Game 45: Bruins 7, Hurricanes 0

The Good

• Zdeno Chara is actually happy That was nice to see today, eh? Most players look pretty happy when they get hat tricks, but Zdeno Chara isn't usually a guy who shows much happiness on the ice. To see him actually smile and perform Peter Bondra's celebration was awesome. Big Z had been taking some heat in the Boston media lately, especially after walking out on the media after the B's meltdown in Montreal. However, he remains the most important player on this team (by far), and it was nice to see the big guy show some emotion and childlike joy on the ice.
  
• Bergeron keeps on producing Another game, another multi-point effort from Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins' leading scorer has recorded two or more points in five of his last six games, and has been on fire since the start of 2011.
• Power surge The Bruins went 2-for-5 on the power play yesterday, with both goals coming from Chara: one on a 5-on-3 and one in the third period on a 5-on-4. True, Carolina looked like a defeated bunch early yesterday, but getting production from what has been (at times) an abysmal power play is certainly a good sign. The B's have been moving the puck better and showing more confidence with the man advantage lately; it's only a matter of time before the results start pouring in.
• Thomas as good as he needed to be Tim Thomas made two or three huge saves in the first period yesterday when the game was still close. He stopped made a couple great stops on Eric Staal, and then pretty much enjoyed the rest of the game as his teammates gave him all of the support he needed. Thomas wasn't anything special in this game, but he didn't need to be, and he made the big stops when he had to.
  

The Bad

• What was Justin Peters doing? I know that Carolina back-up Justin Peters doesn't play much with Cam Ward playing in front of him, but did he forget what sport he was playing? Two penalties (roughing and holding) in the same game? For a GOALIE!? Peters' tackle of Blake Wheeler reminded me of playing snow-football as a kid: you'd have to grab the leg of the bigger kids and basically hang on for dear life until they fell down. But what was Peters trying to do? Clearly he knew it was Wheeler's leg he was holding on to...why was he trying to tackle him? Then later in the game Peters lunged furiously at Tyler Seguin, much like Tim Thomas did to Jason Blake a few years back. I assume it was just frustration, but it was weird. Peters probably isn't going to earn himself more playing time by acting like a linebacker out there.

The Rest

• At least one person, 'Canes PR guy Mike Sundheim, wasn't happy about the B's pouring it on yesterday (see post #38). I actually saw this on Twitter yesterday afternoon and just went to link directly to the Tweet, but he deleted it. Strange...I wonder if someone affiliated with the team made him delete it. It's a valid point, however: the B's did have their top power play unit out there in a 6-0 game. However, I have no problem with it for two reasons: they wanted to get Chara the hat trick and the power play still needs a lot of work. It'd be different if the B's power play was one of the tops in the league and they were simply trying to pad their stats. But making changes and practicing the power play in game situations is always going to help more than simply practicing the power play in practice. It's a rare occasion when a team gets a power play and really doesn't need to score; yesterday happened to present a couple of those chances, and I have no problem with the B's trying to work on things. If the roles were reversed and the 'Canes did the same thing, I'd have no problem with that either. But it'll be interesting to see how the 'Canes respond tonight. It's not often that you get beaten by a team 7-0 then play them the very next day in your own barn. I expect the 'Canes to come out with a lot more effort on Tuesday and to actually make a decent game of it.

Attaboy: Chara. The only other Bruin I've seen look that happy on the ice this year is Tyler Seguin when he scores.

Providence Shuttle: Peters. What are you doing, Peters? You try that leg tackle on me in snow football and you're getting a snowy glove to the face.

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 17: Bruins 4, Panthers 0

The Good

• Lucic is back Milan Lucic was a shell of himself last season, and with good reason; high-ankle sprains, which he suffered in a game against the Wild last November, are notoriously difficult to come back from. Lucic played last year and was decently effective, but was nowhere near the presence he usually is on the ice. This year, however, Lucic appears to be fully recovered. He seems much quicker on the ice, like he gained an extra step. He currently has 17 points (meaning he's averaging a point per game) and is a +12 on the season. He's on pace to score 40+ goals, and while it remains to see if he can keep up that pace, he's been huge for the B's so far this year.
• A sigh of relief for Rask Though he was saying all of the right things after his losses, the lack of success had to be killing Tuukka Rask. After it seemed like success came so easily to him last season, this season was the complete opposite; it seemed like everything that could go wrong in Rask's starts DID go wrong. Last night Rask was in top form, as his many of his 41 saves came on top-notch scoring chances. While Tim Thomas has been the better of the two so far, having both goalies in the tandem on top of their games will make the B's nearly impossible to beat.
• Boooooooooooooth The Panthers' David Booth didn't score, but one can't say he didn't try: Booth fired a remarkable 14 shots on Rask in the game, but wasn't able to sneak one past him. Yes, 14 shots for Booth alone. Florida coach Peter DeBoer credited Rask for stymieing Booth and the rest of the Panthers, saying, according to the Boston Herald, that he thought the Panthers could have taken 100 shots and they still wouldn't have scored.
• Another goal for Gretz Yes, Shawn Thornton has become a true offensive dynamo for the B's (hyperbole completely intended there). Thornton had another strong game last night, scoring the last goal for the B's and also having one hell of a fight with Darcy Hordichuk. For those keeping score at home, Thornton now has as many goals as Ilya Kovalchuk.

The Bad

• Surprise, surprise: the fans booed Wides Very classy display from the Garden fans last night, as Big Money Wides was booed pretty much every time he had the puck. Yes, the fans booed a guy who never did or said anything wrong during his time here. Sure, he had his struggles, but he played hard, never complained about the fans mistreatment of him and even went so far as to say that he missed the fans' passion here. Way to go, Garden crowd. You made all of us look like idiots last night.
• More uneven play While the scoreboard doesn't indicate it, the B's were thoroughly outplayed last night for a large part of the game. Sure, they came out on top and that's what matters so it's hard to complain, but that type of effort will get them pasted on Saturday against a good team like the Los Angeles Kings. Not to take anything away from the Panthers, but they're a rebuilding team, one that won't always capitalize on poor play or the opposition's mistakes. I haven't really seen the B's play a complete, solid game in a couple of weeks.

The Rest

• Why boo Wides again? Why?

Attaboy: While Rask was pretty much the reason the B's won, I'll give it to Lucic. Not for his hat trick, but for wearing that fedora. That takes some guts.

Providence shuttle: Everyone who booed Wides. You think about what you've done on that long ride to Providence.