Sean Couturier

Bruins’ Prospect Beecher Shined At World Juniors Summer Showcase

/ Ian Frazier / Leave a comment
John-Beecher

( Photo credit Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images )

By: Ian Frazier | Follow Me On Twitter @ifrazier95

Boston Bruins fans must be feeling pretty good right now after reading the reports and watching recent YouTube videos about the team’s 2019 National Hockey League first-round draft selection John Beecher. The 18-year-old Elmira, New York native was labeled as a draft steal to some experts when he was selected 30th in late Junes NHL Entry Draft from Vancouver, British Columbia. The jury is still out on him, but with the way Beecher played in the 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase held at the Team USA Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, the B’s scouting staff certainly got this one right when addressing future needs.

Beecher looked like an absolute beast compared to other prospects his age. As shown in the video above, he was able to win puck battles on the boards as well as score a couple goals down low. He also battled hard on faceoffs and generated a nice breakaway goal that was made possible by his fast acceleration down the ice beating two defenders. During his time at WJSS, he developed great chemistry alongside fellow Bruins’ prospect Curtis Hall showing their nice one-two punch that was on display during the domination of Finland 7-1. One of his biggest attributes on display was his overall team awareness. He knew exactly where his teammates were and was able to make crisp passes or be able to skate in and help contain the puck near the crease. From what he has shown so far, many hockey insiders believe his style of play is very similar to Sean Couturier with additional speed and size.

With Beecher showing flashes of top six potential, this should be great news for Bruins center David Krejci going forward. Krejci has had seasons where he struggled to have consistent scoring due to the lack of explosiveness on his right side and someone like Beecher could bring that explosiveness to the black and gold and could fill the much-needed position soon. The Bruins had a few prospects the last few seasons try out there with Jackob Forsbaka Karlsson being the most recent. JFK, however, decided to go back to Sweeden to help his development. In the meantime they found a solid replacement with Bruins forward Karson Kuhlman to hold down the fort until someone like Beecher is ready to be called up. Beecher is scheduled to transfer to the University of Michigan where he will play for the Wolverines during the 2019-20 NCAA season.

Over the past few seasons, players like this have been a much-needed asset for many teams and Beecher may be the next in line that fits that mold. One thing is for sure though, Bruins fans should be excited about him, and they should be happy knowing that Sweeney may have found a future solution at second-line right wing. We still don’t know for sure if Beecher is a long-time solution for the club down the road, but the future looks bright for this young man. Time will tell!

Check out the Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 139 that we recorded on 8-2-19 below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Sticher.

Bruins Game 51 Preview: Philadelphia Flyers

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
brad-marchand (1).jpg

PHOTO CREDITS: (The Canadian Press)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj 

For the third and final time in the 2018-19 season, the Bruins and Flyers will meet for a game, the second of which being in Boston in the TD Garden. The Bruins are coming off of a 4-3 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, a game where only the first line seemed to have the offensive capability to score goals. Boston managed to get a point and now they sit only one point behind Montreal for the third spot in the Atlantic Division with one game in hand.

The Philadelphia Flyers are looking to get six of a possible six points in the three games in four days for them this week. On Monday, the Flyers beat the Jets 3-1, a game where the Flyers did a great job keeping the Jets on the outside and away from any scoring opportunities. On Tuesday, the Flyers played again, beating the New York Rangers 1-0 the final score. Anthony Stolarz stopped all thirty-eight saves in the game. The Flyers aren’t close to the playoffs, however, sitting ten points behind Pittsburgh for the final wild-card position.

Starting Goaltenders:

BOS: Tuukka Rask 14-8-3 2.43 GAA .919 SV% Last Game*: 28 Saves in 5-2 Win vs STL

PHI: Carter Hart 7-5-1 2.52 GAA .922 SV% Last Game: 31 Saves in 3-1 Win vs WPG

*Not including the game vs NYR due to the injury suffered early on.

Who’s Hot

The Flyers have not had a good history with goaltenders but lately, goaltending has actually been one of their strong suits. In their last win against the Rangers, Anthony Stolarz was unbeatable, stopping all 38 shots against. However, the 48th Overall Pick (2nd Round) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Carter Hart has been great as of late. The Flyers netminder is the first Philadelphia goalie to have a four-game winning streak before the age of twenty-one. Hart has allowed a combined ten goals over the four games that he has won as well over the Wild, Bruins, Canadiens, and Jets dating back to January 14th.

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PHOTO CREDITS: (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Brad Marchand has been on a tear for the Bruins lately, scoring a point in each of his last five games and has totaled three goals and six assists for nine points in that span. In the loss against the Jets, Marchand tallied three assists on the night – an assist on every Bruin goal scored. Brad now has 19-37-56 numbers in forty-nine games this year, second-most on the team.

Sean Couturier has been doing well for Philadelphia as well. The 26-year-old forward has six points in his last five outings including a hat-trick against Boston back on January 16th. Couturier is second for points on the Flyers with nineteen goals, twenty-one assists for forty points. Couturier will be looking to have another big game against the Bruins tonight.

Who’s Not

Claude Giroux has been the best forward for scoring on the Philadelphia Flyers for many years and he has continued that trend so far this season. With that said, the Hearst, Ontario, Canada native has failed to get on the score sheet once in the past three consecutive games, even while playing around twenty minutes per game. It is very likely that Giroux can explode one of these games, as he did put up a career-high 102 points in the 2017-18 season.

Jake DeBrusk has not had a terrific year this season and with the season winding down, he will need to change that soon in order for the Bruins to be contenders again. DeBrusk has 14-4-18 totals in 41 contests this season and he has failed to score a point in the last three games and only one point in his last seven games.

Wayne Simmonds has been involved in many trade rumors in the past years, but his recent lack of production may be a cause of concern for teams wanting to trade for the 30-year-old forward this trade deadline. Simmonds has fifteen goals, eight assists for twenty-three points in fifty points. Wayne also has a -11 rating on the Flyers this year, the second-worst among forwards on the roster.

Milestone Watch

Boston Bruins:

  • G Tuukka Rask is one win away (252) from taking sole possession of first for most goaltender wins in Bruins history, passing Tiny Thompson (252)
  • F David Backes will be playing in his 900th career NHL regular season game
  • D Brandon Carlo will be playing in his 200th career NHL regular season game
  • D Zdeno Chara is two goals away from 200 career NHL goals
  • F Brad Marchand is one short-handed goal away (23) from tying Derek Sanderson (24) for second-most SHG in Bruins history
  • F Brad Marchand is one game-winning goal away from taking sole possession of 7th most GWG in Bruins history
  • F Patrice Bergeron is one game-winning goal away from taking sole possession of 3rd most GWG in Bruins history
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PHOTO CREDITS: (The Associated Press)

Philadelphia Flyers:

  • No notable milestones can be reached tonight.

Bruins vs Flyers Outlook

If the Bruins think for whatever reason that tonight’s game against the Flyers will be a walk in the park towards an easy win, then they are in the wrong mindset. Surprisingly, the Flyers have been a good hockey team since returning from the All-Star Break. With wins over the Jets and Rangers on back-to-back nights and a win over the Bruins earlier in the month, the team will be striving for another win tonight as they head into their fourth game this week on Saturday.

For the Bruins, they need every point that they can get their hands on. With a game on Sunday coming up against the Washington Capitals, a team that the Bruins have trouble with, this is the type of game to get two points. Boston did have a decent outing against Winnipeg on Tuesday, but Bruce Cassidy needs more depth scoring in order to win the game tonight.

The Bruins have the second-best power-play percentage in the league, at a 27.3% success rate on the man-advantage. The Flyers are dead-last on the PP, scoring on only 12.9% of their power-plays this season. On the penalty-kill, the Bruins are the sixteenth-best in the league (80.3%) and the Flyers are 28th in the league (76.4%). The winning team tonight will win the season series two games to one.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm EST in the TD Garden. Below were the lines Cassidy had rolling in the morning skates.

Check out the available tickets from our advertising partner SeatGiant for your next Boston Bruins game. Click the link below, and when purchasing any event ticket, from the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL to concerts and shows, please use discount code BNGP to save a little money. Thank You! 

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Bruins’ Bergeron Nominated For 2018 Selke Trophy

/ Max Mainville / Leave a comment
NHL: Preseason-New York Rangers at Boston Bruins

PHOTO CREDITS: (nesn.com)

By: Max Mainville | Check me out on Twitter @tkdmaxbjj

To no surprise, the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) have nominated Boston Bruins forward, Patrice Bergeron for the Frank J. Selke Trophy along with Philadelphia Flyers forward, Sean Couturier, and Los Angeles Kings forward, Anze Kopitar.

The Frank J. Selke Trophy was brought into the National Hockey League back in 1977-78 regular season, when Montreal Canadiens forward, Bob Gainey won the very first award. The award was named after nine-time Stanley Cup winner and former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, Frank J. Selke.

Ever since the trophy’s creation, it has been awarded to the best defensive forward throughout the course of the regular season. For Bergeron, it is an opportnunity to break the NHL record for most Frank J. Selke Trophies, tied with Gainey. Patrice has won the award on four previous occasions, (2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2016/17).

This past season has been one of the best for the 32-year old Bergeron, who scored 30 goals along with 33 assists, good for 63 points on the year in only 64 games played, his second-highest point total in his last five seasons. Along with the points, Bergeron finished the campagin with a +21 rating, his third-highest of his career.

Bergeron is commonly known throughout the league for his domination on the faceoff dot. During the 2017-18 season, ‘Bergy’ had a 57.3% average on the dot, winning 784 of his 1368 faceoffs taken. Bergeron had 55 takeaways during the season as well, his third-highest number of takeaways, with 12 less than his 2015-16 season and he played 16 less games this season than the ’15/’16 campaign.

The other nominees, Sean Couturier and Anze Kopitar also had great seasons. Couturier had 31-45-76 totals with a +34 rating while Kopitar finished with 35-57-92 totals and a +21 rating. However, it is worth noting that Couturier and Kopitar each played a full, 82-game season.

This is the first time that Couturier has been nominated for the award while Kopitar already has experience in winning the trophy, back in 2015-16, his first and only one to date.

The 2018 NHL Awards will take place on June 20th, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.