BOSTON- Don’t look now, but something’s Bruin in Boston. Last night the Boston Bruins extended their season high winning streak to four games by defeating the Minnesota Wild in shootouts. Tuukka Rask looked sharp in net again, as he turned away 28 shots. This was Rask’s fifth straight start, most of his starts have come on the road. He has performed well in net with Tim Thomas remaining inactive with an undisclosed injury. Something has finally clicked with the B’s who now have put together their first legitimate winning streak. It clearly did not come with ease as Boston defeated Atlanta in shootouts, Buffalo in overtime and now Minnesota in shootouts. They also beat St.Louis in regulation.
One thing that is for sure is that Marc Savard is back, notching an assist on a Byron Bitz’s tip in goal during the first period. Minnesota tied the game on an Andrew Ebbett’s tip in goal during a second period power play. During the shootout, Both Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and Minnesota’s Mikko Koivu scored on their teams first opportunities. An extra shootout round was needed in this tight game before Krejci scored, putting the B’s ahead. The pressure then fell on the shoulders of former Boston Bruin Chuck Kobasew, who was turned away by Rask.
The recent play of the Bruins have given Boston fans something to get excited about. It’s also nice to see the Bruins future net minder playing outstanding. Rask has been able to keep his composer in intense situations so far. Hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg for the B’s who are in dire need of some more wins. The B’s will be hosting the New Jersey Devils tomorrow (Friday) at noon.
BOSTON-It has gotten to the point where nothing is good enough. The Bruins continued their season struggles last night dropping a heart breaker to the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime. I immediately heard people blaming the loss on Tim Thomas, but the reality of the situation is that he was the only player keeping the Bruins in the game in the first place. Overtime should never have happened.
Former Bruins stand out, Bill Guerin, tied the game with .4 seconds left. That’s right, four tenths of a second lost Boston that game. Not far into the overtime period, Tim Thomas mishandled the puck which ended up on Pascal Dupuis stick. Dupuis easily slid the puck in for the game winner.
Frustration has set in as the dominant emotion. I no longer get angry when the Bruins lose, it’s past that. I really thought the Bruins were going to dominate again but it does not seem to be the case. With early injuries, the Bruins proved they couldn’t score without Marc Savard. No team should base their entire offense on one player. Before you say anything, I am fully aware we scored five goals last night, but it was a fluke night, that is not going to happen again for a long time. Therefore, this brings up the most important question. Do the Bruins need to make a trade? I don’t want to admit it but I think we need to. The B’s lost an excessive amount of talent on a series of trades earlier this year. One of those trades will pay off in the future when the Bruins gain some draft picks. However, the trade of Kobasew was solely to free up some cap space.
Whom will the Bruins trade for? The player that would help Boston the most would come at a cost. Ilya Kovalchuk would fit perfectly into the Bruins offense and would instantly cause a surge in production. The cost however would be steep. In order to acquire Kovy the Bruins would most likely have to trade a draft pick, a middle to top prospect and another player. So realistically, Boston would lose their 2010 draft pick, a player like Sobotka/Recchi and then prospect Zach Hamil. Kovy would definitely be worth this cost but fans need to consider the cost of resigning him. In all actuality, the Bruins would probably have to let Savard walk next year in order to resign a franchise caliber player like Ilya Kovalchuk. So, is it worth it?
BOSTON- Watching the Bruins this year has been a lot like watching an illiterate seventeen-year-old read. It is so bad it’s humorous but you can’t laugh because you know they are trying. Before the last few weeks, I thought reading was something everyone was able to do, but if reading were offense then the Bruins are sitting in the back of the class trying to sound out the word goal. Their peers are sitting beside them, smirking, trying to hold back laughter as everyone sits in awkward silence. Patrice Bergeron seems like the smartest kid in the class right now, but he needs to tutor his teammates.
The Boston Bruins struggles continue, they have now scored only one goal over the course of three games. All games have been hard fought, none of which were lopsided losses. It is a frustrating experience, especially losing to the hated Canadiens. I can tell the Bruins are doing a lot correctly it’s just something on the ice isn’t clicking. With Lucic, Savard and Krejic out for some time it was expected that they would struggle. There is a lot of talent and heart tied up in injuries right now but the B’s have to get past all of this and find a way to produce.
Last night’s game was very frustrating but it was entertaining. It was a classic Bruins, Habs rivalry. Every shot mattered; every hit was thrown with effort, the arena was electric and the physical play was exciting. Though we lost in shootout (again) Tim Thomas stood on his head for the Bruins. In addition, Tuukka Rask was signed to an extension and the injured Bruins will soon return to the ice. As for now, the Bruins might want to mix up their lines; this scoreless stretch is starting to turn into an awkward silence. It’s only going to take a few more mishaps and stutters before the class bursts out into laughter, because right now everyone’s thinking the same thing. If the Bruins do not start scoring their going to stay back a year, and I can’t imagine a year without the playoffs.
BOSTON- It seems only fitting that the Boston Bruins played a game on Halloween night. With the Bruins storied history being long and eventful, one can’t deny the ghosts of Bruins past were in the arena the other night. Sobotka stepped up, and with the likes of Blake Wheeler, the two showed the electricity that their line posses.
Sobotka’s first goal was called back at the end of the second period when a flurry of scoring opportunities left Edmonton helpless. The array of shots thrown at Khabibulin seemed to hit everything except the net. When Sobotka finally buried a shot, the Garden exploded only to be calmed by the ref washing off the goal. Edmonton escaped the second period saved by the buzzer but the Bruins entered the locker room with a swagger in their step.
The Wheeler line seemed to pick up directly where they left off. At just under three minutes into the third period Sobotka fed Wheeler with a beautiful pass that Wheeler was able to snap past Nikolai Khabibulin. The first goal of night seemed to fire up the Bruins in front of a packed house, which led to another Boston goal about five minutes later. Again, Wheeler and Sobotka hooked up, with Sobotka tipping in a goal notching his first of the year.
On the other end of the ice, Tuukka Rask turned away all nineteen shots he faced. His shutout put confidence in many fans that were waiting to see if Rask could live up to hype that surrounds his name. With Tim Thomas, last year’s Vezina Trophy winner starting for the Bruins, it’s clear that Boston has the most depth in the NHL between the pipes.
With only twenty-four hours separating the Bruins next game, Tim Thomas got the nod in net against the hated New York Rangers. Unfortunately, despite a hard fought game, the Bruins fell to the Rangers 1-0. Hopefully these two games will serve as more character building events, but for now I’m going to continue this roller coaster ride that the Bruins seemed to enjoy putting me on.
BOSTON-In the wake of the Bruins 2-1 loss to the hottest road team in the league, New Jersey did nothing more than solidify the fact that the Bruins have yet to wake up from their offseason hibernation. The Bruins are slow awakening from their slumber, now standing as a middle of the pack team at 5-5-1. At fourth in the North East division, sitting only above Toronto, the Bruins need to find their identity before they start to experience success.
Fans are still reeling from the departure of fan favorites Phil Kessel and Chuck Kobasew. With recent injuries to Milan Lucic and Marc Savard fans have every right to worry about the Bruins production. It seems that the only thing positive the Bruins can take out of last night’s loss is the fact that Patrice Bergeron found the score sheet, notching his fourth goal of the year. This is a positive sign that Patrice is returning to his old form, something we have not seen out of him since before his devastating concussion. Boston signed Bergeron in hopes that he could regain his status as a powerful force on the ice. With last years top three scorers either leaving Boston or being injured, he is picking the perfect time to step up his production.
The Bruins have a long road ahead of them this year, unlike last year’s team; the B’s now have a huge target on their chest instead of an eight-spoked B. After last year’s outstanding season, many Bostonians are expecting another extensive playoff run. I can assure you they will return to the playoffs. With Lucic and Savard out for a few weeks, the team needs to rally around each other and win or lose; every game should be seen as an opportunity to build character. When both players do return, their arrival will be greatly welcomed.
This year’s early cold in New England has seemed to slow the Bruins down. Whether it takes the B’s grinding out a win, the return of two key players to the roster, or being on the wrong side of a tough loss, one thing is for sure. The Bruins are building character. No matter what it takes, one way or another the Bruins will awake from their hibernation.
