Game 44: Bruins 4, Devils 1

The Good

• Merlot! The fourth-line was spectacular last night, combining for a fight, three shots, five points, and a plus-5 ranking. Gregory Campbell in particular was excellent, as he lead the way with the line's lone goal and the Gordie Howe hat trick. The fourth line hasn't been as productive this year as they were last year, but last night was a perfect example of how they can wear opposing teams down, and strike when given the opportunity.
• A power play goal! At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but lo and behold, the Bruins actually scored on the power play last night. Making the feat all the more impressive is the fact that the goal came against the Devils' PK unit, the best in the NHL. The goal was silky smooth, and came off of terrific puck movement and a beauty of a pass from Nathan Horton.
  
• Bounce back! I was surprised to see Tim Thomas get the start last night. Truthfully, he was pretty average (and maybe even sub-par) in the Tampa game; however, Thomas has great career numbers against the Devils, and I assume Claude Julien wanted to give him a chance to right the ship immediately following a bad game. It worked out, as Thomas made a couple of big stops and earned himself another win.
• Marty! I thought Martin Brodeur was pretty much washed up, but he looked pretty good last night. The future Hall of Famer made a number of fantastic saves, including robbing Benoit Pouliot with his glove. Brodeur is probably on his way out and certainly isn't the goalie he used to be, but he's still got a few dandies up his sleeve.
  

The Bad

• Another slow start... Last night marked the fourth time in the last six games that the B's either allowed the first goal or didn't score at all in the opening frame. I know the team has owned the third period this year, but playing from behind or starting out slowly isn't usually the recipe for winning.
• Take back those rubles... It's early in his deal, but the contract Ilya Kovalchuk signed looks pretty bad right now. The Russian sniper signed a 15-year, $100 million deal about a year ago, and he's making $6 million this season. The cap hit averages out to $6.667 million, but Kovalchuk will get paid $11 million next year. Yes, you read that correctly. $11 million for a guy who currently has 40 points (19 G, 21 A) and is a minus-9. While those numbers aren't awful, keep in mind that Kovalchuk recently went on a bit of a tear, netting ten of those points in his last seven games. Things aren't so bad this year, as he's only getting $6 million. However, if he puts up similar totals next year with his new $11 million price tag? Yikes.
  

What went right:

• Most NHL goalies are going to stop shots that they can see. That's why net-front presence is so important, and it was key for the B's last night. All of the B's goals (excluding the ENG, obviously) came from a player being directly in front of the net, usually on the very edge of the crease. Brodeur never even saw Ference's shot due to the screen in front; Nathan Horton was camped out in the slot right at the top of the crease waiting for David Krejci's pass; and Campbell's goal came in the "dirty area" of the ice, right at the top of the crease, where Mark Recchi made a career out of pouncing on rebounds. The pretty goals get the highlight reel time, but the dirty work counts just the same. It sure paid off for the B's last night.
  

Attaboy: The Merlot Line, and Campbell in particular. They were outstanding.

Providence shuttle: The Devils' home crowd. ZZzzzzzzZZZZzzzz. That arena is incredibly boring. No life whatsoever.

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.
  

December Wrap-Up

Well, it seems like everyone in the hockey world is waiting for the Bruins to cool down. Waiting...and waiting...aaaaaaaand still waiting. In my November Wrap-Up post, I predicted a respectable 8-2-3 mark for the Bruins in the year's final month. And like my previous guess, I was a little bit off. The Black and Gold continued on their tear in December, going 12-1-0, the lone bump in the road coming in a 3-1 loss to the surging Capitals in Washington.


All twelve of the Bruins' December victories were by two or more goals. They scored four or more goals in nine of the twelve, posted two shutouts (at Florida, at New Jersey) and allowed only one goal on two other occasions.

Here's a glance at some of the B's numbers this month:

Avg. Goals Scored: 4.23
Avg. Goals Allowed: 2.07
Goal Differential: +2.16
Points Taken: 24
Points Possible: 26
Point Percentage: 92%

And here are some league-wide stats and where the B's rank, as of the night of January 1st (post-Pittsburgh win):

Points: 62 (29-5-4, 1st)
Wins: 29 (1st)
Goals per game: 3.66 (1st)
Goals allowed per game: 2.10 (1st)
Power play: 24.7% (3rd)
Penalty kill: 83.3% (8th)
Shots/game: 29.9 (13th)
Shots allowed/game: 30.7 (22nd)

As mathematicians often say, the numbers don't lie. The Bruins are first in the two most telling characters: goals per game and goals allowed per game, with an average goal differential of 1.56. An interesting note is the Bruins' shots allowed. This number is higher than I had imagined it would be, but it speaks to the play of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez.

THOMAS:
Save percentage: .935 (3rd in league)
GAA: 2.04 (3rd)
Wins: 16 (5th)

FERNANDEZ:
Save percentage: .930 (4th)
GAA: 2.02 (2nd)

Needless to say, when BOTH of your goalies rank in the top five in all major goaltending categories, your team should be looking good. However, it's not just the goalies that are contributing. I've wavered on how telling the +/- stat is, as it can be fairly arbitrary at times. For example, if defenseman A makes a boneheaded pass that leads to a goal allowed on a breakaway, forward A, who was below the attacking goal line, has his +/- lowered, even though he wasn't even a factor in the play. Regardless, +/- is a telling team stat, and a look at the league leaders in the category over on NHL.com reads:

1. Dennis Wideman, BOS: +26
2. Marc Savard, BOS: +25
3. Blake Wheeler, BOS: +23
4. David Krecji, BOS: +22
5. Alexander Semin, WSH: +20

Yes, that's LEAGUE leaders, not Northeast Division leaders, or even Eastern Conference leaders. The Bruins are dominating statistically, and it's showing in the standings. The B's are nine points ahead of the red-hot second place Caps, and 13 points ahead of the third place New York Rangers. To really illustrate the distance between the B's and other teams in the conference, there is a 21 point gap between the Bruins and the 8th place Buffalo Sabres/Carolina Hurricanes.

Offensively, the Bruins are making their presence felt at the top of the league ranks as well. Marc Savard is 4th in points (48) and tied for second in assists (35), while Phil Kessel is 4th in the league in goals with 23.

So what does all of this mean? Basically, it means that everything is rosy in Bruin-land. Despite injuries to Aaron Ward, Andrew Ference, Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins have rolled on. Martin St. Pierre has filled in nicely, and Vladimir Sobotka continues to earn his playing time.

Bergeron is out for the foreseeable future, and, in my opinion, that is for the best. His injury came as he was playing his best hockey of the season, and will probably carry as many emotional effects as physical. Bergeron was being physical, and reinjured himself simply trying to make a check. I don't think it's reached this point yet, but sooner or later Bergeron and his family may start looking at whether or not this is all "worth it", if playing is worth the detrimental effects these concussions may have on him later in life. In all likelihood, Bergeron isn't going to walk away from the game he undoubtedly loves, and in fairness, the hit he took from the shoulder of Dennis Seidenberg of the Hurricanes would have knocked any player for a loop. Hopefully Bergeron gets a chance to fully recover, and can be back with the team by the end of January.

JANUARY AT A GLANCE (excluding today's Pittsburgh win):

Games: 13 (10 home, 3 away)
Key games: 1/13 vs. Montreal, 1/17 at Washington, 1/31 vs. New York Rangers
Average opponents' points: 40.25

For me, the most important game of the month is going to be the Montreal one. Last time the B's played the Habs, they won in Montreal. The time before that, they pounded them at the Garden. Another win over the Habs would solidify the B's confidence, and further suppress the Habs. The games against the Caps will be big too, as Ovechkin's bunch are one of two teams to beat the Bruins in regulation since October 30th. Hopefully, the Bruins won't forget that, and will be eager for revenge.

I've been off on the pessimistic end on my last couple of predictions, but am going more optimistic here. With the return of Aaron Ward, the possible return of Andrew Ference, and a favorable home slate, this month should be kind to the B's. Look for the Black and Gold to post an 10-2-1 mark in the first month of 2009, continuing on their tear and tightening their grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The above mark would put the Bruins at 81 points. 81 points with over two full months of games left? Yikes. With the Patriots out of the picture and the Celtics seemingly on cruise control towards a playoff return, the B's may be the only act in town for a while. That's not to say the Celtics aren't or won't be good. I'm saying that there's really no chance that the team doesn't make the playoffs as a high seed, meaning there's little drama to unfold over the course of the year. I'll still be watching, as I'm sure plenty of others will as well, but the Bruins remain at the top of my chart.

Over the next 30 days, Boston may find out what area hockey diehards have known for months: the Bruins are back.