Game 50: Bruins 2, Panthers 1

The Good

• Benchmark for Lucic Milan Lucic's goal last night was his 20th of the season, giving him the first 20-goal season of his career. As Bob Beers pointed out last night on the radio, every goal Lucic scores for the rest of the season will be a new benchmark for him (his previous career high was 17), but the "20-goal mark" is a special one for goalscorers. If Lucic keeps up his current pace and stays healthy, he should crack the 30-goal mark before the end of the season.
• Marchand keeps producing As I've said before, Brad Marchand has been, in my opinion, the most consistent Bruin this season. He rarely, if ever, has an off night and has put up 13 G-12 A- 25PTS totals so far on the season. Marchand loves playing with Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron and his confidence keeps increasing, meaning B's fans should have more Marchand highlights to watch before season's end. He's quickly become one of my favorite Bruins.
• Krejci's OK One of the "mantras" for the Bruins this season has been "we have a ton of depth at center." That depth was nearly pushed to the limit last night when David Krejci went down in a heap in the first period. Early assumptions were that Krejci hurt his wrist or shoulder, as the center struggled to his feet after staying down on the ice for a while, then went down the tunnel. Lo and behold, Krejci returned just a few minutes later and assisted on Lucic's goal. Luckily for the B's, Krejci's tumble was just a scare.
• WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDES Wides was in this game. That's good enough for me.

The Bad

• The usual Horton, power play, etc. I wasn't too happy with how the B's kind of sat back towards the end of this game, but at the same time I never felt like they were going to lose. Whatever.
  
• Booing Wideman I feel like I don't even want to get started on this, but: why boo a guy who led your team in playoff scoring the year before, a guy who's had nothing but good things to say about the city and the fans since he got dealt? Because he had an off-year last year? Uh, newsflash boobirds: pretty much everyone on the Bruins had an "off-year" last year; why don't you boo them? In any case, it's not worth my time or energy to defend Big Money Wides. If you booed him last night, then you aren't worth my time. You clearly don't know much about watching hockey.

The Rest

• The B's head into the All-Star break with a little momentum, having gone 11-4-3 in their last 18 games. They're quietly starting to play more consistent hockey, good news for fans. Hopefully they can keep it up and keep building momentum as they head towards the playoffs. I'm planning on writing a longer "state of the Bruins" piece either today or tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Attaboy: Marchand. Kid's money.

Providence Shuttle: The fans who booed Wides. You and Providence deserve each other.

Game 34: Bruins 3, Panthers 2 (SO)

The Good

• Tim Thomas, bailout king Tim Thomas wasn't as stellar as he's been at times this season, but his play was probably the only reason why this game made it to a shootout. The B's were sloppy and careless with the puck, and handed the Panthers a number of glittering scoring chances, including two breakaways and a 3-on-1. Thomas stood tall, allowing just the two goals and stopping all three Panther shooters in the shootout. If he hadn't been there to bail his teammates out, this one likely would have ended as a 4-2 loss.
  
• Who's that speedy Russian kid? That would be Evgeny Dadonov, a rookie who joined the Panthers when Radek Dvorak went on IR. Dadonov, who was Florida's third-round pick in 2007, appeared in his 13th NHL game last night (ninth of this season) and was a thorn in the Bruins' side all night. The speedy 21-year-old didn't record a point, but twice victimized Zdeno Chara along the boards, leading to two Panther odd-man rushes. Dadonov was dangerous with the puck all night, and looks like he'll be a good player for the Panthers; he's already recorded eight points in nine games this year.
• Party like it's '08-09! Yes, the Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder line appears to be clicking again, just as they did in 2008-2009. One of Wheeler, Ryder or Krejci was responsible for every goal the B's scored last night: Krejci got both in regulation, while Wheeler notched the lone goal in the shootout. Ryder had two assists and Wheeler had one, while Krejci led the line with six shots and nearly got himself a hat trick. If this line can continue to produce, the B's will have a pretty fearsome top-six to throw at opposing teams.

The Bad

• Merry Christmas from the Bruins! The B's looked like they were still filled with the holiday spirit last night, showering the Panthers with gifts in the form of turnovers and sloppy plays. Steven Kampfer's turnover was the most egregious, as it led directly to Florida's first goal, but he was hardly alone. Everyone on defense, from Chara down to Kampfer, needs to take better care of the puck. Such turnovers won't go unpunished tonight against a team as offensively-talented as Tampa Bay.
• SHOOT THE PUCK! Someone needs to remind Messrs. Savard and Horton that the only way to score goals in hockey is to actually shoot the puck. Horton still looks hesitant to shoot at times, and while Savard is a top-notch playmaker, he needs to shoot the puck when he gets his chances. Last night, he passed up more than one scoring opportunity by passing the puck instead of shooting it. Can't score if you don't shoot, boys.
• No letter for Wides Really, Pete DeBoer? Wides doesn't even have an "A" on his jersey? Wides' jersey should read "CAABDAT" for "Captain, Alternate Captain, Alternate Captain, Best Defenseman of All-Time." Shameful display from Florida.

The Rest

• This one really was a pretty lucky win for the B's. Had Tim Thomas not played as well as he did or had the Panthers been able to bury their scoring chances, the B's would have lost pretty handily. They need to tighten up defensively tonight against Tampa, or it's going to be a long night.
• I'm not the coach, but I probably would've given Tuukka Rask the start in this game, mainly because I'm assuming both goalies were going to play in one of the two games in Florida. Rask got shelled last time he faced the Lightning, while he shutout the Panthers in his last start against them. I know Thomas is the number-one goalie right now, but I would've put Rask between the pipes for this one.

Attaboy: WKRP Line. These guys are showing signs of rekindling their '08-09 magic, bad news for B's opponents.

Providence shuttle: The lack of "CAABDAT" for Wides. Come on, Florida. Come on.

Game 17: Bruins 4, Panthers 0

The Good

• Lucic is back Milan Lucic was a shell of himself last season, and with good reason; high-ankle sprains, which he suffered in a game against the Wild last November, are notoriously difficult to come back from. Lucic played last year and was decently effective, but was nowhere near the presence he usually is on the ice. This year, however, Lucic appears to be fully recovered. He seems much quicker on the ice, like he gained an extra step. He currently has 17 points (meaning he's averaging a point per game) and is a +12 on the season. He's on pace to score 40+ goals, and while it remains to see if he can keep up that pace, he's been huge for the B's so far this year.
• A sigh of relief for Rask Though he was saying all of the right things after his losses, the lack of success had to be killing Tuukka Rask. After it seemed like success came so easily to him last season, this season was the complete opposite; it seemed like everything that could go wrong in Rask's starts DID go wrong. Last night Rask was in top form, as his many of his 41 saves came on top-notch scoring chances. While Tim Thomas has been the better of the two so far, having both goalies in the tandem on top of their games will make the B's nearly impossible to beat.
• Boooooooooooooth The Panthers' David Booth didn't score, but one can't say he didn't try: Booth fired a remarkable 14 shots on Rask in the game, but wasn't able to sneak one past him. Yes, 14 shots for Booth alone. Florida coach Peter DeBoer credited Rask for stymieing Booth and the rest of the Panthers, saying, according to the Boston Herald, that he thought the Panthers could have taken 100 shots and they still wouldn't have scored.
• Another goal for Gretz Yes, Shawn Thornton has become a true offensive dynamo for the B's (hyperbole completely intended there). Thornton had another strong game last night, scoring the last goal for the B's and also having one hell of a fight with Darcy Hordichuk. For those keeping score at home, Thornton now has as many goals as Ilya Kovalchuk.

The Bad

• Surprise, surprise: the fans booed Wides Very classy display from the Garden fans last night, as Big Money Wides was booed pretty much every time he had the puck. Yes, the fans booed a guy who never did or said anything wrong during his time here. Sure, he had his struggles, but he played hard, never complained about the fans mistreatment of him and even went so far as to say that he missed the fans' passion here. Way to go, Garden crowd. You made all of us look like idiots last night.
• More uneven play While the scoreboard doesn't indicate it, the B's were thoroughly outplayed last night for a large part of the game. Sure, they came out on top and that's what matters so it's hard to complain, but that type of effort will get them pasted on Saturday against a good team like the Los Angeles Kings. Not to take anything away from the Panthers, but they're a rebuilding team, one that won't always capitalize on poor play or the opposition's mistakes. I haven't really seen the B's play a complete, solid game in a couple of weeks.

The Rest

• Why boo Wides again? Why?

Attaboy: While Rask was pretty much the reason the B's won, I'll give it to Lucic. Not for his hat trick, but for wearing that fedora. That takes some guts.

Providence shuttle: Everyone who booed Wides. You think about what you've done on that long ride to Providence.