- Tim Thomas: What can be said? Thomas did exactly what was asked of him, making big saves when called upon and playing a solid all around game. No matter what he's said, losing the starting job must have eaten at Thomas all summer. A motivated Thomas will have a two-fold impact on the B's: first, he'll push Tuukka Rask, making them both better; second, having a competitor like Thomas burning with a desire to prove himself again will only make him better.
- Mark Recchi: Old-Man Frozen Pond played with the energy of a rookie today, winning a great one-on-one battle to set up Nathan Horton's goal, the B's second of the game. Recchi had an iffy first game, including a turnover at the blue line that led to a shorthanded scoring chance for the Coyotes. However, today Recchi played an outstanding game, finishing the day at +1 with one assist and four shots on goal.
- Brad Marchand: The B's number-one agitator definitely got under the skin of the Coyotes today, but not by playing on the edge: instead, he played a terrific all around game. Marchand was tenacious on the forecheck, created a number of turnovers and even created a couple of fantastic scoring chances. One example of his stellar play came when he won a battle for the puck on the boards, fended off a Phoenix defenseman and wheeled a no-look pass to Zdeno Chara, who was streaking into the slot. Chara had a prime scoring chance thanks to Marchand's hustle and persistence.
- Zdeno Chara: Big Z's got one of the most feared shots in the league, but it loses a lot of its effectiveness when he can't get it on goal. Today, Z's slapper was right on target, and he finished the game with seven shots on goal. At one point, I remember Jack Edwards remarking that Chara's first four shots of the day landed on net. Chara was also very active offensively, jumping into the rush at times and driving to the net to create space.
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson: The Swedish defenseman had a rough game on the Phoenix blue line, coughing the puck up a number of times and creating a number of scoring chances for the B's. The youngster is a high-level prospect, but he's just 19 years old and will likely have a number of games like he did today while he develops. He finished the game at -2 (along with Shane Doan and a couple of others). Ekman-Larsson will definitely benefit from having veteran players like Doan, Derek Morris and Ed Jovanovski on his team, as these guys who have been around the block will certainly be able to give the kid some pointers.
- No, YOU'RE supposed to score, Not Them!: For the second game in a row, the B's at times seemed to be more prepared to give up a goal on the power play than to score one. Yes, shorthanded bids are going to be allowed at times, due to blocked shots, broken sticks or other fluky happenings. However, the rate that the B's allowed shorthanded bids in these two games is somewhat alarming. There was a breakaway and at least one two-on-one during today's game, along with a ton of shorthanded bids on Saturday. Admittedly, it's only been two games, but right now the B's special teams need some work.
Frame this picture and put it on your wall, Tyler. Hopefully there are plenty more where this came from.- We saw a bit of Tyler Seguin's skill yesterday, but we really saw flashes of his brilliant potential today. Early in the game, Seguin really turned on the jets and nearly beat both Ilya Bryzgalov and a Phoenix defenseman to a loose puck. Seguin's speed turned what looked like a routine dump-in into a scoring chance. On his first NHL goal, Seguin's speed was again on display, along with great hand-eye coordination to catch the puck in flight and stickhandle in stride. He also showed his fantastic finishing ability when he flipped the puck over Bryzgalov while falling down and being pursued from behind by a defenseman. All in all, a pretty memorable first goal for the rookie.
- An interesting note: Recchi was on the ice for Seguin's goal. I'm not sure what the largest age difference between two teammates who are on the ice when a goal is scored is, but Recchi's 24 years on Seguin must be up there.
- I have to agree with Thomas, who said in a NESN interview after the game that Prague was one of the most beautiful cities he'd ever visited. I was fortunate enough to spend a few days there back in 2008, and everything about the city is awesome, from the architecture to the history to the rest of the sites. As I remember reading somewhere (can't remember for the life of me where it was), Prague's kind of like Boston in that it's full of history and everything's old. But whereas "old" here is 375 years, old there is thousands of years.
- The people in Prague seem great, but someone has to get the 02 Arena staff some new tunes. A sampling of the songs I heard played there during NESN's telecasts: I Love Rock and Roll, Sk8er Boi and Rock You Like a Hurricane. As B's fans know, no hockey game is complete without some Mötley Crüe, and while I know they're a few years behind the American music trends, someone's got to help them get some current music. Actually, their old school taste in music means they probably don't have Lady Gaga or Ke$ha over there...sounds like heaven.
Providence Shuttle: Ekman-Larsson. Again, all part of the learning curve for the rookie, who will undoubtedly have a few more bumps in the road during his development.
