The Good
- Bergeron-Recchi-Marchand magic This line continues to produce and has been the Bruins' best line for weeks now. Patrice Bergeron is putting up pre-concussion points, Brad Marchand is showing offensive flair that few thought he had and Mark Recchi continues to defy old age by producing. In this game, this line alone combined for four goals, ten points and a collective plus-10 ranking. Impressive.
- Career mark for Lucic Milan Lucic's two goals gave him 19 goals on the year, two more than his previous career high of 17, set back in the 2008-2009 season. The big winger has been great for the Bruins so far this year and has clearly fully recovered from the high ankle sprain that hindered him throughout last season.
- Thomas solid Tim Thomas was solid throughout the game and spectacular when the team needed him to be, including during some "scrambley" times in the third period as the Avs pressed hard after Kevin Shattenkirk's goal cut the Bruin lead to two.
- Campbell's spark If you watched this game on NESN, you probably came away from it thinking that Gregory Campbell's first period fight with Cody McLeod was the catalyst for everything from the Civil Rights Movement to the American Revolution; that's how hyped up Jack Edwards was about this fight. While I'm a bit skeptical, especially considering that the B's first goal didn't come until nearly seven minutes after the fight, it was good of Campbell to try to spark his team. The entire squad looked a bit slow, probably due to a combination of a weird start time (felt like 3 PM to the B's) and the high altitude.
- Colorado's defense Yeesh. How's Matt Hunwick working out for you, Avs fans? While the former Bruin had a decent game (finished at plus-1), the Avalanche defense was comically bad at times. Strange decision making led to a number of Bruin odd-man rushes, two of which were converted into goals. The Avs have a lot of raw talent on the blue line, especially in players like Shattenkirk and Kyle Cumiskey, but collectively, they were pretty bad in this game.
- Invisi-Horton! Yes, Nathan Horton did nothing in this one again. I'm willing to give most players the benefit of the doubt during slumps, but I'm getting a bit tired of hearing how Horton's "always smiling, working hard, skating hard, the puck's just not going in!" At what point is that not enough? Horton has one goal in his last 18 games and just ten points since Dec. 1. He was also one of only six Bruins to finish this game in the minus column (-1). I'm convinced that he'll break out of his slump eventually, but he needs to do it soon.
- Savard's injury Obviously. We'll know more about Savard's condition on Monday, but the way he was helped off of the ice didn't look good. At this point, one almost hopes that he broke his nose or something as opposed to having him suffer another traumatic head injury. Savard's gotta be wondering what he did to deserve this fate at this point, as the hockey gods seem to be picking on him. Hopefully his trip back to Boston is just a precautionary measure and he's back with the team after the All-Star break.
- I saw two of these behind the Avs' penalty box in during this game, so BOOO RAY BOURQUE FRANKEN-JERSEYS! Pick one, fans. If you want to wear a Bourque Avs jersey, feel free! If you want to wear a #77 Bruins sweater, feel free! Just don't cut them in half and smash them together. A definite jersey foul in my opinion.
Attaboy: Marchand. He's been a spark plug for the B's this year, and his four-point effort is arguably the main reason the B's got the W in this one.
Providence Shuttle: The Avs' defense. On second thought, Providence might not even want them, so never mind. HIYOOOOOOOOO!
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