There's a lot going on in the world of sports this weekend, so I figured I'd touch on a few different things for this post.
As far as the NFL Playoffs go, all four games this weekend were pretty entertaining. I didn't catch much of the Seahawks-Redskins game, or of the Titans-Chargers. I have to say that I was hoping the Titans would win against San Diego, for two reasons: One being that I like the underdog, and two being that LT is a huge whinebag, and seeing him and Philip "I was just cheering on my teammate" Rivers exit in the first round again would have been pretty sweet. It seems like taunting is OK, as long as its your team doing it, huh LT? Regardless of whether or not I like him, however, LT is the best running back in the game, and their matchup with the Colts next weekend should be a good one. (One of the good things about the Seahawks winning is we get to see a Matt Hasselbeck vs. Lambeau Field rematch. You gotta love Matt's enthusiasm here, but let's hope it turns out better for him this time around...)
The other game that I thought was interesting was the Steelers-Jaguars game. When I originally saw the score, the Jags were way up, and I figured the game was over. Kudos to the Steelers for coming back, but I think their go ahead score was helped along by a questionable pass interference call. I can't find a video link to it, but the replay clearly showed that Ward had his hand in the Jags' player's facemask the entire time, letting go at the end to...complain to the ref. In the end, the Jags' prevailed, and have earned the right to face the Patriots next week. This should be a good game, as Garrard certainly showed some composure down the stretch, and Jones-Drew and Taylor are a formidable one-two punch. Saturday night will be fun in Foxboro.
Boston College hosted a marquee matchup at the Heights on Saturday, and got absolutely steamrolled by the Kansas Jayhawks. It's good to see that BC continues to be completely inept when it comes to winning big games. Take THAT for not accepting me...
The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to get stellar goaltending from journeyman Ty Conklin, who is now 7-0 as a starter. And I thought it was just the Bruins who made third-string goalies look spectacular...
The Celtics got a huge win against the Pistons on Saturday night, and got a huge performance from "Big Baby", Glen Davis. Davis was all over the place down the stretch last night, going after rebounds like Cookie Monster after some snacks. Davis had a couple of And-1's and a key offensive rebound late, all amounting to a clutch fourth quarter performance. This was a big win for the C's, as they avenged their only home loss of the season and showed the Pistons that they aren't ready to just accept second place in the Eastern Conference. These two teams should engage in some more great battles down the stretch, and may be primed for an Eastern Conference Finals showdown.
No post would be complete without some Bruins comments, as the B's have been playing a lot better since ending their losing streak last Monday. They've now one three straight, over the Thrashers, Capitals and Devils. They held on last night, and got a timely save from none other than Glen Metropolit in the closing seconds. Brian Gionta continues to try and start with Zdeno Chara, then watches as everyone on his team comes to his defense, mainly because Chara would send Gionta into next week with one punch. The B's are in what I'm going to call a "proving ground" stretch of their schedule, with games this week against the Devils, Hurricanes and Canadiens, all teams they have yet to beat this season (with the exception of beating the Devils yesterday). If the B's can emerge from this 3 game stretch at 2-1, and they're in good shape, having won the first one, I'd be thrilled.
The Flyers propensity for throwing huge/borderline hits finally came back to hurt them, this time quite literally. To be honest, I can't throw much blame on Hatcher for the hit, but it was a questionable hit to throw in the first place. It's unfortunate that he hit his own teammate, and hopefully Lupul will be OK. I do wonder, however, if Flyers' fans are going to come out in droves again, calling this simple Old Time Hockey. Hmmmmm...
The Roger Clemens-Brian McNamee carousel continues to turn, with essentially each calling the other a liar. I didn't see the 60 Minutes piece, but my brother who did said that it was essentially Clemens simply saying "No, I didn't do it" over and over again, without much elaboration. This article on ESPN.com tells a similar story, with one of Clemens' lawyers saying that anyone who didn't believe Clemens after seeing that interview is "not a well person". Uhhh...OK. Basically, this is amounting to a case of He said-He said. Clemens says it was lidocaine and B-12, McNamee says it was testosterone. Basically, one of these people is going to be shamed publicly and called a liar. If it's Clemens, many of his accomplishments may (whether it's the right way to view it or not) be invalidated. If it's McNamee, does this invalidate the whole Mitchell Report, to which he was a big contributer. Basically, it's the word of a 300 game winner against that of a "clubhouse mole". Hopefully, the "true truth" will come out, but it isn't going to be easy, and will probably get a lot uglier before this all ends.
That's enough for a big sports weekend, and next weekend is shaping up to be just as big. Let's hope the Patriots Pain Train keeps on rolling...
Happy Holidays and a Happy, Healthy New Year to all of the readers out there!
As you can see if you read this blog, I fell very far behind in these game blogs. I've realized that there are plenty of places to read a game story, and that a FoxSports blog is probably not the first place one would look. I'm still going to comment on most of the games, just in less o####ame report fashion.
Since that last post on the December 20th game against Pittsburgh, the Bruins have fallen on rough times indeed. At that point, the Bruins sat in 4th place in the Eastern Conference, and were within reasonable striking distance of the first place Ottawa Senators. However, since scraping a point out of that Penguins contest, the B's lost to the Blues at home, the Pens in Pittsburgh, the Hurricanes in Raleigh, were destroyed by the Thrashers in Atlanta, and won a good game against those same Thrashers on New Year's Eve. Also, before that OTL on the 20th, the B's had lost at home to the Senators. So what does that all mean? It means that the Bs went from fourth place in the conference to being tied for tenth before Monday afternoon's game by going 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. Currently, the B's are tied for seventh in the conference with 42 points (same as the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders), and have fallen to third place in the Northeast division, 3 points behind second place Montreal and a whopping 12 behind the Senators. To make matters worse, the B's have yet to beat Montreal or Ottawa this season in six tries.
Maybe, but Monday's win certainly was encouraging. After falling behind 2-0 early, the Bruins scored 5 straight goals to avoid another embarrassment at the hands of the Thrashers. The team showed some resiliency after falling behind early, and really dominated the second and third periods of that game. I consider tomorrow a must win against the Caps here at home, simply because the Caps are in 14th place, and this is a game the Bruins should win.
(On a historical note, Dennis Wideman scored the Bruins' franchise's 18,000th goal, the first of the game on Monday. They are the second team to reach that milestone, with Montreal being the first.)
What's the deal with this trade? Hard to say, really. The B's added another defenseman, filling a void after Aaron Ward has been hurt, as has Andrew Ference. The B's defense has been their strong point, and they faltered when their d-men got hurt as of late. Hnidy also brings a physical and intimidating presence to the ice, making the B's a bit tougher of a team overall.
Why did Bochenski have to go? A few different reasons, really. He wasn't fitting in here, and wasn't really playing well (when he was even playing). He didn't seem to fit in Claude Julien's system, and didn't really show many flashes of that offensive firepower he showed towards the end of last year when he came from Chicago in exchange for Kris Versteeg. To put it plainly, he wasn't doing what the B's needed from him, and Anaheim must have expressed an interest in him. Best of luck to Bochenski in Anaheim. Let's hope he's not another former Bruins who goes out West and revives his career. Who could that be?
All in all, this is really meant to be a "get caught up to now" post. Nothing too detailed, nothing too in depth. Right now, the B's find themselves in a tough spot, needing to stick it out through these difficult times, or they risk seeing their great start fall through the cracks.
In the spirit of the New Year, here are some resolutions for some Bruins players:
Chuck Kobasew: Keep up the good work! Kobasew has been the Bruins most consistent offensive player this season, and is making the Brad Stuart trade seem pretty lopsided at this point. Before Milan Lucic added a goal in the closing seconds last time out against Ottawa, Kobasew had been the only Bruin to score this year against the Sens. He has shown toughness, determination, and a great work ethic. Hopefully he can keep it up, as he seems to be on pace for a career year, which the Bruins would certainly appreciate.
Marco Sturm: Wake Up! Sturm has fallen off the map as of late, and at the worst possible time. The B's need offense desperately, and with Glen Murray out for an unknown amount of time, Sturm can't afford to get cold now.
(For evidence of how intense Sturm is, check out this picture...of a table tennis game. And no, this isn't sarcastic at all. Have a look.)
Phil Kessel: Keep on keepin' on! Kessel is a great talent, and cannot get down on himself. After a lackluster effort (in Julien's eyes) against the Penguins, Kessel suffered what may have been the first benching of his entire hockey career. He didn't take it too well, but did seem to respond the next time out. He worked hard on both ends, and scored a goal in the third period. Kessel is the future of the B's, and can't let all of the doubters who cited his bad attitude be proved correct. These past few weeks could prove to be little more than growing pains for Kessel, who should be on his way to becoming an NHL star very soon.
Tim Thomas: Calm down! Any Bruins fan who has watched this team over the past few years knows that Tim Thomas has made some highlightreelsaves. However, an educated fan knows that many of these saves are necessary because Thomas finds himself horribly out of position at times. One of the reasons for his early season success was that he was a lot more sturdy in the net, and didn't find himself flopping around at all. Why is that? Some say it is his increased strength, others say yoga helped him. Either way, he has looked a little flustered out there in recent efforts, and needs to get back to keeping it simple, and stopping one shot at a time.
Peter Chiarelli- Look to the future! Chiarelli is on the hot seat, and is, in all likelihood, done if the B's don't make the playoffs this season. One of the things that bothers me about this is that he is almost like a GM with nothing to lose, willing to sell the farm to make it now. Barring a major Brad Richards/Martin St. Louis/Vincent Lecavalier/Marian Hossa level trade, this Bruins team isn't one that is going to be a Stanley Cup favorite. It is going to take another year or two, and the B's have one of the stronger farm teams in the league. Be patient (and the same goes for the Jacobs family in regards to firing Chiarelli), and the B's youngsters times will come.
That's enough Bruins writing for tonight. Let's hope the B's can get back on the winning track with their second straight tomorrow night against Alexander Ovechkin and Co.
Thanks for stopping by, and please feel free to leave comments on this format change or on anything above.
And I had the privilege of being there to witness it.
But, the boys did make a good comeback, and taking a point out of this game is
something to be proud of. However, this team never should have let itself get
in that big of a hole to begin with.
There really isn't much to write about this game, but to me this game set this
team apart from last year's version, which is why I disagreed with Kevin Paul
Dupont's Globe article (see Game 32's post) in the first place. This isn't last
year's team, this team has some pride and has a coach who will not let his team
show him up with a stinking performance.
A loss is a loss, but this team showed that it had some pride and some fight in
them by stealing a point from the Penguins.
Hopefully, the B's can learn something from their performance tonight, and put
together a good performance on Saturday, when I'll be there to witness the
return of old friend Brad Boyes, who scored his 20th goal tonight and is on
pace for 50+.
Tying this game up after being down 4-0 makes me feel good about this team, and
this was one point that was certainly hard earned.
Also, credit Zdeno Chara for attempting to light a fire under his team with two "fights" against Penguins' enforcer and league-renowned tough guy, Georges Laraque. While neither of the two bouts were much in the way of fights, Chara showed that he is able to take control of his team and do something to get them going, even if it means putting one's health on the line. Kudos to Chara for trying to get his team to show some "fight".
Speaking of fights, the Crosby-Ference fight was decent. It's ridiculous that Ference got the additional two minutes for roughing, considering that Crosby was punching at him before the fight began too. Of course, Crosby is the Golden Child, and can do no wrong. Ference got cut from the visor on his own helmet, not from a Crosby punch. Both TSN and ESPN are saying he fought to "at least a draw", which I guess I could agree with. I'm glad Ference fought him, and Chara threw some hits against him. I actually like the Penguins, and like Crosby and Malkin, just not when they're playing the Bruins.
Speaking of Malkin, he really is an amazing player. He is an incredibly strong skater, and seems to have some serious chemistry with his linemate Crosby. I remember first hearing of Malkin in the Olympics a few years back, and it's been great to see him develop into such a talented player. Again, however, not against the Bruins.
Go B's Go.
GOALS
Boston- Marco Sturm (11), PJ Axelsson (5), Petteri Nokelainen (3),
Dennis Wideman (4)
Pittsburgh- Evgeni Malkin (12,13), Sidney Crosby (16), Erik Christensen
(4)
SAVES
Boston- Tim Thomas, 25 saves on 29 shots
Pittsburgh- Ty Conklin, 37 saves on 41 shots
NEXT GAME: Saturday, December 22 vs. St. Louis Blues, 1:00 PM EST
While I hadn't realized the eerie similarities between these past two seasons, I don't think I'll take Dupont's doomsday approach. He seems to smell a giant collapse coming, while I won't go that far. This team certainly is in trouble, as they cannot seem to string together much offense on a nightly basis. Their defense is strong, but they sometimes rely too much on defense, and let offense fall by the wayside. The team needs some offensive help, that much is certain. Where has Peter Schaefer been? Marco Sturm? Glen Murray, one of the hottest scorers as of late, has fallen off of the map as well. The B's need these guys to step up, and better pray that Chuck Kobasew and Marc Savard continue to produce. If not, it'll be "deja vu all over again".
As far as this game goes, the B's looked OK, but seemed to be one step behind the Sens all night. The 4 minute power play was the nail in the coffin, and the B's actually did a fairly respectable job killing it. However, it takes a lot more energy to kill a penalty than to run a power-play, and eventually, something's got to give. In this case, it was a goal for the Senators' Jason Spezza, who got two chances to smack it home after a laser of a pass from Daniel Alfredsson.
Alex Auld didn't play all that poorly, either, though he will likely get a rest against the Penguins on Thursday. The 3rd goal came as he had lost his stick in a desperate dive to cover the puck, trying to get the B's a much needed line change. Who knows, if he has his stick, maybe he can poke check the puck before Spezza gets that second whack at it. The first goal was a rocket from about 10 feet away, with the puck on edge. No goalie can be faulted for not stopping a 90 mile an hour knucklepuck. The middle goal may have some room for blame, as Auld got himself out of position, allowing Luke Richardson the easy tap-in. Overall, however, Auld made some spectacular saves and was generally solid. However, with Tim Thomas healthy again, it appears that the dream-run of Auld the Bald may be on hold for a while.
Other than that, what else can be said? This was a disappointing showing all around: the defense was lacking, the offense was, to say the VERY least, lacking, and the goaltending was less than stellar. A lackluster effort isn't going to get the job done against the defending Eastern Conference champions. It's back to the drawing board for the B's, who must now look for new ways to produce goals while staying strong defensively.
If not, it could be (as it continues to snow here in Boston) another loooooooooooooooong winter.
GOALS
Boston- Chuck Kobasew (13), Milan Lucic (3)
Ottawa- Jason Spezza (9,10), Luke Richardson (1)
SAVES
Boston- Alex Auld, 24 saves on 27 shots
Ottawa- Martin Gerber, 26 saves on 28 shots
NEXT GAME: Thursday, December 20 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:00 PM EST
The Bruins welcomed an "unusual" opponent to the Garden on Saturday in the form of the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team who hadn't visited since 2003. Thankfully, the Bruins were less than hospitable, and used their stifling defense and the stellar goaltending of Auld the Bald to keep their streak alive, that streak being the only team in the NHL yet to suffer back to back regulation losses.
I only managed to catch the third period of this game because of work, but I've heard it was a pretty slow game, some even called it boring. The first bit of excitement came 2:18 in, when Milan Lucic dropped the gloves against the Jackets' Jared Boll. Apparently, there is some history between these two, as Lucic destroyed Boll with one punch in last year's Memorial Cup Semifinals. Lucic said something to the effect of that Boll grabbed his legs on the way down and flipped him backwards (this was in the Boston Globe). I couldn't find video of that fight, but even though Boll lasted a bit longer this time, Lucic still gave him a good pounding.
Shortly after, the Bruins got all of the offense they needed from an unlikely source: Jeremy Reich, who potted his first NHL goal. It's good to see Reich rewarded for his hard work of late, as he, along with Petteri Nokelainen and Vladimir Sobotka, have been true spark plugs for the B's on the fourth line.
After this, the game seemed to go into lockdown mode, with Auld the Bald having to make a few big saves, including a breakaway stop on the Jackets' best player, Rick Nash. It was good to see Sir Bald bounce back from his first loss as a Bruin, and he definitely did play well again.
Another great play in this game again involved Rick Nash, except this time it didn't result in a shot on goal. Late in the third, Nash took a great pass from his own defensive zone off of the boards and rushed in on net. The play was broken up by a diving Aaron Ward, who managed to knock the puck off of Nash's stick before he tripped over him, negating what could have been a tripping call.
Also, the line of Schaefer-Kessel-Lucic played well again in this game, coming out with two straight momentum killing shifts in the middle of the third. They put forth the kind of effort that it takes to hold on to leads in this league, and hopefully Claude Julien keeps that line together.
Coming up next for the B's is a true test, one that I consider a must win: the Ottawa Senators. When the B's played them earlier this season, they, like every other team that faced the early season Senators, looked horribly overmatched. However, this time should be closer, and the B's need to start proving that they can beat quality opponents, having lost frequently to the Montreal's and New Jersey's of the league.
Go B's Go.
GOALS
Boston- Jeremy Reich (1), Marco Sturm ENG (10)
Columbus- None
SAVES
Boston- Alex Auld, 32 saves on 32 shots
Columbus- Fredrik Norrena, 16 saves on 17 shots
NEXT GAME: Tuesday, December 18 vs. Ottawa Senators, 7:00 PM EST (On Versus)
Looking to avenge a Meadowlands collapse from a few games prior, the Bruins fell flat against the Devils in a snowbound TD Banknorth Garden. Conditions were so bad outside that the B's did the unthinkable: slashed ticket prices! Loge seats that are usually near $100 were cut down to $19.50, so I had to take Mr. Jacobs up on his offer. Some friends and I made up 6 of maybe about 4,500 people in attendance. Ouch.
This game started off pretty well, with the Bruins getting their legs back under them from the previous night's flight home from Atlanta. I was expecting a flat start from the team, but they seemed pretty well prepared. The highlight of the first came from Milan Lucic, who dropped the gloves against New Jersey's David Clarkson. The bout started off fairly slowly, but in the end Lucic rocked Clarkson with two wicked right hands, leaving Clarkson looking over at the referee in an attempt to stop the fight. Luckily for him, he got his wish, and Lucic came away with another resounding victory.
In the second, the defensive tone of the game continued, until Brian Gionta snuck a snap shot past Auld the Bald, who got beaten five-hole. I'm not sure how I feel about this one, as it seems like it was a shot that could have been stopped. Either way, the Devils seized on this goal to get some momentum and some power play chances. With Andrew Alberts off for a high-sticking double minor, Zdeno Chara took a "questionable" slashing call, putting the Bruins down 2 men (and 2 of their biggest defensemen, at that). In this situation, it was only a matter of time before New Jersey capitalized, and that they did on a wicked shot from Jamie Langenbrunner that The Bald had no chance on.
With Martin Brodeur in net, a two goal lead is usually enough, and that was the case in this game for the Devils. The Bruins were able to get a power play strike from Marc Savard early in the third, but didn't do much after that. They were given another power play opportunity about halfway through the period, and again didn't generate many chances. Langenbrunner sealed the deal with his empty netter, and the Bruins lost to the Devils for the second time this season.
There weren't really many positive things to take from this game. One thing I liked was the line of Schaefer-Kessel-Lucic. They were out there ####ing all night, creating chances and putting on pressure. They seem to be almost a more skilled version of an energy line, and I'd like to see them get some more playing time together in the next game.
As far as Auld the Bald goes, he had to lose one sometime. He didn't play poorly, and came up with some big saves that kept his team in it. However, when you're opposing Martin Brodeur, a questionable goal can lead to a loss, and being stuck facing a 5-3 isn't going to help. Hopefully, Auld can bounce back in his next start, whenever that may be.
GOALS
Boston- Marc Savard (8)
New Jersey- Brian Gionta (10), Jamie Langenbrunner (3,4)
SAVES
Boston- Alex Auld, 25 saves on 27 shots
New Jersey- Martin Brodeur, 19 saves on 20 shots
NEXT GAME: Saturday, December 15 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 7:00 PM EST
The Bruins made their first trip to the "Dirty South", and managed to get their first win against the Thrashers since March of 2006. This was a big game for the B's, as Ottawa won tonight also, so the B's remain 4 points out of the top spot in the Northeast Division.
This was a pretty good game, as the Bruins looked like they were overwhelming Atlanta early on. They managed to take a two goal lead early into the second. Petteri Nokelainen got rewarded for his hard work with the first goal, and Peter Schaefer got himself into good position in front of the net to tip home the second goal.
However, the B's began to fall apart a bit towards the end of the second, thanks mainly to Mark Recchi. His first goal seemed like it could have been saved by Auld the Bald, but in Auld's defense, it was a pretty nice snap shot. The second goal was a beauty, a great tip by Recchi, and there was nothing Auld could have done.
It was good to see the referees try and take control of this game with their ridiculous penalty call on Mark Stuart. Please, Kovalchuk deserved an Oscar for that acting performance. The fact that there was an actual penalty called on that play is ridiculous. The definition of kneeing was read on the air, and it was the act of a player positioning his knee in order to cause harm. Uh...that didn't happen. If you see the replay, Stuart never moved his knee, never turned his foot. He was coming across the ice to play the puck, and collided with Kovalchuk. He was in as much danger of injury there as Kovalchuk was, but because he went down faster than a sack of bricks and leads the league in goals, he got the call. Not only was the penalty a little ridiculous, but a game misconduct? Please, that entire sequence was ridiculous.
That led to a complete momentum shift, and eventually gave Atlanta the lead. The B's penalty kill is absolutely abysmal, and really needs some work. In their defense, it's hard to kill penalties with Wideman and Alberts in the box, and Stuart kicked out of the game, but it still needs a complete overhaul.
Remarkably, Kovalchuk was healthy enough to play on the entire power play! And, wouldn't you know it, he scored the goal! Hooray, another point for the NHL's leading goal man. Thanks, refs.
The B's showed resilience in this one, and answered with the tying goal fairly quickly. Glen Murray continued to put up points after a great pass by Milan Lucic, who just continues to get better with each game.
Speaking of the hulking teenager, Lucic scored the winning goal for his team on a great individual effort. He was knocked down by Bobby Holik, and drew a penalty on the play. He got the puck into the Thrashers' zone, however, and hustled towards the net. On the delayed penalty, Phil Kessel worked hard and got the puck right into the crease, where Lucic tapped it in while falling backwards into the net. A great play from the youngster, and he deserved the goal after working so hard for it.
After that, this game was the Bruins, and they held on down the stretch. There were a couple of close calls with Johan Hedberg on the bench for the extra attacker, but Auld and the defense held their ground, and Marc Savard iced it with his behind the back, no look, empty net goal.
This was Auld's third straight win, and he did have a little trouble with this one. A couple of shaky saves, and maybe a goal that should have been saved, but Auld did his job. He's going to be needed for a while, because Manny Fernandez had surgery and is out for the year. Hopefully, this surgery will be what Fernandez needs, and he won't turn out to be a high-investment bust. Either way, with a trio of Thomas-Auld-Rask (who will be sent to Providence when Thomas returns in 5-7 days), the B's should be in good shape. They are playing great hockey right now (penalty kill excluded). Hopefully, they can carry their play home, and get a win against the Devils tomorrow. It's going to be rough traveling, but their pros. Let's keep the wins coming, boys.
GOALS
Boston- Petteri Nokelainen (2), Peter Schaefer (6), Glen Murray (10), Milan Lucic (2), Marc Savard (ENG) (7)
Atlanta- Mark Recchi (3,4), Ilya Kovalchuk (24)
SAVES
Boston- Alex Auld, 23 saves on 26 shots
Atlanta- Johan Hedberg, 29 saves on 33 shots
NEXT GAME: Thursday, December 13 vs. New Jersey Devils, 7:00 PM EST
The Alex Auld show rolled into Buffalo tonight, with the B's looking for their second straight win over a Northeast division opponent. The HSBC Arena has not been kind to the B's in recent years, as Sabres goalie Ryan Miller had never lost to the B's in that arena, and had never allowed more than 3 goals in any of those games. However, this was all in the past, and the B's showed no signs of letting Miller continue his streak. They jumped out to an early 2-1 lead, and ended up outlasting the Sabres to get that second straight win, 4-1. I missed the first period due to a final exam, but was pleased to see that they had jumped out to a 3-1 lead.
From what I saw, the B's, and Auld in particular, played really well. Auld was huge in the net, and seemed to be in the right place at the right time for every Sabres' scoring chance. It seemed like Milan Lucic played one of his best games of the season so far, and was on the scoresheet with two assists. Phil Kessel showed some flashes of his great speed again, and seemed to have an extra jump in his step tonight. The defense played well also, not allowing too many odd man rushes or any good shooting lanes. The B's had a great penalty kill early in the second after Matt Hunwick took a tripping penalty, and kept the Sabres off of the board with some good, hard work, from PJ Axelsson in particular.
The offense seemed to be pretty strong too, generating some good scoring chances with hard work deep in the zone. Overall, a great game from the B's, and great to see Alex Auld get another big win for the team. On to Atlanta we go...
GOALS
Boston- Marc Savard (6), PJ Axelsson (4), Peter Schaefer (5), Glen Metropolit (7)
Buffalo- Jaroslav Spacek (7)
SAVES
Boston- Alex Auld, 44 saves on 45 shots
Buffalo- Ryan Miller, 17 saves on 21 shots
NEXT GAME: Wednesday, December 12 @ Atlanta Thrashers, 7 PM EST
Needing a win to get back on track, the Bruins turned to...Alex Auld?
The former Coyote was acquired by the B's on Thursday, in exchange for minor league forward Nate DiCasmirro and a fifth round draft pick in 2009. This must mean that Tim Thomas' injury is a little more serious than originally let on, or that Manny Fernandez will continue to be a $4+ million waste of space. Either way, Auld was in Toronto, and was ready to start.
Both goalies, Auld and Toronto's Vesa Toskala, probably wish they had their first goals back. Auld let a Jason Blake wrister go five-hole, and Toskala was beat by Chuck Kobasew's wrister while streaking in from the left wing. In any case, both teams clamped down, and played a very tight game the rest of the way. It was called "boring" by fans on TSN's message boards, and was very similar to the team's last game a few weeks back (Rask's debut, a 4-2 win), which was also quite boring. However, just like that game, the Bruins won, this time on a slap shot from Dennis Wideman that proved to be the difference maker. Both teams play a stifling defensive style that does, admittedly, lead to some pretty boring play at times. But hey, boring is great when it gets you a win, and that's what it did for the B's tonight.
Dennis Wideman has been, IMHO, the B's best defenseman of late. He has been ripped apart by B's fans since coming here, mainly because he was traded for Brad Boyes, who has been tearing it up in St. Louis. However, Wideman's game has improved, and likewise has his playing time. Claude Julien has been rewarding Wideman for his great play, and let's hope B's fans can get over Boyes' departure (finally).
Also, Auld played admirably in his Boston debut, slamming the door multiple times during flurries of pressure from the Leafs in the closing seconds. It's safe to say that the B's "held on" to win this one, and a lot of the credit should be given to Auld. The credit SHOULDN'T be given to Glen Murray, who made his goalie's life difficult by taking FOUR penalties in this game but, hey, a win's a win. Had they lost, I'd be ripping Murray apart. But they won, so keep up the good work, Muzz.
GOALS
Boston- Chuck Kobasew (12), Dennis Wideman (3)
Toronto- Jason Blake (4)
SAVES
Boston- Alex Auld, 25 saves on 26 shots
Toronto- Vesa Toskala, 18 saves on 20 shots
NEXT GAME: Monday, December 10 @ Buffalo Sabres, 7 PM EST
This is starting to look familiar, and starting to get verrrrrrrrrry annoying. The Canadiens coming out and sticking it to the Bruins, looking faster, sharper and more skilled in every aspect of the game. I was at this game, just like the last time the Canadiens were here, and wanted my money back after the first period. It was probably the worst period of hockey this team has played all season. Just absolutely terrible. Positives? The only positive to be taken from this period was that it was only 3-0. ONLY 3-0??? That says a lot about how bad it was...
Fortunately, the Bruins were playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde hockey, and came out looking like a new team in the second period. They were shooting, hitting, buzzing the net, getting physical, and putting pressure on Montreal's rookie netminder, Carey Price. They cut the lead to 3-2 in what was probably their best period of hockey all season, and actually had a third slide in the net after a whistle. It was questionable whether or not it was a quick whistle, but ultimately looked like the right call. So after one crappy period and one stellar period, the B's found themselves down just 3-2, with all of the momentum on their side.
However, the Canadiens seemed to lock down, and the B's really didn't get much going offensively in the third. They seemed to be content protecting a one goal lead, and did a good job of it. They did finally go on the attack, however, and Andrew Alberts looked like one of the old MBTA turnstiles on Mathieu Dandenault's third period-icer. Game over. I couldn't get out of that place fast enough, as the Bruins seem bent on making losing to the Habs a habit (no pun intended).
Rask played shakily in this game. The fourth goal wasn't really his fault, as my friend said Dandenault had him "dead to rights", and I agree with that assessment. Others, however, were a little shaky. Five hole goals, bad rebounds- Rask wasn't on his game tonight, but everyone has an off night. Phil Kessel's play is starting to annoy me as well. He continues to try and dance into the offensive zone, deking through 3 players only to lose the puck. This has drawn him the unfavorable comparisons to........Sergei Samsonov. Uh-ohhhhhhhh...Fortunately, he has improved his defensive play, and seems to get the message whenever Claude Julien gets tough with him. He better be tough with the whole team after this one, as the B's are back on the road against a hot Toronto team on Saturday night, and can't afford to start going on a skid now.
The Devils were one of hockey's hottest teams coming into this game, having won 7 straight before welcoming the Bruins to "the Rock" for the first time this season. Martin Brodeur had regained his true form, and had been playing some of his best hockey of the season. This looked like it may be a tough one for the B's to pull out, but they came out flying, taking a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
I was feeling good about this team at this point, actually surprised at how well they were playing. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and this good thing came crashing down in a hurry. The Devils came roaring back in the second, and had the deficit cut to one at 3-2 after two periods. The Bruins spent most of that second frame desperately trying to stay afloat, very rarely (if ever) getting any legitimate pressure on Brodeur. The Devils had rush after rush up the ice, and it seemed like this one was getting away from the B's.
Sure enough, it got away, and the Devils tied it up with a little under six minutes to go in the third. So what happened? It's been said that a 2 goal lead is the hardest to defend in hockey, which must mean that a 3 goal lead is all the more difficult. Did the Bruins get complacent? Maybe, or maybe the Devils woke up. They played a pretty crappy first period, and seemed to turn it on for the rest of the game.
As if the collapse wasn't enough, the Bruins rock in net went down as well. Tim Thomas left the game with what was termed a "lower body injury" (sounds like the Patriots injury report, doesn't it?), and from what I saw on the replay it looks like a knee sprain, or possibly a hamstring or groin pull. Either way, he was out, and Tuukka Rask came on in relief. There was no way that this was going to end well, and I said to my friend who was watching the game with me that it felt like it was only a matter of time before the Devils scored again. Voila, Patrik Elias pots the winner with under two minutes left in overtime. Game over, and the B's let one get away.
This would have been a good win, a momentum win to carry home against the Canadiens. However, in true optimist fashion, the B's did get a point from a very good Devils team. It was also good to see some offense from Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman, and to see Glen Murray continue to produce. Hopefully, the B's can carry some positives from this game into tomorrow night's contest, and leave the collapse behind.
GOALS
Boston- Zdeno Chara (4), Glen Murray (9), Dennis Wideman (2)
New Jersey- Patrik Elias (5,6), Zach Parise (13,14)
SAVES
Boston- Tim Thomas, 28 saves on 31 shots; Tuukka Rask, 2 saves on 3 shots
New Jersey- Martin Brodeur, 23 saves on 26 shots
NEXT GAME: Thursday, December 6 vs. Montreal Canadiens, 7 PM EST
The B's headed out to Long Island for another match-up with Ted Nolan's bunch, and got out of there with their first win on the island in over 5 years. It was good to see Milan Lucic get back on the ice and play decently well, though he didn't get on the scoresheet at all. Petteri Nokelainen was flying around the ice for the entire game, and has looked really good in his last couple of games. He scored on a bad play by the Isles' d-man, but he still had to put it past DiPietro.
Glen Murray continued his hot streak with the first goal on the power play, and Chuck Kobasew added his team leading 11th goal. Tim Thomas played another good game, and was only 2 minutes away from a shutout when he gave up a goal on the penalty kill. The B's still need to work hard at their penalty kill, which has been an Achilles' heel all season. They killed four out of five, however, so hopefully improvement is on the way.
Overall, this team is playing well, and may be playing its best hockey of the year so far. Marc Savard has a 10 game point streak, and the offense shows signs of coming to life. Thomas continues to play well in net, and Rask has shown that he can shoulder some of the load as well, and will likely start one of the next three games. The game tomorrow against New Jersey should be interesting, as Jersey is always a tough place to play. If the B's don't beat Montreal on Thursday, I'm going to go nuts. But, they are playing good hockey, and are 4 points behind Ottawa for first in the Northeast.
This was another game that I didn't see much of, and I wish I had missed what I did see. From what I heard on the broadcast, the B's came out horribly flat, and trailed after the first on two goals from Vincent Lecavalier, who is quickly becoming the premier player in the game (if not at the top already). They came out pretty slow again in the second, but managed to cut the lead in half on a power play strike from the still-streaking Glen Murray. However, any momentum was killed on a goal from Tampa's Mathieu Darche with under a minute to go in the second. That was, essentially the game right there. The B's climbed back in it, only to let Tampa take the game but with seconds to go in the middle period.
I'm not really sure what to attribute this poor performance to, as it shouldn't be fatigue. Every team has off nights, and maybe this was the Bruins. In some of the pregame notes by the Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa, he said that this Tampa team had lost 6 in a row, and was bound to bust out soon. Unfortunately, they did it against the B's, led by Lecavalier's 4 point night (though, to be an optimist, Lecavalier is on my Fantasy Hockey team. The glass is half full.)
This would have been a big win for the B's, as they are surely in for another tough game against the men from Long Island tomorrow. As of the time I write this (Sunday night), the B's have 28 points, and sit at 6th place in the East. They are 6 points behind the plummeting Ottawa Senators in the Northeast Division, but are also only 4 points from 14th place in the conference. The East is packed tight right now, and should make for an interesting season.
As far as this coming week, we should see Tuukka Rask again at some point. The B's have a full slate this week, with games Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. I'm going to the Thursday game against Montreal, and would love to see a Tuukka-Cary Price matchup. It'd also be cool to be at Rask's first home start, but we'll have to wait and see.
Hopefully the B's can get back on track Monday night, as they have a big week coming up. We'll know a lot more about this team a week from now.
GOALS
Boston- Glen Murray (7)
Tampa Bay- Vincent Lecavalier (17,18), Mathieu Darche (3), Martin St. Louis (9)
SAVES
Boston- Tim Thomas, 24 saves on 28 shots
Tampa Bay- Johan Holmqvist, 28 saves on 29 shots
NEXT GAME: Monday, December 3rd @ NY Islanders, 7:00 PM
I caught only the last 10 minutes of this game, so there isn't really much I can say about it. I've heard from people who watched the game that the B's played a very strong first period, and controlled play for most of the game. I did see the end, however, am a little disappointed in the finish. The B's had a 3 goal lead with under 3 minutes left, and only won by one goal. They very easily could have lost the game, as Tim Thomas made a great save with under a minute left right out in front of the net. Had that gone in, the game goes to OT and Florida, with all of the momentum on their side, would most likely have taken that game and the extra point.
However, the B's managed to hold on, and got themselves a key two points over a team who is close to them in the standings. From what I saw, Phil Kessel played a good game, and it was good to see Zdeno Chara get on the board, and especially to see him jump up in the power play and put one home. Hopefully the B's can get some momentum from this game and get another one in Tampa, but with that shaky finish, there may not be much momentum there.
GOALS
Boston- Zdeno Chara (2,3), Glen Metropolit (6), Phil Kessel (8)
Florida- Steve Montador (2), David Booth (7), Olli Jokinen (12)
SAVES
Boston- Tim Thomas, 32 saves on 35 shots
Florida- Craig Anderson, 34 saves on 38 shots
NEXT GAME: Saturday, December 1st @ Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 PM EST
