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Bruins Canadiens in BOSTON TONIGHT! Battle for top in the Atlantic? Canadiens still the top rival? How long will Bruins be without James Hagens? Bruins PBP Judd Sirott joins!
Are we officially past 'exceed expectations' talk and onto Stanley Cup talk? Are the Bruins true championship contenders?
Are we officially past 'exceed expectations' talk and onto Stanley Cup talk? Are the Bruins true championship contenders?
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00:00Wednesday. It is Judd Surratt of Nessun. Good morning. Good morning. What a week of hockey
00:05this is. We got Sunday against the Florida Panthers. That was electric. Now we got the
00:09Montreal Canadiens tonight. You're going to finish it off with one of the best teams in
00:13the Western Conference on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. It's a good week. Yes.
00:17I mean, this team is on the four game heater here. So, and you like to think that the Canadians
00:23are still a rival for this hockey team. I mean, I don't, I, you know, I'll go back to
00:29my, go back to my youth. There was only one rival and it was La Habitat, but should be
00:34electric there tonight. Oh, it's still there. You know, I think Marco Stern was asked about
00:39it the other day and he said our biggest rival, it's still the Canadians. It's not, it's not
00:43even a question. Listen, it's an ancient rivalry. It's something that's in your bones. And as
00:49heated as Sunday was against the Florida Panthers and the Bruins certainly have a good rivalry
00:53against them. This is on another level. They're banged up right now though, the Canadians. So
00:57with those injuries that they're dealing with, does that take down the rivalry a little
01:01bit? Is this a, is this a, a much more winnable game for the Bruins than maybe if they were
01:06at full strength? I looked at their roster the other night and it looked like only Mike
01:09Matheson was the key guy out of their, out of their lineup. Nick Suzuki, their captain
01:13just recently came back. It was the first time in like six years that he had missed a game.
01:18So that's a huge piece coming back. He won the Selkie trophy in the National Hockey League
01:23last year and registered 100 points. Oh, Caulfield is off to another good start along
01:28with Lane Hudson and this kid, Jacob Fowler, who played college hockey here at Boston College
01:32is off to a great start. Not sure exactly who's going to get the start tonight for the Canadians,
01:37but they're close to full strength. They're playing well. I think they're seven Oh and three
01:41in their last 10. Uh, so this should be good because the top of the Atlantic division were
01:46early in the season. We'll be on the line tonight. What have you been hearing? What are
01:50they saying about James Higgins and his return? The only thing that I've heard is that he's going
01:55to be out a couple of weeks. Uh, he did not skate as far as I could tell yesterday at
01:59practice. So I
02:00think, so he took a cross check. If you may have missed it, he was cutting right to left, right
02:04out
02:04in front of the net. He was able to beat Sam Girard in Pittsburgh and Girard just got him with
02:09a cross
02:09check. Did not look good above, above the pants and sort of below the padding. And he just got him
02:15in a
02:15bad spot. Let me tell you, I'm dealing with the same exact thing here. Somebody cross checked it.
02:19Oh, I don't know how it happened. In his sleep. Right. Mike, in my case, it was, it may have
02:24been
02:24getting out of bed, but a very similar injury. Like the wife got you getting out of bed. Well,
02:29listen, uh, well, first of all, uh, beloved soulmate. I mean, let's not, let's not, uh, partner.
02:35Let's not rush things life partner, but, uh, well, consider your health. You might want to
02:39didn't know she was carrying the warrior stick next to the bed. Okay. But, uh, you think it's going to
02:44be a
02:44little bit when it comes to the unknown, you know, I, I don't know exactly what it is. Uh, you
02:49know,
02:49it's the national hockey league, so we don't get a clear idea exactly what it is, but I think you
02:54start to get a timeline when players like this start to participate in practice. That's when you
03:00start to see timelines. So until that happens, uh, it's a complete unknown. What's been the one thing
03:05that has impressed you all season long with this Bruins team? I think it's the depth and the balance
03:10Wiggy. Uh, if you look and, and I haven't checked the stats here today, but I think heading into
03:15yesterday's action, they were a top five offense in the national hockey league. And if you look at
03:19where the offense is coming from, it's coming from everybody, all four lines, you've got the D that's
03:25contributed. And I think that that's the biggest surprise because last year they, they were able
03:31to put up a number of goals, but a lot of that in the first, I would say half to
03:35two thirds of the
03:35season was coming from the power play. Well, the power play has been mediocre, uh, at least here
03:40in the first quarter of the season, you're getting a lot of your production five on five, and they're
03:45coming from all sorts of different guys. Pasta four point game streak right now for him. Do you
03:50think that he's playing like one of the best players in the Atlantic right now? The best player?
03:53I think he's been good, but I think there are a number of guys who have really picked up their
03:58play that I think you have noticed. I think one of the guys that we had talked about,
04:02you had asked, okay, is there, are there one or two players that you're looking at
04:05that would really make a difference for the Bruins this year? And I think we talked about
04:09the Lindholmes and look at the starts that both of them are off to on the backend. I think Hampus
04:13Lindholm is a plus 15 and upfront, this is the guy you expected to sign in Elias Lindholm. And you're
04:21seeing it, I think largely due to health, but he's on a pace right now. What does he have? Like
04:26seven goals and 15 points. So if you multiply that times four, that's close to a 30 goal,
04:3270 point season. That's the guy you were hoping to get. But in addition to that,
04:36he has matched up against number one lines. He's won a ton of face-offs. I think it's helped
04:41the way that the Bruins have used him this year in the matchups that they have had,
04:46who they've had playing with him. So it had been James Higgins and Casey Middlestad.
04:50Those guys have thrived in particular. Morgan Geeky is the other one I think that we had talked
04:55about. The stick was cold for a while. Not the case right now. He's got goals in each of his
04:59last
05:00four. He's getting to the spots. He's unleashing that shot. Anytime he does that, that's a weapon.
05:05When you look at this team and you look at how good Swayman has been, how do you think
05:11Marco Sturm balances how much he plays and making sure he's where he needs to be? Because it looks
05:19like there'll be a playoff team. So how would you balance the, you know, the goaltending between
05:24these two guys? Well, I think, Wiggy, they have a number in mind. And this is something the general
05:28manager, Don Sweeney, had talked about before the season even started, that they have a number in
05:33mind. They haven't exactly said what it is, but my guess is it's somewhere between 55 and 60 to try
05:39and get them that many starts. And remember, we've added two more games. You've got an 84-game season
05:44because I think in the past they have pushed goalies beyond that window and they've got
05:50diminished returns. So if you look at a guy like Michael DiPietro, you've probably got to get him
05:55around 25 starts. So that's four per month. He got one in against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
06:03After Saturday's game, you've got a back-to-back set. You've got the Kings in Detroit. I would imagine
06:07he's going to get one there. You've got the Vancouver Canucks coming up. So I think you'd like to be
06:11able
06:11to get Michael probably around four to five starts per month, probably closer to four in order to
06:18keep Swayman at his best. But both of those guys have been a big part of the Bruins' success here
06:23early in the season. Bergeron night tonight? What should fans expect? Bergeron night. December 1st.
06:29So December 1st. Why did I think it was tonight? I don't know. December 1st. That's when they're
06:33going tonight. Well, I'm, yeah. Oh, well, it's Greg Hill night. I mean, back permitting, but yeah,
06:37no, they won't raise that. Sorry. My mistake. I thought that Greg was saying that he was going
06:42for Bergeron night, but that's December 1st. Okay. I loved everything about that on Monday night.
06:49Was that Monday night? Yes. At the hockey hall of fame. His speech was great. It was awesome to see
06:54all those guys there. Awesome to see Brad Marchand there. Awesome to see Ray Bork there. I'm sure you
07:02took it, took it off. I, it was actually nice to see Keith Kachuk, uh, get in as well. I
07:08thought
07:08he did a great job with his speech and, uh, and I, uh, grew up with Cindy Curley and it
07:13was great to
07:14see her get in as well. No, all sorts of Boston connections. Brian Burke, you can add in there
07:18as well as a guy who played how he was awesome. He was so funny, but to great, you know,
07:23to see
07:24Bergeron enshrined, listen, it was a no brainer. Um, you know, and I think a lot of guys, so you
07:29need,
07:29when you talk about Keith Kachuk, um, and he was a, he was a formidable, a formidable player
07:36when he played in the national hockey league. I mean, he was a dominant player in the national
07:40hockey league. He should have gotten in to the hockey hall of fame a lot earlier, uh, than this
07:45year. Um, you know, this is a guy cool, you know, his dad's a firefighter. It was a firefighter
07:52here forever. His mom, I think worked for the union and to see those guys there and live
07:58that dream of growing up here and getting into the hockey hall of fame is awesome. Awesome.
08:03No, the kid to Kachuk from East Boston, the early Jeffrey's point kid, that's right.
08:10A Molden Catholic. Well, that's our claim to fame in Eastie, the Medford native, but he was just a
08:14dominant player, but to get to get back to a guy like Berge, a phenomenal speech, um, tremendous to
08:21see him honored. I think, you know, with some guys who get into the hockey hall of fame, you think
08:25about their numbers, get them there. And, and Berge certainly has the numbers, but I think his
08:30game transcended that. If you think about, so he, he played for the Bruins essentially close to 20
08:36years, 19 years here with the Boston Bruins. And during that time, the biggest moments that you
08:41can think about in Bruins history, he was right in the middle of all of that stuff. The comeback
08:47against Toronto in the playoffs, uh, who scores two goals in game seven, uh, against the Vancouver
08:53Canucks. It's Berge who's playing with, um, a broken lung, a collapsed lung. His half of his head
09:00was actually off the bone. Uh, unbelievable. So Brad Marchand, who you referenced, he used to talk
09:06about the legend of Berge and, and, and I think what Berge was able to do transcends the numbers.
09:12And it was so great to see him rewarded. And then December 1st, when the Colorado Avalanche will roll
09:17into town. Um, he grew up a Nordiques fan. That's, uh, where the Colorado Avalanche started.
09:23Joe Sackick, Peter Forsberg, those were his favorite players. Joe Sackick, I'm told we'll
09:27be in the building that night. Uh, so that's going to be another one to mark on your calendar.
09:32It's brain fart for me. I got a, I got a Joe Sackick Nordique Jersey, pretty smooth.
09:37The nice baby blue. When you look at this, I mean, uh, you know, excuse me, let me outdo it.
09:44Uh,
09:44one of my better friends throughout my entire life from, from a young age, Scott Young, one of the
09:49all-time great Avalanche players, slow down a little bit. Do you have a young Jersey?
09:53No, I don't. I wear a Jersey. Maybe I'll wear it in one day. I basically taught the guy how
09:58to play
09:58hockey. You got a number on that thing. You got Sackick on there. You got the old 16, Michelle Goulet.
10:03I'll wear, I'll wear it with the A on it and everything. I'll wear it in one day. When you
10:06look at this. I was at the North end when Ray Bork brought the cup back from the Avalanche. I've
10:11been trying, I've been searching for a Ron Francis, uh, Hoffman Whalers one, but I haven't found one
10:16yet. When you look at this Bruins team. Brass Bonanza rejoining. When you look at this Bruins
10:21team. That's all he does, by the way. No, I know that. His look at the Bruins team. You don't
10:25even
10:26have to say that in this particular question. All right. Well, I'd like to say that. That's his job. I
10:31know
10:31that. Like looking at him. I'm looking at the whole league. Yeah. Yeah. All right.
10:34I'm watching the whole league. He's looking at the whole league. Take us inside the ninth
10:37floor. Because you watch it all. When do we get past, like when do you really get past
10:43the, all right, they're playing, uh, you know, they have seated, exceeded our expectations.
10:48They're hot too. They are a real Stanley cup contender. Huh? Um, I, I think that's probably
10:58a better conversation than we have a little bit later in the season. When I, I, I, you,
11:02you get a better idea of, of what everybody else in the league is like. But I think we've
11:07had also this conversation in the past, Wiggy. If you get in, you're a contender. We've talked
11:12about it many times that as long as you are in and you are one of the eight from one
11:17of
11:18the conferences, you're going to have a legitimate shot. And if you have a guy like Jeremy Swayman
11:22and a goaltender who's playing at that level, you have a chance to win every single night,
11:28even the worst teams in the national hockey league average more than two goals per game.
11:34And, and the good goaltenders, that's all they're allowing. So you're in every single game,
11:39every single night. So I think. So the bigger answer to your question is there, you know,
11:45as long as they're in the playoffs, they have a legitimate chance, how good their chances are.
11:49Maybe that's a conversation that we have after the NHL trade deadline.
11:52So that it's safe to say, because you have Swayman and it looks like, you know,
11:56granted it's early, but they look like a playoff team. Then you would say that this team is a real
12:00contender. I, I don't think there's any question at this point that they're a legitimate contender,
12:05but we have a long way to go. Let's see how injuries take place, how teams, you know,
12:11we've only played a quarter of the season, how, how some of these different teams, uh, how they evolve,
12:16uh, during the course of the year. Listen, I, you know, if we were at this point last year,
12:20and we were talking about the Florida Panthers, nobody would have said no chance. They're making
12:24the playoffs. Well, they got devastated by injuries and they missed the playoffs. So we have a long
12:28way to go. And attrition can, can definitely take place. Plus you have other teams that sort of rise
12:34from the bottom that become threats, but the way that the Bruins are positioned now, unquestionably,
12:39they, they have to be one of the teams you have to consider to come out of the East.
12:43Judd, would you say that Marco Sturm is the best hire Don Sweeney has made as the head coach since
12:49he's been here? Oh, I don't know. That's tough to say. Um, you know, I think, I think he's done
12:55a
12:55tremendous job. Uh, listen, he got votes last year for the Jack Adams trophy, which goes to the NHL
13:02coach of the year. But I also think that some of the other guys that, that were behind the bench,
13:07Bruce Cassidy was a pretty good coach, won a Stanley cup with the Vegas golden Knights. Listen,
13:11Jim Montgomery is a good coach. Um, he, he did not necessarily get it done in the playoffs. Um,
13:18but I think that he has hired some very bright minds behind the Bruins bench and the Bruins as a
13:24result have benefited from that, you know, for a guy like Marco Sturm, I think, you know, remember he
13:30comes in at a point where the Bruins are really transitioning, uh, away from some of the guys
13:37who, who were foundational pillars of their culture. Uh, Chara has, has gone now and Krejci's
13:42gone and Bergeron's now gone and Marchand has, has gone on. Uh, Tuka Rask has retired. So now you
13:50have to try and reformat, uh, some of the culture in, or re-energize some of the culture that had
13:57been
13:57there. And he's done a remarkable job of being able to do that. You saw a little bit of a
14:02transition.
14:02It took him some time. Um, but I also think that, that, you know, since you're talking about
14:07Sturm and Marco had a conversation with us the other day about this, that listen, last year,
14:12I think for the Bruins, it was, it was, it was resetting the culture. And that's what a lot of
14:17the year was about and the way that they defended and the way that they, uh, and how hard that
14:22they
14:22played for one another. That's now, you know, it's because it's settled in and you've got a year
14:29under your belt with that. I think the Bruins as a result, offensively are benefiting from that,
14:34that the coaching staff is able to work on things that they weren't able to necessarily
14:38institute last year because they were trying to get the foundation set that set. Now he's able to
14:44focus a little bit more on the offensive side of the play. And because of that, the Bruins,
14:48you know, they've exploded here offensively early in the season.
14:51Judd, thank you as always. Great to see you. And, and we can watch you tonight.
14:55Right. So, um, it is Bruins Canadians. What? Well, he just brought up Bruce Cassidy,
15:00Butch going a bit viral on Tik TOK right now because he's like a special advisor for the
15:05women's hockey team in Canada. There was a video of him on the ice dancing with the gals
15:09and it's going a bit viral. Oh, we love to see that. Good to know. Ask the teacher to roll
15:14in the TVs for tonight. Big game. Well, and the Medford people are coming at you coach.
15:20Very upset. They come all they want. They're very upset. Do the history. He started out in East
15:24the Jeffrey point. They say son of Medford. Do the Keith Kachuk born in Melrose, son of Medford.
15:32What is Wiggy talking about? Do you? They're very upset. Very simple. And very upset. You
15:38don't want to upset the Medford people. People who don't know my, my nickname is raw because
15:43right again, Wiggy, do your research on Keith Kachuk. He started out Easty kid, Jeffrey's point
15:51younger years, learning how to play hockey down there. And then eventually, you know,
15:57like everybody else, who gave you the nickname wrong? Huh? Who gave you the nickname wrong?
16:01Self-proclaimed. Oh, okay. I just wanted to. Twitched it actually. I'm not seeing any Easty
16:05on here. Well, do your research. I'm on, I'm on AI, chat GPT. I heard you talking about, uh,
16:12Sidney Crosby, right? Yeah. And that he wants to come back and play. And you think he's somebody
16:17that maybe gets traded at the trade deadline? Boy, that's a really good question. That's
16:21what I do. I think, yes. I think that the way I see him, I, I, I do not see
16:28him getting
16:29traded. I think that there's certainly a possibility of that, but the way I see, uh, Sidney Crosby
16:34playing is I think he's going to play his entire tenure, um, with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
16:39I don't think he's a guy who necessarily needs to chase it. Sidney Crosby learned to skate
16:43in Lemonster. Wait, Wiggy's right. Of course I'm right. What do you mean he's right? Born
16:49at Melrose Wakefield Hospital. Melrose is the official, official birthplace, but he spent
16:53his early days in the Jeffries Point neighborhood of East Boston near Logan. His dad was Boston
16:57firefighter. Of course I'm right. All right. Played high school at Malden County. Wiggy was
17:01just typing that into Wikipedia while we were doing this. I actually played hockey with guys
17:05that kind of grew, he's older than I am, that grew up with him and Jeffries Point.
17:10Okay. Shout out to Jenga brothers. Love them. All right. Judd, thank you. Good luck. Good luck.