For Bruins, Frustrations & Losses Mount

Unless you've only been a Bruins fan for a single season (in which case, let me be the first to tell you that there are far more robust bandwagons to hop on), you'll know that a big part of being a Bruins fan is negotiating the frustrations that come along with the job.

In my lifetime, the Bruins have not won a single Stanley Cup, despite making the Finals 5 times. Equally frustrating, they've also missed the playoffs 5 times. Hence, the radical dichotomy that exists inside all B's fans.

Witness the last two games for the Bruins as examples:

Against Florida on Thursday, the Bruins peppered Tomas Vokoun with 40-something shots, extensively outplayed the Panthers, received great goaltending from Tim Thomas, yet ended up in a 1-0 loss.

Last night against the Penguins, the Bruins were down 2-0, battled back into the game, exchanging goals with Crosby & Co., and ended up taking the lead with a little over a minute left in the match. However, the Bruins were unable to shut the Penguins down, and gave up the tying goal with 0.3 seconds left (less than a second from victory), ultimately losing in overtime.

It has been that kind of season thus far for the Bruins and the Bruins faithful. The Bruins scoring touch may have returned against the Pens, but the result was still a loss. The offense may have been going on all cylinders against the Panthers, but the result, again, was still a loss. Marc Savard and Milan Lucic may have resumed practices with the Bruins, but the results, for now, are more losses.

The most frustrating part, of course, is that the Bruins have basically looked pretty good in these games. They are playing well, and just haven't been getting the wins. While that may be some comfort to B's fans, generally speaking, teams are not given access to the post-season because they've almost won games.

With the season one-quarter over the Bruins need to find those small differences that make close games into wins. It is what they were able to do last year, and those small differences are what ultimately wins games in the playoffs.

Until then, Bruins fans are stuck pondering the what-ifs - the same way we did in the years we only made the finals, or missed the playoffs entirely.

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.

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.

bruins 4 - penguins 2

The Bruins continued their winning ways last night, beating the Penguins in the second half of a home-and-home series, and pushing their current win-streak to 10 games. This is the Bruins longest streak since 1973 (the '73 Bruins featuring Bruins greats Orr, Esposito, and Bucyk).

Manny Fernandez got the start in nets, remaining undefeated at home, and the win gave the Bruins possession of first-place overall in the League.

Bruins goals were scored by Krejci, Alexsson, Lucic and Savard, and despite a more than tw0-minute period where the Bruins were pinned in their own zone, the team came out skating and hitting hard. One notable moment came when 5'9" Vladmir Sobotka leveled 6'3" Jordan Staal at the Bruins blueline -- perhaps a tangible example of every Bruin playing larger than his frame suggests.

I am a little surprised that this Bruins club, despite nightly lip-service about how "hot" or "surprising" they are, still largely remains under the radar of the media and most sports fans. In the hockey-obsessed country I live in, it is far easier to find detailed information about several teams that are under-500 (Senators, Leafs, Oilers), or playing in a baseball stadium.

But perhaps this is a good thing; it is far easier for the Bruins to retain some underdog element of surprise if the media continues to ignore them. I just hope when the hardware is passed out at the end of the season, the efforts of Bruins like Chara, Kessel, Savard, Wheeler, Fernandez, Thomas, Wideman and, most importantly, Claude Julien, are recognized with individual awards -- and the most coveted team-wide award the League can offer.

The Bruins' next game is an afternoon match on Saturday against the Sabres.

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.