00:00Judd, good morning. Thanks for getting up early this morning.
00:03Good morning. How are you guys? So I'm just wondering, so the team has an off day here in Los Angeles.
00:08What would you guys be doing with that?
00:09Well, I mean, I might try to get around in.
00:13I know exactly what I'd be doing.
00:14There is an awesome Marriott right by the arena. I was there in July.
00:17They have a great water slide, and you can head right across the street to the Disneyland.
00:21That's what Ken would do.
00:21Well, Ken would go solo dolo.
00:23That's in Anaheim!
00:25I thought you are in Anaheim. Is it the same thing?
00:28No.
00:28Oh, sorry. Half hour away.
00:30What about Erwan? What's the closest?
00:33Go try the Hayley Bieber smoothie.
00:34Get you a map for Christmas.
00:35I'd say In-N-Out, animal style, animal fries, In-N-Out burger.
00:39That would be what I would do in Cal.
00:41Oh, that sounds good right now.
00:43Especially, you know, here early in the morning, 6.30, getting the day started right.
00:47Yeah, there you go.
00:49Well, we know what the Boston Bruins will be doing other than David Pasternak and Morgan Geeky,
00:56and that is not scoring goals.
00:57That is what they will be doing today.
01:00Well, offense was not their issue, though, Greg.
01:03It's how they're defending, you know, especially at crunch time.
01:06Whether it was Marco Sturm or Nikita Zadorov, the Bruins did not manage the game properly when they needed to.
01:14So last night, fine.
01:15You get down to nothing.
01:16It was going to be a tough game.
01:18You got the time change that you're going to deal with because you didn't have a chance to get out here early on.
01:23You got the injuries, obviously.
01:25You're playing a team you don't have a rivalry with.
01:27So you go down in a 2-0 hole, but you're eventually able to rally back, tie the game at three.
01:32You've still got plenty of time there in the third period.
01:34How do you manage the game?
01:36If you look at how close the standings are around the NHL, and we'll take the Atlantic Division as an example,
01:43one through seven is separated by only five points.
01:48So that game last night, tie game third period, you got to get at least a point out of it.
01:53But the Bruins frittered that away.
01:54They did that in the first game against Anaheim as well.
01:57That's going to add up at the end.
01:58Judd, you talk about defensively.
02:01Well, how does the absence of McAvoy change the way they play defensively?
02:07Oh, it's massive at both ends of the ice.
02:10Let's just start when he has the puck.
02:12His ability to be able to make that first pass so he can exit or he can skate it out on his own.
02:17When he doesn't have the puck, his ability to close, how physical he can be, the way he reads plays,
02:23it's a substantial difference.
02:25But that said, everybody goes through these injuries.
02:29Some teams have more than others, but you have to be able to manage it.
02:32And for the Bruins, this is a serious challenge.
02:35Have no idea when he's going to get back.
02:37It is good news that Elias Lindholm is on the trip,
02:40and maybe there's an opportunity that we see him as the Bruins make their way north here in Los Angeles
02:46and head into San Jose for their next game after that.
02:50That was a gnarly injury, my lord.
02:53We were talking about it the other day because, unfortunately, on the social medias,
03:00you can see it's slowed down.
03:01And it's, I mean, God love hockey players.
03:05Like, you've got to give it to them.
03:06Oh, no, I give it to them all day.
03:07The fact, if I played in the NHL, I'd have a full cage on.
03:10I'd be the one goofball out there with a full cage.
03:14Well, he's going to come back, you know, whenever that is.
03:16I have no idea.
03:18And, again, hopefully he's okay and he recovers well and he's able to come back.
03:21But some guys play with a cage.
03:24Some guys play with a full bubble.
03:26It's not always easy.
03:28But, you know, that'll at least give him the protection when he comes back that he can play the way he wants to.
03:35Again, it's not easy because a lot of times, even guys who play with a cage, Wiggy, or play with a bubble,
03:40they can't quite see the puck when it's at their feet the same way they would as if they were playing with a regular helmet without a bubble or a cage.
03:49So it'll be adjustment whenever he gets back on the ice.
03:52Sean can't see his feet in the shower either, but that's a whole mess.
03:55I don't have an issue with that at all.
04:00Oh, I was going to say something.
04:01Another size of a Teletubby.
04:03I know.
04:04I thought you were going to do a joke about the Hitler thing that we talked about.
04:07The small wiener.
04:08Judd, when it does come to the injuries, there are a lot of media personnel that are saying that that's the reason why the Bruins find themselves in these lulls throughout the beginning of this season.
04:20Do you fall in that category?
04:21And doesn't that fall on not being prepared when it comes to backups for this season?
04:27Well, I don't fall in that category because injuries are a way of life in the National Hockey League.
04:31Is it a little bit more because of the compounded schedule this year?
04:34Probably.
04:35You know, but Courtney, I think for every team this year, I think it's going to be a serious challenge because of the compressed schedule that you're going to have to dip down into the American League and try and find some reinforcements.
04:50Let's take the Bruins out of it.
04:51Take the Toronto Maple Leafs for an example.
04:54They're going through a slew of injuries.
04:56Austin Matthews is out of the lineup.
04:57I saw Brandon Carlo was just put on injured reserve.
05:00You got to find a way.
05:02There are plenty of teams around the league that, you know, I could probably look at around the standings that have some injuries that they're dealing with and are still finding ways to win.
05:09It's just a reality of life in the National Hockey League.
05:12When you look at this Bruins team, what are you seeing from these younger guys right now?
05:19Right now, they haven't necessarily seized the opportunity, Wiggy.
05:22You know, I will say Jonathan Aspero, you know, on a positive side, you know, here was a guy who was moved up to play with Nikita Zdorov last night, and he didn't look out of place.
05:32That's a guy who has definitely seized his opportunity, and that was a different role for him.
05:37Marco Sturm decided he wanted to shake things up in his defensive pairs last night.
05:42The only pair that had a problem last night was Lindholm and Yoki Haryu.
05:45But Aspero did an excellent job playing with Nikita Zdorov, seeing a lot of hard matchups because Zdorov plays in a lot of key situations.
05:56But for some of the other younger guys, so you've seen Matei Blumel and Alex Steves come up here, and I understand it is a limited sample size.
06:05And Marco Sturm has talked about the fact that even if you're a good player in the American Hockey League, it is a big step to come up to the National Hockey League and still be effective.
06:16And whether it's their puck play, their ability to score, how they defend, what they do away from the puck, what they bring on a night-in, night-out basis, it needs to be a little bit better.
06:24I'm getting text messages from one or two who believe that this team is over-performing based on the roster.
06:33Do you believe they're all over me?
06:36Do you believe over- or under-performing currently based on the roster that Marco Sturm has on this hockey team?
06:43I can see how you're getting those text messages.
06:46But when I look at the Bruins, just on the whole, they're 12-10.
06:51I think what they were hoping to be is in the mix.
06:54They are right in the mix.
06:57Maybe because of some of the extra games that they have played, they're a little higher in the Atlantic division.
07:03So they've played 22 games at this point.
07:07Detroit has two games in hand.
07:08Montreal won.
07:10Tampa won.
07:11Ottawa won.
07:12Florida won.
07:13So they've cashed in because they've had a little bit of – they've had some more opportunities.
07:18It wouldn't necessarily surprise me to see the Bruins slide down in the standings as some of those teams catch up in their games played.
07:26But the goal for the Bruins at the start of the season, recapture their identity, be a hard team to play against, and then you'll be in the mix.
07:33And right now they are in the mix.
07:37They've still got three more tough games here on the trip.
07:41L.A. has played really well on the road.
07:44The one advantage the Bruins will have is they will be sitting and waiting for the Kings who are playing tonight in San Jose.
07:50San Jose has been a lot better than a lot of people thought.
07:53And the Islanders under Patrick Wad, they've started a surge, and that's the way that the Bruins are going to end the trip.
07:59This will be a really difficult test.
08:02So I guess, Greg, what I'm saying is have those texters –
08:07What happened?
08:10Oh, no.
08:11I don't know.
08:12Oh, my Lord.
08:12Send you something.
08:14Oh, what's that?
08:15Oh, he's back.
08:15You've cut out for a minute.
08:16Have the texters what?
08:18Send you a message after this road trip and see how they feel.
08:22So if the Bruins are still in the mix, then they've performed just as they had hoped.
08:27With regard to pasta and geeky, there's a Rhode Island texter says it's a typical fraud take.
08:36I'm just – it's the – by the way, it's what the head coach, Marco Sturm, said Monday night is that he –
08:44and you were there, I'm sure, for it – is that they need way more from the role players on this hockey team.
08:49I mean, it's not – it's what Marco Sturm says, so.
08:53Well, I – they – listen, they need – it's all hands on deck, especially now.
08:58You're missing three of your top six forwards in particular.
09:02Listen, the power play responded.
09:03I think the power play takes on extra importance when you're on the road because, listen,
09:07you don't have the crowd behind you.
09:10That's a – it's a great way to be able to build momentum.
09:12And the Bruins scored twice with it on only three shots.
09:16They came in last night sixth in the league on the man advantage.
09:20Morgan Geeky, a couple of goals, 14.
09:22They've done their part.
09:23Three goals last night should have gotten you at least a point.
09:27It's how they defend.
09:30That's what has to be much better.
09:32Judd, when it comes to – my gosh.
09:38Okay.
09:39No, my brain just completely shut off.
09:41That's okay.
09:42It's a pregnancy thing, and, you know, we're –
09:45No, no, no.
09:45I remember.
09:46I remember.
09:46I remember what I wanted to ask.
09:47I'm so sorry, Judd.
09:49I'm so sorry.
09:50Don't worry.
09:50It's been there before.
09:51I thought it was the Zoom connection.
09:53No, I'm so sorry.
09:54That –
09:54It's a mini stroke.
09:55No, that was insane.
09:57It just went blank.
09:58Were you surprised with how the Johnny Beecher situation played out, them placing him on waivers
10:03and then he getting picked up?
10:05I know the hope was that he was going to clear waivers.
10:09No.
10:09No, and maybe you were thinking about some in-and-out burgers.
10:12Listen, I think Johnny Beecher, based on his performance in the preseason and in training
10:16camp, I think he was on the bubble.
10:19You know, as Marco Stern mentioned, this is a fresh set of eyes, and he did not stand out
10:25whatsoever.
10:26In fact, there was a preseason game at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.
10:30He was not very good.
10:31And there was a meeting, and his play started to pick up.
10:36He played well against Philadelphia and just well enough that he could make the roster.
10:41But I think he was on the bubble and on the bubble just barely.
10:44But if you look at some of the bodies that the Bruins brought in, guys like Mikey Asimont
10:49and Tanner Janot, these guys outplayed him.
10:52But Jeffrey Vielle, who's been a useful piece coming in the lineup, hopefully he's okay.
10:57He got nicked up last night after he got body slammed to the ice by Radko Gudis at the
11:03Anaheim Ducks.
11:04But listen, it's a tough league.
11:06I think he got outplayed by a lot of the guys that were brought into the roster.
11:11And as a result, he got picked up by Calgary.
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