Game 52: Bruins 6, Stars 3

The Good

• Wow... Yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say after that game. Wow. Good for Gregory Campbell for sticking up for himself after Steve Ott leveled him a couple years back. Good for Shawn Thornton for accepting Krys Barch's offer to fight, even though his teammate had just fought. Good for Adam McQuaid for absolutely pounding Brian Sutherby. And good for the Bruins for keeping their foot on the gas after the fights, scoring four straight goals.
  
• Strong breakouts lead to good things Both of the Bruins' first two goals were the direct result of smooth, strong breakouts from their defensive zone. It was one or two quick passes, and then the B's were on their way. The B's coaching staff harps on breakouts, and it's easy to see why: when they work, goals (or at least scoring chances) usually follow.
• Tyler Seguin's instincts Good on the kid for scoring his first goal in quite a while last night, but I'm more impressed by the fact that he shot that puck right away and not only got it on goal but put it in a good spot. Kari Lehtonen probably should've saved that one, but Seguin's ability to fire that puck five-hole while turning around and to put it where it needed to be was impressive.

The Bad

• Andrew Raycroft Raycroft had a chance to show B's fans that he wasn't a bust last night, and to make them think that one of the more laughable trades in recent memory wasn't as bad as one would think. Truth be told, Raycroft's gone on to have a decent career post-Boston and Toronto, but one wouldn't know it from watching that game last night. Raycroft's night was over after two shots: he allowed a goal on each, giving him a save percentage of 0. Yikes.
• Paille's hit A bit irresponsible in my opinion. Paille's not a dirty player, but he didn't really HAVE to clean out Sawada there. He could have tried to go for the puck instead, but he decided to go for the big hit. He caught Sawada from the blindside, and while I'd argue that the hit didn't target the head, I'm sure the NHL will disagree. Either way, Paille will be (and deserves to be) suspended. He was remorseful about the hit, and hopefully Sawada will be OK.
• Terrible goalie interference call Lost in all of the fights, hits and the eventual B's win was the horrendous goalie interference call on Blake Wheeler in the second period. Adam McQuaid had the first "home" goal of his career waved off last night after Wheeler was whistled for making contact with Lehtonen. Replays showed it was a bogus call, and it would have been an embarrassing mistake for the league had it come back to haunt the Bruins. Luckily for the B's (and the league), it didn't end up mattering much.
• Morrow's goal Brenden Morrow's goal started the Stars mini-comeback in the third period, but it never should've happened. The Bruins were on the power play at the time, and there were two bad mistakes on the play: Steve Kampfer gave Morrow way too much space at the blue line, and Tuukka Rask should've made the save. Kampfer should've attacked the puck carrier; instead, he sagged back and gave him about five feet of space to get a shot off. Rask had a clear view of the puck and it wasn't tipped or deflected, he just missed it. Morrow's got a great shot, but that's a save Rask should've made.
• Come on, Patrice! How are you gonna miss that empty net with a chance to get your second hat trick of the season? BENCH HIM!
  

The Rest

• It'll be interesting to see if the Bruins can go on an "08-09-esque" run after this game. The "2008 Stars Game" served as a team-building game and a rallying point for that squad. After that game, the B's went 22-2-1 in their next 25 games. While an otherworldly run like that is unlikely, it'll be interesting to see if the B's can use this complete team effort to build momentum down the stretch.
• It was good to see the Bruins condemn (albeit a bit lightly) Paille's hit. No one likes a hypocrite, and it would've been ridiculous if the Bruins were OK with Paille's hit while condemning Matt Cooke's. Andrew Ference spoke out against Paille's hit, calling it a "bad hit."
• The Stars had three players injured in this game: Sawada, Barch and Adam Burish. All three of those players will not be available for the Stars' next game. Burish looked like he may have fractured an orbital bone in his fight with Andrew Ference. If you watch the video of it, it looks like he gets caught square around the eye with a punch then holds his face as he's on the ice.