The best time of the year is upon us, hockey fans. The best tournament in the world chasing the most recognizable trophy in the world, has begun!
Our beloved Bruins managed to slip to second in the division. They get the Toronto Maple Leafs, which is a better draw than the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, and after Saturday – I couldn’t be more pleased. I was even more pleased to see some Goonblog favorites getting in on the action.
Leafs Peeping in Boston
The Bruins absolutely dominated the Maple Leafs Saturday. They were more physical in a smart way. Toronto was trying to set a tone physically and took some stupid penalties in doing so. Max Domi’s slash on Brad Marchand’s exposed wrist off a faceoff was especially stupid, and Jake DeBrusk of Boston made him pay by netting his second Power Play goal of the game. I get trying to set a tone, but some Leafs players were going way out of their way to do so. It was like a February college game in that regard. Very spastic and undisciplined. Again, I get it. Toronto has had a problem with being flat against the Bruins this year – and being overly aggressive didn’t seem to help their cause either.
Newly acquired Bruin and three-time Cup Champion, Patrick Maroon, made his presence known early. During warmup, he was casually putting one foot over the redline into the Leafs zone. He did it a couple of times. During gameplay, Maroon put Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren into the Bruins bench. It is a classic playoff hockey move and proves Patrick Maroon is indeed built for the playoffs. If Monday’s game gets out of hand it might be time for Ryan Reaves and Patrick Maroon to have a fight. There’s not a ton of fighting in playoffs anymore, but these guys may need to slug it out.
The Nightmare on Causeway Street, or Freddy Fisticuffs, Trent Frederic got in on the scoresheet. He added the empty net goal to put the game decidedly out of reach at 5-1 Boston. Freddy, who has been known to throw hands, had a career year on the scoresheet. He was also named Boston’s 7th Player Award winner. The 7th Player is awarded to the Bruin that goes above and beyond expectations. Like, hey, we didn’t think you were going to be this good type, but thanks! It’s well deserved for Freddy. He was great this year chipping in on the scoresheet and doing yeoman’s work fighting. ENG’s are important, and it was good to see Freddy getting involved.
Rise of the Rempire State (Building)
Over in New York, the legend of The Rempire State Building, Matt Rempe, continues to grow. Matt got his first career playoff goal to start things off in the Rangers’ first game against the Washington Capitals. The game, and building, was very flat until Rempe got on the scoresheet.
What’s happening in New York is nothing short of a following. I’m reluctant to use the word “cult”, however. A cult indicates only a few people will be taken in. Rempe seems to be everyone’s cup of tea. He knows he’s built for playoff hockey, too.
The Rangers players feel bigger when Matt Rempe is on the ice. Coach Peter Laviolette hears it from the home crowd when he’s scratched with chants of “we want Rempe” from start to finish. In addition to providing some serious charge from his already legendary fights, he may just be a power forward in the making. He skates pretty well in spite of his size and can use aforementioned heft in the corners to punish anyone brave enough to end up in one.
Matt Rempe also has the ability to agitate. Washington fraud, Tom Wilson, was trying to get at the man mountain a couple of times during their contest the other night. I have never been a Tom Wilson fan. I think he’s dirty as a whole and did the role of enforcer wrong when he was a true enforcer. He’s a spot picker and doesn’t give guys a shot.
Trent Frederic has asked him to fight several times, and Wilson has said no. Except when Freddy was at the end of a shift and Wilson decided then was the time to give him a chance. That’s the Wilson way.
Anyway, Tom Wilson would be wise to not try Matt Rempe. I get he’s doing his job and trying to get the Washington bench engaged, but if Rempe obliges him, it could go very wrong for Tommy. Actually, I hope it does happen because I’d love to see Rempe beat the brakes off of him. The legend continues to grow in New York!