bruins 2 - islanders 1

Arguably, the Islanders have all the materials they need to make a run at a post-season berth. However, their opponents last night, the Bruins, have two of the strongest goalies in the NHL. And that makes all the difference.

While the Bruins were awarded some great goals by Marc Savard (nifty top-shelf wrister) and Martin St-Pierre (mid-air puck batted home off a rebound), their number one star was undoubtedly Tim Thomas. Facing 17 shots in the first period alone, Thomas was the main reason the B's were able to stay in this game despite (yet another) unexplainably slow start.

Thomas was less than a minute away from a shutout, but a shot from (former Bruin) Bill Guerin bounced off David Krejci's skate and trickled past the Bruins netminder.

Post-game comments from the Islanders suggested they were happy with their effort in the loss, whereas Thomas neatly summed up the 2008-2009 Bruins with the following:

''There are about six reasons why this team is different from previous Bruin teams,'' Thomas said. ''One of the biggest things is that we're all on the same pages as the coaches are.''

And as a fan, slow start or not, I must say that this is good to see.

The Bruins' next game is Saturday, against the Capitals.