SCF GAME 4: ‘HAWKS WIN A WILD ONE 6-5 IN OT

By: Mark Harriman, Senior Editor

BOSTON (June 19)- Blackhawks’ coach Joel Quenneville went back to the pairings on his top line that has paid him dividends throughout the 2013 playoffs and the move paid off in spades.

The reunited line of Jonathan Toews (one goal), Patrick Kane (one goal) and Brian Bickell (assist on the Kane goal) accounted for a third of the goals scored in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, as Chicago bested the Bruins 6-5 in OT.

At 9:51 in sudden death, defenseman Brent Seabrook put a puck over goalie Tuukka Rask’s right pad to even the series at two games apiece as the two teams head back to Chicago for Game 5 on Saturday.

Seabrook’s OT goal was his second of the 2013 playoffs, making him only the fifth defenseman in NHL history to score two OT goals in the same playoff season.

The Chicagoans had two-goal leads twice in this game (3-1 and 4-2) and the Bruins never lead, though Boston did tie the score at 5-5 at 12:14 of the third period on a vicious Johnny Boychuk slapper from the blue line.

While never completely finding their game, Boston did continue its unrelenting assault on Blackhawks’ goalie Corey Crawford’s glove side, which has proven to be a weakness throughout the series.

Bruins stalwart defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara had a rough night at the office tonight, having been on the ice for five of Chicago’s six goals for a minus three rating.

Patrice Bergeron and Jaromir Jagr were the offensive bright spots for the Bruins, as the latter assisted on both Bergeron goals.

Through regulation, Rask stopped 36 of the 41 shots he faced, while his counterpart was 23 of 28.

By the end of the second period, Chicago had a 56/44% edge in faceoff wins, but Boston managed to crawl back on top 51/49% by the end of regulation.

JULIEN REFLECTS ON GAME 4 LOSS

COACH CLAUDE JULIEN

Q. Claude, you don’t often get into games like that. Did you ever
feel like there was a point where you were in control playing the way you
wanted?
COACH JULIEN: Not really. Not really. I mean, we tied it up. I
thought our guys battled hard enough to get us back in the game and create
an overtime.
I don’t think we played our best game tonight. A lot of different
reasons. I think our decision making wasn’t very good at times. Didn’t
think we were moving the puck as well as we had been in the past.
It was certainly a tough outing for us tonight. They came out hard,
played extremely well. Somehow, again, they had the better of us for the
first half of the game until we got ourselves going here a little bit.
Again, those are things that happen in the Final where you don’t feel
like you played well enough to win. That’s what happened tonight.

Q. Characterize the second period, how helter-skelter it was?
COACH JULIEN: I just think we weren’t very sharp in our decision
making. Where we talked about we have layers, our D’s were pinching, our
forwards were not really covering up, weren’t totally committed to that
part of the game. That’s when you saw two-on-ones. Sometimes caught a
little bit low. We were through the neutral zone, weren’t very aggressive.
There was a lot of our game tonight that was just average, and
average isn’t good enough at this stage of the season.

Q. How you didn’t feel you were out of it, what is it about this
team can still hang in it?
COACH JULIEN: It wasn’t a Bruins’ type of game, but at the same time
you have to get yourself back into it. Our guys worked hard to score
goals. Probably got ourselves out of what our normal game plan is. So we
opened up and we scored goals, but we also gave them some goals, like the
game-winning goal.
Too many times where they had an opportunity to tee it up. We’d come
back in our own end and make the big circle. When you make the big
circles, you open up the middle of the ice. Just things that don’t
characterize our team.
Like I said, it was an average game. But give the guys credit. We
battled back and gave ourselves a chance to win, even though it wasn’t our
best game. Sometimes you got to do that. We tried to do that tonight.
But at the end, you know, it didn’t happen.

Q. Claude, how would you evaluate Tuukka’s play tonight? Do you
think the goals-against were a product of what happened in front of him?
COACH JULIEN: I don’t evaluate the players publicly here. I look at
our whole team and tell you our whole team was average tonight. You can
take what you want from that.
I think we can be a lot better. We have an opportunity to be better
next game. Hopefully, if anything, that makes us even hungrier for the
next game.

Q. What do you personally feel was the difference in this game for
your team?
COACH JULIEN: They were better than we were.

Q. In the second period after you went down two goals, you called a
timeout. Seemed like you were the only person talking. What was your
message?
COACH JULIEN: Just that we had to kind of get ourselves back into
our game. I thought we were frustrated. Instead of focusing on what we
had to do, we were complaining about calls, non-calls. We got ourselves
away from our game.
Just about refocusing our guys. They’re good about it. All I talked
about was, you know, there’s half a game left, we have lots of time to get
ourselves back into it.
That’s what we did. We did get ourselves back into it.

Q. Can you talk about Patrice Bergeron’s effort in the second and
third period, and also Jagr, seemed hungry to get the team back into it.
COACH JULIEN: Patrice has been extremely good for us throughout
these playoffs. He’s been good for us forever. He’s a guy that comes to
play hard every time. Nice to see him having some good success in the
playoffs and being rewarded that way.
Jag has always been a guy that can find players that are open. The
more they play together, the more chemistry they have. So it should make
them a better line.

Q. You mentioned the team battled back and stayed in the game. Are
those things that are positives that you can build off of?
COACH JULIEN: Too late in the season and too late in the playoffs to
start criticizing your team. You look at what you did well. It’s a 2-2
series. I think before it started everybody knew it was going to be a
tight series. I don’t think anybody that is a fan of hockey is
disappointed right now. We as a hockey club went into Chicago and won Game
2 and had a chance to win Game 1. We had to go in there and win Game 5.
We have the ability to do that.

Q. Claude, third period, Johnny Boychuk seemed to be throwing
himself all over the ice. How important was he in the team’s effort to
keep the game from getting away from you?
COACH JULIEN: Well, Johnny is a good player. Not only was he doing
what he could to prevent goals, but he did a great job at scoring that
tying goal. He’s got a great shot. Had a great playoffs. I think he’s up
to six goals now.
Good hockey player. Like I said, he’s done a great job in the
American Hockey League of being one of best scoring defensemen before he
came to us. Now it’s nice to see him utilize that shot and showcase his
game knowing that he’s become a pretty strong and reliable defenseman in
this league.

Q. Is it going to be difficult to wipe away the negative of this and
remind your team that you’re going in with an even slate?
COACH JULIEN: Not really. I think if you look at what happened the
last game, it didn’t stop them from bouncing back.
At this stage of the year, you have to kind of push the games aside,
win or lose, and you got to focus on the next one.
We know we have to be better and we know we can be better. It’s just
a matter of getting yourself ready for that game.

QUENNEVILLE FOLLOWING GAME 4 WIN

COACH JOEL QUENNEVILLE

Q. Joel, it was last series you put Kane, Toews and Bickell
together. Kane comes up with a big goal. Do it again tonight. What was
your thinking?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I like that line. Big picture getting reunited,
they seem to have some chemistry. Scoring certainly helps.
But, you know, got a little bit of difference, everybody in that line
brings something different to the party. Bicks off the rush can shoot.
Kaner has possession. Johnny gets through. It’s a nice combination.
So it was nice to see them back and productive, too.

Q. With the way the Bruins came back, the chances you had, did you
have any concerns in the back of your mind this could be one that was
slipping away?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: They got some momentum scoring that power play
goal there, obviously tying it up twice. Looked like they were in a good
spot.
I still thought in the third period we didn’t give up a ton. It was
a five-on-five game. Still had composure going into the overtime. I
thought the bench was where it needed to be.
Certainly got the crowd, lost the momentum, had a nice lead. But
they press, their power play helped them tonight as well.
We did a lot of good things tonight. We’ll look at the positives and
move forward.

Q. Are you kicking yourself a little bit that you didn’t put Toews
and Kane together earlier in the series?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: You always get second guessed. There’s reasons
why. At the same time, you know, I think we didn’t mind the way we played
the first game, first part of the second game.
Game 3 we were disappointed with our offense. So we went to the
well. I’m sure they’re excited about returning together. Maybe it looks
like I didn’t know what I was doing (laughter).

Q. These two teams are so evenly matched, you and Coach Julien have
a mutual respect. What makes his team tough to play against?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: They keep coming. They’re a hard-working team.
They have skill on all their lines. They have a mobile and active D. They
have big shots. Defensively you’re always going to get challenged and
tested.
But I thought we did a better job of our offense putting some
pressure on their D.

Q. Toews tonight gets a goal, but did you think this was one of his
better games at least in the series? Is Nick Leddy okay?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Nick is fine. Johnny had the puck more today. I
thought he was more friendly with it. That line was dangerous, be it off
the rush, in zone. Obviously scoring has got to help him.
The excitement of that line, Kaner in possession, Bick around with
the big body, they scored some different kind of goals. But Johnny had a
nice night.

Q. Claude’s defense is known for its layers. You seemed to exploit
that today. How did you do it?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: One of those nights. Some pucks go in. We had
some breaks around the net, found some loose pucks. I thought we had way
more traffic than the last game.
If he sees the puck, he’s going to be almost impossible to beat. We
want to make sure we get there and make it hard on him to find it, try to
go on the second and third opportunity.
Nice ending with traffic in the net, Seabs having a shot that tied us
up.

Q. Corey was fighting it a little on the glove side tonight. Are
you concerned about that going forward?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Corey has been great for us all year, all
playoffs. He just moves forward. Commend him.
We got the win. You know, he’ll be fine.

RED SOX ANNOUNCE SIGNINGS

RED SOX SIGN FIRST-ROUND PICK TREY BALL

Club signs 11 Players Selected in the 2013 June Draft

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today signed first-round draft pick Trey Ball, an 18-year old left-handed pitcher from New Castle, Indiana. Ball, the seventh player selected in the draft, was one of 11 signings announced today by Director of Amateur Scouting Amiel Sawdaye. He will practice with the Red Sox today at Fenway Park and report to the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida next week. Ball is Boston’s earliest draft pick since 1993, when Trot Nixon was also the seventh pick in the country.

Ball was the top draft-eligible left-handed pitcher according to Baseball America. The 6-foot-6, 175-pound southpaw was named the Gatorade Indiana Baseball Player of the Year after his senior season at New Castle High School, where he went 6-0 with a 0.76 ERA, with 93 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 46.0 innings. Also a left-handed hitting outfielder, Ball batted .329 with nine home runs, 28 RBI, 40 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases, to help lead New Castle to a school-record 22 wins and its first-ever outright North Central Conference Championship.

This past summer, Ball was selected to participate in the Under Armour All-American Game and both hit and pitched in the Perfect Game All-American Classic. He was also named an Aflac All-American and an Under Armour All-American as a junior in 2012.

In addition to Ball, the club announced the signings of 10 more players selected in the June draft. Among the players are outfielder Forrestt Allday (eighth round), right-hander Kyle Martin (ninth round), right-hander Taylor Grover (10th round), infielder Carlos Asuaje (11th round), and catcher Jake Romanski (14th round).

Allday, a senior at the University of Central Arkansas this season, led the Bears with a .365 batting average, 59 runs, 53 walks, and a .503 on-base percentage.

Martin went 3-4 as a senior at Texas A&M and posted a 3.96 ERA in 92 appearances, including seven starts, over his last three seasons on the Aggies’ staff.

Grover was a consensus 2013 All-American as a junior at the University of South Carolina Aiken and led the Peach Belt Conference with 11 saves while going 5-0 with a 0.92 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 29.1 innings over 31 appearances.

Asuaje, drafted out of Nova Southeastern University, hit .320 as a junior this year with 13 doubles, two triples, two homers, and 33 RBI, and led the Sunshine State Conference leaders with 32 stolen bases.

Romanski hit .303 with nine doubles, a triple, three home runs, 33 RBI, and 31 walks in 60 games this spring a senior at San Diego State University.

The Red Sox also signed outfielder Bryan Hudson (15th round), right-hander Joe Gunkel (18th round), infielders Reed Gragnani (21st round) and Jantzen Witte (24th round), and catcher Daniel Bethea (34th round).

HOSSA TO PLAY IN GAME 4

COACH JOEL QUENNEVILLE

Q. What is the status of Marian?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: He’s expected to play tonight.

Q. This morning, just a little rest time, treatment?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: He’s fine.

Q. Joel, talk about having a sense of desperation in this game?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: No, we know the importance of the game. We got
to come in here and win a game.
Coming off our last game, there’s some positives to take out of it.
Basically things we have to concentrate to improve on, obviously faceoffs
and our power play needs to ignite us as well.
We definitely know how important the game is.

Q. You had Bickell with Toews and Kane out there today, is that what
you’re looking for, like it worked in L.A.?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Could be, yeah.

Q. How do you respond to critics who question whether it’s a
legitimate injury, Marian’s toughness, particularly an ex-Blackhawk?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: If he could play, he would play, so we don’t need
to discuss that. We know how competitive he is and what he means to our
team.

Q. How much has the play between the blue lines contributed to where
the series is right now?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: The neutral zone I think has been pretty tight
for both teams. But getting through it with puck possession is the
challenge for both teams. I think we can be better in that area.
I think we can be better in the offensive zone as well. Whether it’s
puck protection, or puck possession, getting through the middle of the ice
is the ongoing challenge. The awareness of what we have to get through is
what we talk about a lot. We want to make sure we’re better in that area
and getting through it faster.

Q. The Kane and Toews thing again. You start the series without
them together, they worked together well in the last series, you put them
back together again. Is this a card up your sleeve?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Every series is different. Every matchup is
different. They’ve had some looks together over the course of the games.
We look at production. Sometimes maybe we’re looking to ignite. One line
can get going. We don’t really care who scores goals. If they can get
hot, get on the board offensively, that’s what we look for.
But they’re certainly capable of it. They exited the last series on
a high note. Getting back together here, hopefully they can continue on.

Q. Joel, do you feel you’ve been too preoccupied with Chara this
series or is he worthy of the attention you’re giving him?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I don’t know if we’re giving him attention,
respect or whatever. Certainly he’s playing meaningful minutes. He’s
going to be out there against top guys. It’s not like we’re keeping guys
off the ice.
I think the score is something we always look at as well, it’s what
we’re playing against. I think the guys out there against him, they like
to play their game. But certainly it’s a challenge getting through him to
the net, whether it’s him or everybody. That’s the area we got to get
better at.

Q. You’re talking about puck protection and possession. How
important is Hossa to getting that done for you in the neutral zone?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Whether it’s neutral zone, offensive zone, all
zones, his awareness with the puck and puck protection is as good as there
is in the game. I think defensively he is responsible as well.
He sees plays, makes plays in tight areas, knows how to come up with
pucks.

Q. Jonathan was taking about the faceoffs, that the Bruins do a good
job moving their legs on the faceoffs. What have you seen they’ve done so
well?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: Well, we’ve looked at it, dissected it, really
spent some time on it the last couple days to know we have to be more aware
of what they’re up to. Let’s make sure we win more than our share, because
it was a very abnormal, one-sided, last game and could have been the
difference in the game.

Q. Can you discuss Jamal Mayers’ role on this team, filling in on
lines. He also said he didn’t want to be a coach. Would he make a good
coach?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I don’t want to encourage anybody to be a coach.
Jammer is one of those guys, he’s a great teammate. He does everything he
can for the guys. He has some experience. He wants to get in the lineup
in the worst way. Does everything he can to get in there if the moment
arises. Keeps himself ready.
He has pretty good insights to what the guys are thinking about,
whether it’s in between games, preparing himself for games. He’s a good
mentor for some of the younger guys as well.
Jammer has been around coaching for a long time, when he first came
in the league early in his career as well. He has a pretty good awareness
to not just the game but the way people approach things.

Q. Seabrook and Keith, obviously keys to your offense. What have
you done or can you do to help them get more bulk?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: I think offensively we’d like a little bit more
I’d say puck possession we’re talking about in the offensive zone, whether
it’s more movement off the points, getting shots through, getting ugly
goals. We need more traffic. We haven’t got those lanes. Whether we have
to get in earlier position where the lanes are open, one-timers, but a
little more action on our points in the offensive zone, puck possession and
movement down in the offensive zone as well.

Q. In dissecting the faceoff video, were you able to pick up
tendencies?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: The tendency is they went back to their team more
than us. That was probably the one thing. They’ve got some good skill.
They’ve got some good technique. I think trying to disrupt it is something
we’re going to have to challenge.

Q. In boxing fighters say they worry about what they’re going to do,
not the other person. One would think in your game what the other team
does affects what you do. How do you view that?
COACH QUENNEVILLE: In our game we like to play to our strengths. We
always talk about an awareness of what they’re up to, what we do. It’s how
we can play, what we can control. We want to play to our strengths, we
want to play to our speed game, and we want to make them play defense the
best we can.
We can do a better job. If we want to be successful, that’s an area
we have to be better at. We have to make sure we spend more time attacking
and more time in their end.
Thank you.

JULIEN PRE GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

COACH CLAUDE JULIEN

Q. Claude, Tyler Seguin was talking about how it wasn’t an easy
thing for him to come to you and say, I’m not scoring goals, what can I do
better? Some of the guys think you’re an approachable coach. What is it
like, your relationship with the players? When a guy comes to you, is it
easy to be open and honest?
COACH JULIEN: It is. That’s a relationship I think coaches always
have to have with players, more today than ever. There was a time back
when I played that you didn’t really ever bother the coach. You either
played or you didn’t. If you didn’t, you found a way to get back in the
lineup.
Today it’s a different concept, players want to know, they need
guidance. You give it to them. They know that door has always been open
for conversation. Doesn’t mean they will hear what they want to hear, but
they’ll hear the truth.
Tyler wanted to know how he could help the team.

Q. It was said that in this playoffs, how hard it’s been to carry
momentum, but you’ve been able to put a couple of games together. Just
your take on that, why that may be.
COACH JULIEN: Well, because teams that we’re playing against are
pretty good. We just have to look at the Pittsburgh series. It was 4-0.
As I said before, some games could have gone either way. This is a 2-1
series. Game 1 could have gone either way, Game 2 could have gone either
way. Can say the same thing about Game 3.
It’s about making your breaks, taking advantage of them when you have
them. That’s why we’ll have some discussions on whether you can build
momentum or not, whether coaches believe in it or not.
As I said, you always have to focus on the game that you’re going to
play that night, which is tonight. I’m not looking at, We’ve got momentum
now, we won the last two. I don’t believe in that. They understand how
important this game is, and so do we. It’s going to be a battle out there
today.

Q. Patrice probably sacrifices some of his offense in order to play
at both ends of the ice. How would you sum up what he means to this club?
COACH JULIEN: I’m not sure I’m going to agree he sacrifices some
offense. If he does, he’d probably be a minus player. He recognizes that
both sides of the game are important to him. He knows how important it is
to our team. He takes pride in that.
Could he have more points? Yes. He’s also a guy on the ice for more
goals-against. He’s learned to balance that thing properly.
In my eyes, when you look at the offensive numbers he puts up there
for how well he plays defensively, I think it’s tremendous.
You look at his plus/minus every year, that’s always something that
dictates a lot about a player. It doesn’t mean it’s his fault that he gets
scored on. When you’re consistently a plus player, you play with different
guys, he had Recchi, Jagr, Seguin, Marchand for a few years, but other
years he had other players, too. Still, that line becomes a really
reliable line.
A big part of it is because of Patrice Bergeron. Not just reliable
offensively, but reliable defensively as well.
To me it’s a mindset he has, something he takes pride in. Because
he’s like that, more and more he’s getting recognized for being an
outstanding player in this league.

Q. After tonight’s game you get a couple days before the next one.
Does that change much in how you plan this game tonight, how much you might
use guys?
COACH JULIEN: Not really. You don’t get a second chance at trying
to win the game you’re playing that night. You got to do whatever you have
to do. Even if we were playing every second night, if you need to shorten
your bench, you do it. If you need to play certain players, move them
around, you do that.
I don’t think those two days are going to change anything in our
philosophy of having to win tonight. Our focus is going to be on what we
need to do tonight, not what is going to happen in the next two days,
resting them, playing them more because we got two days for them to rest.
It’s about winning and finding the right recipe.

Q. What has Jagr’s presence off the ice meant to the team?
COACH JULIEN: You have to start reading some transcripts here. I’ve
answered that question about five times already. I’ll answer it again
(laughter).
Everybody in that dressing room knows what he’s done in his career.
Everybody in that dressing room sees what he does now. We talk about a guy
that goes the extra mile to stay in great shape, conditioning. When
everybody else has gone home, he’s still at the rink, doing extra, because
he knows himself, he knows what he needs to do to keep up with the game.
He’s a great example for younger players to look at. That’s what he
brings off of the ice. You guys see what he brings on the ice. He’s done
it everywhere he’s gone. We knew about that coming in. Sometimes he does
different things than anybody else, like going on the ice late at night on
his own.
You know what, he’s earned that right. Definitely if that’s what
makes him a good player in the next game, why not just let him do those
kind of things?
I think he knows himself well enough we can allow him to do those
things. I think the players respect that he does that. And maybe a
20-year-old doesn’t have to do that at this stage, but maybe when he gets a
little older, he might take some of those things into consideration to know
how hard he works after games.

Q. Tyler Seguin said the last few games are the best games since he
started. Do you feel the same way?
COACH JULIEN: Absolutely. He’s played well. I said that the other
day. Maybe he hasn’t got that goal or those goals, but he’s got some
assists, made some great plays on other ones that they haven’t scored.
He’s forechecked, done well in the battles as far as trying to come
up with the puck, all the things we ask him to do. We’re not expecting him
to be a real physical player because we don’t try to make a player what
he’s not.
But it’s about winning battles. Battles means coming out with the
puck. Whichever way you have to do it, you go out and do it. I think he’s
done a great job of getting in there and creating those situations to this
is advantage.

Q. Zdeno’s shot totals per game is down a little bit. Is that just
an indication of defense-first kind of mentality?
COACH JULIEN: It’s just making smart decisions. Chicago is a team
that does a great job of fronting. We used to talk about New York.
Chicago does a great job, too. They’re in the shooting lanes. Maybe when
he gets the puck, they’re in the shooting lanes. He’ll make a smarter
decision with the puck than to get it blocked. I don’t see an issue there.
At the end of the day, scoring chances are there. It’s tight on both
sides. But I think last game we had close to, in our counts, to 20 scoring
chances. So they’re there. I’m not going to put too much emphasis that
his shot total is down.

Q. From a philosophy standpoint from you, are you tougher on a team
as the games get bigger when they win or when they lose or is it no
difference or is it a feel thing?
COACH JULIEN: It’s a feel thing. You can lose some games where you
think your team played extremely well and you can win some games where you
thought you were lucky and guys didn’t perform well. I look more at the
situation.
But we’re in a stage right now where I think we just got to stay
focused. My job is to keep our team focused on the present, not the
future. That’s the most dangerous thing right now, is to try to look
ahead. We have a job to do tonight – not tomorrow, but tonight. I think
our guys have to be ready for that challenge that we’re going to get
tonight.

Q. We’ve talked about with Seguin and Kelly, they haven’t been going
offensively, they’ve been able to find the right mindset. Recchi, a couple
years ago when he retired, said Peverley would be a good option, he still
seems to have the right mindset knowing he’s contributing on the faceoff,
PK, everything. Speak to his character, how he’s handled less glamorous
situations this year.
COACH JULIEN: He’s done well in that regard. I’ve said it I think
yesterday. We’re a team. We take a lot of pride in whatever we have to
do. Sometimes you’re given a role that is maybe not the role you’ve been
used to, but you embrace it.
Somebody has to take over for Gregory Campbell right now. He’s a
great faceoff guy, a guy that can play with energy. He can give us that.
He’s a great penalty killer, as you mentioned.
You take what they bring in a positive way and you try and insert him
in those kind of situations.
Those guys understand it. Like I said, we spread everything around.
We got guys that kill penalties, guys on the power play. The role players
are extremely proud of their roles. I think that’s important for a hockey
club to have success.
A guy like him has a lot of versatility. You can put him on the top
line. You’ve seen him on the wing on the top line. He’ll be able to help
your hockey club. I think that’s an asset to any hockey club that has
players like that.

Q. Jagr, with him on the power play, we see the pass that was made
the other night. You brought him to be the left shot on the right side.
What does that do for you, opening up space on the other side?
COACH JULIEN: Well, obviously he’s been a player that’s excelled in
those areas throughout his career. He’s got good vision. He can make
those passes like you saw the other night. At the same time I’ve seen
where teams really try and jump him, try to get the puck out of his hands
because they know how dangerous he can be. When they do that, sometimes
they’ll pull a guy out of position which allows another guy to get a good
scoring opportunity.
He’s brought that respect I guess to our power play as well. Another
dangerous player. So it’s opened up some other options.
I think he’s done a great job of that.
Thank you.

TWO MORE TO GO !

BY KEVIN FLANAGAN
BSD CORREDPONDENT

Now I ask you, does it get any better than this?

Talk about a story for the ages, the team that just over a month ago was left for dead with 10 minutes to go in game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs now sits 2 games away from their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 years.

Facing a roster shake up at the very least and the dismissal of the head coach or even possibly the GM the Bruins did what champions do and picked themselves up off the floor and fought their way back to the brink of history.

Because it’s the Cup.

With 2 more wins the names of Bergeron, Chara, and Krejci can be mentioned in the same breath as Bruin legends and 2 time Stanley Cup Champions like Schmidt, Dumart, Bower and of course the immortal Orr, Esposito and Bucyk.

As we all know that is the equivalent of hockey royalty here in the Hub.

And how about the story surrounding the defiant deacon of defense, head coach Claude Julien? With all the style and sizzle of a ham sandwich on white the man who looks like a giant human thumb in a suit and tie behind the bench now finds himself 2 wins away from doing what no Bruins head coach in their 89 years of existence has ever done; win 2 Stanley Cups.

Amazing. I guess there is something to be said about his “system” and rolling 4 lines. And to think just a month ago I, like many, had a car waiting outside the Garden to take him to the airport.

This latest version of the Big, Bad Bruins is assaulting the record books with a punishing style that leaves their opponents with little room to operate. They have taken the best 2 offensive teams in the NHL in the Penguins and the Blackhawks and have limited them to 7 goals in 7 games.

With all due respect to what Tim Thomas did in 2011 (don’t you wonder whether Thomas gets satellite reception in the missile silo he lives in scarfing down Ho-Ho’s and writing his political manifesto?) the fabulous Finn Tuukka Rask is doing things no one could have imagined.

Two games to go for history. Two games to win to earn the right to call yourself Stanley Cup Champions again.

Because it’s the Cup.

HERNANDEZ QUESTIONED ABOUT ATTLEBORO MURDER

Aaron Hernandez was questioned by police on Monday in connection with a possible homicide in North Attleboro, according to a report from SI.com.

The Patriots’ tight end is reportedly not considered a suspect, but a vehicle rented in his name has emerged as a key piece of evidence in the investigation. Meanwhile, according to SI.com, a source said Hernandez’s name is tied to that rental vehicle.

The Attleboro Sun Chronicle reported Tuesday that a jogger found the body of a 27-year-old Boston man on Monday in an North Attleboro clearing, less than a mile from Hernandez’s home.

According to ABC News, investigators are seeking a warrant to search Hernandez’s home. However, Hernandez has been uncooperative with police.

The 23-year-old tight end, who has played three seasons with the Patriots, caught 51 passes for 483 yards and five touchdowns last season.

(WEEI.COM)

SOX MAKE MORE MOVES

RED SOX ANNOUNCE ROSTER MOVES

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox announced the following roster moves after the first game of today’s doubleheader against the Rays:

· Right-hander Clay Buchholz was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to June 9) with a neck strain. To fill his spot on the 25-man roster, catcher Ryan Lavarnway was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.

· Catcher David Ross was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list. To fill his spot on the roster, right-hander Alex Wilson was recalled from Pawtucket.

Both Lavarnway and Wilson are expected to be available for the second game of today’s doubleheader against the Rays at Fenway Park at 8:05 p.m.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement.

Buchholz, 28, has gone 9-0 with an American League-leading 1.71 ERA (16 ER/84.1 IP) in 12 starts for Boston this season. The Red Sox have an 11-1 record in his starts in 2013. Buchholz last pitched on June 8 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Lavarnway, 25, returns to the Red Sox for his third major league stint of the season. In three games for Boston this season, he has hit .250 (2-for-8) with 2 RBI. In 38 games for Pawtucket this season, he has hit .261 (36-for-138) with nine doubles, three home runs and 21 RBI.

Ross, 36, was also on the seven-day concussion disabled list from, May 12-24. He originally experienced concussion symptoms after taking a pair of foul balls off his catcher’s mask on May 11 against Toronto. In 23 games for the Red Sox this season, he has hit .185 (12-for-65) with two doubles, four home runs and six RBI.

Wilson, 26, will begin his third stint with Boston this season. In 17 appearances out of the bullpen for the Red Sox in 2013, he has gone 1-1 with a 2.61 ERA (6 ER/20.2 IP). His last major league appearance was last Thursday at Baltimore. In eight games for Pawtucket, he is 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA (5 ER/10.2 IP) with three walks and 12 strikeouts.

RED SOX TO START SECOND GAME SHORTLY

GAME 2 OF RED SOX-RAYS DOUBLEHEADER EXPECTED TO START AT 8:05 P.M.

BOSTON, MA – Due to the extended rain delay of Game 1 of today’s Red Sox-Rays doubleheader, Game 2 will start at 8:05 p.m.

The current forecast calls for relatively dry conditions for the remainder of the evening.

A reminder that fans holding tickets for Game 1 are invited to attend Game 2 free of charge. They can exchange their tickets at the Gate E ticket window.