Game 44: Bruins 4, Devils 1

The Good

• Merlot! The fourth-line was spectacular last night, combining for a fight, three shots, five points, and a plus-5 ranking. Gregory Campbell in particular was excellent, as he lead the way with the line's lone goal and the Gordie Howe hat trick. The fourth line hasn't been as productive this year as they were last year, but last night was a perfect example of how they can wear opposing teams down, and strike when given the opportunity.
• A power play goal! At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me, but lo and behold, the Bruins actually scored on the power play last night. Making the feat all the more impressive is the fact that the goal came against the Devils' PK unit, the best in the NHL. The goal was silky smooth, and came off of terrific puck movement and a beauty of a pass from Nathan Horton.
  
• Bounce back! I was surprised to see Tim Thomas get the start last night. Truthfully, he was pretty average (and maybe even sub-par) in the Tampa game; however, Thomas has great career numbers against the Devils, and I assume Claude Julien wanted to give him a chance to right the ship immediately following a bad game. It worked out, as Thomas made a couple of big stops and earned himself another win.
• Marty! I thought Martin Brodeur was pretty much washed up, but he looked pretty good last night. The future Hall of Famer made a number of fantastic saves, including robbing Benoit Pouliot with his glove. Brodeur is probably on his way out and certainly isn't the goalie he used to be, but he's still got a few dandies up his sleeve.
  

The Bad

• Another slow start... Last night marked the fourth time in the last six games that the B's either allowed the first goal or didn't score at all in the opening frame. I know the team has owned the third period this year, but playing from behind or starting out slowly isn't usually the recipe for winning.
• Take back those rubles... It's early in his deal, but the contract Ilya Kovalchuk signed looks pretty bad right now. The Russian sniper signed a 15-year, $100 million deal about a year ago, and he's making $6 million this season. The cap hit averages out to $6.667 million, but Kovalchuk will get paid $11 million next year. Yes, you read that correctly. $11 million for a guy who currently has 40 points (19 G, 21 A) and is a minus-9. While those numbers aren't awful, keep in mind that Kovalchuk recently went on a bit of a tear, netting ten of those points in his last seven games. Things aren't so bad this year, as he's only getting $6 million. However, if he puts up similar totals next year with his new $11 million price tag? Yikes.
  

What went right:

• Most NHL goalies are going to stop shots that they can see. That's why net-front presence is so important, and it was key for the B's last night. All of the B's goals (excluding the ENG, obviously) came from a player being directly in front of the net, usually on the very edge of the crease. Brodeur never even saw Ference's shot due to the screen in front; Nathan Horton was camped out in the slot right at the top of the crease waiting for David Krejci's pass; and Campbell's goal came in the "dirty area" of the ice, right at the top of the crease, where Mark Recchi made a career out of pouncing on rebounds. The pretty goals get the highlight reel time, but the dirty work counts just the same. It sure paid off for the B's last night.
  

Attaboy: The Merlot Line, and Campbell in particular. They were outstanding.

Providence shuttle: The Devils' home crowd. ZZzzzzzzZZZZzzzz. That arena is incredibly boring. No life whatsoever.

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 16: Bruins 4, Devils 3

The Good

• Pouliot earns his stripes Notice that I didn't call him "New Ryder." Yes, Benoit Pouliot has finally earned his name, and he'll no longer be known as New Ryder. Pouliot's game-winner last night should take some pressure off of him, as he's finally got a good Bruin moment to call his own. I haven't had a problem with Pouliot's play so far this year. I think he's been playing physical and has been making good decisions, but the pucks haven't been going in. Let's see if this goal is the confidence boost that gets him rolling.
• Pretty play from the grinders Shawn Thornton's goal in the third period was one of the nicest Bruin goals of the young season, so I guess it's only fitting that it came from the gritty fourth line. Funny how that works, huh? All three forwards had a hand in that goal: Gregory Campbell making the pass to Jordan Caron, Caron throwing it to the net, and Thornton burying it. To be honest, I'm pretty sure Caron didn't know Thornton was there; that looked like a redirect attempt, not a pass. But hey, the result sure was pretty.
• Mooooooooooooose Despite the loss, Johan Hedberg (known as "The Moose") was pretty solid in net for the Devils. He robbed Nathan Horton in the third, stoned Brad Marchand in the first, and played an all-around solid game. With Marty Brodeur struggling this year, steady performances from Hedberg could make or break the Devils. If he keeps playing like he did last night, they should be in pretty good shape.

The Bad

• Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy I caught most of the first period and all of the third, and what I saw was some of the sloppiest play of the year so far. It seemed like each team was determined to "out turnover" the other. There was a sequence in the third when the Devils turned it over at their defensive blue line, and the B's got a scoring chance but couldn't cash in. The Devils brought the puck up ice, the B's took it back, and subsequently turned it over, leading to a Jersey chance. It was like watching hand grenade hockey out there: "You take it!" "No, no, YOU take it!" "I don't want it, you take it!"
• No more Kampf-chuk A few seasons back, a friend of mine derisively referred to the Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick defense pairing as the "H & W Comedy Hour" due to the duo's propensity for often comically bad turnovers. Last night saw the return of the Comedy Hour, this time starring Johnny Boychuk and Steven Kampfer. Boychuk's ill-advised pass back to his own blueline led to Kampfer getting turnstiled by David Henrique, which led to Jersey's third goal. It was awful. I like both players, but not together. I'd rather see Kampfer play with someone responsible like Zdeno Chara or Dennis Seidenberg, someone who can cover for Kampfer's inevitable youthful misadventures. Kampfer's a good player, but his lapses in his own zone concern me.

What went right

• Good things happen when players go to the net, and that's how three Bruin goals got scored last night: Chris Kelly drove to the net and pounced on a loose puck; Thornton and Caron both got to the front of the goal on Thornton's marker; and Pouliot and Kelly were both right in front of Hedberg on Pouliot's game-winner. Good things happen when players drive to the net and there's lots of traffic in front, as was evident three different times last night for the Bruins.

Attaboy: Gotta be Benny. NO LONGER A CHUMP, right Jack?

Providence shuttle: Kampfer. He looked downright silly on Jersey's third goal.

Game 11: Bruins 5, Senators 3

The Good

• Puck movement=goals I've already said that I think the B's scoring problems this year are coming from the back end, not the front, and last night only furthered that point. Of the five Bruin goals, three weren't "special" goals (i.e. a power play goal and a breakaway). Of those three, two were the direct results of clean, crisp breakouts from the defensive zone. On Patrice Bergeron's goal, Brad Marchand won a puck battle in support of his d-men along the wall, and made a pass to Tyler Seguin. Seguin lugged the puck into space, hit Bergeron with a pass, and the puck was in the net. Boom: won battle, one pass, two passes, goal. The Kelly goal was similar, with Chara making a good outlet pass to Rich Peverley. True, finishing has been a problem, but it's hard to finish when rushes don't ever start. Last night was a marked improvement in that area.
• Pretty Filipin' good Get it? Because his name is Filip? Never mind. Filip Kuba played a hell of a game for the Sens last night, and if it wasn't for him, this one could've been pretty lopsided. The 34-year-old was a +1 and led all skaters with 26:52 TOI. He also blocked 4 shots, including a couple of point-blank defensive plays that prevented goals.
• Fourth line shows up Their struggles have gone unnoticed, either because they're usually so dependable or because everyone else has been bad as well. Prior to last night, the trio had just one point between them: a Daniel Paille goal in the second game of the year. They were also a combined minus-7, and had really not done much at all. That all changed last night, as the fourth line combined for three points, a plus-3 rating, two fights, and four shots on goal. The B's fourth line has, in recent years, been one of the best in the NHL. They'll need their grinders to play better if they want to keep winning, and last night was a step in the right direction.
  

The Bad

• Krejci and Horton are still missing I might just rename this section the "David Krejci and Nathan Horton Memorial Bad." They've been terrible. Horton wasn't as bad last night, coming a lucky bounce or two away from one or two goals. But Krejci has been downright terrible. He's got one point and is a minus-6 in eight games this year, and has really contributed nothing positive at all. One can't help but wonder if his core/abdomen injury from a couple of weeks back is still bothering him, because he's been awful. Milan Lucic has shown signs of waking up from his early-season slumber, but his two linemates are still snoozing the season away. ZZzzzzzz......
  

What went right

• Everything is easier when the puck is moved out of the defensive zone smoothly. When breakout passes connect, rushes develop. Rushes turn into scoring chances, scoring chances turn into goals. It might be a bit of an overstatement to say that everything on offense depends on the breakout, but it's also true. If the B's can combine breakouts like they had last night with the solid defensive effort they put forth, they'll be fine going forward.
  

Attaboy: The fourth line. The grinders finally put one in, and it's not a coincidence that the B's won the game.

Providence Shuttle: Horton and Krejci. Obviously a demotion would be absurd, but each of these two could benefit from a healthy scratch right now. Sleepwalking through the season.

Game 76: Bruins 3, Blackhawks 0

The Good

• "Vintage" Thomas Tim Thomas' shutout last night wasn't perfect, but it WAS perfect Tim Thomas hockey. The Bruin netminder was at his scrambly best last night, flopping around, diving back and forth, and ending up face down in his crease on more than one occasion. But the pucks stayed out, and that's what matters. Thomas has been heating back up as of last, having allowed just two goals in his last four starts. That doesn't bode well for the rest of the Eastern Conference, but it sure should make B's fans happy.
• Chara contributing Zdeno Chara has played some of his best hockey of the year since the Max Pacioretty incident, and he kept up his hot pace last night. In the B's ten games since that hit, Chara has 11 points (3G-8A) and is a +10. Chara chipped in with a goal last night, and also did a great job of shutting down Chicago's big guns.
• Seguin looked good again I've been watching Tyler Seguin's game a bit more closely over the past couple of weeks, and I think he's been playing some of his best overall hockey of the year lately. He and his linemates, Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley, seem to have at least two or three great scoring opportunities per game; they just aren't going in right now. Their line gives the B's an element of speed that fans haven't seen in years. Seguin looks like he's more interested in two-way hockey now, as if he finally understands that that's the route to more ice time. Good on him for getting the message and committing to improving his game.

The Bad

• Marchand's call The game was getting a bit chippy in the second period, and, as usual, Brad Marchand was in the middle of it. He was mixing things up with Patrick Kane, when after a whistle, he gave Kane a light slash on the stick, probably while he continued to chirp at him. This drew the ire of the referees, and Marchand was sent off for slashing. The call was absurd: not only was the "slash" little more than a love tap, but it was on the STICK of Kane, not on his arm/leg/chest/whatever. Marchand seems to be developing a bit of a reputation league-wide now; it'll be interesting to see if he's the recipient of more flimsy calls like this in the future.
• Thornton's cut Yikes. That's quite a mark there. Hopefully Thornton won't miss any time, and hopefully whoever chirped at him from the Chicago bench doesn't get ratted out by his teammates; Thornton will likely make that guy's face seem like Thornton's gash was a mere papercut.

The Rest

• Not much else needs to be said about this one. I'm pleased that the B's came out with a solid effort, even though they didn't need the points nearly as much as the Hawks did. They may have benefited from the Hawks' travel (they played Monday night in Detroit), but they put forth a solid all-around effort, and deserved the win.
  

Attaboy: Thomas and Recchi can share it. Thomas got the shutout, and Recchi passed some guy named Paul Coffey on the all-time points list. Not bad.

Providence Shuttle: The Bench Chirper. Thornton's coming for you, buddy.

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.
  

Different Season, Same Result

The Bruins rolled into the Bell Centre last night for the first time since their season ended there last year, looking to start off the season series against the Canadiens on a positive note. The B's had a lot going against them last night: Montreal had yet to lose in regulation, it was their home opener so the "Ole!" chants were going to be extra loud, and it marked the beginning of the Habs "Centennial Season" celebration, complete with old Canadiens legends coming back out onto the ice.

As I said in the previous post, if the Bruins could weather the storm early, they'd be in good shape. Well, they did that, and were actually able to control the flow of the game for a bit in the first period, giving the Montreal crowd little to cheer about.

Shawn Thornton welcomed Georges Laraque to the Northeast Division in this early-first period bout:



Tough to say who won this one. Thornton scored an early takedown when he caught BGL off balance, but allowed him to get up and continue the fight. BGL got some good "clubs" off of the back of Thornton's head, but neither really landed any good shots. I'd have to say that this one goes in the books as a draw, or maybe the tiniest of edges to Laraque, simply because he landed more punches.

After the usual hijinks were out of the way, it was back to the regular game. The Bruins had done a good job staying out of trouble and away from the penalty box, a place one never wants to find himself against Montreal. However, Dennis Wideman finally lost his cool, getting called for cross-checking one of the Kostitsyn sisters after a mild dust-up. Sister Kostitsyn actually leglocked Wideman and tripped him before Wideman hit him back, but the ref, as is usually the case, only saw the retaliation.

16 seconds after Wideman went into the box, Alex Kovalev scored a power-play goal to give the Habs the lead, bring the building to life, and put the Bruins behind the eight ball early. However, that wasn't big enough of a hole for the B's who gave up another goal to Saku Koivu a little over a minute later, then decided "What the hell, we're already down two, may as well get lazy on the power play", and gave up a shorthanded goal to Maxim Lapierre. Ouch. 3 goals in a little over 3 minutes. Lights out, right?

Well, seemingly, yes. But this Bruins group showed no signs of fear or intimidation at the hands of Montreal, despite the playoff exit and last season's numerous embarassments. Instead, the Bruins came out charging in the second, again controlling the play, and finally got one on the board when David Krecji beat Carey Price with a slap shot moments after a Bruins power play expired.

The B's would keep up the pressure into the third, when Marc Savard fired one past Price to bring the Bruins within a goal. After that, the B's pressed on, desperate to tie the game. With just under a minute left, Tim Thomas began to head to the bench for an extra attacker. The puck was fired into the Montreal zone, intended as a dump-in to try and get possession of the puck, and Price went around behind his net to try to stop the puck. However, the puck took a funny bounce off of the boards and ended up squirting right out into the crease of an empty net. A streaking Savard seized the opportunity and banged the puck into the net, tying the game with 48 seconds left.

The Bruins trailed gave up three goals in three minutes, on the road against the Canadiens, and then came back to tie the game with seconds to go. This is the kind of performance that builds teams, and shows that this team will not be a pushover, no matter what obstacle it's facing. It wouldn't have been surprising, or even hard to fault the B's had they disappeared after those horrendous three minutes in the first period, but they fought back and tied the game, standing up to Montreal and giving hope to fans as well.

As overtime came to a close without any real scoring chances from either team, save for a breakaway with moments left by Kovalev that may not have even counted even if Thomas didn't save it, it was time for a shootout. Phil Kessel shot first for the B's, and had Price beat but the puck didn't lay flat for him and he lost the handle, the puck sliding harmlessly into Price's pads. Thomas then stopped Andrei Markov, and Patrice Bergeron, who did the same "5-hole" move he does everytime he's in a shootout, was stopped by Price. Alex Tanguay, an offseason acquisition by the Habs, beat Thomas with a wicked wrister, leaving the game on the stick of the third Boston shooter, none other than...Michael Ryder.

The former Hab was jeered all night by his former fans, and could have really shut them up by tying the shootout. However, it was not meant to be last night, as Price slammed the door on Ryder and gave the Habs the win.

Despite ultimately coming up short, the fact that the B's got a point out of a game they trailed 3-0 before the game was 10 minutes old is encouraging. The Canadiens are, by all "expert" accounts, the class of the Eastern Conference, and the Bruins showed that not only can they play with them, but they can control the play as well. Sure, the B's didn't get the win, and still haven't beaten the Habs in a regular season game in over a season. But a point is a point, and the B's can take note of the fact that if not for those three wretched minutes in the first, they may have left Montreal with a 3-0 victory.

Final Roster Set

After announcing their final cuts today, the Bruins now have their 2008-2009 opening night roster.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008-2009 Boston Bruins:

FORWARDS
Marc Savard
Patrice Bergeron
Michael Ryder
Marco Sturm
Phil Kessel
PJ Axelsson
Petteri Nokelainen
David Krecji
Milan Lucic
Chuck Kobasew
Vladimir Sobotka
Shawn Thornton
Blake Wheeler
Stephane Yelle

DEFENSEMEN
Zdeno Chara
Aaron Ward
Mark Stuart
Andrew Ference
Andrew Alberts
Shane Hnidy
Dennis Wideman

GOALIES
Tim Thomas
Manny Fernandez


The last three cuts were: Nate Thompson, Jeremy Reich, Matt Hunwick, and Peter Schaefer.

Hunwick is being sent directly to Providence, as he doesn't have to clear waivers. Thompson and Reich both do, and speculation is that Thompson will be claimed by some team before tomorrow's noon deadline, meaning he would no longer be Bruins property. Reich could be claimed by a team looking to add some grit to its lineup. Schaefer is the more notable one, as the Bruins essentially dropped him to make space for Wheeler. They are still on the hook for his salary, even if he gets claimed by another team, but it doesn't count against the all-important salary cap.

Schaefer turned it on in the playoffs last year, and may get a few looks by some teams looking to add a viable second or third scoring option. However, he didn't really show much life at times here with the B's, so it remains to be seen if any team wants to take a flyer on him. Even though he was basically "dropped", it seems like this was something he expected, according to Fluto Shinzawa's Bruins Blog on Boston.com. Best of luck to Schaefer, wherever he ends up.

Here are my proposed opening night lines:

Ryder-Savard-Lucic
Kessel-Bergeron-Sturm
Wheeler-Krecji-Kobasew
Axelsson-Nokelainen/Sobotka-Yelle

Chara-Wideman
Ward-Stuart
Ference-Hnidy/Alberts

Thomas
Fernandez

Basically, there will be 3 healthy scratches a night it seems. Above, it would be 3 out of Hnidy, Alberts, Thornton, Yelle, Nokelainen and Sobotka.

This is all barring some more moves before the season starts, which, though unlikely, are entirely possible as well. If not, this line-up looks pretty solid, and looks like it should have more scoring punch than last year's group. We'll find out on Thursday night.

Back at the Bell Centre: New Season, Same Result

Wednesday night, the Boston Bruins returned to the scene of their last loss of the 2007-2008 season, a 5-0 loss in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Granted, this was a preseason game, with a level of importance not even close to that of postseason hockey, but it was at the Bell Centre nonetheless.

This game, like all but one of the B's preseason games thus far, wasn't available on television, and the only radio feed available was that of CJAD out of Montreal. Uh oh, homer alert! But listening to play-by-play through bleu, blanc et rouge glasses is better than not listening to hockey at all.

The Bruins ended up losing this one 3-1, with Manny Fernandez giving up three power play markers in the defeat. Fernandez made 25 saves in the losing effort, but according to coach Claude Julien, played very well. A solid game seems like a must at this point for Manny. After reading this article by ESPN.com's Scott Burnside, it was hard to imagine Manny has all that much confidence in himself. One of the many things the NHL has proven over the years is that a solid 1-2 punch in net is never a bad thing, and the B's need Fernandez to play like the number one they acquired him to be.

It was a pretty decent game for the Bruins (from what I could hear, anyways, as it's always hard to judge without video, but...), who seemed to turn up the heat big time in the third period. There were a couple of occasions where they seemed to be knocking on the door, sometimes literally, with scrums for the puck in front of Jaroslav Halak, but they just couldn't put it away. Their one goal came on the powerplay, on a goal that the Habs' broadcasters seemed to describe almost as a "tic-tac-toe" goal, a perfectly executed power play strike, one that I believe they termed "inevitable", given the pressure the B's were putting on.

Here are some other pro's and con's from the game:


Pro's:

• Milan Lucic seemed to have a pretty good game. He's had a less than stellar camp so far, and probably needs to play better in these last few tune-ups to secure himself a spot on the roster. Yes, he's a fan favorite, but in no way is he an incumbent for a roster spot. Lucic has a ton of potential, and needs to turn it up a bit to solidify his standing.
• Blake Wheeler, a bit of a dark horse to make the team at the start of camp, seems to have almost assuredly gotten himself a place on the roster. GM Peter Chiarelli would have to do some juggling to get Wheeler on the team, as he has a pretty big (over $1 mil.) bonus that would need to be absorbed into the salary cap, but by all media accounts Wheeler seems to have been a standout throughout the entire camp. His name was mentioned quite frequently on the broadcast tonight, and always in a good manner. It's early, but Wheeler seems like he's been a great pick up by Chiarelli so far.
• Zdeno Chara, in his first game-action in the preseason, was unloading from the point on the power play. Some of the shots could be heard booming off of the pads of Halak even on the radio feed, so hopefully Chara's surgically repaired shoulder is at 100%.
• Patrice Bergeron and Mark Savard both seemed to be making plays as well, with Bergeron's name appearing all over the dial throughout the game.

Con's:

• This one could probably be split into two con's, but it'll instead go under one: special teams. The Bruins PK remained suspect, allowing all three goals (though one was on a 5-3, which is a situation where a team really can't be blamed for allowing a goal). To compound matters, the Montreal power play seemed as strong as ever, showing no signs of coming down from their #1 power play ranking from last season. This is bad for the Bruins, as the Montreal power play burned them almost too many times to count last season. The Bruins PK needs to improve from their bottom-half of the league ranking last year, and should do that with the acquisition of Stephane Yelle, a strong defensive player.
• Michael Ryder probably shouldn't be named as a complete "con", but he didn't do much in this game to shake his reputation of no longer being able to finish that followed him from Montreal. One of the reasons Bruins fans grew tired of Glen Murray was due to his inability to put home goals, despite constantly seeming to be in prime position. Ryder seemed to have plenty of shots, but missed the net fairly often. If Ryder is going to be the scorer the Bruins need him to be, he's got to start hitting the net.
  
• The physical play seemed lacking tonight. It almost seemed like the Bruins were shying away from their physical game, something that almost always led to trouble last season. When the Bruins impose their physical will on their opponents, their defensive style of play is far more effective. Plus, what real Bruins fan doesn't like to see a member of the Black and Gold lay out, as Shawn Thornton put it the other day, one of those "little French guys"?

Overall, a loss is a loss, but in the same vein, a preseason loss is just a preseason loss. No big deal, take the positives and negatives from it and move on. The B's next game is on Saturday, at home at the TD Banknorth Garden versus the New York Islanders. The game is on NESN too, for readers in the Boston area. I'm planning on going to this game, and should have more to report on after seeing the team in person.

Until then, go B's.