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Entries with the tag: bruce+boudreau
Boudreau Can’t Believe Hiller Was Not A Star Of The Week
by Paul on 01/17/12 at 08:59 PM ET
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from Jeff Miller of the Ducks Blog,
“When you’re out West, you don’t get the love you do when you’re out East,” the Ducks coach said Tuesday. “There’s no way that (Jonas) Hiller shouldn’t have been one of the three stars of the week.”
Ah, yes, the East Coast bias.
When the NHL named its three stars Monday, the Ducks’ goalie was not mentioned. Instead, Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson, Chicago forward Viktor Stalberg and Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin were honored.
Hiller was 2-0-1 with a shutout and stopped 62 0f 65 shots overall. At one point, he went 6 1/2 periods of regulation without allowing a goal.
“I mean, good God, Malkin had one game out of four and he gets third star,” Boudreau said. “So, I mean, what Hiller did, if he didn’t get first star he should have at least been second or third.”...
“It’s amazing how the Ducks don’t get the love from those guys,” Boudreau continued. “So I’m going to start promoting these guys. I’ll go on TV myself. I think I’m doing another TSN show later, so I’ll be talking about him again.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Bruce+Boudreau,
How’s Boudreau Doing?
by Paul on 12/14/11 at 02:07 PM ET
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from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,
Bruce Boudreau uses two words to describe his transition to Anaheim over the past two weeks.
“Settling in,” he told NHL.com during a 15-minute phone interview Tuesday.
Boudreau figures he will be doing exactly that for a while as he adjusts to life on an unfamiliar coast, in a different conference, away from his family and the comfort zone he called home for four years as the successful coach of the Washington Capitals.
Wednesday’s game against Phoenix at Honda Center will be Boudreau’s sixth behind the Ducks’ bench. He’s won only one of his first five (1-3-1), a record that’s making his transition from the Capitals to the Ducks even more challenging than it was going to be for a coach coming to a last-place team less than three days after he lost what was, for all intents and purposes, his dream job….”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Boudreau Now The Coach Of The Anaheim Ducks
by Paul on 12/01/11 at 01:24 AM ET
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ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has named Bruce Boudreau head coach, replacing Randy Carlyle. The club has also relieved Assistant Coaches Dave Farrish and Mike Foligno, and Video Coordinator Joe Trotta of their duties. Brad Lauer has been added to the Ducks staff as an assistant coach. One additional assistant will be named at a later date.
“This was an extremely difficult decision,” said Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray. “Randy is a terrific head coach, and did a tremendous job for us for six-plus seasons. We thank him greatly for his hard work and dedication to our franchise, not the least of which was a Stanley Cup championship. At this time, we simply felt a new voice was needed. Bruce is a proven winner with a great track record, and we are optimistic we can turn this season around under his leadership.”
added 1:28am, Ducks announce they will hold a news conference with Boudreau tomorrow after their 2:00pm ET practice.
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Tags: Bruce+Boudreau, Randy+Carlyle,
Video- All Bruce Boudreau
by Paul on 11/30/11 at 09:58 PM ET
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Jill Sorenson of CSN Washingotn spends just over seven minutes with Bruce Bourdreau.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Boudreau Talks Ovechkin
by Paul on 11/29/11 at 05:55 PM ET
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from Scott Burnside of ESPN,
Boudreau said Ovechkin called him after the news of Boudreau’s firing. Boudreau said the two spoke for 15 minutes on Tuesday and the star winger thanked his former coach for his time with the Capitals.
“And I told him I loved him and blah, blah, blah, all the regular stuff,” Boudreau said.
Ovechkin is off to a slow start with just eight goals in 22 games and the team struggling after a 7-0 start.
But Boudreau dismissed the notion that the two were feuding.
“It’s so far from the truth,” Boudreau said. “I we got along, I think, famously.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alex+Ovechkin, Bruce+Boudreau,
Thankful For Boudreau
by Paul on 11/28/11 at 10:48 AM ET
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from Ted Leonsis of Ted’s Take,
Gratitude. We just completed a long weekend to give thanks and express gratitude.
It’s never easy to let a coach go, and Bruce was a popular personality who helped turn around our franchise. Despite what transpired on the ice this year, I always will be thankful for Bruce’s time with the Capitals and will remember him fondly. He is a great coach who I’m confident will land another spot in the NHL. Unfortunately the shelf life of a coach is short; Bruce was the fifth longest tenured coach in the league. That’s amazing to me.
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Tags: Bruce+Boudreau,
Ovechkin And Boudreau Not Seeing The Game The Same Way
by Paul on 11/20/11 at 07:48 PM ET
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from Tari El-Bashir of the Washington Post,
NHL coaches don’t get canned for losing games. They get fired for losing touch with their team and repeatedly getting stonewalled by the team captain.
Signs of the disconnect between the two have been impossible to ignore:
*Boudreau moved Ovechkin to the wall on the power play. Ovechkin has said he feels more comfortable on the point.
*Boudreau and his coaching staff have repeatedly implored Ovechkin to change his strategy on the attack for more than a year. Go wide instead of cutting to the middle, they’ve told him. Use teammates instead of squeezing off low-percentage shots. Their words, though, have fallen on deaf ears.
*Boudreau and his staff have begged Ovechkin to be more responsible in the defensive end, yet he still routinely floats in Washington’s zone and leaves it prematurely. Through the season’s first 18 games, he has a team-worst plus-minus rating of minus-6.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alex+Ovechkin, Bruce+Boudreau,
Tension Between Ovechkin And Bourdreau?
by Paul on 11/02/11 at 03:15 AM ET
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from Katie Carrera of Capitals Insider,
“I thought other guys were better than him and I thought there was just a chance that other guys might score the goal,” Boudreau said. “I’ve got to put out the guys that I think are going to score the goal and 99 percent of the time Alex is the guy I think is going to score the goal. I just didn’t think Alex was going to score the goal at that time tonight. You go with your gut feeling, thinking that line is going pretty good and I got lucky.”...
Boudreau said he couldn’t put a finger on what was wrong exactly with Ovechkin. “I don’t know,” Boudreau said. “It just wasn’t working for him.”
But another video clip that was part of the national broadcast of Tuesday’s game, showed Ovechkin on the bench during the timeout the Capitals called during the stoppage in play with 1:02 remaining where the star left wing looked displeased and mutters what appears to be an expletive.
You can see the video clip and judge for yourself here. The instance on the bench begins at the 53 second mark of the video.
Also, make sure to check out what Mike Keenan has to say about Ovechin below…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alex+Ovechkin, Bruce+Boudreau,
Who Do You Think Will Win This Battle?
by Paul on 10/12/11 at 05:24 PM ET
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from Chuck Gormley of CSNWashington,
Bruce Boudreau raised a few eyebrows Monday night when, just two games into the season, he said he expects more out of Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and is unwilling to accept excuses.
On Wednesday, Ovechkin was asked to comment on his coach’s evaluation of his play and was terse with his responses.
“I think everybody can be better,” Ovechkin said after Thursday’s practice, where he was matched with center Nicklas Backstrom and new right wing Troy Brouwer. “I think that has to be between me and him and I don’t want to comment on it.”
Asked if he agrees with Boudreau’s assessment, Ovechkin replied, “I just said I don’t want to comment on it.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alex+Ovechkin, Bruce+Boudreau,
Evening Line
by Paul on 10/02/11 at 10:02 PM ET
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“We didn’t play like Stanley Cup champions all preseason.”
“By the same token, you worry about your kids all the time, no matter how responsible you think they are. But we got through it. I think they are in shape, they are game ready and we don’t have any major injuries or suspensions. So it’s all positive.”
-Bruce Boudreau, coach of the Washington Capitals. More on the Caps pre-season from Chuck Gormley of the CSNWashington.
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Tags: Bruce+Boudreau,
Boudreau Talks Ovechkin
by Paul on 08/10/11 at 11:54 AM ET
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from Tarik El-Bashir of Capitals Insider,
“The whole leadership role is taking on a different [meaning] to him now,” Boudreau said Sunday in St. Catharines, Ont., where the coach was hosting his 29th annual Golden Horseshoe Hockey School. “We’re not all 22-year-old guys anymore. He’s the captain. I think he’s a great captain on the ice because no one works as hard as him, and no one wants to win more than him.”
“He’s going to take it a step further. That’s maturity. It’s not anything more than that.”
Since getting the ‘C’ in January of 2010, Ovechkin has definitely been of the lead-by-example variety. To me, it sounds like Boudreau implored him to be more assertive and vocal — and less concerned about hurting feelings — both in the dressing room and, if need be, in front of the cameras and mics, too.
“It’s hard sometimes to go up there and criticize your teammates,” Boudreau said, before pointing out, “His English is getting better. His knowledge of North America is getting better. That’s going to have an effect. They’ll follow his lead.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alex+Ovechkin, Bruce+Boudreau,
Should Boudreau Stay?
by Alanah McGinley on 05/05/11 at 01:04 PM ET
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CBC’s Chris Iorfida and Jesse Campigotto debate Boudreau’s future.
Lorida says “Yes”:
… take a look at Washington’s goals-against and penalty-killing rankings in comparison to 2008 to the end of the 2010 season, and you’ll see significant improvements toward a complete game.
Health is so critical to a Stanley Cup run; one is hard-pressed to name a recent team that won a championship with significant injury woes. Most teams have 12 to 15 players who suit up in all playoff games.
Washington looked like a Cup contender in February and March, but were hit with a number of injuries that took their toll.
Campigotto says “No”
I like Boudreau a lot (partly because he might be the most entertaining HBO character since Pauly Walnuts, or at least Leon Black), and I don’t like the NHL’s general trigger-happiness when it comes to firing coaches. But it feels like maybe Boudreau has taken this team as far as he can.
The guy has tried everything.
Much more here. Any guesses on Boudreau’s future? It seems Ted Leonsis is acknowledging “change” might be in the future, while GM George McPhee says he expects Boudreau to stay on.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: bruce+boudreau, george+mcphee, ted+leonsis,
Bruce Boudreau’s Future
by Alanah McGinley on 05/04/11 at 11:15 AM ET
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From Mike Brophy at Sportsnet.ca:
But somehow, after watching Washington lose again to Tampa Bay Tuesday night to fall behind 3-0 in their Eastern Conference semi-final series, you have to wonder about Boudreau’s future. A win by the Lightning Wednesday would mean the Capitals have once again been disposed from the playoffs long before many expected.
Last season, after winning the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best team in the regular season, the Capitals were summarily dismissed in the first round of the playoffs by the upstart Montreal Canadiens. It was a shocking upset. Nobody denied the Capitals had some of the best offensive players in the league, but their defensive game left plenty to be desired.
With that in mind, Boudreau was determined to get his group to play a more responsible game this year.
Update 12:19pm ET: Washington Post’s Tarik El-Bashir thinks the coach isn’t the problem—
Fans and media will be quick to blame management for putting together a group that can’t win when it matters. Others might point to the coach for being unable to get his team to stick to the game plan for a full 60 minutes.
But I’ll be looking right at the players.
Update 1:42pm ET: Eric Duhatschek at the Globe & Mail:
There is talk that these may actually be the last days for Bruce Boudreau as the Washington Capitals coach, given how his team is down 3-0 in their second-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and need a comeback of historic Flyer-esque proportions to advance to the Eastern Conference final.
This, of course, would be both absurd and patently unfair and one can only hope that Capitals owner Ted Leonsis grasps that notion, once the post-mortems begin in Washington.
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Tags: bruce+boudreau,
Boudreau Talks MSG
by Paul on 04/18/11 at 11:00 AM ET
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from Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sports Bog,
If Bruce Boudreau was hoping to endear himself to Rangers fans during this break in the Caps’ first-round series, he chose an odd way to do it. Here’s Boudreau, when asked to talk about Madison Square Garden during a Monday morning appearance on 105.9 The Edge’s Kirk and Mike Show.
“Well, the one thing, its reputation is far better than the actual building,” the coach said. “I mean, it’s nothing. The locker rooms are horrible. The benches are horrible. There’s no room for anything. But the reputation of being in Madison Square Garden is what makes it famous. Also, our building’s a lot louder, too. So I mean, they can say what they want, but it’s not that loud in there.”
Not that loud in there, eh? This is the kind of quote opposing game-ops people put on scoreboards in an attempt to make home fans delirious and particularly mouthy.
Filed in: NHL Teams, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Boudreau Got It Right
by Paul on 03/16/11 at 08:23 AM ET
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from Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun,
I’m thinking that Bruce Boudreau is an extremely righteous dude right now, on top of the fact that he has one of those perfect, round, bald heads.
Yes, I salute the Washington Capitals head coach for the brief but very succinct message he sent to the group of “concerned fans” protesting on-ice violence outside the Bell Centre prior to the Montreal Canadiens-Capitals game on Tuesday night.
“You don’t like it, don’t come to the games,” he said.
“I think the players realize that they can get hurt. But unless you’ve played and see what goes on at the speed of the game, you’re not going to be able to argue with it.”
Amen to the Boudreau for putting these hypocritical “fans” in their place.
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A Marked Man In Tampa
by Paul on 03/08/11 at 02:45 PM ET
Comments (2)
from Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times,
This is Bruce Boudreau, coach of the Washington Capitals. He’s known for pretty much two things. One, his impressive use of profanity during the HBO series 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic. The other is being behind the bench as his team chokes away Game 7s at home. Now he is known—at least in these parts—for taking shots a couple of Lightning players. Looking, perhaps, to plant a seed in the mind of the officials, Boudreau called Lightning forwards Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie divers….
Here’s the issue with this: It’s one thing to try to fire up your team or get the referees second-guessing themselves or even saying something to get under the skin of an opposing player. But it’s another to call out an honest player like Stamkos.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Afternoon Line
by Paul on 03/07/11 at 12:57 PM ET
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“If I’m a ref I would never make a call on Downie, he dives every 2 seconds, Stamkos, he dives every 2 seconds.”
-Bruce Boudreau, head coach of the Washington Capitals who face the Lightning tonight. Quote via Erik Erlendsson tweet.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Bruce+Boudreau,
Capitals’ Win in Tampa Breathes Life Into Division Hopes
by Jon Jordan on 02/05/11 at 01:19 PM ET
Comments (1)
Give them credit.
The Washington Capitals came into Tampa last night, home of the current leaders in the very Southeast Division that they’ve owned for as long as most can remember, on a night where the Lightning were celebrating a new franchise motto, emblem and direction, no less and they put it on their hosts, stopping the Bolts’ six-game losing streak just like that and showing that they’re not ready to hand over the Southeast crown just yet.
And give him credit, as in Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau, for trying something different against Tampa Bay’s 1-3-1 attack. His club needed this one and, shut down offensively (to the tune of consecutive shutouts) in their previous two showdowns against Tampa, Boudreau got his players to buy into an intentionally passive approach after gaining the lead, daring the Lightning to attack while sitting back with the puck in the defensive zone.
The change in philosophy, even for a night, let Washington put recent history against Tampa Bay out of their minds, produced the intended result and yielded a four-point swing in their favor, as a Lightning win would have extended their lead in the division to seven points. Instead, the Capitals are now just three behind Tampa, having conceded nothing with 29 regular season games left for each team and one head-to-head remaining on the schedule between these two.
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Tags: Bruce+Boudreau, Guy+Boucher,
Fire Bruce Boudreau?
by Paul on 02/02/11 at 07:46 AM ET
Comments (6)
from capsfansteve at Japers’ Rink,
The simple fact is: this team is capable of playing better than it does a lot of the time. I know it, you know it, BB knows it and they all know it too. One of the questions I’ve asked myself time and time again after seeing the same lackadaisical play over and over again is whether BB is incapable of making adjustments or if the boys in red are just too lazy to care for roughly 30 minutes a game when Pittsburgh isn’t the opponent….
I’ve been contemplating the job status of BB and whether or not he should get the axe. As we all know, hockey is unique amongst professional sports in North America in that a coaching change can jump start a team’s fortunes rapidly as opposed to other sports where such measures are done as acts of desperation and seldom benefit the team….
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Morning Line
by Paul on 01/13/11 at 10:16 AM ET
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“Ovi comes out of the penalty box, the puck instead of bouncing forward—I don’t know how in the hell—it bounced backwards on him or he has a breakaway. [Nicklas Backstrom] gets chances in the slot and it flubs off his stick. Ovi breaks sticks when he’s shooting. There’s a lot of things not going right for them and they’re pressing really hard but [their slumps are] not for a lack of want and will.
“it’s tough when you’ve got a team that’s used to scoring,. There’s a lot of guys that’s used to scoring a lot of goals, being up at the top in a lot of categories and when they’re not scoring they get frustrated.”
-Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau after losing 3-0 to Tampa Bay last night. Quote is via Katie Carrera of Capitals Insider.
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Boudreau Should Be Saying ‘La’ Instead of ‘Coo’
by Paul on 01/08/11 at 07:32 PM ET
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Evening Line
by Paul on 12/30/10 at 07:25 PM ET
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“If I have to say anything to the players on New Year’s Eve, they’re in the wrong business. Then you’ll know right away what kind of character you’ll have on the team. Of course young guys want to go out, but this is a one o’clock game the next day and it’s the most important game for hockey this side of the playoffs. If they’re out, I would be extremely disappointed.”
-Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau on his team partying on New Year’s Eve, via Capitals Insider.
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Afternoon Line, Part 2
by Paul on 12/17/10 at 02:27 PM ET
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Rex Ryan’s reign as king of HBO’s pot-bellied, potty-mouthed coaches came to an abrupt end when the Capitals’ Bruce Boudreau premiered on the NHL “24/7’’ Wednesday night.
My ears! By the time the hail of curse words was over, Boudreau had made Ryan’s notorious efforts on “Hard Knocks’’ seem as tame as an episode of “Barney.’’
-Neil Best of Watchdog at Newsday (free viewing until 1/7/11).
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Bruce Boudreau Talks After Caps Loss To Rangers
by Paul on 12/13/10 at 09:43 AM ET
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Evening Line
by Paul on 10/29/10 at 05:06 PM ET
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“It’s all about the will and the want, and if you want to do, it you do it. And if you don’t, you become a spoiled little player. You decide where it goes….Winning, winning properly is [about] creating good habits. You can only be successful as those good habits are continuous. Anybody can win on talent on one night in awhile, but it’s good habits that will make you win continually.”
-Bruce Boudreau, Washington Capitals head coach. Visit Capitals Insider for more from Boudreau.
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Caps are Still the Caps, Which is Bad News for Everyone Else
by Jon Jordan on 09/22/10 at 10:44 AM ET
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Of all five Southeast Division clubs, the Washington Capitals of 2010-11 will look the most like themselves from a year ago, having added only a spattering of depth to the lineup that captured the President’s Trophy last season. Alas, as the reigning division champ and still the clear-cut class of the division, if it ain’t broke, well, you know… But a first-round playoff exit thanks to Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens left an awful taste in the mouths of Bruce Boudreau’s squad, meaning improvements are in order this year for sure. (Or else?)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Atlanta Thrashers, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Alex+Ovechkin, Alex+Semin, Braden+Holtby, Brendan+Morrison, Brian+Fahey, Brian+Willsie, Brooks+Laich, Bruce+Boudreau, Calder+Cup, Calder+Trophy, D.J.+King, Eric+Belanger, Eric+Fehr, George+McPhee, Hershey+Bears, Jaroslav+Halak, Jeff+Schultz, Joe+Corvo, John+Carlson, Jose+Theodore, Karl+Alzner, Kyle+Greentree, Marcus+Johansson, Mathieu+Perreault, Michael+Neuvirth, Mike+Green, Mike+Knuble, Milan+Jurcian, NHL+previews, Nicklas+Backstrom, Scott+Walker, Semyon+Varlamov, Shaone+Morrison, Southeast+Division, Stefan+Della+Rovere, Tomas+Fleischmann,
Boudreau Can’t Forget Series Loss To Montreal
by Paul on 08/18/10 at 05:29 PM ET
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from Dan Rosen of NHL.com,
It was longer than expected for Boudreau and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Caps, who blew a 3-1 series lead to Montreal in the opening round of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and lost 2-1 at home in Game 7.
Boudreau hasn’t been able to forget about that meltdown for several reasons, including the fact that he’s always reminded of it when he does an interview. His response is also always the same: If it weren’t for Jaroslav Halak, then the Habs’ goalie, Washington would have moved on to the second round.People are asking these questions and trying to make mountains out of molehills here,” he said. “We lost in seven games, and to me the goaltender did things that not too many goaltenders do. (Sidney) Crosby said it best when (Pittsburgh) lost (to Montreal in the second round). He said if they’re game plan was to play three quarters of the game in their zone and then hopefully win, then they had a good game plan.
“We took a hundred shots (technically 94, according to the stat sheet) at the net in the final game,” Boudreau continued. “If you can’t score, you can’t score. It happens and you can’t change a thing. I thought we had a great year and we didn’t have a good week, and we’re not apologizing for the way we played because we didn’t allow many goals or chances. We just didn’t do what we normally do and that’s score.”
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Does History Repeat?
by Paul on 04/30/10 at 01:19 PM ET
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from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,
Back in November, 1994, during the first NHL lockout, I was sent to Fort Wayne, home of the famous Komets, to do a story on life in the International Hockey League….
First, though, Franke (owner of the Komets) wanted to talk about the first period, which saw the Komets fall behind. Unsolicited, he went through a laundry list of what he saw as bad decisions and bad strategy by his coach. Like Leonsis, Franke never mentioned the coach but the meaning was clear.
When I returned to the press box for the start of the second period, I ran into Doug MacLean, who was an NHL scout at the time. I told MacLean what the owner said about his coach and said I didn’t like the coach’s chances of hanging on to his job. MacLean agreed it is never a good thing when an owner starts second-guessing the x’s and o’s on a coach.
Sure enough, the coach didn’t make it to Christmas.
His name? Yep, tough guess. Bruce Boudreau.
added 2:38pm, via Tarik El-Bashir of Capitals Insider,
Pressed on his coach’s status, McPhee added: “Bruce is a really good coach. He’s a really good coach. He’s going to be here a really long time. No need to raise those issues because he’s not going anywhere.”
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Do The Capitals Need A New Coach?
by Paul on 04/29/10 at 08:42 AM ET
Comments (14)
from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News,
So, let’s look at the players skating on the ice and the man behind the bench. Is Bruce Boudreau the right person to coach this team at this point in its development?
There is little doubt Boudreau is a good coach in the NHL and has both an excellent grasp of the technical aspects of the game and a unique ability to relate to his players and make them play hard for him. His road to the NHL makes him a unique and compelling story and his stock as a coach has risen meteorically since taking over the Capitals.
But you have to wonder if there’s a team that needs a kick in the hockey pants more than the Capitals do now. What might bring out the best in the team is a taskmaster who makes his players accountable and uncomfortable. Perhaps the star-laden Capitals aren’t on edge enough when it comes to their own performance. Maybe they need someone who is going to play head games with them, call them out in the media and not be afraid to sit out an elite player when he’s not producing.
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Bruce Boudreau Faces The Media After Tonight’s Game
by Paul on 04/28/10 at 09:58 PM ET
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No Peeking Allowed
by Paul on 04/20/10 at 07:37 PM ET
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Washington Coach Bruce Boudreau claims Montreal Coach Jacques Martin was spying o the Caps practice today.
Martin responds…
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Tags: Bruce+Boudreau, Jacques+Martin,
Ovechkin And Boudreau Talk About The Hit On Campbell
by Paul on 03/14/10 at 04:10 PM ET
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from Lindsay Applebaum of Capitals Insider,
“I didn’t hit him hard,” Ovechkin said of Campbell, who did not return to the game. “He fell bad. But you can see, every shift this happens—little pushes, little battles.”...
Unsurprisingly, Coach Bruce Boudreau had similar thoughts. “I didn’t think it was a bad, bad check worth a five and a game [misconduct],” he said. “A two at the most, but I don’t make the calls.”
more including video of both Ovechkin and Boudreau…
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Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Brian+Campbell, Bruce+Boudreau,
Morning Line
by Paul on 02/12/10 at 08:33 AM ET
Comments (10)
“I don’t think he was ready to play. He knew he was going to play. He’s had 12 days of practice and a game [in the minor leagues] under his belt. It’s his responsibility to be ready.”
“When you say, he’s rusty, it’s an excuse,” he added. “And excuses aren’t tolerated. The puck’s going through his legs? He’s been making that save since he was seven years old.”
-Washington Coach Bruce Boudreau on goaltender Semyon Varlamov. More on the Capitals loss from Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.
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Morning Line
by Paul on 02/01/10 at 09:38 AM ET
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“The number 10 is pretty tough to get to, and I told the guys, “You might go your whole career without getting it again, so enjoy it.”
Washington Coach Bruce Boudreau after the Caps tenth consecutive win. More on the Capitals from Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.
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Boudreau Loves Cherry
by Paul on 01/18/10 at 09:32 AM ET
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from Capitals Outsider,
We had a chance this evening to ask Coach Bruce Boudreau his thoughts about Don Cherry’s comments from the night before.
Boudreau : You know what, I love Don Cherry.
continue for an explanation from Boudreau why he had Ovechkin and Green on the power play late in the game…
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Grapes Tonight
by Paul on 01/16/10 at 09:54 PM ET
Comments (12)
Don Cherry on Coach’s Corner tonight basically called out Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau for playing Mike Green and Alexander Ovechkin on the power play last night when they had a big lead.
Don touched on numerous topics but the Boudreau conversation starts at the 3:00 minute mark if you are just interested in that topic.
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Boudreau Takes A Few Shots At The Media
by Paul on 12/06/09 at 01:25 PM ET
Comments (8)
from Corey Masisak of the Washington Times,
Boudreau wasn’t done. When asked about his team’s defensive play being underrated throughout this offensive explosion, it was Boudreau who went on the offensive.
“Just don’t go tell Mike Milbury that or Alan Muir that, because they keep saying we can’t play defensive hockey,” Boudreau said. “We’re good defensively, I believe. Sometimes if you’ve played the game before and you score four or five goals it is really hard to keep that [defensive] pressure on—you are so up for the game it is human nature to relax a little bit. But every week in the power rankings I read Alan Muir saying we can’t play defense, so it is interesting.”
And finally, since Boudreau was on a roll ... why not ask him about SI’s Jim Kelley, who wrote an article criticizing Alex Ovechkin this week?
“I heard about it and I heard it was so ridiculously ridiculous that I was hoping someone would have it or show it to me,” Boudreau said. “I would like to, not attack him but I’d like to at least have a chance at a rebuttal on all the things he said that weren’t true.”
more including Boudreau’s reaction to Carcillo’s action last night…
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Boudreau’s Book
by Paul on 11/01/09 at 09:10 AM ET
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from Mike Wise of the Washington Post,
Boudreau is also courageous enough to talk about one of the most disturbing rookie-initiation episodes imaginable.
“They put me in the hospital during rookie hazing,” he writes of the treatment he received from his Minnesota Fighting Saints’ teammates. “They pinned me down on a gurney and tied my legs and arms. They shaved my head and pubic area. Then they put turpentine on the cuts and smeared black tar on my groin and chest. They finished by gluing my armpits and left me lying there bawling like a baby until the trainer came and took me to the hospital. If I didn’t love the game so much, I would have quit after that day. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never liked initiations. I’ve never cut another guy’s hair.”
more and Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer is available at Amazon.
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Morning Line
by Paul on 10/13/09 at 06:43 AM ET
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“Even though we have a fairly veteran team, it’s learning how to win again. When you’ve got it, instead of thinking, ‘Uh-oh, what’s going to happen, what’s going to go wrong? You’re thinking, ‘No problem, we’re going to win it.’ That’s the mindset a little bit right now. So it would be good to eventually win a game again.”
-Washington Coach Bruce Boudreau after losing to New Jersey last night. More from Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.
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A Book On ‘Gabby’
by Paul on 08/19/09 at 10:33 AM ET
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from J.P. of Japers’ Rink,
Every day this week at Japers’ Rink, we’ll be sharing a new excerpt from Bruce Boudreau’s forthcoming autobiography “Gabby - Confessions of a Hockey Lifer” (co-written by Tim Leone). The book, published by the good folks over at Potomac Books, Inc., hits book store shelves in October, 2009…
Today’s excerpt nee
Starting an AHL expansion franchise in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 2001–2 was exciting. But that challenge was tempered by a tragic dose of perspective on September 11, 2001.
I was supposed to be on United Airlines flight 175 out of Boston, which flew into the World Trade Center in New York. Los Angeles Kings pro scouting director Ace Bailey and scout Mark Bavis were on the flight and were killed. Ace and I became fast friends when I coached in Lowell.
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Boudreau Enjoys Canada Day
by Paul on 07/02/09 at 01:55 PM ET
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from Randy O’Halloran of the Washington Times,
Bruce Boudreau’s day began with meeting Tiger Woods and ended with the Washington Capitals’ signing of winger Mike Knuble on the opening day of NHL free agency.
The middle part wasn’t bad either.
Playing in the AT&T National pro-am Wednesday at Congressional Country Club, the Caps’ coach was in a group headed by fellow Canadian left-hander Mike Weir.
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Caps Coach Not A Pens Fan
by Paul on 06/17/09 at 02:18 PM ET
Comments (7)
from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,
I couldn’t resist asking Boudreau about watching the rival Pittsburgh Penguins raise Lord Stanley’s mug. Let’s just say he wasn’t cheering for Pittsburgh.
“The rivalry is pretty heated between the two teams, so normally you always want the team that beats you to win the Cup so you can say, ‘Hey, we did great. The only team that beat us was the team that won it all,’” Boudreau told ESPN.com. “But it was really a hard time cheering for them. Now that they’ve won, it’s definitely a motivating factor for me with the team. But I was still hoping for Detroit. I couldn’t bring myself to cheer for Pittsburgh. But since they won, I may as well use it.”
more plus a video of Ovechkin talking about being on the cover of NHL 2K10, the playoffs and the rivalry with the Penguins.
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Afternoon Line
by Paul on 04/20/09 at 01:55 PM ET
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“He is the guy who wants to win more than anybody, and sometimes he has the tendency of trying to do everything by himself. That’s just something that we have to talk to him and say, ‘Hey, Alex, you’ve got 19 other guys here to help you.’ His personality is to want to do everything so hard and so well and you can’t fault him for that. You just have to reel him in sometimes.”
-Washington coach Brude Boudreau on Alexander Ovechkin. More on the Caps/Rangers from the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog at CBC.
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Morning Line
by Paul on 04/18/09 at 10:48 AM ET
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“They won the game and the only thing he (Tortorella) did was cry about the two [areas] we won—faceoffs and a penalty. He’s playing the whole game, and it’s pretty lame, quite frankly.”
“He’s talking about Nicky Backstrom, who was 48-percent. He was one of the worst centermen the first half of the year in faceoffs altogether. We went in and I talked to the league and the league said they are perfectly legal. So he’s just crying right now. It’s a dumb thing to cry about. We’re told not to do this, but he’s trying to play the gamesmanship and get the referees on their side. ...Give us a break.”
-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau via Tarik El-Bashir of Capitals Insider.
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Afternoon Line
by Paul on 03/26/09 at 01:08 PM ET
Comments (2)
“It’s 10 friggin days since it happened. We have talked to Tampa’s coaches, we have said our speech. The people that are bringing the crap up are you guys. Nobody cares about it anymore. You guys want to bring it up because you want to see a riot, then you want to talk about retribution. It’s the dumbest thing in the world. You gotta have better stuff to talk about.”
-Washington coach Bruce Boudreau. The Capitals face the Lightning tomorrow so the Ovechkin 50th goal celebration was brought up. More at TSN...
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Boudreau- “We Did Everything Wrong That A Team Could Do”
by Paul on 03/17/09 at 05:47 AM ET
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Capitals lose to the Thrashers 5-1 last night. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau talks about the loss.
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Morning Line
by Paul on 03/04/09 at 09:02 AM ET
Comments (11)
“We just made it 5 to 2, and we’re jumping on each other like we just won an overtime game. I’m sure if I were on the Carolina bench I’d be going, ‘Look at these idiots.’”
-Caps coach Bruce Boudreau after the Caps lost to the Hurricanes 5-2. Watch a post game video at On Frozen Blog.
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Evening Line
by Paul on 01/03/09 at 06:18 PM ET
Comments (9)
“It’s not right that the best player in the game is not a starter. We want to get the fans involved and they have the right to vote for ever they want. There’s 21,000 fans at every home game in Montreal, and everyone in Montreal is a hockey fan. Everybody who knows hockey, knows that Alex would be in the starting lineup if it went on merit. But he’s not.”
-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau on Alexander Ovechkin not making the starting lineup of the All-Star roster. A little more from Bruce at Capitals Insider and I agree 100% with Bruce, it makes me question this process going forward.
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Tags: Alexander+Ovechkin, Bruce+Boudreau,
Boudreau On Semin & Crosby
by Paul on 11/01/08 at 12:46 PM ET
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from Tarik El-Bashir at Capitals Insider,
I asked Bruce Boudreau if he had any thoughts on Alexander Semin’s comments about Sidney Crosby.
“I thought that was the biggest comment I’ve seen from him in three years,” Boudreau said. “I’m just glad to see he’s talking. Obviously, you don’t want top give anybody [bulletin board] stuff. But he said it. If it might mean he’s coming out of his shell a little bit, then good for him.”
“Not good for him that those comments were made,” he added. “I think Crosby is unbelievable. I think he is a great player and all of those things. But it was also through an interpreter, so it could have been taken out of context….”
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Lunch On Bruce
by Paul on 10/31/08 at 08:23 AM ET
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from the Reliable Source at the Washington Post,
Six months ago, Kelly Black ran into the Washington Capitals head coach at Ballston Common Mall—where the team holds public practices—and invited him to join her kids and her best friend for lunch. “Can’t right now,” he told them. “Next time.”
Yesterday, 7-year-old Austin Black attended Caps practice with a hand-held sign: “Coach Boudreau: You promised lunch with me. Today is the day.”
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Tags: Bruce+Boudreau,
