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Post by KSJ08 on Nov 10, 2022 8:11:29 GMT -5
Such a great interview, I think all of our prospects could sit down and take a lot from that. One exhibition game from getting sent back to his junior team, such a special player. I remember in Bergeron’s first year comparing him to Jean Ratelle, not in style of play but in the way he carried himself, pure class all the way. Marty LaPointe had A lot to Bergy's development as a professional too.
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 10, 2022 9:05:21 GMT -5
It is going to suck when this guy retires.
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Post by KSJ08 on Nov 10, 2022 9:44:57 GMT -5
It is going to suck when this guy retires. Like Stevie Y was to Wings.
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Post by skemack on Nov 10, 2022 10:11:46 GMT -5
Such a great interview, I think all of our prospects could sit down and take a lot from that. One exhibition game from getting sent back to his junior team, such a special player. I remember in Bergeron’s first year comparing him to Jean Ratelle, not in style of play but in the way he carried himself, pure class all the way. Marty LaPointe had A lot to Bergy's development as a professional too. While his contract for on ice performance never matched where he earned every dollar of that contract was in his mentorship of Bergeron.
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Post by SeaBass on Dec 13, 2022 9:15:23 GMT -5
On April 16, the Bruins hosted the Penguins. In the first period, between 9:04 (Brian Dumoulin’s block of a Brad Marchand shot) and 9:11 (Mike Reilly’s 36-foot shot on goal), TD Garden off-ice officials did not identify anything they qualified as one of the game’s 242 events.
Patrice Bergeron’s teammates and coaches would disagree.
By their review, Bergeron determined what backchecking route to take, identified which Pittsburgh attacker was the biggest threat, skated himself back into the play, eliminated a between-the-circles chance, won a puck battle in the defensive zone and initiated a scoring rush for the Bruins the other way.
“It’s a Hall of Fame play,” said Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman.
The Athletic interviewed Bergeron and his five on-ice teammates at the time, plus assistant coach Chris Kelly, to understand the layers of the sequence.
Brandon Carlo remembered the play right away when reviewing the clip. Brad Marchand did not. By now, such shifts have become regular occurrences for Bergeron’s left wing.
“This is a very common thing that he does in his game,” Marchand said. “I’m not surprised by seeing that.”
Bergeron was playing in Game No. 1,210 of his career. How he performed that day was not going to impact the 160 first-place votes he would claim for his record-breaking fifth Selke Trophy, which he’d win on June 5.
But what has made Bergeron, at least by Selke metrics, the best defensive forward in NHL history — and 46th best player in the league’s modern era, as picked by The Athletic’s NHL99 project — is a metronomic, non-negotiable and rigorous pursuit of 200-foot sublimity. That it was Game No. 75 of his 18th NHL season did not mute Bergeron’s effort nor execution.
“That’s him,” Kelly said of the play, “in a nutshell.”
‘Chasing ass’ “At this point, it’s not good,” said Bergeron. “At this point, it’s like, ‘All right, we’ve got to get back. Because this could be ugly.'”
At this point, the Penguins were breaking out of jail. Jason Zucker had the puck in the neutral zone. Dumoulin and Jeff Carter were sprinting down the right side. Bryan Rust was flying down the left wing. Reilly and Carlo were backtracking at the red line, doing their best to slow down the streaking Penguins until reinforcements arrived.
Bergeron had barely reached the top of the left circle in the offensive zone. He had already acknowledged Carter was gone.
“I’m not going to get this guy,” said Bergeron. “For lack of a better word, I’m chasing ass.”
As he tried to rejoin the play, Bergeron was processing the other possibilities within reason. He knew Carter and Rust, for all their speed, had to stay onside. He identified that Zucker was carrying the puck laterally through center ice. These reads steered Bergeron to take the best route — one that had the highest likelihood of allowing him to influence the play.
So instead of wasting any precious strides toward Carter, Bergeron calculated he was most needed pursuing Zucker. Former assistant coach Craig Ramsay regularly reminded Bergeron there were no 100-percenters, meaning no play was certain. Bergeron was playing the odds.
“I’m denying the middle,” Bergeron said. “I want to get a triangle going. We’re trying to deny the most dangerous shot. So if it’s a shot from the outside, it’s easier than a seam.”
For Bergeron to work his way back into contention, though, he needed help from his defensemen.
Gapping up Like Bergeron, Reilly sensed danger. He saw Carter and Dumoulin in full sprint. He estimated the wide forward had swung in the defensive zone to generate speed. Reilly’s job, then, was to gap up on Zucker to put the brakes on Pittsburgh’s advance.
“Clearly the guys on the outside have speed now. And they’re not a standstill,” Reilly said. “Which makes it kind of tough. So you try to play this guy as tight as you can here. Is that Zucker?”
It was.
“Pretty smart player,” Reilly continued. “So you know he knows Carter’s coming with a lot of speed. So he’s going to drop it. Their two forwards probably swung and have a lot of speed coming. So I’m trying to force it to the outside here if I can. He’s doing a good job kind of sucking me in a little bit. You don’t want to get sucked too far where (Carter’s) going to get in.”
Reilly stretched out his stick to delay Zucker. At the same time, he anticipated Zucker’s drop pass to Carter on the right wing. When Zucker connected with Carter, Reilly was already pivoting to match Carter’s speed. Carlo was trying to stay within the dots to deny the middle while keeping an eye on Rust.
After catching Zucker’s pass, Carter crossed the blue line with a step on Reilly. But Reilly was in relatively good shape. From his position, Reilly could force Carter into a shot from the top of the right circle.
“Best-case scenario, you just give him an outside shot from the dot,” Reilly said. “Then trust our goalies that they’re going to stop those.”
Swayman was thinking the same thing.
Still a threat When Carter received the puck, Swayman was wary of Rust flying backdoor and Zucker making himself available in the middle. The way Reilly was sliding over to Carter, the defenseman was steering the center to the perimeter.
Carter has 422 career goals, ranking in the top 10 among active players. But if he shot from outside the right dot, Swayman estimated he makes the save 99 percent of the time.
One threat would have been a rebound off a Carter shot. But the most dangerous presence was Zucker taking a return pass across the slot line. It would have placed Zucker in grade-A territory: off the rush, between the dots, below the tops of the circles, Rust and Carlo in front. According to Clear Sight Analytics, slot-area shots off the rush with screens historically go in at a 45.2 percent rate.
After respecting Carter’s shot, Swayman would have had to shuffle from left to right with his toes atop the crease to square up to Zucker. Goalies cannot help but open up holes when they track cross-ice pucks. Even if he made himself big to Zucker, Swayman was at risk of a rebound or a return pass to Carter.
“It’s a high-danger shot, no doubt,” Swayman said. “But I feel confident about saving that puck.”
As Swayman squared up to Carter, Bergeron knew what was next. By processing Carter’s angle, he eliminated a shot from the possibilities. Carter was going to pass back to Zucker. This finalized where Bergeron would go.
“He’s not going to shoot from the outside on that,” Bergeron said. “He’s going to try to seam. So now it’s like, ‘OK, now we’re talking.’ Now it’s clear. Brando’s going to have (Rust). (Zucker’s) my guy. Because even if he delays, I can just stop. If he goes strong side, I’m going to stop. Because I still don’t want the puck to go to Zucker. Shoot from there. I don’t care.”
Bergeron was right. Carter passed to Zucker. With a left-handed stretch of his stick, Bergeron busted up the sequence.
“Just kills the play. Kills the play,” Reilly said. “It’s incredible.”
Bergeron had turned Zucker’s one-zone head start into a 50-50 contest.
“Typically from this area, guys don’t get back as well as he did in that situation,” Carlo said. “It just shows how he’s working his ass off to get there. There’s nothing to be said differently about it. He’s giving everything he has to work back. That’s special. He does that every shift. That’s the difference. It’s every shift rather than just every now and then.”
Bergeron’s work was not over.
Defense to offense By getting his stick in front of Carter’s pass, Bergeron steered the puck out of danger and toward the corner. His backchecking route was taking him in the right direction. That was helpful. Carlo, who had to be mindful of Rust’s net drive, could not get over in time. As the first forechecker, it was Bergeron’s job to contest the loose puck, although winning the battle was not required. By then, reinforcements were on the scene.
“It could have been a poke and it goes to them. But it still doesn’t matter,” Bergeron said. “As long as you deny possession, I know my wingers will be back. We’re back five-on-five. We’re out of danger.”
Carlo, arriving as support, was thinking about pushing the play up the wall. It would keep the puck out of the middle of the Bruins’ zone. If the puck went up the boards to Dumoulin at the left point, Carlo would fold back to the net and let Jake DeBrusk, the strong-side winger, challenge the blue line.
That became a moot point. Bergeron won the race and poked the puck to Carlo in such good position that the defenseman identified the possibility of a rush chance the other way. Carter and Rust were caught below the goal line. Zucker was flat-footed on the wall. Not only were DeBrusk and Marchand turning up the ice, but Reilly read that he had the green light to join the rush.
“Even if I go off the glass,” Carlo said, “just getting it up to the forwards’ hands is all I really need to do there to make an odd-man rush the other way.”
Carlo passed to an in-stride Marchand. By the time Marchand received the puck, Reilly knew a decent rush chance could develop.
“I’ve got a quick jump. So I know these guys aren’t a factor,” Reilly said, pointing at Carter and Rust. “(Zucker’s) definitely not, because this pass is beating him. Now you’ve got a three-on-two. These D are gapped out, you can tell. Now we’ll see where the D are here. They probably don’t know what to do here. They’re getting sucked over. The more I see (Mike Matheson) get sucked over, I know that’s Matheson. He’s a really good skater. Maybe if it’s someone other than Matheson, maybe I could have gotten him. But he’s as good of a skater out there. Now you know they’re two skilled wingers here. They’re going to make a play. It’s Marshy. I know, ‘OK, he’s as smart as anybody out there.’ He’s going to make a play.”
The problem with the rush was DeBrusk’s lack of flat-out speed. After reviewing the play, DeBrusk thought he could have either swung under Marchand or broken for the right-side dot line to take one of the defensemen with him.
Marchand disagreed.
“I don’t think that’s the right play there. Because he would have taken Reills’ space,” Marchand said. “Essentially, what we are there is decoys. Which is perfect. Reills is going to put himself in position to score. It doesn’t matter if it’s the two of us that get the opportunity or if it’s him. If Jake leaves and goes to the other side, someone goes with him and he takes Reills’ option away. So he should stay there.”
Marchand knew Reilly was the most dangerous option. By slowing his advance, Marchand drew Matheson his way and allowed Reilly to jump into the pool, so to speak.
Reilly received Marchand’s pass at the offensive blue line. Matheson, who had spotted Reilly attacking, shifted to the defenseman and prevented him from taking a few more strides to improve the chance quality. Still, Reilly had a good look: below the top of the left circle, inside the dot, off the rush. Reilly forced Casey DeSmith to make a sharp save.
“It’s not a bad play,” Marchand said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a grade-A scoring chance. But it’s an opportunity.”
Without Bergeron, it wouldn’t have happened.
Working hard Bergeron has never been the fastest skater. He makes up for it with dedication and hockey sense.
Kelly used to work in player development. He would show clips of Bergeron to young forwards. These qualities would jump off the screen.
“Why is he so good in the defensive zone?” Kelly would ask the players. “He doesn’t have Connor McDavid speed. No one does. But his feet are always moving. He’s anticipating. So that tells me his conditioning is second to none. It is. He puts the work in. He works every shift. I think it’s so disrespectful when somebody says about a superstar, ‘He’s a freak.’ No. They put the work in to be where they’re at. He’s a prime example of that.”
Starting in 2007-08, when Claude Julien replaced Dave Lewis as Bruins coach, Bergeron was expected to skate more than before. Julien instructed his defensemen to stay inside the dots and let the play come to them. This meant Bergeron was responsible not just for board-to-board coverage in the defensive zone but also low in support.
“Eventually, you get used to it, adapt to it,” said Kelly, the former center who was acquired from Ottawa in 2011. “But at the start, I was like, ‘Wow, this is a lot for the centerman.’ Then you’re back low. His ability to not only be very good defensively but to contribute offensively, it goes to his conditioning and his work ethic.”
Bergeron surpassed 1,000 regular-season points in November and ranks in the top 10 among active scorers. Kelly is certain that sum could be higher. Ex-coach Bruce Cassidy helped initiate Bergeron’s late-stage shift toward offense. Current coach Jim Montgomery is not interested in disrupting that momentum.
But an offense-driven career is not what Bergeron wanted. He is more bothered by the goals the Bruins allow on his watch than the ones they score.
“First and foremost, you have to hate getting scored on,” Kelly said. “No one hates it more than Patrice, right? He takes it personally. That’s what makes him so, so good in his own end. You never see him cheat for offense. A lot of guys that get to that level, unfortunately, they do. They’re looked upon to drive offense. So they do need to look to cheat at times. I never want to tell them that, but they do need to cheat for offense.
“Patrice, he just hates to get scored on. It’s just not in his DNA to cheat. He’s on the right side of pucks. He kills plays. He allows his wingers to be the wingers they are.”
As a rule, players enjoy attacking more than defending. Bergeron is no different.
But denying scoring chances has always been an intellectual challenge that pleases Bergeron. In some ways, he has developed a knack for seeing the future by anticipating where the play will go. Then, if Bergeron gets to his preferred spot first, the Bruins can go the other way.
“Details have always been something that, as a team, we’ve harped on a lot,” Bergeron said. “Claude was big on that. Even Bruce. Now Monty. Even (Mike Sullivan). It was always about details. I feel like it helped me grow my game. Because we’re always talking about details, details. Sticks. On the right side of the battle. All that stuff. Eventually, it just becomes second nature.”
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Post by SeaBass on Mar 20, 2023 11:03:27 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 20, 2023 17:54:12 GMT -5
Explains why he played against Montreal.
Patrice Bergeron's father is battling cancer. He wanted to play in front of his father in Montreal for possibly the last time. Even wanted to go back out there after he went to the room.
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Post by madmarx on Apr 20, 2023 19:07:22 GMT -5
Explains why he played against Montreal. Patrice Bergeron's father is battling cancer. He wanted to play in front of his father in Montreal for possibly the last time. Even wanted to go back out there after he went to the room. I have read a lot of Garbage about why He had to play in Montreal, we have no clue at times what’s going on behind the scenes. Hopefully Patrice’s Father kicks cancer’s ass
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Post by SeaBass on Apr 25, 2023 13:24:01 GMT -5
Bergeron on coaching from the couch:
“It felt like it was a bit more nerve-wracking than when you’re on the ice, on the bench.
"I was cheering and screaming at the TV a few times."
Coaching, he said, might be "too much" for him to handle in his post-playing life.
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Post by KSJ08 on Apr 25, 2023 14:03:21 GMT -5
Bergeron on coaching from the couch: “It felt like it was a bit more nerve-wracking than when you’re on the ice, on the bench. "I was cheering and screaming at the TV a few times." Coaching, he said, might be "too much" for him to handle in his post-playing life. GM like Stevie Y!!!
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Post by madmarx on Apr 25, 2023 14:09:42 GMT -5
Bergeron on coaching from the couch: “It felt like it was a bit more nerve-wracking than when you’re on the ice, on the bench. "I was cheering and screaming at the TV a few times." Coaching, he said, might be "too much" for him to handle in his post-playing life. I think the more talented the Player it’s harder to Coach , I think that’s why you don’t see many gifted Players coaching. Remember Wayner ?
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Post by orym on Apr 25, 2023 15:11:04 GMT -5
Bergeron on coaching from the couch: “It felt like it was a bit more nerve-wracking than when you’re on the ice, on the bench. "I was cheering and screaming at the TV a few times." Coaching, he said, might be "too much" for him to handle in his post-playing life. I think the more talented the Player it’s harder to Coach , I think that’s why you don’t see many gifted Players coaching. Remember Wayner ? I'd really prefer if he didn't coach. Coaches really take a beating. They get fired sometimes even if they don't deserve it. I'd rather he found his way into a different gig with the Bruins someday (kind of like Neely). Wayner was certainly a better player than he was coach!
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Post by KSJ08 on Apr 25, 2023 16:06:24 GMT -5
I think the more talented the Player it’s harder to Coach , I think that’s why you don’t see many gifted Players coaching. Remember Wayner ? I'd really prefer if he didn't coach. Coaches really take a beating. They get fired sometimes even if they don't deserve it. I'd rather he found his way into a different gig with the Bruins someday (kind of like Neely). Wayner was certainly a better player than he was coach! Some guys can play Great & suck as Coach & Vice Versa! I for 1 think Bergy would be a Great GM!!! Retire become Asst GM under Sweeney then move up when Sweeney moves on. Just don't go the Stevie Y way to another team & then come back. He's too good to work for another team (That's NO knock on Stevie Y either!)
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kovs
Prominent Member
Posts: 507
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Post by kovs on Apr 25, 2023 19:27:10 GMT -5
Bergeron on coaching from the couch: “It felt like it was a bit more nerve-wracking than when you’re on the ice, on the bench. "I was cheering and screaming at the TV a few times." Coaching, he said, might be "too much" for him to handle in his post-playing life.Yeah, I love him in a front office capacity. He sees the big picture and I think he knows how to put together winning parts. I've seen former players be really shitty coaches....I think when you have so much talent it's hard to convey in real-time how to replicate it
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Post by SeaBass on May 31, 2023 9:23:59 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on May 31, 2023 15:17:33 GMT -5
He won’t leave Sweeney and the team hanging, that’s not him .
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Post by nfld77 on Jul 14, 2023 21:01:00 GMT -5
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Post by KSJ08 on Jul 15, 2023 8:24:01 GMT -5
I read that it was K Dupont & he was quoted in the article. Dupont offered this pointed commentary Thursday. “But this can’t drag on forever. Decision 2023 needs a denouement. No other player in sports has gotten away with holding his team’s plans and future hostage two straight offseasons with zero blowback, not even Tom Brady.”
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Post by nfld77 on Jul 15, 2023 9:20:08 GMT -5
I read that it was K Dupont & he was quoted in the article. Dupont offered this pointed commentary Thursday. “But this can’t drag on forever. Decision 2023 needs a denouement. No other player in sports has gotten away with holding his team’s plans and future hostage two straight offseasons with zero blowback, not even Tom Brady.” KPD should realize that Sweeney on several occasions have given Bergy and DK their own timeline as to when they return, no pressure..Maybe KPD should aim at another bow!!
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Post by madmarx on Jul 15, 2023 15:34:17 GMT -5
Bergeron is apparently working out very hard in Boston , make of that what you will.
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Post by fforr on Jul 15, 2023 16:37:11 GMT -5
Bergeron is apparently working out very hard in Boston , make of that what you will. No news is good news.
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Post by nfld77 on Jul 15, 2023 21:55:53 GMT -5
Bergeron is apparently working out very hard in Boston , make of that what you will. No news is good news. I can only think of one good reason as to why he's working out so hard!! But is he really coming back for another season?? Have to wait and see I guess..He just won his 6th Selke so we all know he's still a great player
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Post by kjc2 on Jul 17, 2023 5:46:41 GMT -5
I got to believe that Sweeney already knows Bergeron is coming back. Maybe he just wants to get Sway and Freddy sorted out first to see what he has left cap wise.
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Post by nfld77 on Jul 17, 2023 14:00:08 GMT -5
I got to believe that Sweeney already knows Bergeron is coming back. Maybe he just wants to get Sway and Freddy sorted out first to see what he has left cap wise. I REALLY want Freddy to resign but the signing of Boquist makes me wonder..Both players can play up the middle or the wing..Is he Frederic's replacement?? Hope not..
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Post by kjc2 on Jul 17, 2023 14:17:51 GMT -5
I got to believe that Sweeney already knows Bergeron is coming back. Maybe he just wants to get Sway and Freddy sorted out first to see what he has left cap wise. I REALLY want Freddy to resign but the signing of Boquist makes me wonder..Both players can play up the middle or the wing..Is he Frederic's replacement?? Hope not.. Maybe he has a trade on the hopper that he won’t do until he has to.
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Post by kjc2 on Jul 25, 2023 8:59:55 GMT -5
Happy Birthday to the captain, he turned 38 yesterday. Does he have another season in him?
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Post by kjc2 on Jul 25, 2023 9:06:06 GMT -5
Happy Birthday to the captain, he turned 38 yesterday. Does he have another season in him? Five minutes past this post Bergeron announces his retirement. Such an amazing person!
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Post by crafar01 on Jul 25, 2023 9:10:18 GMT -5
Happy Birthday to the captain, he turned 38 yesterday. Does he have another season in him? Five minutes past this post Bergeron announces his retirement. Such an amazing person! Yeah, just saw the NESN article. Happy for him and he will be missed, greatly.
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Post by KSJ08 on Jul 25, 2023 9:19:03 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Jul 25, 2023 9:20:59 GMT -5
Happy Birthday to the captain, he turned 38 yesterday. Does he have another season in him? Five minutes past this post Bergeron announces his retirement. Such an amazing person! Legend 🤬
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