Bruins January 2008
In this edition, we'll review the Bruins from the first of the new year leading up to the All-Star break.

Game 40 vs. Washington 1/3/08:
The NHL started the New Year in great style with the outdoor game played in Buffalo before 71,000 fans. It was a cold, snowy afternoon and the game was highly entertaining, ultimately decided by Sidney Crosby’s goal in the shootout. The League really pulled off a major coup as the game drew huge ratings at a time when interest in the game appears to have fallen off the map, especially with the B’s. This is what happens when the local baseball, football and basketball teams are simultaneously successful. There are only so many front runners available. Maybe if they moved to Mumbai they’d get top billing on the sports page.

The B’s kicked off the ’08 portion of the schedule with a home date against the Capitals on a brutally cold night. On Wednesday, Chiarelli swung a minor move, dishing Brandon Bochenski off to Anaheim for defenseman/enforcer “Sheriff” Shane Hnidy and a sixth-round pick. Bochenski came over last year from Chicago and showed great promise, but bulked up over the summer which really hurt his game. He was benched early and often by Julien and never seemed to fit in the Coach’s system.

The Caps are led by “All-World” left wing Alexander Ovechkin, who comes in hotter than usual. A contemporary of Crosby, he is one of the League’s true game-changing talents and the team has surrounded him with a very good veterans and youngsters. The Caps also feature “new” uniforms this year which are actually a variation of their originals that they had for about 20 years. They simply should’ve left well enough alone.

Washington started off badly this year which eventually led to the firing of their coach Glen Hanlon. However, the team is 10-5-4 under Bruce Boudreau, a hockey lifer if ever there was. It’s great to see someone who toiled for decades in the minors finally get an opportunity and be successful.

At 2:38, John Erskine and Lucic had a nasty go, and this time the journeyman had the better of it, knocking Lucic on his duff. It was a fast and crazy start, where the Caps seemed to take control in the B’s end. Bruins are not a run n’ gun team and allowing the Caps to set a fast tempo isn’t a good way to go. Nylander had a great chance picking up a loose puck then broke in on Thomas who made a nice stop.

Midway through the period the B’s seemed to have wrestled away the tempo and started to buzz the Caps’ goal, peppering Kolzig with a few shots. Wideman was sent off at 15:21, but the B’s did a nice job on the kill, allowing only one shot on Thomas. The B’s followed up with a number of opportunities in the later stages but were unsuccessful in what was a spotty first period of play.

The Caps came out flying to open up the second. Ovechkin whistled a wrist shot through a screen that rung off the pipe. Laich went out for whacking Kessel with his stick at 3:46, giving the B’s their first power play of the night. They had one decent opportunity, but that was all. Savard went out for a hook at 11:24.

At 13:35, Savard (coming out of the box) jumped into the play in the right corner, grabbed a loose puck, passed to Metropolit then circled in front of Kolzig where he grabbed the puck on a give n’ go and fired a wrist shot into the net, putting the B’s up 1-0. With a minute and a half remaining, Brashear (who must be in his 60’s by now) had a nice break on Thomas and fired low—dee-nied!! After two periods, no one was going to confuse this for the Ice Capades.

The B’s had the better of things in the early going of the third. Kobasew had a couple of good hits in the Caps’ end that allowed the B’s to press things in front of Kolzig.Eight minutes in. Thomas robbed Ovechkin on a rebound of Bäckstrom’s wrist shot, just a brilliant save. At 9:24, Mike Green inadvertently smacked Lucic with a high stick and the Caps were also called for a bench minor (too many men on the ice). With the 5-on-3, Chara banged a slap shot into the low left side at 10:00 to give the B’s a 2-0 lead. Kobasew set a perfect screen in front of Kolzig who never saw the puck coming.

Chara was called for a hook at 17:41 and Boudreau elected to pull Kolzig, but the Caps never got beyond the perimeter until there were a few seconds remaining. The PK unit was really on top of things and Thomas skated off with his first shutout of the season.

2008 started off on the right skate…

Game 41 vs. New Jersey 1/5/08:
Two nights later New Jersey came to town and the B’s caught a big break: the Divils played the night before and didn’t want to start Martin Brodeur on consecutive nights. Kevin Weekes may be a perfectly capable backup, but the B’s must’ve been thrilled not having to face Brodeur.

The B’s had a lengthy shutout streak going into this one, having kept the opposition scoreless for nearly two full games. Dainius Zubrus brought the streak to an abrupt end early on when he banked a tip in past Thomas at 4:26. If Brodeur were in goal, that would’ve been it; New Jersey would’ve gone into snooze control with the trap. But the B’s kept chipping away in the Devils’ zone and their persistence paid off. P.J. Axelsson tied the score at 14:13 when he grabbed a pass from Kessel and fired a wrist shot that fluttered over Weekes’ shoulder. Bruins went ahead at 18:10 when Dennis Wideman struck on a blast from the point. Chara then went off late in the period. With the puck in the B’s end, Ference found Sturm alone and passed the puck and it was “off to the races”. Weekes stopped Strum’s initial shot, but Sturm poked it past the Devils’ goalie at 19:59. When was the last time the B’s ever had a two goal lead against New Jersey? Even though the B’s were up by a pair, New Jersey had the definite edge in play.

In the second, the teams picked up their pace considerably, but there was no scoring until late. John Oduya was credited with a goal that bounced off a Bruin and behind Thomas at 17:11. However, the B’s bounced right back and regained their two goal lead when Savard tipped in Axelsson’s shot from the point at 19:00.

The tenor of the game became much chippier in the third as five penalties were called and the Devils really poured it on in the Bruins’ end (out shooting Boston 20-1). Travis Zajac scored at 10:33 and New Jersey pulled out all the stops to score the equalizer, but Thomas was immense in goal. The last seconds featured a furious round of volleys by New Jersey but they just couldn’t get the job done. After the final whistle blew there was some good old time push-and-shove, but nothing beyond the trivial. The B’s are on a pretty good roll as of late, and beating New Jersey is always and particularly sweet.

Game 42 vs. Carolina 1/8/08:
Just as Bruins fans think that the team has turned the corner, the team puts forth a lackluster, halfhearted effort. Carolina came in on Tuesday night with the newly acquired Sergei Samsonov in the lineup for his first game with the ‘Canes, just having been picked up on waivers from Chicago. Whatever went wrong with Sergei? He was a #1 pick of the Bruins in ’97 (a few picks after Thornton), won the Calder Trophy and was a big fan favorite for many years. Then he encountered injuries and ceased to be the dynamic force of his early days. He’s bounced around since; the B’s traded him to Edmonton for a bag of pucks a few years ago, and it been pretty much downhill since then.

Shawn Thornton and Wade Brookbank (didn’t he have a cup of coffee with the B’s a year or two ago?) had a row early in the first, but that was about all the excitement that the B’s could muster. They slept walk through the rest. Eric Staal scored the only goal of the night at 18:20 of the second. There’s really not much more to say, other than the Bruins were lazy tonight and they deserved to lose.

Game 43 vs. Montréal 1/10/08:
There’s a lot to be said for coming out of the gate aggressively to get the jump on a hated rival. There’s also a fine line between aggressiveness and stupidity. The B’s crossed that line and paid dearly, as they spent half of the first period shorthanded and Canadiens scored twice en route to a 5-2 win. Tomas Plekanec scored at 10:36 on the power play. Plekanec plays on a line with Kostitsyn and Kovalev and the Bruins just can’t keep up with their speed. Maxim Lapierre put Habs up by two less than a minute later when he scored on a wrist shot from Chris Higgins.

Midway through the second, there was a scrum involving a number of players that left the B’s shorthanded again. Alexei Kovalev scored at 13:18 and the game was virtually out of reach. Aaron Ward (making his first start after having been out for eight games with a broken foot) finally put the B’s on the board after his slap shot from the point blew past Christobal Huet.

The B’s tightened things up early in the third when Milan Lucic scored on a wrist shot at 2:01, and they started to play smarter, but with a team like Canadiens, it’s hard to play catch up with team speed. They threw everything they had into scoring the tying goal. The B’s needed to gamble offensively and that left them vulnerable in their own end of the rink. Mathieu Dandenault (who played on several Cup winners in Detroit) exploited this weakness and scored at 11:56, moments after a Bruins power play was unsuccessful.

The B’s kept up the pressure in Montréal’s end to no avail. Dandenault scored at 18:49 and Canadiens skated away with a 5-2 win. They’ve now beaten the Bruins for the eighth straight time.

Give credit to Bob Gainey, who has really transformed Canadiens in the last year or so. While they’re not quite at the elite level of Ottawa or New Jersey, they’ve risen above the pack of mediocres in the East. He has successfully mixed veterans with very talented young players, and the future is nothing but bright for his team.

Game 44 at Philadelphia 1/12/08:
Fights in hockey may be fun (depending on your point of view) but they don’t count as much as goals or points in the standings. The best revenge is winning the game, not beating up the opponent. The Bruins’ two previous encounters with the Flyers resulted in two serious head injuries to Bergeron and Alberts. Bergeron is through for the year and Alberts has encountered post-concussion symptoms that have kept him out of the lineup indefinitely.

Philadelphia’s calling card has always been a combative style of play, dating back to Clarke and the Broad Street Bullies, but the B’s have played well against them recently prompting the overly aggressive approach. The B’s couldn’t afford to come into this one looking for a scalp, as they were already shorthanded after PJ Axelsson was out after getting injured on Thursday night. Alex Auld got the start in goal and he had another solid night.

The first period was marked by seven minor penalties that made for a choppy start. Jeff Carter, Philly’s bright young star scored at 11:31 on the power play, and the Flyers went up by a goal. Late in the period, Reich went out after taking a slap shot off his foot then Lucic landed a big hit on one of the Flyers, but lost his balance and went face first into the dasher, requiring several stitches.

In the second, there were six more minors called but the B’s had the definite edge in play. Savard scored on the power play at 4:02 to tie the score. Reich and Lucic (with a full shield) returned to the ice later on. As the period was winding down, the B’s went back on the power play, kept the pressure in Philly’s end throughout and Sturm banked the puck past Niittymaki at 18:38 and the Bruins went in ahead after two periods.

Peter Schaefer scored at 4:51 of the third, and the B’s were sitting in the catbird seat at 3-1, momentarily, that is. The B’s were then called for the infamous “too many men on the ice” bench minor (the phrase instantly conjures up memories of 1979 in the Forum) and Hartnell scored on the power play at 10:41 and suddenly it was a one-goal game. With momentum having swung Philly’s way, Danny Briere, tied the score at 12:45 on a backhanded rebound off of Gagne’s shot. The Flyers kept pressing for the game winner as the clock wound down, but Auld held down the fort.

On to overtime: The Flyers had an initial try, but Sturm grabbed the loose puck and started on the break. Niittymaki came out to meet him, stopped the puck but it bounced to Ward who was waiting at the point. One shot, game over! 43 seconds in, the B’s skated away a happy bunch.

Game 45 vs. Toronto 1/17/08:
The B’s had a nice break for a few days before returning home to face the Leafs. Axelsson was out of the lineup (joining Murray and Alberts). In his stead, the B’s recalled Pascal Pelletier (an undrafted free agent) from Providence, where he’s been setting the AHL on fire. Auld got the call in goal against Vesa Toskala, whom Leafs acquired during the offseason from San Jose at a pretty steep price.

Leafs have been a big disappointment so far this year and the fans and media in Toronto have been calling for JFJ’s head. Toronto is to hockey what Boston is to baseball and Texas is to football (the undisputed 24/7 king of the hill). They haven’t won the Cup since ’67 and everyone’s just about had it with Ferguson.

Alex Steen put Leafs on the board first on a wrist shot that zipped past Auld’s shoulder at 4:00. (If this kid is anywhere close to his dad in hockey skills, Toronto would have a real find). The teams went back and forth until Chara scored on a slapshot from the point at 14:27, just as a power play had expired. Exactly 90 seconds later, the B’s went ahead when Sturm picked up a pass from Savard and tucked a wrist shot behind Toskala.

Things stayed 2-1 through the end of the period and well into the second. Auld was tested several times until Stajan scored the tying goal with nine seconds remaining. About the only drama in the third was when Pelletier nearly drove old friend Hal Gill through the boards. Talk about debuting with a bang! The score stayed tied through the third and overtime. In the shootout, Sundin and Steen scored and Leafs skated off with the extra point.

Game 46 v. NY Rangers 1/19/08:
The Rangers came in for the opener of a home-and-home Original Six weekend series. Rangers have struggled this year after having a great season in ‘06-07. It seems that every time they become big players in the free agency market the team suffers for some strange reason. Now, there’s talk that they may be sellers at the trade deadline and Jagr may be one of the guys leaving town, as he’s an UFA at year’s end. But it really doesn’t matter how well or poorly these teams may be playing; every time old rivals get together the teams play with greater intensity (though Bruins-Rangers have never been the same since the Esposito-Park/Ratelle trade in November of ’75).

On this Saturday matinee, the Bruins honored the 50th anniversary of Willie O’Ree’s debut in the NHL with Boston. While the ceremony lacked the pomp associated with ceremonies done by Le Club de Hockey Canadien, it was respectful and O’Ree received a huge ovation from the sellout crowd. He was welcomed home as a Bruin, and that is as it should be. As mentioned in the last Gazette post, O'Ree’s NHL career was unremarkable. It was the physical and cultural hurdles that he overcame to make it to the NHL, which was simply an outstanding achievement for a young man coming out of the Maritimes. We may not remember the goals, but we won’t forget his commitment to the game, his refusal to quit and his work in reaching out to touch young men and women with his message.

O’Ree especially thanked the great Milt Schmidt for providing him an opportunity to play in the NHL (a full 18 months before Elijah “Pumpsie” Green was the first black player for the Red Sox). To Schmidt’s credit, he was not trying to make a social statement by calling O’Ree from the minors, but simply looking for a player to step in and work hard to help the B’s win. He could not have found a better candidate who exemplifies the Bruins’ ethic. With all the changes that have come about as the result of free agency and big money, there is still “something” associated with putting on a Bruins’ sweater that has gone back to Eddie Shore in the ‘20’s.

The ceremonies did not detract from the game, which proved to be an exciting one for Bruins’ fans. Scott Gomez put Rangers ahead with a goal at 6:36. Rangers held the lead until Sturm scored on a feed from Savard at 15:36.

Midway through the second, Chara fed Kobasew with a perfect breakaway pass and he put the B’s on top on the power play at 15:52, but the lead was short-lived. Jagr tied the score early in the third; then (with two Bruins in the box) Avery put Rangers ahead 3-2 at 8:08. Moments later, Rangers were shorthanded and Kobasew scored on a rebound from Sturm to tie the score. The B’s had the notable edge in play thereafter, including a power play during overtime but Henrik Lundqvist stopped them cold. In the shootout, Kessel and Chara each scored to seal a 4-3 win.

Game 47 at NY Rangers 1/20/08:
Sunday afternoon’s game was nationally televised as a lead into the NFL Conference Championship games. Truth be told, Rangers played as if they couldn’t wait to catch the G-Men on the tv, as they played a lackluster game while Bruins played a consistent 60-minute game before skating off with a 3-1 win. There appeared to be about 10,000 Ranger fans at MSG disguised as empty seats as well.

Thomas started in goal and Rangers made an early push to score first but weren’t all that successful. The B’s game out banging and this allowed them to wrest the tempo from the home team and establish their game. Late in the period, Metropolit was whistled off and Kobasew scored a shorthanded goal at 17:53 after Savard won a faceoff in the B’s end and found Kobasew on the counter. Kobasew whisted a wrist shot past Lundqvist and the B’s were on top 1-0 after the first.

The second period produced no goals, but was a back-and-forth affair with the B’s getting the edge early and Rangers pouring it on in the latter half. Early in the third, Lucic (who is developing rather well) gathered the puck in front of Lundqvist. The Rangers’ defensemen were drawn to him like moths to a flame. He harmlessly flipped the puck to Lundqvist to relieve the pressure. Metropolit was waiting untouched where he put the puck behind Lundqvist to give the B’s a 2-0 lead. With a two-goal lead, the B’s defense took control and Rangers had an awful time getting any pressure on Thomas. Rangers decided that a go-for-broke strategy was the only way to score, leaving their end of the rink vulnerable. Savard broke up Rangers’ pass in their end and alertly found Kessel, who deposited the puck between Lundqvist’s five-hole. Dubinsky broke Thomas’ shutout with 46 seconds left (prompting a small fit of temper from the B’s goalie) but that was as close as New York would get. The B’s played very well to come away with the sweep.

Game 48 at Montréal 1/22/08:
In what has been a continuing theme for this team, they simply cannot sustain an extended period of good play, especially against a better team. The Bruins lost 8-2 tonight, and the game was every bit as ugly as was the final score. It’s getting to the point that B’s fans cringe every time a date with Canadiens appears on the calendar. Fortuitously, there are only two games left with them going forward. How bad was it? Kostopoulous scored 14 seconds in and Ryder put Habs up by a pair at 3:12. After that, things pretty much downhill in a hurry. Bruins regrouped for a little while and actually cut the lead to one when Marco Sturm scored at 12:09, but the bottom fell out when Canadiens scored two more times late in the period. Auld was pulled in favor of Thomas to start the second, but he didn’t fare much better. Canadiens scored two more in midway through the second and another in the third before Nokelainen tipped in a shot from Wideman to make it 7-2. Andrei Kostitsyn wrapped up the scoring with a power play goal at 17:44.

About the only excitement that occurred was a nasty scrap between Kobasew and Sergei Kostitsyn in the third, with Kobasew getting the decision going away. Kostopoulos picked a fight with Shane Hnidy about five minutes later. Why start a fight with a six goal lead? What a numbskull, Kostopoulos wound up getting tossed though it made no difference other than demonstrating his idiocy. The Bruins left Montréal in the familiar position of having their tails between their legs. Talk about a stinker, this one was one of the worst of the year.

John Ferguson, Jr. (“JFJ”) was shown the door by MLSE, which comes as no surprise to the hockey world. His tenure running the Leafs was marked by one disappointment after another. Many of the trades and free-agent acquisitions he made didn’t plan out as expected and the Leafs have underperformed despite many marquee players and a fat payroll. Leafs’ ownership brought in Cliff Fletcher (who must be at least 105) to run the ship until a full-time GM can be installed.

Game 49 vs. NY Islanders 1/24/08:
In Manhattan, the Rangers are retiring Brian Leetch’s #2 tonight at MSG. Leetch last played in the NHL with the B’s a couple of years back, and it’s nice to see one of the best American players of all time get a deserved moment’s recognition. People talk about Messier’s contribution to Rangers’ Cup victory in 1994. Without diminishing his leadership, chances are if Leetch was not at the peak of his career, the memorable seven-game series with Vancouver could’ve gone either way.

Looking to erase the memory of two nights earlier, B’s greeted the Islanders for the last time in the regular season, and the final game prior to the All-Star break. Thomas and DiPietro started in goal. As mentioned in the last edition of the Gazette, Islanders have a competitive team and are well coached by Ted Nolan, who returned to the NHL scene last year after getting fired by Buffalo many years ago. In looking at all of the retreads who came and went during his absence, it’s reasonable to ask whether he was blackballed in management circles. His teams have always been competitive.

Islanders went on the power play right off the bat. Chara leveled Marc-André Bergeron who tried to advance the puck into the Bruins’ end and hit a wall. In the early going, B’s were really out-skating, out-hitting and dramatically outplaying Islanders. Kessel seems to be taking to first line right wing quite well. Following the power play he had a nice chance from Savard that just went wide. Wideman scored on a wKrist shot from the left circle on the power play at 9:28 Lucic then scored on a wrist shot at 10:20, flying down left wing uncontested on a 3-on-1 break to put the B’s ahead by a pair. In the early going, Bruins look like an entirely different team than the one that played just 48 hours previous.

The B’s started to get a little careless in their end. Stuart turned over the puck and Thomas made a terrific save, Islanders then worked a 3-on-2. Sillinger snagged a pass that went through Stuart’s legs and tipped the puck just over the net. Thomas also stopped Comeau’s attempt curling in from left wing in the closing seconds, but all in all it was a very good first period of hockey by the Bruins.

In the second, the teams maintained their pace. B’s kept hitting while Islanders kept looking for an opportunity. Midway through, Savard had just exited the penalty box when he took a pass from Kobasew and went five-hole to put the B’s up by three. Late in the period, Kessel scored on the power play and the B’s had an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

Sillinger scored the Isles’ only goal midway through the third, but the horse had left the barn along time earlier.

At the All-Star break, Bruins are 25-19-5-55 points, good for seventh place in the East.

Les Trois Ėtoiles:

1. Chuck Kobasew
2. Marc Savard
3. Tim Thomas