AT

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

              AT

In the first game after Patrice Bergeron's injury, the Bruins began a stretch of 9 straight games against Northeast division rivals by hosting the Buffalo Sabres at the Garden. The Bruins started off strongly in this game, taking a 2-0 on goals by Glen Metropolit and Phil Kessel. The B's were playing a strong game, and seemed to have the game under control. I missed some of the last half of the second and most of the third period, and was surprised to see that the game had been tied. As had happened so many times last year, the Sabres were able to come back against the Bruins, and came just as close to taking this game as they did many of last season's. However, this Bruins team continued to distance itself from last year's, and came out strong in overtime. They won the game on a bit of a fluky goal, as Aaron Ward "waffled" a shot from near the blue line that Marco Sturm tipped past Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller to give the B's a win. Fluky as it may have been, a win is a win, and the Bruins got the job done in that regard.

It was important for the B's to start off this crucial stretch of games with a win, especially in the aftermath of Patrice Bergeron's injury. There were some good points in this game, as the Bruins came out strong and played well initially, but they weren't able to keep up the pace. They began to play sloppily, and twice blew 2 goal leads. All in all it was a success, but the20 defense needs to tighten up. It's not often that a 2 goal lead can be blown on 2 separate occasions and the team still gets a win.

GOALS:

Boston: Glen Metropolit (2), Phil Kessel (6), Marc Savard (2), Marco Sturm (5)

Buffalo: Maxim Afinogenov (3), Brian Campbell (2), Paul Gaustad (4)

SAVES:

Boston: Tim Thomas, 27 saves on 30 shots

Buffalo: Ryan Miller, 20 saves on 24 shots

NEXT GAME: Saturday, November 3 vs. Ottawa Senators, 7:00 PM EST