Bruins Shut Out Stanley Cup Champion Penguins

The Bruins rolled out their black retro sweaters and took on the defending Stanley Cup champions tonight in Boston, shutting out Sydney and company, 3-0.

Tim Thomas got the start in nets, and backstopped the Bruins to their most complete game of the season.

From the first face-off, through the final moments of the game where they were down 6 players to 4 (on the penalty-kill with the Penguins' goalie on the bench for the extra attacker), the Bruins kept their intensity up and played the up-tempo-defensive system that brought them so much success last season. Matt Hunwick, Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron got the goals for the Bruins.

The difference between tonight's game and the game against, say, the Red Wings last week, was remarkable. Tonight it seemed like the Bruins had adapted to life without Savard, Lucic and Kessel (two injuries and a trade respectively), and had begun to find a bit of chemistry on their lines.

David Krejci returned from battling Swine Flu and looked good throughout the game. Michael Ryder did not register a goal but caused a lot of havoc, and both Chara and Morris were effective at shutting down the Penguin forwards.

While I recognize that the Pens were without a few key players (most notably Malkin and Gonchar), tonight's game was fairly evenly fought, and there were chances at either end of the ice. The 3-0 score had less to do with the play of the Penguins (and nothing to do with how Marc-Andre Fleury played) and more to do with how the Bruins kept attacking the Pens in waves.

Frankly, it was good to see, and an indication of the full potential of this team which we've only seen in brief glimpses so far, this season.

Of Note: Raymond Bourque was in attendance tonight, as his son Chris was suiting up for the Penguins; Tonight's win marked the first time the Bruins had won 2-straight games this season; Tim Thomas recorded his 14th career shutout, passing Andy Moog for 10th on the Bruins all-time list.

Breaking News - Kessel Traded to Maple Leafs

My accomplice and I just turned off the DVD of the 1st season of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (which should tell you quite a bit about me and my squiggly ways) and landed on TSN, who are reporting that fully-gruntled winger Phil Kessel has just been traded to the Maple Leafs.

Coming back Boston's way are a first and second round pick in next year's draft and a first round pick the year after. So...uh...some future success, I guess.

Kessel will be rewarded with a contract that pays him $5.4 million dollars a season.

Now, call me old fashioned, but there was a time when a team would never trade a high-potency player within the Conference, let alone the same Division, and never to another Original Six rival. So I guess this is the new NHL.

Or, maybe the new NHL is the one where guys who put up numbers like 29 points in 70 games, 37 points in 82 games and 70 points in 80 games deserve $5.4 million a year. Maybe everyone is Bobby Holik now. In the future, everyone will be Bobby Holik for 15 minutes.

However, I'm not going to rag on Phil Kessel. Instead, I'll simply provide a link to the very funny Big Bad Bruins blog, who accurately sum up Kessel with a very astute math equation.

I guess we'll see you around, Phil...around eight times this year. I sincerely hope Toronto treats you like it treats everyone else. You deserve that, at least.

Pre-Season NHL - Bruins 2 - Rangers 1

After spending a part of the afternoon tracking down new P2P sites to watch Bruins' pre-season games online, I realized that the NHL Network (which I get on TV) was carrying tonight's match up between the Bruins and the Rangers. The game was fun, even if I had to listen to the announcers for MSG's TV station.

Pre-season games are, of course, ridiculous. The veterans in the club haven't quite shaken off the summer rust, and the billions of kids fighting for roster spots are often out of position, out of sync, and sometimes, out of their depth.

However, tonight's game provided a good opportunity to see some of the less-heralded Bruins, and get a sense of what they can bring. Some highlights included...

Bruins' goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask, who held a shutout until halfway through the 3rd period and looked solid through the game. Rask is trying to play himself into the backup role behind Vezina-winner Tim Thomas, and, pre-season or not, Rask looked completely NHL-ready.

Marco Sturm: It was really good to see Marco Sturm back. Sturm missed nearly all of last season, but looked solid on the right wing tonight, showing the kids what kind of passing some veteran vision can provide.

Johnny Boychuk was paired up with Chara tonight, and outplayed him, in my opinion. Whether Boychuk makes the big squad this year remains to be seen, but he was a physical presence in the game, and generally speaking made smart reads.

Milan Lucic has openly discussed that he's trying to play himself onto the 2010 Team Canada squad, and he clearly took the ice with this goal in mind. He was his usual physical self, but also reminded everyone of his magic mitts, sending a great pass into the shallow slot for Max Sauve's goal. Despite this goal, Sauve is not listed on the Bruins' roster on BostonBruins.com.

Finally, Zach Hamill had the opening goal tonight and looked pretty solid throughout the game. He's been on the cusp of making the Bruins club for a couple of years now, but always ends up back in Providence. Perhaps the shakeup around the whole Kessel situation will bring about a roster spot for Hamill.

Some underwhelming players tonight: Chuck Kobasew - who is no replacement for PJ Axelsson, Brad Marchand - who may just be a kid, but has proven through Team Canada just how influential he can be in a game, and Jamie Arniel - who played okay, but seemed to disappear at points.

Still, for a game without most of the Bruins high-powered players (Savard, Kessel, Krejci, Bergeron, Ryder, etc.) I was pleased with the effort, and pleased with the win.

Mostly, though, I was just pleased to be watching the Bruins again.

Kessel Saga Reaches New Impass

Greetings from the off-season!

Just a quick word to say that the NHL Regular Season is about 3 weeks away, and Bruins action will be heating up in the next little while. So expect some new posts at Black, White and Gold. Because otherwise the off-season is a bit of a slog.

To whit: The only thing more boring than the latest Phoenix Coyotes tales of woe, or possibly the newest high drama in the NHLPA, is the contract status for Bruins' winger Phil Kessel.

The Bruins have about $1.7 million left in the coffers under the NHL salary-cap rules, and Kessel seems to be demanding about $4 to $5 million per season. Which is shocking to me. Now, I'm not that good at math, but I think that means the Bruins will not be able to re-sign Kessel without moving other players to do so.

Complicating things, the latest update is that Kessel has stated (through his agent) that he will no longer negotiate with the B's.

On the other side, GM Peter Chiarelli has stated that the Bruins will match any contract that another NHL club offers Kessel. Perhaps the thinking in the Bruins' camp is to simply wait and let the other clubs (rather than Kessel himself) determine Kessel's worth. Because honestly, is Kessel worth $5 million dollars a season? That would put him on-par with Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, and frankly, neither his numbers nor his two-way game is on par with these players.

So why is any of this news? It's not really.

But this saga maintains it's status on various sports sites because one of the teams most-interested in Kessel are the Maple Leafs. As Alex Mogilny once proved, even the hemorrhoids of NHL players are front page news for the voracious fans in Toronto.

What is most-likely to happen with Kessel? Probably that the Bruins will match any contract offer, and Kessel will spend his last year with the Bruins.

Realistically, of course, another club could offer him a contract so exaggerated that the Bruins have no choice but to let him walk away. I mean, if someone offers Kessel a $7.5 million contract, are the Bruins going to match this, and put Kessel on-par with Chara's contract? Not likely.

The ideal, obviously, would be for the Bruins to match any contract offers, and then begin shopping Kessel. While I may balk at him receiving $5 per year, I think he's a strong winger with tremendous potential, and if he doesn't want to negotiate with the Bruins, perhaps he can yield a high return via trade.

If nothing else, it would end the debate about his contract that's been ongoing for at least a year. Something hockey fans - even those few in Phoenix - would embrace.

bruins trade aaron ward, sign derek morris

Sometimes the wheeling and dealing behind the scenes of NHL clubs make little sense to outsiders such as you and me.

Yesterday the Bruins traded Aaron Ward back to Carolina (where he won a cup), for Patrick Eaves and a late-round draft pick. The Bruins then put Eaves on unconditional waivers, seemingly with no intention of having him join the club.

All of the above seemed to be an effort to clear some space under the salary cap, and left the blogosphere (read: normal humans who do not work for the Bruins) suspecting this salary dump was to enable GM Chiarelli to re-sign Phil Kessel.

Hang on to your hat: the blogosphere got something wrong.

The Bruins went out this morning (or, late last night if your sleep-patterns match my own) and signed free-agent defender Derek Morris.

Morris, as you may remember, was one of the names being thrown around at last year's trade deadline as a potential pick-up for a team looking to bolster their back line with an offensive-defenseman. He ended up signing with the Rangers, because apparently, at some point every NHL player has to.

Now Morris, the former first-round draft pick (Flames in '96), comes to the Bruins on a one-year deal.

The reality is that Morris has a truly great first pass out of the zone, he's solid on the powerplay, offering a right-handed shot and enough playmaking to play pivot from the blue line with the man advantage. So there are skills there, for sure.

On the other hand, without Aaron Ward, the Bruins are far more suspect defensively. Partnered with Zdeno Chara last season, Ward was responsible for making sure Chara looked Norris-worthy, covering up for defensive gaffs by the Bruins captain.

Ward blocked shots, dished out hits, and played with a nasty streak that inspired a similar attitude in other Bruins. He played injured for nearly two seasons, but unfortunately, that meant that with his salary ($2.5 million) and age, he became a player on the bubble as the Bruins moved forward under salary cap constraints.

Derek Morris is simply not a replacement for Ward's presence in the defensive zone, and frankly none of the remaining Bruins defenders are stay-at-home types who can pick up the slack. This absence will remain an issue for the Bruins as the season approaches, and getting a legitimate defensive-defenseman will become more pressing if the Bruins wish to build on last season's achievements.

...Arguably more pressing than re-signing Phil Kessel.

bruins free agents, salary cap and next year's plans

This weekend's NHL Draft (taking place just a few minutes away from my house, in fact) has brought a spotlight on the Bruins' players who are not locked to long-term contracts.

In particular, a rumour was circling yesterday involving Phil Kessel, who becomes a Restricted Free Agent as of July 1st, that would see him go to Toronto for Tomas Kaberle. The deal seems to have broken down due to nobody really understanding whether it was Kessel and draft picks for Kaberle, or Kaberle and draft picks for Kessel.

Ridiculous.

This reminds me of how, a few years ago, the Bruins announced they had signed Jonas Hoglund only to have the deal annulled due to a faulty fax machine, or how Ray Shero agreed to become GM only to then change it up and sign with Pittsburgh while the Bruins were organizing the press conference to announce his arrival (on the other side of that, while Shero has the Cup, I think Chiarelli has done the better work as GM).

Regardless, what this all suggests is that the Bruins will probably try to move Kessel rather than ink him to a long-term deal. The money that Kessel will probably demand on the open market (somewhere around $5 million, when he's probably at a stage of his development that should garner $2.75 - $3.5 million) was better spent by the B's on David Krejci - who, while less explosive than Kessel, is a more consistent player in both ends of the ice and is at a different stage of development.

Kessel reminds me of a young Marian Hossa, who entered the league as a legitimate offensive threat but would disappear for long stretches of games. While Kessel had a far better season than last year, and has shown a tremendous amount of character in both his professional and personal life, he does seem to be one of those players that simply needs more experience to fully bloom into a well-rounded NHL player. I have no doubt it will come, but the reality of today's NHL is that the Bruins only have a certain amount of time and cap room to wait for Kessel to become the player he can be.

Having said that, Chiarelli has stated he'll match any offer put forward for Kessel, but given the team's salary cap concerns, I would expect that Kessel will be moved shortly thereafter, regardless of how much they want to retain Kessel.

When the season ended, the B's had several important pieces remaining unsigned - including the aforementioned Krejci and Kessel, but most importantly, Vezina Trophy winning goalie, Tim Thomas. The Bruins made the right move and ensured Thomas will remain with the club for the next four years by inking him to a $20 million contract. Props to Chiarelli for getting this deal done.

This means that backup Manny Fernandez will be allowed to walk (or, more reasonably, hobble) into free agency, and that Tuuka Rask will probably be brought up for NHL seasoning. It should make for an interesting and emotionally explosive goaltending tandem. Hopefully, the Bruins have maintained their stick sponsors through next season.

Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz are also RFAs this year, and both are young enough and played well enough in the playoffs to warrant contracts. I expect the Bruins will find a way to bring both these guys into the fold. These two are the Bruins' primary concerns after Kessel as they represent high quality prospects with tremendous size and desire to get dirty.

Coming up on Unrestricted Free Agency are defensive stalwarts PJ Axelsson and Stephane Yelle, and ironically, the less-defensively-sound Steve Montador. I believe Axelsson is the longest-serving Bruin but I doubt the B's will be able to retain him with the other players they have to bring under contract. In fact, I would be surprised if, after money is allocated to Bitz and Hunwick, the Bruins have any budget room for another big-ticket UFA, so I suspect they'll all be set free (including Shane Hnidy and the handsome Mark Recchi).

If the Bruins lose / set free Hnidy and Montador, but are able to bring Hunwick under contract, that will mean that he and Mark Stuart will see increased responsibilities next season. I would suspect that Chiarelli will also try to bring in another veteran with a mean streak, as that would retain the identity of the team and offer some mentorship to younger defenders without over-burdening Chara with yet another responsibility.

Prospects Wacey Rabbit, Carl Soderberg and Martin St. Pierre are also Restricted Free Agents with Soderberg being the priority signing. Should those kids all come on board they could serve with the Big Club in limited roles, potentially replacing Yelle and, through group-effort, Axelsson.

I sort of feel like the Bruins can reel in Hunwick and Bitz, give them a bigger role, and try to sign Kessel in order to deal him for other young guns. If they can do the above, and let the other UFAs they have coming up walk away, then they will experience a drop in team depth, but they could get lucky and have some kids fill in admirably (it happened this year with nearly every young kid on the team, with Krejci, Wheeler and Stuart having wonderful years), and still be a very competitive team next year, while building toward the seasons that follow.

On that score, the bigger concern for the future is what to do at the end of next season when Wheeler, Lucic, Mark Stuart and Marc Savard all come up as Free Agents. Ugh. Headacheville.

bruins win 4 - 0 - bring the series to three games to two

The Bruins endured about five minutes of the Hurricanes' assault before simply taking over tonight's game. Phil Kessel had two goals and Zdeno Chara had two assists in what could be his best game of the playoffs.

I'm not sophisticated enough to know what changes Claude Julien brought in for Game Five, but I do know that the Bruins came out flying, winning the physical battles with the Hurricane forwards, and bringing back the all-attack-defense that made the Bruins successful all season.

Tonight's game was the first time the Bruins have played the Hurricanes at their full potential, and the difference between Game Five and Game Four was remarkable. The Bruins kept the 'Canes pinned in their zone for long stretches and hit everything that moved, frustrated the speed of the Hurricane forwards, and rushed the Carolina defenders into making mistakes with the puck.

The Bruins also activated their defenders, who were pinching on the side walls for loose pucks whenever they had a chance, or to maintain constant body-contact on the 'Canes players, which began to wear them down as the game progressed. By the end of the game, Eric Staal was a step slower than he has been all series, in large part due to the constant wear and tear. On top of all this, Tim Thomas, who was great when he needed to be, recorded his first career playoff shut out.

With any luck, the Bruins will bring this same intensity to Game Six, and will continue to play with the angry edge that they had tonight. It brings results and forces Carolina into playing Bruin hockey, and gives the B's a distinct edge.

bruins sweep canadiens, win tonight's game 4 - 1

Despite again giving up the first goal in tonight's game (and regular readers of this blog will know my feelings about that) the Bruins were able to keep continuous pressure on the Canadiens to come back for the win, and complete the 4-game sweep of their arch-rivals.

Michael Ryder had a monster of a game with two goals and an assist, and looked very committed to personally ending the Habs' season, and Phil Kessel officially put the game away by scoring on a breakaway as his minor penalty ended.

Tim Thomas had another strong outing, which is so commonplace that it is often overlooked on a nightly basis, but he absolutely deserves recognition. The B's would simply not be in the position they are had it not been for Thomas' Vezina-candidate season.

The Canadiens' fans opted to not boo the US National anthem tonight, after a request was broadcast over the PA, but they still chose to boo Carey Price throughout the game. Price eventually threw his arms up and shook his head at the crowd's lack of support, but was left out to dry so many times in tonight's game that only those who know little about hockey would hang the loss on his shoulders. Should he have got the start? I don't know, but it wasn't his decision and he played well, so booing him is ridiculous.

In the end, the Canadiens simply did not have enough in the tank to take on the Bruins in the playoffs (or all regular season, frankly), and at points in this series seemed really out of sync with the game the Bruins were bringing to them. The B's clogged up passing lanes, continuously hit defenders trying to head-man the puck, dug for pucks in the corners, and attacked with speed at every opportunity. It is a relentless system and the Habs certainly saw the business-end of it all year.

For my part, I am OVERJOYED that the Bruins put the Canadiens out. I would have preferred that the teams not meet until much later playoff rounds, so that another Canadian club could battle deep into the playoffs and they could each be more battle-hardened, but obviously, any Bruins fan relishes a win over the Habs at any time.

With a couple of periods as exceptions, The Bruins really played well in this series, and they deserve to move on. My goal for the club this year was to improve on last year's playoff record, which they've now done by reaching Round Two. The team will have a few days off before finding out who their next opponent is, and I'll be here in Montreal, watching neighbours slowly remove the CH flags from their cars.

Quietly chuckling to myself, and waiting to see who the team plays next.

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.

bruins 0 - blue jackets 2

Last night's Bruins game was one that I could not track down online, so I had to rely on highlights. And I did not like what I saw. The Jackets were out-hitting, out-shooting and basically dominating the B's, sending dudes flying and getting to loose pucks.

Steve Mason registered his league-leading 9th shutout, whereas the Bruins have dropped 5 of their last 6 games.

Of note: Phil Kessel received a clean hit and left the game in the first period (he would return) and Tim Thomas was absolutely run by Jiri Novotny, breaking Thomas' mask and forcing the netminder to use Manny Fernandez's helmet. What disturbed me was that there was no penalty call on the play (despite it being an obvious and deliberate body-check) and NO Bruin decided to teach Novotny a lesson.

This is, I feel, part of the larger issue with this team right now. They are not fighting for pucks, not fighting for space in front of the net, and frankly are not even fighting for each other. If it hasn't been clear from earlier posts, I am very frustrated with the Bruins' lack of consistent effort lately, and am not sure how many losses it will take for them to figure out what they need to do to win.

bruins trade rumours - the way forward (so to speak)

Given how voracious the hockey-gossip mill can be, and all the names being floated out there as possible trades to any team before the looming NHL trade deadline (seemingly every player on every team is available, if you listen to the media), I thought it may be a good time to stop and comment on what the Bruins may do.

As has been pointed out by Fluto Shinzawa at the Boston Globe, the B's face off-season challenges where both goalies (Thomas and Fernandez) are becoming Unrestricted Free-Agents (UFA) this summer; where Krejci, Kessel (pictured above), Hunwick, Lashoff, Karsums, and Soderberg are all becoming Restricted Free Agents (RFA) this summer; and where Wheeler, Lucic, Nokelainen, Stuart, and (goalie prospect) Rask are becoming RFA's in 2010-2011. Given the restrictions of the NHL salary-cap, there is simply no way that the Bruins team we see this year will be the same one next year, and it may be remarkably different the following year. There is not enough money in the pot to keep them all.

Also, HockeyBuzz inside-man Eklund has been regularly reporting on the hot coals under the Erik Cole trade rumours. It seems Edmonton has been unimpressed with Cole's lack of productivity, and the Bruins are looking for a left-handed shot on the top 6 forward lines - to replace the firepower of the injured Marco Sturm. There are also recurring rumours about Chris Pronger joining the B's, or Keith Tkatchuk coming back to his hometown of Boston (something I, for one, am not advocating).

Given Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli's savvy management thus far, I think it behooves the team to move one of the UFAs or RFAs coming up this year, to try and better the team for this season's playoff run. With a few exceptions, this Bruins club is VERY young, but in today's NHL, there is not the luxury of "waiting til next year" for a legitimate shot at a deep playoff ride - there is no guarantee that the prospects and restricted free agents you've amassed will be there for you in the coming years, or that the chemistry in the room will work out to your advantage (look no further than the Senators or Penguins for a magical combo of crazy talent + lack-of-chemistry = total nightmare seasons).

While it pains me to think of some of my favourite B's being moved before their contract expires, it frankly is the smartest option in a marketplace where a team's future depends on maximizing the returns on players for years to come.

If the Bruins were to let any of their hotshot youngsters depart in the off-season - either to test the market as UFAs, or by being offered ridiculous contract-sheets that the Bruins would have to match (hello Dustin Penner!) - I'd feel a lot worse than if they moved whichever players they most risked losing to get some returns.

In this way you are losing the immediate future of a familiar lineup, but reducing the chances of getting caught in an off-season without these players, or the return they could offer.

On the Cole rumours specifically - I have a hard time believing that ANY player's numbers would not benefit if they are partnered with Marc Savard or David Krejci - two players gifted with an unparalleled ability to dish the puck to a sniper. In that sense, he's a good player to consider in the Black White and Gold.

bruins 3 - devils 4 (OT)

I was out for the early part of the evening, enjoying Johnny Walkers in a local watering hole (sadly, surrounded by Habs fans; happily, watching their club lose), and returned home only to see the 3rd period of tonight's Bruins game against the Devils, streaming online.

When I tuned in the B's were down 2-0, but came out flying in the 3rd period, showing the consistent speed and forechecking that has been missing from their game in recent weeks. Within five minutes Chuck Kobasew used his pace to capitalize upon a Scott Clemmensen turnover behind the net and, while bungling his wraparound attempt, was still able to get the Bruins first goal of the game.

The Bruins used that momentum to keep up the attack, and around the 7-minute mark Phil Kessel - back tonight after missing games with mono (these guys are kids, remember) - fed a puck from behind the net to Marc Savard at the right post. Savard buried it five hole and the game was suddenly tied.

A few minutes later, Devils forward Michael Rupp drew an interference call against Savard, and on the ensuing powerplay Dennis Wideman's point-shot found its way through the crowd to bulge the twine behind Clemmensen.

Oh, how everything is great at this point! It's raining amber beer and the two feet of snow outside has been replaced by fluffy white sand! Joy! What could possibly go wrong?

Needless to say, the Bruins were not able to hold the lead. While I only saw the third period, Tim Thomas looked to be fighting the puck on every shot and dump in, and his rebound control seemed out of whack. With only 1.45 left in the game, the Bruins let Patrik Elias drive the net and tie it up, and the game went to overtime.

In OT the Bruins kept up their attack, but unfortunately, as also happened in the third period, the defensive part of the Bruins' game did not match their offensive efforts. Just over a minute into the extra frame, Colin White put a slapshot on net, and Jamie Langenbrunner spun the rebound past a prone Thomas. Devils win it in OT.

I'm not really sure what to make of what I saw. In one sense, the Bruins stormed back against a stingy defensive club, potting three fast goals, and showing their dominance with the puck. They got the home crowd riled. They connected fast one-touch passes and broke out of their zone with confidence and speed.

In another sense they ended up losing a game that they had in hand with only a minute left. And I guess we shall see what Coach Julien has to say about it all (updates to come!)

Of Note: The Bruins again gave up the first goal in the game. Phil Kessel returned and looked solid. Milan Lucic played a far better game than he had against Washington and is hopefully returning to form.

bruins all-star selections

While every professional and amateur media outlet is busy complaining about the All-Star Game and its flawed selection system, I merely want to post to acknowledge those Bruins that were selected.

The Bruins boast three players that will be playing in the main portion of the All-Star Game - Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas were all selected.

In the young-stars portion of the event, Blake Wheeler and Milan Lucic will be representing the rookie- and sophomore-level Bruins.

Joining these five players will be Bruins Coach, Claude Julien, who is automatically selected by being the number one coach in the Eastern Conference at the half-way point of the season. I am especially pleased for Julien, who has brought a consistent work ethic (and results!) to this squad, and, after being shuttled out of two clubs despite having winning records, is finally getting the respect he deserves as one of the League's best coaches.

That the Bruins are sending six individuals who boast the Black, White and Gold is wonderful. The All-Star Game is meant to be a showcase of the best talent in the league, and while the NHL's policy of including at least one player from every team counteracts this idea, the Bruins are having enough of a breakout year to warrant these six selections.

Not included in the game -- David Krejci or Phil Kessel -- both of whom have put up numbers far in excess of other players who are attending (and yes, Alexei Kovalev, I am looking at you) -- or Manny Fernandez, who is second overall in goals-against-average, and fourth overall in save percentage.

sabres 4 - bruins 2

The Bruins were seeking their 15th straight home win yesterday afternoon, but met with stiff competition from Division rivals, the Sabres.

Tim Thomas got the start over (the more logical choice of) Manny Fernandez, who has won each of his recent games against Buffalo, whereas Thomas has lost three straight to the Sabres.

Goalmouth scrambles, deflections, and loose defensive coverage allowed the Sabres to get the lead and keep it throughout this game, and while Boston was able to respond with goals from Thornton and Kessel, it was not enough for the win.

Of Note: The Bruins home-win streak therefore ends at 14 games. This is the B's first home loss since October 23rd. They play again on Tuesday, when they welcome the Wild to the Hub.

bruins 5 - penguins 2

The Bruins took on the Penguins last night, looking for their ninth straight win. Crosby and company have been on a bit of a skid of late, but of course, boasting the assets that the Penguins do, they are never far from turning a losing record around.

In fact, the Penguins got on the board first, with Sykora beating Tim Thomas on a rebound. In the second period, Zdeno Chara pinched from the blue line and tipped home the tying goal, and a few minutes later Marc Savard potted a highlight reel wrist shot over Marc-Andre Fleury.

Dupuis tied it up for the Penguins, but that would be all they could muster against the Black, White and Gold. The Bruins went on to take the lead 30 seconds later on a shot from Phil Kessel, and scored two more unanswered goals (including a short-handed goal from Martin St-Pierre, his first in the NHL).

Of Note: The Bruins have a firm grip on first place in the Eastern Conference and are tied with the Sharks for first overall; the Bruins play Pittsburgh again on New Year's Day.

Happy New Year to all the loyal (and not so loyal) readers of Black, White and Gold. I hope 2009 brings you health, happiness, and one giant silver cup we can all call our own.

bruins 2 - thrashers 1

Manny Fernandez got the start against the Thrashers last night, and once again, the goaltender kept the Black, White and Gold in the game.

The Bruins were largely outpaced for most of the match, and probably didn't deserve the win. It was one of those games where the goalie kept making miracles happen, and / or the Thrasher forwards had weird bounces or unlucky deflectiions spoil their chances to pot a few. In short, the game could have gone either way.

In these sorts of games, I always think about what the result would be if the B's were playing a more formidable foe. For instance, would a Shark or Red Wing forward have capitalized on chances that a Thrasher forward missed?

The argument is moot, of course, given that the Bruins have beaten the Red Wings this season and have yet to play the Sharks, and also that the Bruins may slightly change their game against the Sharks when they finally play them (and let's hope it is in the Finals).

For last night's game, the Bruins saw goals scored by Phil Kessel (perhaps beginning his next 18-game point streak?) and the winner deflected home by Michael Ryder on a pass from David Krejci.

As an aside to all those Canadiens fans who gave me grief about the Bruins signing Michael Ryder in the off-season to a $4 million contract, or to any of the Bruins faithful who felt that Glen Murray would have done a comparable job if he was retained through this year, I point out one statistic: Ryder now leads the league in game-winning goals with 7 tallies, and more importantly, he's a Plus 15.

Not that you can break down a team by their statistics, but a few others jump out at me about this Bruins squad.

They currently retain the top Four of Five leaders in Plus / Minus (Savard, Wideman, Wheeler, Krejci) and with Lucic and Kessel, the Bruins have 6 Plus / Minus leaders in the Top Ten.

The Bruins also boast both goalies in the League's Top Five for goals-against-average.

Final statistic to ponder on this Sunday afternoon: The Bruins come through December with their second consecutive 11-win month.

So much for the December skid that I've been predicting since September. I am very pleased to be wrong.

bruins 2 - devils 0

Tim Thomas was his flappy but unflappable self in a shut0ut win against the Devils last night. The goaltending battle was impressive, as Scott Clemmensen continues his (some would say) unexpectedly strong performance in the wake of Martin Brodeur's injury, and Tim Thomas again showed why he's among the league's leading goaltenders.

Milan Lucic got the winning goal in the third period and some breathing room was provided by David Krejci, who potted an empty net goal.

Phil Kessel's point streak officially came to an end at 18 games, meaning he'll just have to score in the next 20 games to tie Adam Oates' record. You wanna get on that, Phil?

With this impressive, hard-fought win the Bruins have given a little present to every B's fan out there, each of whom has struggled in their own way through years of under-acheivement or tough-breaks.

They come from a far off land and brought gifts of Black, White and Gold (none of this Myrhh business), and we're wise men for accepting it!

Happy Holidays to my readers. Thanks for your continued support.

Go B's Go!

bruins 6 - st. louis 3

The Bruins rolled into St. Louis last night and rolled right over the Blues.

The match was hard-fought, and saw the Blues tying it at 2-2, and 3-3 before the Bruins finally broke it open in the third period. The difference could be the result of the Bruins' years of incompetance / draft picks finally coming to fruition. Which is to say, given another couple of years, the Blues may be as competitive as the Bruins this season -- all the key elements are there.

Blake Wheeler had an impressive night, scoring twice in the first 5 minutes (one, a highlight-of-the-season thus far, where he stickhandled through four Blues players to score shorthanded), and David Krejci continued his impressive play with three assists on the night.

Michael Ryder scored the go-ahead goal on a beautiful cross-ice pass from Axelsson, and Dennis Wideman and Marc Savard rounded out the scoring for the Black, White and Gold.

With the win, Manny Fernandez improves to 11-1-1, giving Coach Julien good reason to keep returning The MF to the nets instead of Tim Thomas. We Bruins faithful hope that when Thomas does get another start he continues his dominant play from earlier this season. The ideal situation would be two strong goaltenders pushing each other toward excellence (think 1989-90 Bruins, with the Reggie Lemelin and Andy Moog combo), rather than consuming each other like distinct cancers (think 2007-8 Senators with Ray Emery and Martin Gerber).

Of Note: Phil Kessel's point streak is now at 18 games; Patrice Bergeron's outlook after receiving another concussion this weekend looks better than expected, and the Bruins' training staff is optimistic; the Bruins are off to their best start since the 1929-30 seaon.

bruins 4 - hurricanes 2

Amidst an East-Coast-wide snowstorm yesterday afternoon, the Bruins faced some Hurricanes at home. The B's were hoping to advance an impressive 12-game home-win streak against the hot-and-cold 'Canes, and keep their feet firmly entrenched in the Eastern Conference lead.

The news of the game, however, was the loss of Patrice Bergeron to what looks to be another concussion. Bergeron tried to pick off Dennis Seidenberg coming through the neutral zone, only to have his jaw make contact with Seidenberg's shoulder. Bergeron was down for several minutes before leaving the ice under his own steam (with a little help from his teammates). Doctors are evaluating the damage, and while the injury is not as severe as the one Bergeron experienced last season, it is last season's injury that makes this one so much of a concern.

The rest of the Bruins were in fine form, however, with Phil Kessel extending his point-streak to 17 games -- the longest since Adam Oates' 20-game streak in 1997-98 -- and David Krejci extending his production to 24 points in 14 games.

The game winner came from Shawn Thornton (see image above, from his role as a cop in "Superbad"), who picked off a sloppy Joe Corvo pass behind the Carolina net and walked out front to score short-side. With the win, the Bruins extend their home win streak to 13 games, surpassing the 1983 Bruins' streak of 12 games, and now set their sites on breaking the Bruins 16-game home-win streak of the 1976 season.

Of Note: Manny Fernandez is now 10-1-1 in his last 12 starts; Marco Sturm, who returned to action briefly in the Bruins tilt against the Maple Leafs, has been placed on long-term (ie: 30 day) IR; Patrice Bergeron was walking around and talking to teammates in the intermission between the second- and third-periods, but there is no word yet on his condition.

The Bruins play in St. Louis tonight.

bruins 8 - leafs 5

The Bruins continued their home-win streak last night in a wild affair against their Division rivals, the Maple Leafs.

Over the course of the game, four different goalies took to the nets, causing a revolving door scenario that suggested that a revolving door might have actually been a better choice as Starter.

Vesa Toskala got the hook after two goals on four shots, only to be returned to the nets later in the game when Curtis Joseph proved that as a backup goalie, he's an excellent choice for a front-office position (seriously - CuJo is a great guy, and a phenomenal community benefactor, but he has not looked good in nets in recent years and it's hard to watch).

Tim Thomas got the start for the B's and looked pretty good early on, but after letting the Leafs claw their way back into the game (at one point the Bruins led 5-1 in the second period, but finished the period up only 6-5), Thomas' night ended in the second intermission. Fernandez came out for the third period and shut the Leafs out on 13 shots, allowing the Bruins to put some breathing room into the score.

David Krejci had his first career hat-trick, making a case that he stay with "the big team" and not be sent back to Providence this year. Phil Kessel extended his (NHL-leading) point-streak to 16 games, tying Bruins great (and fellow number 16) Rick "Nifty" Middleton's record in the 1983-84 season. The Bruins home-win streak improves to 12 games. Marc Savard had a 4-point night, helping me in my hockey pool.