Game 3: Avs 1, Bruins 0

The Good

• No rust on Rask Tuukka Rask, making his first appearance in a meaningful game in six months, looked very sharp. Rask and Tim Thomas are a study in contrasts: Thomas is the battlefly, Rask is the positionally sound one. Rask always looks very calm and collected between the pipes, and yesterday was no different. Despite facing an extended 5-on-3 power play and a total of 13 shots in the first period alone, Rask didn't budge until Milan Hejduk's shot deflected off of Zdeno Chara eight minutes into the third, a goal that was hardly Rask's fault. The Finn played better yesterday than Thomas did in either of the first two games, and deserves another start tomorrow night in Raleigh.
• Scrappy Avs Good on the young Avalanche to come into the Garden and put forth a 100% effort yesterday. People seem to have relegated this team to missing the playoffs, but efforts like yesterday's will go a long way towards making doubters into believers. This team has a lot of young talent, particularly in blue-chippers like Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene. And if Semyon Varlamov can duplicate yesterday's effort between the pipes regularly, the Avs could make some noise out west.
• New Ryder solid For the second straight game, New Ryder put forth a pretty solid effort. He saw his TOI increase to 9:48, up over two minutes from his allowance against Tampa. He also led the B's with five hits, increasing the physicality he brought against the Lightning. New Ryder hasn't found the back of the net yet, but he's shown flashes of creativity and the high skill level people have been expecting from him for years. Let's hope he can start piling up the points.

The Bad

• Zzzzzzzzzz Very poor effort overall from the B's yesterday. Little jump, little jam, little hustle, little heartbeat. The game on the whole wasn't exactly a thriller, but the Avs seemed determined to put in the extra effort necessary for the win. While it could be argued that Hejduk's goal was a lucky one, the B's really didn't deserve to win. Lack of effort/an emotional hangover was excusable after the opener. The B's showed more life against Tampa, but fell right back asleep yesterday. However, it's early, and the team has plenty of time to turn things around.
• What first line? Another no-show from the top trio. Nathan Horton was particularly invisible, registering no shots, no hits, no blocked shots...nothing. Krejci and Lucic at least managed three shots apiece, but the effort was not good enough. Krejci is apparently now nursing a leg injury, meaning a shake-up of the top line may be required. Good. That might be what Messrs. Lucic and Horton need to get their games together.

What went wrong:

      It's hard to win when your first line manages just six shots and is a combined minus-3. And yes, I know it's early. The three combined to average around 13 minutes of ice time, however, showing that Claude Julien's patience may be waning already.

Attaboy: Semyon Varlamov. The Captial cast-off played a terrific game for the Avs.

Providence Shuttle: The entire Bruins' first line. Enjoy the Dunk.