between the two clubs with the Bruins taking the first three and Toronto the previous two. However, the Bruins took points in the two losses as they lost one in overtime and the other in a shootout.

McKeon's Key's to the game:

1. Hit 'em hard, hit 'em early, hit 'em often. This is advice I enjoy giving the kids on the team I coach. Throwing a huge body check has the ability to do one of two things (or both). 1. It can help you settle down and knock out some of the nerves of playing in a crucial game. 2. A big hit early could possibly rattle your opponent putting them back on their heels. Hockey is a beautiful sport in a sense that you can legally go out and hit the snot out of someone just to feel better about yourself and install some confidence in your friends. Outside the rink, this situation is a gang war.

2. Shoot hard, shoot low. Toskala has been an up and down goaltender all year. The Bruins need to shoot the puck hard and low to create rebounds. To complete this, they need to crash the net! A good way to chip at a goaltender's confidence is make the goalie give up second chances on ugly rebounds out in front.

3. Pepper Toskala.
The Bruins put 40 shots on goal against the Panthers however, Craig Anderson was on fire. The Bruins can't get discouraged (which I'm sure they aren't), they need to keep putting the puck on net. Good things happen in front of the net.

4. Stick to the plan. This team needs to stick to the plan that Claude Julien has set for them. If the team can fall back on this plan and play solid defensively, tonight will surely be a victory.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

after the 1st:

The B's need to step up their physical game. They're giving Toronton room to move and it's a little scary to watch.

Ok. Watching the game on TSN. Glenn Healy drives me insane. It doesn't take a hockey analyst to know that Alex Ovechkin is amazing. thanks tips.

Anonymous said...

toronton? sounds like a player from belarus or something

Mat A. said...

I think the b's need to call up rask for a couple of games. I know this is only three games, but there have been 17 goals over that span.

Anonymous said...

19 but whos counting