NHL Pre-Season - Bruins 2 - Canadiens 1

Just a quick post to say that the NHL returned to Quebec City this evening and saw the Bruins play the Habs in Pre-Season action.

Boston got up 2-0 fairly early on, and then basically held the Habs off for most of the 3rd Period, surrendering a goal, but holding on for the 2-1 win.

I was only watching with half my attention, because I was also involved in our real-time, multi-city hockey pool draft (Marc Savard, second pick!). What I did notice from the game was that Tuukka Rask is for real, Michael Ryder is coming into form, and that Lovecchio just continues to impress me.

The Habs, in all honesty, looked like the stronger team for stretches in this game. I'm not sure if we can expect the Bruins to come out of the gates firing like they did last season, and obviously many of their Division rivals have improved, so there's a good chance that it will be a long, hard-fought year for the Black, White and Gold.

Of Note: one of our kittens suddenly took notice in the game and starting leaping up at the TV screen, frantically clawing at the players skating by. I would say there was about an 80-20 split for Habs he was clawing versus Bruins he wanted to destroy. I will train him to aim strictly for the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.

As far as the difficulties of being a Bruins fan here in Montreal go, things haven't really ramped up yet. Pre-Season is viewed as it should be (ie: as a warm up) by Montrealers, so the trash talk should begin in earnest in a couple of weeks. I'll keep track of what is throw at me, and let you know.

Pre-Season NHL - Bruins 3 - Leafs 2

Another scrambly, somewhat disorganized pre-season game tonight, this time between the Black, White and Gold and the Maple Leafs.

I watched tonight's game online, amidst an alarming number of homophobic trolls pumping out the commentary on the PM sidebar. I spend enough of my life online to know how common this is, but man, it can be a real drag when you are just trying to watch a game. On the plus side, some Francophones logged in and allowed me to practice my French.

For tonight's match, the Bruins put Dany Sabourin in net, who, like Tuukka Rask is fighting for the backup slot behind Tim Thomas. Sabourin played alright, but looked like he'd have a lot of trouble facing a full (ie: not mostly prospects) NHL team, and will probably start the season with Providence. Too many shots just squeaking by the post in the final moments to keep Claude
Julien a young man.

Also positive for the B's was the play of Brad Marchand - one of my "underwhelmers" from yesterday's game really stepped up and played well, scoring the Bruins' second goal. Same thing with Jamie Arniel, who was another "underwhelmer" last night, but tonight played a far quicker game and created opportunities.

Weirdly, it was returning players Byron Bitz and Blake Wheeler who looked a step behind tonight. Hopefully this pre-season rust flakes off quickly, and they can both return to last year's breakout form.

Matt Hunwick, unfortunately, had a brutal game. Hunwick was one of my favourites last year before his season ended with his spleen being removed (off-ice, of course). In tonight's game he was turned inside out on the Leaf's first goal and looked pretty shakey throughout the game, putting shots into shins and missing passes.

Likewise for new Bruin free-agent Derek Morris, who mangled three clearing attempts in the same shift. I truly hope this guy improves because his contract is what's keeping the Bruins from re-signing Kessel.

On the whole, however, I was fairly pleased with the Bruins' win. Despite some sloppy play and a few scary moments in net (and online), it was fun to watch Patrice Bergeron, Michael Ryder and Dennis Wideman playing at their customary level, and also, much like yesterday, it was just fun to watch the B's on the ice again.

bruins 8 - canadiens 3

There are no sweeter victories than those over the Habs. While pre-season scores don't count in the standings, they certainly count in the hearts of Bruins fans when it pertains to the Canadiens.

I looked around for coverage of last night's game, with no success, so I have to rely on the reports by the media.

The significant things for B's fans to remember from last night's game are that Fernandez played (letting in two goals on ten shots....sigh...), Patrice Bergeron took to the ice again (gaining a goal and two assists, and the game's first star) and youngster Vladimir Sobotka had a good outing for the Black, White and Gold netting two goals.

It's a good start for the Bruins, who frankly should be playing the Canadiens with a chip on their shoulder, given recent history against the Habs.