NHL champs rise from worst to first
NHL: The Boston Bruins got off to a horrid start to their Stanley Cup championship defense, winning just three of their first 10 games and landing in last place in the Eastern Conference.
After an incredible two-month surge, they’re back on top.
“They deserve a lot of credit for that and they worked hard to accomplish that and I think it’s important that they enjoy the three days of the Christmas holiday they have,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Boston beat Florida 8-0 on Friday night for its 20th win in 23 games.
It’s easy to see why the Bruins have been nearly unbeatable since losing two in a row to Montreal at the end of October.
They enter the NHL’s three-day Christmas break with the most goals scored (119) and the fewest allowed (63) in the NHL. A recipe for success for any team – not just defending champs.
During the Bruins’ rough stretch, the players heard complaints and some boos from the hometown fans. They sensed the disappointment and feel as if they’ve responded with a similar effort that saw them win the organization’s first title in 39 years.
“We were sitting at the 15th spot in October with a lot of criticism on us, so we realize that this is a game that things change quickly and oftentimes things change through hard work and that’s what I think we did the last two months,” forward Gregory Campbell said. “We worked hard, we played our game and we played consistent. It’s a tough league. Every night is a battle and every night you have to compete. Wins aren’t always going to flow as easily, or not as easily, but I think as pure as they have, but as long as we’re competing and playing our game, I think that’s our goal right now.”
The big offensive night against Florida was hardly unusual for the Bruins this season. They’ve scored six or more goals nine times – eight coming in their last 22 games. Quite a run for a team known for its defense under Julien.
“I think it goes to show that we have probably more talent than sometimes people give us credit for,” Julien said of the team’s offensive outburst. “We play a good team game, we create our scoring chances and right now our guys are scoring some pretty nice goals.”
Behind Boston’s offense is the top goalie tandem in the league. Both Tim Thomas – last season’s winner of the Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies – and Tuukka Rask have goals-against averages under 1.85, making the Bruins the NHL’s only team with two goalies allowing under two goals a game. The pair have combined for three shutouts in Boston’s last five games and held opponents to two goals or less 22 times this season.
“It’s a big-time luxury. I’m not going to hide that fact. It doesn’t matter who you put in net right now, you know you’re going to get good goaltending,” Julien said.
“Both guys have been at the top of their game, which allows you to put in one or the other. The other guy gets a rest and the other guy stays sharp. They’re both very supportive of that approach and they’re OK with it. That just makes us such a better team by having that situation right now. We’re extremely fortunate because most teams in this league don’t have that approach or luxury.”
Thunder waive guard Nate Robinson
NBA: The Oklahoma City Thunder waived guard Nate Robinson on Saturday.
Robinson, who starred at the University of Washington, was a midseason acquisition from the Boston Celtics last season and appeared in four games for the Thunder. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 assists in 7.5 minutes per game.
• Grizzlies swap Vasquez to Hornets for Pondexter: The Memphis Grizzlies swapped guard Greivis Vasquez to the New Orleans Hornets for guard/forward Quincy Pondexter (University of Washington) in a move designed to boost their depth with Darrell Arthur out for the season.
The Grizzlies announced earlier they signed Dante Cunningham after Charlotte failed to match an offer. Then they later announced the trade with New Orleans.
The 6-foot-6 Pondexter averaged 13 points and 8.5 rebounds in 33 minutes in two preseason games against Memphis. The 23-year-old averaged 2.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 66 games as a rookie with New Orleans last season after being the 26th pick overall by Oklahoma City in 2010 before being traded to New Orleans.
Vasquez played in 70 games and averaged 3.6 points and 2.2 assists as a rookie with Memphis last season.
• Harris, Gladness make Heat opening day roster: Mickell Gladness and Terrel Harris thought they were competing against each other for the last spot on the Miami Heat roster.
Instead, the former NBA Development League teammates both played their way onto the club.
The Heat announced that they waived veteran guard Eddie House, meaning a pair of rookies in Gladness and Harris were on the 15-man roster to open the season.
The 33-year-old House was told of the decision Friday night by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley. House had left knee surgery last month and is not yet ready to play, one of the many factors Spoelstra said went into what became an extremely tough decision.
House was drafted by the Heat in 2000 and has also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, New Jersey, Boston, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Sacramento and New York.
4th from Bennett’s first class leaves
Virginia men’s head basketball coach Tony Bennett says redshirt freshman forward James Johnson is planning to transfer and leave the Cavaliers’ program.
He is the fourth member of Bennett’s first recruiting class to leave the program in the past year, joining Billy Baron, Will Regan and KT Harrell, who announced his intention to transfer on Friday. Of that first class, only Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell remain at Virginia.
The departures come with the Cavaliers (10-1) off to their best start since the 2000-01 season, and riding an eight-game winning streak. Virginia also has won its last four true road games, its longest road winning streak since 1994-95.