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.
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
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
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.
So it was finally here. The long-awaited rematch. The "Win One for Patrice" game. The Bruins and the Flyers, renewing hostilities after the Flyers derailed not only the Bruins season but a young kid's life last time these two teams met. Fans had been anticipating roughhousing, fighting, hitting and all around old time hockey. However, as some may have predicted, the game wasn't as wild as some had hoped. The only fight of the game didn't involve Randy Jones, but Jeremy Reich and Ben Eager. I am a little disappointed that Jones didn't really face any music for what he did to Bergeron, accident or not. However, shutting up 20,000 Philadelphians is sweet enough music for any Bruins fan.
I didn't see the first half of the game, due to a night class, but I saw from about the middle of the second period on. The Bruins played well, and outplayed Philly for most of the night. One of my favorite moments of the game came in the third period, when the Bruins killed any momentum the Flyers had by holding the puck in the Philly end for about 2 minutes, putting constant pressure on Antero Nittymaki. The pressure culminated in a slashing penalty to my least favorite player of all time, Daniel Briere. The B's didn't score, but did squash any attempts at Philly comeback. I was also pleased to see the B's respond quickly to Philly's 2nd goal, scoring a little over a minute later.
Overall, this was a great game for the Bruins. The Flyers are a very good team, and the Bruins beat them in their own building, in front of a sold out crowd. The B's didn't let their emotions from the first game of the season series get the better of them, and managed to play their game and take the Flyers down. Tuukka Rask played a decent game, but wasn't really anything special. He wasn't challenged much, but made the saves when he needed to. The 3rd goal, to Upshall, was pretty soft, and Rask probably should have had it. Overall, however, he looked composed again, a good sign for the Bruins. They'll need him in the upcoming weeks, as they have a pretty full slate coming up.
It's also good to see Glen Murray continue to play well. He had two more goals, raising his season total to 6. Marc Savard had another stellar offensive night with a goal and two assists, and Brandon Bochenski played well again, getting on the scoresheet with an assist on the fifth Boston goal.
Again, overall, this was a great win. The B's travel next to face an extremely inconsistent Florida Panthers team, so let's hope the B's can get another win and get on a bit of a roll here on this road trip.
GOALS
Boston- Glen Murray (5,6), Marc Savard (5), Glen Metropolit (5), Peter Schaefer (4), Chuck Kobasew (10)
Philadelphia- Mike Knuble (7), Mike Richards (14), Scottie Upshall (5)
SAVES
Boston- Tuukka Rask, 20 saves on 23 shots
Philadelphia- Martin Biron, 11 saves on 14 shots::Antero Nittymaki, 15 saves on 17 shots
NEXT GAME: Thursday, November 29 @ Florida Panthers, 7:30 PM EST
This game marked the long-awaited debut of the Bruins goalie phenom, Tuukka Rask. The 20 year old Finn had been up and down from Providence for a week, leading many to wonder whether or not he was even going to make a start. Well, he got one, and veeeeeeeeeery interestingly, against Toronto, in Toronto. Hmmmm. Toronto traded Rask to the Bruins for Andrew Raycroft in the summer of 2006, and Rask made his first start against the Leafs? Supposedly this was all a coincidence, but it seems more like the Bruins showing the Leafs the cool new toy that they got rid of. Either way, it was good to finally see the kid in net.
The first thing I noticed was that Rask is pretty small in the net. He isn't a big guy, standing at around 6 foot 3 inches, 160-70 pounds. However, his instincts seem to be amazing. He was never caught out of position, and seemed to always know exactly where to move next. He also was amazingly calm and collected, never looking rattled or like he didn't have control over a situation. He has great reflexes too, and is very quick. He'd flash out his pads to make a leg save, and in what seemed like a nanosecond, be back on his feet, ready to glove the next puck. Overall, he seems like he's very skilled, and very grounded. This kid should be a joy to watch in the very near future.
As far as the goals he allowed, both of them were fluky. The first goal was deflected twice, and the second one was like a knucklepuck from Mats Sundin. Both goals scored on Rask were last touched by Bruins players, making it hard to criticize Tuukka for either of them. He got a lot of the first one, but it trickled through his arm. The Sundin goal looked like it just took off on him, and people at the game described it as moving like a knuckleball or curveball. Overall, Tuukka played excellently, and only added to the anticipation, as Bruins fans now got a taste of what should be a very exciting future.
As far as the rest of the game, I actually found it really boring. Two friends I was watching with actually fell asleep, and I wasn't too far behind. I attribute this to the Leafs' style of play, which I can't fault them for. They played this stifling, slow, trap kind of game against Ottawa the other night, and emerged with a 3-0 win against one of the best teams in the league. If it ain't broke, why fix it?
The game was slow and chippy, with neither team really able to get much going. Phil Kessel's goal was the result of a strong effort by the B's, as well as a few failed clear attempts on the part of the Leafs. It was good to see PJ Axelsson finally get on the board for the season, and even better that it came as the game tying goal. Chuck Kobasew, who is quickly becoming this team's best offensive weapon, scored the next two to give the B's their first win of the season when trailing going into the third.
Hopefully, this is the start o####ood stretch for the B's, as they came out of their stretch of Northeast division games standing in 3rd place in the division, only 3 points behind Montreal. Rask may not get another start anytime soon, but he certainly came up with the effort the B's needed this time around.
After this game, the phrase "a win is a win" seems fitting. Yes, the Bruins won, but they were outplayed for most of the game. Tim Thomas had to make 45 saves to win this one, and he was up to the task. As is true in most sports, momentum can change very quickly, and we saw that firsthand in this game. Buffalo turned the puck over at the attacking blue line, and compounded that problem with a bad line change. This led to a two on one with Marc Savard and Marco Sturm, and Savard put a fantastic pass right on Sturm's tape. All he had to do was flick it past Ryan Miller, and he had his 7th goal of the season.
So just like that, after all of the pressure Buffalo applied, the Bruins had the lead. They kept their heads above the water, but let up another shorthanded goal to tie the game. The way the Sabres scored that goal made it seem like THEY were on the power play, not the penalty kill. However, the Bruins kept up just enough of an offensive attack to take the lead on a highlight reel goal by Chuck Kobasew. Kobasew called it a "fluke", but he did a great job of deflecting the puck past Miller to give the B's the lead for good.
The Sabres kept up the pressure, however, and Tim Thomas was good enough to hold off the charge. The Bruins still need to tighten up their defense big time, as 46 shots is way too many to allow. Thankfully, they got the win, and were able to get back on the right track after such a horrible game against Montreal.
I fell behind in these game stories, which explains why many of them are short and not very insightful. Hopefully, I can keep up with the games now, and have more to say about them.
Thanks for stopping by.
GOALS:
Boston- Marco Sturm (7), Chuck Kobasew (7)
Buffalo- Daniel Paille (3)
SAVES:
B oston- Tim Thomas, 45 saves on 46 shots
Buffalo- Ryan Miller, 20 saves on 22 shots
NEXT GAME: Thursday, November 15 vs. Toronto, 7:00 PM EST
Looking to avoid losing back to back games to the Senators, the Bruins put forth another decent effort. This time, part of the blame for the loss lies on the B's themselves, not a better effort by the other team. They took an early lead on a goal by Chuck Kobasew in the first period, and seemed to be controlling play fairly well. The lead held until the third period, when the B's gave up a shorthanded goal in a scene that must have felt eerily familiar to B's fans (hint: see last season, where shorthanded goals were often a nightly thing). The B's never really recovered from this, and neither team came all that close to scoring for the rest of the game or in overtime.
In the shootout, Tim Thomas got beaten by two straight Senators, on two nice moves. Down the other end, Martin Gerber did his job, making a fantastic save on Phil Kessel to end the game before the Sens even got to their third shooter.
Tim Thomas continues to play excellent in net, but he isn't getting much offensive help. He "only" faced 36 shots tonight (that "only" is compared to the barrage he faced Saturday night), and held his ground on all but one of them. The B's need to tighten up defensively and get more going on offense, or Thomas' play is going to end up being all for naught.
GOALS:
u>Boston- Chuck Kobasew (6)
Ottawa- Antoine Vermette (3)
SAVES:
Boston- Tim Thomas, 35 saves on 36 shots
Ottawa- Martin Gerber, 21 saves on 22 shots
NEXT GAME: Thursday, November 8 vs. Montreal, 7:30 PM EST
The Bruins traveled to Ottawa for the first time this season to face the NHL's best team in the first game of a home and home series. This was a series that I figured the Bruins could use as a benchmark, to see how good their team really is or isn't. I must admit I was skeptical that they could beat this team, as Ottawa has looked like a true juggernaut early this season, even without Ray Emery in net.
They stuck with the Sens through the early part of the game, and even took a 2-1 lead in the second, mostly due to the play of Tim Thomas. However, as usually happens, the better team distanced itself, this time with special teams. The Bruins took six penalties in the second and third periods, leading to the two Ottawa goals that cost them the game. The Senators, on the other hand, only had one penalty in the same span.
It was promising to see this team hang with the Sens, but they can't be content just to be in the same arena as them. Hopefully, the B's will come out with a similar effort tomorrow, and if they're more disciplined, perhaps they can pull out a victory.
GOALS:
Boston- Chuck Kobasew (4,5)
Ottawa- Mike Fisher (4,5), Dany Heatley (8)
SAVES:
Boston- Tim Thomas, 42 saves on 45 shots
Ottawa- Martin Gerber, 17 saves on 19 shots
NEXT GAME: Sunday, November 4 vs. Ottawa Senators, 7:00 PM EST
Fresh off of their first win of the season, the Bruins skated into Anaheim to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Ducks. This was the Ducks home opener, so all of the ceremony and celebration took place prior to the game. Perhaps this young Bruins team got a taste of what success is like, and they now have a celebration of their own to strive for. The Bruins were coming of####ood win against the Coyotes, and were looking to build some momentum against an established Western Conference power.
Tim Thomas was given the starting nod again, playing in consecutive games after recording 36 saves against Phoenix. He played fairly well, as the first Anaheim goal was on a great individual effort by Ryan Getzlaf, and the winning goal was scored on a deflection, which is always a hard play to fault the goalie on.
Chuck Kobasew scored the Bruins only goal, on a great deke and shot combo, beating Ilya Bryzgalov just 1:05 seconds into the first period. It was a great way to start the game for the B's as it helped to silence the crowd and get the team started out on the right foot. The young team held their own against the physical Ducks in the first period, and had some good scoring chances. However, it seemed like as soon as the Ducks tied the score, the Bruins fell into their old habit of playing "shell shocked", not attacking the offensive zone and getting sloppy in their defensive zone. Against a team like Phoenix, they may have been able to get away with a period of playing this way, but not against the Ducks. Anaheim essentially shut down the Bruins attack, and left them simply trying to shovel the puck out of their own zone, not leaving much time to think about offense. Anaheim kept up the pressure, and was finally able to break through with 6:25 left to go in the 3rd period. The Bruins had a few chances to tie, but not nearly enough. They got the goalie pulled, but couldn't set up any offensive plays and ended up falling, 2-1.
The Bruins put in a good effort in this game, but it wasn't a 60 minute effort. This is something the team fell into last year, rarely playing a complete game and often seeming overwhelmed whenever they gave up a lead. Claude Julien won't let this happen to this team, as he stresses playing the full 60, and always keeping composure. I did like the somewhat increased physical presence of the Bruins, throwing their weight around against a team that had a reputation for being the toughest in the league last year. However, they do need to increase the offensive output, dramatically. 19 shots on goal isn't going to win many games in the National Hockey League, especially not against the defending champs. More offense needs to come, and hopefully Julien will push the team to play harder and work harder in the offensive zone.
GOALS:
>Anaheim: Ryan Getzlaf (3), Francois Beauchemin (1)
Boston: Chuck Kobasew (2)
SAVES:
A naheim: Ilya Bryzgalov, 18 saves on 19 shots
Boston: Tim Thomas, 28 saves on 30 shots
NEXT GAME: Friday, October 12 @ Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 PM EST
I'm a 20 year old kid from Dorchester, MA, who one day hopes to be a sportswriter for a big time newspaper, and figure this is a good place to start. I'm in college at Suffolk in downtown Boston now, and it's awesome. I love all sports, with the Bruins and Red Sox being my favorite teams, thought I'm also a big Patriots and Celtics fan. I think it's ridiculous how no one in this town cares about the Bruins anymore. I like college sports too, no particular teams, especially any big bowl games and March Madness. I hate fairweather fans, especially everyone who jumped on the Sox bandwagon in 2004. The "pink hats" and "OMG Varitek's so hot!!" drive me crazy, just like anyone else who's a real baseball fan. Pick a team, know the players, stay loyal and be a real fan- in good times and in bad.
