Game 15: Bruins 3, Devils 0

The Good

• Scoring first It's always helps to jump out to an early lead. Last night, Michael Ryder got the B's going early with a power play goal with just under five minutes to go in the first period. The B's are just 2-5-1 when allowing the first goal, but with last night's win are now a perfect 7-0-0 when scoring the first goal.
• Thomas back to form After suffering his first loss of the season on Saturday against the Senators, Tim Thomas was in top form against New Jersey, making 28 stops. Thomas kept the B's in the game at certain points, as the Devils managed to mount more than a couple solid assaults on the Bruin goal. The B's weren't exactly excellent defensively last night, but Thomas was able to bail his team out when the D let him down. Thomas told the Boston Globe that he felt as good last night as he had all season. Good sign for the B's.
  
• McQuaid steps up Good on Adam McQuaid to drop the gloves with Rod Pelley, who's a pretty tough guy. McQuaid has filled in nicely in Johnny Boychuk's absence, but he still looks to be the odd man out when Boychuk returns. He'll earn a lot of points with his teammates by dropping the gloves, and his play may make Claude Julien at least have to consider keeping him in the line-up when Boychuk's ready to go.
• Angry Mark Stuart is back There were times last year where Mark Stuart looked to be the B's most fearsome defender. He had his fair share of bone-crunching hits and showed that he was willing to fight as well. That same angry Mark Stuart was out in full force last night, as he had at least three huge body checks (two on Mattias Tedenby) and made his presence felt throughout the game. He was named the game's Third Star for his efforts, despite not registering a point.

The Bad

• Marty? Not the best game for the future Hall of Famer. Brodeur probably should have stopped Ryder's goal, and definitely usually stops Wheeler's, a long range wrister that somehow eluded Brodeur. It's hard to place the blame for Jersey's early-season struggles squarely on his shoulders, but he certainly contributed to the problems last night.
• Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy While it's hard to find fault with a 3-0 win, the B's didn't exactly set the world on fire with their play last night. The B's were especially sloppy in their own zone, at times appearing to be under siege inside their own blue line. There were two or three occasions where the Devils had possession of the puck in the B's zone for what seemed like two entire minutes. The Devils failed to capitalize on turnovers and generally careless play, but the B's won't be able to get away with it forever.
• Where'd the power go? Yes, Ryder's goal came on the power play, but other than that, the B's were inept with the man advantage again. They finished the night 1-for-5 (1-for-6 if you count the 5-on-3 as a second power play...I'm not sure if you do, or if it's just considered one long, continuous power play) with the extra man, managing just seven shots. For the most part, though, the power play never really seemed a threat to score, as both units looked out of sync. Paging David Krejci...
• Dennis & Callahan between periods? Ugh. I changed the channel right away. It's bad enough to hear those conservative blowhards in the morning, but now I have to see them during B's games? No thanks. (Yes, I know it's a one-time thing to promote their show being simulcast on NESN, but once is enough, thank you.)

The Rest

• Good on Stuart and Wheeler to step up to the plate and give $5,000 worth of tickets (each) to local military members and their families. The Bruins' website also reported that B's fans combined to donate $84,000 to the cause (I think they mean $84,000 worth of tickets, but it wasn't exactly clear). Money or tickets are small prices to pay to thank the men and women of the military for the sacrifices that they've made by serving.
• When are the changes going to come for the Devils? This was a team that many expected to contend for the Cup this year, but at this point they look more likely to contend for a first-overall pick. One can't help but think that GM Lou Lamoriello is getting less and less patient with every game. Yes, injuries have hurt this club, but I can't imagine that he's going to let this carnage go on much longer.
• The B's are back in action tomorrow night in New York City when they take on the Rangers at MSG. The Rangers beat the B's at the Garden earlier in the season by a 3-2 margin. It's not likely that the B's players have forgotten Brandon Dubinsky's slash in that game, a bit of stickwork that left Boychuk with a broken bone in his arm. Payback may be headed Dubinsky's way. (EDIT: The payback won't come from Boychuk if he plays, says The Bruins Blog's Matt Kalman.)
  

Attaboy: Stuart and Wheeler each get one for their performances both on and off the ice. The two combined for a goal, a few huge hits and two giant helpers in the form of $5,000 donations off the ice.

Providence shuttle: The entire Devils team. This bunch has been a colossal disappointment so far.