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.
  

OK Peter, It's Time To Do Something

I'm going to start this by saying that I have consistently been a Peter Chiarelli supporter. He hasn't signed the franchise-killing contracts that so many other GM's have and he hasn't mortgaged the future for the quick fix and realizes an organization needs to build from within. It remains to be seen if he hit on any of the draft picks during his tenure (Hamill, Colborne, Caron), but overall, I'd give him a solid B on his body of work up to now.

Unfortunately, there are now signs that this grade is in jeopardy. Has anybody been watching Miro Satan lately? The Bruins are 2-9-3 with him in the lineup (2g, 2a in those 14 games), and he is part of the problem. He is not strong on the puck, he's slow, and he typically loses possession whenever the puck finds him in the offensive zone. I said at the time of the signing that it was fine because it didn't cost the Bruins anything and could potentially help. Well, the results are in Peter, you gambled and lost on Miro. Time to scratch the guy and find a wingman for Savvy because he is being completely wasted playing with Miro and Lootch right now. You have the assets to go out and get some help. You don't have to overspend to do it (See: Ponikarovsky, Alexei or Torres, Raffi). Just get the Bruins to the playoffs and see what happens. Missing the playoffs is unacceptable and the ship is sinking right now.

Another glaring weakness that Peter could address without spending too much: Matt Hunwick. It is obvious he is not a top-4 defensemen in this league and it is also obvious he's not the same guy he was last year (join the club). Last night, Sergei Effing Kostitsyn outraced him for a puck to nullify an icing. That was his game - speed and the ability to recover quickly. He also got the patented Hal Gill Pylon Treatment in the third period, but Derek Morris thankfully bailed him out. A solid NHL defenseman to log 20 minutes a night could be had without breaking the bank. The good news is here, that post-Olympics, Ference and Stuart should be back in the lineup and Hunwick can get healthy scratched.

There are good signs right now (I have to focus on these things because between the Vikings loss and this losing streak I have considered taking up ballet and yoga and abandoning sports fandom). Krejci-Ryder-Wheeler has consistently been the Bruins best line since the West Coast trip. The numbers aren't there yet, but you can see things coming together for them especially if opposing teams have to deal with a threat from Savvy's line as well (only if Miro is removed from it). Did you see the shiftiness Krejci displayed on the 2nd Bruins goal last night? I think you could say he's close to being fully recovered from the offseason surgery. Derek Morris and Dennis Wideman have both been moving the puck extremely well lately - there is a reason they took the play to Washington on Tuesday and registered 47 shots last night.

I'm with the Mayor though - no team play, no jam, no toughness, no grit. This is what Peter was supposed to bring to the table. Raffi would inject the Bruins with some of that. And goaltending has been a problem too. Montreal's second goal last night should not have beat Tuukka. The "timely" save hasn't been there during this streak.

Sidebar on Kovalchuk. You saw what the Devils gave up for him. To match that, the Bruins would have had to include Krejci, a prospect and Toronto's 1st pick (MAYBE the Bruins 1st and Toronto's 2nd in lieu of Toronto's #1). Case closed, that was not the answer for Boston.

Peter, we're not asking you to go out and make a Kovalchuk-type deal, but it's time to do something.

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.

B's Sign Satan

Bruins signed 35-year old Miroslav Satan to a prorated contract of $700K ($350K cap hit). Clearly, this means bench time for Bitz/Ryder/Wheels/Sobotka. According to what KPD has written, Satan & Chara (both Slovaks) are BFFs.

Quick, non-expert analysis: a proven power play scorer, hopefully he will give a little spark to the team. He doesn't seem to get injured a lot, and took getting demoted last year in Pittsburgh pretty well. This isn't the 1999 version of Satan, so I'm not expecting too much. He played for a bit with the Islanders, look for Mike Milbury to have something to say about this.