Reacting to Bruins season-ending loss and what’s next? | Poke the Bear

Reacting to Bruins season-ending loss and what’s next? | Poke the Bear

and welcome into poke the bear episode 230 presented by prize picks and game time tickets my name is Connor Ryan and as you can see we’re doing a solo pod uh approximately let’s see 4 hours no five hours actually after the Bruins 2023 24 season uh came to a crushing end uh at the hands of the Florida Panthers brues lose game six on home ICE uh 2 to one uh goal by Gustaf forsing uh with a minute 33 seconds left in regulation is the back breaker for the Bruins Jeremy Swan who has been Stellar all postseason gives up a shorts side rebound uh go to forsling not the way you want to end things but again we’ll we’ll talk about big picture stuff and swayan and all that stuff a little bit later on the podcast so uh not this is not going to be harping on San and that goal because the Bruins wouldn’t even be in this spot probably wouldn’t be in this round um without Jeremy Swan um but it’s typical hockey right in terms of uh how strong you know a player can be throughout a postseason and sometimes it’s the one play that that gets them that that’s all they’re talking about after the game and Swingman mentioned postgame of how unacceptable that play was in terms of getting beat there in that situation again you look at just where Swingman has been this whole year um it’s just unfortunate that ends like that for a guy who is without a doubt the Bruins best player in this playoff run but um again I I think you look at this game six maybe just within the lens of um how the Bruins played and it kind of just encapsulates a little bit of how this Series has gone right um in that at the end of the day the best team won like you look at the Bruins and the way they started um great start to the game in terms of you know had a 40 Edge and shots on goal against Sergey bosski had a few really dominant shifts um from their bottom six drew a penalty couldn’t convert and I I think when you look at uh you know the Bruins and their struggles we can say that the the Florida Panthers are the better team right in terms of probably their overall depth especially up front um have a really active decord that can do a lot of damage the Bruins weren’t burned maybe as much as they were last year by guys like uh Brandon Montour or you know even like up front like a Chuck didn’t have a takeover series perh you know like we saw last year or we saw throughout the postseason last year for for him and what he can do in a series but uh you just look at guys like Anton londell who who um had a lot of really strong games for the Florida Panthers you got forsling who’s maybe the most underrated defenseman I think in the NHL a great player there um and then you even look at just the Bruins and their own opportunities like the Bruins were right in this game but um had a couple of great a chances against Sergey Bovi couldn’t beat him and again I think you give credit to Bovi as the series went on what we all talked about whether it’s the podcast with uh myself and Evan or the podcast with Tai or any the multiple ones we always talked about like especially leading into the series and as it went on it’s like brovi not that great you look at his eight percentage look at some of the goals he let up early on in the series you’re like do get pucks on net against this guy you’re gonna win games um and full credit to him I mean he’s an established goalie with a couple of vzas so he this isn’t anything new for him but he really stepped up I think and made some critical saves uh for the Panthers in multiple games there was been you know two or three games now where the Bruins have had either multiple grade A looks breakaways where the Bruins had opportunities to you know either build a lead CLA out of a deficit all those things weren’t able to get it done and I think you look at just the brones and where they ended um you know this series especially in terms of special teams Bruins PK was really really strong I think in this series but again Bruins go 0 for two um over two on the power play again tonight only had one power play goal the entire series um this is a group that yes we look at the way the Bruins are built um in terms of the amount of you know I don’t you call them Bargain Bin signings the the rookies the kind of castoffs that compile a lot of this roster but the top power play unit still has a lot of impactful players you know with David ponok and mavo and Brad Martian getting back into the lineup um it should be able to do some damage you know is it the same group we saw from years past when it’s Martian and B on and posto and Tory Krug no I think we all expect that but you look at the the weapons the burns do have out there you shouldn’t be finishing a six-game playoff series with one power play goal especially when the margins were so tight uh in some of these games like even look at like game four people look at you know the Sam Bennett power play goal as the big takeaway from that game but Bruins had multiple chances to put that game away you look at game two the Bruins led a you know or game three rather where the Bruins let one of those leads slip away from them the similar situation right um even like game two the Bruins come up short there there’s multiple times in this series and as much as some of them these final results have been lopsided where the Bruins have had chances to either put Florida away or or build their lead and get some get themselves some breathing room um and that just hasn’t been the case and I think it comes down to special teams and just finishing uh ability on this Bruins team I think you look at just what did this team in um wasn’t the goal tending we all know that we all know the Bruins you know what Jeremy Swingman did in that first round Series against Toronto what he did in this Florida series um I mean this series maybe isn’t even back in Boston for a game six if he doesn’t stop ryanard on that on that chance with nine seconds left in game five um no issue there Bruins probably need to add a little bit more heft I would probably say to their decoy which seems to be a prerequisite for any team that goes far in the playoffs um again I still think you’ve got pieces there that that work um we’ll talk a little bit about lorine his impact and I think he had a breakthrough playoff uh for the Bruins but I think if you look at the biggest Chang for the Bruins that has to be up front you know whether it’s um addressing the need for a top you know six center down the down the middle or just having more scoring punch because again like you look at the Bruins and in this series um again we know how the Bruins approach things offensively they’re they’ve strayed from the Bruce Cassidy School of get every Puck on net from every possible angle they’re more of a quality over quantity uh team in terms of their offensive approach and you look at what they did in this series right so Bruins get outscored 11 to1 at 5 on5 play um by the Panthers but the brues had a pretty convincing Edge in terms of high danger scoring chances it was 60 to 41 in favor of the Bruins in terms of generating grade A looks whether that’s you know breakaways uh shots from the slot like brazo had one that you know exactly the type of shot you want to be taking in that spot um rebounds deflections tips uh bringing the puck to the net front um all the kind of things that even if you’re not ending a game with 35 shots on goal if you’re generating those chances it’s gonna help you out in terms of being able to beat a goalie um and again the Bruins stuck with that system I think you saw like game five as a great example of you know ramping up your you know your shot volume a little bit the brones didn’t end the game with 15 shots on goal in that game five right they were able to you know get more shots in on bosski but at the same time generate quality looks at the same and over that same stretch I I think he was you know I think you look at the Bruins and what they did in that game five I think they had a 12 Three Edge and high danger scoring chances even with that higher shot volume again if your Decor is firing pucks and have shooting Lanes uh up at the blue line and it’s leading to tips and rebounds or you’re doing an indirect pass down to the net front or behind the net as you saw with like makoy to De brus to gy on that opening goal in game five um you’re you know that’s a recipe for Success if you’re generating those grade A chances but I think you look at the Bruins and what they’re missing whether it’s you know pushing a guy like Charlie Coyle who uh you know didn’t make much of an impact offensively or pav zaka who again had that goal you know great Breakaway finish in game game six but one playoff goal in 24 playoff games or 25 rather uh career playoff games it’s not going to cut it you need just more from that spot but beyond those two guys I I just look at like this team it just feels like they were missing another you know 25 30 goals score I think like de Brusque had a really really strong playoff uh for this team and needs to be seen if he’s back but like you almost need another player of that caliber sprinkled in somewhere in the you know the top n you know ideally the top six you know and this is just spitballing I’m probably getting ahead of myself but you look at guys like I don’t know puszi or you’re looking at like even like veteran guys who there’s a lot of guys in this uh in this free agency class and you got like the Reinhardt and the gels which I don’t think um the Bruins are going to be in the market for these guys who are going to be making N1 million dollar a year but there’s a lot of these players in that range of like 29 to 33 may be willing to sign a shorter term deal um to join a team that should be in the mix so like you know like the Tyler tooles those kinds of players there’s quite a few of them out there you look at this team and their knack for generating High danger chances how much more will it help you out if you have a guy that you know has a 25 30 goal scoring season on their resume multiple ones if you look at a guy like you know tley or you know Terra or or some of these other players that could add a little bit of a scoring punch um on the the wing this uh upcoming you know season so I think that’s something that looms large for the Bruins it’s it’s you know they were in quite a few of these games uh they you know pushed a very very good Panthers team that I I don’t think has even reach count of their their ceiling of their potential in terms of just how dangerous they can be when they’re firing in all cylinders but the end of the day I think the the better team won in W in this series um and the Bruins were right in it but you got to convert on your chances you’ve had great goal tending uh you had stretches where you’re able to break the puck out um and not create so many self-con flicted miscues but whether it’s you know not capitalizing on special teams making things hotter for yourself in terms of you know penalties another Too Many Men uh penalty here in game six or just uh the fact that this team just doesn’t have enough guys that have that finishing ability I think that loomed large in this series and reason why you have the Bruins uh heading home or packing their bags in a couple of days over Warrior Ice Arena so we’ll uh dissect a little bit more of this game and this season and and what’s ahead uh in a couple minutes but let’s take a quick break here from our good friends over at prize picks get in on the playoff action and win up to 100 times your money on prize picks as you and the world’s best players take the game to a whole new level during basketball and hockey’s postseason you can now went up to 100 times your money on prize picks with as little as four correct picks you can turn $10 into $11,000 with basketball and hockey entries today on prize pick America’s number one fantasy sports app prize pick has something for every sports fan from basketball and 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than two blocks so download the prize pick app today and use code clns for a first deposit match of up to $100 again use code C NS for a first deposit match of up to $100 prize picks pick more pick less it’s that easy and now let’s get back to the show Once Again shout out to our good friends and sponsors overr at prize picks uh so we already gave kind of a quick recap of game six and we’ll elaborate more on this series as a whole once once we get the full crew back again I’m recording this right now it is 1:40 it’s not too too bad but uh recording a solo podcast tonight we’ll dive into this a little bit more once you get the whole crew uh later on this upcoming week but I think you know pivoting a little bit here Beyond looking at game six it’s worth maybe look taking a lens and seeing how we assess this overall season as a whole and again like I understand I think at the end of any season there’s the the Doom and Gloom or there’s the the sour sentiment in terms of you know this series could have been different if such and such happen if Bruins you know buried a few of these chances if they converted on the power play a little bit more if the whole s Bennett thing if they didn’t take out Martian if he didn’t play in game four doesn’t score the power play goal like you can go um you can go down the list in terms of the wh ifs for any series when you’re the team that’s uh that comes up short in in any of those situations but I think just overall looking at the season if I’m a Bruins fan I’m feeling pretty good about uh the way this season went in terms of one just the limitations you had uh going into the year the expectations that I think were probably pretty low which was to be expected right when you lose guys like berson and CI and bruzi Hall you know so many players that you know were such a key piece of um of the Bruins last season on that record setting run they had it’s only it only natural to expect the worst when you’ve got you know almost 5 million of bonus overages you’ve got um barely any money to retain players you have to kind of go to The Bargain Bin to just fill out your roster let alone you know be able to you know pry out um top Targets in free agency or trades or anything like that so I I think you look at where the Bruins were at the start of this year I think you view it as a positive in terms of this was always think going to be a bridge year it’s all about what you make of it right like for some teams regardless of the sport of bridge year is 500 Treading Water uh you know maybe you sneak if you’re an NHL team you sneak in as a wild card team and get you know a gentleman’s sweep in five games or something like that that that’s usually what a bridge a is if you’re the Bruins and you had these kind of low expectations and you come out of it um not only playing into the second round playing a very good Panthers team uh showing some resolve in terms of you know jumping out to that convincing winning game one but this team easily could have rolled over going back down to Florida for game five made a game out of it made a series out of it inspired I think belief that maybe this team could could maybe flip the script from last year um I think that gives full credit to the guys that you know they have on this team but beyond that and you know the exceeding expectations I think it’s looking beyond that right in terms of um where this team is moving forward and if you look at this season if you told me you know if if you’re going into the 2023 24 season and let’s say Late July after the free agency ends and all that stuff and I told you the Bruins are going to play into the second round they were going to beat the Maple Leafs in an an instant classic game seven and you know moving forward that one Jeremy Swan is that guy is your number one franchise goalie a guy that can carry you through multiple rounds especially once you add more to your team and you also know that um you’ve got young talent that it’s it’s not an aberration it’s not uh you know how many times have we ended a year where it’s like well next year we’ll see what Fabian lysel could do he could be 20 goals you know we we mentioned that time and time again every off season right where Evan and I look ahead to guys maybe played five games up the NHL level or maybe had a good year in Providence and we like these guys need to take a step forward you know and maybe a guy like Merc laav is that player this upcoming season but the Bruins have tangible young Talent on their team right now who have showcased their talents and have taken steps forward and have thrived in these roles that now going to next year it’s not like it’s what if these guys you know make it to the NHL and Thrive they’ve already done it they’ve already showed it during this you know whether it’s the regular season or the playoff run like if you’re the Bruins and you already have a pretty good foundation in place you got a number one goalie that is due for a nice pay raise that will be fully deserved um in a couple of months but you look at like Mason lorai who um um was always a promising Prospect but took a huge step forward in Dev camp or or rather during training camp and you know asserted himself and made a significant push there and then from where he was in early October November when he first started uh playing you know NHL reps to where he ended this year night and day in terms of a guy that went from a very intriguing promising Prospect to a guy that looks like a legitimate top four weapon at the NHL um next year and moving forward you look at like um you know even like Johnny beer or Justin brazzo who um go through the ups and downs but next year could be you know bottom six fixtures that are able to build off of this year and then even Matthew poter right who um exceeded all expectations made the NHL roster out of Camp had a really really strong start there hit hits a low ends the year with shoulder surgery but look at you know what promise he showed last year and now he’s you know still 20 years old going into next season has you know that experience at the NHL level already under his belt knows about the physicality the schedule the grind what he needs to do to get better you had that guy into the mix already like you’re in a pretty good spot and that’s beyond the fact that you’ve got um you know over 22 million in cap space right now so I think he view this year as a success in terms of where this team was at the start of the fall and where they ended it now in uh in the middle of May I think you have to be happy with where this team was it’s frustrating like again you you could make the case that the Bruin should have gone even further they they push Florida and it always sucks to lose we all know that it always sucks to see a season end um when your team is the one holding on to the cup and lifting it but I just think you look at where this team was uh just a few months ago and again all all comes down to how I pitch it right like I pitched to you few months ago this team would be you know playing into late May and they’ve got all these guys have taken huge steps forward with a bunch of cap space on the horizon I think you’d take that so we’ll wrap this one up by looking a little bit more at the future but before we do that let’s take a quick break here from our friends over at game time tickets quick break to tell you about my good friends over at game time I am very excited about the NBA playoffs and what’s awesome is here in Boston TD Garden is the best atmosphere for a playoff game thankfully we have game time which is an authorized ticket Marketplace of the NBA which makes playoff tickets even faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to the tip off and with killer last minute deals all-in prices views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets maybe it’s the NBA Playoffs or it’s the NHL playoffs the same is true with the Bruins TD Garden gets so fun during this time of year and you want to be there the Bruins and Celtics are in pursuit of championships and as the rounds go on the crowd gets better and better nothing beats it and with game time there’s last minute deals save up to 60% off buying last minute tickets for sports concerts comedy theater there’s flash deal save even more with exclusive inapp deals on select seats ahead of the game or event and there are Zone deals save even more when you choose a section and let game time choose the seats again take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets and head over to Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code again CNS I can’t be more clear about that use code clns for $20 off download game time today last last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed now back to the show Once Again shout out to game time tickets um so yeah looking ahead which again we are going to talk about this ad nauseum whether it’s uh myself Evan Tai there’s going to be plenty of time now on the horizon to look at how this team can improve and again you look at the fact you already have a lot of you know key guys already signed long term Swan’s going to be due for a sizable new contract which which will be deserved but that’s kind of your other major point of business right you have to figure out what to do with Jake de Brusque and I think for for me it all comes down to what the dollars and cents are I think he’s still a very very good player that can help your team he’s good defensively um had an up and down regular season even though he just uh he admitted in his postgame uh scrum with the media that he actually had a broken hand that he suffered um right before the bye I believe so was fighting that for most of the regular season healed right before the playoffs and he takes off and has a really really strong playoff Run for the Bruins so I really like to brusk and what he brings especially if you’re able to add another impact Wing into the mix as well um it just comes down to what the dollars and cents are like if we’re talking five 525 I’d be there for it if we’re talking about six or anything above then it gets dicey right because you still have to look at like how are you improving down the middle how are you um you know adding more uh scoring depth throughout the roster so that’s the other major point of business but other than that the Bruns go into this off season with you know key guys already signed long term a lot of young uh you know rookies and first second year players on very cheap deals right now who should make ma major contributions whether that’s Lori whether that’s um you know ptra who who will be who who will be healthy uh this upcoming year um should be cleared for training camp even like beer bre guys that you can if they’re healthy you can reasonably expect are going to be right in the mix and can take um steady minutes and what their respective roles are so um the brunes are already in a pretty good spot when you look at just how much of their rosters already accounted for and adding the fact they’ve got right now 22 uh over 22 million in cap space and again that can change and all a sudden be 27 million if you’re able to move Lena Sark and that again seems like the first order of business um again I think this uh goalie you know the goalie rotation era is probably coming to an end in terms of you saw what swan did his Ascension as the Bruin’s number one goal tender um and what he provided and what lift he gave and kind of I think validates that you know his intriguing as the go rotation is if you have one goie that’s locked in um and can provide that extra lift and you can be your go-to guy you got to roll with the HUD golender um so it does seem like all Mark’s time in Boston uh is probably numbered so depends on what you’re going to get for him right like you have to again contend with his his trade options and his trade protections that he has on his contract um and what the return actually is um but if you’re the Bruins all of a sudden you could free up a lot of cap space and maybe get either a player a draft pick something else that can further help your team while also subtracting from an area of strength on your roster so um we’ll dive more into uh possible targets for the Bruins you know we’re going to hear a lot of I’m sure leas Lind home rumors um you’ve got you know Talent on the wings like um tley or you know terrain even stepen stamp Co we’ll see if he goes back to Tampa or what but that’s the kind of Veteran guy that if you want to sign to a short-term deal I think could be a really impactful player kind of reminds me of like when Dallas signed Joe pavelski a few years ago and he’s been money for them Sam Coos is a guy a veteran leader a captain of a very successful franchise that I think a lot of teams would covet if he does hit the free agent market so um no shortage of options for the Bruins and it’s not even counting like possible hockey trades right like the you know maybe the Bruins look at um Sunman or some or players like that who aren’t you know free agents like Beyond Alias lolm who you know production has dropped a little bit even though he’s had a bit of a stronger playoff run for Vancouver um see a guy you want to be giving eight eight and a half million dollars a year towards maybe not um so maybe they’ll look at you know trades as a way to do that as well so we will all dive more into that um moving forward but I think the base you know the the main takeaway I think beyond the obvious frustrations and uh you know sadness that the season is over I think if you’re the Bruins and if you’re a Bruins fan especially uh I think you should view this year as a success and I think there’s a lot to be excited about moving forward you look at last year not a lot to be happy about about when you look at the implications of the record setting season bur run and crei in their futures um and that kind of hanging over this team even the year before that when they lose to Carolina same thing like B on you know B obviously C wasn’t there but bur on in his window whether that shut look at this team now yes it’s unfortunate they lose in the second round but you’re now running it back with guys like um you know an established core already in place a lot of impact talent that you should be able to build around number one goal young players who proved their value and should continue to improve next year and you know potentially 25 26 27 million to to spend on an already pretty uh solid foundation so it’s going to be a huge off season for Don Sweeney and the Bruins to aggressively retool to a team that already has a lot of key pieces in place so it’s an exciting time of year right like as frustrating as it is to have this year end it’s not like 2023 or 2022 where it’s like all right this might be the window What’s Next it’s like yeah what is next what how can they kind of build and improve this team because they they have a window and a cap space to make those things happen so should be a really really fascinating off season so we’ll have you covered every step of the way there but uh as we put an end to the 2023 24 Bruins Centennial season want to give a shout out to all you guys for listening all season long whether it’s poke the bear Bruins beat um all of our stuff um you know we we love talking about hockey we love interacting with you guys the fans um about this team that you guys feel so passionate about um and we love the opportunity to do this every single day um whether it’s covering the game Talking hockey on podcast taking the social media all those things so uh again it’s a a opportunity that I don’t take for granted I know Evan and Ty and everyone else who works uh covers the Bruins and gets to interact with these fans um they don’t take it for granted either in terms of the opportunity we have so a sincere thank you to everyone who uh listened read my stuff follow me on Twitter retweeted something any of those things um it goes a long way and it puts things in perspective of how fortunate we are to be in the spot and cover and uh cover this team and for you guys to root for this team and uh just enjoy hockey as we all we all love so so very much so want to thank you guys all so much for listening uh this is episode 230 of poke the bear we’ll have plenty more uh in the weeks and months ahead as we go into the off seon uh you fans have a great rest of your week

Conor Ryan reacts to the Bruins’ crushing Game 6 loss to the Florida Panthers, who have now eliminated Boston for the second year in a row. He discusses the season as a whole before explaining his thoughts on how the team should move forward.

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