bruins 5 - lightning 3

Winter has officially descended on Montreal. The temperature fell to minus 15 yesterday, shocking our systems and encasing the city in ice. Today the snow has continued unabated since beginning in the wee hours, long before the sun emerged to flow diffuse light through the brittle air. We wake up and alternate between appreciating the wonder and beauty of the snow, and hating every moment it dictates in its dominion over our lives.

This is the time of year when hearty Canadians bundle up, pull on multiple layers, and unleash an endless stream of merciless profanity for six straight months, as we dream of cities with perennial warmth and sun.

And so, the Bruins continued their road trip through Florida last night, with another game against Tampa Bay.

Tim Thomas got the start against Rick Tochet's recently-inherited club, who are entrenched in lacklustre performance, despite an embarrassment of on-ice talents. The Bruins took a 3-0 lead into the third period before the Lightning began making the game interesting. 4-1 became 4-2, and with 17 seconds left, the Lightning scored again, making it a one-goal game (before Axelsson's empty netter).

In so doing, the Lightning nearly toppled the B's (and their critics), coming from behind and showing more tenacity than most expect from them.

However, the Bruins insulated themselves against this come back by continuing their strong play. Milan Lucic made his presence felt early, forechecking and hitting everything he could, before potting a goal.

The real story of this game, as has been the case in recent weeks, was Phil Kessel. He has obviously emerged as a go-to guy, with his 12 game point streak continuing last night with a goal, but he's also displaying a wider variety of skills than we've seen from him. He's still a threat with his speed, but his footwork, ability with the puck, and just plain-old trickiness are opening the eyes (and defensive systems) of teams across the league.

The Bruins will board planes and head back East while this snowstorm continues, emerging into a landscape that more strongly suggests Hockey Season. However, despite the warmer environs, it is important that the B's were able to capture as many points as were available from their sunbelt roadtrip.

They are now in 2nd Place Overall in the League.