Game 43: Lightning 5, Bruins 3

The Good

• Two strikes for Horton I was hearing that Nathan Horton got a bit of a talking to from Doug Jarvis on the bench after his line was on the ice for a Tampa goal, and it was good to see him respond. This came just after Horton was publicly criticized by Claude Julien after his lackluster effort Monday night against the Panthers. Calling out players usually will do one of two things: fire them up, or make them malcontents. It's good to see Horton used the critique as fuel instead of sulking.
• Humble Paille I mocked Daniel Paille for his propensity for failing to score on breakaways last night after he missed on another one, and then he went a scored just a few minutes later...on a breakaway...with a fantastic move. *Insert foot in mouth*

The Bad

• Weak effort Maybe it was just me, but the effort didn't seem to be all there for the B's last night. Losing battles for loose pucks, getting outskated, outhustled, etc. When the Bruins are on top of their game, they very rarely get outworked by the opposition. The hustle is there, the grinding is there, and the effort is there, and that's what makes them hard to play against. However, the last three games has seen that usual grit and sandpaper give way to floating and loafing. Perhaps it's the condensed schedule, perhaps it's fatigue, or perhaps it's just a case of the midseason doldrums. Whatever it is, Julien isn't going to let it stand for long.
• Circus in the back end The Bruins defense was pretty terrible again last night. Like really pretty terrible. Bad. Turnovers, hopeful passes, bad positioning. Just bad. Speaking of bad...
• Joe CorvOH NO!!! Joe Corvo has had his struggles this season, and I don't want to pile on the guy. But yikes, he's been bad in the last two games. Occasional turnovers need to be forgiven, because every player makes mistakes. But Corvo's mental error on Tampa's second goal last night is borderline inexcusable. (See below for more.) I literally have no idea what he was thinking on that play. Corvo may need a pep talk from one of the coaches, or maybe a game in the press box to get his head on straight. When he's on, he's perfectly serviceable and great at moving the puck. When he's off, he makes Dennis Wideman look like Zdeno Chara (#Wides4Norris).
• Powerless again Another o-fer on the power play. Say, have we heard that before?

What went wrong:

• As I said before, the defense has been bad lately. Lots of scrambling, lots of weird passes and just downright strange decision making. Here's the worst of it from last night:

1) Ok, not so bad. Corvo was in a battle along the wall. Now, retreat to the net-front area, or stick with Downie. Either is OK.

2) Oh, you stuck with Downie. Good decision. Way to get your stick in there and break up the play.

3) Wait...where are you going? There are two teammates there, and only one Tampa skater. Leave it for your forwards and get back down low...

4) WHAT THE HELL? WHY ARE YOU ALL THE WAY AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE ZONE? THERE IS NO ONE WITHIN 15 FEET OF DOWNIE. HE'S IN YOUR SPOT.

5) Nice pass by Gilroy. Sure would be nice if there had been a defenseman near Downie. Just a suggestion.

6) The end. And Corvo is still not really in anything close to the right position. SCENE.

• Like I mentioned above, I can excuse occasional turnovers. But seriously Joe Corvo, WHERE ARE YOU GOING ON THIS PLAY? WHERE? Did he forget that he left the iron on in his hotel room or something? Just a bad, bad play by Corvo. Certainly this loss can't be pinned entirely on him, but this was an egregious (and downright weird) mistake.
  

Attaboy: Dominic Moore. Kevin Paul Dupont's favorite player had himself a strong game last night.

Providence shuttle: The Bruins defense. There's no defending this defense. GET IT?! HA!

Game 64: Bruins 2, Lightning 1

The Good

• Lucic's goal This one likely won't make national highlight reels, but Lucic's game-winner really was remarkable. To display that kind of poise and scoring touch from nearly below the goal line is incredible. Throw in the fact that there were no fewer than 5 bodies in the crease and Lucic's goal looks even better. By the way, Lucic's custom of raising both of his arms in a kind of "I rule" pose after he scores is one of the best goal celebrations on the B's. I'm also partial to Tyler Seguin's, because he, as a kid, looks genuinely thrilled when he scores.
• The PK saved the day The Bruins' PK has been as consistent as winter weather in New England. It was incredible to start the year, went through a miserable stretch, and now seems to be tightening up again. Last night's kill of a nearly two-minute 5-on-3 was the turning point of the game. Killing off a 5-on-3 is no small feat in and of itself, but when one's opponent rolls out a PP unit that includes Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Simon Gagne, it's borderline miraculous.
• Mike Smith redeemed himself Last time Mike Smith played goal at the TD Garden was probably one of the worst nights of his career: he allowed five goals on 22 shots, including one from the red line by Dennis Seidenberg. Last night, Smith played like a man who not only remembered that embarrassment well but was determined to erase it. Smith was immense for Tampa, making countless top-notch stops including a sprawling save on a Patrice Bergeron one-timer, a sweet glove stop on a Brad Marchand backhand, and a blocker save on a Nathan Horton breakaway. Dwayne Roloson may be the guy in Tampa now, but if not for Smith's performance last night the Lightning would have been blown out of the Garden again.

The Bad

• Dominic Moore goes swimming Terrible embellishment by Dominic Moore on Horton's tripping penalty. I saw the replay later, but Bob Beers was livid on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Beers is usually relatively even-keeled, but he was furious about the culture of diving in the NHL. He's right too: once a player feels a stick on his arm or leg, down he goes to draw the call.
• Still no luck on the PP I know, I know, "it's coming around!" But how long until that's not good enough? I know the B's have shown more jump and life on the PP since Tomas Kaberle arrived, and that it's hard to complain when a team's just won its seventh game in a row, but the PP still needs to produce if the B's are to be considered a true contender.

The Rest

• I've been a huge supporter of Claude Julien all year, but I don't get the decision to scratch Tyler Seguin last night. His reason doesn't really make sense to me either. I have no problem with scratching the kid if he isn't playing well, or scratching him to send a message that nothing's going to be given to him just because he's a hot shot rookie. But to scratch him after he's been playing a stronger all-around game lately just to "give the fourth line an identity" is pretty dumb. I also don't like that he told the media that. If that's his reasoning, fine; but I can't help but think that Seguin's confidence must be taking a bit of a hit at this point. Tell him that he's out for that reason, but tell the media that he needed a night off or had a sore ankle or something. Hopefully he gets back in on Saturday, but I doubt it.
  

Attaboy: Lucic for the game-winner, but an honorable mention for Mike Smith. He was incredible between the Tampa pipes.

Providence Shuttle: Scratching Seguin. I know I sound like an HFBoards nut, but it makes no sense to me. Sorry Claude.

Game 63: Bruins 1, Senators 0

The Good

• Rask looks sharp The big story from this road trip is that the B's won all six games, but arguably as important is the fact that Tuukka Rask won four of them. Rask has been struggling all year, but due to the stellar play of Tim Thomas, the B's haven't really suffered. However, Thomas' fatigue was beginning to show recently, so Rask's play became even more important. He's responded by playing his best goal of the season, a good sign for the Bruins.
• Horton's heating up Nathan Horton's goal last night was his 18th of the season, and he may be quietly heating up at the right time for the B's. Let's not get carried away, as we've seen Horton look like he was going to go on a tear then just disappear more than once this season. But Horton's been physically involved in every game, and with Milan Lucic playing some of the best hockey of his career, Horton's points have been piling up. Horton has goals in three straight games and seven points in his last six games.
• Power play is coming around While no power play goals were scored last night, the Bruins power play continued to threaten, something B's fans haven't seen in years. Last night, Zdeno Chara took so many shots on the B's first power play that I was afraid his arm was going to come off. Tomas Kaberle just kept feeding Chara the puck, and he kept ripping it on goal. If the power play stays as crisp as it has been, the goals will come.

The Bad

• Rebuilding in Ottawa Not necessarily "bad," as the rebuild is definitely warranted; but the number of youngsters and unknowns on this Ottawa roster is stunning. The only names most people would recognize are Spezza, Alfredsson and Gonchar, maybe Chris Neil and Chris Phillips as well. The Sens certainly are a long way away from their Stanley Cup Finals appearance back in '07.

The Rest

• While the Bruins faced some tough teams on this trip, the road isn't going to get any easier back in the friendly confines of the TD Garden: the B's next three games are against teams currently in the Eastern Conference playoff pictures, two of which (Tampa and Pittsburgh) have better records than the Bruins. Next Tuesday's clash with the Canadiens looms large as well, as it will have huge implications within the Northeast Division. While the good feelings of this road trip are well-deserved, the B's can't spend too much time patting themselves on the back.

Attaboy: Rask. Has fought back from his early season struggles, and should get some more starts going forward. Thomas remains the number-one goalie, but Rask has vastly improved.

Providence Shuttle: The excitement factor of this game. ZzzzzzZzZzZZZzZ...

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 23: Bruins 3, Flyers 0

The Good

• Thomas is a brick wall again This one got off to an ominous start: Tim Thomas and Zdeno Chara had a botched exchange behind the net in the game's first 20 seconds, leading to a sterling Philly scoring chance. Fortunately for Thomas and the B's, the Flyers failed to capitalize; unfortunately for the Flyers, that's about as close as they would get. Thomas was excellent tonight, and I think it was his strongest outing of the season. He made plenty of grade-A saves, controlled his rebounds well and bailed his teammates out when they made mistakes. Also, he got two penalty minutes to punching Scott Hartnell in the head. An all around great night for Thomas.
• Nice hands from Seguin Tyler Seguin's goal in the second period was a thing of beauty. A great pass from Michael Ryder followed by a sublime wrister from Seguin, who roofed the puck in the blink of an eye. I didn't think Seguin would have enough time/space to get the shot off, but that just goes to show why he's the second-overall pick and I'm a lowly blogger, right?
• Big game from Big Z Thought it might not show up on the stat sheet, Zdeno Chara had a great game last night. He was physical and had an active stick, poking the puck away from Flyer players with regularity. He also had a couple of key blocked shots, including one that left the big man hunched over in pain. Great display from the Captain last night.

The Bad

• Roller-coaster ride Yes, the Bruins won, but the Flyers really took it to them for portions of the second and third periods. One had to expect that the Flyers would turn up the intensity, but there were parts of the game where the B's struggled mightily to make a play out of their own zone. If it wasn't for the excellent play of Thomas, this game may have had a different result.
• 3-0 leads The team could hold onto one now, but not last May? Come on, guys...

The Rest

• Where's that Phamous Philly crowd? I missed the beginning of the game on TV (caught it on radio), but I didn't hear many chants or derision from the crowd. A 3-0 collapse in the playoffs is perfect fodder for chants, taunts and heckles, but I didn't hear any of that from the crowd last night. It could have been that it just wasn't audible on TV, but it was a bit disappointing. I expected better from the Philly fans.
• The B's are right back in action on Thursday against Tampa. The Lightning really took it to the B's last time, so I hope the B's show up ready to play this time.
  

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.