Dennis Seidenberg wouldn't mind starting one, the German Hammer is all about starting abusive long distance relationships with goalies. So is Andrew Ference. Adam McQuaid has had recent success finding paydirt while Johnny Boychuck and rookie Torey Krug and are dogs that will smack on anything......and let's not forget about Zdeno Chara, the big, surprisingly agile Czech with the sizzling snap shot.Though the Boston Bruins defensemen are known as physical head-bangers, it is their combined offensive skills that set them apart from the rest of professional hockey and what makes them so dangerous from anywhere in the attacking zone - or from anywhere on the ice for that matter.It is a familiar sight, seeing one of the Bruins' blue liners wind up from the top of the circle and fire a rocket towards the goal, and one has to marvel at their accuracy - and if the goalie is able to turn their shots away, the offensive philosophy dictates that everyone else crashes the net, creating a scrum.Crawford has a sensational goals against average of 1.74 and a save percentage of .935 but, as is almost always the case in sports, the stats don't tell his entire story. Take away the beating that Chicago put on the overmatched Minnesota Wild in the first round, and Crawford has given up 2.20 goals per game and has let two or more pucks get past him in eight of their last twelve games and has a record of 8-4 in that span.By contrast, Boston Netminder Tuukka Rask struggled in the first round against the Maple Leafs, giving up 18 goals in seven games and was hearing the chants for back up goalie Anton Khudobin, but quieted those voices by turning in and 8-1 record since - the only blemish and overtime loss in New York to the Rangers - allowing two or more goals just three times for a 1.40 goals against average.So with goaltenders expected to get stronger and have their teams' backs the deeper they get into the playoffs, Crawford appears to be headed in the wrong direction - which is definitely cause for concern against Boston, a team that has scored more goals in the tournament than any other.The Blackhawks will try to offset the imbalance with some decent defensemen of their own, though they are nowhere near as deep on the blue line as the Bruins.Duncan Keith - he of the "accidental" retaliatory high-stick to the face of Los Angeles Kings forward Jeff Carter for which he was suspended - and Brent Seabrook are top shelf defenders on the first pairing, while Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya team up for the second. The third pairing of defensemen have seen their minutes decrease steadily in the playoffs, Nick Leddy and Michal Rozsival contributing disappointing efforts......all of which has to have the all four lines of the Bruins salivating. The top line of David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic has been phenomenal, all logging double digits in points and Krejci proving himself to be a legitimate superstar with his scoring prowess and stellar two-way play - which is also the calling card for Patrice Bergeron on the second line. He and Brad Marchand have hooked up for scintillating game winners in the past two series......but it is the early April pickup Jaromir Jagr that the Blackhawks must be concerned with. He is a master on the forecheck and has unrivaled puck handling skills and, if history tells us anything about the 41 year old legend, he is due for a major scoring breakout.Tyler Seguin has been invisible for Boston in the playoffs, but he anchors a deceptively dangerous third line while Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly and tough guy Shawn Thornton are master disruptors on the Bruins' energy line. So deep are the Bruins on offense that 10 of their 12 forwards have three or more points in the post season.Where the Bruins fall short, but not by much, is on the power play - and like the Blackhawks, Boston has struggled to get anything going with the man advantage, and the fact that Chicago had the best penalty kill in the western conference this season shouldn't give Bruins' fans much hope for a breakthrough. On the bright side, with Jagr seeming to be hitting his stride, that could easily take a turn for the better.So, Corey Crawford has a big problem, along with the rest of his Blackhawk teammates, as the Bruins play with the style of a mean counter-puncher, absorbing their opponent's best shot, then returning the favor with brutal defense feeding into offensive opportunities.There's nothing fancy about what the Bruins do. There's no trickery, no real grace or subtlties. They win faceoffs, win battles on the boards and pepper the opposing goalie with a barrage of shots.The Bruins are bullies and can wear a team down with brute force, and unless Chicago coach Joel Quenneville can find some way to stem the tide, his charges are going to get abused by the bigger, more physical offensive-minded Boston defensemen......and there should be a parade in Boston in the next couple of weeks, say within 5 or 6 games, as the Bruins dump the Blackhawks like a bad habit.After all, isn't that how most long distance relationships end?Source:http://beantownbrutes.blogspot.com/2013/06/boston-bruins-on-paper-long-distance.html
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Photo Courtesy of Philip Wayne. Yes, that’s comedian Alonzo Bodden just hanging out at the Rock Store.A month ago, I took delivery of a 2013 Zero FX. My first impressions are here. It’s been a wonderful month, even as I’ve had to work hard to keep The Smug from blinding everyone around me. Well, putting in an 80-mile day on Sunday was a great way to temper The Smug. If you aren’t familiar with The Smug, please take a moment and familiarize yourself here in South Park. Granted, that episode aired way back in 2006 when lowly hybrid drivers could think they were cool. Not so anymore, now that pure EV’s are becoming almost as ubiquitous, and Tesla is profitable.Having plenty of time, I made plans with a riding buddy for a day in Malibu, my favorite way to spend a Sunday. I didn’t change my settings, keeping torque and top speed at max, and regen at 65%. But I tried to keep my speed below 70mph and tucked way down for improved aerodynamics for the 17 mile, mostly freeway ride to brunch at Sunset Blvd & the PCH. Thanks to all that conservative freeway riding (including drafting a van as long as I could) I used only about 35% of the charge. Plugged in at brunch for about an hour and left for the canyons with 73% charge.Oana rides a Yamaha WRX250 supermoto so we figured we’d have comparable bikes. The Zero FX has about twice as much horsepower and gobs more torque, but she’s much more experienced when it comes to riding supermoto bikes. This was my first time in the twisties on the FX so I was cautious. Supermoto bikes, with their softer suspension and more upright seating position, enable a much broader range of body positions than a 477 pound 177 horsepower rocketship. I had a hard time believing it really is OK to sit however you want, and essentially un-learn all the strict lessons I’ve internalized after a decade on R1′s. As you can see from my Cyclemeter route, the fun in the canyons was dramatically truncated (purple line indicates my usual route) due to needing to be back in Hollywood by 6PM. The Mile 19 average is where Cyclemeter decided I’d launched into hyperdrive and flown over the hill at 108 mph. Not possible on a bike with an indicated top speed of 85mph, which is actually closer to 75mph on radar, but amusing nonetheless.It felt great to be out in my favorite canyons on a motard, to have a bike far less likely to launch me over the cliff into oblivion for the slightest mistake. The coolest thing about motards is they’re so easy to ride and so forgiving. This was no different. I really want to go out and play in Malibu more often, but it will either take spending the night somewhere in the vicinity before and after or installing CHAdeMO nearby, and getting the $1800 upgrade. I’d totally do it if the Rock Store installed a station. What’s interesting is that I stumbled upon LA’s ONLY CHAdeMO station while sniffing out a new restaurant being built near where I work. Why waste time with half measures like J1772 when we could charge so much faster? Sure, home charging doesn’t need to be more than 110, but for places where we’re just passing through, it’s great to be able to charge fast.
LA’s first CHAdeMO station. Now, about Malibu, Blink…However, the bonus of having to hang around the Rock Store for a couple hours is that I ran into a lot of friends I hadn’t seen in months. I rode up with Oana, and didn’t subject her to waiting with me, then rode down to Malibu Country Mart with Christine & Emily on their Ducati superbikes. They were just enjoying a relaxing ride, so we didn’t set a blistering pace. I had about 20% when I arrived at the Rock Store, and about 35% when I left a couple hours later. The ride back was all downhill, and I knew I could make the 13 miles. I plugged in at Malibu Country Mart, having to park on the sidewalk in front of a store. The security guard asked me to move, then took a picture. After I explained that I couldn’t use the J1772 stations on this bike (which were actually full of pure electric cars today!), he said he’d tell his wife, who’s a big advocate for getting more charging stations into the Mart.After a leisurely lunch, we took off down Sunset Blvd back into town. Except the pace was a bit much for the ~30% of charge I had left, so I barely made it to the next outlet 23 miles away where the bike refused to continue. I knew Everleigh restaurant used to let Brandon and Harlan plug in out front, but that has changed. So I limped through Sunset Plaza desperately seeking an outdoor outlet. I asked a maintenance man if I could just roll into the service hall and plug in, and he told me about the secret outlets in the planters in the plaza.So I slowly rolled into the plaza and spotted one amongst the pansies. Seriously. Parked the Zero, did some window shopping, then decided to drop into the Verizon store to get my other LiIon battery charged. (I need to stop leaving the Mophie at home!) Sat and chatted with the salesman who was very interested in motorcycles and curious about electric ones. Thanks to the diet Red Bull I’d had at the Rock Store, I was happy to tell him allllll about it. An hour later I had to take off to meet up with some friends 3 miles away. Although the indicator was still flashing and showing no bars, I had plenty to get there, then plugged in (thanks to their extension cord!) and juiced up enough to get home after our dinner.Yes, the Brammo’s J1772 and longer range allowed me to enjoy Malibu a lot more than I did on my Zero FX. However, the FX is not a direct competitor to the Empulse, and it’s still the winner when it comes to the daily battle that is LA traffic and barely paved roads. The Empulse competitor would be the 2013 Zero S, a version of which I hope to test at Laguna Seca’s REFUEL event. Things I learned on my Zero’s first 80 mile day- having a slow-charging bike makes for a better social life, and it’s funny trying to explain to parking lot attendants that you need to park near an outlet. Many minds were blown that day.Source: Gas2.0
