Joe Haggerty is joined today by Mark Divver and Mick Colageo following a convincing Bruins win against Ottawa. But as the playoffs approach, who shoud the Bruins hope to avoid in the first round? Joe, Mark, and Mick discuss that, and much more!
This episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast is brought to you by PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
This episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast is brought to you by PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
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00:00 But, you know, I think with players like Pasta Mark, you've got to take the good with the
00:05 bad.
00:06 You've got to take the sort of turnovers or the plays that don't work out every once in
00:09 a while for the nights like last night where he just, you know, throws the team on his
00:13 shoulders and scores three goals.
00:15 And to Mick's point, is able to score 50 goals this year on a team that's, I think, significantly
00:20 less offensive talented than the 60 goal season he put up last year.
00:24 Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast.
00:32 As always, I'm your host Joe Hagerty.
00:34 You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com.
00:39 Sign up for a premium membership and you will get all of my Bruins and NHL writing sent
00:43 straight directly to your inbox.
00:45 I also write columns after every Bruins game for Boston Sports Journal.
00:49 So check out bostonsportsjournal.com and check out all the good stuff there.
00:53 As always, Pucks with Hags is powered by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the
00:59 CLNS Media Network.
01:00 Today I'm joined by Mark Diver from the New England Hockey Journal.
01:03 Mark, how's it going, bud?
01:05 It's going good, Joe.
01:06 How about you?
01:07 Excellent.
01:08 You know, just cranking along here.
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02:09 All right.
02:10 Hot off, 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
02:17 I got to say, Mark, lately I've really liked how the Bruins have picked up their game against
02:24 the sort of lesser opponents in the league.
02:28 From the NHL All-Star break, it seemed like they went a month and if they were playing
02:32 a team that was out of the playoffs, you were getting kind of an envelope and a bunch of
02:36 stamps and kind of a mailed in effort from them that wasn't them, wasn't indicative of
02:41 the way that they've played most of the year and was kind of tough to watch as they were
02:45 slogging through February.
02:49 That's a solid 6-2 win on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators team, obviously not going
02:54 to the playoffs where they just looked very solid all around.
02:57 - Yeah, I agree.
02:59 And I like, it seems like things have solidified a bit since the trade deadline.
03:06 You know, I think the peak, the kind of under the radar peak acquisition, it was, is turning
03:14 out to be a good one.
03:15 Now it's only been a handful of games, but you know, I'm ready to give credit to the
03:22 Bruins pro scouting department once again for finding the guy that people say, well,
03:28 look at his numbers in Columbus, he hardly plays, but in actuality, he's a solid player
03:34 in a different kind of system.
03:37 And then the fourth line, you know, Brazzo, Boquist, Beecher on any given night, you know,
03:45 very good last night and for several games now.
03:50 So I think that's solidified the lineup.
03:52 Jake DeBrusque has a little spark knowing that he's not going anywhere for the time
03:59 being.
04:00 So yeah, it's been good.
04:03 It's been good.
04:04 And you know, it's the home stretch here.
04:07 They got to get their, their act together here going into, into the postseason.
04:11 Yeah, I would say DeBrusque, Matt Grislik, Lena Selmark.
04:16 I think all the guys that we talked about as potentially moving at the trade deadline
04:20 or being looked at as players that might have to move to create salary cap space.
04:25 I think they've all played pretty well since the trade deadline with that kind of confidence,
04:30 knowing that they're going to be here and that they didn't end up getting moved and
04:33 that sort of stress and anxiety removed, you know, from the equation.
04:38 I look at all of them as players that look like they're playing a much more relaxed themselves
04:44 version of their game since the trade deadline.
04:47 Yeah.
04:48 Yeah.
04:49 And you know, this next game is you know, a test, obviously the Rangers, one of the
04:55 top teams and a team that you know, the Bruins might have to go through to get, you know,
05:02 to advance in the postseason down the road.
05:05 You know, they're not the Ottawa senators, that's for sure.
05:09 So it'll be a fun one.
05:11 It should be a fun one on Thursday night.
05:13 It should be.
05:14 And I'm glad the Bruins are playing at a good high level now going into that game.
05:19 I'm glad that you mentioned Andrew Peake, cause I thought he was he's been solid and
05:23 I thought he was excellent in that game against Ottawa.
05:28 He put a lick on Brady Kachuk at one point in that game, really put a body on him.
05:34 He was making it really unpleasant to get around the net.
05:37 He took an interference penalty, but I didn't even think that was a penalty and I was totally
05:41 okay with exactly what happened on that play.
05:45 Like he looks like the kind of player that doesn't mind making it tough if you're going
05:50 to try to go around the Bruins net, plays up to his size and strength and isn't afraid
05:55 to mix it up.
05:57 And you know, I know some people in Columbus were talking about like Peake was going to
06:01 get bought out of his contract up there.
06:04 Like, you know, they were like high-fiving each other over getting a third round pick
06:07 for him.
06:08 But like, I think I agree with you and I said it at the time when they made the trade, like
06:12 I have total faith at this point in the advanced scouts for the Bruins, the NHL scouts for
06:17 the Bruins, that when they see guys like this, they see something where the guy is going
06:22 to work in the Bruins system or with the Bruins coaching staff where they're going to be able
06:26 to make something of that player and certainly make them useful.
06:30 And we've seen it over and over again.
06:31 Like all the guys, you know, the guys that are on the fourth line, the Boakvists and
06:36 the Breaux of the world, Anthony Richard when he was up, like the players that they go out
06:41 and get from other organizations, they come in and they do really well with the Bruins.
06:47 And it seems like over and over again, they target the right players and they find a good
06:51 fit for the Bruins system.
06:53 Yeah.
06:54 And it helps that the Bruins have a structure that other teams don't necessarily have.
07:01 And that helps a guy like peak who doesn't have to, doesn't have to, you know, do too
07:07 much.
07:08 You know, just play within the, somebody put it to me a while ago about about Watherspoon
07:17 stay within the guardrails.
07:18 Right.
07:19 Stay within the guardrails, you know, don't don't veer off unnecessarily.
07:25 If you do that in the Bruins system, you know, that works for a lot of guys.
07:31 Two goals last night for Justin Brezow.
07:36 You know, it continues and he's, he could have more.
07:38 He had one call back recently in a game.
07:41 He's had some really good chances.
07:42 I think consistently he's had pretty good chances around the net.
07:46 And really like when you watch him play for a little while, you get an appreciation for
07:50 who and what he is and that he doesn't really, I think, have a lot of misunderstanding about
07:55 who and what he is.
07:56 He's like the classic, he's got the classic big man's game around the net, you know, try
08:00 to get it to the net.
08:02 You make those couple of quick stick moves that he prayed like that one stick move where
08:06 he goes, you know, backhand forehand and then, and shoots right away in front of the net
08:11 and makes that move from the side of the net.
08:13 He probably, he must have been practicing that for the last 10 or 15 years.
08:16 It just feels automatic when he does it.
08:20 It seems like he practiced the exact right things and he's perfected the right things
08:24 that he has to in order to be effective at the NHL level.
08:27 And like he gets to the front of the net and he's able to stay there because he's massive.
08:32 And you know, teams are not being able to get him out of the way right now.
08:35 And it, to the point where, you know, the Bruins put him on the net front on the power
08:39 play and he scored a goal last night in that situation.
08:41 That's a lot of confidence in a fourth liner to sort of put him in that role.
08:45 And it looks like, you know, it's funny watching him with JVR.
08:48 They're obviously different kinds of players, but he has a lot of the same kind of sort
08:52 of low post or low, low net moves.
08:54 The JVR does as far as what he does with the stick and the little, the little plays that
08:58 he makes.
08:59 Yeah.
09:00 And you know, the, the, the backhand forehand at the net, you know, if you, if you watch
09:06 Providence the last few years, you saw that at least twice a game from him around the
09:12 net.
09:13 Now, you know, it doesn't go in every time and go after, it doesn't take long for goalies
09:18 to realize what's coming.
09:20 They know, they know what he's going to do, but you know, it's a solid play at the net.
09:28 And you know, he was always a guy who stayed out a long time after practice, practicing
09:34 tips and plays around the net.
09:37 But one thing I think that really stands him in good stead is that he's an older guy.
09:43 He's mature.
09:44 He's not, he's not living and dying with every shift.
09:49 And if the coach gives him a dirty look after one shift, you know, he's not, he's not taking
09:57 that to heart too much.
09:58 He's a mature guy.
10:00 He knows, you know, after he's had some time in pro hockey here, he knows that, you know,
10:08 keep your nose to the grindstone, do what you do.
10:13 Just keep consistently trying to work at what you're good at and things will work out for
10:21 you.
10:22 And it's happening right before our eyes here.
10:24 It's funny too, when he was first brought up and like, you know, the people that sort
10:31 of pretend like they know everything that's going on with the Bruins organization would
10:36 talk about how slow he was and how this isn't an NHL skater and, you know, kind of ripping
10:42 the, the con him signing the contract and all that other stuff.
10:45 And it's like, you know, obviously a guy that's six foot five and well over 200 pounds is
10:50 not going to be Jesper Bokevis like flying up and down the ice, Johnny Beecher, like
10:55 flying up and down the ice and show in with breathtaking speed.
10:59 But I think he's shown the ability to keep pace, which is all he has to do, uh, given
11:04 what he brings to the table, because like those kinds of guys that are speed guys are
11:08 not going to be able to do what he does camping around the net, carving out space, winning
11:13 battles.
11:14 Like, you know, the first goal that he scored, he went so hard to the net that he knocked
11:18 Ryan Suter stick out of his hands and went flying up in the air.
11:21 Like that told me all I needed to know right then and there, when he was able to do that
11:24 to a guy that's, you know, uh, an NHL pro for a long time, one of the best defense,
11:29 but it has been for a while, uh, to be able to do that to a guy like that lets you know
11:33 how hard he is going to the net and how strong he is.
11:36 And, you know, he, he's more than adequate speed wise to play the kind of game that he
11:41 is.
11:42 Yeah.
11:43 And, and, and, you know, before he, uh, before they made that move and signed him, uh, I
11:48 had a couple of pro, uh, scout types say to me that, you know, if he's as fast or faster
11:57 than JVR, right.
11:59 You know?
12:00 So it looks different because of the size and, you know, guys, uh, guys that are that
12:05 big don't have, uh, you know, a skating stride that, that jumps out like, like a bowl quest
12:12 or right here, but, uh, he gets there, he gets there.
12:16 That's the important thing.
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13:18 Hat trick for David Pasternak last night.
13:20 Pretty funny.
13:21 Uh, that bear hat that he picked up after the game was over.
13:25 Uh, and I guess apparently it was cool.
13:27 He talked about how, um, the fans came down to the bench after the game was over and he
13:32 gave them a stick.
13:33 Uh, whoever threw that bear hat on the ice, cause that must've been pretty, uh, that must've
13:37 been an accomplishment and a little bit of a project to get that over the glass and onto
13:41 the ice.
13:42 I can't imagine how that, uh, the mechanics of that happened.
13:44 Um, but it was pretty funny to see that.
13:47 Um, David Pasternak now looks like he's probably going to get to 50 goals again this year for
13:52 the second straight year.
13:53 And then last night, uh, one of the goals that he scored, uh, passes Cam Neely on the
13:58 franchise all time, uh, goal scored list.
14:01 And it's funny, we had that, uh, centennial committee at the start of the year and talked
14:06 about the centennial team and all that stuff.
14:09 And I remember getting a lot of pushback for Pasternak being on that centennial team because
14:15 people thought he was too young.
14:17 Uh, his career was midstream.
14:19 Like you know, he doesn't accomplished enough yet as compared to some other players.
14:23 Um, you know, it, it, he doesn't really deserve to be on there.
14:27 That was some people's take.
14:28 Um, and like when you start passing and you saw this coming at the beginning of the year,
14:34 you know, obviously he's one of the elite scorers in the league, one of the elite scorers
14:37 in Bruins history, you know, up there with the Espos, Rick Middleton's guys like that,
14:42 that, uh, you know, were, were pure goal scorers.
14:44 Um, but you know, when you're passing guys like Cam Neely, hall of famers on all time
14:49 franchise goal list for the Bruins and doing things like that, clearly you obviously belong,
14:54 uh, to be on that kind of a list.
14:57 Uh, and you know, certainly I think he belongs to be, uh, in the heart trophy conversation
15:02 along with a lot of other players this year.
15:04 Yeah, I agree.
15:06 Uh, I mean, he's just, uh, he's just so much fun to watch.
15:10 Uh, you know, and, and, you know, after the game, he puts on that bear thing and, you
15:17 know, this pictures go out, you know, it's, it's great.
15:20 It's entertainment, right?
15:22 That's what we're, uh, that's what we come, come to see is, uh, is, is the entertainment
15:28 value when he certainly, uh, he delivers that.
15:32 And, uh, you know, the bear thing, I mean, who, uh, you know, you, you love Bruins fans,
15:40 right?
15:41 Because you never know what you're going to see at a game, but who comes to the game where
15:44 that thing, you know, if I, if you're saying, I tell you, Mark, I heard from my inside sources
15:52 that it was somebody from Stoneham, which is the town that I'm from.
15:55 So it kind of explains a lot that somebody from Stoneham was able to sneak that bear
15:59 hat.
16:00 All right.
16:01 Well, there you go.
16:02 Throw it on the, uh, the first thing I thought it was that Seinfeld episode where putty comes
16:07 with the fur coat and, uh, and Elaine introduces him as Dr. Zayas from the planet of the apes.
16:18 That's my, that was my first thought.
16:20 I thought it was a fur coat too.
16:22 When I first saw it tossed on the ice, I didn't know what the hell it was a bear pelt or a
16:26 fur coat or what the heck was going on there.
16:28 But as soon as you saw it on the ice, you're like, oh, all right, 88 is going to go find
16:32 that and he's going to make, make, uh, make this a fun moment.
16:35 Uh, Mick, we're talking about Pasternak and, uh, Mick Colaggio, actually Mick, why don't
16:40 you just plug everything real quick, uh, tell everybody where they can get your work and
16:44 then we'll get right into it.
16:46 Sure.
16:47 Um, I, I blog at home games, uh, Rick Rapp.
16:50 I, I link it to X Twitter.
16:52 Um, I can be seen in the hockey news, seasonal issues on, um, prospects, future watch money,
16:59 power yearbook, and I read in the Bruins end of it.
17:04 And I also read a Sunday call up of Austin hockey now.com.
17:06 Awesome.
17:07 Uh, and thank you for joining us as always.
17:10 Mick Colaggio, uh, just pasta the hat trick last night.
17:14 No one timers, uh, scored the goals in different ways last night, uh, which, uh, I appreciated.
17:20 Uh, we were talking, I was talking just now about the centennial committee that we were
17:24 on Mick and how there was some pushback.
17:26 Some people didn't think pasta deserved to be on there.
17:29 It should be on there.
17:30 Uh, yeah.
17:31 And I, you know, he passes cam Neely on the franchise all time goals scored list last
17:36 night.
17:37 You know, that, that was one of the things that happened this year, but you could see
17:41 this stuff coming at the beginning of the year.
17:43 And I think when you kind of looked at the numbers he had put up, what he's going to
17:46 continue to do, I felt like he was a slam dunk to be on there.
17:50 When you start passing hall of famers on scoring lists, like you should absolutely be there.
17:54 Um, you know, just your thoughts on pasta this year, you know, career high and assist
18:00 this year seems to be making more plays than ever before as well.
18:04 In addition to scoring the goals, it looks like he's going to hit 50 goals, uh, again,
18:08 this year.
18:09 Um, just what you've seen out of him this season, any different than the past and what
18:14 you took of his performance last night.
18:16 Well, the last time we finished, he had made him a past against at Montreal.
18:20 That just blew my mind.
18:22 He, he, he weaved the puck through three players at like one mile an hour to Brad Marshan,
18:27 uh, who he saw with eyes that were in the back of his head.
18:31 And, uh, and, and then, but he has this other thing he does where he releases the puck at
18:39 whatever moment he decides as he whips it around from behind his body.
18:45 And he can do it slow.
18:46 He can do it fast.
18:47 He can decide it's a pass.
18:48 He can put it in any direction.
18:50 He keeps on inventing ways to score.
18:53 I remember thinking when pasta was a very young player that he's going to be probably
18:58 not because he's not blinding fast, that he's probably going to be more Yager or Alfredson
19:05 than he is, you know, more of a puck possession monster than he is a, you know, a Val, a Pablo
19:12 Beret or something.
19:14 So, uh, to watch him evolve into his own man and, and invent hockey up the ice as he goes,
19:23 Mark Savard invented hockey as he played Adam Oates invented hockey as he played past is
19:30 amazing and the way he invents the game as a player who creates shots, creates plays,
19:37 and he has to create more plays because, because with the Bruins down the amount of people
19:43 that they didn't have from last year, the starting point for any coach was, let's not
19:49 let this guy beat us.
19:50 It was almost like a basketball game and, and, and forced there.
19:54 And let's find out what the rest of them got.
19:57 First of all, don't let him beat you.
19:59 Well, he beats everybody anyway.
20:03 He still does it and, and he's having a big finish.
20:06 And yeah, I got the feeling as soon as I saw that he had a second goal last night, I wasn't
20:11 able to be a cover the game that, that he's gonna finish high, go get 50 anyway, which
20:19 is gonna be to me a bigger feat than getting 60 last season.
20:24 Historically, the 60 will stand out, but to me the 50 this year is a bigger deal in his
20:31 career knowing close up what he's been up against and how much people have tried to
20:37 hit him, discourage him, get on him, hack his hands.
20:41 And, and you know, and really, you know I've seen other great player, great talents, I
20:47 should say.
20:48 Wilt, I remember Rosie Ruzicka, you know, what a great talent he was.
20:55 But when that's kind of stuff happened to him, he complained to the refs and he went
21:00 away and he stopped being a good player.
21:02 And pasta, that hasn't been the case.
21:06 He's battled through and I feel a lot, you know, better about him being on, on the, on
21:13 the all time 20 than I did the day we sat down and do it because I was just constitutionally
21:19 against Lionel Hitchman not making the team.
21:22 That was my thing.
21:23 It wasn't anti-pasta as much as it was, this is wrong, we got to get this part right.
21:28 And that's why I wanted Dick Clapperhead forward.
21:31 But but that's that, that aside, good for pasta.
21:36 He's doing, he's really living up to his contract and he's, and he's playing to win.
21:42 And that's what you want to see from a guy who gets paid like he does.
21:45 Yeah.
21:46 And becoming more of a leader too.
21:48 I think more and more he's become a leader on that team.
21:50 And you know, you're absolutely right.
21:52 He's not, he's not a burner.
21:54 Like he's a good skater, but he's not like a speed burner by any means.
21:57 And that's not really where his offense comes from.
22:00 But like it comes from the creativity and it comes from the willingness to take risks
22:04 and be creative to make plays and take risks to make plays, which would all the great offensive
22:09 players do.
22:10 And that's why I don't get so worked up.
22:13 Like some people do on Twitter and Bruins fans, when you talk to them about some of
22:17 the turnovers and some of the plays that don't happen or blow up on them.
22:21 You know, obviously I think it's always a concern when the play, the power play rotation
22:27 turns into him at the high point all by himself.
22:31 You know, there are times when, when he's got the puck out there and that kind of a
22:34 situation where it turns into something just bad.
22:39 Like in you always, you know, you're, you're wondering, he's kind of walking that tight
22:42 rope when he's out there, you know, that risk element, that big risk element is always
22:46 there.
22:47 But you know, I think with players like pasta mark, you've got to take the good with the
22:52 bad.
22:53 You've got to take the sort of turnovers or the plays that don't work out every once in
22:56 a while for the nights like last night where he just, you know, throws the team on his
23:00 shoulders and scores three goals.
23:02 And to Mick's point is able to score 50 goals this year on a team that's, I think, significantly
23:07 less offensive talented than the 60 goal season he put up last year.
23:12 Yeah, you do.
23:14 You got to take the good with the bad and realize that there's a lot more good than
23:19 there is bad.
23:20 And you know you know, the playoffs will be a test as it always is.
23:28 You know, teams will will lock down on him even more and that will be you know, how he
23:38 responds to that and how the team responds to that will go a long way to deciding, you
23:44 know, how the season ends.
23:46 Yeah.
23:47 And we see that towards the end of the year too, right?
23:50 When they, the teams definitely start getting more physical too, with players like pasta
23:53 net, Marsha and really start pushing them around.
23:56 It's not as as gentlemanly as it can be for long stretches of the regular season where
24:01 you know, they're not taking runs at each other.
24:04 But I think you start to see that now for sure.
24:06 Kevin Shattenkirk good game last night.
24:09 I think notable game worth talking about three assists 16 minutes played his offside and
24:18 had been scratched for a game or two and comes back with a nice response there.
24:23 And I think performing like that on his offside, Mick, you know, gives him another sort of
24:30 like area to help out Jim Montgomery depth wise or, you know, making sure he can get
24:35 into the lineup at certain points when it comes playoff time, if that becomes an option
24:39 that they can use.
24:41 It is funny how I mean, here it comes, folks.
24:46 Peak performance by Shattenkirk.
24:49 He's obviously been a little a little motivated by the acquisition of a of a right shot who
24:55 comes much more in an Adam McQuaid type mode and then mold then then the way he plays is
25:03 completely different hockey widget, which gives Monty that kind of option as well as
25:07 what do we need against this team in this playoff series?
25:12 What do we need more of?
25:14 And and that allows because Shattenkirk, he is a mental wizard out there.
25:19 He just he's he's he's just such a skilled, skilled player that even at his advanced years
25:26 and and not being big, not being fast, he's crafty.
25:33 And and you know, if he's not getting overwhelmed defensively, that's the biggie as far as whether
25:40 or not he can sustain a spot in the lineup during a series.
25:43 But you know, you don't know.
25:45 Maybe you need more of what he's going to do.
25:47 But yeah, you're right.
25:48 He's got the skill to play the other side, too.
25:49 He's an improviser.
25:51 And that's who he's had to be throughout his whole career.
25:53 So I've really enjoyed appreciating Shattenkirk during this season.
25:58 I wouldn't have gone and gotten a player like him.
26:00 I would have been I would have been much more about getting a player like Peak to off the
26:04 off the hop.
26:05 But I'm glad they have the option.
26:08 And and good for good for Shattenkirk.
26:11 I hope this doesn't sideline Watherspoon going forward as the formula.
26:17 I hope that's not the default position.
26:19 I really think that kid has given them too much for them to to to, you know, put him
26:24 at the seven spot and cement it.
26:27 But I really I like I like I like what Shattenkirk his response games.
26:35 It was excellent.
26:36 Yeah, it was.
26:37 And, you know, Mark and I already talked a little bit about Andrew Peak off the top of
26:41 the show.
26:42 Definitely want to get your thoughts, too, really quickly.
26:46 But like we were, you know, impressed with what he's brought.
26:50 Certainly we gave kudos to the advance scouts with the Bruins, the NHL scouts that, you
26:56 know, saw something in him, the the people, the talent evaluators that looked at him and
27:00 thought in the Bruins system with the Bruins coaches, he'd be a really effective piece.
27:06 You know, I thought he was played great last night.
27:09 That might have been his best game.
27:11 Certainly I like the play where he set up Beecher for the goal, because it looked like
27:15 even making that kind of a play was something that wasn't even as advertised that he could
27:19 make that play, you know, coming here as far as what he could do offensively, you know,
27:24 chipping in every once in a while or making a play.
27:27 But, you know, threw a big hit on Brady Kachuk, had that play, which I didn't think was interference
27:31 at the net, but like looks like he's the kind of D that is going to make trying to get around
27:36 the net front a very unpleasant place for opponents to get to, which is, you know, exactly
27:40 the kind of player that they needed on the back end, a big, strong guy that plays with
27:45 a little bit of mean.
27:46 I know I've been I've been really kind of weary over this several years here of hearing
27:51 that a guy is a prototypical Bruin.
27:54 And I'm thinking, how many prototypical Bruins do the Bruins have?
27:58 And they need more prototypical Bruins.
28:00 Ironically, they've been a team without enough prototypical Bruins when it comes to the playoffs
28:05 and in front of either net.
28:07 And it's nice to see them inch their way forward here.
28:11 I would have been more appreciated something more dramatic.
28:15 But this is but right now, beggars can't be choosers.
28:19 I'm happy to see him.
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29:42 Playoff opponents.
29:44 It's still undecided as to who the Bruins are going to get.
29:48 They jostle back and forth in first place in the Atlantic Division with Florida.
29:53 There's still quite a few Eastern Conference teams that are, you know, in shouting distance
29:57 of of a wild card spot, which is, you know, obviously where the Bruins could end up playing
30:03 if they end up first overall in the east.
30:06 So Mark, what Toronto, Tampa Islanders, Detroit Capitals Flyers, those seem to be the teams
30:14 right now that, you know, might be in the mix depending on how things go.
30:21 Who do you think the Bruins should fear the most of all those teams?
30:24 Who do you think would be the favorable matchups of those teams in a first round potential
30:31 first round series with the Bruins?
30:33 Well, I don't know if I would fear Tampa, but I wouldn't want to play Tampa.
30:39 They got too many.
30:41 Too many great players there.
30:44 Some of them on the you know.
30:47 Some of them maybe obviously on the not on the downside, but in the second half of their
30:53 careers with the twilight of their careers, as they say, yeah, yeah, with a lot of playoff
30:59 miles on them.
31:02 But in the first round series, I wouldn't want to face, you know, Stamkos and, you know,
31:09 Kucharov for God's sake.
31:11 He's not he's not in the on the downside of his career, that's for sure.
31:15 But right.
31:16 And, you know, a very well coached team.
31:20 I wouldn't want anything to do with them.
31:22 Not a great goalie.
31:23 Veselevsky to goalie.
31:24 Yeah, yeah.
31:25 And they got on that team now.
31:30 Yeah.
31:31 And Veselevsky, you know, missed a lot of time with an injury.
31:34 So he's not going to be the fatigue factor that sometimes you hit in the playoffs at
31:39 the end of a long season.
31:40 Yeah, he's had time off, you know, rehabbing.
31:43 So there's that.
31:47 I think the team you want to play is is Toronto.
31:51 It'll always be Toronto.
31:56 Until they prove that they can rise to the occasion.
32:00 The Leafs, that is.
32:01 Yes, I think that's who you want to play.
32:03 And they, you know.
32:08 You watch the game last night and I didn't watch all of it, but, you know, Samsonov didn't
32:14 look good in the net.
32:15 They still have that goalie thing that that they that they don't have.
32:20 Yep.
32:21 And their D is, you know.
32:25 Their D is not where it ought to be, you know, because of their top heavy salaries of their
32:34 forwards.
32:35 They just can't afford to do it.
32:36 And, you know, that's it's an old story there.
32:40 But, you know, Toronto's the team.
32:43 If you're the Bruins, Toronto's the team you want to play.
32:45 I don't think there's any question.
32:47 Yeah, it's funny.
32:48 I was on TSN radio station up in Ottawa yesterday before the game, and they were asking me about,
32:54 you know, if the Bruins were trying to avoid playing Toronto in the first round of the
32:59 playoffs.
33:00 And I was like, I don't think so.
33:02 I think that's actually the one they'd be looking at and say, I think we'll be good
33:06 with that one, especially, you know, same old, same old when they played them like twice
33:11 in what, five or six days or whatever it was.
33:13 I beat them four to one, both there and at home.
33:18 And it, you know, it looks like the same old formula for them.
33:22 They're, you know, defense is average at best.
33:24 They certainly don't have a shutdown D that is going to like, you know, a number one shutdown
33:29 D that's going to like put the fear of God into you.
33:31 Like they build around run and gun, score a lot of goals, regular season points, you
33:37 know, get Austin Matthews 70 million goals.
33:42 You know, Marner Matthews, Nylander, all good players, Tavares too.
33:45 And Morgan Riley's a good defenseman, offensive defense, two way defenseman, but offensive
33:49 defensemen, but they don't have the goaltending and defense to be built for playoff success.
33:56 They just don't.
33:57 And that is the longstanding legacy of boy genius.
34:00 Kyle Dubas, even after he left was signing all those guys to massive contracts before
34:05 they won anything before they even won a playoff series, you know, showing them all the money
34:10 and sort of building around them as the core four that they like to call them up in the
34:15 Toronto media that hasn't done Jack in the post.
34:19 And I went to Pittsburgh and double down there with signing Eric Carlson, adding him to that
34:25 aging core.
34:26 What a huge risk that was, but a terrible mistake, it seems.
34:32 So yeah, I agree.
34:34 But the one thing I'll say is I think the layer Bush can addition to their defense is
34:41 going to subtly solidify it.
34:44 And Riley's a lot better defensively than he used to be.
34:47 Yes.
34:48 If Giordano is healthy, he even at 100 years old, I think he's a centurion now.
34:56 He's pretty tough around his own net.
34:58 I train, he's pretty skilled.
35:01 I don't know.
35:02 I'm not feeling it.
35:03 I'm sort of feeling a little Bruins Canadians 80s here about this whole thing and that and
35:08 that Toronto's talent is finally going to reverse this thing.
35:13 And this might be the year.
35:15 So I'm not I'm not really angling toward that.
35:17 But I agree 100% about avoiding Tampa.
35:20 I'm not afraid at all the Islanders anymore.
35:25 You got to show up.
35:26 Obviously, we just saw that.
35:29 And and the Flyers are the Flyers.
35:33 They're building towards something, but it's too soon.
35:36 Yeah, yeah.
35:38 But I'm not I'm really not on board with you guys about about the Toronto thing.
35:43 I might be you might be laughing at me when it happens.
35:48 Because I mean, I agree with you about the goaltending question.
35:52 Until it until it is it isn't.
35:55 But but something tells me that that's a powder keg there that finally is going to change.
36:00 I mean, they got over the hump last year and beat Tampa in the first round.
36:04 And then, you know, obviously felt the Florida more decisively than the Bruins did.
36:10 So yeah, I'm just I'm just feeling like this can't last forever.
36:15 Well, and the other part of the equation to make is that the Bruins aren't exactly like
36:20 an infallible like juggernaut like they were last year, even if they finish first in the
36:26 division going into the playoffs.
36:28 You know, when it comes to beating any of the like if they don't like bring it like
36:32 they have to bring it in the in the playoffs right off the get go in the start and play
36:37 their best hockey and, you know, show what they've shown in the best spurts this season.
36:42 Like I also think any of those teams could beat them in the playoffs.
36:45 Flyers, Capitals, Red Wings, Islanders, Lightning or Maple Leafs.
36:49 You know, I don't I don't I don't hold them as is this, you know, number one seed potentially
36:56 that's going to like just, you know, take care of any of these teams in four or five
37:01 games and the series.
37:02 I think they're going to be long drawn out battles in all these playoff series that the
37:06 Bruins have, because I think there's some things on their their roster and their makeup
37:12 that other teams are going to be able to exploit when it comes to postseason.
37:16 Bruins might use 35 players in these playoffs.
37:19 Well, that's why, you know, when you talked about the best is good.
37:22 When you talk about defensemen and like, you know, hoping Weatherspoon gets in and Shattenkirk
37:27 gets in and all that stuff like the war of attrition with defensemen, like they're all
37:31 going to play.
37:32 I have no doubt that all those guys are going to get some time down the stretch.
37:37 And then once the playoffs start and probably 15 forwards.
37:41 Yeah, exactly.
37:42 A little like the late eighties Bruins, Mick or Mark, anything, any thoughts on any of
37:48 the other teams besides Tampa and Toronto that I mentioned.
37:55 The Islanders, despite their personnel short, shortcomings Patrick, why?
38:03 And you know what he yeah, I could be able to bring.
38:06 That's true.
38:07 Makes me a little nervous.
38:09 Just a little bit.
38:10 Yeah.
38:11 You know, and then they have a goalie who was capable of heating up and and and stealing
38:19 a series, you know, although in the games I've watched recently, he's been kind of leaky.
38:25 But yeah, but you make it a great point, Mark, because Patrick, why just want the papers
38:30 and said that he's not pleased with Sirocco and that and that they've and so this has
38:35 been a conversation in New York.
38:38 And I think this is Patrick, why doing that thing?
38:42 He's he's taking an action here and being a goalie.
38:46 He understands how goalies think.
38:48 And so this is really interesting juncture right now for them, because if all of a sudden
38:54 Sirocco gets pissed off and catches fire here, then the Islanders, the whole way you look
39:00 at them changes.
39:01 Yeah.
39:02 I mean, he's when he's on top of his game, he's as good as anyone, you know.
39:07 And yeah, if if Patrick can light a fire under him, then then, you know, who knows who knows
39:15 what could happen?
39:16 Selfishly, I would just also have a lot of fun covering a first round series where either
39:21 Patrick or or John Tortorella was the other coach involved in the series.
39:27 Those are always fun.
39:28 And it adds a level of drama and intrigue and, you know, unexpected element to all the
39:34 press conferences and all the, you know, the the day to day availabilities and practice
39:39 and games in a two week series like that.
39:42 So I hope it's either one of them.
39:44 And it's a great point, Mark, about Patrick Roy, like him against the Bruins in a playoff
39:48 series like, yeah, how awesome would that be?
39:51 Yeah, it just it just makes you a little nervous.
39:55 Having seen what we've seen through the years as far as torts goes, you know, doesn't he
40:03 have to coach the Bruins at some point in his career?
40:06 Doesn't that have to happen?
40:08 I think so.
40:09 I used to think that about Peter Lovett, but we haven't seen either, have we?
40:14 I don't know.
40:15 Torts are down three times.
40:17 Torts is just so entertaining and so himself that, you know, the Bruins, not that I'm wishing
40:26 the Bruins hire coaches like that anymore, either, you know, like, I don't know that
40:31 they have Harrison and Harrison would have done it.
40:35 He would have.
40:36 No, they don't.
40:37 Yeah, definitely.
40:38 They don't.
40:39 But boy, that would be fun.
40:41 You know, if they I think the only way like a guy like that would get hired by Don Sweeney
40:46 is if they felt like it got so comfortable in that room that they needed to bring somebody
40:51 in that was an ass kicker to kind of, you know, make everybody uncomfortable.
40:57 Like and you know, that the stuff that you talked about with like, I don't know if it
41:01 was like a softer touch, but whatever the, I remember the talk when they went from Bruce
41:06 Bucci to Jim Montgomery, you know, and kind of a different messaging and a different approach.
41:12 Like if they had to like go the opposite route again and find something, go, you know, from
41:17 zero to 60 in the other direction and find somebody that was just going to come in and
41:20 be a drill sergeant type, you know, they may be, they may be towards would make sense,
41:25 but I have a hard time seeing Don Sweeney like saying, yeah, this is our man, John Tortorella,
41:30 the committed coach of the Bruins.
41:32 Yeah, it'll never happen.
41:33 It'll never happen.
41:35 But wouldn't it be great if it did?
41:37 It would be.
41:38 It would be tweet of the week from J semi 66.
41:44 Yes, Pasternak had a hard hat trick, but he, but the real question is, will Pasternak perform
41:52 in the playoffs?
41:53 I hope so because he has not been great come springtime.
41:57 Now I don't think this is necessarily fair, but like, has he been a guy that's gotten
42:04 a ton of hat tricks in the playoffs and has exploded in a series and taken it over?
42:09 No.
42:11 To a large degree, but he's still got 79 points in 77 playoff games.
42:16 If you're a point per game player in the playoffs, you're doing pretty well.
42:21 But this will be an interesting playoff, I think, opportunity coming up this spring for
42:26 Pasternak, given how well he's played in the last couple of years, given where he's at
42:32 in his stage of his career and his age, the stage is set for him to really have like a
42:37 superstar Stanley Cup playoff this spring and help carry this team if they're going
42:42 to get there.
42:43 Well, we are.
42:44 What's that?
42:45 So the Pasternak.
42:46 There's only one more playoff in his 20s after this.
42:55 Yeah.
42:56 You've been around a while.
43:02 I still think I'm looking at I'm looking I'm looking up his playoff stats here so I can
43:07 try to make an intelligent comment.
43:08 So that's what I came up with first.
43:10 Yeah.
43:11 79 points in 77 playoff games.
43:13 So like he's a point per game player in the playoffs.
43:17 He's got five goals in seven games last year.
43:19 Yeah.
43:20 Mark, what are you going to say?
43:22 Three and three against Carolina.
43:24 Seven eight and eleven games.
43:26 He was seven goals, eight assists against the Capitals and the Islanders.
43:31 And then 10 points under the bubble and 19 and 24.
43:36 18, he ripped it up, but he's been very good.
43:41 Yeah.
43:42 I don't get this.
43:43 Yeah.
43:44 Mark, I can't worry about not making any any bad, desperate attempts to make an offensive
43:50 play at the end of a shift and cost in them.
43:52 That's what worries me.
43:53 Yeah.
43:54 I worry about it a lot less than I used to.
43:56 Mark, what are you going to say?
43:58 I think that the the heat that pasta takes on the on the radio in the afternoon between
44:04 two and six skews.
44:07 Yeah.
44:08 Skews things a bit.
44:09 Yeah.
44:10 I mean, among the fan base, you know, it's not.
44:15 It's the sky isn't falling, you know, like some would portray it.
44:21 He's, you know, a point per game in the playoffs.
44:24 You know.
44:26 Who wouldn't take that?
44:27 So I think, yeah, he's got to obviously every year is a different year.
44:33 He's got to deliver this year.
44:34 But, you know, I think he takes too much heat for that.
44:38 And and I think a lot of it goes back to the criticism he takes on the airwaves in the
44:44 afternoon.
44:46 I think that's a great point, Mark, because I think the only way they generate heat when
44:49 they talk about the Bruins is by like, you know, criticizing Pasternak.
44:54 And, you know, last year, I think was right.
44:56 He was a 60 goal score and they were talking about taking him off the power play.
45:00 That was their big thing that Felger was talking about for long periods of time.
45:03 So, well, yeah, they should, you know, somebody says once a while.
45:08 He makes a mistake.
45:09 He needs to watch from the press box next.
45:12 Yeah, yeah, right.
45:14 There's a there's a, you know, there's a smart take.
45:19 Yeah.
45:20 Every NHL coach in this day and age knows if you put Pasternak in the press box, you're
45:24 going to be in the unemployment line looking for a job pretty soon afterwards if you're
45:27 a coach.
45:29 Yeah, that's the way it works in that league these days.
45:34 Mick Colaggio, Mark Diver, thank you very much for joining us.
45:37 I appreciate it.
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46:31 Thank you very much for joining me, boys.
46:33 Pleasure.
46:34 Thanks, Joe.
46:35 All right.
46:36 Thank you very much for listening.
46:37 We'll see you at the race.
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