Sturm, Bruins Rout Lightning (10/18/07)

It was good news all around for the city of Boston. The Boston Red Sox kept their season alive with a victory in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series and the Boston Bruins made it four wins in six games with a rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tim Thomas was a rock in net, stopping 35 of 36 shots while the Bruins feasted on Johan Holmqvist. Just two minutes into the game, teenager Milan Lucic scrapped with Nick Tarnasky and that set the tone. Peter Schaefer scored his first goal of the season and Marco Sturm supplied his second to give the Bruins a commanding lead. Brad Richards scored in the second period but Mark Stuart and Sturm scored in the third period to put the game on ice. Once again Andrew Ference, Zdeno Chara, Thomas and the d-men pitched in to grind this one out 4-1 at TD Garden.

                                                       Josh Beckett approves of the win

The festivities began just 2:17 into the game when Milan Lucic said "its go time" to Nick Tarnasky. Lucic pounded Tarnasky into the ice to a standing ovation. This fired up the Bruins fourth line as 3:48 into the game, Andrew Ference fired on net and the puck went off Peter Schaefer's stick and in for Peter's first goal of the season.

                                                              Bruins strike first

5:37 into the period, Patrice Bergeron walked in alone but his shot was saved by Johan Holmqvist. With 8:51 remaining Zdeno Chara's big blast was....saved by Holmqvist. With 7:32 remaining, Glen Murray was backed for holding to put Tampa on the power play. The Bruins defense held and with 2:28 left, it was time for Shawn Thornton and Andre Roy to throw down. Nobody a landed a punch, Thornton just fell on top of him. With 10 seconds left in the period, Bergeron won the draw back to Ference. Andrew passed it to Marco Sturm for the one timer....SCOREEEEEEE. Sturm's shot made it 2-0 Boston as the first period ended.

                                                             Good start for Boston

The Lightning wasted no time getting one back in the second period. Mike Lundin's slapshot was deflected by Thomas....right to Brad Richards who scored to cut the lead in half. Disaster struck again as David Krejci was nabbed for holding just 3:28 into the period but the Bruins killed off the power play. 12 minutes into the period, Vincent Lecavalier's drive went over everything. 30 seconds later, Chuck Kobasew had a breakaway but Holmqvist denied the attempt. With 4 minutes left in the period, Lucic was robbed by Holmqvist which might have iced the game. The period ended with the Bruins still holding a narrow 2-1 lead.

                                                                 Tampa gets one back

The Bruins looked to have iced the game 10 minutes into the third period when Kobasew took the puck into the Bruins zone. He left for Marc Savard who saw Marc Stuart wide open. Stuart's slapshot went through and the Bruins were up 3-1 on Mark's first of the season. With just over four minutes remaining, Murray passed the puck up to Bergeron. Bergeron found Sturm streaking to the net, who scored to make it 4-1. The lead held and the Bruins had won the game. Thomas was awesome, stopping 35 of 36 shots.

                                                      Bruins win

Reaction:

Good win by the Bruins and it was definitely a tale of more than meets the eye. The Bruins cashed in with four goals but the key to the game was Thomas stopping 35 shots. The Bruins defense looked like they were stuck in quicksand at times against the team four years removed from the Stanley Cup. Still, Thomas stood on his head and made some big saves when needed. Nothing was truly spectacular but they didn't need to be. Good to see Schaefer and Stuart get their first of the season and Sturm got two of them in this one. Bergeron and Savard anchoring the first two lines are going to be deadly this season and if the defense holds up, this could be a fun team to watch this season. Lucic immediately dropping Tarnasky set the tone and even the old pros Thornton and Roy understood the assignment. Its about time the Bruins return to the "big bad" portion of their identity and Lucic & Thornton definitely help. The Bruins now travel to New York to take on the Rangers this Saturday night. The game begins at 7:00 PM at Madison Square Garden.

Thomas, Bruins Drop Sharks Late (10/13/07)

The bad news was the Boston Red Sox lost Game 2 of their American League Championship Series to the Cleveland Indians but the good news was the Boston Bruins defeated the San Jose Sharks. Tim Thomas was in net for this one and he dominated the Sharks, stopping 26 of 27 shots on the night. The real story of the game was the ending. Patrice Bergeron scored in the first period and the game was 1-0 with one minute left in the game. Then old friend Joe Thornton set up Milan Michalek to tie the game with 38 seconds left. There would be no overtime as with 12 seconds left in regulation, Aaron Ward scored to give the Bruins the lead back. That was it as the Bruins had won the game 2-1 over the Sharks at the HP Pavillion.

                                                         Patrice Hollis approves of the win

Things got chippy 4:02 into the first period when Craig Rivet of the Sharks and Marco Sturm of the Bruins got tangled up and poked at each other with their sticks. Both were sent off to the penalty box but nothing came of it. 9:12 into the period Andrew Alberts got sent off for hooking but San Jose failed to score on the power play. With just under 8 minutes to play Dennis Wideman blasted a shot off of Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov and Peter Schaefer almost put in the rebound. With 7:03 left in the period Mike Grier went off for interference but the Bruins failed to score on the powerplay. With 3:37 left Glen Murray passed it to Sturm who fired one off Nabokov, Patrice Bergeron dumping it on off the rebound to give the Bruins the lead. That's how the period ended with the Bruins up 1-0.

                                                         Bergeron scores

Things got hairy in the second period as Ward got sent off for hooking 1:18 into the period then literally 20 seconds after he got out of the box, he sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. On the powerplay Milan Michalek was wide open in the slot but Thomas stoned him cold. The Bruins went on the powerplay 6:40 in the period when Rivet went off for interference but failed to score. They got another chance when Torrey Mitchell went off at 9:10 but again failed to score. The Sharks then failed to score on a powerplay after Wideman got sent to the box for hooking with 7:15 left in the period. With 3:20 left Grier passed it to Jonathan Cheechoo who damn near put it passed Thomas, but Tim made a great save to keep the game scoreless. The Bruins went into intermission still up 1-0.

                                                    Save by Thomas!

The third period got off to a rocky start when Sturm got sent to the penalty box for hooking 4:11 into it to put the Sharks on another powerplay. On the powerplay, Ryan Clowe was open for a one timer but somehow Thomas made the save to keep the game scoreless. With under 9 minutes left Marco Sturm had a great chance to score but Nabokov made the save. It looked like the Bruins were gonna get the goose egg but it wasn't to be after San Jose pulled Nabokov. Christian Ehrhoff blasted one off of Thomas that Joe Thornton kicked out to Michalek. Michalek scored with 38 seconds left to tie the game and Bruins fans groaned. San Jose fans celebrated but the Sharks lost focus long enough for Bergeron to pass it to Sturm. Sturm skated around the net and passed it to Ward for the one time SCOREEEEEEE! The Bruins had re-taken the lead with just 14 seconds left. The Sharks couldn't do anything in 14 seconds and the Bruins had won the game 2-1.

                                                     Bruins pile on Ward

Reaction:

What a game! One thing is for sure, this is a pretty nasty defense to start the season. Coach Claude Julien has the team hunting for goose eggs rather than having the Mike Sullivan bombs away offense of just two years ago. Bergeron is becoming a defensive menace at the forward spot and the 6'9 Chara is a game changer. Andrew Ference isn't afraid to throw his weight around and Ward got the biggest goal of the game tonight. Its a good thing he scored otherwise he would have been laughed at for committing a penalty after coming out of the box for another penalty. The Bruins have now played 5 games and have at least been in all five of them, winning three. Tim Thomas had a hell of a game and so far the tandem of him and Manny Fernandez have been thriving so far. Maybe the Bruins have something going this season. The Bruins are now off until Wednesday night when they come home to play the the Tampa Bay Lightning. The game begins at 7:30 PM at TD Garden.

Bruins Survive Firefight With Kings (10/12/07)

It was a great night for Boston sports. The Boston Red Sox won Game 1 of their 2007 American League Championship Series with the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Bruins won a high scoring game against the Los Angeles Kings. This one had it all with fights, assists, goals, trash talking officials. Ironically the first period ended 1-1 with goals by Boston's Phil Kessel and LA's Brad Stuart. The second period took off as the Bruins scored three goals in the span of five minutes but the Kings scored the final two of the period. Kessel scored another to open the third period but LA scored the next two to tie the game. The Bruins then scored three straight goals including an empty net one to seemingly put the game away. Just for vanity the Kings scored with 5 seconds left as the Bruins had beaten the Kings 8-6 at the Staples Center.

                                                       Josh Beckett approves of the win

The Kings took the first penalty 6:06 of the first period when Jack Johnson was called for hooking, but the Bruins did nothing on the powerplay. Zdeno Chara got called for hooking 9:24 into the period but the Bruins killed off the penalty. Then it was fight time with 7:13 left in the period when Raitis Ivanans decided to go with Milan Lucic. Ivanans landed more shots but Lucic held his own. Michal Handzus got called for holding with 5:06 and the Kings were in the process of killing it off....but David Krejci found Phil Kessel just as the powerplay ended to put the Bruins up 1-0. Aaron Ward got called for hooking with 92 seconds left in the first period and old friend Brad Stuart scored on Manny Fernandez with 13 seconds left to tie the game heading into intermission 1-1.

The Bruins poured it on in the second period beginning with a too many men penalty on the Kings 3:25 into it. On the ensuing power play, Chara found Marc Savard for a shot that rebounded right to Glen Murray. Murray shot it in for the powerplay goal to make it 2-1. Just under two minutes later, Lucic and Savard found Ward open in the slot for a goal to make it 3-1. Brady Murray got a double minor for high sticking 7:41 into the period and Patrice Bergeron found Savard who passed it to Kessel who scored again. Bergeron went off for hooking with 5:01 left and the Bruins killed it off, but Brady Murray took a loose puck and banged it in with 2:15 left.  Krejci got called for hooking with 1:11 left and Mike Cammalerri fired one off Fernandez with Anze Kopitar putting in the rebound. After the second period it was 4-3 Bruins.

The Bruins didn't waste any time scoring to open the third as Peter Schaefer sent it to Savard who shot on the net but Jonathan Bernier kicked it out. Kessel banged it in for the hat trick and a 5-3 lead 1:27 into the period. The Kings didn't give up as Alex Frolov and Derek Armstrong plowed through Boston's D and passed it to Cammaleri who banged it home at 4:37 into the period. Glen Murray got called for hooking 7:07 into the period and the Kings went on the powerplay. Rob Blake passed it to Kopitar who's shot clanged off the post and in to tie the game 8:19 into the period. Things fell apart for the Kings as Kyle Calder got called for hooking at 9:04 and it took just 38 seconds for Peter Schaefer to grab the puck. He dished it to Glen Murray who faked shooting but passed it to a wide open Savard who banged it home on the powerplay to give Boston the lead back 9:42 into it. With under 5 minutes left in the game, Chara passed it up to Krejci who slid it over to Lucic for his first career goal to essentially ice the game. Kings coach Marc Crawford got a penalty for taunting the officials and the Bruins killed off crucial time on the clock on the powerplay. With less than 90 seconds and the goalie puilled, Savard dished it to PJ Axelsson who passed it to a streaking Chuck Kobasew. Kobasew was pulled down but still put the puck in the net for the empty net goal. Somehow Patrick O'Sullivan scored with 5 seconds left to inch the Kings closer but that was it, the Bruins had won it 8-6.

Reaction:

That was definitely the most entertaining game of the season but good grief where was the defense? Manny Fernandez was essentially left out to dry a few times by Chara, Marc Stuart, Ward, Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference and Andrew Alberts. The good news is that offense is going to be deadly by the end of the year. You got 19 year old Lucic, 22 year old Bergeron, 20 year old Kessel and 21 year old Krejci. They also have two prospects, 20 year old Vladimir Sobotka in Providence and 19 year old Brad Marchand who's tearing up Juniors. Chuck Kobasew the BC hero from 2001 is only 25 as well so this is a young, hungry offense.  The additions of Chara and Savard are going to pay off if this young team continues to develop. Lucic getting into a fight and holding his own was also an encouraging sign. With coach Claude Julien's defense first mentality, even on an off night like this, it looks like this could be a fun season. Last year they had talent but wasn't listening to Dave Lewis but Julien seems to have their attention. The Bruins have gone 2-2 on this season opening West Coast trip and it ends tomorrow night in San Jose. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going at the HP Pavillion. 

Ducks Outlast Bruins in Anaheim (10/10/07)

After splitting the first two games of the season, the Boston Bruins then had to travel to Anaheim to play the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks. The Bruins did the best they could but the Ducks are champs for a reason. Chuck Kobasew scored in the first period but Ryan Getzlaf tied it in the second period. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov were locked in a goalie duel until deep in the third period. Francois Beauchemin took a dish from Shane Hnidy and put it past Thomas with just 6:25 left in the game. The suffocating Ducks defense led by Chris Pronger, old friend Sean O'Donnell, Hnidy and others held the Bruins to just 19 shots in the entire game. It all added up as the champs beat the Bruins 2-1 at the Honda Center.

                                                                  This sucks

Peter Schaefer peppered Ila Bryzgalov a minute into the first period to try to set the tone but the puck was saved. Then Chuck Kobasew broke loose for a partial breakaway on a pass from Glen Metropolit and he stuffed it to put the Bruins up less than two minutes into the game. Thomas survived a powerful slapshot from Chris Pronger shortly after. With 10 minutes left in the first, Travis Moan stripped Dennis Wideman of the puck and fired one past Thomas....off the post, Bruins got lucky there. Nothing happened the rest of the period and the Bruins went into intermission up 1-0.

Metropolit got called for hooking to send the Bruins to the Penalty Kill just 83 seconds into the second period. The Bruins killed it off and Thomas robbed Shane Hnidy with ten minutes left in the period. The Bruins caught a break when Pronger was called for tripping 10 minutes into the period but just twenty seconds later Peter Schaefer got called for high sticking. In the ensuing 4 on 4, Kent Huskins fired one off Thomas to knock him down and Ryan Getzalf just happened to be standing there to knock it in to tie the game with 9:09 remaining in the period. Aaron Ward got called for tripping with 3:15 left in the second to put the Ducks back on the powerplay. Thomas robbed Andy McDonald to kill off the penalty and had to make a save on a Chris Kunitz slapshot to end the period with the game tied 1-1.

The Bruins got the first powerplay of the third period when Kent Huskins went off for hooking 2:22 into it, but Boston failed to score. Chris Kunitz nearly put one past Thomas 6:21 into the period but was turned away. Shane Hnidy went off for holding 9:25 into the period but once again the Bruins powerplay couldn't capitalize. Francois Beauchemin took a feed from Hnidy and almost put it in but Thomas covered it for the faceoff. Right on cue Getzlaf won the faceoff back to Hnidy who dished it to Beauchemin for the one timer goal with 6:25 remaining in the game. The Bruins had a great chance to tie the game when Patrice Bergeron found Marco Sturm in front of the net but Bryzgalov stoned Sturm cold with 3:28 remaining. With one minute remaining Milan Lucic blasted one off of Bryzgalov who covered it up JUST as Kobasew was streaking in front of him. One half second earlier Kobasew might have scored to tie the game. Instead the Ducks held on to win the game 2-1.

Reaction:

Even though the Ducks were without Scott Niedermayer they still played suffocating defense that surrendered just one goal against the Bruins. Tim Thomas did the best he could stopping 28 of 30 shots but the Ducks defense held the Bruins to just 19 shots on net. That's the kind of defense Julien loves and hopefully the Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is looking out for when the trade deadline comes. The Ducks are looking to repeat but the Bruins gave them all they could handle. It would have been nice if Kobasew had beaten Bryzgalov to that puck at the end but it wasn't meant to be. The Bruins continue their west coast trip this Friday night when they travel to Los Angeles to play the Kings. That might be a good game.

Bruins Win First Game, Defeat Coyotes (10/6/07)

Less than 24 hours after the Boston Bruins got dumped on Opening Night by the Dallas Stars, they turned the tables to knock off Wayne Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes. After Derek Morris got called for hooking, Patrice Bergeron took a dish from Zdeno Chara to score on the powerplay to put the Bruins on top just 7 seconds later. Just 10 seconds after Bergeron scored, Peter Schaefer got called for interference butChuck Kobasew potted the first shorthanded goal of the season to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead right away against Coyoytes goalie Mikael Tellqvist. Niko Kapanen scored with just over 5 minutes left in the second period to cut the lead to 1 but Marco Sturm scored the dagger on the powerplay 9 minutes into the third period. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas was the true star of the game, stopping 36 of 37 shots to give the Bruins their first win of the season 3-1 over the Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena.

                                                     Milt Schmidt approves of the win

The Bruins struck first in the first period when Derek Morris went to the penalty box for hooking 4:02 into the first period. Just 7 seconds later, Patrice Bergeron used a Glen Murray screen to score on the powerplay to put the Bruins up right away. Just ten seconds after Bergeron scored, Peter Schaefer was called for interference. The Bruins PK stepped up as PJ Axelsson got the puck and passed it to Chuck Kobasew on a 2 on 1 for the B's first shorthanded goal of the season to put the Bruins up 2-0 just 4:47 into the game. Zdeno Chara took a cross-checking penalty just 4 seconds after Schaefer got out of the box but the Bruins defense snuffed out the ensuing power play. With eight minutes left in the first, Thomas robbed Shane Doan point blank to keep the lead intact. The Bruins had a great chance to go up three goals when Mikael Tellqvst left a juicy rebound off a Marco Sturm shot but Glen Murray fired it over the net. Still, the Bruins led 2-0 going into the second period.

The Bruins caught a break less than 2 minutes into the second period when the refs blew the play dead when they lost sight of the puck behind Tim Thomas just inches from the goalline. Kobasew got sent off for interference but Thomas and the defense killed the penalty. Almost as soon as Kobasew was free, Marc Savard was sent off for tripping. The Bruins killed that off as well but not before Mike Zigomanis nearly scored in the waning seconds. With 5:40 left in the second Thomas made a great save to rob old friend Nick Boynton then fell on the puck. The Coyotes finally scored when a Kapanen slapshot bounced off Thomas and in to cut the lead in half at 14:39. That was it for the second period as the Bruins clung to a 2-1 lead.

The Bruins got the first powerplay of the third period when Daniel Carcillo got called for high sticking at 4:39 but they failed to score. Then Ryan Caldwell got called for roughing 7:15 into the period to put the Bruins on another powerplay. In the final seconds, Phil Kessel found David Krejci who passed it to an open Sturm for the one timer goal at 9:14 to put the Bruins up by two. The Coyotes best chance to come back came with just over 4 minutes in the game when Carcillo was in front all alone, but Thomas made the biggest save of the game to keep it a two goal game. With 90 seconds left Shane Doan was robbed point blank and Kapanen failed to bank it in to essentially settle matters. Tim Thomas saved 36 of 37 shots to give Claude Julien is first win as Bruins coach 3-1 over the Coyotes.

Reaction:

Remember how I said on Opening Night that Julien was a defensive minded coach that was going to greatly improve the defense? Exhibit A of what Julien can do. To be fair, Thomas was the real star by stopping THIRTY SEVEN shots but having Chara, Dennis Wideman, Marc Stuart, Andrew Alberts, Andrew Ference and Aaron Ward stepped up big. They finally did some damage on the powerplay by getting two goals in three powerplays. The shorthanded bid by Axelsson and Kobasew was also brilliant to give the Bruins a nice cushion. Now the Bruins offensively don't have the firepower to match a Pittsburgh Penguins or Dallas Stars but just like the old New Jersey Devils, their defense could be a key this season. David Krejci got his first career assist and point so hats off to him. Obviously it would be unfair to expect Thomas to have too many games like that as a journeyman minor leaguer but any time he can back up Manny Fernandez like that is a good thing. The Bruins west coast trip to open the season continues Wednesday night against the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. This will be the first real big test of the season to see what the young Bruins can do.

Stars Outshine Bruins on Opening Night (10-5-07)

Woof, not only did the Boston Bruins pick up where they left off last year, they seemed to have gotten worse this season in a lifeless loss to the Dallas Stars on Opening Night. New head coach Claude Julien broke in his young team including rookie Milan Lucic by getting pasted by the Stars. The Stars scored the first three goals of the game with Matt Niskanen assisting on two of them. Patrice Bergeron got the Bruins on the board with his first goal of the season with two minutes left in the second period on the powerplay. That was as close as it got as Segei Zubov slammed home the power play dagger 3:39 into the third to ice the game. The Bruins fell to 0-1 on the season with a 4-1 loss to the Stars at American Airlines Center.

                                                          Opening Night Flop

Things went bad right from the start as Zdeno Chara and Aaron Ward were caught sleeping with 4:41 left in the first period. Niskanen passed it over to Joel Lundqvist who fired it past new Bruins goalie Manny Fernandez to put Dallas on the board. Twenty seconds later Andrew Ference tripped up Niklas Hagman who proceeded to chop Andrew with a high stick to earn a double minor. Unfortunately the Bruins never even got to enjoy a power play as one minute later Marco Sturm was called for slashing to put the Bruins down 4-3. Just as the Bruins got back to full strength, Marc Savard flipped the puck out of bounds for a delay of game penalty. The Bruins went into the break down 1-0 with Savard still in the box.

The Bruins managed to kill off the rest of the penalty but once again their loafing cost them 2:41 into the second period. An errant puck managed to get right through the entire team right to a streaking Hagman who buried it to make it 2-0. Almost immediately after play resumed, new Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton and rookie teenager Milan Lucic jumped Todd Fedoruk and Brad Winchester to earn fighting majors. The Bruins caught a break when Jeff Halpern went off for tripping four minutes into the period but Marty Turco robbed new Bruin Peter Schaefer on their best chance. Things looked bleak when Brendan Morrow took a Zubov past and fired a slapshot past Fernandez 8:49 into the second period. It was almost a 4 goal game but Fernandez robbed Lundqvist point blank. The Bruins got a glimmer of hope when Dallas took a too many men penalty sixteen minutes into the period but Turco robbed Glen Murray on the initial powerplay attempt. Then Savard caught the Dallas defense asleep as he passed it to Schaefer who saw a wide open Patrice Bergeron who scored to cut the lead to two with two minutes left in the period. The score remained 3-1 going into the third and Bruins fans had a bit of hope for a comeback.

That hope was dashed pretty quickly in the third period. Three minutes into the period Thornton was sent to the penalty box for tripping. Sure enough, 3:39 into the third period Morrow fired off a slapshot that went off Zubov's stick and in for the dagger to make it 4-1 Dallas. The final chance the Bruins had was when Phil Kessel found PJ Axelsson streaking only to be robbed by Turco with fifteen minutes left in the third. Fedoruk went off for hooking but the Bruins couldn't capitalize then Stephane Robidas went off for hooking almost as soon as Fedoruk was out of the box. Once again the Bruins couldn't capitalize and the game ended 4-1 Dallas.

Reaction:

The Stars were one of the three teams in the West to finish with 100 points last season despite losing to the Vancouver Canucks in the first round. Fact is they're far and away better talent wise than the Bruins right now. The key word is right now because the Bruins are a young team. Lucic is only 19 while Bergeron just turned 22. David Krejci is 21 and Kessel is still 20. They have other guys in Providence that are young such as Vladimir Sobotka so they're going to take their lumps this year for sure....but lookout down the road. Getting smashed by Dallas in Dallas is not the way to open the season but its only one game and there's 81 more to go. Like mentioned earlier, the key to the game was getting back in it down 3-1 only to give up the back breaker just 3:39 into the third. Going 1 for 5 on the power play didn't help either. The real downfall of the game is the defense looked like it was standing still on some of the goals by Dallas. Julien is a defensive minded coach so hopefully he can work on that. All in all its not the way you want the season to open but its over now. The Bruins look to bounce back tomorrow night when they travel to Phoenix to take on the hapless Coyotes in Jobing.com Arena.