Game 26: Bruins 3, Sabres 2 (OT)

The Good

• Life from the power play The B's sluggish power play has been a problem all year, but it showed signs of life last night. The B's finished the evening 1-for-4 on the man advantage, with the one strike being the game-winner. However, the power play was a real weapon late in the game, with the B's looking to take the lead with Steve Montador off for high-sticking. Though they didn't score, the B's built up a significant amount of momentum with crisp passing, good decision-making and smart plays with the puck. Though they didn't score, they were able to build off of that momentum and ultimately get one with the man advantage in overtime.
• As goes Lucic, so go the Bruins I've posted this on my Twitter account a couple of times, but I think it's a pretty interesting stat: the B's have yet to lose a game this season in which Milan Lucic scores a goal. It may be a coincidence, but I think it shows how important having a healthy Lucic is to this team. He already has more points this year than he did all of last year, but in 24 fewer games. Lucic was good again last night, and though his goal was arguably a lucky one and he finished the night at minus-1, he did have five shots on goal and a couple of good scoring chances.

The Bad

• Thanks Mike! Really, really, REALLY bad turnover from Mike Weber on Nathan Horton's goal. Most players seem to know that it's a bad idea to try to clear the puck through the middle of the zone, and most don't do it unless they're 100% sure it'll work. Weber probably never even saw Horton coming, but I bet he saw the dirty look Lindy Ruff gave him when he got back to the bench.
• The B's breakout continues to suck Well "suck" might be a little harsh, but the B's continue to have a whale of a time trying to get consistent clean breakouts. Sure, every now and then you'll see a nice two-pass breakout: defenseman to defenseman, then defenseman to forward at the blue line and away we go. But for every solid breakout, it seems like there are two or three hair-raising ones. I don't know if it's the system, the absence of a puck moving defenseman or just bad plays, but it needs to stop.
• Really ref? Really? Not quite sure how the referees missed that goal last night. I saw it clearly on TV when it happened live, and the ref was only about 15 feet from the net; I was more like six miles. They ultimately got it right, but that one didn't even seem close.
• Roy blows it Derek Roy had a golden opportunity to end the game in overtime when he found himself all alone with the puck right in front of Tim Thomas. How "all alone" was he? Roy was able to collect the pass, do a couple of dekes and throw a head fake or two and he STILL didn't score. Big-time blown chance for a talented goal-scorer there.

The Rest

• USA! USA! USA! Last night's game featured arguably the two best American goalies in the game right now in Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas. It's interesting to look at the stats, however, and see that American netminders are doing pretty well for themselves this season. There are four Americans in the top-ten in the NHL in save percentage and four in the top-eight in GAA. It's especially interesting when one notices that there is only one American in the top-15 in the NHL in scoring (Dustin Byfuglien) and only two in the top-25 (Byfuglien and former teammate Patrick Kane). Somewhere, Uncle Sam is wearing a goalie mask and cheering.
• Weird moment last night when Zdeno Chara and Jason Pominville got stuck together in the second period last night. The two were battling for the puck in one of the corners and somehow got tied together. It looked like Chara's skatelace got stuck somewhere on one of Pominville's skates, but they couldn't get it apart until after a whistle. I think Zdeno Chara is one of the last people I'd ever want to be in a three-legged race with; he'd probably tear my leg from my body just by taking a few strides. Yikes.

Attaboy: Mark Recchi gets the nod for tipping in the game-winner. Recchi made his living in the NHL in front of the opposing net, and continues to be productive at the age of 42.

Providence shuttle: Weber. Sorry Mike, but that turnover was a killer for your team.