Game 42: Bruins 3, Panthers 2 (SO)

The Good

• All Patrice While I'd argue that Zdeno Chara is probably more valuable to the Bruins' overall success as a team, Patrice Bergeron is probably their best all-around player. Last night was the most effective I've seen Bergeron be in quite some time. This isn't to say he's been slacking lately; rather that his contributions usually go more unnoticed: a nice chip pass, strong backcheck, good read of a play, etc. However, Bergeron was a force every time he touched the ice last night, and his line was by far the Bruins most dangerous. Truthfully, the Bruins probably didn't deserve to win last night, but thanks to Bergeron's Herculean efforts, they managed to pull it out anyways.
• Fast-paced I was ridiculed earlier this season (and as recently as late November) for saying that I thought Florida would make the playoffs this year. Well they're making a strong push not only for a playoff spot but for the top spot in the Southeast Division. I liked what I saw from the Cats last night, specifically the fast-paced, fairly uptempo style they were playing. I expected a Dale Tallon team to be slightly more defense-oriented, but the Panthers were fun to watch last night: a lot of end-to-end rushes, a lot of home run passes, and a lot of young talent.

The Bad

• Big holes The Bruins gave up at least four breakaways last night, including one in the final 30 seconds of overtime. Inexcusable. I don't know if it was blown assignments or just cherrypicking by the Panthers, but the B's can't let that happen. They only got burnt once last night, but a team with more high-end skill will bury the B's if they keep giving up chances like that.
• No defending defense There were more than a few Bruins who had "off" nights last night, but Joe Corvo and Dennis Seidenberg stood out. A rare off night for Seidenberg, not so rare for Corvo. A lot of it did seem to be bad bounces, however, as the puck wouldn't really sit flat for anyone all night.
  

What went right:

• Using the real estate The biggest asset on a 5-on-3 power play is the amount of space a team has at its disposal. Too often, teams will simply set up in their normal power play offense and attempt to solve the three-man triangle. The Bruins did this last night, and it wasn't working. It wasn't until Tyler Seguin picked up the puck and essentially skated around the zone untouched that a play opened up. Seguin used the space and his skating to create a passing lane, them feathered a perfect pass on to Bergeron's stick. Stationary power plays are unsuccessful power plays. The B's moved well in that instance, and were rewarded for it.
  

Attaboy: Saint Patrice be praised!

Providence shuttle: Bad Bruins defense. No early bird special for you.

Game 21: Red Wings 3, Bruins 2

I'm going to keep this brief, seeing as it's Friday night and I've got other stuff to do.

The Good

• These two should meet more often It's a shame that the B's and Wings don't play more often. Rumor has it that Detroit may be moving to the Eastern Conference in the near future, and that'd be great news for Bruins (and Wings) fans. This was a game filled with great end-to-end action, sublime displays of skill, and solid goaltending. Let's see it more often, OK NHL?
• D and Z It's always great to see Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg live, as they're two of the more skilled players in the league. Zetterberg made a terrific pass on the Wings' first goal, and Datsyuk was thrilling (as always) in the shootout. You could serve dinner on Datsyuk's saucer passes. Truly a treat to see those two play.
• Sitting down low Usually, I sit up in the balcony when I go to hockey games, up in the 300s with the commoners (I'm a commoner too, it's not an insult). Today, I got to sit down in the loge, five rows from the ice, right next to the Bruins' tunnel. It's always a treat to see the game from that close: the speed, size, skill, and sound are all on display. For example, sitting down there today, I was able to hear and see Angry Tuukka first hand when he skated off the ice after the loss. Pretty cool experience.

The Bad

• Bad moves Dennis Seidenberg and Rich Peverley had questionable days, with Seidenberg kneeing Corey Emmerton and Peverley slashing Jonathan Ericsson in the, um..."pucks." Certainly won't help the B's villainous image.
• Still nothing from Krejci David Krejci remains lost in a haze. It may be time to give someone else some reps between Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton while Krejci finds his game.
• Red Wing gift-wrap Truthfully, this game could've very easily ended 2-0 Wings had they not had two egregious turnovers. The Wings didn't do a very good job of taking care of the puck today, but they still found a way to win, as good teams usually do.
  

What went wrong:
Too many missed opportunities. The B's had plenty of chances to put the puck in the net today, but passes skittered away or shots went wide. Zdeno Chara missed the net on a golden chance late in OT, Horton whiffed on a perfect one-timer, Patrice Bergeron passed up a golden shooting chance to instead make an ill-advised drop pass. In Bergeron's defense, he was angry on the bench, yelling at the d-man for calling for the pass when he wasn't open. In short, the B's had their chances, but they couldn't cash in. That's the way the puck bounces some time.



Attaboy: Pavel Datsyuk, just because it's very, VERY fun to watch him play.

Providence Shuttle: Krejci. This loss was far from his fault, but Claude's gotta be growing impatient with his lack of production.

Game 69: Bruins 3, Blue Jackets 2 (OT)

Quick Hits

• Last night was certainly the best Tuukka Rask has played this year, and was a game that should improve his confidence dramatically. Rask made several jaw-dropping, acrobatic saves, and essentially won the game for the Bruins on his own. Without that A+ effort from Rask, the B's would've lost that game in regulation. Rask's last few starts have been against what one could consider "lesser" opponents, or opponents who are out of the playoff race (with the exception of that debacle in Montreal). This game against a Columbus club that is still gunning for the eighth-seed in the West really tested Rask's mettle, and he passed that test with flying colors. Rask deserves to start now until he loses, which, if he keeps playing like he did last night, won't be for a while.
• Brad Marchand is probably going to get a call from the league today, and will likely be suspended for his elbow to the head of RJ Umberger. Marchand's hit was the precise type of play the league is trying to get rid of: it was high, it was unnecessary and it was dangerous. Some are saying that Marchand wasn't even looking at Umberger, or that Umberger ducked at the last minute; sound familiar, Bruins fans? I'm not saying the hits were the same, but they were certainly both avoidable. Marchand plays on the edge and gets under the skin of his opponents, and that's what makes him effective. But this time, he crossed the line and deserves to be punished as a result.
• Rough game last night for Dennis Seidenberg. It seemed like he got beaten every time me was locked in a one-on-one battle, and his giveaway at his own blue line led directly to the Jackets' second goal. Seidenberg is usually solid in his own end, but he was a liability last night.
  
• Good for Claude Julien for finally benching a slumping veteran. It must've been hard for Julien, as Michael Ryder is one of his favorites, but Ryder hasn't been producing lately and needed to have a message sent his way. One of the criticisms often thrown at Julien is that he's quick to bench/send a message to rookies, but often leaves his veterans alone. A good example was earlier this season when Tyler Seguin would be scratched after one off-night, but Nathan Horton kept his ice time when he went scoreless for what seemed like ages. It remains to be seen how Ryder's scratch affects him and whether or not other veterans may get a similar message sent their way soon, but scratching a vet like Ryder should put other veterans on alert: ice time is a privilege, not a right.
  

Game 24: Bruins 8, Lightning 1

Boy, that one was fun, wasn't it? Too bad they all can't be that entertaining.

The Good

• Ho hum, Thomas again It's really getting to be rather ridiculous how well Tim Thomas is playing. His record is now a remarkable 13-2-1. His save percentage is .956 and his GAA is 1.44. Yowza, those are some gaudy numbers. Thomas didn't have to make as many top-notch saves last night as he did against Philly, but he was stellar again overall.
• Attack, attack, attack Maybe it was just me, but I felt like the Bruins were more aggressive last night than I've seen them in a while. Whether it was Michael Ryder attacking passing lanes on the forecheck to force turnovers or Big Money Seids throwing the puck on goal from the neutral zone, the B's seemed to play a lot more up-tempo last night, and it worked: eight goals tell no lies.
  
• Speaking of Ryder... He's having a somewhat under-the-radar good season. In 24 games, Ryder has 17 points (7 G, 10 A). He finished last season with 33 points in 82 games, meaning he's already more than halfway to eclipsing last year's total in just a quarter of the season. He's currently got a nice little three-game point streak going, during which he's notched four points (1 G, 3 A). Ryder's been a notoriously good producer in contract years, but it's also likely that he's been spurred by rumors of a demotion to Providence. Threats of long, bumpy bus rides will light a fire under any player, but in my opinion, Ryder's been great so far.
• He's baaaaaaack No, he didn't score, but seeing #91 in black and gold skating around the ice was enough to make this observer happy. Savard didn't look all that rusty either, and while he didn't record a point, he certainly made a few good plays out there. With time, the points will come.

The Bad

• I'm not sure I really have any complaints. Maybe at the linesman for throwing Savard out of his first faceoff after the pivot got a standing ovation from the crowd? That ref clearly has no sense of pageantry. Come on!

The Rest

• It'll be interesting to see if Tyler Seguin hears any boos on Saturday night when he plays in Toronto against the Leafs for the first time. Seguin, an Ontario native, scored against the Leafs at the Garden earlier this season, prompting a "thank you, Kessel" chant from the Garden crowd. Some Leaf fans on HFBoards were miffed that B's fans were booing Kessel, and Damien Cox of the Toronto Star went so far as to suggest that the Leafs fans boo Seguin when the B's come to town. Not sure how the two are related, seeing as Kessel didn't want to play in Boston and Seguin hasn't done a thing to Toronto fans, but hey, I'm all for a little bad blood.
• The Leafs are pretty much in a free-fall right now. All Leafs (and Bruins fans) know in the back of their minds that the B's own the Leafs first-round pick again this year, so B's fans are rooting for the Leafs to finish as low as possible. Right now, the Leafs are in 28th place in the league, meaning that if the season ended today, the B's would get another top-3 pick in the draft. It's still early, but the B's want to keep the Leafs down. A win over a good Bruins club would likely provide a lift to this suffering Leafs team, something the B's don't want to provide. The Leafs are down now, and the B's and their fans would like nothing more than to see them down and out completely.

Attaboy: I'll give it to Savard in his first game back. Welcome back, Marc.

Providence shuttle: That linesman. Come on!

Game 1: Coyotes 5, Bruins 2

(Note: This is the beginning of something I'm going to try to do throughout the season. I don't have access to the players, so writing game stories without quotes would be pretty useless. I'm instead going to do something called "The Good, the Bad and the Rest." Here's the first one below, let's hope I keep it up all season. The "Attaboy" is meant to be the best performer/standout factor, while the "Providence Shuttle" isn't meant to suggest demotion, but...well, you get it.)

The Good

• Nathan Horton: The big winger looked excellent in his Bruin debut. As Joe Haggerty of CSNNE put it, Horton looked dangerous every time he had the puck in the slot. If Horton can play every night like he did this afternoon, then maaaaaaybe I'll be more OK with the fateful Wides trade. After one game though, Horton looks great.
• Tuukka Rask: You wouldn't expect the goalie to be on the "good" list in a 5-2 loss, but Rask actually played pretty well. I don't think any of the four goals he allowed were really his fault, and the sophomore made some huge saves to keep the B's in the game early. Rask finished the game with 32 saves, including a couple of highlight-reel flourishes with his glove. He may have allowed four goals, but Rask was hardly the problem.
• Gregory Campbell: Campbell was somewhat overlooked in the Horton-Wideman trade, but the fourth-line centerman earns high marks here for dropping the gloves with Vernon Fiddler in the third period. He'll certainly earn a lot of kudos from his teammates for fighting, and his scrap seemed to energize the team, if only for a few minutes.

The Bad

• Dennis Seidenberg: Oy. Early in NESN's telecast, Jack Edwards commented on a remark GM Peter Chiarelli made about Seidenberg, saying (paraphrasing here) that he "had a lot of rust to work off." Well Seidenberg looked as rusty as the Tin Man after a rainstorm today, appearing slow and sloppy and getting beaten badly on Taylor Pyatt's net-front goal. At his best, Seidenberg is an outstanding puck-mover and an offensive threat, but today he was a liability.
• Power(less) Play: Different year, same story? The B's power play was an area of weakness last year, and in this year's first game it appeared that little had changed. The B's were just 1-for-4 with the man advantage today, including one failed 5-on-3 in the first period. They got a few chances and a late strike from Horton, but for the most part the power play wasn't much of a threat.

The Rest

• Cool to hear TD Garden P.A. guy Jim Martin on the P.A. system at 02 arena in Prague. It was a little strange to hear Martin announce Phoenix goals with such enthusiasm, but must have been a cool experience for Martin. It was also cool to hear each team's goal horn and song played after a goal. Not something you hear at your usual hockey game.
• The Czech crowd seemed pretty into the game, and even seemed to be pulling for the Bruins at times. A poster on HF Boards who was at the game even reported that some of the Europeans in the crowd started an unconventional (by American standards) "Bos-ton -clap- -clap- -clap" chant. Good to see a foreign crowd getting into the game (and, of course, pulling for the Black and Gold.

Attaboy: Horton. A strong start for a guy who's looking to shrug off accusations of having no heart. Two goals in your first game will go a long way towards impressing your new club.

Providence Shuttle: Seidenberg. Yes, it was his first real game action in quite some time. But the German defenseman looked borderline lost at times out there. Hopefully he regains his '09 form as he gets more games under his belt.

Trade Deadline Reaction

Some B's fans are unhappy, but really, what did you expect Peter Chiarelli to do?

"Get a scorer!"
"Get a puck moving defenseman!"
"For the love of God, get rid of Michael Ryder!"*

*Let it be known that BHN is a huge Ryder fan, and will not, I repeat, NOT, advocate trading him.


At the end of the day (or more specifically, at the 3 p.m. EST deadline), Chiarelli hadn't done much: out were Derek Morris, Byron Bitz and some picks/prospects, in were Dennis Seidenberg and another prospect.

When I first heard of the Morris trade, it screamed "salary dump." Morris for just a fourth-round pick? He hadn't lit the world on fire here, but was solid enough. So I, along with most other Bruins fans, waited for the other shoe to drop.

Well it's now two days later, and that shoe still isn't here. Chiarelli ended up adding Seidenberg after the Morris move, but that was it. The B's closed up shop, and no offensive help arrived.

Here's what I think happened, and remember, this is purely my opinion: Chiarelli moved Morris to make room for another play, probably a scorer, but the right deal never materialized. Why else would he dump Morris? He clearly isn't giving up on this team yet, so it's not like the B's are in full-on salary dump mode.

As most other pundits have said, there really isn't exactly a wealth of scorers available. The biggest name, Ilya Kovalchuk, was moved weeks ago, and the remaining pickings really were pretty slim.

Ray Whitney? Raffi Torres? Clark MacArthur? Would any of these guys really have put the B's over the top, or been worth the picks/prospects that would have gone the other way?

No, probably not. The truth is that there really isn't much that can be done at this point to make the B's a bona-fide Stanley Cup contender. Even if they had added Kovalchuk, the team has been too inconsistent and frustrating to make fans believe a run at the Cup was possible for this year.

I still think this team has the horses to make serious noise in the playoffs, and hey, with a hot goalie, anything can happen come April/May.

But give Chiarelli credit for one thing: he has seen the writing on the wall in regards to this team, and didn't go for the knee-jerk reaction, which would have been an attempt at a quick fix. Chiarelli has a plan, and has been very patient so far. If he has another season next year like he has this year, both he and Claude Julien will likely be scouring Craigslist for job opportunities.

But with a top-three pick coming regardless of where the B's finish, the team is still in good shape, regardless of the lack of moves on Wednesday.

Overall, I'd give Chiarelli a grade of a "C." I'd rather have Morris here, but Seidenberg is a bit more defensive-minded, and seems solid enough. Chia's grade is really just average: he didn't improve the team, didn't hurt the team, didn't really do...anything.