Thoughts on Bruins farm players: Anthony Camara, Zach Trotman, Jeremy Smith highlighted

(Photo by Rosina Vacchiano)

by Dakota Antelman

Recently, the Bruins AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, faced off against the Worcester Sharks, the San Jose Sharks affiliate, in a regular season meeting at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Go Titletown was there to observe. Below are a few thoughts on three Bruins prospects that fans might not have been given the opportunity to observe yet...

Anthony Camara 

- Most like...Brad Marchand

Overview...

Anthony Camara, a 21 year old Bruins prospect out of Toronto, is playing his second season in Providence after being drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft. In 92 starts with the team, Camara has scored 12 goals and has brought an intense style of play to the neutral and offensive zone game of the Providence Bruins.

At first look, Camara plays a very similar game to current Bruin, Brad Marchand. He is a sneaky, almost pest-like player who seems to get away with the kinds of arrant elbows and malicious forearm jabs that some of the best do with ease and satisfaction. Beyond that Camara, like Marchand, utilizes a high hockey IQ combined with his incendiary sped to help move the puck through the neutral zone swiftly and without effective resistance from an opponent.

The latter of those traits could benefit the Boston Bruins greatly in the future. Throughout this season a sore point for these Bruins has been their ability to gain and sustain pressure offensively. The fluidity with which Camara moves could remedy that.

Zach Trotman

 - Most like...former Bruin Andrew Ference

Overview...

Bruins fans got a look at Zach Trotman earlier in the year when he came up to the Bruins in the wake of Zdeno Chara's PCL tear. He returned to Providence after just 17 games though meaning fans did not get to see him settle into a lineup on a big stage.

As reflected by his performance in the AHL, a place where he has settled in, Trotman is a shutdown defenseman. He is a positional player who can make plays without putting his stick on the puck. Nevertheless, when he does step up on a forward, Trotman unleashes a devastating body check as well as pinpoint stickwork.

 Perhaps  the one shortcoming in his game however is his shot. Trotman lacks the power behind his slapshot that most Bruins fans are accustom to after watching the likes of Dennis Sidenberg, Zdeno Chara and even Torey Krug on a nightly basis.

Regardless though, Trotman adds immense depth to an already well stocked Bruins defensive core while also giving Peter Chiarelli a superior bargaining chip in the trade market.

Jeremy Smith

 - Most like...former Bruin Tim Thomas


Overview...

The name of Jeremy Smith is one Bruins fans have not heard much since he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Bruins this offseason.

However, playing backup for the Providence Bruins behind Malcom Subban, Smith has amassed a GAA of 2.15 and a save percentage of .929. He has won 10 of the 20 games he has played in and has a pair of shutouts in those games.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about Jeremy Smith is the stark similarity his style has with that of former Bruin great and current Dallas Stars goalie, Tim Thomas. Technically, Smith is a "butterfly" goalie meaning he drops to his knees to play shots. But even so, he often loses that form as rebounds are given up or shots are taken from close range. He becomes the kind of unorthodox goalie that Thomas is as, in such cases, Smith can be seen frantically diving across the crease to cover pucks and glove rebounds.

While the Bruins currently have little need for such a goaltender within their system (goalie depth chart currently has 3 capable starters on it in Subban, Tuukka Rask and Niklas Svedberg), like Trotman, Smith serves as an uncontested bargaining chip on the trade market as the Bruins seek the kind of goal scoring forward that could elevate their play.

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Bruins offence continues slump in 2-0 loss to Kings

by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins lost 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings Tuesday night in LA. The game served as the middle portion of a three game Southern California road trip.

Johnathan Quick stopped 31 shots in his third shutout of the season while a first period goal by Tanner Pearson stood up as the game winner. Throughout the night, strong defense by the Kings stifled the Bruins attack. They defended their blueline with ferocity throwing 28 hits and confined the Bruins to the perimeter of the offensive zone with apparent ease. Though the Bruins did get 31 shots off from that position, they recorded far fewer scoring chances.

The latter of those statements bit the Bruins noticeably.

“We’ve done a lot of good things, but at the same time when we’re not scoring then any small mistakes turn into big ones,” said Bruin center, Patrice Bergeron. “We don’t make up for it on the offense. We’re playing a pretty stingy game when it’s 1-0, so defense isn’t a problem. We just have to find a way to score more goals.”

Furthermore, even though they forced more giveaways, more takeaways, and blocked far more shots than the Kings, Boston was still outshot as they failed to create sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

The Bruins inability to solve the Kings defense long enough to fabricate rebounds into additional shots was partially due to Quick’s dominance. Beyond Quick though, LA’s defenders backed their goalie up with clearances and physical back-checking in the corners and along the boards.

Quick and the defense were actually crucial in initiating the play that resulted in the King’s first goal. In his own end, Quick managed to usher a long Bruins shot wide of the net. He then watched as Kings defender, Jake Muzzin, hammered Bruins forward, Loui Erickson, off the puck in the neutral zone. Ultimately, Muzzin turned the puck towards Niklas Svedberg and the Bruins goal.  There, through crisp passing by Kings forwards, Anze Kopitar and Brandon McNabb, Tanner Pearson took a shot from open space that beat Svedberg.

The first goal demoralized the Bruins. They entered the game with LA with a purpose and saw the Kings as a team that they could jump on early. In the four games they played before the game with Boston, LA had been outscored 6-1 in the 1^stperiod. But after getting behind the ball early with a long 5 on 3 penalty kill, the Bruins were tired and disorganized in their defense. That defense was caught bunched up near the net and allowed the Kings first goal to play itself out without any of the Bruins getting a stick on the puck.

From there though, Boston tried and at times succeeded in generating shots. Beyond offence, goalie, Svedberg, played shut down hockey between the pipes stopping 20 straight shots between the Pearson goal and when he was pulled for the extra skater in the final minutes of the game.

"They've given us a chance to win hockey games,” Bruins coach Claude Julian said of his goalies’ performances in not only this game but Monday night’s meeting with the Ducks as well. “Again, we just can't find ways to score some goals here. It's hard to get mad at these guys when you see the effort being put in and the commitment and everything else.”

Despite strong efforts by the Bruins goalies, there has been little offensive support of late. That is because several players that the Bruins rely on for goals have fallen into simultaneous slumps. Reilly Smith has not scored in 10 games while Loui Erickson has gone 11 games without a goal. Even players who are dominating regularly this season and played well rounded games vs the Kings have struggled to win “puck luck” in recent weeks and days.

Carl Soderberg saw almost two fewer minutes of ice time Tuesday than is regular for him and failed to score on the one shot that he took on goal. He himself has gone 10 games without a goal. On a somewhat lesser scale, rookie David Pastrnak, despite leading the Bruins in CORSI, +/- and shots on goal since being called up from Providence, has yet to log an NHL point for the team.

The Bruins are struggling to score goals but will play Thursday night in San Jose looking to salvage some points from this three game West Coast trip.

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Analyzing the Bruins recent struggles against Montreal

November 23rd, 2014
by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins faced the Montreal Canadians Saturday night in a marquee game in Boston. The matchup, which ultimately ended in a 2-0 loss served as yet another renewal of an old rivalry and featured strong emotions . Like the hundreds of games before it, the hatred felt in the game was one fueled by emotion and long engraved memories of triumph and sadness.

But something is changing with this rivalry and it was only made more real by the loss handed to the Bruins Saturday night. 

Very simply, the Canadians have the Bruins number; they know how to reliably beat Boston. As hard as it is to face, the result of that game was predicatble,

In the 21 games in which the two teams have met since the 2011 Bruins Stanley Cup victory (including last year’s playoff series) the Canadians have beaten the Bruins 14 times. They have outscored the Bruins 70-42 and are averaging nearly 3.33 goals per game. In stark contrast, the Bruins have put up a much lesser scoring output averaging exactly 2 goals per game.

From top to bottom, these past few years, as they pertain to the Bruins’ meetings with Montreal, have been marred with goaltending miscues and offensive deficiencies.

Tuukka Rask is a perfect example of the former of those two.

Rask, who, since the beginning of the 2010-2011 season has produced a GAA of 2.11, has allowed a much less impressive average of 3.10 goals per game in 13 starts against the Canadians during that time. What is worse is that before Saturday's holding the Canadians to two goals, Rask had a GAA of over 6 this season vs Montreal.

After recognizing Rask’s struggles, the Bruins benched him for last week’s meeting with the Canadians where rookie backup goaltender Niklas Svedberg went in and promptly allowed five goals.

But the goalies are not the only ones at fault in what has since spiraled into a four year parade of problems with Montreal. As said before, the Bruins have scored just 2.1 goals in each of the games they have played against Montreal. That, when matched with the 3.5 goals per game that the Canadians are scoring has the majority of these affairs going decisively in favor of Montreal.

Furthermore, 2.00 goals is not a level of goal scoring the Bruins normally fall to. As of Saturday November 22^nd, the Bruins and Canadians had both played 233 games since 2011. In that time, the Bruins had actually outscored them by over 100 goals. They were averaging 3.07 goals per game while Montreal was putting up just under 2.74.

Some of the Bruins best and brightest forwards are struggling to make their mark against the Canadians As a result, we are seeing angrier, lopsided games that ultimately end with the Bruins going home empty handed.

This is a problem for a Bruins team that once elevated its play when the schedule put them up against their most hated foe. Now as excited and pumped up as they get, the Bruins keep losing in a growing trend that is noticeably diminishing the magic of one of the greatest rivalries in sports.

*All statistics from ESPN.com. All statistics valid as of November 23nd, 2014 at 11:30 AM.

**Thank you to everyone who has viewed this blog since it went live on July 4th, 2012. Earlier today Go Titletown received its 10,000th page view almost exactly two and a half years into its existence. This blog means a lot to me and I appreciate any and all who have taken the time to watch and help it grow. Here's to many more years of Boston sports blogging in the ever changing business that is 21st century journalism! Thank you!

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Dennis Sidenberg goal catalyzes Bruins comeback: 4-3 final on Kokhlachev shootout winner

November 21st, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

A slow start proved to be nothing that could not be overcome by a resilient Bruins team Friday night.

After falling behind 2-0 early in the first period, the Bruins scored three times in the final 20 minutes of the game to eventually tie things up and secure at least a point . From there they stumbled through a tight OT period and a seven round shootout before finally rookie forward Alex Kohlachev ended things for Boston. 

For those present, the polar changes made between the first two periods and the third were so drastic that they seemed to break Friday’s game in two.

“As a team we kind of let go of our 1st period problems and started going hard in the 3rd period,” said Bruins goalie Niklas Svedberg.

The Bruins were outshot, out hit and generally outplayed early on with Svedberg himself making key positional mistakes. Both of his goals allowed came on deflected shots taken when he was deep in his own net. 

 Beyond that, the Bruins defensive core was physically lacking with younger defenders Matt Bartowski and Kevin Miller surrendering the neutral zone to Columbus’ rushes with frequency.

But however bad as things seemed, the coaching staff seemed to diagnose and remedy their problems with ease and decisiveness during their address to the team during the second intermission.

“We were doing good things in the first two periods but in the end it was those little things that were getting us,” Bruins coach Claude Jullian said of his addressing the team at the break. “Little things we had to get better at. Those being just getting some presence on our shots, we were taking these shots with nobody there for rebounds. We just needed more net and that’s what we got in that third period.”

The Bruins, ignited by whatever was specifically said in that second intermission, saw their 

competitive spirit fanned into a roaring bonfire when Dennis Seidenberg hammered an 80ft slap shot past Sergei Bobrovsky to break the shutout. The goal which was scored just over a minute into the third period was the catalyst of the eventual comeback.

“Those first two periods were kind of boring, but that third period must have been fun to watch!” Said Svedberg.

Svedberg would surrender a late goal that sent the game to overtime but was generally strong. He stopped 8 of 9 third period shots. For him though, the dominance was most notably felt in the shootout where he stopped all of Columbus’ seven shots.

Jullian glowed about his goalie’s performance after the game.

“They got some pretty good shootout players on their team and Svedberg stood tall and really played great in that shootout,” he said.

Needless to say, some sort of scoring must be achieved to win a hockey game. In the end it was another rookie who got the job done. Alex Khokhlachev, who still does not have an NHL goal, grabbed his first shootout winner when he slipped a wrist shot under the pad of Bobrovsky in the seventh round.

The goal served as Boston’s walk off for the night with the Bruins skating over to congratulate Kokhlachev before immediately turning their focus to Saturday’s meeting with the Canadians.

All and all, the team was happy with how they exhibited their ability to turn games around when they seem surely lost.

"That was a good comeback win, knowing we're down two goals going into the third," said Julien. "To be able to get that short-lived 3-2 lead was a good sign from this hockey club."

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Up and down Bruins top Sabers in OT thriller, Brad Marchand gets back on track

October 31st, 2014

by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins moved back to 500 on the season with a 3-2 win over the Sabers in Buffalo.  The victory was their first sealed in the overtime period this season and, like so many other games, it seemed to reassure fans of the team’s integrity. 

After a painful late game collapse earlier this week in Minnesota, the Bruins entered this game suddenly lacking the services of not only Zdeno Chara but also Tory Krug. Furthermore, great worries were spawned during a Wednesday practice when reports began circulating that Brad Marchand had left practice with an apparent injury.

But when the team travelled to Buffalo, they filled the void left by Krug with AHL’er Joe Morrow and Marchand was revealed to be healthy enough to start the game.

In fact by night’s end, Marchand had, by virtue of his sheer actions, proved his health.

He scored two goals in the contest. The first came midway through the third period and ultimately tied the game while the second ended it in overtime. 

"Brad has been having a slow start to the season and, again, in the third period he just showed his true colors and what he can do when he decides to play the way he can," coach Claude Julien said. "He's got good speed and he can be pretty slippery, but he's been playing a lot on the outside with the puck and without it and it doesn't bode well for him. So it's nice to see him get rewarded with the things that he needs to do, so hopefully that encourages him to do a little bit more."

Marchand’s goals were just his second and third of the season. The winning goal, a cross bar down wrist shot from the hash marks was hailed by many of his teammates as one of the best of the year.

Marchand however digressed and heaped some of the praise on his teammates.

"It was a great play by Dougie [Hamilton] to get it over to [Reilly]," Marchand said. "[I] saw him coming off the bench and I just tried to pop open for [Smith] and he made a great pass and I was just lucky it went in."

Beyond Marchand, defender Adam McQuaid scored his first goal in over a calendar year while Niklas Svedberg stopped 13 of 15 shots and made several clutch saves late in regulation.

“This was a game that we really wanted to win,” Marchand said. “We didn’t want to go down two games below .500, especially with the way we finished last game. We wanted to make sure we had a big effort tonight, and we came out with a win.”

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Bruins get back on track with 4-0 win in Buffalo

October 19th, 2014
by Dakota Antelman

The Bruins who currently sit in last place in their division nabbed a reassuring win Saturday night in Buffalo.

Just a few days after getting humiliated in Montreal, the Bruins downed the Sabers by a score of four to zero with goals coming from Bruin’s youngsters like Tory Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Carl Soderberg. Their defense played better than they had all season and their goalie Niklas Svedberg atoned for a shaky performance in his debut with a 32 save shutout.

Svedberg, who allowed 2 goals vs Colorado last week, replaced Rask late in Thursday’s loss to Montreal. After attracting the attention of the coaching staff, he was given the start Sunday.

"He came in [against Montreal on Friday] cold and had to make some saves,” Said coach Claude Jullian, “I'm pretty happy with the way he's handled himself. In that first game that he lost, he was really good as well. It was tough to give up that goal with half a second left, and we know it wasn't his fault, so been pretty happy. We've been fortunate that we've got a good goaltender in Tuukka, and everybody that seems to come in continues to do the job, so that's great."

Svedberg made 32 stops Saturday. In doing so, he logged his first NHL shutout and also gained considerable support from fans who roasted him after the Avalanche game in which he allowed a goal in the final second.

In his postgame interviews Svedberg was assuredly happy with his play.

"It's a great feeling," he said. "Most of all, to get the win for us was huge today, and of course, I'm happy with the shutout, too."

Zdeno Chara, an observer of countless all-star Bruins goalies commented on Svedberg’s improvement in the past week alone.

"He's working really hard. He's making great steps forward, and everybody was really happy for him.” He said. “…If you look back, he made some really big saves in the game. Buffalo had some chances and actually could have made it a tighter game than it was."

Chara himself was decent in the game. He became one of three Bruins defenders who scored in this game when he put in a dribbling snap shot late in the first period. Among the other Bruins blue liners who scored were Tory Krug and Dougie Hamilton.

Hamilton’s 60 foot wrist shot early in the game served at the eventual game winning goal while Krug’s first of the year which came midway through the second period effectively put the game out of reach for Buffalo.

All of the shots came from positions far from the net and were only squeezed past goalie Jonus Enroth because of intense screen plays and thick clogging of the front of the net by the Bruins forwards.

"It's something that you don't see very often," Chara said. "When you have good traffic and guys are driving to the net and staying in front of the net, it makes it hard on the goalies to see the puck. It creates a lot of good things, offensively."

Carl Soderberg added his second goal of the season in the dying minutes of the game contributing to a two point night for his line.

The Bruins got back on track Saturday. Their win was convincing and answered several questions regarding the Bruins defense, their involvement of said defense in the attack and the strength of their trusted backup Niklas Svedberg.

Needless to say however, the Bruins still sit in last place and will have to do more than win one game to get where they want to be. Confidence is a good thing though, its importance being something that cannot be understated.

“It made a big difference, and it gives you an opportunity to go home feeling much better about yourself as a team, knowing you got four out of six points [on a 3 game road trip] and our game is starting to come around,” Jullian said. 

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Once again, battle for Bruins backup goalie spot close

In regards to the anxious escapades felt by young NHL players this time of year, Tuukka Rask has been there done that.

In the years after being drafted by the Maple Leafs back in 2005, Rask made the annual pilgrimage to training camp year after year trying to impress a Leafs staff that appeared to underestimate him. For two years, Rask, a massive goalie of quick handed Finnish build, was overlooked by Toronto with the team pegging Canadian southpaw Justin Pogge as a man of superior talent. Since being traded to Boston in exchange for a burnt out Andrew Raycroft in 2007, Rask dealt with much of the same for the majority of the next few seasons. The Fantastic Finn trundled around the Bruins AHL affiliate providence for the entirety of the 2008 and 2009 seasons always watching, always waiting to make his debut.

For two seasons he watched as a mediocre goalie named Manny Fernandez backed up the growing superstar that was Tim Thomas. For two seasons, two training camps, two preseasons he tried and failed to impress the newly instated Claude Julian each time retiring back to the AHL where he honed his skills and garnered somewhat unwanted attention because of his eccentric on ice behavior.

The long stated, king of post shootout meltdowns gained national fame in the 2009 season when he assaulted the boards with his stick and hurled a chair out onto the ice following a loss. Later that season, he backed up his intense on ice personality with some 955 saves, a GAA of 2.33 and a save percentage of .905.

Finally, when the next training camp rolled around, Julian bumped his protégée up to the big club. The rest is history. After battling with Tim Thomas for the starting goaltender spot for the next 3 seasons, Rask got his name carved on the Stanly Cup as a backup in 2011 and nearly as a starter once Thomas left before the 2013 season. He has since won a Vesna Trophy for his efforts for the Bruins and has truly shamed the Leafs who long ago misjudged his talent.

There is a certain romance to this all, an impressive lore that goes hand in hand with a talent that is willing to be shoved under the rug long after the point at which its maturity demands it be let out. Being overlooked as Rask was, fighting with other talents as Rask did with Justin Pogge and Manny Fernandez almost a decade ago solidifies the powerful solidarity of an athlete and a person. Furthermore, such competition that warns of no clear winner adds substance to an otherwise dry preseason.

Even after Rask got out of that situation, Bruins fans have been treated to some rather spectacular battles for positions valued far less than that currently held by Rask. Guys like Ryan Spooner, Matt Frazer and Matt Bartowski have given some Bruins regulars a run for their money this training camp. Particularly in the situation of Spooner, Chris Kelly’s spot within the Bruins is shrinking in importance.

But on a level above any of those other battles, there is the titular clash of Malcom Subban and Niklas Svedberg fighting valiantly for the chance to stand alone behind Rask as the 2014-2015 Boston Bruins backup goalie.

Drafted 28th overall in the 2012 NHL draft, Malcom Subban has been omnipresent in the Bruins development system for over a year now. Last year, he started two games for the Bruins in their preseason calendar playing well even in a brutal 8 goal loss to the Red Wings. Nevertheless, he was sent back to Providence for the 2013-2014 season where he rightfully gained considerable playing time. In 33 starts, he went 15-10, logging a GAA of 2.31 and a save percentage of .920.

Playing right alongside him however was Swedish net minder, Niklas Svedberg. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2012, Svedberg won the AHL version of the Vesna Trophy in his debut season with Providence and split time with Subban last season playing 45 games and boasting a GAA of 2.63.

The two are both in the running for backup time with the Bruins next season as former backup Chad Johnson was released at season’s end.

In this year’s rookie training camp and preseason games, they have rightly been the main focus.

"It's an exciting time. Obviously, it kicks off a training camp environment," said Assistant General Manager Don Sweeney earlier this month. "These guys have worked hard to earn an opportunity to come. We talked a lot about opportunity [with them], with the organization itself and the competitiveness."

The Bruins are so far doing well in rookie scrimmages with Svedberg and Subban splitting time almost perfectly. The two have held opponents down with flash, strength and fundamental skills that have impressed Bruins coach Claude Julian.

“There’s Svedberg, there’s Subban — there’s a lot of guys that can certainly battle for that. But it’s never been an issue in the past,” Julien told reporters, “We feel confident. Every guy we’ve had who’s come in as a secondary goaltender or backup goaltender has always done the job, so we don’t anticipate that being an issue again this year.”

Needless to say, with two high quality talents rated well in almost every category, the prospect of isolating and then playing the best one is truly exciting.

For the majority of the now 7 year old Claude Julian era in Boston, the Bruins have been the model of goaltending in its farm system. They have produced Tim Thomas, followed him up with Tuukka Rask, shot out Anton Khudobin as Rask’s eventual backup and now created the scintillating talents of Malcom Subban and Niklas Svedberg.

The future is a good one for the Bruins goaltending core as no matter the outcome of this preseason’s indicision it will include a world class talent playing behind Rask.

Subban is great, as is Svedberg; the Bruins are great and no matter what happens offensively and defensively to their core group next season, their goaltending tandem will be good enough to simply get it done no questions asked.

But until then, until we learn a new chant to scream from the rafters as a Bruins goalie aside from Rask makes a highlight real save, we get to watch a heck of a show play out as our two AHL goalies fight to one up the other.

“I’m going to try to have a good camp here and deserve a spot,” Svedberg said. “I’m happy for the contract [he was given last season], but I’ve got to come here, work hard and deserve my spot on the team, so it’s a long way to go.”

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Niklas Svedberg will make NHL debut vs Predators: The AHL's best goalie looks to make the jump to the big club...and stay there

Even after the Tim Thomas debacle of 2012 and the departure of respectable goaltender, Anton Khudobin a year later, the Boston Bruins are a deep goal tending team whose list of prized possessions ranges past just the name of Tuukka Rask. However if one were to rank categorically the skill sets of the Bruins 5 major goaltenders currently under contract second only to Tuukka Rask would be a man named Niklas Svedberg. 

The 24 year old Swedish goaltender will make his NHL debut for the Bruins Thursday against the Predators and will undoubtedly take to the ice knowing the magnitude of this game as it pertains to his longevity as a professional hockey player. Niklas was originally signed to the Bruins AHL team in Providence as an undrafted free agent back in May of 2012 and was expected to possibly march into the backup role behind Tuukka Rask for this current 2013-2014 NHL season. Svedberg sure made a strong case for such recognition as he won the AHL's award for best goaltender in 2012-2013 posting a league best 37-8-4 record, a GAA of 2.17 and 4 regular season shutouts. The case was made and even then, the Bruins front offence decided to forgo Svedberg electing to instead go with the backstopping talents of extremely inexperienced goaltender, Chad Johnson.  

Midway through the season, that decision has been looking stranger and stranger by the minute before finally it was announced that Svedberg's time to shine has come. Now while this will be Svedberg's first NHL action, it will not be the first time his name has been penciled into a lineup card as less than a week ago, he was called up to serve as Tuukka's backup for Boston's home and home set with Ottowa. However prior to his making the start in the final game of that series, injuries to Zdeno Chara and Carl Soderberg made it so that Svedberg must be returned to Providence in order to make room for Zach Trotman and others to serve as skaters in the game. 

To make matters worse, Svedberg's mother was in attendance for that second game expecting to see her son start.  

That's how it works and you just move on," Svedberg said brushing off the pain of the demotion. "I went back to Providence, played there and you wait to get another chance. Fortunately, I get that pretty soon here with this game."

Tuukka Rask however was in full apologetic mode when asked about his thoughts. 

"I felt so bad for him," Rask said. "His mom was there and everything, but he's been patient and now his time has come. He's a laid back guy, so I don't think he's going to get too nervous. He'll be fine."

As Svedberg starts this evening, he will be going up against a team many would deem to be easy game for goaltenders. The Nashville Predators have scored the second fewest goals in the league this season putting up on average just 2.4 goals per game. 

"I'm looking forward to seeing him in net tonight," coach, Claude Jullian said at Thursday's morning skate. "He's going to be fine," Julien said. "You saw him in the preseason games, and I know preseason may not be exactly like a regular-season game, but he seemed calm and his demeanor is very calm. He's got to go out there and just play his game. I don't think he's going to be an overly excited goaltender that's going to be thrown off his game. He's going to play with confidence and if anything, he's going to want to prove himself."

Jullian eluded to Svedberg's preseason play several times in his remarks about the goaltender as it seemed that his 26 save performance in the Bruins 2nd to last preseason game of 2013 made a huge mark on the Bruin skipper. As for that cool headed, calm style of pre-game activity highlighted by both Rask and Jullian Svedberg did not deny any of it. He seems legit and even more so, fiercely focused on his lone goal of stopping as many shots as his body will allow him to. 

"It's a good feeling," Svedberg said. "Right now I'm just trying to stay calm and focus on the game and what I'm going to do out there. That's my only focus right now." 

Halfway through this Bruins season the questions surrounding the situation regarding who will play backup goalie as the season goes on as quietly turned into a raging controversy sparking silent discontent among Bruins fans every time Chad Johnson allows a weak goal. As Bruins fans continue to ask these questions, they must understand that this impending game vs the Predators may be their answer. 

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Whats wrong with the Boston Bruins: A look at the red flags raised by the past week of Boston losses

After starting the season 7-2, the Bruins came into an October 26th game against the Devils looking to retain their spot at the top of the Atlantic Division. Prior to that game they had won 4 straight and as they retained a 3-2 lead late in the 3rd they found themselves just minutes away from their longest win streak since late last February. They were just over 3 minutes away from the win when it all fell apart.

Tory Krug committed a high stick that sent him to the penalty box for a 4 minute double minor and then, just seconds later, down went Patrice Bergeron who skied the puck over the glass and put the Devils on a 5 on 3 power play for the rest of the game. New Jersey soon pulled their goalie scored once and then scored again to not only tie the game but win it in regulation.

The Bruins have now played 3 games since that crushing loss and through that span of time; things have rapidly spiraled out of control. They have lost 2 of 3 and have been beating 8-6 on aggregate scouring. Even after the New Jersey game, the Big Bad Bruins still retained the top spot in the Atlantic division but after this recent dry spell they have fallen 4 points back of the division leading Lightning.

As you look into it, the various factors that have befallen the Bruins in their recent losses have been here all year. First and foremost, the Bruins need more out of their 2nd through 4th lines as 36% of the 94 points scored by Bruins players this season have come out of the Krejci, Lucic, Iginla line. By comparison that is 18 points higher than the 18% of team points smacked in by the Bergeron, Smith, Marchand line and 28 percentage points higher than the 10% held by the 3rd line.

As you look back it was noted early on how much the dependency on the top line was dangerous and it seems that through these last 3 games we have been shown that danger not just told about it. Krejci, Iginla and Lucic have combined for just 1 goal leaving a gaping hole in the Bruins attack. With the exception of Carl Soderberg no one has stepped up and for that reason, down the Bruins go.

But as you examine the box score it is the situation in goal that, however strange, has shot the Bruins in the feet. Now there is no doubt about current starter Tuukka Rask. Rask is 7 and 4 with a GAA of 1.73. He has accumulated a save percentage of .940 and above all allowed more than 3 goals just 3 times all year. Tuukka has been playing like a Vesna candidate and there has never been a question regarding in the excellence of his play. No the guy who has killed the Bruins is the man who has come in when Tuukka simply needs a day off.

In the minds of Bruins fans, Chad Johnson was never the answer to the question of who to fill the role of backup goalie and he has shown it in the 2 games he has appeared in this year. He has allowed 5 goals in 2 games of action and after posting a saver percentage of just .900 in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Islanders it may be time to test out Niklas Svedberg once again. 

The Bruins have played 3 fewer games than any other team in hockey this season but that is no excuse. They are just 4 points secure of a playoff spot and need to get going. Good news Bruins fans, we might be in for a surge in the coming weeks as 6 of their next 8 opponents are currently out of the playoff picture.

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Anton Khudobin signed by Hurricanes: Who do the Bruins plan to replace him with?

In the midst of the Tyler Seguin/ Rich Peverly trade, the Nathan Horton departure, the question of will Jaromir Jagr return next year? And the speculation over an impending mega deal to resign Tuukka Rask, the name of Bruin backup net-minder Anton Khudobin has failed to cross the minds of well anyone.

Nevertheless after a season and postseason where the focus of peoples goal-tending attention, directed towards the Bruins was largely fixated on star goalie Tuukka Rask, it was an unsung hero in Khudobin that really did play a huge role in bringing this team through the regular season a positioning them for this deep 2013 playoff run.  

In the 14 games this now 27 year old started for Boston this year, Khudobin went 9-4-1 accounting for 29% of the Bruins final record and allowing just 31 goals against to constitute a GAA of just over 2.30.

You see the point of a good backup is not just to give your starter rest (if that were true, the Bruins would have only won 20 games this year and finished out of the playoffs) the backup is supposed to give you a chance to win and that is just what Anton Khudobin did this season. 

After years of paying his dues down in Providence, Khudobin was finally given the chance to become a regular goaltender and while stats can be misleading, anyone who watched this 2013 Bruins team could recognize that Khudobin HAS proved that he could easily become a guy paid far more than he already is and a guy who, so long as he is placed on an average goal tending team, could reasonably be in the running to become a starting goaltender in the NHL.  

Nevertheless at just after 4 PM today, speculations of Anton Khudobin being on the move became a reality when he signed a one year 800,000 dollar contract with the Hurricanes. Now this is where things get a little weird. Coming into the off season, Khudobin was expected to, if he was moved; go to a market where he would be competing for more money and a starting role. That isn't going to happen in Carolina. 

Fact is, Khudobin signed for 75,000 dollars less than what he was paid this year and signed with a team that already has Cam Ward: a 29 year old stud that is still showing no signs of slowing down. 

Yet this is not Raligh, this is Boston and after a pretty awful month in Boston sports (Hernandez, the Bruins losing the cup, and a bunch of Celtics trades) there might be an upside to this Khudobin departure, and that upside has a name: Niklas Svedberg.

Niklas Svedberg

Born on September 4th 1989, a now 23 year old Svedberg was signed into the Bruins organization back in May of 2012 binding him as an undrafted goaltender slated to play as starter in the Bruins AHL affiliate Providence.  

Originally playing over in Sweden, Svedberg spent 8 years is various European leagues even making the Olympic team at one point before eventually making a name for himself as he eventually managed to compile a combined GAA of 2.55 (2.86 in Olympic hockey) all before finally making his debut in Providence back in October. 

Energetically leaping into American hockey, Svedberg quickly began to turn heads as he exploded out of the gates winning 5 straight games before getting handed his first AHL loss. Still dominant as ever, Svedberg was named to the AHL All-Star game in January before finishing the season with a win-loss-OT loss record of 37-8-2 and a GAA of 2.17 that is actually sizably better than the final season in Providence of current Bruins starter Tuukka Rask. 

Table comparing Tuukka Rask and Niklas Svedberg's final seasons in Providence

	GAA	Win	Loss	OT loss
Tuukka Rask	2.50	33	20	4
Niklas Svedberg	2.17	37	8	2

In a way you can say that the Bruins really did run away with this trade off, I mean, bringing in a guy who if he performs like he did in the AHL could oust Tuukka Rask (although after hearing of the contract Rask will sign, that is never going to happen) and letting go of a goalie who in a few years could easily be demanding a multi-million dollar deal seems like a more than fair trade for Boston. 

Niklas Svedberg is the perfect guy to backup Rask, it just fits the deal, "the backup shouldn't just rest your starter, it should give you a chance to win" and that is exactly what Niklas Svedberg of Sollentuna, Sweden will undoubtedly perfect, right down to an art. 

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