Bruins 2012 Playoff Grades

Well that sucked. Give credit to the Caps- As I wrote before the series started I am a believer in Holtby, when I first saw him play last season I kinda knew he had "it."  Anyway I would definitely say the Caps won the series as opposed to the Bruins giving it away-BUT not everyone pulled their weight. Check out my Playoff grades for each Bruin player:

Greg Zannon- F

Zannon had a rough series. I only noticed him when mistakes were made, I don't have the stats in front of me but it wouldn't surprise me if he had the worst +/- in the series

Big Z- A- 

Chara played well. He didn't play Norris-like but he was rock solid. Scored an enormous GWG in the middle of the series and actually led the Bruins in SOG. Can't replace the feeling of security Bruins fans have with him and 44 paired up together come playoff time. 

Andrew Ference- F

Gross series by Ference. Contributed nothing offensively and was a liability multiple times on defense. Definitely in the twilight of his career, maybe 2-3 good years left 

Johnny Boychuk- B

Boychuck probably wasn't 100% healthy at the start of the series but got better as it went along. Love the way Boychuk plays, managed to include a classic "Johnny Rocket" and hip-check in the series.

Mike Mottau- B+

Mottau only played 2 games once Corvo was scratched. He was solid, not spectacular, although I DID notice a few offensive chances that Mottau sparked which was a pleasant surprise.

Joe Corvo- F

Benched halfway through the series after playing 70+ games during the regular season. Looked silly multiple times. Wont be back in a Bruins uni next year. 

Dennis Seidenberg- A+

Without a doubt the Bruins best and most consistent player int his series. Epic personal battle with 44 and Ovechkin, and Seidenberg even manged to contribute a little offensively. Was and remains a pleasure to watch this guy night in and night out. HAS to be the most underrated D man in the NHL, right?

Adam McQuaid- F

Bro don't turn into the boards with a train coming right before the playoffs start. Your fault Corvo was playing. 

Tyler Seguin- B

Seguin came on at the end of the series, had a b-e-a-utiful goal to close out OT in game 6 and scored a "I want it" goal in #7. Too bad Seguin couldn't find the spark a couple games earlier. Can't wait to see how Seguin progresses next year. 

Brad the Rat- D-

Marchand was an enormous disappointment this series. Virtually invisible, 63 even started to embellish some stick work to draw a few calls. Everyone in Boston wants to forget how Brad the rat played in this year's second season. 

Looch- D+

I don't think Lucic was as bad as everyone else is saying- I liked a lot of what he did in Games 3-6 that didn't show up on the score-sheet- BUT there's no way Lucic should have been shutout all series. This is getting to be a yearly disappointment in the playoffs.

David Krejci- D

"I don't care about the regular season" Well it looks like you didn't really care about the post season, either, DK47. Streaky players get cold in the playoffs sometimes, I guess. Not to mention the horrid face-off performance all series long. 

Rich Peverly- A

Peverlys a stud. Just bringing it every shift no matter which line he plays on. Scored the Bruins first goal at least twice in this series. Need more guys like Pevs. 

Chris Kelly- B

Kelly had 1 shining moment in this series- his Game 1 OT winner. Outside of that enormous moment, he was mostly neutralized. Hopefully the B's re sign Kelly this Summer though...intangibles on the Patrice Bergeron-level. 

Benoit Pouliot- A

I thought Pouliot played great. Would have been nice to see more than 1 goal, but on a shift-to-shift basis I thought Benoit brought it harder than anyone else. Such an incredible reach with his stick. 

Brian Rolston- C

Whatever. He was better than I expected but as a PP leader, your going to get blamed with the PP sucks. Which it did. Rolston will probably retire. Peace.

Patrice Bergeron- B

Bergeron was obviously playing with a couple injuries toward the end of the series. He was outstading in the dot the first few games until he stopped taking draws, due to an oblique injury. Had a great chance to bury the series late in the 3rd of Game 7... to quote a friend "that play will haunt my dreams forever"

Shawn Thornton- C

Late scratch in the last 2 games, but didn't real bring much the first 5. Only reason I gave him a slightly lower grade than you expect is because he was RIGHT ON Knuble when Mike put in the game tying goal in Game 5. That was gross to see. 

Greg Campbell- C-

Another "whatever" type grade. Campbell was below average in the faceoff circle. He contributed 0 offensively. I suppose he did OK on the PK. 

Jordan Caron- C+

I liked Caron's jump, and I continue to be happy with the way he is developing but when your barely on the ice and your standing right in front of the net for the season-ending goal you cant expect a good grade. 

Dan Paille- B-

Paille is Paille. You know what you get. Speedster with no hands. He had a couple chances he couldn't bury, which was expected, but still frustrating. 

Tim Thomas- B+

Thomas played outstanding most of the series. Not unbeatable like last year, but still made some amazing saves. Thomas DID single handily lose Game 5 for the Bruins, BUT as I mentioned you cant really kill the guy for it because he kept us in that game in the beginning when any normal team, would have been down 4-0.