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 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.
With a noon start on the day after Thanksgiving, one had to expect this one to be a little slow in the early going. That's exactly what happened, but both teams began to pick up their play as the game went on, and the Bruins, overall, played a pretty good game, powered by some offense from "the Glens". In some ways, it almost seemed like they stole a win in this game, as the Islanders hit the post with the net wide open at least twice, and Glen Metropolit's goal, which proved to be the game winner, was a shot that Rick DiPietro will stop most of the time. But hey, a win is a win, and it just so happened to be the B's first over the Islanders in regulation since before the Lockout.
Overall, Tim Thomas played well again. The goal that Mike Sillinger scored on him was perfect, there isn't a goalie in the league who would have stopped it. Other than that, he was consistent, making big saves when necessary. He did, however, give up a few pretty bad rebounds that led to wide open nets for Islander forwards. Thankfully for the Bruins, the Isles failed to capitalize on these mistakes, and Thomas emerged with another victory.
Milan Lucic got rocked early on by Bryan Berard on a hit that was clean but somewhat questionable. There was nothing dirty about the intent, just that the follow through was a little high. Lucic played another shift after the hit, and actually created a pretty good scoring chance, but never returned and isn't playing tomorrow. To take his place, the B's called up Vladimir Sobotka from Providence, who will make his NHL debut tonight.
It's also a good sign to see Glen Murray continue to find the net, as he now has 6 points in his last 4 games. The B's have won 3 of those 4, and need Murray to stay hot, especially in the absence of Patrice Bergeron.
With these two teams meeting again in about an hour, it'll be interesting to see if there is any carryover from yesterday afternoon. The game got chippy at times, but players seemed to hold back due to the tightness of the game. I don't know of any outstanding animosity between the teams, but playing 2 games in two nights can probably create some pretty quick. Hopefully, the B's can get a win tonight, and go into Philly on a roll on Monday.
GOALS
Boston- Glen Murray (4), Glen Metropolit (4)
New York- Mike Sillinger (3)
SAVES
Boston- Tim Thomas, 25 saves on 26 shots
New York- Rick DiPietro, 23 saves on 25 shots
NEXT GAME: Saturday, November 24 @ NY Islanders, 7:00 PM EST
This game, it can be said, may have been a case of "Be careful what you wish for". In my last post, I said that the Bruins needed to jumpstart their offense. Well, I'd say that scoring more goals in this game (8) than in the previous three combined (5) certainly qualifies as an offensive explosion.
Despite the win and the great offensive show, this was a game of ups and downs for Bruins fans. They were up 1-0 as the 1st period was winding down, then "old friend" Brad Stuart scored a power play goal with 0:13 to go in the first frame, effectively killing any momentum the Bruins had going into the break. However, they came out firing in the second. The B's scored 3 goals (2 on the power play) in a span of about 6 or 7 minutes, and they came from a variety of sources: classic goal scorer Glen Murray got the first, followed by a somewhat unlikely goal from Aaron Ward, then Kessel scored his second of the night on another power play. However, even with the 3 goal lead, Bruins fans saw something all too familiar: a late period collapse. The B's promptly gave up 2 goals, cutting the lead from a comfortable 4-1 to a very uncomfortable 4-3, again surrendering a goal in the last minute of a period.
So again, the Kings had all the momentum going into the 3rd, only to have Phil Kessel #### it back on another nice goal, cementing his first career hat trick and probably his best game as a Bruin. With the lead back at 5-3, the Bruins had me thinking that maybe this WASN'T last year's team all over again...until they again promptly surrendered two goals, the later tying the game when LA's sophomore sensation Anze Koptiar slammed home a power play goal, his second goal of the game. So, having surrendered what was at one point a 3 goal lead, it was gut-check time for the Bruins, and they responded by scoring 3 straight goals to put the game out of reach. The go-ahead goal was scored on a power play by Marc Savard around 2 minutes after Koptiar tied the game, giving Savard his 4th point of what would turn out to be a 5 point night. The next goal was another big one, and the eventual game winner, as rookie Milan Lucic scored his first career goal on a great pass from fellow rookie David Krecji. Lucic continues to impress, as he had an assist earlier in the game as well, and went toe-to-toe (and held his own) with LA's tough guy, Raitis Ivanas. The B's final goal came with about a minute and a half to go, as Chuck Kobasew, who continues to be strong offensively in the young season, scored, with assists from PJ Axelsson and Marc Savard.
All in all, this was a promising game for the B's offense. They should explosiveness that they definitely lacked last year. One thing that needs to be improved is the defense. They let up a goal in the last minute of each period (though the third one was somewhat inconsequential). Anytime a team lets up 6 goals, there are some defensive problems. Manny Fernandez was far from spectacular again. I thought he was going to be taken out after taking a shot to the collarbone/neck and going down for a few seconds, but he toughed it out and held the fort enough to get a win. He was shaken after the game, however, saying things along the lines of that he doesn't really know what's wrong, and seeming like he had very little, if any, confidence left. As most hockey fans know, confidence is something that isn't an option in a goalie, it's a necessity. Let's hope Manny can turn it around, and play like the goalie he is.
The B's need to tighten up dramatically on defense if they hope to beat the Sharks. The game is San Jose's home opener, so an already strong Sharks team will most likely be even more fired up. If the B's play the same defense as they did against LA, this game will be over by the end of the first. However, if they tighten it up and continue to play tough, they just may be able to end this West Coast swing on a high note.
GOALS:
>Boston: Phil Kessel (3 in the game, 3 on the season), Glen Murray (1), Aaron Ward (1), Marc Savard (1), Milan Lucic (1), Chuck Kobasew (3)
Los Angeles: Brad Stuart (1), Brady Murray (1), Anze Koptiar (2 in the game, 2 on the season), Mike Cammaleri (5), Patrick O'Sullivan (1)
SAVES:
B oston: Manny Fernandez, 25 saves on 31 shots
Los Angeles: Jonathan Bernier, 23 saves on 30 shots (The B's last goal was an empty netter)
NEXT GAME: Saturday, October 13, @ San Jose Sharks, 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.
