Game 43: Lightning 5, Bruins 3

The Good

• Two strikes for Horton I was hearing that Nathan Horton got a bit of a talking to from Doug Jarvis on the bench after his line was on the ice for a Tampa goal, and it was good to see him respond. This came just after Horton was publicly criticized by Claude Julien after his lackluster effort Monday night against the Panthers. Calling out players usually will do one of two things: fire them up, or make them malcontents. It's good to see Horton used the critique as fuel instead of sulking.
• Humble Paille I mocked Daniel Paille for his propensity for failing to score on breakaways last night after he missed on another one, and then he went a scored just a few minutes later...on a breakaway...with a fantastic move. *Insert foot in mouth*

The Bad

• Weak effort Maybe it was just me, but the effort didn't seem to be all there for the B's last night. Losing battles for loose pucks, getting outskated, outhustled, etc. When the Bruins are on top of their game, they very rarely get outworked by the opposition. The hustle is there, the grinding is there, and the effort is there, and that's what makes them hard to play against. However, the last three games has seen that usual grit and sandpaper give way to floating and loafing. Perhaps it's the condensed schedule, perhaps it's fatigue, or perhaps it's just a case of the midseason doldrums. Whatever it is, Julien isn't going to let it stand for long.
• Circus in the back end The Bruins defense was pretty terrible again last night. Like really pretty terrible. Bad. Turnovers, hopeful passes, bad positioning. Just bad. Speaking of bad...
• Joe CorvOH NO!!! Joe Corvo has had his struggles this season, and I don't want to pile on the guy. But yikes, he's been bad in the last two games. Occasional turnovers need to be forgiven, because every player makes mistakes. But Corvo's mental error on Tampa's second goal last night is borderline inexcusable. (See below for more.) I literally have no idea what he was thinking on that play. Corvo may need a pep talk from one of the coaches, or maybe a game in the press box to get his head on straight. When he's on, he's perfectly serviceable and great at moving the puck. When he's off, he makes Dennis Wideman look like Zdeno Chara (#Wides4Norris).
• Powerless again Another o-fer on the power play. Say, have we heard that before?

What went wrong:

• As I said before, the defense has been bad lately. Lots of scrambling, lots of weird passes and just downright strange decision making. Here's the worst of it from last night:

1) Ok, not so bad. Corvo was in a battle along the wall. Now, retreat to the net-front area, or stick with Downie. Either is OK.

2) Oh, you stuck with Downie. Good decision. Way to get your stick in there and break up the play.

3) Wait...where are you going? There are two teammates there, and only one Tampa skater. Leave it for your forwards and get back down low...

4) WHAT THE HELL? WHY ARE YOU ALL THE WAY AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE ZONE? THERE IS NO ONE WITHIN 15 FEET OF DOWNIE. HE'S IN YOUR SPOT.

5) Nice pass by Gilroy. Sure would be nice if there had been a defenseman near Downie. Just a suggestion.

6) The end. And Corvo is still not really in anything close to the right position. SCENE.

• Like I mentioned above, I can excuse occasional turnovers. But seriously Joe Corvo, WHERE ARE YOU GOING ON THIS PLAY? WHERE? Did he forget that he left the iron on in his hotel room or something? Just a bad, bad play by Corvo. Certainly this loss can't be pinned entirely on him, but this was an egregious (and downright weird) mistake.
  

Attaboy: Dominic Moore. Kevin Paul Dupont's favorite player had himself a strong game last night.

Providence shuttle: The Bruins defense. There's no defending this defense. GET IT?! HA!