B's Keep Rolling

Yesterday, the Bruins held off the Islanders and actually won a game in regulation, 3-2. The first period was pretty hot - lots of shots for the B's and I think 4 for the Islanders. If you want to try to put a positive spin on it, the B's have won 6 of their last 7. Goals by Savard, Lootch, Krejci. Again, Miro Satan didn't embarrass himself out there, and actually made some good offensive plays. Seidenberg didn't look horrible out there, either, he made some heads-up defensive plays. Except he was on the ice for the goal that dribbled five-hole on Thomas.

• Ryder got tossed for hitting Comeau from behind. It was probably the right call. Ryder might be the worst skater I've seen in the NHL.
  
• Jack Edwards has to stop with the double-breasted suits. He was swimming in that shit yesterday, looked like something out of Stop Making Sense

"Brick, does anyone have more fun than us???"

• Hey, let's trade Thomas! Yeah, folks - you just don't trade away 2 #1 goalies when you're in the hunt for the playoffs. Dany Sabourin has been backup in Rask's absence. I remember Sabourin. Maybe last year or the year before, Sabourin was backing up Fleury in Pittsburgh, and he started against Boston. Said Minnesota, "Pens got no respect for us; they're starting Sabourin." We got shut out, 2-0 I think was the score. Playing against the team who released you is a motivator, maybe Sabourin in net today? I don't think Fluto (actually KPD is blogging from the road) has posted the starters yet.
  
• Did anyone see that pass by Savard to Paella yesterday? It was from the blue line, with Paella streaking up the left side. Savvy passed it off the boards, Paella was on-side, okay, but the pass came behind Paella, but it bounced off the boards, right, and right onto Paella's stick, with the defender on Paella's right, and he had a clean shot on Roloson. I described it very poorly, but it was cool.
• Bergeron finally got over his Olympic hangover (groin pull) and played, assisted on Savvy's game-winning goal.
• Lootch/Begin/Thornton skated on a line together. I'm beginning to see something in this combination. Maybe it was Don Cherry calling out Lootch. Maybe I'm blinded because I want them to kill people.
  

Timmy!

Last night's AHL game between the Toronto Marlies and the Providence Bruins ended in a 3-2 shootout win for the good guys. Regulation time goals by Boychuk (bomb from the point) and Satan (5-hole on Giguere). P-Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (this guy is Vezina material) stoned all 3 Marlies shooters (Kessel, Bozak, Lundmark) in the shootout session, while Giguere stopped Ryder & Krejci, but bit hard on a Satan fake and got beat on an easy backhand.

• Just before the game had started, I had acquiesced to Minnesota's argument of the past month regarding the end of the Satan experiment. I said to him, "I now renounce Satan". Satan ends up getting 2 goals.
• Lootch fought Colton Orr, and I think Lootch underestimated Orr's stamina. Orr was still whaling away while Lootch tired out.
  
• Steve Begin (finally) had some acid to his game. He was on a line with Lootch & Thornton.
  
• Don Cherry Night at the Garden. He dropped the puck, that was all we saw, but apparently he had some stuff for Milbury and K-Tap during the breaks. They should have given him the mic during intermission and let him spew to the crowd.
• Regarding ChiaPet and the trade deadline - what's (not) done is done, let's move on. You never know - this team could regain some swagger during the 2 week road trip, gel a little bit, kill some people, maybe figure out how to play the game again. I still contend that
  line brawls (I was secretly - okay, not so secretly - hoping for 400 minutes in penalties last night) and long-ass road trips bring teams together.
• Numerous Kessel taunts during the night, which warms the cockles of my heart.
• 7th player award - Brick & Jack talked of Rask, Bergeron, Boychuk - but COME ON!!!! It belongs to Daniel Paille. One could argue that Paille single-handedly turned the Bruins' penalty kill around.
  

B's Win 2 Straight; Menino Planning Parade Route

I have to admit - I fell into a NyQuil-induced haze during the 3rd period and missed all of OT and the shootout. But I was hiiiiiiiiggghhh above rinkside for most of the game where the B's beat Buffalo, 3-2 in a shootout. (I'm watching the NESN replay now) The game featured the usual intense play that we've seen the past few games, but now we seem to be getting the bounces. 2 goals by Paella - and he almost had a hat trick. He's probably the most serious contender for the 7th player award at this season. 2 fights tonight - Thornton vs. Rivet and Lootch vs. Mair. Thornton spent a good portion of his fight trying to get Rivet's helmet off. Thornton with the takedown. Lootch's fight was pure anger - Mair hit him late and Lootch started pounding on him, even with his own jersey pulled over his head. Rask faced a ton of shots and hung in there pretty well, though that Tyler Myers wrister from the blue line looked a little weak to me. Krejci wins it in the shootout.
random crap

• 98.5 the Sports Zone reported yesterday with some guy from "Hockey News" that a trade with Thomas going to Chicago was imminent. Sorry, I don't think these rumors are based in reality. Thomas costs too much, Chicago's right at the cap, too much junk in the way for this one to happen. Noted Minnesota, "Eklund's got nothing on this, and he's the biggest rumor monger out there."
  
• What is it with these refs/linesman who simply cannot get out of the way of the puck? Instead, they gotta pull some sort of Boitano/Orser dance move when the puck comes to make it look flashy when they dodge the puck. This season, it seems the refs have been in the way more often.
• BC won the Beanpot, which really only matters to anyone who attends or attended those 4 schools. NESN had a puffy Craig Janney doing analysis during the intermissions with Bob Beers and some goof named Brendan Walsh. Yeah, I don't know much about Hockey East. Bottomtooth enjoyed the game
• Gaustad's a little bastard, isn't he? Chara & Gaustad battled a little bit early, but apparently Chara's got a splint on his dislocated finger, and when you drop the gloves with splints/casts on your fingers/hands/wrists, it's a suspension or something. I remember this being a factor a few years ago when the B's played MTL in the playoffs, and Souray wouldn't thrown down because his wrists were in splints. Anyway, the crowd booed Chara the whole time.
  
• Bruins open up next season in Prague, a city near Krejci's & Sobotka's hometown. Actually not too far from Chara-land, either.
• Miro Satan had an assist last night. There was a sequence in the game where he was 2 feet away from the puck in the crease but could not overtake some weenie Sabre defenseman (Butler). He's just not good enough anymore to skate with Savvy.
  
• Seriously, how sad was that Wheeler fight the other night. You saw it, right? Two very sloppy overhand rights and then tripping over something and falling. It was like watching an NBA fight - where you got 2 guys who are so tall that no one will eff with them - so they actually never learn how to throw down, and you're stuck watching a slapfight between a coupla dudes. Wheels is 6'-5", probably never dropped 'em in his life because of his size, so he threw his purse at O'Byrne in desperation.
  
• That said, I really would love it if everyone just pissed in the B's bowl of Wheaties every morning, and they played with an angry chip on their shoulder. Having your opponent believe that they may die when they play against you is a psychological edge.
  

No Pulse

I think it is time for the Bruins to realize that they have NO SHOT at the playoffs. Really - just fold up your tents and shoot for 2 lottery picks this summer. Today, the Bruins loafed thru another game at the FleetGarden and lost to Ottawa, 2-1. Goal by Paille on a rather nice shot from a tough angle. Another goal was called back, scored by Recchi. Apparently, there was a "distinct kicking motion". Otherwise, the team just did not care. Stupid, careless mistakes like not paying attention to offsides, or skating for 15 seconds with only 4 guys on the ice. The defensement are so reluctant to skate out of their zone, it's just horrible to watch. Honestly, I'm so irritated with today's game I can barely type. Ottawa embarrassed you a week ago and you got nothing to show for it?

As Minnesota said, "This isn't a team. Just a buncha dudes who are paid to play hockey."

Mid-Season Report Card

It's not really mid-season, but whatever, it allows Section 311 to piss and moan about the state of the Bruins.

• Blake Wheeler (12-16-28; -5; 32 PIM): Wheels has not made The Leap quite like 311 expected. After tearing it up nicely most of last season, Wheels promised that this season he wasn't going to tire out in the last few months. Maybe he won't tire, but the weaker parts of his game are beginning to come to the fore now that he's not scoring goals. Grade: C-
• Mark Recchi (9-18-27; 0; 28PIM): The Recchin Ball has performed admirably despite his age and slowness. Always willing to do the dirty work in front of the net and is providing leadership in the locker room. Has a secret mancrush on Bergeron. Grade: B
• Zdeno Chara (4-23-27; +5; 62PIM): Pretty solid season so far - kind of started off slow, but has gotten better as of late. Still needs to kill someone in order to galvanize his team, scare the league. I've seen him jump in front of the net lately as a desperation move for goal scoring, maybe something will turn up. And who would think Chara would lead the team in assists at the mid-point? Grade: B
• Michael Ryder (11-8-19; 0; 8PIM): Starting to show signs of why Montreal made him a healthy scratch 2 seasons ago. He's rung a few posts and could easily have 15-17 goals by now, so he is a little bit snake-bitten...otherwise, he looks off-balance and lost on the ice at least 40% of the time. Grade: C-
• Steve Begin (3-9-12; -3; 38PIM): Started off the season with insane production but has tailed off in that department. Shows up for every game which is better than most of the team. I was expecting more fisticuffs, though. He's not doing to others what he did against us when he played for Montreal. I want him to play more dirty and kill more people - his last fight was in the pre-season, I'm pretty sure. Grade: B
• Marco Sturm (15-9-24; +8; 18PIM): Gets a passing grade for merely scoring the winning goal at the Winter Classic and justifying the money spent by everyone to attend the game. Has been snake-bitten like Ryder, but seems to keep his feet moving. Grade: B
• Shawn Thornton (1-7-8; -2; 85PIM): Always willing to pound on people and perform some law enforcement on the ice. Takes a lot of shots from weird angles that yield good opportunities if he had linemates who could actually finish (I'm looking at you, Paella). Grade: B+
• David Krejci (8-18-26; +1; 16PIM): It's frustrating to watch Krejci sometimes, and maybe he has lingering effects from the surgery. Still...we need so much more from this guy. Has looked good of late, though. Grade: B-
• Derek Morris (3-17-20; -1; 22PIM): I'm still a Morris-hater. For $3.3M, this is what we get? A defenseman who can't play defense. He's a pylon. The power play hasn't improved with him there...but maybe if Wideman wasn't such a car wreck, D-Mo wouldn't look so bad, he could hide in the shadows. Grade: C+
• Matt Hunwick (6-6-12; -5; 12PIM): I just think he's too small for the position. Maybe Don Sweeney's got a soft spot for the undertall d-men of the world. At times, he's looked absolutely ridiculous trying to play defense in the corners against forwards 6'-2" and larger. The offensive spark that showed serious upside last year is gone. Grade: C
• Daniel Paille (6-7-13; -2; 12PIM): I wasn't expecting much from Paille, who was a nightly healthy scratch in Buffalo. He has shined as a niche player, specializing in the penalty kill. He keeps his feet moving, and has been promoted to top lines recently because he actually might give a shit. We all wish he could finish, though. Grade: A-
• Patrice Bergeron (11-20-31; +3; 14PIM): Possibly the league's best at the faceoff dot, has rebounded from the concussion 100%. Generally, his play leaves a wet spot on the front of Minnesota's pants. Grade: B
• Dennis Wideman (3-11-14; -8; 20PIM): What a shitshow. Even HE knows he sucks this season, and now Cload's called him out, too. He showed so much promise last year, and that he'd finally gotten rid of the yips when leaving his own zone. Now, he's just a husk out there. Grade: D
• Andrew Ference (0-5-5; -3; 16PIM): There are a lot of Ference-haters out there, and yeah, he does mess up a lot, but he does come to the rink ready to fight for his team. I'm still wondering if there's lingering fallout from that whole player's union thing from earlier this eyar. Grade: C
• Byron Bitz (4-5-9; -8; 31PIM): Bitz has disappointed us slightly this year. He's gotta work on his fighting skillz, he's lost his finishing touch around the net (probably because he's not hanging around the net anymore). He is a team-worst -8. Grade: C
• Vladimir Sobotka (4-3-7; -3; 22PIM): One of the guys on the 4th line who really shakes things up out there. I was almost shocked when I saw that he had only 4 goals, considering the hustle he shows out there. If the rest of the team played with as much abandon as Sobotka, then maybe we'd be better off. Like every else this season, can't finish. Grade: B
• Mark Stuart (2-2-4; -1; 36PIM): Has performed not too badly this season as a stay-at-home guy, but his injury hurt the Bruins in late Dec/early Jan. He really need to whale the shit out of someone, quick. Grade: B
• Claude Julien: Claude - GET THIS TEAM GOING. Grade: C+
• Peter Chiarelli: Peter - ROLL THE DICE, make a trade. Grade: B-
  
• Incomplete: Lootch, Savvy, Crapchuk, Marchand, Whitfield, McQuaid, Satan, Wozniewski, Lefebvre, Lehtonen, Larman
  

B's Let One Slip Away

Pretty important game this afternoon - was the San Jose game an anomaly, or had the B's turned the corner and learned to play a tough, 60-minute game?
Well, almost. The B's played pretty well in the 1st 2 periods, but started to fall apart as the Kings tied the game at 3, only to then win it in the shootout.
Goals by Ryder, Wheeler, Satan.
Considering our prediction for this road trip was 0-3-0 and they went 1-1-1, getting 3 out of 6 points, I guess it's not the worst result. Supposedly, Bergeron comes back Monday against the Senators.
random crap

• The Ryder/Wheeler/Krejci line showed some flashes of last year's brilliance. Several shifts featured cycling along the boards, lots of puck possession and guys getting good looks.
• McQuaid fought Segal, Thornton fought Ivanans. McQuaid got a quick punch in to start, but that devolved into a wrestling match. Ivanans hit Thornton a few times, but that also didn't amount to much.
• Jack & Brick spent a few moments pimping the Kindle. Stealth marketing?
• Separated at birth: Ryan Smyth and Les Claypool?
• Claude Lemieux was shown getting honored before a Devils/Nordilanche game. The guy is a huge piece of shit, I've had indigestion since K-Tap & Barry showed the clip.
• 2 Bruins have returned from injury: Stuart (broken sternum) and Krejci (yeast infection). Stuart almost fought Stoll. I'm just waiting for Stuart to destroy someone in a fight.
  
• LA taking liberties the whole night, and getting all of the calls...I don't even remember a Bruins power play. I spent a good portion of the game screaming with my face 3 inches from the TV screen and my fists clenched.
  
• I'll start the buzz now - Paille for 7th player award. Today, he took a shotgun blast to the thigh and kept playing.
  

B's win

I predicted a 2-0 loss. Minnesota txt'd me while standing on the roof of the highest building in Boston, his toes peeking over the edge: "B's lose 5-1".
'Twas not to be, as the Bruins banded together and played a tough, nearly error-free game and beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1 in a shootout. Bruins goals from Paella (assist by Thornton and tenacious forechecking by Trent Whitfield; Milbury was losing his mind during the analysis). Shootout goal by Chara, as he wound up and shot an 8 foot slapper thru the wickets of Nabokov. The puck had already bounced off the back of the net by the time Nabokov reacted to the initial shot. It's almost a little unfair. Thomas stopped Heatley & Marleau in the shootout.
random crap

• K-Tap, sporting a green shirt, most likely to support hubby Jay Leach - #28 in teal & black on your program. He didn't see much ice time in the 3rd period or OT.
  
• Jack Edwards was so insane at the end of the game; his voice was either hoarse from yelling, or he was about to cry.
• Jack Edwards also gushed about how loud the Sharks' arena can get, because of its "metal roof". Actually, most arenas have a "metal roof", it's just likely that improve sound, the metal roof has acoustic treatments (note the hanging sheets of something in the FleetGarden) to damp unwanted harmonics, etc. thus providing better sound for concerts. The Sharks' arena probably doesn't have these, making things "louder". Yeah, I know.
• I dunno, but did you see that backhand, no-look pass made by Joe Thornton from behind the net that bounched off the half-wall and right to Dan Boyle, who shot the puck which led to the Sharks' only goal? Mercy.
• Paella was just tireless out there, man. 7 shots last night in 14:43 of ice time. The Lunch Paille Gang. I ripped that off from one of the commenters on boston dot com.
• Oh yeah, the B's lost a tough one the night before in Anaheim, 4-3.

B's shut out Ottawa

At the request of the Mayor, my sister submitts her interpretation of the events of the past 2 games. My sister sits in non-cheering, hifalutin area known as Loge 4.

"I said to my husband the other night "Did you think, at all, ever, just once, last year while watching the Boys that Phil Kessel would b e wearing another uniform?"

"Nope. Not in a million years."

And you know what's funny? Funny, funny, not funny-haha? I actually liked the Maple Leafs. While visiting Toronto in the past, I remember going into a Maple Leaf sorta pro-shop type store (Queen's Quay, I think it's called. Some mall by the water. And it's pronounced "key", not "KWAY"--This, I learned, making an arse out of myself. Which is a common occurrence.) and considering the purchase of souvenirs. I even have this sick 'n twisted respect for the chinless Tomas Kaberle, and the way he breaks the targets in the goal during the skills competition at the All Star Game.

But now--essh with Phil Kessel... yuck, I get the dizzies just thinking about it. I loathe them now. And those annoying striped socks.

I like the way the Boys knock Phyllis Kessel all around the rink as if they scored 100 points for ringing his bell. I like the way the Boys prevent Miss Kessel from getting shots off or from attempting to execute some form of offensive attack. I wonder if he goes into the locker room during intermission and sobs. Do his shoulders shake with fury? Does he burst into angry tears? Does he run, arms flailing, to the dressing area and throw himself on the bench, screaming "leave me alone!!!"?

I hated seeing Tuukka Rask let that puck slip by him. I watched it over and over. That kind of mishandling (and I want to avoid the word "mistake" here) just givers me the shivers. Why? Because it reminds me of ME. Please note: NHL goalies, even rookie ones, should never EVER remind me of me.

Kessel-mania IV isn't until February? March? When? Long time from now, that's all that matters. I'm tired of watching the only woman (Sid Crosby is technically classified as female infant) in the NHL.

Bruins vs. Ottawa:

Or as Jack would say "Ottahwaaah". (oh and Jack: don't be catty with Carrie and Mike Fisher because it's just ugly and...odd. Leave that to ME...see below). So we started with some shifting in the lines. Begin was teamed up with Savard and Sturm. Wheeler with Krejci and Ryder. "I made all this Paella" played with Bergeron and Recchi. And Thornton had fun in the sandbox with Sobotka and Bitzy. I know I cried buckets with Begin arrived, but I have been temporarily cured of my fear of Begin. He is FEISTY. What on earth is on Ryders' mind? Is it hockey? Is it Santa Claus, or the Newfie equivalent? The game against the Maple Leafs--he whiffed on a gentle pass from Savard that Helen Keller could have seen. Last night, Krejci made a lovely pass to Ryder and it went nowhere. Did you see that delicious hit on Ruutu by McQuaid?? Third period brought us a Bergeron goal, a pretty one from Sturm, and a shutout for Timmy. Oh nice, very nice. More of these, please. And I want Cload to keep these lines. I wanna see more.

Oh and some info for folks out there wondering where the Wives Carnival is. Husband went to Fan Relations and demanded to know when Wives Carnival is. Fan Relations said that the Bruins are too busy with Winter Classic to do Wives Carnival. Husband served up some guilt and reminded Fan Relations rep that the Wives Carnival raises a ton of bucks for charity. Husband also asked why there was no STH Fanatic Meet 'n Greet this year. Fan Relations rep said that Winter Classic Legends game took the place of that. Oh.

Oh, and one final thing: Congratulations to Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher. Nice to see the Legitimization of Puck Sluts, even famous ones. Where is the darling bride-to-be registered?"

Blackhawks Scalp B's in Shootout

Yup, the shootout sucks.

The Bruins hung around last night, scored some opportunistic goals around the crease (with some help from the 'Hawks goaltender - he was awful at controlling rebounds)...Krejci scored 2, and Paella & Boychuk scoring the others. Chicago's depth in the shootout, however, is pretty, uh, deep. Bergeron & Wheeler were stopped in the shootout. I think Thomas played pretty well - the B's were under assault a lot of the time - but blown coverages and bad passes led to some of those Chicago goals. The Bruins seem to play differently (i.e., worse) in front of Thomas than in front of Rask. I dunno.
random crap:

• Matt Hunwick was back at defense, plus Wozniewski played - wearing #44 - which reminds me not of Danny Ainge but of Wes Gardner.
• Winter Classic Tickets and Winter Classic Legends tickets have arrived. With the media blitz starting yesterday, I have to admit I'm getting somewhat pumped up for this event.
• Kessel-mania III tonight - Bruins in Toronto this time. I sense Kessel will have a better game than the 2 in Boston, but the Bruins should still win tonight. BONUS: I hope Jack Edwards quaffs a huge stein of Kessel-flavored haterade before tonight's game and spews some vitriol over the airwaves.
  
• I hope there are some beatdowns tonight. Maybe even a line brawl. Toronto's just the right bunch of thugs we need to face to glue this team together. Look for Savvy to do one of his patented two-handed slashes to the back of the knee when the ref's not looking. Then he'll chase after the smallest dude on the ice and rabbit punch him when he's prone.
• Last night, Jack/Brick had to remind us of the Brandon Bochenski for Kris Versteeg trade.
• Speaking of lopsided trades, check out this top 10 list of NHL lopsided trades.
  

Horrible.

Tonight was a perfect example of "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory". The Bruins had come back to lead the Pens...and with only 0.4 seconds left - only to lose it in OT, 6-5. The game was over. 44.1 seconds left - and Paella forgets to shoot for the empty net...then Begin misses an empty net attempt...then Bergeron's stick breaks on an empty net attempt. Horrible. Then Wideman has a brain fart on a Pittsburgh clear-in, and Pascal Depuis scores an easy goal to win it in OT. Most Horrible.
random crap

• Good to see some scoring. Krejci (close in, off a rebound), Wheels, Sturm (deflecting a Chara slapshot with the inside of his left thigh), Morris (he still sucks), and Ryder (wicked shot) had goals.
• You better believe that Jack Edwards made a comment regarding composite sticks and Bergeron's stick breaking in the final seconds. He also commented on Godard's "fisting ability".
  
• More crazy saves by Thomas, two on breakaways by Malkin & Crosby each. Yeah, he let up 5 goals, but the final score could have been a lot worse.
• 

• I'm telling you, the Marchand Experiment has to end. He shanked an empty-net opportunity.
• The NHL's secret flow chart for determining suspensions.
  
• 

• Maple Leaf Suck Watch: They lost tonight, 5-2 to Calgary. 29th in the league with 11 points. 30th in the league is Carolina with 8 points.
• Evgeni Malkin hails from one of the most polluted cities on the planet, Magnitogorsk. Mutant? Sweartagawd he's got a couple eyes on the back of his head. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.
• Looch was at the NESN desk in between periods. Ya know how Howie Carr's got that "Wizard of Uhs" thing with Ted Kennedy? Play a Ted K. clip, and count the "uh"s? Winner gets a gift cert to the Kowloon or something? Well, he should switch that game over to Looch.
  

B's March Over The Penguins

In between the plentiful debates regarding Sidney Crosby's gender, numerous shout-downs, and an almost-fight, the Bruins put together a pretty tight game to defeat another top-ranked team and shut out the Pens, 3-0. Highlights included Hunwick's almost-not-a-goal, ruled a goal by the officials (Minnesota was sitting in the Sportsdeck and said it was pretty obvious; from 311, I could barely tell it went in.) after replay; Paella finally finishing on a breakaway attempt; and Bergeron scoring with 3.5 seconds left while the B's were shorthanded, 6-on-4. Lots of injuries on the Pens' side - Malkin, Talbot, Gonchar, Letang were not playing. Crosby was stuck skating with, ah, Ruslan Fedotenko and some other shiftless bastid. I'm sorry folks, but I've had Ruslan Fedotenko on my fantasy team (briefly) - here's a guy who is so bad, even the Islanders opted to not re-sign him. If Fedotenko skated with Orr, Bourque as his d-men and Gretzky & Crosby as his fellow forwards, he'd still find a way to suck.
Almost had a fight in 311 last night. Some chump in Row 12 (not the scribe known as "Row 12" who contributes to this blog) started jawing at somebody in Row 13 about something, and the Row 12 guy walked down the row to confront Row 13 guy. Oh yeah, alcohol may have been involved. So yeah, the pudgy Row 12 guy actually slipped and stepped on my back while confronting Row 13 guy. Then the Fleet Baybank BankBoston rent-a-cops showed up and escorted the dudes out.
random crap:

• Good to see Mark Stuart crunch Brooks Orpik against the boards. Orpik spent the rest of the shift hunched over near Fleury, then skated to the locker room and did not return for the rest of the game. Stuart wins that battle 100 times out of a 100. Orpik is a turd.
• Despite the student-night mentality of the section last night, no real good chants originated from the section. Just taunts of "Flllleeeeuuuuurrrryyyyyyy", and the aforementioned "Does Crosby have a vagina?"-type debates.
  
• 2nd on the team in points so far this season? Steve Begin (2-8-10)
• Tied for 3rd on the team in plus/minus? Lord Byron Bitz himself (+3).

B's Rattle Sabres

I love being right.

The Bruins bared their teeth last night in a game that featured 3 fighting majors and some slashing. Shawn Thornton took on the league's punching bag, Steve Montador, and beat him. Then he took on Paul Gaustad, who had been being a pest all night, and beat him, too. Stuart threw Jochen Hecht down in a fit of caveman fury. I think Stuart held back a little because Hecht was wearing a face-shield. And the Bruins won the game. Okay, so we faced their rookie goalie in his first NHL game, and maybe Buffalo was playing its second straight game in as many nights, so the path was cleared for us, but I'll take it. Paella must have had at least a billion scoring chances and converted on none. Noted Minnesota, "He shoulda had 8 goals tonight." Lord Byron Bitz scored a goal (pretty goal line dangle), Sturm scored (finally a goal that went off the post and in instead of out - check out HubHockey for classic SturmFace), Chara (a freakin' BOMB from the blue line with Recchin Ball screening Enron, er, Enroth), and The Recchin Ball (tipped a wrist shot/pass from Dmo). Bergeron could have had a few goals, but tried to get too pretty with the stickwork and ran out of room both times.
random crap:

• Best comment of the night came from a fan a few rows back, "Buffalo sucks - the Bills suck, the Sabres suck, you guys have never won anything, so what's happening here should be no surprise."
• Has hockeyfights.com ever been award "top 100 websites of all time" by Time Magazine, or something? It should at least be in the, say, top 15, if you ask me.
  

B's Strike Oil

The B's have been doing this win-lose pattern all season, being consistently inconsistent. However, it appears that the tide has somewhat turned, as the B's turned in their 2nd straight tight, hard-fought game at home yesterday when they shut out the Oilers, 2-0. Both goals were scored by the Paella-Sobotka-Wheels line. The first goal showed the REAL Sobotka that we know - the player who plays 5x bigger than he is - just completely fearless. He fought Theo Peckham along the boards, keeping possession, until he broke free and threw a blind pass out in front which Wheels shot into the net. The second goal also featured Sobotka & Wheels crashing the net. Rask had a couple good saves, but really didn't have to work too hard. Sobotka has played only 5 games, yet already is tied for 3rd on the team in hits with 19.
random crap:

• Coming soon: An attempt to correlate fighting majors and Bruins wins. I'm convinced their early season malaise is due to the fact that they really haven't beat anyone down yet.
• The Rangers aren't playing so hot these days, so today's matinee should be interesting - mainly whether or not the B's can replicate the past 2 performances.
• Former B's update: For the Minnesota Wild, Shane Hnidy has 0-3-3 totals with 18PIM; Chuck Kobasew has 1-2-3 totals with 6PIM; Perennial punching bag Steve Montador has 0-3-3 totals with 15PIM with the first-place Sabres (who lost yesterday to the Isle, 5-0); Brad Boyes has 2-4-6 totals with 0PIM and 0 PP goals with St. Louis; P.J. Axelsson has 3-7-10 totals, with 29PIM (what?) in 15 games with Frolunda of the Swedish Elite League, if I read their statistik page right; Brandon Bochenski leads the Tampa Bay Lighting's farm affiliate (Norfolk Admirals) in scoring with 6-2-8 totals; Also playing with BranBo is Matt Lashoff (1-1-2, 29PIM, -6) and Martins Karsums (0-0-0, 10 shots). Thanks for the Recchin Ball and the draft pick, you chumps.
  
• Recently, Contributor Minnesota spied a Phil Kessel shirt with #81 on the back, his name taped over in masking tape, and "2010 first round pick" written on the tape. That's got the makings of a good t-shirt there.
• Speaking of which, Maple Leafs suck watch: 1-7-4 for 6 points, good for 30th (dead last) in the league. Taylor Hall, folks. Keep an eye on him.
  
• Spotted a Whaler fan in the building yesterday - wearing his #77 Paul Coffey jersey. He had his young daughter with him, and even she was ashamed - she was trying to distance herself from him, but he kept tugging on her arm as they were leaving. There were some B's fans who were giving him shit, and rightfully so - Whaler fans are second-class citizens.
  

Fruits of the Devil

"Yankees Suck" chants, underage drinking, numerous almost-fights - Yep, musta been student night at the TD Banknorth Fleet Bank of Boston Baybank Garden Center. The Bruins turned in probably their best home effort since they slapped the 'Canes around a few weeks back, only to lose in the final minute-and-a-half. The Jersey goals were typical Jersey - opportunistic, garbage-type goals. Pucks breaking thru Thomas and Zubrus cleaning up with a crease shot. Jersey, showing no respect, put Yann Danis in net. The B's passes, for the most part, were pretty crisp and the team showed more cohesion than usual. Bergeron was set up nicely by Paella, he had 24 square feet of yawning, gaping net to shoot at, and he hooked it wide left. Remember, this is why Patrice no longer works the point. That experiment died in the Dave Lewis era/error when Patrice missed about 40 one-timers from the left circle/point on the PP.
random crap:

• "Green Man" located a few seats to our left. Thankfully, the jumbotron people were merciful and did not show him.
• The contributor known as "Minnesota" should be back online within a few days, his new computer power supply just arrived.
• Latest issue of the Improper Bostonian has cheesecake pics of some Bruins in it. Quoth my sister, "they even made Sturm look good."
• Marchand still looking a little bit lost out there. Minnesota chalks it up to a lack of confidence.
• Most 311'ers got their Winter Classic tickets over the past few days. The process leading up to their purchase was somewhat odd - some folks hearing lots of information, and some didn't get any correspondence at all.
• Tried to tune into the post-game on the Sportshub, and some caller whined about about the price spent on season tickets, and then the "uninspiring" performance by the B's last night. That's pretty much when I flip the channel - when they open up the phone lines. Dave Goucher pretty much told the guy, "that's not how we saw the game." He may have said other things, but I went to another station.
• Mini-one-on-one wunderkind Oliver Wahlstrom attempted his breakaway lacrosse moves last night during intermission. He shot it wide. Minnesota noted that the kid "got some puck skills there".
• Classic Lyndon Byers quote here. Scrub to 0:37. What is it about former pugilists going into broadcast media? Just this clip shows Beers, Milbury, LB; Matthew Barnaby does stuff for ESPN, Rob Ray's been on tv, P.J. Stock is on HNIC...and there's probably more.