The Bruins Report #4

...At The Quarter Pole

In the eleven days between November 15th and the 25th, the Bruins were a busy bunch, playing a bunch of games, and, for the most part, continued their slow improvement. When last we left off, the Bruins began to show some signs of life, though at the quarter pole, they're still a distant 14th in the Eastern Conference Race.

Game 15 at Washington (Wed N. 11/15/06) The Bruins traveled down to The DC to face a Caps’ squad trying to rebuild itself around the Amazing Alexander Ovechkin. The Bruins took a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Kessel (4) and Brad Stuart (1). The Caps picked up a shorthanded goal late to make it 2-1 after the first 20. In the second, the Caps scored on the power play midway through to tie the game, and there was no scoring thereafter in regulation or in overtime. In the third, Washington seemed to go to sleep, as they only put three shots on Thomas in the B’s net.

The game went to a shootout, where the Bruins lose about 97% of the time. But if there’s one team who’s wore than the B’s in this regard, it’s the Caps. Thomas stopped Alexander Semin, Alex Ovechkin and Pettinger in the shootout, and Patrice Bergeron score the lone goal, beating Kolzig for the victory. After 15 games, the Bruins were 6-7-2 (14 points).


Break up the Band! The Bruins have won three in a row! Hockey Fever Grips Hub, Details at 11:00…Game 16 vs. Toronto (Thurs N. 11/16/06) The Bruins scored their lone regulation goal at 14:09 of the first when Kessel (5) scored on the power play. The Kid is beginning to show more confidence with every passing game. Things stayed that way until midway in the third when McCabe tied it for Leafs on the power play. The game went to overtime again, but didn’t last too long. At 34 seconds, Patrice Bergeron (6) scored on a rebound of Brad Boyes' drive from the point, B’s win 2-1!

Another game, another OT Win…Game 17 vs. Washington (Sat N. 11/18/06): P.J. Axelsson got the B’s started early with a tip in at 1:09. The Caps came back to tie a few minutes later on Klepis’ goal. Brad Stuart made Klepis pay with a bone jarring body check in the second. Chara (4) scored early in the third on a blast from the point, but the Caps had a two-man advantage late in the third. After killing off the first penalty, it was simply too much Ovechkin, he smacked home his 13th on the power play to send the game into overtime. Less than two minutes in, the Caps were called for tripping. Fourteen seconds later, Murray (9) banged in the game winner, and the Bruins won their fouth straight for the first time since March, 2004.

Game 18 vs. Florida (Mon. N. 11/20/06) This was a big test for the B’s regardless of their recent hot streak. The Panthers have been woeful on the road so far, and it would’ve been good for Boston to whip a struggling team. It didn’t happen. The B’s played flatter n’ a pancake. The Panthers scored solo goals in each period, the Bruins countered with two goals from Murray (11, 12), and though the had a flurry in front of the Florida net, Alex Auld (who came to Florida from Vancouver with the injured Bertuzzi for goalie Roberto Luongo over the summer) was up to the task, and the B’s win streak came to a halt, Florida 3, Boston 2.

On Thanksgiving Eve, The B’s traveled to the Iron City (Game 19, at Pittsburgh, Wed. N. 11/22/06) for a showdown with the Pens. Sidney Crosby sat out the game with a groin pull, so the B’s chances for a win improved somewhat. It looked as if the B’s would continue their uninspiring play after Recchi put the Penguins up late in the first. But the B’s came roaring back in the second, scoring three unanswered goals in four plus minutes midway through from Chistov (1) PPG, Sturm (3) and Chara (5) PPG. The Bruins do not yet know how to protect a lead, and so it was in the third that Evgeni Malkin (the other half of the Pens’ Dynamic Duo) cut the B’s lead to one at 10:02. The B’s went a man down late in the third and Recchi scored again with thirty seconds left in the game. These late period collapses are symptomatic of a young team, but at a certain point, the team needs to jell. After a scoreless OT, in which Thomas made a brilliant skate save off of a Malkin shot, it was back to the ol’ shootout. Once again, Thomas came up big, stopping all three Penguin chances. Marco Sturm’s goal was the only successful shot, a classic five holer that gave the Bruins another SO win. Sure, it’s an exciting finish (if your team’s on the lucky side). However, after dominating Pittsburgh for the better part of the game, simply allowing the game to extend beyond regulation is not particularly encouraging. Don’t let the recent sting of wins fool you. This team still needs a lot of work.

Game 20 vs. Carolina (Fri. Aft. 11/24/06) There were no such concerns about playing beyond 60:00 this afternoon. As Exhibit #1 in the case of The Bruins being a work in progress, the Bruins have a traditional Friday after Thanksgiving matinee where 98% of the time they lose. This year’s effort was no exception. The only good thing is that they no longer wear those dreadful gold sweaters with the Bruins head in the afternoon games. Today the reigning Cup Champs got a goal in the first and a pair of goals in the second and third to cruise to a 5-1 victory. This was another home loss where the home team came out flat and never got things in gear. The Bruins’ lone goal was Patrice Bergeron’s (7) on the power play late in the second while the B’s were already down 3-zip. It didn’t matter. Despite Tim Thomas getting lambasted with Hurricane shots on goal, Coach Lewis wisely pulled the plug after Carolina scored twice in nine seconds and inserted Philippe Sauve, recalled earlier in the day from Providence. Sauve’s already the fourth goaltender employed by Boston so far, and we’re only at the quarter pole. The B’s ended up getting out shout 40-26, so this performance is indicative of a club that’s not ready for primetime. Twenty Games, Twenty Points. Right now, they’re 14th in the Eastern Conference, despite the recent run of overtime and shutout victories. Today’s game was an unfortunate throwaway game, the only real losers being the unfortunate souls who plunked down Yankee Dollahs to watch this pathetic display.

Game 21 at Toronto (Sat. N. 11/25/06) Reports from Toronto revealed that virtually no one came out for the morning skate, and the team was “meeting”…sounds more like a serious ass kicking was going on behind closed doors. After the lackluster effort on Friday, maybe the last venue the Bruins would’ve liked to visit would’ve been Air Canada Centre on a Saturday night with the entire region east of Ottawa tuned in on Hockey Night in Canada. To their credit, however, the Bruins came out and played a tremendous two-way game and won convincingly 3-1.

The B’s got to old friend Raycroft early when Petr Tenkrat (2) grabbed a pass from Chistov and scored on a nice wrist shot. What was most encouraging was how the team stuck up for one another. Midway in the first, the Leafs’ “chief punk and agitator” (to quote the immortal “Reggie Dunlop”) checked Chara in way that the Bruins took exception. Paul (“Minus 10”) Mara jumped into the fray and put a whipping on the Leafs’ resident reprobate. The B’s went up 2-0 on Savard’s (6) power play goal at 14:06. After a scoreless second, Mara went to the penalty box midway through the third, and the Leafs hit on the power play, Sundin scoring on a scrum in from of Tim Thomas. This has generally been the stage of the game where the Bruins collapse, but on this night no such disaster occurred. Three and half minutes later, Brad “The Lost” Boyes (4) was the lucky recipient of Bergeron’s perfect pass from the left corner, and one-timed a wrister to put the B’s up 3-1. Another terrific showing by Tim Thomas in goal, turning aside 26 of 27 Toronto shots. After 21 games, The B’s are 10-9-2, comfortably resting in the basement of the Northeast Division, currently about four miles out of a playoff spot.

Overall Grade To Date: C