Bruins Get Beat Up by Ducks, Lose 6 - 1

A great start from the Bruins led to an absolutely brutal finish, and a complete collapse against the (apparently still Mighty) Ducks of Anaheim.

The Bruins turned in a good first period - getting 19 shots on net and maintaining solid, sustained pressure for long stretches of the period. Also, I must say it is great to see Krejci and Sturm playing so well, coming back from injury.

The Bruins' first (and only) goal came from a defensive break-out from Dennis Wideman, forwarding it up to Savard, who saucered it to Sturm, who was skating down the left wing. Sturm was able to blast a slapshot past Duck's goalie, Jonas Hiller.

Starting the second period, an early 5-on-3 powerplay gave the Ducks the tying goal, on Selanne's point shot, and less than a minute later (on the remaining 5-on-4 powerplay), Selanne got the lead for Anaheim. Unfortunately, the Bruins powerplays later in the period were a lot less effective, or possibly, the Duck's penalty-kill was completely unreal. Seeing Saku Koivu have an impact on the Bruins' players while not be wearing Bleu, Blanc et Rouge does not soften the blow, I have learned.

With about 7 minutes left in the second period, Corey Perry was able to cross through the slot, deke out at least two players, and out-wait Thomas, who lay prone and looked foolish as Perry went top shelf. Suddenly, after being dominated in the first period, the Ducks enjoyed a 3-1 lead.

Then my online stream of the game died suddenly, and I missed the final 4-or-so minutes of the second period, and the first 5 minutes of the third. After searching around a bit I was able to find a new stream, which also subsequently died. Oh, internet, how you hurt me so.

Either way, with about 5 minutes gone in the third period, I found another stream of the game and almost immediately saw Evgeny Artyukhin score for the Ducks, by simply out-muscling the defender to the puck and potting it behind Thomas.

With about 11 minutes left in the match, with the Bruins now down 4-1, I found myself just hoping for a lucky goal for the B's, to just regain some of the momentum the club lost when the first period ended. That's not how you want to cheer for your club..."Come on guys, just get lucky!"

Sadly, from Artyukhin's goal onward, the Bruins looked disorganized and uncoordinated. Bruins players bumped into each other at the offensive blueline and behind their own net, passes went several feet errant. With their composure nearly completely shot, the Bruins' loose passes led to a turnover and then Anaheim's 5th goal, from Bobby Ryan, with about 6 minutes left.

Brutal. But not yet the end.

In an act of over-the-top horror, with less than a minute left in the game, Corey Perry broke in alone on Thomas, and took a shot which Thomas stopped with his shoulder. It then deflected back out, went off Perry's HEAD, and into the Bruins net, making it 6-1.

On the whole a brutal night of unexpectedly terrible hockey, lousy internet streams and Finns haunting B's fans at every turn.

The Ducks are a good club, but really, they're not 6-1 good.

Bruins Blow Hurricanes Away - 7-2

Getting a 3-0 lead in the first period is always a good start for a hockey team (especially when you get two in 26 seconds), but to then continue to pile on the goals is a great way to show your opponent that you haven't forgotten your history against them.

After being dismissed by the Hurricanes in last year's playoffs, then blowing their first game of the year against the Capitals, the Bruins were obviously suitably motivated for tonight's match-up against the 'Canes, and ended up winning 7-2.

Marc Savard had a three point night (a goal and two assists) and Shawn Thornton had a goal and a win in a fight against (former Bruins) Andrew Alberts.

Marco Sturm continued his strong return from injury with a goal and an assist, and the Bruin defenders were able to chip in as well (goals for Wideman and Hunwick, two assists for Morris) in the team's victory.

The win was significant, given how poorly they played on Thursday night, in re-establishing the Bruins as an important force in the Eastern Conference. It also obviously provides some vindication for last year's playoff ouster. But most important, I think, is that it allowed the Bruins to begin to gel in front of Tim Thomas, and to reaffirm that this team full of young talents is "for real" again this year.

Like a lot of Bruins fans, I was worried that several members of the B's would experience the sophomore slump, taking a step back in their second year in the league. While one game does not a season make, tonight's match may show that the Bruins youngsters are inspired to play at last year's level (or better) and to build on the team's unexpected successes.

It also pleased me to see the Hurricanes beaten so, so badly by the Black, White and Gold.

The Bruins next play on Thursday against the Ducks, in Boston.

Back on the Regular Season Horse

After blowing their first game of the Regular Season (a 4-1 loss to the Capitals on Thursday night), the Bruins will try to right the ship tonight against the Hurricanes. Which is a hell of a metaphor.

This is obviously the first game between the two teams since the 'Canes sent the Bruins home in Game Seven of the Conference Semi-Finals, last season.

The Capitals and the Hurricanes represent a pretty significant challenge for the Bruins this year - the Caps were one of the few teams (perhaps the only team, in the East) to have a winning record against the Bruins last year, and they're even stronger this season. The 'Canes, of course, showed how tough an opponent they can be, and, Aaron Ward or no, they will bring the ghosts of last season with them into tonight's game.

None of this is news, of course. But given that the new Season is upon us, and the B's schedule starts out so rough, I think it's important to view the Bruins' opponents clearly - they'll pretty much all be tough in the East this year (more on that, in later posts).

The Bruins and 'Canes play tonight at 7pm, in Boston.

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.

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 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.

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.