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New York Times

‘Are we live?' Chirps, laughs, old stories and Bruins legends star in NESN's alt-cast

WATERTOWN, Mass. — The four-page script for the Jan. 23 episode of NESN's 'Unobstructed Views' says nothing about bashing David Krejci, one of that night's guests. That changes when host Andrew Raycroft, approximately an hour before the show starts, poses a question to colleagues and fellow ex-Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask inside the green room at NESN's Watertown studio. Advertisement 'Have you seen Krech's commercial?' In the spot — for Bluedrop Water, a water purification company in Easton — Krejci places a glass under an ice maker. The retired center, wearing a Bluedrop polo, raises the glass, looks at the camera and says dramatically, 'That's some good ice.' Rask, Bergeron and Raycroft giggle as they watch the commercial. Raycroft proposes a pivot. During the second period of that night's Bruins-Ottawa Senators game, when Krejci joins the show remotely from his South Carolina home, his ex-teammates should ambush him with a clip and light him up. 'He's thinking he's just going to come in and have a nice, easy conversation,' Rask says with a laugh. 'And we're just going to hammer him right off the bat.' About 10 minutes into their chat, Raycroft mentions Krejci's acting career. Raycroft, Bergeron and Rask laugh. So does Krejci. Rask asks Krejci if he can install the system at his house. The chop-busting continues. Krejci good-naturedly repeats his four-word line. Krejci, as his ex-teammates know best, gives as well as he takes. Rask asks Krejci if he knows he had good career production against the Senators. 'I had pretty good numbers against everyone, Tuukks,' Krejci says with a smile, which triggers a round of laughter. Krejci has a question of his own. He seems legitimately puzzled when he issues his query. 'So what do you guys do?' Krejci asks. 'You guys just watch and do play-by-play?' 'Unobstructed Views' runs once a month. It is NESN's version of the 'ManningCast,' ESPN's alternative broadcast of 'Monday Night Football' featuring Eli and Peyton Manning. Play-by-play announcer Judd Sirott and analyst Andy Brickley call the traditional version of a Bruins game on NESN. Simultaneously, in a broadcast airing on NESN Plus and NESN 360, Bergeron, Rask and Raycroft, wearing casual clothes, watch the same game off a monitor in Watertown and chat in a breezy manner. Occasionally, Raycroft turns to host Laura Stickells, whose duties include monitoring social media, to ask questions viewers have submitted. Advertisement For someone watching 'Unobstructed Views,' the game action occupies most of the screen. Instead of Sirott's and Brickley's audio, you hear Bergeron, Rask and Raycroft — they appear in iso-shots or a three-shot on the right side of the screen — speak during the game. The show includes scripted segments. Before the game, Bergeron, Rask and Raycroft approach a whiteboard and predict their three stars. They are to place a magnet of their choice's face on the board. There is no magnet for Joonas Korpisalo, Rask's pick. Rask draws a stick figure and labels it 'Korpi.' Later, Stickells asks Bergeron to rank five Canadian players in order of greatness. Bergeron sticks Sidney Crosby, the first player Stickells mentions, in fourth place. Mario Lemieux gets top status. But for the most part, it's Bergeron, Rask and Raycroft watching the game, offering their thoughts and stretching out their conversation. 'It's like sitting at a bar,' says NESN chief operating officer Matt Volk, 'listening to people have a conversation that you wish you could be a part of.' 'Unobstructed Views' is meant to drive revenue. Coors Banquet and Jordan's Furniture sponsor the show. It is also a marketing machine designed to promote the primary broadcast as well as other ventures. In the third period, NESN reporter Jahmai Webster and Golf Magazine director of social media Claire Rogers join the show to discuss TGL, the new golf league. Fenway Sports Group, NESN's parent company, owns Boston Common Golf, one of TGL's six teams. The alt-cast allows NESN to serve a different audience, typically a younger one. A complementary channel like NESN Plus allows the provider to showcase ex-players' personalities and expand a traditional broadcast's boundaries. The alt-cast is better suited for storytelling, free of the pressure of describing what's happening in-game. Advertisement For example, Raycroft sees a first-period shot of Trent Frederic, in uniform against Ottawa after missing two previous games because of an illness. Raycroft asks Bergeron and Rask if they ever played sick. It tees up Rask to tell the story of how he was too sick to play in the Bruins' final 2015-16 regular-season game, also against the Senators. With Jonas Gustavsson in net, the Bruins lost 6-1 and missed the playoffs. 'It's a little bit less about what's going on on the ice in that very moment — not in a play-by-play way,' Volk says. 'Which opens up a different type of conversation that can appeal to many different audiences.' Rask describes how he was throwing up that day. But he leaves out the story's other layers. Rask was so drained that when he skated out for warmups, he did not take a single shot. Earlier that week, he had been spotted at Duff's, one of his go-to neighborhood restaurants. Online and on sports radio, this exploded into how Rask had been pounding chicken wings and beer the night before the game. Rask recalls all of this in the green room during first intermission. Sometimes the best stories don't get on the air. Rask is not above accepting abuse. In the green room, as the ex-Bruins joke about Krejci's commercial, Rask acknowledges he was in one too. In a spot for The Long Drink, a Finnish alcoholic beverage, a shirtless Rask is sitting in a fake sauna. A woman lashes Rask's back with a bouquet of leaves. As she does, Rask turns to the camera and says, 'Oh, so refreshing!' Bergeron and Raycroft watch the commercial on a computer in disbelief. 'How bad is that?' Rask asks with a laugh. This prompts Bergeron and Raycroft to recall their commercial in which they drive a Zamboni over the Zakim Bridge. The way Bergeron and Raycroft remember it, Joe Thornton and Nick Boynton were originally requested. Advertisement 'It's because Joe wouldn't wake up to do it,' Raycroft says of why he and Bergeron were selected. 'We were the only ones. We were the young kids.' 'They pitched it to Joe and Boynts,' Bergeron concurs. 'They're like, 'Hahahaha! Bergy and Razor will do it.'' Bergeron was 18 when the commercial first aired. Raycroft was 23. For the ex-goalie, a future television career was not even a consideration. 'Not in a million years. Not at all,' says Raycroft, now a regular NESN analyst, radio and TV guest and podcaster. 'This was the last thing I thought I would ever do.' Raycroft is now 44. Bergeron is 39. Rask is 37. As the NESN pregame show mentions Jake Sanderson, Ottawa's 22-year-old defenseman, Rask wonders where time has gone. 'I'm like two years away from not knowing any of these guys,' Rask says. 'You're also two years away from them not knowing who you are,' Bergeron fires back, prompting laughter all around. 'How old do you think (Alex) Ovechkin feels?' Rask then asks of the 39-year-old chasing Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring mark. 'If he gets the (record) this year, he's done. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets it next year, he's going to retire after that game.' 'That would be awesome,' Raycroft answers. 'That would be perfect for Ovi. He's got to be going so hard to get it done so he doesn't have to train all summer.' 'I think if he needs one or two, he's not even going to work out,' Rask says. 'Power play, he's just going to stand there and hammer one-timers until he gets it.' This is the kind of chatter 'Unobstructed Views' watchers enjoy, according to NESN feedback. But they also want Bergeron, Rask and Raycroft to discuss the game they're watching. The latter is harder than it seems. Bergeron retired in 2023. Rask said goodbye the year earlier. They still have former teammates in uniform. Rask is also a team ambassador. Neither is comfortable with critique, which the scuffling Bruins deserve. Advertisement 'We still have some really good friends on the team,' Bergeron says. 'You want them to do well. That's the main thing. You hope for a good game. You want them to perform and hopefully get that win.' As Bergeron, Rask and Raycroft watch that night's game, their conversation feels stretched at times. They are not going to rip apart their ex-teammates. They occasionally go quiet as they follow the on-ice action. Krejci's second-period visit brings them to life. Among other things, they discuss their performance in a December alumni game in which Krejci scored six first-period points. Krejci eased off afterward because of pain in his hips. 'We had to stand on the blue lines. Nobody told me. That was like 30 minutes long, all those guys getting introduced,' Krejci recalls of warmups, which he claims initiated his hip discomfort. ''Bergy, 17-time Selke. Blah, blah, blah.' Fifteen minutes was just about Bergy. Then my hips were done.' Like his ex-teammates, Krejci is not comfortable commenting on this year's team. They ask him what he thinks. Krejci pauses, smiles, laughs awkwardly and says, 'Are we live?' (Top photo of Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask and Andrew Raycroft courtesy of NESN)