10 Questions Moving Forward

1. Will Bruins wingers ever get in the face of Ryan Miller? KPD and Matt Kalman are asking the same question.

2. What happened to Marco Sturm on March 11? In the first 6 games following the Olympic break, Marco had 3g and 4a. Since then, in 17 games including last night, Marco has one goal and one assist! What happened?

3. Will Michael Ryder continue to play like he did in Game 1? I gotta hand it to him, he was pretty good last night. If he keeps it up, goals should come.

4. Why is Mark Recchi our best winger at the age of 42?

5. How long before one of the Bruins rearranges Patrick Kaleta's face? Steve Begin started by running him into the boards with no helmet last night, but if he keeps taking dives like he did against Chara in the first, he is going to get a beating. I enjoyed Claude's jab that Chara is not going to worry about a player (Kaleta) who hardly sees the ice.

6. What is going to happen as a result of Tyler Myers' cheapshot on Boychuk? As Johnny said, he didn't have the puck and it was a blindside hit. I doubt there will be any league discipline as a result, but it might lead to the Bruins seeking some in-game justice for the hit. Time to give the rookie his playoff initiation if you ask me.

7. What was Toni Lydman thinking? He's lucky Lucic didn't kill him. Ryan Miller made a comment to the effect that the hulking Lucic shouldn't be picking on Lydman, but he must have missed the part where Lydman started it and got what he asked for.

8. How long will Ference's groin last? Apparently it made it through last night in his 13+ minutes of ice time.

9. Will Blake Wheeler be re-signed after this season? I hope not. He showed me nothing yet again last night.

10. Will Tuukka continue to play like he did last night? I have to think so. He made some incredible saves during those powerplays in the third.

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.
  

Nice Win.

"Worship Satan" noted one brave View from 311 commenter. Perhaps we should get our pentagram tattoos ready and listen to some Slayer. In his Bruins debut, called into action earlier than expected due to Bergeron's broken thumb (out for 2 weeks), Miroslav Satan was a +2 in 14:06 of ice time. Perhaps Satan's presence had an effect on Wheels, who scored 2 goals and had an assist. Thomas was solid in net.
Also, Team USA beat Canada yesterday twice: in the Under-17 tournament (2-1 win over Canada in Timmins, ON), and in the World Juniors (6-5 OT win in Saskatoon, SK). Hey Canada, at least you still have curling. For now.

ARRRGH!!

"Skate!!"

So yet again, the Bruins manage to sleepwalk thru another game. There was a glimmer of hope, as the B's tied it up late in the 3rd period on a Blake Wheeler (!) goal. But for the remainder of the game, they played for the tie, and got burned by ex-Hab Christopher Higgins. So they lost, 3-2. Other goal was by Hunwick. Also, to add to the suckage of last night's game, Bergeron took a shot off the hand and is out for tonight's game vs. Ottawa. He's probably got a broken finger and gone for 4 weeks, knowing our luck. Cload was pretty pissed about their lackluster performance, according to this morning's Globe, so maybe they'll respond tonight.