- Third period dominance I could be off by one or two, but I believe the B's are now an astounding plus-38 in the third period this season. They won the game in the third tonight, scoring two goals to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. So what is it about the third? I have no idea, to be honest. But one needs to remember that this is a championship team, a team that had its back against the wall three times in the postseason and responded with a win each time. Simply put this group knows how to win, and opposing teams have to know that no lead is save against these Bruins.
- No boo birds I honestly didn't think this would be an issue, but it was good to hear that no one booed Tim Thomas tonight. Thomas was making his first appearance since his White House no-show, and apparently said that the possibility of being booed was in the back of his mind. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed, and Thomas got his usual ovation.
- Hustle hard Excellent work from Brad Marchand led to the Bruins game-tying goal, a gritty, greasy goal that Mark Recchi would be proud of. Marchand found himself wrapped up by a defenseman out front, but fought through his check to get a few whacks on the loose puck, eventually batting it past Craig Anderson. Marchand certainly has plenty of skill, but it was his work ethic and determination that got him on the scoresheet tonight.
- Blueline scoring The B's got their first power play goal from a defenseman since Dec. 17 when Zdeno Chara opened the game's scoring with a slapper from the point, and Dennis Seidenberg ended up getting the winner when his center-ice skip job eluded Craig Anderson. Two goals from the blueline, and both went a long way towards winning. In fact, Seidenberg, Chara, and Joe Corvo combined for six points tonight.
The Bad
- Still not a full 60 I feel like a broken record at this point, but the B's can't keep playing with fire by falling behind or simply not skating for large portions of the game. The B's were OK in the first, pretty awful in the second, and dynamite in the third. They ended up emerging with the two points, but were probably lucky to do so.
- Anderson's Toskala moment Yikes. A rough night for Craig Anderson, particularly on Seidenberg's game-winner. Something usually goes wrong when a goalie whiffs on a shot from center ice, and it looked like Seidenberg's shot may have hit either a Senator's stick or a puddle/divot in the ice. Whatever the case may have been, the puck took off like a frisbee, ticked off of Anderson, and ended up in the back of the net. A wonky shot for sure, and it's hard not to feel for Anderson, but that's one he needs to stop.
What went right:
- Remember last week when I talked about driving to the net, and the good things that usually follow? The B's second goal was another prime example of why that net drive is so successful. The B's, taking advantage of a bad change by Ottawa, entered the zone on a 3-on-2; Rich Peverley carried the puck along the wall and David Krejci drove to the net, taking a defender with him. With no backcheckers in sight, Milan Lucic found himself with plenty of space; Peverley found Lucic, who ripped a wrister past Anderson to cut the Ottawa lead to one with under a minute to to in the second period. A huge goal, and one that the B's used as momentum to start the third. And to think, it all started with a strong net drive by Krejci. Go figure.
Attaboy: The blueliners. Six points from a team's defensemen will go a long way towards winning games.
Providence Shuttle: Anderson. I know it was a weird bounce, but he's gotta make that save.
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