In a series that was initially billed to be a goaltender’s duel, there sure have been a lot of goals scored in the Eastern Conference Final. With Dwayne Roloson and Tim Thomas showcasing styles about as far removed from your standard butterfly goaltender as you can get, the Bruins and Bolts have seemingly taken this as a cue to play 80′s-style hockey. 41 goals have been scored in their 6-game series. 41!

Wednesday’s spirited affair saw the Bruins fall just short of a stunning comeback, as the Tampa Bay Lightning forced a Game 7 back in Boston. This means the Canucks will need to wait for the results of tonight’s match-up to see who their Stanley Cup Final opponent will be.

But which team would be a better opponent for the Canucks to face? PITB investigates, in another segment of This Guy or This Guy.

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Reasons to want Tampa Bay to win tonight are marked with their logo and vice versa.

Tim Thomas has been stunning, leading all goalies who have played more than one round in save percentage.

Tim Thomas has a tendency to overplay the initial shot, leaving the net wide open if the player with the puck is somehow capable of making incredible passes through a goalie’s legs. Good thing for him that no one in the NHL can do that.

Tim Thomas has a 3-0 record against the Canucks in his career, has 2 shutouts and has only allowed 1 goal against. That gives him a 0.33 GAA and .990 SV%.

This save percentage is somewhat inflated by the fact that a number of those shots were taken by Lukas Krajicek, Steve Bernier, Jason Krog, Taylor Pyatt, Josh Green, and Jan Bulis.

Martin St. Louis is the second leading scorer in the playoffs, with 20 points in 17 games.

Martin St. Louis also has the worst plus/minus of the playoffs at -8. Imagine if he had a twin brother with whom one could combine his plus/minus rating.

The Lightning are coached by a Bond villain.

The media will love that. Unlike tight-lipped Alain Vigneault, Boucher — like most Bond villains — will explain his entire plan before leaving the room.

The Lightning have the best 5’8″ player in the NHL.

The Bruins have the best 6’9″ player in the NHL.

The Bruins are an original six franchise with a storied history of playoff success.

All of those stories come from so long ago, the last Bruins team to bring the cup to Massachusetts celebrated by burning a witch.

With the final round set to go well into June, the ice in Tampa Bay may become a slushy mess.

A Slushie in the Florida sun sounds really good right now.

Dwayne Roloson has a reputation for clutch goaltending in the playoffs.

Much of that reputation comes from his 2006 run with the Oilers, where players were a lot more reluctant to challenge him after Chris Pronger stomped on their calves.

Plus, if Roloson’s Celebrex runs out, he won’t be nearly as effective.

On second thought, it’s pretty easy to get a prescription refilled in Vancouver.

Tampa Bay is second in the playoffs in penalty kill percentage at a stunning 92.3%.

They’ve been able to pad that percentage against the woeful Boston powerplay: the team ahead of the Lightning is the Montreal Canadiens, with a 100% penalty kill rating from their first round against the Bruins.

Speaking of, Boston’s special teams are absolutely awful, with an 8.2% success rate on the powerplay.

The Bruins more than make up for it at even-strength, where they have been dominant. They’d likely do better on the powerplay if Tomas Kaberle had a tea-party with Tim Thomas while the rest of the team played 4-on-4.

Zdeno Chara is probably the only defenseman tall enough to knock down Henrik Sedin’s saucer passes.

Zdeno Chara may be demoralized when he learns Kesler’s half-naked photoshoot turned out better than his.

All you have to do to shut down Vincent LeCavalier is suggest he’s about be traded to Montreal.

All you have to do to shut down Brad Marchand is suggest Dr. Claw and M.A.D. Cat are up to no good, and he’ll sprout a helicopter out of his helmet and fly out the door. Joke explained: Marchand is Inspector Gadget.

It will be good to see Matthias Ohlund again, not only because he’s a former Canuck, but also because he hasn’t gotten any faster.

Tanner Glass should make short work of the the Bruins’ mascot.

Placed in opposition to Zdeno Chara, the Canucks will finally be able gain the support of at least part of Eastern Canada.

That part of Eastern Canada also supported NDP candidates who seemed to barely be aware they were running in an election.

A behind-the-net collision between Raffi Torres and Steve Downie could cause Colin Campbell’s head to explode.

A behind-the-net collision between Raffi Torres and Gregory Campbell could cause Colin Campbell to suspend the Canucks for the rest of the playoffs.

The involved Vancouver media may exhaust the Lightning, who aren’t used to anyone but Damian Cristodero showing up for their media scrums.

It may be hard for Milan Lucic to move around the ice with the entire Vancouver media kissing his ass.

Tampa Bay’s 1-3-1 system will  be a cakewalk after Nashville’s 0-5-0 system.

Pfft. The city of Boston never wins anything.

 

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10 comments

  1. peanutflower
    May 27, 2011

    Imagine waking up to a brand new fresh PITB! You guys are great! OMG Chara half naked! who knew? I thought he was ugly before. Oh, wait, he is still ugly, but just his face. I’ll take Kes any day when he’s smiling. That’s about as juvenile and LG a post as I could come up with this morning.

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  2. peanutflower
    May 27, 2011

    Oh, and it seems like it really doesn’t matter who the Canucks face according to your list. Who cares anyway? The Canucks will just adapt and move on.

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  3. johnny
    May 27, 2011

    I enjoy how in the boxscore you linked to Andrew Alberts played 24:25 minutes for Boston.

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  4. J21
    May 27, 2011

    41 goals have been scored in their 6-game series. 41

    A reflection of how hard it is to score in the NHL now that this is a big deal… Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe for the ’93 Cup in which pretty much every single game was 4-3 in overtime.

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  5. PeeCeeGee
    May 27, 2011

    Wouldnt the point about Downie / Torres be a reason to play the Lightning?

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    • Daniel Wagner
      May 27, 2011

      Strange as it may seem, we’re actually against making people’s heads literally explode.

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      • Harrison Mooney
        May 27, 2011

        Speak for yourself.

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  6. Darryl Edestrand
    May 28, 2011

    High-Larry-US! So are you overall happy to be hosting the Bruins?
    One correction though … it’s a common misconception that we ever burned witches in Mass. We would hang them. Sometimes they would drown before the hanging. And in one case, crushed a guy under stones because he wouldn’t confess or deny the charges. Although he is to be commended if not out right admired for his last words, “More weight.” It kind of gives you a perspective of Boston sports fans. GAME ON!
    http://www.cracked.com/article_16354_the-11-most-badass-last-words-ever-uttered.html#8

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  7. dpon
    May 30, 2011

    city of boston never wins anything!!!!!!! you obviously dont know your sports. in the last ten years we won 3 superbowls, 2 world series and one nba title. tell me please what has vancouver won. your a joke!!!

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    • Daniel Wagner
      May 30, 2011

      Someone didn’t click the link on that one…

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