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.
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