Good California Weekend for Bruins

The Bruins hadn't won 4 of 5 since January 12th. That was the tail end of the Bruins' 24-4-1 run.

The last four Bruins' wins have been similar to the wins they recorded in that streak. Some were blowouts against clearly inferior teams (the 8-0 win against Toronto). Some were energy driven physical battles (the win over Philadelphia). Some were a little ugly (Anaheim). All featured outstanding goaltending.

It's nice to see that Turco can play. Last night he was sharp, decisive, and confident. Even after allowing a deflected goal, he never lost that confidence. And Tim Thomas was brilliant in LA. Maybe being around all those southern Cal liberals motivated him.

Brian Rolston hasn't just settled in as a Bruin, he's become a leader. He's riding a 6 game point streak, with 11 points in those games (3 goals, 8 assists). His goal last night was his biggest since he returned to Boston.

It was good to see Peverley back on the ice. He was clearly rusty, but that will fade. He is a key player that does so many different things for the team. His return should inject some fresh life to the lineup, and allow players to return to the roles they're more comfortable with.

I love how Jordan Caron plays the game. Paille was scratched last night which gave him an opportunity to dress. I like Caron better than Pouliot. Pouliot makes the occasional big play, like last night when had a goal and an assist, but Caron inflicts a physical game every shift. I'd rather see Caron on the 4th line, Paille on the 3rd line, and Pouliot scratched.

Speaking of scratches, the Bruins are 4-1 when Corvo doesn't dress.

Bruins host the Lightning Tuesday night. The Bruins now hold a 5 point lead over Ottawa with a game in hand. The Bruins also have 44 wins, which is the most Ottawa can finish the season with.

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The Hibernating Bruins Have Awoken

Through two periods last night, the Bruins had 7 goals, the Leafs had 7 shots. That sums it up right there. The Bruins have put together 6 consecutive periods of quality hockey, and they hadn't done that since Thanksgiving. Winter is over. Spring is here. The hibernating bears have woken up. And they mauled Golidlocks (Kessel).

The B's kept up their good habits the whole game despite the lopsided lead. Playing well meant more to them than the two points which were already in their pockets. And that's very encouraging to see.

I'm glad Thomas stayed in net for the 3rd. The idea of resting him and putting in Turco is a bit silly. How much rest are you really giving Thomas? And what if Turco lets 4 go by him in 10 minutes, you have to bring Thomas back? And it's also good to let Thomas go out there in the 3rd and try for a shutout, his 5th of the season, and first since December 17th. He only needed to make 13 saves so it's not like that 3rd period taxed him much anyway.

Joe Corvo was scratched again. And that's very fine with me. 125 minutes without him and the Bruins have played 125 of their best minutes of the season.

On Saturday the defensemen initiated the physical battles against Philadelphia. Last night the forwards followed their example. Gregory Campbell fought 30 pounds above his weight-class and held his own against Luke Schenn. Komisarek made the mistake of taking on Lucic. And he should know better by now.

The crowd chanted "Thank you, Kessel" after Seguin scored to make it 8-0, and I think the differences between Kessel and Seguin emphasize the differences between the Maple Leafs and Bruins. Kessel has 35 goals and 40 assists. Seguin has 26 goals and 34 assists. Kessel is a threat to score 40 every season. Seguin might be that someday, but right now he isn't.

However, Seguin plays the whole game. He makes defensive plays and smart passes. He doesn't hurt his team. He is an elite talent playing the within team's system. Kessel is an elite talent but struggles in systems. Kessel plays Phil Kessel's game. That's partially why he is a -7, and Seguin is a +29.

Kessel is also probably a better golfer than Seguin. That's an individualistic game which suits Kessel's attitude better. And Kessel gets much more opportunity to sharpen his skills.

To be fair to Kessel, the Leafs don't have much of a system for him to play in. And last night they surrendered when they were down 4-0. No fire, no pride, no team mentality. Just 5 individuals skating around. It tends to happen when you build your team around guys like Phil Kessel.

Bruins head West to San Jose Thursday night. The Bruins are 3 points ahead of Ottawa with a game in hand. The Senators host New Jersey tonight.

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Don't Wear Orange on St. Patrick's Day, Flyers

Maybe it was the well lubed St. Patrick's Day crowd. Maybe it was having the Flyers in town. Maybe the Bruins were literally sick of losing. I think all three of these factors played a part in Saturday's perfect storm of intensity. Plus the benching of Joe Corvo, who Claude Julien kindly said was "banged up."

This was how the Bruins won big games last year. It's not raw talent. It's not 40 goal scorers or French Canadian goalies with names that rhyme with Flew-Juan-Go. It's toughness, it's fighting battles, winning battles, making everything difficult for the opponent. Playing sound defense, making the opponent work hard when they're on defense.

There were some mistakes. Some turnovers. Sometimes the Bruins forget how fast certain opponents can close passing lanes. But the B's withstood the Flyers' surges. Thomas played out of his mind. Chara left a physical imprint on the game for the first time in a few weeks. McQuaid embarrassed Hartnell who didn't want to back up his words with fists, then was shepherded across half the ice by Chara. And Johnny Boychuk destroyed Maxime Talbot.

Not only did the Bruins' defensemen do their job on defense, they won the physical game. Chara played like a Captain and Joe Corvo was not missed.

The B's reminded all of us, and more importantly they reminded themselves of what they're capable of. They've got 11 more games in 3 weeks to lock up the Northeast Division. They needed to stop the bleeding. They've done that. They're still 1 point ahead of Ottawa with 2 games in hand.

They remembered how to play Boston Bruins hockey. Let's hope that unlike most Bostonians, they actually remember what they did on St. Patrick's Day and why they did it.

Phil Kessel and the Maple Leafs come to town tonight.

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Bruins Retire in Florida

For the first time in a few weeks, the Bruins outdid their opponent in an aspect of the game. Unfortunately, that aspect of the game was which team was trying hardest to lose. The Panthers made so many mistakes, from giveaways in their own zone, to Theodore's trapezoid penalty. The Bruins failed to capitalize, and made more than a few mistakes on their own.

The difference between a clean breakout pass and a giveaway that results in a goal is just a foot or two. The Bruins have found ways to turn these simple plays into game-changing mistakes.

I'm tired of seeing Joe Corvo's name on the box score, I'm tired of seeing his screw ups on the ice, and I'm tired of hearing his name. He scored a goal last night, but he was on the ice for three Panther goals. One of his giveaways directly resulted in Florida's 3rd goal. His blue-line passes suck, his breakout passes suck, and I never see him make a big defensive play.

Corvo's not the only problem. Nobody on the Bruins is playing well. And if they do, it's just for one or two shifts per game. Right now, the Bruins best player is Shawn Thornton. No offense to #22, but that's sad.

Bruins host the Flyers Saturday afternoon. And if Ottawa beats Montreal tonight, the Bruins will be in 2nd place in the Division, and 7th in the Conference.

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Hats How You Do It

David Krejci scored just over a minute into the game. And he scored to end it. And he scored to tie it in the 3rd. That's a nice hat-trick right there. The second of his career.

Krejci's line was the story of the game. Julien shifted him back to center, and put Seguin on the wing. It worked well. In the first 10 minutes the line generated 3 scoring chances, scoring on 2 of them.

I like the idea of Seguin, Krejci, and Lucic together. All three can make plays in their own way and help their linemates out. It takes some pressure off Krejci to make all the clever plays, Seguin can benefit from Lucic's physical play, and Lucic has two skilled linemates to feed him the puck in the slot.

I also like Rolston on a line with Bergeron and Marchand. He's not electrifying, but he's solid.

Speaking of Marchand, I enjoyed seeing him once again get under an opponent's skin. He hasn't been very successful at that since the Vancouver game. I'm glad he finally drew more penalties than he committed.

The Bruins dominated the 1st period, then played messy in the 2nd, grinded out the 3rd, and ripped the game from the Devils in OT. In their last 4 periods of hockey, they've played 3 good ones. That's an improvement.

If Martin Brodeur weren't Martin Brodeur, the B's would have ended the 1st period up 5-0.

In the 2nd, they tried too hard to be fast in the neutral zone, and it bit them. I'm not a big fan of emphasizing speed through the middle of the ice. I'd rather see a smart play as opposed to a quick play.

With the acquisitions of Mottau and Zanon, Joe Corvo is literally playing for a job. His giveaway in the 2nd won't help him. He's not bad, and I wouldn't say he's struggling. He's on a team with 5 other very good defensemen, that all play well within Julien's system. He's just half a step behind all of them. And this is the time to see if maybe Zanon and/or Mottau can keep up better than Corvo can.

The Bruins will try to make it two straight Saturday afternoon when they host the Islanders, who have the 4th worst record in the NHL.

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Bruins Make Multiple Modest Moves

You might not recognize the names, except for one, maybe two. The Bruins acquired left wing Brian Rolston and defenseman Mike Mottau from the Islanders. They sent AHL Marc Cantin and forward Yannick Riendeau.

They also sent Steve Kampfer to Minnesota for defenseman Greg Zanon.

Rolston played with the Bruins back in the early 2000s. He scored a career high 31 in 2001-02. He's got 4 goals and 5 assists in 49 games with the Islanders this year, so I don't know how much he has left in the tank. He adds depth to the bottom end of the depth chart.

Mottau won the Hobey Baker Award (college hockey's Heisman) his senior year at Boston College in 2000. Greg Zanon is similar to Mottau. Neither of these guys will contribute much on offense. Which I'm happy about. The Bruins need solid defensemen that don't make mistakes. These guys are the anti-Tomas Kaberles.

And with Boychuk down, the Bruins needed depth at the blue-line.

These aren't exciting moves. These moves don't make the Bruins much stronger. They address potential weaknesses. I'll take Rolston over Josh Hennessy. I'll take Zanon or Mottau over Kampfer. And maybe even over Corvo.

Should Kyle Turris Have Been Suspended?

No.

His hit on Joe Corvo was potentially dangerous. But that's because it was poorly delivered. It was such an awkward check at an awkward angle in an awkward situation.

It wasn't an intentional targeting of the head. His skates left the ice but he hardly launched himself at Corvo. And he hit Corvo with his shoulder, not an elbow.

It wasn't reckless either. Reckless means that somebody is hitting other players carelessly. Whereas Turris seemed to hit Corvo clumsily.

The NHL considers past history when making these rulings. Turris' history shows that he's not normally a hitter at all. He's 19th on the Senators with 16 hits this season. That's 3 more than Zach Hamill, 5 fewer than Tyler Seguin, and 10 fewer than Jordan Caron.

I understand Jack Edwards' frustration in the moment, but the NHL was correct in not suspending Kyle Turris.

Ought To Win in Ottawa

Even though the Bruins lost Friday night, it wasn't a bad performance. Few mistakes. Give credit to Ryan Miller for being a great goalie. And maybe if Thomas were in net for the shooutout, the Bruins take home 2 points instead of 1. Rask was very good during the game, but Thomas is just slightly better.

Beating Ottawa was more important. The Senators are the only team currently within striking distance of the division leading Bruins.

The B's look to be back in business. After it seemed like everyone was slumping, Marchand has gotten hot. Bergeron scored twice Saturday night, and Chara ended a goalless drought in Buffalo.

The fact that the Ottawa game got as close as 4-3 was unfortunate. The Bruins were the superior team for all of the game until they forgot to cover Daniel Alfredsson. He, Jason Spezza, and Erik Karlsson took advantage of bad Bruins defending. The B's collapsed too low in their own zone, giving Spezza and Alfredsson free reign to move the puck around the ice, get Thomas to commit to a shot from Spezza, then pass to Alfredsson and score.

But Bergeron's empty-netter sealed the deal. It was a smart play, as he shot from his own blue line. Either Seguin would receive the shot/pass, or the shot would go in the net, or Seguin would have a good chance to win the race to wave off the icing.

Things turned nasty in the 3rd period. There was Neil's big hit on Boychuk, which was a shattering check, but a clean check. Later Kyle Turris left his feet to hit Joe Corvo in the head. There was a boarding penalty, but the NHL has decided not to discipline Turris further. Boychuk might be out for a few games. Corvo is fine.

These teams meet Tuesday night in what should be an entertaining and physical game.

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B's Back to Business

With Marchand out, other Bruins were going to have to step up. Pouliot was going to play with Bergeron and Seguin, and guys like Krejci, Horton, Lucic, and Seguin were going to have to step up. And they did.

Krejci is hotter than hot right now. He won 11 of 13 faceoffs, and his 2 assists were highlight reel passes. We really saw a good display of the top line's strengths last night. Krejci's vision and passing, Lucic's skating and drive, and Horton's point blank finishing touch. Krejci has 5 goals and 9 assists in his last 9 games. Horton's scored 5 goals in his last 4 games.

One thing that cost the Bruins on Saturday was lack of a power play goal. They got a timely one from Pouliot last night that sealed the victory. Shawn Thornton also scored on a penalty shot. Yes, that sentence was just written.

Rask was brilliant again. He allowed 3 goals, but all 3 were deflected. And he made some huge, very timely stops in the first 40 minutes of the game.

Speaking of which, the Bruins had their share of sloppiness in this one. Giveaways, not taking care of the puck, and it cost them a few goals. Corvo's intercepted pass was the most blatant. But Rask prevented Winnipeg from flying away (pun intended) with a big lead. And in the 3rd period, the Bruins played like a team determined to win.

Back to Corvo, I'm still waiting to find a reason to like this guy. I don't hate him. There just isn't much to like about him yet. He hasn't contributed much to the offense, which was something he was expected to do. And in my opinion, he's the 6th best defenseman. He's 4th in time on ice, but I'd much rather have Ference's stability or Mcquaid's physicality out on the ice.

Anyway, Corvo isn't costing the team much. And he's not struggling. He just hasn't impressed me yet. He's not Dennis Widemen. And he's certainly not Tomas Kaberle.

The Bruins are back on track, and they end their homestand Thursday when the Canadiens come to town. Montreal are struggling. There was a fight a few days ago in practice between PK Subban and Tomas Plekanec. The team has lost 8 of 11. And their fans' biggest concern is that their interim head coach can't speak French. Nice priorities, Montreal.

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B's Get W From CBJ's

It wasn't a boring game, that's for sure. Physical. Fast. The winning team pulled its goalie. Joe Corvo scored 2 goals (2 more than he's scored in his last 31 games). Lucic was maybe the Bruins' worst player in the 1st, then their best in the 2nd. Fights. Breakaway goals. It was just a weird, wild game.

The Bruins came out on top though, in the latest example of how difficult it is to keep them pinned once they've been knocked down. Columbus was up 2-0, and the Bruins scored twice within a 45 second span to tie it. It was the 10th time this season that the B's have scored multiple goals within a minute.

Thomas got pulled for the 3rd period. He wasn't awful in the first 2, but he did seem disheviled. His movements were more frantic than usual. The breakaway goal he allowed to Umberger was very soft. His first soft goal of the season. Rask came in and was excellent. He stopped all 11 shots he faced.

Joe Corvo finally scored. His offensive contributions have been few and far between this year. And while his defense hasn't been bad, he was brought here to contribute on offense too. He's finally on the board with 2 goals.

Chara also scored. Then he hurt his leg. Word is that he'll miss three games. He's only missed 12 in the 5+ seasons he's been a Bruin. I'm very glad it doesn't seem very serious because he's the team's most valuable skater (6 goals, 13 assists, +18 against the opponents' top lines).

Bruins host the LA Kings Tuesday night.

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It's Called a Winning Streak

The Bruins won their 4th in a row last night, burning the Oilers for 6 goals. The B's improve to 7-7 and are .500 for the first time since starting the season 1-1. They've scored 24 goals in this win streak.

There was a nice mix of types of goals for the Bruins. Boychuk and Caron scored some hard-work, "blue collar" goals that were products of fighting for loose pucks and earning possession. They scored some speed goals, some snipes, and some Mark Recchi stype tip-ins from within the crease.

Tyler Seguin is too good. He scored his 9th. And even though it pinballed off three Oilers before going in, the goal was a product of his speed and his ability to take advantage of a bad change by the Oilers. He also got an assist because he moved the puck well on the Power Play. He also drew two penalties, and the B's scored on the ensuing Power Plays.

Joe Corvo is starting to show up on offense. I've been waiting to see that. He's scored 10+ goals three times in his career and 20+ assists five times. We hadn't seen much offense from him before the last two games. Last night he had 3 big assists, and was a big part of all 3 of those goals. They weren't just token assists. He's also getting more comfortable playing with the Bruins' defensive system.

The recent proliferation of offense has allowed the Bruins to play Rask for a few games. Thomas will have at least a week off between starts, and that's nice to be able to do.

Bruins host the Sabres Saturday night in an important divisional matchup.

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Champions' Ship Sinking

The B's won the Cup and returned almost the entire team intact. And maybe that's part of the problem. This team isn't playing like they have anything to prove. Guys who played with hunger last year (Marchand, Horton) aren't playing with the same ferocity every shift. Maybe it's time for some healthy scratches, maybe it's time to see guys like Caron get more ice time, maybe it's time to make a trade.

Give credit to Montreal for blocking shots (29 of them in total, Spacek blocked 7, Gill blocked 5) and for breaking up Bruins' passes, but it didn't seem like the Bruins properly respected Montreal's abilities to do so. How many passes did the B's try to slip past Montreal sticks that were already down on the ice? How many times did one sole Bruin try to carry the puck through 2 or 3 Canadiens?

The breaks in Saturday's game didn't go the Bruins' way. The Habs had the first 5 Power Plays. The B's hit a few posts in the early stages. But the Bruins didn't capitalize on things that did go their way. They failed to convert a lengthy 5-on-3 into a goal (Seidenberg's failure to keep the puck in the zone during that Power Play sums up how the Bruins' season has gone). And almost every Bruins' possession was short and ended with a whimper.

Montreal matches up well against the Bruins. Their speed allows them to get to loose pucks first, allows them to harass opposing forwards, and makes their counterattack quite deadly. The Bruins' strength is their physicality. And that was only sporadically apparent Saturday. We've seen the Canadiens fear the Bruins before. They're not afraid right now though.

And don't let Pussy Kunt Subban get under your skin. That's his goal. And yes, I would say that to Subban's face, so long as we were in a Foot Locker or at the zebra enclosure in a zoo. The sight of those black and white stripes make him go down with just a nudge.

Ference's post-Subban penalty was a bad call, but Lucic shouldn't give Subban the excuse to dive. If you're going to get a 2 minute slashing penalty, make Subban feel it for 20 minutes. And if Subban wants to play these silly games, then drive Brian Gionta through the boards in response.

The Bruins have some fundamental problems to work out. Their breakout is ugly. They're not dumping and chasing enough. They don't move the puck with any purpose. They're not imposing their style of game on the opposition.

And when is Joe Corvo going to do anything positive? he's an improvement over Kaberle, but who wouldn't be? He's been sound defensively, but hasn't contributed to the offense, and has looked tentative on the breakout.

On the bright side, the goalies are playing well. Tim Thomas doesn't look a year older, and the goals Rask allowed weren't his fault. The Penalty Kill has been reliable. Shawn Thornton is doing his job. Tyler Seguin looks like he's been in the NHL for 4 years. He's on pace for 30+ goals and 80 points. Bergeron is doing the little things, which is more than can be said for some of his teammates.

The Bruins have the talent, some of the guys are playing very well, but some individuals making mistakes and not making good plays are sabotaging the team. And they need to shape up or be shipped out.

Bruins host the Senators Tuesday night. Ottawa are 7-5 and have won 6 straight. When a hot team meets a cold team it'll either be a blowout, a turning point, or a tornado.

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