bruins 5 - senators 3

The Bruins had a lot more jump tonight against a resurgent Ottawa team, who had won their previous four straight games and have played far better hockey under new Coach Cory Clouston.

For their part, the Bruins returned to old form for large portions of the game. I gather there was some heat in the Boston media about how the Bruins' players let Thomas get run with impunity by Novotny in the game against the Blue Jackets, but tonight's squad played a more physical game and battled hard in the corners.

However, taking a 3-1 lead into the third period, and extending it to 4-1 while I was talking to my mother on the phone, should have put the Bruins in a less complicated position to win.

The Senators came back with two quick goals and for several minutes rolled waves of players at the B's 1-2-2 set up. Ottawa had solid chances too, but with Sens' goalie / former Bruin Alex Auld on the bench, the Bruins were mercifully able to chip it out and pot the empty net goal.

Claude Julien, on the difficulties the team had in the third period, including poor decisions that led to two goals…

"It’s not something that’s new; it’s something that players should know, and that first goal in the third that made it 4-2, we had three veteran players caught low, in between [Mark Recchi] and [Chuck] Kobasew and [Patrice Bergeron], and then we gave them almost a three-on-two, four-on-three, and they capitalized on it, so those are the kinds of things, you know, that if your third man is high, you’re not getting outnumbered in that situation, and you’re keeping the game at 4-1, and we kind of gave them some momentum. And they came back off the draw, and a quick play, and all of a sudden, it’s 4-3."

Of Note: Milan Lucic looked motivated tonight, playing on a line with David Krejci and Michael Ryder, who also showed up tonight for the first time in a bit.