Re: UNH Wildcats 2019 Offseason - How Much Progress Did We Really Make This Past Seas
Just a quick post-mortem. Not sure that it was a "bad matchup" as much as the Bruins didn't handle it well. When you blow out a team twice (7-2 and 5-1) it's hardly a bad matchup. Rather, they just stopped doing the things they needed to do. The way to beat this team is to SKATE. Utilize your speed. I don't know what was up with that first line but they were comatose. It will be interesting to see if it ever comes out whether or not Bergeron was hurt. On the other hand, I'd be "hurt" too if I had those two wingers (shocking, I know, but it's true). Pastrnak was absolute garbage. He fanned on the puck more times than there are integers to count. He played like he was drugged half the series. Marchand fiddles and diddles too much, and on the one play that COULD HAVE gotten them back in game 7 (Binnington unable to push off from his left to his right, leaving half the net WIDE open), he shoots it right into his belly. The cliche "Your best players have to be your best players" was certainly borne out in this series and this line fell flat on its collective face. It's almost inexplicable. I think the key to this series was the Bruins got suckering into playing the Blues game instead of using their superior speed and skating. They should have gone around them like traffic cones and finished this thing. Instead, they engaged them and tried to match the rough stuff. You notice how there was NO hitting in Game 7, but the Bruins were pressing by then and it was too late. The longer you let someone hang around, the more confidence they gain. They weren't going to win in Chicago in Game 7 in 2013, but THIS one was there for the taking. It's going to hurt for a long time.
Originally posted by Chuck Murray
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