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
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
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.
According to Boston.com and Kevin Paul Dupont, Tuukka Rask is going to make his NHL debut tonight in Toronto. Coincidentally enough, it was Toronto who traded the Finnish phenom to the Bruins for Andrew Raycroft. Supposedly, Vesa Toskala will start tonight for the Leafs, so we won't see a Rask-Raycroft match-up, but it'll be good to finally see the kid in a Bruins uniform.
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.
