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 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.
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.
