catching up with the bruins

What's it like to be a Bruins fan while living in Montreal? Well, it's busy.

I've been taking French classes (C'est bon, mais un peu difficile) and taking on a few more freelance writing gigs. Between the two - and a dash of a little thing I call "life" - I've been following the B's, but not posting much.

Added to that, the Bruins are in a very strange pocket of the schedule, which saw them playing last sunday against the Devils, but not playing again until this coming Saturday.

All of this to simply explain the silence on the Black White and Gold. But here's what's been happening:

The Bruins went one-and-one during weekend matinees a few weeks ago, one-and-one the following weekend (repeatedly blowing leads against the Penguins in the second game), and sprinkled in between, some wins and losses. They are basically playing ramshackle, .500 hockey, but have been so inconsistent, it's difficult to know what club we will see in the post-season.

This past weekend, the Bruins were able to convincingly win against the surging New Jersey Devils, in one of the better games I've seen the Broons play in recent memory. The Bruins' best players were actually their best players, and the whole team played that relentless-forecheck game that I've been praising for about half a season now.

Added to this was the goaltender battle between Tim Thomas and Martin Brodeur (who has looked okay lately, I guess, coming back from an injury and posting several wins, a couple of shutouts and breaking the record for most wins by any goalie in history). However, on Sunday, he was bested by the guy that nobody thought could be a starter in the NHL. He looked lucky sometimes, but as they adage goes - you have to be good, to be lucky.

This last game was a major test for the Bruins. Jersey are second in the Conference, and have enough momentum that they could end up in the hunt for the President's Trophy, if other teams oblige. However, the Bruins played the Devils hard, largely neutralizing Elias, Langenbruner and minimizing the impact that Brodeur could have on the game. It was the first game in at least two months where I've seen the B's play the full 60-minutes at top speed.

With the Bruins enjoying a six day break (longer than any vacation I took for at least 10 years, for which I blame someone...mostly me), it remains to be seen how sharp they will be on the flip side. However, given how well they played when it mattered, against a team that should be taken seriously, I look forward to Saturday's game against the Maple Leafs.

Which, as always, I recognize could be words I learn to regret.