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Playoffs?? Bruins are going for 5 in a row tonight! B's have tightened up defensively & are currently back in the playoff spot. Can they keep up the momentum against Seattle? Bruins PBP Judd Sirott joins!
Big Z night tonight! Is Zdeno Chara on the Mount Rushmore of Boston signings? Where does Chara all-time for B's defenseman?? Most unforgettable Zdeno Chara game?
Big Z night tonight! Is Zdeno Chara on the Mount Rushmore of Boston signings? Where does Chara all-time for B's defenseman?? Most unforgettable Zdeno Chara game?
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00:00Good morning. Good morning. Couple great games to call this weekend for you. I mean,
00:05Saturday was fantastic, and these guys are on a little bit of a roll here. Well, unfortunately,
00:11we didn't have an opportunity to call Saturday's game because ABC had that one, but the team in
00:15general, I mean, they've won six of seven. I think you can trace it back to actually a game that they
00:21lost in overtime in Calgary, but they have really tightened things up defensively. They stayed out
00:26of the box. The scoring has been spread out, and as a result, they're back in a playoff spot as we
00:31sit here now. Yeah, I mean, and you have said all along that you think this team is a playoff hockey
00:38team. Like, you think they get there. I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be in the mix and be
00:42exactly where they are at this point, but again, we've still got a long way to go, and a lot can
00:47happen between now, the trade deadline, and the end of the regular season, but if they consistently
00:51play like this, five on five, be that team that they said at the beginning of the season,
00:57hard to play against, a tough out, stingy, nasty to play against, they're going to be in every game
01:02every night. The last time they lost was to the Kraken, so you look at tonight, what do they need
01:07to do different to make sure that that outcome is different? Well, you know, going back to that game
01:11against the Kraken, Courtney, you know, I think there were a lot of guys that felt that that was a
01:15missed opportunity, so the Bruins ended up that road trip 2-2-1, but they were playing a
01:20Kraken team that had played the night before. The Bruins had an extra day off. They had a chance
01:24to practice. They were sitting and waiting for Seattle to play that team, and the Kraken were
01:30just a better team, and I think it was the way that the game played out. You know, Marco Sturm,
01:35if I remember his comments, Courtney, he said they didn't do anything special. They played a very
01:39disciplined brand of hockey. They went up and down the ice, and we made mistake after mistake, and
01:44the Bruins, as a result, they felt like they left points on the table, so can they put the game on the ice
01:50that they have here against Detroit, against the Rangers? Some of these games that we've seen,
01:54and I think if they're able to do that, then they're going to like the outcome.
01:58It was Zidane O'Chara night tonight. Curtis suggested yesterday, I believe, that that free
02:04agent signing is on the Mount Rushmore of free agent signings here in the city.
02:09I don't think there's any question about it. If you go back and think about it back in 2006,
02:13it was a five-year, $37.5 million deal. That was money well spent, because this was a guy who came
02:21in. He became your captain, ultimately. He helped rebuild some of the culture that maybe was a little
02:28bit lost when he came in in 2006. He brought a Stanley Cup to Boston in 2011, and what he was able
02:35to establish in that room, you talk to players now, it still lingers.
02:40And it'll be great to see him immortalized here tonight.
02:43We talk about culture a lot when it comes to Mike Vrabel and his Patriots team,
02:47and then you look at some of the, when he got here, some of those guys who were young,
02:52like particularly Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, he certainly was able to lead that group and was
03:00a huge part of winning that Cup in 2011, if I have my day, my years.
03:05Right, but the other thing, you know, I think there are so many special things when it comes
03:09to talking about Zidane Ochara, and one of the things is the humility, and he understands that
03:14there were a lot of people that really helped along the way. And as much as he was a leader and a
03:20captain, one of the things, because he was kind enough to sit down maybe about a month ago,
03:25he said, you still have to be able to listen. You still have to be able to adapt. And he needed
03:30players. If you think about the, a lot of the guys who populated that roster in 2011, in particular,
03:36Bergeron, Krejci, the guys on the Merlot line, we're talking about Marchand, Thornton, Chris Kelly,
03:43then on the back end, Dennis Seidenberg, some of the other guys that really helped him
03:48and helped the entire group achieve what they wanted to, but such a special player.
03:54Comeback game against Toronto. One of the all-time great game sevens in any sport. And certainly,
04:04Was that the Nate and Horton water on the ice game?
04:07No, that was in Vancouver.
04:09That was Vancouver.
04:11He got taken out by Aaron Rome.
04:13But that was Reamer. That was the, they had to come back and win. They were down by four in that game?
04:21Uh, against Toronto in 2013, they were down three Cobb and then Patrice Bergeron ended up winning it
04:26to send the Bruins ultimately past the Leafs and into the Stanley Cup final in 2013.
04:31Um, there are so many legendary stories. I think when it comes to Char, I know that one of them
04:36that I think a lot of people, uh, uh, and it'll, I'm sure it'll be reflected here tonight was when
04:43he broke his jaw in game four in St. Louis. He's on the ice in game five. Sean Corrali told a story,
04:48um, that a lot of the guys didn't know whether or not he was going to play in game five.
04:53So they're sitting in the team meal and Corrali said, Char walks in and he took a plate and he
04:59basically took out all the food that he would normally eat for a pregame meal, salmon, pasta,
05:04whatever, put it in a blender, grabbed a straw, drank it. And he said, I guess he's playing tonight.
05:11Oh, that's how Lindsay makes dinner for Greg in a blender.
05:16Oh, please stop. No, she just wipes you. Uh, we talked about, uh, the patch already hit and the
05:23entire, uh, province of Quebec wanting him arrested, calling 911 over that. Um, and so,
05:31and the, I mean, it was not afraid to drop the gloves either. No, uh, the Evander Kane fight,
05:38uh, he's had so many over the years. It sticks with me. I talked to Jody Shelley about it. I'm like,
05:43what was it like to fight Zunayn O'Chara? He said, basically when he was done with you,
05:46he'd fold you up like a lawn chair. Yeah. Problem is no one ever wanted to fight him
05:50because of that reach and everything. The thing I wanted to ask you about with this team,
05:54cause you, you talked about the consistency. What do they need to do to not, you go on like this
06:00nice little run, but to not fall back into, we see you go on four or five game losing streak.
06:07That's an important thing. And, and, uh, there was a conversation, uh, I had in the room the other
06:13day with Sean Corrale about that because a lot of times, you know, whether it's the Bruins,
06:17you name the sport guys can say the right thing, but it's one thing to say the right thing and then
06:21do the right thing. Uh, and this was a team that I think that they were peeved about the loss,
06:26uh, that happened in Seattle. They were upset. If you go all the way back just before the Christmas
06:31break, they had a great opportunity on a homestand and they ended up going one, three and one.
06:35And so those two moments, I think together, uh, I think it helped click in for a lot of guys in
06:42the room. We need to start to take advantage. This is a five game homestand. They have an
06:48opportunity to run the table if they're able to beat the crack in here today, but it's how do we
06:52need to play in order to be successful? And I think, Wiggy, because they've started to have some
06:57success, uh, and individual guys have seen, okay, this is the blueprint. If I do this, I can see the
07:04result and they're starting to see that collectively, uh, on a more regular basis.
07:09So if they're able to follow that, I think it was compared, uh, Sean Corrale talked about it
07:15yesterday. It's like reading chapters in a book. If I read this chapter, I know how this book is
07:19going to end. If I just keep following these steps and that's what the Bruins need to do
07:24individually in order to get that collective result. Do you think something has clicked though,
07:28that they won't, because we've seen them go on good winning streaks before, but then,
07:33you know, a couple of games later, now you're on a four or five game losers. Do you think that they,
07:37they've seen what they need to do to not have that be the case? Cause we've seen them
07:43be here before with this consistent winning streak.
07:46I think that there's a greater understanding, you know, I think for all of these guys, okay,
07:50what is my role and what is expected in my role and how do I execute that role? If you look at some of
07:56the skids that you're talking about maybe early in the season, and this was early. So the Bruins
08:00win three straight, then what did they drop? Six consecutive games. It was early in the season
08:05and there was a lot to get used to, whether it was a system or the head coach. Um, we talked about
08:09the homestand that was sort of a disappointment for the Bruins when they went on this skid. Uh,
08:14I think that that was a team. And again, everybody's dealing with the schedule this year that may
08:18have run out of gas and it was a little bit difficult, uh, to put the game on the ice that they
08:22wanted to. It's a different, it's a different juncture of the season now. And I think it's
08:27a different team. Uh, and I think that there's a greater understanding of what needs to take place
08:32in order to win. But again, that said, because we talked about it last time, you're in the dog
08:37days of the season. This is games 40 to 60. You've got the Olympic break coming. Then you've got the
08:41trade deadline. So this is the time when, when the teams that are able to coalesce and the teams
08:48that have some difference makers on their roster, that's when they're able to separate. And you're
08:54starting to see that some of the standings. All right. Well, it should be an incredible night
08:58tonight. What time do you guys get coverage underway? 6 PM, uh, for the pregame show on
09:03Nesson brick and aisle started eight o'clock Bruins and cracking. They're going to try and round it
09:08up. And then the Bruins are heading on the road for two in Chicago and Dallas and Andrew Ferentz,
09:12the master of ceremonies this evening. Yes. I think he's going to do a fabulous job. Um, you know,
09:18and that was actually one of the names that I probably should have mentioned when we talk
09:20about some of the leaders that were in the room that helped a guy like char and this Bruins
09:24team, win a Stanley cup in 2011. Uh, I'm told he's going to do a fabulous job. Where do you,
09:29where do you go to dinner in Chicago? Judd, when you're there for one night, what am I having?
09:34What do you feel like steakhouse best steakhouse in Chicago? Oh, you got all sorts to choose
09:39from. Uh, but you know, like, like Greg, I'm old school Jean and George Eddie's. Okay. All right.
09:45How do you feel about the deep dish pizza? Not a fan. Uh, I do like deep dish. If you
09:51are going deep dish, uh, go to a place called Pequod's in Lincoln park, just off the campus
09:56of DePaul. Okay. Spectacular. Lincoln park rejoin chime. Maybe. Definitely. Um, where do
10:03you rank before you go? Big Z all time Bruins. We had this discussion earlier. This defenseman.
10:09Well, that's hard. Um, you know, it's so difficult to say because, so this is the sixth Bruins
10:18defenseman who will have his number retired. This is the 13th number that the Bruins have
10:22retired in franchise history. But, um, it's kind of tough because I didn't get a chance
10:27to see, uh, Dick Clapper and Eddie shore and Lionel Hitchman. So it's, it's difficult to
10:33sort of categorize that. Um, but I mean, what a run for a guy like Z he played 1680 games
10:41more than any defenseman in national hockey league history. I think he is seventh all
10:45time. And I think the other thing that is unique when you look at his run here in Boston.
10:49So he, for 14 years, he was the captain of the team, but how many guys can you think of,
10:54uh, whether it's in the national hockey league or any other sport that sign and become the captain
11:00and then stay for 14 years. And that's what happened with Z and, and he said, I didn't sign
11:07here to be the captain. I wanted to be a leader, but that sort of happened organically in the
11:12organization, put the C on him. Uh, I think just before the season started in October, but I think
11:18that that is really rare to be able to see and what he was able to accomplish here. He's a nice guy
11:23too. I mean, like if you have an opportunity to meet him, you would, you know, you never know how
11:28athletes are going to be, but he's such a nice guy. Yeah. He is like, really? He is like one of
11:34those down to earth nights. He'll have a conversation with you. He's such a nice guy.
11:37Oh, he's terrific. Especially for a lot of the young guys. You know, one of the things,
11:40you know, one of the words that he would never utter was rookie first year player. Um, you know,
11:46a lot of teams in the national hockey league do a rookie lap. No, no, no, no, no. The Bruins don't do
11:50that. Um, and I think for a lot of the young guys that come in the room and clearly they're
11:55intimidated. Sean Corrales was saying, you know, this is like a mythic figure. I'm sitting in the
12:00room. I've never had a chance to be around a guy like that, but he could not have been, uh, more
12:06warm, um, and, and more relatable, uh, especially for a young player. And I think that, that, that
12:13meant a lot to a lot of the guys that came in the room because you mentioned Brad Marchand.
12:18So targets here in 2006, Marchand doesn't arrive until a couple of years later, but I think
12:23the way he was able to bring in some of those young guys, um, and, and meld them into the
12:28part of the culture. That's what made the Bruins such a success. Yeah. Well, and, and should
12:33have re you like, you look back and go, they should have won that. They should have been
12:38able to win that cup against St. Louis. Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, that was the unfortunate
12:42line change. It shouldn't align change. And then that led to what that led to, what was
12:46that the game winning goal or something like that? Yeah. All right, Judd, good luck tonight.
12:52And we will talk to you again next week. Great to see you guys. All right. Great to see.
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