What has 11 forwards, 7 defensemen, and supposedly played a game last night?
If you answered “a dumpster fire” you would be technically correct.
First of all, let’s admit the obvious: a back-to-back in the playoffs when they have no other events planned in the arena is stupid. There is a reason they space games to be every other day in the postseason (the level of play is elevated) and playing a back-to-back even without travel decreases that ability to play.
Secondly, when you lose by a goal in overtime, you do not need to re-invent the wheel. Bruce Cassidy was forced to take out Sean Kuraly (unfit to play) and decided to take Anders Bjork and Connor Clifton out of the lineup, replacing only one forward, Par Lindholm, and then running seven D; Jeremy Lauzon and John Moore joined the lineup. Even after replacing Jaroslav Halak after the fourth goal he let in, they still lost 7-1.
When he has young studs like Jack Studnicka and Karson Kuhlman, why he went with seven D is beyond me. I guess he wanted to give some of the older defensemen a break. It didn’t work.
Congratulations, Bruins: the Tampa power play found it’s mark and scored on you three times.
I’m done talking about this now.
On another note: while the NBA and MLB suspended play of some games due to players boycotting in protest in the latest shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man who was shot in the back seven times in Wisconsin, the NHL held a moment of reflection or whtever they called it. I was disappointed by it and I was not alone.
I understand there are some MLB and MLS games going on. But I know hockey and I don’t think there was any serious consideration about postponing games tonight. By the players or the league.
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) August 27, 2020
when a majority of the players probably dont care and the @NHL does the bare minimum this is what you get. The other leagues postponed today because the players hold the power and they chose action. When they dont care its business as usual which is sad. https://t.co/2KfKUP6PRC
— Tony X (@soIoucity) August 27, 2020
The Bruins technically decided to not play last night, so it’s a sort of boycott, I guess? (I joke. Perhaps I shouldn’t be.)
Bergeron on the Bruins playing tonight:
“Obviously we stand against any type of racism. My stance and our stance doesn’t change.
“I want to be part of the solution. There needs to be change. That’s where I’m at.
“It’s about human rights.”
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) August 27, 2020
Bergeron said he agrees with Matt Dumba saying that white players need to do more to combat racial injustice.
“I’m part of that. Z’s part of that. We need to find ways to be part of the solution.”
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) August 27, 2020
The truth is that while the NHL decided to dip their toes into the waters of equality for all and to pay only lip service by stating “Hockey is For Everyone”, doing literally nothing of consequence when racism rears it’s ugly head in society, it’s hard to want to support the league and it’s players. Racism isn’t dead and it affects nearly all communities all over the country, including their home cities, even in Canada. While no one player will end racism, players have a platform and can take a stand, perhaps influence some of their fans to get involved, and it takes off from there.
I’ll paraphrase a tweet from the Black Girl Hockey Club: we love hockey but we’re disappointed and want you to do better.
Morning all. Thank you for what you said, VA and you said it a lot better than my feeble brain could. Think I will continue to not watch the NHL because I can’t support this league when it’s clear they don’t give a shit about BIPOC and continue to make them do all the work in speaking out against racism.
Also been thinking a lot about this:
We take and take and take from BIPOC culture and give them no support in return.
Morning,
Exhausted yesterday – was in bed an hour before the game started! Glad I didn’t force myself to stay up for a period.
I had hoped the whole global pandemic thing would usher in an era of people looking out for each other more. Oh well!
Not so good morning,
Dumpster fire is too generous a term for the Bs effort last night. I have to agree, there was no need to tear up the line up and replace the energy of the young guys with “experience”. Studnicka
s absence was particularly annoying. That kid has been a breath of fresh air on this team. Anyway, forget about that game.t know. I feel itShould the games have been played? I don
s people, the public, that needs to act, not athletes. Athletes have proven over and over that they arent role models. I know this… our country is really fucked up right now. We all need to show up and advocate change, at the voting booth and in our everyday life. A nation divided against itself cannot stand…. at least not for long. Tough times ahead, my friends.Stripes, btw.
I think the most powerful statement that white players can make is to not play in solidarity with their fellow athletes of color. I get it, they’re not role models, but they still can be thoughtful and read the room.
You know who has actually been a surprise? Tyler Seguin. He’s not only “listened and learned”, he’s created a charity to have minority kids and cops spend time together, and put money behind his actions. He went to protests in Dallas. I think the best thing to happen to Seguin was to be traded from Boston.
As for the lineup last night: it’s almost as if the Bruins coaches either threw the game or were snorting rails before the game.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Dumba’s comments about how impactful it would be to have a white players stand up to racism as an example to white youth and how I really hope they do:
I just don’t foresee white players latching on to race issues and running with them. Half of these guys are immigrants from countries with completely different race problems, and the other half have lived in a bubble of privilege since they were teenagers. They aren’t “regular people”. They don’t interact with POC on the regular, they don’t understand the issues that most folks run into, they don’t have those uncomfortable interactions with police that would make them understand how those could go terribly off the rails for other folks.
It would be a good thing if they stepped up and added their voices to the crowd, but I don’t think it is realistic to expect it.
I did see that about Seguin. Brilliant. Good on him
Nope. I have it on good authority that Don Jr snorted all the rails of coke at the RNC. There aren’t any more.
We’ll all have to fall back on corn starch & bug spray from now on.