bruins win 4 - 2 and force game seven!

The Bruins rolled into Game Six and quickly built upon the dominance they showed in Game Five. Within the first 2 minutes, Mark Recchi tipped home a Patrice Bergeron cross-crease pass, and a short while later, with Byron Bitz screening Cam Ward, Steve Montador's point shot found the twine. The Bruins went into the first period intermission up 2 - 0.

Early in the second period, the Hurricanes were able to pot a goal after a crease-front scramble, but the second period proved to be the Bruins' best. They put two more pucks past Cam Ward and entirely controlled the play in the middle frame.

On the 3rd goal, Milan Lucic dangled in from the blue line, past three 'Cane defenders, before finding a wide open Marc Savard with a backhand pass, and on the 4th goal, Patrice Bergeron fed a long, cross-crease pass to Chuck Kobasew, who was able to tip it in past Ward. The second period saw the Bruins at their dynamic best, maintaining control over the puck and their emotions as they brought the game to Carolina. Boston would leave the second period up 4 - 1.

However, the third period proved to be complex. After five-or-so minutes of back and forth hockey, the Bruins ran into penalty trouble and Carolina was able to claw another goal back, bringing the score to 4 - 2. As someone who saw the final game between Carolina and New Jersey, I am pretty well aware of how little traction the 'Canes need to climb over you.

Ultimately, though, Tim Thomas was at his heart-stopping best, getting in front of pucks he really had no business saving, and weathering long stretches where Carolina had Boston pinned in the defensive zone. The B's killed off two penalties in the final ten minutes and were ultimately able to hang on for the win.

Game Seven, back in Boston, is scheduled for Thursday. I cannot tell you how excited I am.

Of Note: Marc Savard left the game in the third period and did not return. He was the victim of a knee-on-knee collision. It is unclear how serious his injury is, or whether it was decided to send him to the showers to prevent further injury, given that the Bruins were up 4 - 1 at the time. Obviously his presence in Game Seven is important; Byron Bitz continued to impress, adding another physical element that Carolina had seen only from Lucic, and making his presence felt down-low, in front of the net, and along the boards; I did not hear Blake Wheeler's name once, which makes me think he was scratched in favour of Shawn Thornton, who also had an effective, gritty game for the Bruins - his development this year has been remarkable; Patrice Bergeron played the best game I have ever seen him play. He was outstanding in all three zones.

bruins 6 - ducks 0

The Bruins had one of those games where every bounce went their way, and practically everything they threw at the net found the twine - regardless of which goalie the Ducks were relying on at the time.

Matt Hunwick returned from the AHL to get the B's first goal, and the torrent started shortly thereafter: Michael Ryder for two, Chuck Kobasew for two, and Bitz getting a nice goal top shelf, while being harrassed by defenders.

It was also quite a chippy affair - George Parros scrapped with Shawn Thornton, and a few minutes later, Lucic got punched and then laid a few to the head of Mike Brown. I don't know if that counts, because he's basically just punching a helmet, but it certainly looked impressive.

I guess that's the point - I really don't know...

Despite all of this, the story of the night, so often the case, was the play of Tim Thomas. His shutout brings his total to four for the season, and even with the Bruins' recent losses, he still leads the league in both save percentage and goals against average.

Some footage of tonight's game can be found here.

bruins 2 - sharks 5

The much ballyhooed First-in-East-versus-First-in-West, or if you prefer, Joe-Thornton's-Return-to-Boston game happened last night, and the Sharks came out on top.

The Bruins led the game 2-1 entering the third period, but two lucky bounces gave the Sharks the tie and the lead, and they eventually iced the game with an empty net goal.

Which is not to say the Sharks did not deserve the win - they absolutely did. The Bruins were hitting and getting tons of shots in the first period, which diminished in the second, and diminished further in the third. The Sharks, for their part, seemed surprised to find their effort matched in the first period, and by sustaining their offense as the Bruins dipped, they were able to mount the comeback.

This was only the second Sharks game I had seen this year, and they are an impressive bunch. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov was equal parts blase and amazing, and Dan Boyle is worth all the hype he's received this year.

As for the battle between Chara and Thornton, it's hard to say who won. Chara had an alright night, but became more scrambly as the game went by (primarily due to an increased level of forecheck pressure), while Thornton got a goal, but one that merely deflected off his foot.

Making matters worse, the Bruins lost Chuck Kobasew for a good portion of the game, and lost Pettri Nokelainen with a serious eye-injury (he was high-sticked by Dan Boyle, and the play was not called).

The Bruins players see the game as a lesson learned, according to Coach Julien:

"That’s the way our players react. They look at it as lesson learned, I think they were disappointed because when we went into the third period with a lead and thought we could continue to compete. But it took a few mistakes and again just not having enough, I guess enough energy to push back, having to play with a short bench and they just didn’t have it tonight. And unfortunately against a team like that it’s already pretty hard to play against them with a full lineup and when you have to shorten your bench because of injuries, [that] certainly doesn’t help matters. Give them credit, guys, they played a real good game, they played a patient game. We had a good first period, but as the game went on they started picking up their game and we had our hands full."

This was the Bruins second straight loss. I realize I didn't post anything about Saturday night's loss to Philly, but I was away for the weekend. It felt like old news by the time I had returned.

bruins 4 - senators 3 (SO)

The B's squandered a 2 goal lead in last night's game against the Senators, and actually ended up trailing the Ottawa club until the final few minutes of the match.

Chuck Kobasew got the Bruins 3rd goal deep in the third period, which tied the game and sent the two teams into a scoreless overtime. Ultimately it was a shoot-out goal by PJ Axelsson that secured the win for the Bruins, but it was a wild ride getting there.

Axelsson, despite getting the shoot-out winner, had a really rough game. I noticed that he was playing big minutes for the club, playing on the top line through the first two periods, and on every powerplay, as well as his usual spot on the penalty kill. Maybe he was filling a roster spot left open by Lucic, but the increased minutes did not serve the long-time Bruin well: Axelsson was responsible for two brutal give-aways that led to two Senators goals, and basically looked shaky all night.

Here's hoping that Axelsson retains his place in the shoot-out lineup, but returns to his usual spot on the third line, for the next game.

Tim Thomas did more than keep his team in the game, stopping a few unbelievable chances, including an unreal double-pad-stack in overtime, shutting down a clear breakaway chance.

The Senators looked far more like the club everyone expected them to be this year, rather than the basement dwellers that they have become. However, the Bruins should not have had as much trouble retaining the two-goal lead, and will have to tighten up their game if they expect to beat stronger clubs in this, the run toward the playoffs.

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 4 - hurricanes 2

The Bruins ended the holiday break with another game against their Conference rivals, the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite being heavily out-played in the second period (where the shot totals through two periods amounted to 25-12) the Bruins were able to withstand the Hurricane(s) and pull out a win.

Blake Wheeler had two goals, Michael Ryder had one, and Chuck Kobasew added an empty net goal to seal the win. Tim Thomas got the victory in nets, proving that the B's have a legitimate One A-One B goaltending tandem.

With the win, the Bruins pull themselves to within 2 points of the league-leading San Jose Sharks, who seem to get all the attention this year.

Of Note: The Bruins play litmus-test-rivals the Atlanta Thrashers tonight; with last night's win, David Krejci's point streak extends to seven games; the win was the Bruins' seventh-straight over the Hurricanes.

bruins 7 - sabres 4

Like many Bruins fans, I'm fair chuffed about the team's winning streak, but I am also wary of any signs that a calamitous slide may be on its way. Last night's game against the Sabres certainly started in a way that suggested that the wheels may be loosening, en route to falling off completely.

Starter Manny Fernandez (henceforth known simply as the MF) allowed 3 goals on 6 shots, and the Bruins found themselves down 4-2 early in the match. However, the MF was able to regain his focus, and the team was able to staunch the bleeding and mount a comeback.

The comeback was pretty monumental. Savard and Chara each potted a goal to even the score, and then continued to produce. Chara added a second goal, and Savard ended the night with 4 points, bringing him to 600 points in his career, while simultaneously saving my ass in the hockey pool. After being down 4-2, the Bruins scored 5 unanswered goals and came out with the win.

The Bruins are now 7-0-1 in their last eight games, and have enjoyed their longest winning streak since 2002. As I say, like all prudent Bruins fans, I'm cautious about this streak, but when a team can fall behind and keep battling as they have, finding ways to win as they go, it's hard to not feel good about their effort.

Note: Chuck Kobasew is back from his "lower body" injury, and in 7 games this year, he has had four multiple-point nights. The Bruins have killed off 33 of 35 penalties in the last 8 games (94.3% on the PK). They retain first place in the NE Divsion, and are two points out of First in the Eastern Conference.

bruins 3 - sabres 1

In the late 80s, I hated the Buffalo Sabres.

When the Bruins were unrolling a team with top stars that would reach the Finals in 1987-1988 and again in 1990-91, they seemed to always be losing to the Sabres during the season.

And while the Bruins ended up vaulting over the Sabres in both the playoff rounds for the seasons mentioned above, I still grew to use the Sabres as a barometer of how good the Bruins really were. The Sabres provided a guage of whether the Bruins were "the real deal" or not (I still do this the Bruins play the Thrashers or Canadiens).

And though the game has changed and the Sabres are no longer a specific measurement of Bruins success for me, last night's 3-1 win was significant for showing what the Bruins are capable of:

• With the win, the Bruins pulled themselves into a tie with Buffalo for 1st place in the Eastern Conference;
• The Bruins improve to 7-3-3, and have won 3 straight at home;
• Manny Fernandez got the start and proved himself to be a more-than-reliable 1a or 1b keeper in tandem with Tim Thomas;
• Chuck Kobasew returned to the Bruins lineup, after missing every game since the opener with a broken leg. He immediately made an impact, registering a goal and an assist.

The Bruins have, over the course of their most recent run, been competitive in every game and been fun to watch. Given how effort has brought the wins for this team, I just hope that the effort continues.

The Bruins play Chicago on Wednesday.

The image above is of PJ Axelson and Manny Fernandez, photo by Lisa Hornak.