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.

MARK MY WORDS

During the 3rd period, I was thinking of criticizing Mark Recchi. I was going to call him slow, past his prime, and even call him the Fred Taylor of the Bruins. I should consider badmouthing Recchi more often, because every time I think about doing it, he scores a big goal.

This was an impressive victory. The Bruins went down to play the #2 team in the East, on the road. That team was very hot, by the way. And were highly motivated (because of how badly the Bruins beat them previously).

It was a North-South, back and forth kind of game. Which isn't really the Bruins' forte. Thankfully, they capitalized on their power play opportunities. And the defensemen got involved. Kampfer had his first career goal, and Seidenberg had 2 assists.

I'm a big fan of Steve Kampfer, although he still needs to develop. Against the Panthers, his turnover directly led to a goal. And last night, some miscommunication with Thomas nearly led to another. If he works these kinks out down in Providence, he could return in 2010-11 as a very good defenseman. And one that can also contribute on offense.

Speaking of young players, Brad "Rudy" Marchand scored his 5th goal of the season, and his career. That 4th line has scored 15 goals this year. That's a nice bonus from that trio.

Thomas had one of his more forgettable nights in goal. He was a bit overly aggressive, and wasn't his fastest moving from post to post. He'll probably get the next game off, at least I think he should.

The Bruins are in Atlanta Thursday night, which might be interesting after that pre-Christmas line-brawl. So far, this road trip has gone very well. And the B's have maintained that focus and determination they showed last week against Atlanta.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

DREW STAFFORD 3, BRUINS 2

I'm getting tired of Patrice Bergeron. It's kind of sad when the best he performed in the game, was in the post-game scuffle. He's adept at faceoffs, he's an excellent defensive forward, and you'll never see him make a mental mistake. But he's slow. My God is he slow. And when he gets a shooting lane, he'll either miss the net completely, or hit the goalie's chest, right in the logo.

He made the Canadian Olympic team because he does the little things. However, the Bruins don't have enough guys that do big things. I wouldn't mind trading Bergeron in the off-season, even if it were just for a draft pick. He belongs on a team that already has scorers, not a team that severely lacks them.

The refs were a bit iffy last night. Then again, killing 5 penalties is not a tall order. It is frustrating, though, that the 2 goals the B's allowed on the PK came from the 2 most questionable calls.

The most inexcusable goal was Buffalo's 2nd, which was a 5-on-5 goal. Thornton made an ill-advised pass in the neutral zone that got picked off. Then Boychuk failed to mark Drew Stafford, leaving him open for a one-timer in the slot. It was an unfair position to put Tuukka Rask in. Only Tim Thomas, or possibly Jesus, could have stopped that shot.

The Bruins' offense will struggle, which is why it's so important for the defense to not screw up like they did on that goal. I don't know why Shawn Thornton (of all people) is trying to thread the needle with low percentage passes like that.

Speaking of Thornton and his line, I like how regularly Claude Julien plays them. At the same time, it's not a scoring line. When you've held the puck for a minute in Buffalo's zone, and there's a faceoff in there, don't send out Thornton's line. Send a line that has a chance to score a goal. Send Krejci's line. This happened in the middle of the 1st period, and it baffled me.

I'll end on a rare positive note. 22 year old call-up Steve Kampfer (in German, his last name means "fighter") has acquitted himself nicely these last few games, replacing the injured Mark Stuart. He's not making mistakes, he's fast, and he's confident with the puck. He got an assist in this game, and genuinely earned the 20 minutes of ice-time he got.

The Bruins travel to Montreal to play the Canadiens tonight. In this 8 day stretch of tough games that started Saturday (Exam Week), they still haven't won yet. Tonight's a good time to change that.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo