Game 53: Sharks 2, Bruins 0

The Good

• Logan Couture is the real deal This game marked the first time I've really been able to watch Couture play, and he's as good as advertised and seems like a virtual lock to win Rookie of the Year. Jeff Skinner will challenge him (and Brad Marchand could too if he keeps putting up points like he has been), but right now I'd give the edge to Couture. While the goal he scored wasn't pretty (Tim Thomas probably could've saved it, but those backhanders are tricky), he showed great offensive instincts cutting to the net and flipping it on goal. San Jose looks to have a good one in this kid.
• McQuaid doesn't back down Good for Adam McQuaid for fighting Ben Eager, who's a pretty tough customer. During his brief NHL career, McQuaid has shown that he isn't afraid of anyone, even if the opponent is bigger or tougher than he is. Eager looked like he got a shot in on McQuaid before he had even dropped the gloves, but it is what it is. McQuaid hung in there pretty well with Eager.

The Bad

• The power play remains awful I keep reading stats saying that the B's haven't scored on the power play since Marc Savard was re-injured, but it's not like the power play was a model of efficiency and power when he was in the lineup either. Let's face it: the power play has been a weakness for the B's all season, and it killed them in this one. They went 0-for-4 on the power play and managed just one shot on goal. Yes, ONE SHOT on four power plays. Great teams capitalize on their opportunities, and the B's had a huge one when Joe Thornton went to the box for tripping with eight minutes left in the game and the B's trailing by a goal. The power play continued to sputter, and the B's didn't really threaten to score. Game over. Great teams also have to make their opponents pay for mistakes made. The B's were called for Too Many Men on the Ice in the first period; San Jose scored the eventual game-winner. San Jose's bench was called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct for barking at the ref midway through the second period; the B's did nothing. There's your game.
• Where is the top line? The Bruins seemed to play this one without a "top line," as the trio of David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic was invisible throughout the game. Lucic had a golden opportunity to tie the game on the power play late in the first, but he batted a rebound wide. That was about it. Horton seemed to lose a number of individual battles and had a couple of giveaways, as did Lucic. Krejci wasn't making many plays. Truth be told, the entire line was terrible, and all three players need to be better if the B's are going to beat good teams.
• Niemi's rebounds I know this seems like nitpicking considering he got a shutout, but Antti Niemi's rebound control was terrible in this game. It seemed like even routine shots from the point turned into adventures for the Finnish netminder, as he routinely spilled rebounds out into the slot or into other danger areas. Just something to keep an eye on moving forward.

The Rest

• Zach Hamill's first game of the season wasn't much to write home about, but it wasn't terrible either. The rookie finished the game with zeroes across the board in 10:35 of ice time. He made a couple of good passes to set up Michael Ryder, and also made an ill-advised pass that led to an icing call. All in all, however, not bad for a kid playing in just his second NHL game. But if you want to complain, how about this: Hamill was chosen seventh by the Bruins in the 2007 Entry Draft. Who was chosen eighth? Logan Couture. Yeah, hindsight is always 20/20 and we still don't know what kind of player Hamill will turn into, but that's looking like the wrong pick at this point.