Game 39: Bruins 5, Jets 3

The Good

• Good for 22 Shawn Thornton is undoubtedly one of the B's best character guys, and the work he does is usually the unappreciated grunt work: the hard forechecking, the dogged backchecking, the occasional fight, etc. With all of that usually going unnoticed (fights being the exception, obviously), it was great to see Thornton get (and seize) his moment in the spotlight last night with his beauty of a goal on the penalty shot. Thornton has long insisted that he can actually play and that he isn't just a pair of fists, and he proved it last night.
• Net drive The B's scored two of their four goals last night directly off of strong drives to the net. Nathan Horton actually scored both of these goals, and they were remarkably similar: a teammate carried the puck up the wing, and Horton drove down the slot, got his stick on the centering pass, and knocked it past Ondrej Pavelec. Driving to the net will almost always lead to something good, as it either opens up a direct opportunity for the driver (like Horton last night) or it takes a defender to the net and opens up space for another player.
• Strong third again The B's have been excellent in the third period all year, and that trend continued last night. The B's have now outscored the opposition by a margin of 60-23 in the final frame this year. +37 in the third period? That's going to go a long way towards winning games.
• On fire Speaking of Nathan Horton, he's on quite a roll. Horton now has four goals and six points in his last four games. In fact, the entire first line had a strong game last night, combining for six points (though they did put up a minus-3 as well).
  

The Bad

• It's like watching siblings fight! I didn't like the fight between Mark Stuart and Thornton, strictly because I liked Stuart when he was with the B's and it was just a bit awkward. It was kind of like watching two good friends or two brothers fight. Also, Stuart kind of got beaten pretty handily, so that didn't help things. CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?
• No Kane Evander Kane, who will be forever beloved in Boston for KO'ing Matt Cooke, had himself a pretty awful game last night. Kane is one of the Jets' best young players, but he found himself benched for a significant stretch and criticized by his coach after the game. Kane finished the night pointless and minus-1, but he did land three shots on goal. Jets coach Claude Noel simply wants more out of his young star, and it's up to Kane to get the message.
• Both penalty shots I've seen people complain that Thornton's penalty shot shouldn't have counted, and they may have a point. However, things essentially evened out, as the penalty shot awarded to Chris Thorburn earlier in the game was a pretty weak call too. Truthfully, the refs had a tough night last night, with the two penalty shots and the phantom "hit to the head" call against Thornton. But hey, it happens. This time, the B's capitalized on their chance, while the Jets didn't.
  

What went right:

• For years, speed was a serious concern for the B's. No, not going to fast; rather not having anyone on the team with wheels. Marco Sturm was the B's biggest speed threat for a while, but that was about it. Now, this team has plenty of speed, and they put it to good use last night. On the game-winning goal, Patrice Bergeron made a great play in the neutral zone, chipping the puck ahead. However, he didn't really chip it to anyone. Instead, he just chipped it into space, and gave Tyler Seguin the chance to skate onto it. He did, he scored, and that was the game. If you've got it, use it, and the B's did last night.
  

Attaboy: Thornton, of course. Here's to hoping he had a hearty postgame celebration in Charlestown (after sparring with Tony Gallagher, of course).

Providence shuttle: The refs. Questionable calls galore, including one that really changed the momentum of the game.

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.
  

Game 42: Bruins 6, Senators 0

I missed a good chunk of this game due to work, so I don't have enough for a "Good, Bad and the Rest." Here are a few quick hits from what I saw of the game:

• Cory Clouston's probably getting fired soon, right? You've gotta feel at least a little bit bad for the guy; it seems like his team has completely given up on him. I saw Darren Dreger on NHL on the Fly talking about the Senators, and he said the entire team is listless right now because they're waiting for changes to be made. Whether those changes come in the form of firing a coach or making a trade remains to be seem, but something's gotta be done. Bryan Murray wouldn't give Clouston the public vote of confidence a while back, and the Sens' play as of late likely hasn't helped matters.
  
• Patrice Bergeron continued his stellar play in this game, even though he may not have actually recorded a hat trick. Bergeron's second goal may have actually been scored by Blake Wheeler, but whatever, a hat trick's a hat trick. Bergeron now leads the team with 32 points, and has gotten off to a sizzling start in 2011: he's scored in all but one of the B's games this year, has points in four-straight games, has seven points in his last three games and has nine points in the B's six 2011 games. Simply put, Bergeron's been on fire, and at a good time: Bergeron's picking up the slack while Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Marc Savard continue to slump.
• With his win in this one, Tim Thomas now leads the NHL in three of the four major goaltending categories: shutouts, save percentage and GAA. He trails Jonas Hiller of Anaheim by three in terms of wins (22 to 19), but Hiller has started ten more games. Thomas wasn't challenged much in this game, but he made the big stops when called upon.
  

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 19: Lightning 3, Bruins 1

Well, this one was borderline unwatchable from a Bruin perspective. That would explain why I changed the channel to Bruce Almighty towards the end of the second period. Yes, the game was that bad that I preferred to watch Jim Carrey play God. Yikes.

The Good

• Some jump in the third Hey, at least the B's didn't completely roll over. They essentially set up camp in the Tampa end for stretches of the third period, but weren't able to get more than one puck past Mike Smith. Yes, I'm reaching for positives here, but the shift that led to Michael Ryder's goal was great combination work by Ryder, Blake Wheeler and Jordan Caron. Ryder is having a decent year so far, with 6 goals and 6 assists, good for 12 points in 19 games.
• Rask was OK Again, I'm reaching, because this isn't supposed to be "the OK," it's supposed to be "the Good." But Rask wasn't terrible; in fact, he made a decent number of sparkling stops, including a toe save on a sterling chance from Martin St. Louis. If Rask didn't make some big saves, this one likely would have been 5 or 6-1.
• PK was solid again The penalty kill has been one of the Bruins' most consistent bright spots this year, and it was solid again last night. Coming into last night, Tampa's power play had scored 22 goals on 90 chances, meaning the Lightning were connecting on nearly 25% of their power play chances. Last night, the B's shut them down; no small feat, especially when a guy with a shot like this is on the other side. The Bruins have now allowed just seven goals on 72 penalty kills.
  

The Bad

• Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy Tampa's first goal came when a defenseman had all day to fire the puck on goal from the top of the circle. The second goal came when Zdeno Chara left Steven Stamkos all alone in front of the net, and the third goal came off of sloppy play in the neutral zone and Teddy Purcell being left all alone at the goal mouth to slap in a bad bounce off of the end boards. I feel like I've criticized the Bruins' sloppy play every game for two weeks now; this is the first time it came back to bite them.
• Breakouts make me breakout The B's inability to make a play coming out of their own end nearly made me break out in hives last night; the entire first two periods were infuriating displays of futility. Blame the B's inability to make passes or credit Tampa's tenacious forecheck, but either way, it was terrible. Most offensive chances spring from either turnovers or solid breakouts, and last night the B's couldn't get either.
• Tough night for Z The captain finished the night at a -2, got caught badly out of position on Stamkos' goal and got hit up around the face with the puck. All around, a forgettable night for Z, a rare off night for him so far this year.

The Rest

• Marc Savard is getting closer and closer to a return and he feels good, but likely won't be ready for game action according to mid-December, says Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. Shinzawa also notes that Wheeler is drawing far more interest on the trade market than Ryder, even though moving Ryder would clear more cap space. No one seems to know for sure, but the basic notion is that the B's must move $4.9 million in money against the cap to activate both Savard and Marco Sturm.
  
• The hope here is that Sturm is somehow traded, my thought process being that I don't think Sturm, especially coming off of two knee surgeries, is that much of an upgrade, if any, over Ryder. I'd rather see Wheeler stay and ship out Hunwick, then bring up someone like Matt Bartkowski to take Hunwick's place (Admittedly, I haven't crunched these numbers yet, so I'm not sure if they'd work with the cap). So in my scenario, Sturm gets activated from IR then shipped off to a team he approves of (he has a NTC), and Hunwick gets sent somewhere for a second or third round pick. Unlikely, but we'll see. I feel like the B's, especially Cam Neely, are too high on Wheeler to just dump him on someone to clear salary.
  
• The aforementioned musings are just rambling thoughts from my brain, but facts are facts: the Bruins MUST make a move in the next few weeks in order to make space for Savard, who appears to be back on the fast track to returning. Who is moved remains to be seen, but someone's got to go.
• Oh and, uh, that Steven Stamkos fella is good at hockey. Very good.
  

Game 15: Bruins 3, Devils 0

The Good

• Scoring first It's always helps to jump out to an early lead. Last night, Michael Ryder got the B's going early with a power play goal with just under five minutes to go in the first period. The B's are just 2-5-1 when allowing the first goal, but with last night's win are now a perfect 7-0-0 when scoring the first goal.
• Thomas back to form After suffering his first loss of the season on Saturday against the Senators, Tim Thomas was in top form against New Jersey, making 28 stops. Thomas kept the B's in the game at certain points, as the Devils managed to mount more than a couple solid assaults on the Bruin goal. The B's weren't exactly excellent defensively last night, but Thomas was able to bail his team out when the D let him down. Thomas told the Boston Globe that he felt as good last night as he had all season. Good sign for the B's.
  
• McQuaid steps up Good on Adam McQuaid to drop the gloves with Rod Pelley, who's a pretty tough guy. McQuaid has filled in nicely in Johnny Boychuk's absence, but he still looks to be the odd man out when Boychuk returns. He'll earn a lot of points with his teammates by dropping the gloves, and his play may make Claude Julien at least have to consider keeping him in the line-up when Boychuk's ready to go.
• Angry Mark Stuart is back There were times last year where Mark Stuart looked to be the B's most fearsome defender. He had his fair share of bone-crunching hits and showed that he was willing to fight as well. That same angry Mark Stuart was out in full force last night, as he had at least three huge body checks (two on Mattias Tedenby) and made his presence felt throughout the game. He was named the game's Third Star for his efforts, despite not registering a point.

The Bad

• Marty? Not the best game for the future Hall of Famer. Brodeur probably should have stopped Ryder's goal, and definitely usually stops Wheeler's, a long range wrister that somehow eluded Brodeur. It's hard to place the blame for Jersey's early-season struggles squarely on his shoulders, but he certainly contributed to the problems last night.
• Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy While it's hard to find fault with a 3-0 win, the B's didn't exactly set the world on fire with their play last night. The B's were especially sloppy in their own zone, at times appearing to be under siege inside their own blue line. There were two or three occasions where the Devils had possession of the puck in the B's zone for what seemed like two entire minutes. The Devils failed to capitalize on turnovers and generally careless play, but the B's won't be able to get away with it forever.
• Where'd the power go? Yes, Ryder's goal came on the power play, but other than that, the B's were inept with the man advantage again. They finished the night 1-for-5 (1-for-6 if you count the 5-on-3 as a second power play...I'm not sure if you do, or if it's just considered one long, continuous power play) with the extra man, managing just seven shots. For the most part, though, the power play never really seemed a threat to score, as both units looked out of sync. Paging David Krejci...
• Dennis & Callahan between periods? Ugh. I changed the channel right away. It's bad enough to hear those conservative blowhards in the morning, but now I have to see them during B's games? No thanks. (Yes, I know it's a one-time thing to promote their show being simulcast on NESN, but once is enough, thank you.)

The Rest

• Good on Stuart and Wheeler to step up to the plate and give $5,000 worth of tickets (each) to local military members and their families. The Bruins' website also reported that B's fans combined to donate $84,000 to the cause (I think they mean $84,000 worth of tickets, but it wasn't exactly clear). Money or tickets are small prices to pay to thank the men and women of the military for the sacrifices that they've made by serving.
• When are the changes going to come for the Devils? This was a team that many expected to contend for the Cup this year, but at this point they look more likely to contend for a first-overall pick. One can't help but think that GM Lou Lamoriello is getting less and less patient with every game. Yes, injuries have hurt this club, but I can't imagine that he's going to let this carnage go on much longer.
• The B's are back in action tomorrow night in New York City when they take on the Rangers at MSG. The Rangers beat the B's at the Garden earlier in the season by a 3-2 margin. It's not likely that the B's players have forgotten Brandon Dubinsky's slash in that game, a bit of stickwork that left Boychuk with a broken bone in his arm. Payback may be headed Dubinsky's way. (EDIT: The payback won't come from Boychuk if he plays, says The Bruins Blog's Matt Kalman.)
  

Attaboy: Stuart and Wheeler each get one for their performances both on and off the ice. The two combined for a goal, a few huge hits and two giant helpers in the form of $5,000 donations off the ice.

Providence shuttle: The entire Devils team. This bunch has been a colossal disappointment so far.

Awkward Savard, a few signings and more

It's safe to say that it's been pretty far from a quiet summer over on Causeway Street. There have been trades, re-signings, "draftings" and enough rumors and scuttlebutt to make even the most avid TMZ reader jealous.

And while the arrival of Messrs. Seguin and Horton and the returns of Mark Recchi, Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Seidenberg and Daniel Paille are important, the biggest story surrounding the B's remains the mysterious case of Marc Savard (sounds like next year's big summer blockbuster).

The reason the whole situation remains puzzling is due to the lack of anything concrete from...well, anyone. Savard hasn't commented publicly at all, and Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli has been vague and cryptic at best. Fans still have very little idea as to why Savard would be on the trade block, so the rampant speculation will continue.

On the surface, there are a few reasons why a trade would be plausible:

• Reason 1: The Bruins feel like Savard, especially with the major concussion he sustained just this past season, is no longer worth the cap space, this despite signing him to a huge extension just a few months ago.
• Reason 2: Savard asked to be traded to be closer to his kids, who live in Ontario.
• Reason 3: The Bruins are tired of Savard being a less-than-ideal teammate, as some sources have painted him as a bad teammate. People who believe this theory point to his delay of game penalty in Game 7 against the Flyers (and subsequent failure to own up to it) as "the last straw."

But really, do any of these reasons, save for Savard asking out, justify trading your number-one center?

The short answer is no, while the long answer is more of a "well, not really." The B's brass clearly think David Krejci is ready to step into more of a number-one role, that Patrice Bergeron will continue to improve and that Seguin is NHL-ready. But trading Savard would leave a giant hole in an offense that was already anemic to start with after last season.

My real question now isn't really whether or not Savard will be traded, it's more of whether or not Savard can actually come back and play for the Bruins at this point, hence the "awkward" title. True, these players are professionals and understand that trades are part of the business, but if Savard didn't ask out, these talks and rumors must have blindsided him.

After all, he did just sign an extension and had wanted to retire as a Bruin. I still don't think trading Savard is a good idea, but at this point, one has to wonder if the bridges have been too badly burnt to be salvaged.

Other tidbits of Bruins happenings:

• Johnny Boychuk returns- A good signing by Chiarelli. Boychuk really emerged as a solid, dependable blueliner last year, and the B's will likely use his howitzer of a shot from the point on the power play from time to time.
• Daniel Paille returns- Another good signing, but I would have preferred to see Paille only get a one-year deal. He was a rock for the Bruins on the PK last year, and will likely partner up with Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell on the fourth-line again this year, but I can't help but feel that a year from now, one of the Bruins' youngsters would be able to fill his spot for less money.
• Still no sign of Wheeler or Stuart- The former has elected for salary arbitration, while the latter decided against it, apparently because an extension is imminent. It will be interesting to see how the B's go about the arbitration process with Wheeler, and how much money he gets. It's no secret that he's talented, but some B's fans have grown tired of waiting for Wheeler to change his game to more of a power-forward style.

So much for the summer not being hockey season. Things continue to heat up, both Bruins-wise and temperature-wise, and it doesn't appear that the rest of the summer will be any different.

January Wrap-Up

Now that the school year has started back up again, my contributions to this blog have slowed considerably. Fortunately for Boston hockey fans, the Bruins aren't following my lead.

In my December wrap-up post, I predicted the B's to go 10-2-1 in their 13 games last month, giving them more credit than my last couple of predictions. In reality, the Black and Gold put up a record of 8-3-2, proving that perhaps I should stick to my less optimistic predictions.

However, on the bright side, claiming 18 out of a 26 possible points is nothing to be ashamed of, though the B's were playing less-than inspired hockey at times in the month of January.

A couple of games stick out as being especially disappointing, for different reasons:

• Jan. 6, vs. Minnesota: Not so much disappointing, but extremely frustrating. Here was a game in which the Bruins had a chance to avenge one of their few regulation losses by beating a Minnesota team that defeated them in the second game of the season. Instead, the Bruins got shutout for the only time (so far) this season, and didn't really have an answer for Minnesota's neutral zone defense. Granted the Wild are a good team and a loss against them isn't something to be ashamed of, but it was a bit of a stinker in front of the hometown fans.
• Jan. 19, vs. St. Louis: This game was a little strange, because it was a game the Bruins didn't deserve to win, but I ended up being disappointed when they lost. After playing rather listlessly for most of the game, the B's found themselves down 2-1 late in the third to one of the bottom-ranked teams in the Western Conference. However, they cashed in on two St. Louis mistakes with two quick power play goals, and when Zdeno Chara buried a slap shot with 3:05 to go in the third to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead, it seemed like they would be making the great escape, and stealing the two points. To their credit, the Blues didn't lay down, and scored with 1:20 to go and goalie Chris Mason on the bench. 1:20 later, David Backes batted a puck out of the air to tie the game with literally no time left on the clock. After reviewing the goal to see if the stick was too high, the refs awarded (and rightly so, in my opinion) the tying goal to Backes, sending the game into overtime. The game eventually went into a shootout, which the Blues won. Blake Wheeler was the goat in this one. He missed an empty net goal that could have iced the game, then again missed an open cage after beating Mason in the shootout. In his defense, the whole team played less than superb hockey that afternoon, but they still emerged with a point.
• Jan. 29, vs. New Jersey: Another game in which the Bruins got a point, but was disappointing nevertheless. This was a game of unlucky and lucky bounces depending on which side one takes, and one that, ultimately, the Bruins let get away. The Devils are a good team, one likely to be in the Bruins' way to postseason glory. After going into the locker room down 2-0 and being thoroughly outplayed, they came back with three straight goals to take the lead with six and a half minutes to go. With their strong defense, it should have been time for Claude Julien's boys to lock down the neutral zone and smother the Devils. Instead, Patrik Elias scored with under two minutes to go, and Jamie Langenbrunner got his second of the game in overtime to give New Jersey the win. This was another game that saw the Bruins let a point that they should have had slip away, and while they're in comfortable playoff position, a team can never have too many points, especially against an inter-conference rival.

The Bruins are currently in what is arguably the toughest portion of their schedule, as 11 of their 13 games in February are against teams that are currently in playoff contention (the only ones that aren't being Ottawa and Tampa Bay). Their last three games in January were against playoff teams as well, so the boys from Causeway street are truly being tested. Currently, they are passing with flying colors, having won 6 of 7, including their first three games in February.

Luckily, the B's have gotten mostly healthy, and should be facing the NHL's top tier with the majority of their roster intact. The biggest circle on this month's slate has to be Tuesday's game vs. San Jose, for a few reasons. The Sharks and Bruins have been flip-flopping in the NHL's top spot for three months now. It is Joe Thornton's second return to Boston since being traded (let's see if he lasts more than five minutes this time). It is also a chance for the Bruins to silence some doubters. If they can beat San Jose, as they have Washington, Detroit, New York and New Jersey, they will have beaten a bonafide top team in each conference, giving the team some confidence going into the stretch run.

I think that while the B's will certainly not have an easy time this month, they will silence the few remaining "haters" out there, and will come out of the month in good shape. Excluding the three wins they already have, I'm predicting that come March 1, the B's will have gone 7-2-1, thereby finishing February with 99 points, sporting a record of 46-10-7.

99 points before March? I'll take it.

Go B's.