bruins 5 - stars 1

The Bruins, in their most successful incarnations, have been a team that combines the nimble skills of the elite, with the back alley services of the brawler. At their best, the Bruins have had players that can dangle and score, create amazing opportunities with their passing, and also level the opposition with hard checks and, when necessary, bare-knuckle fighting (sometimes these skills are all found in the same player – a la Cam Neely, Phil Esposito, or perhaps in time, Milan Lucic).

Last night’s home game against the Stars showed the Bruins at their (historical) best, against their polar opposite. In a game that saw 146 minutes in penalties, the B’s faced down the “agitator” antics of Sean Avery and Steve Ott with guts and camaraderie. When Ott delivered a low-bridge hit on Stephane Yelle, or Avery ran Milan Lucic from behind (or any number of other cheap plays through the game), they were met with the willing fists of Bruins stalwarts Sean Thornton, Shane Hnidy and Milan Lucic, but also the unlikely pugilists Marc Savard and Andrew Ference.

Ott and Avery were repeatedly invited to back up their questionable (borderline league-suspension) play with their fists – again, a characteristic of “old-time hockey” and quality NHL clubs of the past – but these two players instead chose to cover up and not be drawn into a fight that would be the logical outcome of their cheap shots. It is a decision that has been noted by media, opponents, and even teammates:

“I don’t know what’s going on here. If this is what we’re going to be about here, just give me a front office job right now.” -- Future Hall of Famer Mike Modano, as quoted here.

However, in the end, the Dallas club received a fitting justice, losing badly to a Bruins team that retained its composure and defended each other. Given the Bruins’ recent history with teams taking liberties with its star players, resulting in concussions and hundreds of man-games lost, it was heartening to see the Black, White and Gold show heart and stick together, while also filling the net.

The highlight of the night, for me at least, saw Andrew Ference fighting Sean Avery. Ference is one of the few NHL players that I can personally relate to (environmentalist, bike enthusiast, social activist, smaller defenseman), but through last season I was always a little disappointed by his play in the defensive zone. This season he seems to have stepped his game up considerably, looking assured and solid with his defensive play, and while he wasn’t able to deliver the K-O that I feel Avery most deserves, Ference showed himself to be a dyed-in-the-wool Bruin, landing a series of lefts (before Avery’s slew-foot take-down), and trying to get past referees to deliver more.

This kind of action shows the heart of Ference as he develops into a more complete player, the cohesiveness of the Bruins as they become a more formidable, tougher team, but probably most significantly, an entire NHL (and its fans) recognizing the gutless, selfish play of Avery, Ott, and a Dallas club that fosters and apparently accepts such behavior.

Also of note, Krys Barch taking on Sean Thornton - it is unfortunate that Barch is left to clean up the mess that his teammates start, but cannot finish.