The Boston Bruins have the second and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot at the Olympic break. Surprisingly, the Black and Gold are where they are in the standings. For them to be there, they have had a lot of players overachieve in their roles.
One of those players who has been a surprise in terms of production is Alex Steeves. He was signed as a free agent last summer after the Toronto Maple Leafs let him walk. He came up in November and has scored nine goals and dished out seven assists. He scored in his first game against the Maple Leafs. However, the Saint Paul, Minnesota native enjoyed his break, but also watched the Olympics from home.
Bruins forward Alex Steeves has enjoyed watching the Olympics
The games at the Olympics have been tremendous, and it was a great day on Wednesday of quarterfinal round action. The semifinals on Friday could be even better. As far as Steeves goes, he's been glued to the TV.
“Couldn’t stop watching,” Steeves said of the Olympics. “All I know is if Canada and U.S. play in the final, I am going to have a heart attack if it goes to overtime. Because yesterday I was on edge, for sure. Cheering for the U.S. boys to bring it home.”
Steeves isn't alone in not being able to stop watching. Who could blame him? It's been tremendous theatre. Boston has four players in the semifinals with a chance to medal. Joonas Korpisalo and Henri Jokiharju are with Finland, who have the tough task of playing Canada and former Bruins captain Brad Marchand. Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman will be part of Team USA playing Slovakia in the other semifinal.
One thing can be assured: if the Bruins are at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday practicing, the games will be on all over the place, and Steeves will be paying close attention.