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.

Monday Musings, 11/8/10

Boy, things sure can change quickly, huh? After Wednesday, the B's remained on fire. They were 7-2-0, Tim Thomas was 7-0-0 and the team seemed to be firing on all cylinders.


Now, on Monday, the team is 7-3-1, Tim Thomas got pulled from a game against the Caps, Tyler Seguin got benched, David Krejci looks like he'll miss more than a couple of games and some fear that there are choppy seas ahead for the S.S. Bruin.


Come on, it's just two games. And the team has still taken points in 8 of 11 games this year. Here are some thoughts on this windy Monday afternoon in Boston:

• Admittedly, the Krejci injury is worrisome. The Czech pivot was really buried by Oshie, and the fact that his head slammed off of the dasher made matters worse. Krejci looked out of it, despite skating off with some assistance. Word came down earlier that he'd be out at least a week, while GM Peter Chiarelli termed Krejci's concussion "moderate," and said that he was experiencing headaches and some amnesia, according to Matt Kalman's Bruins Blog. I have no problem with the hit by Oshie; it was a clean, hard play, one that the somewhat slight Krejci might want to avoid in the future. He's not the biggest guy as is, and initiating contact with a guy like Oshie, who is the same height but nearly 30 pounds heavier than Krejci, probably isn't the best idea.
• The biggest immediate issue is who will fill the number-one center spot in Krejci's absence. Marc Savard remains a long way off, so it appears, according to ESPNBoston's James Murphy, that Patrice Bergeron will be stepping in on the top line, playing between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. It also appears that Blake Wheeler is getting at least a bit of a look at center, as he was between Jordan Caron and Mark Recchi this morning. Daniel Paille will likely see his first game action since the season opener, and Brian McGrattan was waived down to Providence, a move that is, in all likelihood, a precursor to the B's calling someone up from the Baby B's. Tyler Seguin and Gregory Campbell remain in their third- and fourth-line center sports, respectively.
• Speaking of Seguin, the youngster was apparently (I say "apparently" because I missed the game) benched for much of the third period of Saturday night's loss to the St. Louis Blues. According to Kalman, Claude Julien wasn't really trying to punish the rookie, but trying to shorten his bench as the B's pushed for the tying goal. The "benching" was the first real bump in the road this year for Seguin, but he appeared to get over it pretty quickly: he scored the B's only goal in that night's shootout.
• Some are concerned that Tim Thomas' miracle run to start the season ended in a hurry on Friday night, as Thomas was pulled after the second period with the B's down 3-0. However, the fact of the matter is that Thomas pretty much kept the B's in that game; were it not for his effort, it probably would have been 5-0 after two. Claude Julien said as much after the game: he was pulled to spark the team, not because he played poorly. Thomas looked decently solid, and was beaten on a screened point shot, a wicked wrister by Mr. Faux-Hawk himself and a beautiful 3-on-1 passing play. It certainly wasn't Thomas' fault that the B's lost in D.C.
• Will Tuukka Rask ever get a win? The young Finn must be wondering that himself at this point. Rask has taken the loss in all four games in which he's appeared this year. His current record requires a strong stomach if one wants to look at it: 0-3-1. However, his other numbers are much more reassuring: his save percentage is .921, while his GAA has fallen to a more respectable 2.66. Also, according to NESN.com, he hasn't lost his confidence yet, something that is key to a goalie's success. From what I've read and seen in highlights, Rask played pretty well against a good St. Louis team on Saturday. On Friday, the one goal he allowed in relief of Tim Thomas came from a point shot off that he probably never even got a clean look at. The thought here is that Rask is simply a victim of poor circumstances so far this season; he'll pick up the pace soon.
• Check the main site later on for another "Behind Enemy Lines" piece, this time a "Washington, D.C." version. Not a bad trip, despite the B's loss.
  

Bergeron makes Team Canada

Team Canada announced its 23-man roster for the 2010 Olympics today, and one Bruin made the cut: center Patrice Bergeron, who was named to the team after a couple of weeks of having Steve Yzerman, Team Canada's Executive Director, in the arena during some B's games, specifically to watch Bergeron play.

The 2010 games in Vancouver, B.C., will be Bergeron's first Olympiad, though he has represented Canada in other international competitions. Bergeron projects to be a third or fourth line player for Canada's stacked squad, and he will likely be relied on for strong defensive play and his ability to win face-offs.

Making Team Canada completes a whirlwind coupe of seasons for the Quebec-born forward, as he is just over two years removed from suffering a devastating concussion, an injury that caused him to miss nearly an entire season. He returned to play in time for the start of the 2008-2009 season, only to miss a bit more time after suffering another less serious concussion.

This season, Bergeron has solidified his spot as the Bruins' best all-around player and has shown signs of returning to his pre-injury form. More often than not, he has been one of the better Bruins on the ice this season.

Bergeron's selection is also particularly notable because of who didn't make the team. Big name players like Jeff Carter, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Ryan Smyth were left off of the roster, as were defensemen Mike Green and Jay Bouwmeester.

For the full Canadian roster, click here.

In other Bruin Olympic news, Zdeno Chara was named to Team Slovakia (I know, shocking!), where he will be counted on to provide leadership to a Slovakian group that is sure to be a medal underdog, and David Krejci was named to the Czech Republic's squad.

Tuukka Rask, who has played brilliantly for the B's so far this season, was left off of a goaltending-rich Finland squad (Miikka Kiprusoff, Niklas Backstrom and Antero Nittymaki were the three goalies who made the team).

The United States will announce its team during the Winter Classic on Friday, but it appears that no Bruins will be on the roster. One player sure to be wearing the Stars and Stripes is former-Bruin Phil Kessel, who will likely get a reprieve from booing from American B's fans during the Olympics.

Games begin for the male Olympians on February 16.

Updates: Krecji "side-swined", Rask extended

Both the Bruins' top scorer and (arguably) most important player are out, and the team simply can't score. How could things get any worse?

What's that you say? David Krejci has swine flu? Oh, cool.

So now the Bruins' second-most dangerous forward is quarantined, and will likely miss at least a week, if not more.

Adding to the Bruins' woes in this situation is the fact that Krejci could have spread the virus to his teammates before being isolated. It appears that he told the team as soon as he felt sick, as GM Peter Chiarelli instructed the players to do, but let's face it: this is a hockey team. There's sharing of towels, food, water bottles, and who knows what else.

Best wishes to Krejci for a speedy recovery, and let's hope the other players don't get sick. In the TSN link above, Chiarelli is quoted as saying that the players are on the list to receive vaccines, but are below the high-risk population. The team will probably get them eventually, but in waiting has avoided an embarrassing situation like the one that is currently plaguing the Maple Leafs and Flames (see the link on the BHN home page).

In better news, the B's and RFA-to-be goalie Tuukka Rask agreed to a two-year contract extension yesterday.

There was some speculation on HFBoards (from credible sources, mind you) that it was something around $1.2-1.6 million a year, meaning the Thomas-Tuukka tandem would be costing the B's around $6 million for the next two seasons. Considering that both are fairly solid in net, that's not a bad sum.

In re-signing Rask now, Chiarelli crossed another item off of his summer "to-do" list, after also re-signing Milan Lucic earlier this season. Blake Wheeler is a remaining RFA, but having to re-sign one is better than having to re-sign three.

B's Begin Informal Practices

While training camp is still a couple of weeks away, the Bruins have started to come together as a group for informal practices in Wilmington. Attendance isn't mandatory, but a number of B's have already shown up and skated, including Steve Begin, Marco Sturm, David Krecji and Tuukka Rask.

The Globe's Bruins Blog has had running coverage of the event, including a piece stating that Krecji may be ready to play by October 1st. He is still unable to skate full-tilt, and may not be by the start of training camp, but isn't ruling out being ready for the opener and hopes to be back in action at some point in October.

Other tidbits from the Globe:

• Steve Begin is wearing number 27, most recently worn by Peter Schaefer and Glen Murray. Bad karma for the former Hab?
• Marco Sturm is skating without limitation and feeling good.

All practices the rest of the week are open to the public and begin at 11:30 AM.