The Bruins played Atlanta Thursday night, and they thoroughly dismantled them. The Thrashers came into the game with a powerful and aggressive offense, and the Bruins came in with no offense at all, an inept power play, a mistake-ridden defense, and a head coach in jeopardy.
And for a few days, the B's made their fans forget all about their struggles. Bergeron started the scoring with what must be his first breakaway goal since he was a rookie. Shawn Thornton scored a pair, thanks in no small part to Daniel Paille, who had his best game in a Bruin uniform. And Michael Ryder scored his 10th on a power play.
The exclamation point was a 3rd period brawl...
While I had no problem with Meyer's hit, it was good to see Ference stick up for his teammate, to see Horton drop the gloves, and to see Savard throwing down. Lucic was fined $2,500 for punching Meyer while he was being held by referees, and another $1,000 for an "obscene gesture" toward the Atlanta bench. There were no suspensions.
Speaking of Savard and Horton, putting them on a line together should prove fruitful. Horton could have scored 3 goals easily, if only he'd anticipated what Savard was doing with the puck. Once these two get some time together, and learn each other's mentalities, they could be very dangerous.
As great as this game was to watch, I've seen this all before. The Bruins struggle for 6 or 7 games, they hit rock bottom, then they have an effort like this and everything seems fine. But why did they hit rock bottom in the first place? More importantly, why does this up and down cycle constantly reoccur? Why can't this team put up a consistent effort for a dozen straight games?
The Bruins start a 5 game road trip tonight against the Panthers. After swinging down south, they'll have some big games against Montreal, Pittsburgh, and Philly.
Photo Credit:
AP Photo
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