Krejci - Must be Czech for complete SNUB!

I'll caution you that with this blog posting that I've now used this space as both a therapy session and as a way to gain for myself some level of comfort given the unjustified & unexplainable SNUB of David "The Krej" Kreji by the NHL's All Star Weekend committee not once but twice this week... But before I completely go off the rails here (and oh boy, I will...) Let me first off offer my sincere congrats to Claude "King" Julian (& his entire coaching staff) on being named coach of the Eastern Conference squad which is well deserved and must be SWEET for him seeing how it's back up in Montreal! Nice irony huh!

I send props & sincere congrats also out to both Looch & Wheels for their being added to the YoungStars squad for All Star Weekend as well as both deserve to recognized as part the seemingly endless group of young and extremely talented players in today's NHL... BUT putting all that aside for a minute. I find it a crime to not recognize David Krejci in the same way given the way he's played so far this year as well as him being a key part of the NHL's most successful team thus far... What gives? I mean to not even be named to the YoungStars squad? WTF is that NONSENSE!? Also for the sake for full disclosure and so we're 100% straight, I'll acknowledge but will put aside my fully public "Man Love" for "The Krej" for at least a few here minutes... I totally understand and accept that certain things about these kinds of "All Star Events" have never & will never be fair. Things like roster spots going to the unworthy due to ASININE Fan Ballot stuffing (See: Habs Fans, Montreal) Already having other that are equally or even more so named to the squad which in this case would be Chara, Thomas & Savard (where's Kess btw!) & the fact most young players outside of the true superstars have to wait their turn which I agree & understand for the most part... So now that I've accepted all that and because I believe in my heart of hearts that Phil Kessel should be next in line from the B's to be named to the big squad anyways that The Krej won't be one this years Eastern squad... OK. But now they really kick him, the Bruins organization & his other fans right in the stones by not AT LEAST naming Krejci to the NHL "YoungStars" game roster! God...Someone please help me this one add up and explain to me how that can be justified!?! This non-selection is just plain STUPID & makes NO SENSE at all! WTF?! Why am I making such a big thing out of this for only a "YoungStars Game" you ask?! Because even if you haven't had the pleasure of watching The Krej play game in/game out this season, you need only to look at just the most basic of stats that he's posted so far and you'll see that as of this morning (1/11/09) that he friggin' DESERVES IT that's why! To this point. Through 42 games so far in the 08/09 Season, Krejci's stats sit at:

*16 Goals/30 Assists for 46 pts (2nd of the team & tied for 8th in the LEAGUE!)
*He's at a plus/minus of +25 (3rd on the team / 3rd in the whole NHL)
*His shooting percentage stands at 21.6% (1st on the team / 7th in the NHL)

Add in the fact that he's played a solid if not spectacular at times "whole" game this year (I.e.- at even strength, on both the PP & PK teams, in his own zone, the face off circle etc...) and that he's been the center (no pun intended) of one of the NHL's most productive lines this year, along side Michael Ryder & Blake Wheeler. All of whom by the way play on one of the leagues most successful teams this season, that's why! HELLOOOOOO...

Look it, I'm sure there's many other teams and many other different fans that can and would make just as strong an argument or "their guy" needing to be there and them being boned out of an invite too and to them I say - GET YOUR OWN BLOG! :-) Seriously though does anyone feel the need to argue these facts after looking at even his stats and tell me he doesn't AT LEAST deserve a "YoungStars" slot... Thought not!

So after all that I guess I now just need to get over it and console myself by remembering that HOCKEY is a truly a TEAM game (ain't that right Montreal? -yeah right!) and so with this I now officially move past this BLATANT SNUB & will get back to the BRUINS TEAM and it's success... However not unlike the "Governator of California" I reserve the future right to say "I'll be BACK!" if this BS happens to him again so be warned all!

Until then though thanks for reading, Let's Go Broounze! & Long Live the New King (Krej!!) -KingKrej46

B's NewsBlast! - Looch & Wheels are NHL All Game Weekend Bound as they're named to "YoungStars" Game!

Released from the NHL & NHL.com;
NEW YORK (Jan. 9, 2009) -- The high-scoring NHL sophomore class, led by Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals, Bryan Little of the Atlanta Thrashers and Devin Setoguchi of the San Jose Sharks, will face rookie goaltending phenom Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets and other top first-year players in a non-stop, wide-open game of three-on-three in the NHL YoungStars

Game presented by Upper Deck, Saturday, Jan. 24 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
Showcasing the best of the League's young talent, the 10-player sophomore and rookie teams will face off as part of the 2009 Honda/NHL SuperSkills (7 p.m., ET, CBC, RDS, VERSUS). This marks the sixth consecutive YoungStars Game at All-Star Weekend and the first under the sophomores vs. rookies format.

The rookies will have to contend with a sophomore offense that features 2007-08 Calder Trophy runner-up Backstrom, who ranks second on the Capitals and 11th in NHL scoring with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists); Little, who leads the Thrashers with 19 goals; and Setoguchi, who ranks second among Sharks in goals (18). Completing the talented sophomore lineup is 2008 YoungStars Game MVP Brandon Dubinsky of the New York Rangers, Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins, Andrew Cogliano of the Edmonton Oilers and Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks.

The sophomore defensemen are Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Marc Staal of the New York Rangers, each of whom competed as rookies in last year's YoungStars Game in Atlanta. The goaltender is Erik Ersberg of the Los Angeles Kings, the 26-year-old Sala, Sweden native who was not selected in his draft-eligibility years, signed as a free agent with the Kings in May, 2007 and has gone on to win a full-time place with the club.
The rookies will be backstopped by Mason, who has captured NHL Rookie of the Month honors for each of the past two months. He capped his December performance by posting a franchise-record three consecutive shutouts, becoming the first rookie netminder to do so since Detroit's Glenn Hall in 1955-56. Mason enters tonight's game at Washington with a 13-9-1 record, leads the League in goal-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.934), and is tied for the lead in shutouts (five)

Mason's defense pair are both top-five 2008 Entry Draft selections, 19-year-olds Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Doughty, picked second overall, and Schenn, who went fifth, rank 1-2 among rookies in average ice time per game at 23:54 and 21:05, respectively.

The rookie offense will be led by three co-leaders in the rookie goal-scoring race with 13, Blake Wheeler of the Boston Bruins, Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks and James Neal of the Dallas Stars. Rounding out the lineup is 2008 Entry Draft first overall selection Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Michael Frolik of the Florida Panthers, Mikkel Boedker of the Phoenix Coyotes and Patrik Berglund of the St. Louis Blues.

YoungStars players were selected by the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department and the NHL Players' Association. in consultation with League General Managers."

The full press release can also be found here: http://bruins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=403157

*Photo credit for the above goes out to the folks at bostonbruins.com as well!

Win streak kicks the bucket in DC

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen. The B's started slow last night against the Caps, and this time, they couldn't turn it around quickly enough to salvage a win or a point. The B's seems surprised early on by the pace the Caps were setting. Washington has loads of skill, and it was on display right from the start. By the time the B's got their legs under them and started to carry the play, they were already down 2-0. With Brent Johnson doing his best Gump Worsley impression, they were never able to catch up. But it wasn't just Johnson that kept the B's off the scoreboard for most of the night. Boston had too many quality chances that they just didn't finish. Wheeler, in particular jumps to mind. He (and Sturm when he's playing) are maddening to watch sometimes. I've never seen a kid "assume" he scored before the puck crosses the line. Last night he did it again. He deked Johnson badly and had an open net. But instead of bearing down and BURYING it, he lazy-assed it, and just tried sweeping it in. Of course, Johnson got his arm on it to keep it out. Brickley went on about how the puck was too far in front so he couldn't get leverage blah blah blah. BS. I'd bet you anything if you got Brickley off-record he'd agree that Wheels HAS to bury that shot. He's far from alone, but it was the most glaring missed chance. On the plus side, Wheeler seemed ticked off about it afterwards, and was much more physical for the next few shifts. The kid needs to play that way every shift, and stop passing up shots the way he does. As far as the rest of the game goes, I thought Lucic had a really strong game. He seems to step up to the challenge of playing against high-tempo teams like the Caps. His skill level seemed higher last night than normal, while still using his body well. Fernandez turned in another strong performance as well. Can't blame him for any of the goals. Now, this may be nit-picking, but Lashoff, again, got absolutely abused. On the empty netter, he got caught at the offensive blue line...AGAIN, trying to make a play. I understand it's desperation time then, but his first job has to be to not let AO get a breakaway on an empty net! Just another terrible decision in a long line of terrible decisions by the rook. Don't mean to bash, because hey, I want everyone in a B's jersey to succeed. But he's already a -3 in only 4 games. Normally I'm not a huge +/- guy, but in some cases it's a telling stat. One thing that has kind of caught my eye the last few games, is how chippy Savard is has been. I love it. Our top scorer playing with a little edge is a great thing. Last night he had a couple little exchanges with Poti and another with some other Cap at the B's bench. Now, as one of my buddies mentioned this morning, if anyone decides to call his bluff, he's screwed. But hey, run with it while you can I guess. On a similar note, Krecji started to get "mouthy" and was taking a couple shots at Brashear after the whistle last night. My first reaction was: "STOP IT!". It's one thing to push and shove with other "regular" players. But, and this is no defense of Donald Brashear, doing that stuff to a heavyweight is just....I don't know, wrong. Poking the tiger through the cage like that is uncalled for I think, and doesn't do anything to improve your reputation. All it did was put Brashear in a tough spot.What was he going to do? Drop the gloves and pound Krecji? Of course not, he'd be painted as nothing more than a bully and a goon. So guys like him have to take an endless amount of grief from guys that everyone KNOWS would never back it up. I've never been a big Brashear fan, but he's one of the "honest tough guys" in the league. And among those guys, there is a code. And part of that code is, you don't fight kids you will obviously hammer. You can be sure if Thornton or someone capable of defending himself had started on Brashear like that, he would have retaliated. Sorry for the off topic rant, but I just hate seeing Bruins do that crap. For reference, imagine if Koivu was doing that with Thornton. Would anyone say "wow, good for Saku"? No, we'd all be crucifying him because we know he has no intention of dropping the gloves. Leave that BS for all the little girls on the Canadiens. The Bruins are better than that. Anyway, looking forward to the home and home with Atlanta this weekend. Time for the B's to start another winning streak, and to get back to playing their game. It's been a couple games now that they've been just a little "off". Time to nip that in the bud before bad habits creep in. It's a fine line. Play their system, they're near impossible to beat. Stray away from the system, and they're vulnerable to anyone willing to skate and work hard against them. I have every confidence that Coach Julien has gotten that message across. Go B's-Kynch