Boston, MA

Bruins Announce All-Centennial Team | Boston Bruins

Published

1 year ago

October 12, 2023

Bruins Announce All-Centennial Team | Boston Bruins

BOSTON –The Boston Bruins announced today, October 12, the All-Centennial Team, presented by Rapid7.

The All-Centennial Team is comprised of the most legendary players in franchise history as voted upon by an independent committee of journalists and media members,historians and members of the hockey community.

The 20-player rosterwas selected from the “Historic 100” list and features 12 forwards, 6 defensemen and 2 goaltenders.

BOSTON BRUINS ALL-CENTENNIAL TEAM

FORWARDS

Patrice Bergeron (2003-23)

Bergeron appeared in1,294 career games, tallying 427 goals and 613 assists for 1,040 points. The forward was a member of the 2011 Stanley Cupchampionship team and served asthe club’s 26thcaptain from January 7,2021 to July 26, 2023. Bergeron is a six-time SelkeTrophywinner, earning the honor in2012, 2014, 2015,2017, 2022 and 2023. He won the King ClancyMemorial Trophyfor leadership and community qualities in the2012-13 season and theMark Messier Award for the 2020-21 season.

JohnnyBucyk (1957-78)

Bucyk appeared in 1,436 career games,recording545 goals and 794 assists for 1,339 points.Heholds the franchise record for most goals scored.During his 21seasons with theBruins,‘Chief’ won two Stanley Cup titles, in 1970 and 1972, andserved as team captain from 1966-67 and again from 1973-77. His number,9, was retired by the team on March 13, 1980.

Wayne Cashman (1964-65, 1967-83)

Cashman appeared in 1,027career games, recording 277 goals and 516 assists for 793 points.He won two Stanley Cup championships, in 1970 and 1972. Cashman served as team captain from 1977 to 1983. On February 2, 1983, he became the secondplayer in franchise history to play his 1,000th NHL game and the first to play allcareer games for Boston.

Bill Cowley (1935-47)

Cowley appeared in 508 career games, recording 190 goals and347 assists for 537 points. He was a member of two Stanley Cup championship teams, in 1939 and 1941, and served as team captain from 1944-45. Cashman was awarded the Hart Trophy as most valuable playerduring the 1940-41 and 1942-42 seasons and won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring leader in 1940-41.He retired in 1947 as the NHL’s all-time assist and points leader.

Phil Esposito (1967-76)

Esposito was a member of the 1970 and 1972 Stanley Cup championship teams. Heappeared in625 career games,recording459 goals and 553 assists for 1,012 points.Theforward won the Hart Trophy in 1968-69 and 1973-74 and was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring leaderfive times (1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73 and 1973-74). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. On December 3, 1987, the Bruins retired his number, 7.

David Krejci (2006-21, 2022-23)

Krejci was a member of the 2011 Stanley Cup championship team with Boston. He appeared in 1,032 career games, recording 213 goals and 555 assists for 786 points. Krejci led theleague in playoff scoring in both 2011 and 2013. In January 2023, he played his 1,000NHL game.

Brad Marchand (2009 – Present)

Marchand has appeared in948 career games, recording 372 goals and 491 assists for 863 points.He was amemberof the2011Stanley Cupchampionship team.Marchand is Boston’s all-time leader in overtime goals and shorthanded scores. Among active NHL players,he ranks first in plus-minus (plus-290). In September 2023, Marchand was named the 27th captain in franchise history.

Rick Middleton (1976-88)

Middletonappeared in 881careergames, scoring 402 goals and 496 assists for 898 points. He is one of sixplayers in team history to score 50 goals in a season.‘Nifty’ servedasco-captainof theBruinsfrom 1985-1968.Heled the Bruins in scoringfor four consecutive seasons and in goals for six straight campaigns.His number, 16, was honored by the team on November 29, 2018.

Cam Neely (1986-96)

Neely appeared in 525 careergames, recording 344 goals and 246 assists for 590 points.He led the team in goals for seven of his tenseasons includingthree 50-goal campaigns. Neely won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1993-94 and was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy forhis contributions to hockey in the United States in 2010.His number, 8, was retired by the team in 2004. In 2010, he became the first formerplayer in club history to becomethe President of the team. As President, Neely won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Terry O’Reilly (1971-85)

O’Reilly served as team captain from1983-85. He appeared in 891 career games,recording 204 goals and 402 assists for 606 points. O’Reilly is one of just five players in club history to have led the team in points and penalty minutes in the same season.Heserved as head coach of the Bruins fromNovember 5,1986 to May 1, 1989. On October 24, 2002, his number, 24, washonored by the team.

DavidPastrnak (2014 – Present)

Pastrnak has appeared in593 career games, recording 303 goals and 316 assists for 619 points.As the leading goal scorer (tied) in 2019-20, he became the first Bruin since 1974-75 to win the Rocket Richard Trophy.Inthe 2022-23 season, he became the second Bruin in franchise history with a 60+ goal season.Pastrnak ranks second inteam history with 15 career hat tricks.

Milt Schmidt (1936-42, 1945-55)

Schmidt is the only person in club history to serve the team as player, captain,coach and general manager.The forward appeared in 776 career games, recording 229 goals and 346 assists for 575 points.Heis a member of four of Boston’s six Stanley Cupchampionshipteams. Schmidt served as team captain from 1947-54. He won the Hart Trophyin 1950-51 and was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1996.Schmidt waselected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.His number, 15, washonored by the team in 1956.

DEFENSEMEN

Ray Bourque (1979-2000)

Bourque is the NHL’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen. He appeared in1,518 career games recording 395 goals and 1,111 assists for 1,506 points. He served as team captain from 1985-2000. Bourque won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 1986-87, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1993-94. On October 4,2001 his number, 77, was honored by the Bruins.

Zdeno Chara (2006-20)

Zdeno Chara was a member of the 2011 Stanley Cup championship team. He served as team captain from 2006-20. Chara appeared in 1,023 career games, recording 148 points and 333assists for 481 points. Hewas awarded the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2008-09 and won the Mark Messieraward for leadership in 2010-11.He holds theall-time record for hardest shot at 108.8 mph.

Dit Clapper (1927-47)

Clapper was the first player in NHL history to play for 20 seasons. He is the only Bruin to play on three championship Boston teams (1929, 2939 and 1942). Clapper appeared in835 career games, recording 229 goals and 248 assists for 477 points. He served as team captain from 1932-33 and again in 1939-44.In 1947, Clapper was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and had hisnumber, 5, retired by the team. He served as head coach from 1945-49.

Bobby Orr (1966-76)

Orr was a member of the 1970 and 1972 Stanley Cup championship teams, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in both years. In his career, he appeared in631careergames, recording 264 goals and 624 assists for 888 points. Orr won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable playerfor three consecutive seasons (1969-72) and was awarded the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring leader in 1969-70 and 1974-75. In his rookie season (1967-68), he was awarded the Calder Trophy. Orr waselected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979. On January 9,1979 his number, 4, was honored by the team.

Brad Park (1975-83)

Park appeared in501 career games, recording 100 goals and 317 assists for 417 points.He was the second defenseman in NHL history to reach 500 career assists on December 11, 1980.In his eight years with the team, he led all Bruins defensemen in goals,assists and points.Park was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in1988.

Eddie Shore(1926-40)

Shore was among the first group of inductees into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945. In his career, he appeared in 541 games, recording 103 goals and 176 assists for 279 points.Shore served as team captain from 1935-36 and is the only defenseman in league history towin the Hart Trophyfour times (1932-33, 1934-35,1935-36 and 1937-38). He was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for contributions to hockey in the United States in 1970. His number, 2,was honored by the Bruins on April 1, 1947.

GOALTENDERS

FrankBrimsek (1938-43, 1946-49)

In514 career games,Brimsek had a record of252-182-80witha 2.7 goals against average and40 shutouts.He won two Stanley Cups with the Bruins, in 1939 and 1941.Brimsek won the Calder Trophy in 1938-39 and was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 1938-39 and 1941-42. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in 1973.

Gerry Cheevers (1965-72, 1975-80)

Cheevers won two Stanley Cup championships with Boston, in 1970 and 1972. In418 career games, he has a record of227-104-76 witha 2.89 goals against average and 26 shutouts.He served as head coach of the Bruins from July 7,1980 to February 13, 1985. Cheevers was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.

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Boston, MA

Patience over panic: Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics struggles

Published

4 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Patience over panic: Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics struggles

The Celtics aren’t playing great basketball. Coincidence or not, this stretch has coincided with the return and reintegration of Kristaps Porzingis. In 23 games without the big man, Boston has a record of 19-4—with him in the lineup, that falls to a much less flattering 9-7 record.

This has put his value on trial, and opened the door to discussions about whether a move to the bench could be helpful for everyone involved. It’s not a crazy idea by any means, but it’s shortsighted and an oversimplification of why the team has struggled of late.

While Kristaps attempts to slide back into his role, there’s an adjustment period that the team naturally has to go through. That’s roughly 13 shots per game being taken from the collective and handed to one individual. It’s a shift that can impact that entire rotation, but it’s also not unfamiliar to the team—by now, they’re used to the cycle of Porzingis’ absence and return.

KP hasn’t been the same game-breaking player that we’ve come to know, but he’s not that far off. He isn’t hunting shots outside of the flow of the offense, and the coaching staff isn’t force-feeding him either.

This table shows a comparison in the volume and efficiency of Kristaps’ most used play types from the past two seasons. Across the board, the possessions per game have remained very similar, while the efficiency has taken a step back.

He’s shooting below the standard he established for himself during the championship run, but the accuracy should come around as he gets more comfortable and confident in his movements post-injury. Porzingis opened up about this after a win over the Nuggets, sharing his progress.

“80-85%. I still have a little bit to go.” Porzingis said. “I know that moment is coming when everything will start clicking, and I’ll play really high-level basketball.”

In theory, sending KP to the bench would allow him to face easier matchups and build his conditioning back up. On a similar note, he and the starters have a troubling -8.9 net rating. With that said, abandoning this unit so quickly is an overreaction and works against the purpose of the regular season.

It may require patience, but we’re talking about a starting lineup that had a +17.3 net rating over seven playoff games together. Long term, it’s more valuable to let them figure it out, rather than opt for a temporary fix.

It can’t be ignored that the Celtics are also getting hit by a wrecking ball of poor shooting luck in his minutes. Opponents are hitting 33.78% of their three-pointers with him on the bench, compared to a ridiculously efficient 41.78% when he’s on the court. To make matters worse, Boston is converting 37.21% of their own 3’s without KP, and just 32.95% with him.

Overall, there’s a -8.83% differential between team and opponent 3PT efficiency with Porzingis in the game. This is simply unsustainable, and it’s due for positive regression eventually.

Despite his individual offensive struggles, Porzingis has been elite as a rim protector. Among 255 players who have defended at least 75 shots within 6 feet of the basket, he has the best defensive field goal percentage in the NBA at 41.2%. Players are shooting 20.9% worse than expected when facing Kristaps at the rim.

Boston is intentional about which shooters they’re willing to leave open and when to funnel drives toward Porzingis. Teams are often avoiding these drives, and accepting open looks from mediocre shooters—recently, with great success. Both of these factors play into the stark difference in opponent 3PT%.

The numbers paint a disappointing picture, but from a glass-half-full perspective, there’s plenty of room for positive regression. Last season, the starting lineup shot 39.31% from beyond the arc and limited opponents to 36.75%. This year, they’ve struggled, shooting just 27.61% themselves, while opponents are converting at an absurd 46.55%.

Ultimately, the Celtics’ struggles seem more like a temporary blip, fueled by frustrating shooting luck and a slow return to form for Kristaps, rather than a reason to panic. The core of this team has already proven their ability to perform together at a high level, and sticking with the current configuration gives them the best chance to break out of the slump.

Allowing Porzingis to round into shape and cranking up the defensive intensity should help offset some of the shooting woes. As Porzingis eloquently put it, “with this kind of talent in this locker room, it’s impossible that we don’t start playing better basketball.” When water finds its level, the game will start to look easy again.

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Boston, MA

Frigid wind chill temperatures today

Published

12 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

The wind is back. And no one is happy.

Well, at least it won’t be 10 days of it. Instead, you’ll have to settle for two, with occasional gusts to 35-40 mph. Not nearly as intense as the last go-round, but still enough to produce wind chills in the single digits and teens through Wednesday. Thursday the winds are much lighter, but even with a slight breeze, we may see wind chills near zero in the morning.

The pattern remains active, but we’ll have to wait a few days until our next batch of precipitation. And with temperatures warming, it looks like rain by Saturday afternoon. We’ll rise into the 40s through Sunday, then feel the full weight of the polar vortex early next week.

Yes, you read that right. The spin, the hype, and definitely the cold, are back. Much of the country will plunge into the deep freeze. The question remains whether we’ll spin up a storm early next week. Jury is still out on that, but we’re certain this will be the coldest airmass of the season.

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Boston, MA

Boston College falls to Notre Dame, 78 – 60

Published

20 hours ago

January 13, 2025

Press Room

Boston College falls to Notre Dame, 78 – 60

Coming off back to back conference losses, the Eagles traveled to South Bend to try to earn their second conference win. Notre Dame has had a lack luster start to the year, as they also sit at 1-4 in conference play entering tonight’s matchup. Boston College defended much better in the first half tonight than they have in the past few games. More specifically, they guarded the 3 point line, holding Notre Dame to just 2 of 9 from beyond the arc. Boston College, in turn, shot 50% (5 of 10) from behind the 3 point line, which really kept them in the game. Donald Hand, Jr., in particular, had a nice first half with 11 points on 4 of 6 from the field. The one-two punch of Tae Davis and Markus Burton combined for 20 of Notre Dame’s 36 points in the first half. Notre Dame led at the break 36 to 33.

The second half was a different story for the Eagles. The Fighting Irish dominated the last 10 minutes of the game outscoring Boston College 22 to 10. Burton and Davis combined for 46 of the Irish’s 78 points. Davis had his way with BC scoring 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting. The Eagles just had no answer for him or his counterpart in the back court Markus Burton. Burton had 20 of his own on just 5 of 15 from the field. The Eagles did a great job of defending the 3 point line against the Irish as they shot 3 of 15 from beyond the arc, but they did a poor job defending everything else. The Eagles once again had trouble with consistency on the offensive side of the ball. The top performer was Hand, he finished with 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He seems to be one of the only Eagles’ who can create his own shot when the offense breaks down. Boston College fell to the Irish 78 to 60.

Overall, Boston College showed some glimpses tonight on the defensive end, especially in the first half. They did a great job of defending the three point line all night, but didn’t continue to defend after running the Irish off the line. The offense struggled again tonight despite shooting over 50% from the 3 point line.

Boston College has had a rough last two weeks, but it will only get tougher as Duke comes to town on Saturday. Cooper Flagg has seemingly hit his stride after dropping 42 on Notre Dame this weekend. After the performance from Tae Davis, BC and Earl Grant will need to scheme up some different defenses to try to slow down the Duke freshman. Duke and Boston College will tip off at 8 PM EST at Conte Forum.

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