Best of Causeway

Every week, the Causeway Crowd will feature the Bruins top three Players of the Week. 

Week 7: March 8th-March 14th

After salvaging a point versus Toronto, the Bruins came out firing against the Flyers.  Unfortunately, the Bruins were unable to keep things rolling two nights later in Montreal.  All in all, taking 3 of 6 points isn’t too shabby considering all of the games were on the road.  

1-1-1 (3 points)

–March 9th- @ Toronto Maple Leafs (O, 4-3)

–March 11th- @ Philadelphia Flyers (W, 5-1)

–March 13th- @ Montreal Canadiens (L, 3-2)

 First Star- Patrice Bergeron (2 G, 3 A, 5 P, plus-5, 5 shots)

• Bergeron played extremely well as the new first-line center against Philadelphia, finishing with a goal and two assists.  He also looked like the best player on the ice for the Bruins in their game against Toronto, notching a goal and an assist despite the overtime loss.  Bergeron’s ability to generate offense is even more crucial with Savard expected to miss the rest of the season.

Second Star- Marco Sturm (2 G, 2 A, 4 P, plus-5, 12 shots)

• Sturm had a goal and an assist in each of the first two games of the week.  It was also a welcoming sign that Sturm’s goal versus Toronto came on the power play, a weakness of the Bruins throughout this season. Sturm has been clutch in the past, and I expect him to continue such ways as we head down the stretch.

Third Star- Mark Recchi (2 G, 2 A, 4 P, plus-4, 5 shots)

• Recchi continues to cause havoc in front of the net this season.  I was thrilled when they brought him back in the offseason, and hopefully he elects to stay around for one more.  The guy can still play and be an effective piece to a playoff contending team.

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Week 6: March 1st-March 7th

Sorry that the Best of Causeway is a little behind schedule, but I’ve been away for a little bit.   Better late than never though.  So without further ado, it’s time to start catching up on the awards.  After a so-so week for the Bruins to start off March, which included going to a shootout at home against Toronto (after once again blowing a lead), here is who can hoist this week’s hardware:

2-2-0 (4 points)

–March 2nd- vs. Montreal Canadiens (L, 4-1)

–March 4th- vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (W, 3-2)

–March 6th- @ New York Islanders (W, 3-2)

–March 7th- @ Pittsburgh Penguins (L, 2-1)

First Star- Marco Sturm (1 G, 2 A, 3 P, minus-1, 8 shots)

• In a week in which no one really stood out, Sturm gets the nod, adding a goal to his team-leading total.  Sturm’s production was spread out throughout the course of the week, which is always a plus in Best of Causeway considerations.

Second Star- Zdeno Chara (0 G, 2 A, 2 P, even, 12 shots)

• Z continues to be one of the Bruins’ most consistent players this season.  Though the goals are down a lot from his career-high (19) of last season, the assist total will be higher and he continues to be the rock of the Bruins.  Chara can consistently be relied on for about 25 solid minutes a night and he played well throughout the week.

Third Star- Shawn Thornton (0 G, 2 A, 2 P, plus-1)

• I was eager to place Thornton higher simply for beating the hell out of Wayne Primeau when the B’s faced Toronto.  Nevertheless, he gets this week’s Third Star for not only continuing his physical play, but chipping in 2 assists and coming out with a positive plus-minus despite a mediocre week for the team.

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Week 5: February 8th-February 13th

Finally, a very solid week for the Bruins.  Though it required two shootouts, including one against Florida, and nearly blowing a five goal lead against Tampa Bay, wins are still wins and the Bruins came away with all 6 points this week.  This marks the first time since the Best of Causeway started that the B’s have played well.  To think that I almost had to do away with the weekly awards.

3-0-0 (6 points)

–February 9^th- vs. Buffalo Sabres (W, 3-2)

–February 11^th- vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (W, 5-4)

–February 13^th- vs. Florida Panthers (W, 3-2)

First Star- Daniel Paille (2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, plus-4)

• This is the second time that I have given the first star to Daniel Paille.  Not only has he continued to play solid in his role on the penalty kill, but he recorded 3 points last week, including a two goal performance against his former team.  He was recently upgraded to the first line and played alongside Marc Savard and Miroslav Satan, a move that paid big dividends for the Bruins.

Second Star- Marc Savard (3 assists, 3 points, plus-3)

• Savard is one guy who could be a staple for the Best of Causeway each and every week.  In fact, he could have realistically earned himself the First Star because Paille’s offensive production is a direct correlation of playing alongside Savard.  In a Boston Herald article last week, Claude Julien discussed Paille’s move up to the first line.  Julien stated twice that Savard will find him.  Well, one of the game’s premier distributors, Savard will find just about anyone.  Though he has not scored a goal since December 23, Savard is playing better over the past couple of weeks.  He has now recorded points in 7 of the last 9 games, a main reason the Bruins are starting to right the ship.

Third Star- David Krejci (1 goal, 1 point, plus-3, SO game-winner against Bufflo)

• Anytime you get a shootout game-winner, your stock immediately rises when it comes to Best of Causeway consideration.  Mark Recchi was in the same boat this week.  However, I really liked what I saw from Krejci.  Though he only had 1 point (a goal against Florida) in addition to the shootout goal, he looked more like the Krejci from last season than he had prior to last week.  He nearly scored a goal earlier in the night in Buffalo and his leg seems to be fine despite playing only three shifts in the Super Bowl Sunday game in Montreal.

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Week 4: February 1st- February 7th

1-1-2 (4 points)

–February 2^nd- vs. Washington Capitals (L, 4-1)

–February 4^th- vs. Montreal Canadiens (O, 2-3)

–February 6^th- vs. Vancouver Canucks (O, 2-3)

–February 7^th- @ Montreal Canadiens (W, 3-0)

First Star- Tuukka Rask (1-0-2, .957 save% [88/92])

• Rask is quickly becoming the guy.  He has all but replaced Tim Thomas as the team’s number one goalie.  Following the Bruins’ 4-1 loss to Washington on Feb. 2, Rask has started all five games since.  They were 1-0-2 last week with Rask in net, and are 3-0-2 overall since the Rask-led five game point streak began.  This improvement for the Bruins with Rask in net is no coincidence.  He has been the better goaltender all season long and the training wheels are starting to officially come off.  The Bruins have so much confidence in Rask that the Tim Thomas trade rumors are likely to start flying at a rapid pace as the March 3 trade deadline approaches.

Second Star- Marco Sturm (2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, plus-1, 16 shots)

• Sturm is starting to look more and more like the player that led the Bruins in goals two years ago.  Sturm leads the team in goals again this season and the total should only continue to rise from here.  Sturm scored 2 goals in the 3-0 win over Montreal and has helped turn the Bruins’ fortunes around for the time being.

Third Star- Marc Savard (4 assists, 4 points, minus-2)

• Savard’s 4 assists this week is a welcoming sign.  He has returned to his usual point-per-game self.  It is no coincidence that the Bruins have improved as Savard has become more and more healthy.  He has and will be the most important player going forward because of his ability to make everyone around him better.

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Weeks 2 + 3: January 18th-January 31st

For a few reasons, I decided to combine Week 2 and Week 3 of the Best of Causeway.  First, the Bruins have played so awful the past two weeks that a condensed version of Bruins “stars” is more than enough.  Secondly, I figured that we can start off fresh for February. 

In yet another difficult week to choose (and not  for a good reason), I finally decided on three guys.  In a week where the Bruins went 0-5-1, only gathering a single point out of 12 possible points, it basically came down to a matter of deciding who sucked the least rather than who performed the best.  After all, they were outscored 20-8 over the six games.  Nevertheless, without further ado, the Best (least awful) of Causeway for Weeks 2 + 3:

0-5-1 (1 point)

–January 18th- vs. Ottawa Senators (L, 5-1)

–January 21st- vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (L, 3-2)

–January 23rd- vs. Ottawa Senators (L, 2-1)

–January 24th- @ Carolina Hurricanes (L, 1-5)

–January 29th- @ Buffalo Sabres (L, 1-2)

–January 30th- vs. LA Kings (O, 2-3)

First Star- Daniel Paille (2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, minus-1, 10 shots)

• Paille has played excellent throughout the entire season and will hopefully receive an extension from the Bruins in the offseason.  He has led the way for the third-ranked penalty kill in the NHL, essentially taking over the role vacated by P.J. Axelsson.  In addition, he provided some offense for the Bruins these past two weeks, scoring 2 goals and dishing out an assist.  He also had 10 shots.  The fact that he was able to finish the dismal two weeks with a minus-1, while playing so many minutes on the penalty kill is astonishing.  It is solid for any week, but especially these past two weeks given the Bruins’ woes.

Second Star- Patrice Bergeron (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, 15 shots)

• As I mentioned before, this week yet again comes down to determining who is NOT to blame for the Bruins struggles, rather than finding true “stars.”  Bergeron once again performed at a high level in comparison to the rest of the Bruins, which is truly a microcosm of the season as a whole.  Though he did only finish with 2 points in the 6 games, he was one of the Bruins’ better players.  His 15 shots led the way.  Hopefully more will start to find the back of the net in the near future.

Third Star- Derek Morris (minus-1, 1 assist)

• Like Miroslav Satan got a boost in the first week of the Best of Causeway because he was a new guy, Morris gets a boost for his overall performance this season.  His 18 assists and 21 points is pretty solid, but like Paille, he has played great on the penalty kill.  Also, Morris has been able to stay healthy (knock on wood), which has been problematic for so many Bruins this season.

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Week 1: January 11^th – January 17^th

1-1-1         (3 points)

–January 13^th- @ Anaheim Ducks (L, 3-4)

–January 14^th- @ San Jose Sharks (W, 2-1)

–January 16^th- @ LA Kings (O, 3-4)

First Star- Zdeno Chara (1 G, 8 Shots, shootout game winner on Thursday night)

• Big Z provided the highlight of the road trip, with his blast from the slot to defeat the Sharks in a shootout on Thursday night; that cannonade earned him this honor.  Chara also played well the previous night in a losing effort to the Ducks though, blasting one past Jonas Hiller and tallying 5 shots on goal.  Also, Chara unsurprisingly logged 81:25 of ice time, most on the team.  The fact that Big Z has remained healthy (knock on wood) and continues to play effectively in big minutes is the reason he is the captain of this team and the first star in the inaugural week of “Best of Causeway.”

Second Star- Miroslav Satan (1 G, 1 A, 2 P, +1, 6 shots)

• This was a tossup between Satan and Ryder.  I elected to go with Satan for two reasons.  First, despite being a relatively new Bruin, Satan has fit into this team quite well.  For this, he deserves to be recognized, and what better way to be recognized than being named one of the “Best of Causeway” in its inaugural week.  With three points in seven games, it is evident that Satan still has some left in the tank.  As a matter of fact, Satan has not only been asked to step in and produce right away, but he has logged some serious minutes in the process.  These solid minutes, many of which have come on the powerplay, is further verification that he deserves this week’s second star.

Third Star- Adam McQuaid ( +1, 10 PIM, 2 fighting majors)

• During a stretch of games when intensity was a must-have, the rookie provided it.  Though McQuaid has only 8 games under his belt this season and has yet to tally a point, the 23-year-old defenseman understands that tough and physical play will earn you a lot of respect on this team.  Wednesday night, McQuaid took on Troy Bodie of the Ducks early in the first period.  On Saturday, he dropped the gloves early in the first period again, mixing it up with Brandon Segal of the Kings.  In a week where no player really stood above the rest, McQuaid’s toughness earns him the third star.