Canada Outplays USA, Wins 1-0

When the Team USA roster was announced, there were criticisms that it didn't have enough offensive firepower. Those critics, sadly, were proven right as Canada shut out Team USA 1-0. Canada will now play for the gold against Sweden on Sunday, and the US will play Finland for bronze Saturday.

The argument defending USA's roster choices was that guys like Phil Kessel and Patrick Kane would do the scoring. The team lacked offensive depth, but had powerful offense at the top. Kessel had a good Olympics. Patrick Kane failed to score a goal. Team USA needed Kane in this game and he didn't deliver.

The US got 30 shots on goal, but only a handful truly challenged Carey Price. Most possessions were one and done. Most shots hit Price right in the maple leaf.

Give lots of credit to Canada's layered defense, a testament to assistant coach Claude Julien, whose layered defense has been a staple of the Boston Bruins' success for several years.

While Canada's layered defense remained strong, Team USA allowed a goal because of defensive mistakes. Ryan Callahan got careless and didn't cover his man (Jay Bouwmeester) on the point, and didn't cover his space in that part of the ice. An open Bouwmeester threatened to shoot, which Jonathan Quick had to respect, and an opportunistic Jamie Benn slipped into the space vacated by Callahan, and tipped Bouwmeester's shot-pass into an open net.

Phil Kessel's game was a microcosm of USA's game as a whole. He had a few chances on breakaways, using his speed. But after the initial shot there wasn't enough support to maintain pressure on Price. Kessel also had a number of giveaways and passes intercepted in the neutral zone. So did Ryan Suter. So did Kevin Shattenkirk. Too many USA possessions ended before they made it through the neutral zone.

Kessel's play in this game is exactly why I'm glad he's no longer a Bruin.

While Canada's defense reminded me of the Bruins, Team USA's power play also, unfortunately, reminded me of the Bruins. There wasn't any movement away from the puck, which put the onus of creating passing lanes on the puck carrier. So the puck carrier was forced to protect the puck AND move around enough to get his 4 teammates open. That's just not good.

The ice sheet is 100 feet wide, and Team USA only used the 10 feet along the boards when they had a power play. This was exactly what Canada wanted.

Canada won the battles behind the net, in front of the net, along the boards. It's not that the US didn't have enough talent to beat Canada. The US didn't have execution. Jonathan Quick played a great game, good enough to neutralize any talent edge Canada had. The US wasted 3 power play opportunities, didn't support the puck, didn't take care of the puck in the neutral zone.

Just a bad game. And I'm disappointed in this team. Had they played great and lost, I'd be content with a bronze. They didn't play great, most didn't play good.

Go Sweden.

Bruins Crack the Maple Leafs

NESN's Dale Arnold described Saturday night's meeting between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs as "Game 8" of the series that ended last spring in dramatic fashion. Gloriously dramatic for the Bruins, and painfully dramatic for the Leafs.

In many ways, this was indeed a continuation of the series between these teams. That's what makes these rivalries so interesting. There's history. There are good and bad memories, grudges, a hopeless desire for revenge, a greedy desire to continue to beat your opponent.

I must admit that until this game, I hadn't been very interested in Bruins hockey. You go from the Stanley Cup Finals to regular season game #1 of 82. You also have a Red Sox playoff run drawing all attention to it. It took an Original 6 rivalry to ignite my interest in the 2013-14 Bruins.

Because I hate the Leafs. I hate Phil Kessel. I hate van Riemsdyk and I don't know why and that makes me hate him more. I hate Toronto fans. And I hate their city and their crack smoking mayor.

So I was very pleased to see the Bruins score a pair of power play goals. Which is not common for them to do. I was thrilled to see Patrice Bergeron score yet another game-winning goal against Toronto. I was happy to see Loui Eriksson get back into his groove. And I was ecstatic to see Jarome Iginla playing physical, Bruins style hockey. I think it suits him. He's winning me over.

And now I'm hooked. For the next 5-7 months. It's hockey season.

Bruins host the Lightning Monday afternoon, another rematch of a memorable playoff series.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Maple Leafs Pay Tribute to Past Toronto Teams By Losing a Home Playoff Game

As a Bruins fan there was a lot to love about this game. With a side dish of stuff to hate. Let's start with the love and work our way to the hate.

The Krejci line looked like a #1 line. Lucic was skating hard, which led to physical play, which led to rhythm, which led to goals. Horton's goal in the 2nd was exactly the kind of play that line is capable of putting together. Krejci made a good play on a loose puck in the defensive zone, Lucic used his strength to drive the puck up the ice, and Horton used his hands to beat Reimer. The timing of the goal was perfect, just 50 seconds after Toronto made it a 2-1 game.

Patrice Bergeron had a very Bergeronian game, not standing out on the box score, but he stood out on the ice. He won 60% of his faceoffs. At desperate times in the defensive zone he moved back in front of the net and played as a 3rd defenseman.

Despite being the road team, the Bruins won 45 of 75 faceoffs (60%). Peverley won 10 of 11 and Kelly won 12 of 15.

Each line contributed something. The Krejci line generated 3 goals. The Bergeron line played great defense. The third line contributed with a goal created by Jagr and Peverley forechecking. And the fourth line played smart yet physical hockey in the 3rd, especially Thornton. Not to mention the shorthanded goal scored by Paille.

I could go down the whole Bruins roster and find something positive to say about every player. Except one. Tyler Seguin.

Seguin had a golden opportunity to score in the 1st. Actually, it was a platinum opportunity, encrusted in jewels and diamonds. And he didn't finish.

Seguin isn't a smasher. He's not a penalty killer. He's not a grinder. He's supposed to be a scorer. And he's not scoring. Only 16 goals and 32 points in the regular season (pace for 27 goals and 55 points in an 82 game season). Zero goals and zero assists in this series. Meanwhile Phil Kessel has 2 goals already. In the regular season Seguin usually does well against Toronto, and Kessel struggles against the Bruins. Three games into this series and their roles have been reversed.

In this series the Bruins have allowed 4 shorthanded goals already. That's inexcusable for what is supposed to be a strength of this team. The PK unit looks chaotic, disorganized, frantic. They're being too aggressive playing the puck-carrier. It's okay to give some space and allow shots when shorthanded. Let the goalie do his job and stop them. It's better to allow a predictable shot then over-commit to coverage and allow room for someone away from the puck to take a surprising shot.

Speaking of goaltending, Rask has, overall, been very good. He does have an annoying tendency, though, in those frantic and chaotic moments to over-commit himself. He gets a few yards away from the net then things get crazy in front. This type of melee was how Kessel scored in the 3rd. Tim Thomas was equally aggressive, venturing far from his net. But at his peak Thomas was much faster in recovering and getting back home. Rask goes out, leans away from the net, and takes an eternity to return. I'd prefer it if he stayed at home more, since it takes him so long to get back.

And the B's need to stop passing to empty space, unless it's a corner. That's a regular season thing to do. It's dangerous in the post-season because that space doesn't exist. Passing to space is essentially passing to the opposition.

The Bruins need to maintain the good habits we saw last night and limit the bad in Game 4, which is Wednesday night in Toronto.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette

Bruins Revert to Regular Season Habits

The Bruins dominated Toronto in Game 1. And that doesn't mean a thing. Whether you win 8-0 or 4-1 or 1-0 in quintuple OT, it only counts as 1 playoff win. In Game 2 the Bruins eased up their intensity, while the Maple Leafs not only brought their own intensity, they were poised as well. The Leafs made fewer mistakes, and they won. It's not a complex formula.

James Reimer was a rusty colander in Game 1. In Game 2 he tightened up. Meanwhile Tuukka Rask had some rebound issues and allowed at least one goal that he should not have. Give the goaltending edge to Toronto there.

The Bruins, who had one of the best Penalty Kill units in the NHL during the regular season, allowed a power play goal. And the B's also managed to commit a few silly penalties such as Rich Peverley's delay of game. The Bruins only had 9 seconds of Power Play time. Power plays are typically the product of strong play in the offensive zone (desperate defending teams are more likely to commit hooking and slashing penalties). I think the refs called a good game, and the lack of Bruins PP time was because the Bruins didn't play a good game.

They had spurts. They had moments. They had sporadic instances of good play. But it's a 60 minute game. And once again this team's inconsistencies cost them.

Now they've given a young goalie confidence, instead of adding to his doubts. They've also now given a streaky scorer like Phil Kessel confidence. If he gets on a hot streak, that could decide the series. And now the Bruins have given a rabid and starving fanbase in Toronto a 1-1 series, and the Leafs now have home ice advantage.

Thankfully, Ference will return for Game 3. That helps Chara and Seidenberg more than anything. Seidenberg is a fantastic #2 defenseman. He's only a decent #1 defenseman. Putting Seidenberg on the ice with Chara is like putting Pippen with Jordan. It helps both of them, Seidenberg more than Chara, and significantly helps the team.

Nevertheless, the Bruins need to pick up their game. I haven't been impressed with Milan Lucic. He disappears for several shifts at a time. I haven't been impressed with Rask. I haven't been impressed with the Bruins' PK.

This is the First Round, they're playing the 5th seed, it's time to step up and play 60 full minutes. Or more. It's the friggin' Playoffs.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Bruins Rake Leafs

In all our worry about how the Bruins would play in this series, I think we all forgot an important fact: James Reimer is a 25-year old with no playoff experience. And he was solid, at best, in the regular season. He was an absolute sieve last night. More holes than a mini-golf course.

On the other end of the ice, Tuukka Rask was a key to this big win. He only had to make 19 saves, but in the 1st period he made timely saves. Shortly after he made a big save, the Bruins took the lead. If Toronto scores that shorthanded goal, who knows what happens to the momentum and flow of the game.

The B's pressured a mediocre goalie. And when they took a lead they didn't make the kind of defensive miscues and turnovers that would allow Toronto to easily make a comeback.

There was some nastiness toward the end of this game. I think Toronto will be very motivated in Game 2. It's important for the Bruins to start strong in that game. Consistency has been an issue with this team all season long, from shift to shift, period to period, game to game. The Leafs will be hungry, the Bruins can't give them any easy snacks.

And who would have thought that Wade Redden would be the Second Star in a playoff game? That's the type of unexpected playoff performance that can make the difference between winning and losing a series.

Phil Kessel's stats from last night:
1 shot on goal in 21 shifts and 13:51 of ice-time.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

I Want the Maple Leafs to Get Luongo, So All My Least Favorite Players Are on One Team

It's Deadline Day in the NHL. And I want the Canucks to trade Roberto Luongo to the Toronto Maple Leafs. I hate Luongo. He's an overrated, whiny, douche. He's perfect for the Maple Leafs, who already have two of my least favorite players in the game.

Toronto already has Phil Kessel, who is more popular in Boston as a Maple Leaf than he ever was as a Bruin for three reasons: 1. He's the reason we have Tyler Seguin here, 2. ditto Dougie Hamilton, and 3. he's the reason HE is no longer here. He played his own way, wasn't tough, was an incomplete player, and he was greedy.

And playing for the Leafs' AHL affiliate is Mike Komisarek, former nemesis of Milan Lucic. This guy, when playing in Montreal, epitomized all that is wrong with Canadiens hockey. He would typically only get tough when guys like Lucic were safely restrained on the bench. And when Komisarek did actually grow a pair and throwdown, he'd get thrown down.

So if the Leafs acquire Luongo, it will make it easy and convenient for Bruins fans to find their most hated players all in one place. Then the Leafs can sign Matt Cooke and PK Subban to make the team's douchebaggery complete.

Bruins Remember How to Win

The B's have beaten Toronto 8 straight times. After the Bruins recent struggles, it was perfect timing to host the Maple Leafs. Toronto's been surprisingly good this season, but the Bruins still have their number.

And that number is 19. Only in hockey can 19 be greater than 81. The trade that sent Phil Kessel to Toronto brought a talented young forward and a talented young defenseman to Boston. And in games between the two clubs, Seguin plays much, much better than Kessel.

Earlier in the day, Claude Julien mentioned to the press that players like Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley are capable of playing better. Also, Chris Bourque was placed on waivers so he could be sent to the Providence Bruins. Without Bourque, the 3rd line looked better. They didn't make much of an impact on the game, but they did seem to be playing with more drive, more purpose.

The Power Play unit continues to struggle. And all the tricks and schemes the Bruins coaches try are not the solution to the problem. Putting 5 forwards and 1 defenseman is not the solution. Having Chara play the half-wall is not a solution. The problem with the PP unit isn't tactics, it's personnel.

There aren't enough shooters on the ice in Power Play situations. David Krejci and Rich Peverley are talented forwards, but they're not shooters. If you have 5 shooters on the ice, then the 4 penalty killers must respect the possibility of a shot. That opens passing lanes. The shooters don't have to be good shooters, just guys that are capable of firing one at the net at any time.

Taking a defenseman off the ice isn't the answer. The Bruins have sufficient blue-liners that can do their job on a Power Play. Chara and Hamilton are great PP defensemen. Seidenberg and Boychuk, who are not scorers, can at least shoot. The Bruins are already shallow on good PP forwards, why lose another one by putting him on the blue-line?

There needs to be more movement without the puck. Make it difficult for the penalty killers to cover their space and their lanes. I'm tired of seeing the Bruins execute static passing drills in the offensive zone when they have a man advantage.

Anyway, Anton Khudobin ain't too shabby, is he? He's got talent. Consistency is still an issue with him. He's a very good backup, though.

The Bruins host the Flyers Saturday afternoon. The Flyers have been Rasks's nemesis, so it will be interesting to see how he does.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

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.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

NHL All-Star Teams Selected

There's really only two interesting parts of the NHL's All-Star weekend: the draft, and seeing whether or not Chara can break his own fastest shot record. Last night was the draft, with Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson and former Senator Zdeno Chara picking teams.

Not surprisingly, all the Slovaks and Bruins wound up on Chara's team. All the Swedes and Senators found their way to Alfredsson's team. Carey Price will also be on Team Chara. So will Dennis Wideman. No Canucks wound up with Chara.

But Phil Kessel did. I'm so glad Kessel is not on the Bruins. He puts up impressive numbers (except against the B's), but he's such an awkward creep. Chara's assistant captain for the draft was Toronto's Joffrey Lupul, so the Maple Leaf connection saved PK81 from more shame.

So Tim Thomas, Tyler Seguin, and Zdeno Chara will be on the same team. I'm going to predict that Thomas will allow 4 or 5 goals (no defense in the All-Star Game), Chara will win Fastest Shot, and Seguin will get a hat-trick.

Bruins Rake Leafs Out of the Garden

The Bruins beat the Maple Leafs for the fourth time Saturday night, clinching the season series. This is a matchup that favors the Bruins in so many ways. Toronto's offense is based primarily on their Power Play. The Bruins have one of the best PK units in the League. Toronto's forwards don't get involved in defense (See: Kessel), while the Bruins' defensemen get very active in the offense. The Bruins score when they win battles on the boards and control the crease in front of the opposing goalie. The Maple Leafs don't win battles against physical forwards, and they don't have many guys who can clear out the crease.

The Bruins' specialize in eliminating Toronto's strengths, and have the exact kind of players to take advantage of Toronto's weaknesses.

Chris Kelly's goal was the type of thing that Toronto struggles to prevent. Ference pinched, so Kelly covered the point. He was being covered by Phillipe Dupuis, a center. But Kelly went from acting like a defenseman, to acting like a forward, breaking toward the net. And Dupuis was simply mismatched to cover another forward. Kelly drove to the net, Peverley sent him a brilliant pass, and a goal resulted.

The Krejci line, especially Krejci himself, has been reborn. That lines plays the best when all three forwards share the load. Krejci doesn't need to be too clever, he just needs to be smart. Lucic doesn't need to throw everyone around, he just needs to be physical. And Horton is a little of both. Krejci has 2 goals and 5 assists in the last 5 games. When this line gets hot, the Bruins have one of the deepest offenses in hockey.

Joe Corvo's fight was a great example of how everyone on this team contributes. It was Corvo's first fight in the NHL, and he's the 8th Bruin that has dropped the gloves this season. It's not that this is a team of brawlers, but it is a team of guys who stand up for their teammates and stand up for themselves. Every minute of every game, there is a Bruin on the ice that's willing to fight if necessary.

During this stretch, everyone has contributed. And each individual contribution by one player has helped others to contribute. Rask has gone 4-0-1 since the start of November, which has also allowed Thomas to take 5 games off. Chris Kelly has 8 goals in 14 games, but he's been set up beautifully by Rich Peverley, who has 11 assists in this span.

When one Bruin excels, he helps another excel, and so on.

The schedule gets interesting as the Bruins are in Pittsburgh tonight, facing the top team in the East. Then they're in Winnipeg Tuesday night. Then they host the Southeast leading Panthers on Thursday. Fun week.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Bruins 4, Seguin 3, Maple Leafs 0

Thank you, Kessel.

The Bruins match up extremely well with the Maple Leaf's. Toronto's strength is offense, and the Bruins are the best team in the NHL at neutralizing a few key forwards. Just ask Stamkos and the Sedins from last year's playoffs. The B's have Chara, Seidenberg, and of course, Tim Thomas.

The Leafs also have questionable goaltending, and inept defensemen. The Bruins' forwards aren't amazingly talented (except for Seguin) but the Leafs' are so easily exploited that goals are inevitable.

Anyway, to Seguin. His first career hat-trick and he does it 25 miles from his hometown. His first goal was on the Power Play and was a great example of a scorer's ability to hide themselves in dangerous positions. It was also a prime example of Toronto's lousy defending, and the effectiveness of shifting the puck around with a man advantage.

His second goal was sheer skill and coordination.

It also came after he made a good defensive play in the neutral zone. Which is what the Bruins really like to see.

And his third goal, he just flat out beat Komisarek, then Scrivens.

Seguin had 11 goals and 11 assists last year. He's already at 7 and 7 this season. He's on pace for about 49 goals and 49 assists. He has arrived. Thank you, Kessel.

Other Bruins had great nights, of course. Lucic scored twice with an assist. He's red hot. Bergeron assisted all 3 of Seguin's goals, and I think the Bruins have solidified at least one line combo. And David Krejci actually did something, quadrupling his season point total with a goal and 2 assists. He came into this game with just 1 goal and 0 assists.

The Bruins have dominated Toronto twice this season. They match up perfectly against them, able to neutralize the Leafs' strengths and exploit their weaknesses.

They can continue to win tonight (it's so weird to have less than a week between games) as they host the very bad Islanders. They're averaging just over 2 goals per game. But they also don't allow many goals. Still, they have yet to win on the road.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Thank You, Kessel

The Leafs came into this game as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. But the Bruins were coming off an emotional loss on Tuesday, and Toronto would be playing for the second straight night. The Bruins added focus to their fire, and it showed from the 1st period on.

Thornton had his first fighting major of the season. Coming into this game, the B's were 32-10-8 when he fights. And he wasn't the only Bruins who showed up and played with energy.

Horton's Power Play goal was a great example of patience and poise as he waited for the best shooting opportunity. He got the chance because Chara had a chance to shoot from the point. Chara got that chance because Benoit Pouliot drew the penalty.

Pouliot drew another penalty and Chara scored the PP goal after sneaking into the faceoff circle. Tyler Seguin got an assist on the goal. Last year he barely played any PP minutes, but this year he's been a consistent presence with a man advantage. Seguin now has 2 points on the Power Play. He had 3 all of last season.

Chris Kelly's goal in the 1st was a great example of earning a loose puck. Lucic drove deep into the zone. Kelly didn't have much time or space to take a quality shot, but he earned two shots in the paint, and the second went in.

The Bruins did not let the Leafs come back. Only 7 third period shots for Toronto.

Seguin ended the game with a goal and two assists. Kessel had 0 points, which snaps a 15 game point streak. That's too bad.

The Bruins needed to get back on track. As frustrating as that last game against Carolina was, this team has a unique ability to turn pain on Tuesday into joy on Thursday. They really do rebound well. B's host Joe Thornton and the Sharks Saturday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

WHERE'S THE B'S D?

What happened to the defensively minded Bruins? You know, that team that struggled to score goals, but were at the top of the NHL in goals allowed and penalty killing? I miss those guys.

The B's have allowed 22 goals in their last 4 games. And in the last 5 games, they've allowed 9 power play goals, in 22 attempts (a 59.1% kill rate). They're PK unit has plummeted to 14th in the NHL and 10th in the East.

And that's just the first problem this team's been having. They don't care for the puck. Last night, they tried so many low-percentage passes, trying to sneak it past Toronto's players, as if they didn't realize they were playing against another team.

The defensemen haven't been playing their best. We saw Grabovski score the game-winner when he was by himself against both Seidenberg and Ference. How does that happen? Chara helped Toronto score earlier when he tripped Tim Thomas. Missed assignments, lack of communication, lack of physicality, these problems have plagued the blue-liners for about a week now.

Either Fraud Julien isn't the defensive genius we once thought he was, or his soldiers have stopped listening.

And the power play unit, which scored another breakaway goal, needs to adjust its philosophy once they've entered the offensive zone. As it is, Chara and Recchi camp out on the blue-line, Krejci by the halfwall, Lucic and someone else in the slot. Then they hover in their little territories. There's no movement, no bodies cycling around, causing disruption and confusion, or at least getting open for a pass. On a power play, Zdeno Chara should not be moving around more than the forwards.

Then there's guys like Blake Wheeler. What does he contribute?

Then there's guys like Daniel Paille. He does his job as a role-player, but the ratio of role-player to playmaker on this team is way off balance.

David Krejci simply isn't a top line center. You have to be able to score in order to be on of those. And to score, you have to be able to shoot. He's on pace to finish the season with 12 goals and 56 points. That's simply not good enough.

Maybe Lucic-Bergeron-Marchand for a top line? Recchi-Krejci-Ryder for the 2nd? Wheeler-Seguin-Horton on the slump line. Thinking about this, should the Bruins get a puck moving defensemen with forwards like these? To me, if they can't get a decent enough forward to supplement this group, then they should keep Toronto's pick and hope to build for 2011-12. Because one more defenseman won't turn David Krejci into a 30 goal scorer, nor will it give Blake Wheeler a purpose.

Bruins at Islanders Thursday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

THANK YOU, KESSEL

After Tyler Seguin netted his first goal on home ice, the Garden crowd chanted "Thank You, Kessel" over and over again. While I laughed and thought it was a quality chant, the fans probably should have been thanking Tim Thomas. Or maybe they should have thanked all the other NHL teams that didn't want him this off-season.

Thomas became the first Bruin goalie since Tiny Thompson to start a season with 5 straight wins. Tiny started the 1938-39 campaign with a 6-0 run. If not for a really stupid decision with the puck last week, Thomas would have 3 shutouts already.



Thomas only had to stop 20 shots, a credit to the Bruins' defensemen and forwards, who harassed the Leafs in the neutral zone for most of the game. But Thomas made solid positional saves, two or three of the acrobatic variety, and most importantly his puck handling was, shall we say, more traditional.

On the other side of things, the Bruins played excellent special teams hockey. They scored a power play goal, killed 5 penalties, and were very close to some shorthanded goals. If this team kills penalties as well as they did last year, but adds some consistency to the power play, they can become very dangerous in a playoff series.

Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg both had sensational games in all three zones. Chara assisted on Bergeron's goal (the 100th of his career), and it was Seidenberg who set-up Seguin. Nathan Horton's point streak ended, but he did boost his season penalty minutes total from 0 to 15 with just a few punches.



Horton got a 10 minute misconduct for punching Phaneuf AFTER this picture. These refs weren't my favorites.

Blake Wheeler continues to be useless. He made one or two decent plays, but then caught Dennis Wideman Disease (DWD) and made some really awful ones too. Andrew Ference had a similar night. Adam McQuaid was very solid filling in for Boychuk. He made one glaring mistake, but also nipped it in the bud very quickly. Mark Stuart was physical and played a very sound game.



The Bruins have started a stretch of divisional games the right way. They travel to Ottawa on Saturday, then Buffalo next Tuesday. Then it's Washington again? Yes it is. Great job, NHL. The Bruins will play Washington three times in a 17 day span. Then once more for the remaining 156 days of the season.

Anyway, Bruins at the 4-5-1 Senators Saturday night.

Photo Credits:
AP Photo