Bruins Weekly Report – Games 5 through 8

Game 5 at Chicago Blackhawks (10/15/11):

The B’s traveled to the Windy City for a Saturday night showdown with the ‘Hawks. It’s a shame that the schedule only allows the B’s to play Chicago once or twice a year as these teams were great rivals back in the days of Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Phil and Tony Esposito. There were always great fights and wall-to-wall action.

In this one, Tim Thomas started in goal against Corey Crawford. David Krejci and Adam McQuaid were out of the lineup for the B’s. Patrick Kane had an early chance on a give n’ go from Stalberg but Thomas robbed him. Toews followed up with another chance that Thomas smothered. Gregory Campbell and Jamal Mayers then had a go, with a few wild haymakers by the combatants but no clear winner. Horton nearly scored but Patrick Sharp made a great poke check of the puck just as it arrived on Horton’s stick. Kane was robbed again by Thomas as he made a spin-o-rama move with the backhand. The ‘Hawks scored first at 16:21 as Brian Bickell grabbed a bad clearing pass by Ference and skated in alone and buried the puck five hole. Thomas then came up with another sparkling save off of Carcillo’s shot late in the period. Although they were down a goal, B’s played with a lot of passion in that period.

Horton went off for goaltender interference early in the second. While on the penalty kill, Peverley skated up right wing uncontested on a 2-on-1 with Chris Kelly, passed the puck to Kelly, who slammed the puck past Crawford to tie the score at 1:33. Kane scored on a rebound of Sharp’s shot 1:08 after the B’s goal as he found open space in the slot and fired a wrist shot past Thomas. Midway through the period, Kelly hit the post on a blast from the left circle.

There was a scuffle in the opening seconds of the third and Bergeron was called for boarding. Thomas made another nice stop off of Sharp’s one-timer coming off of Kane’s pass. Horton tied the score at on a one-timer in the left slot coming from Johnny Boychuk’s behind the net pass at 7:56. The B’s had a power play late in the period and Seidenberg hit the post on a shot from the point. The B’s stormed the net at the end to no avail and the game went on to overtime. In the extra session, Peverley fired a high shot that Crawford scrambled to save. Moments later, Peverley had a breakaway after Kane turned over the puck but his shot missed the net. The game went on to the shootout. Thomas robbed Toews with his right pad to start things. Seguin then attacked the net and beat Crawford. Kane attempted to go five hole but Thomas stoned him. After Bergeron missed his attempt, Thomas stopped Sharp’s chance and the B’s came away with an exciting 3-2 win.

Game 6 v. Carolina Hurricanes (10/18/11):

The B’s returned to the Garden for a Tuesday night date with the ‘Canes, who beat the B’s last week in Raleigh. Tuukka Rask started in goal against Cam Ward. The B’s came out at a furious pace and Ward robbed Bergeron on back-to-back chances in the opening minute. Anthony Stewart put the Canes ahead at 2:47 as he popped a loose puck out in front of Rask under the crossbar. There was a brief breakdown in the B’s zone prior to the goal. The B’s came right back to put two more shots on Ward from in close. Lucic then followed up with two more shots as the B’s were throwing everything at Ward but the kitchen sink. Midway through the period, Peverley nearly tipped in a pass from Marchand. Joe Corvo then took a nasty hit in the corner by Brett Sutter and went down hard. An interference penalty was called at 10:00. The power play only produced one shot on goal. Jordan Caron broke in alone down right wing and rang a shot off the post. Late in the period, Chad LaRose had a point blank blast that Rask stopped cold. Seidenberg fired a shot from the point that Ward kicked aside. In the final seconds, Seguin followed up with a shot from between the circles. The B’s had a great tempo in that period but were continually frustrated by Ward.

In the opening moments of the second, Jamie McBain took a high stick in the mouth by Bergeron but no penalty was called. Brandon Sutter then hit the post on a blast from the point. Marchand was sent off at 3:53 for leaving his feet and landing full force into Ruutu up against the boards. The B’s killed off that power play and Ference took a high stick in the face and the B’s went back on the power play. The B’s had several chances from the perimeter. Pitkanen made it 2-0 at 10:19 on a slap shot from the left point. That was a bad goal allowed by Rask. Skinner collided with Shawn Thornton and got the worst of the exchange, having to go down the tunnel for repairs. Horton broke in on a 2-on-1 with Seguin but Brandon Sutter’s stick check deflected the puck away from Ward. At 14:19 Chara and Harrison then had a go and Chara pummeled him. Lucic and Ponikaravosky then got into it behind the net but cooler heads prevailed. The net result of the rumble had Lucic and Horton in the box for roughing, giving the ‘Canes a 5-on-3 for two minutes. Chara and Harrison got matching fighting majors and misconducts. The B’s did a great job killing the penalties but no sooner than they were over Seidenberg went in the box for interference at 16:26. Tuomo Ruutu was then called for slashing at 18:01, giving the B’s a partial power play for the balance of the period. Corvo fed Benoit Pouliot with a tape-to-tape pass but the puck bounced off Pouliot’s stick. In the final seconds, Corvo fired a snap shot on net that Ward knocked away. Once again, the B’s had the better spark in that period.

The first five minutes were played out rather quietly. Gregory Campbell attempted to stuff the puck on the backhand but Ward held the post. Olli Jokinen nearly knocked one in but his shot went just wide. Midway through the period there was a scrum in front of the ‘Canes bench between Lucic and Gleason. Chris Kelly then pulled Brett Sutter’s sweater over his head and put a whippin’ on the youngster. It was comical to see Sutter (unable to see) getting swung around and bopped like a piñata. The B’s ended up with a power play in the exchange. Peverley scored on a wrist shot from between the circles at 10:59. On the play, Marchand effectively screened Ward. That goal put some life back in the crowd. Horton then put one serious beating on Gleason, as Horton finally had enough of Gleason’s chippy play. Horton got the extra minor and a misconduct. Gleason got nothing. Marchand was then sent off for a misconduct and Chara went off for a high stick on Skinner at 11:48. ‘Canes had a 5-on-3 for two minutes…and then Seidenberg went off for boarding. The referees were calling every Bruins hit. The knuckleheads in the crowd then threw trash on the ice in response. Off the faceoff, Jokinen’s shot went wide of the net. Jokinen then fed Eric Staal in the slot and Staal redirected the puck past Rask to make it 3-1. The 5-on-3 continued with Seidenberg’s penalty. Ruutu then scored at 14:58 as LaRose skated alone up right wing and fed Ruutu at the far post and Ruutu tucked it past Rask. On that note, the faithful began to exit the Garden in droves. Lucic received a misconduct for bumping into Gleason. When Julien protested the call, he too was invited to leave the bench. All of this led to another barrage of garbage on the ice from the numbskulls in the crowd. This game couldn’t end soon enough as the third period was a disaster. The B’s played well for two periods before things devolved into chaos. Cam Ward kept his team in the game early on and was the star of the game.

Game 7 v. Toronto Maple Leafs (10/20/11):

After Tuesday’s debacle, the B’s returned to the Garden Ice for a Thursday night date with the Leafs, who are fresh off a shootout win over Winnipeg on Wednesday night. Leafs have gotten off to a fast start as former Bruin Phil Kessel already has seven goals. David Krejci was expected back in the lineup after having missed the last three games with an upper body injury. Tim Thomas started in goal against Jonas Gustavsson. In the first minute, Krejci had a partial breakaway but his backhander was deflected away. Ference’s shot from the blue line was tipped away. Shawn Thornton and Colton Orr then had a go right off the faceoff at 1:54. Punches were thrown but there was no clear victor. The B’s came out at a high tempo. Bergeron followed up with a one-timer on a feed from Chara that was knocked aside. David Steckel put Leafs ahead at 7:29 on a rebound from Luke Schenn’s shot from the right point. Steckel was directly out in front of the net and beat Chris Kelly to the rebound. Matt Frattin was sent off for a cross-check on Pouliot at 9:23, giving the B’s their first power play of the night. The B’s tied the score at 10:32 when Horton grabbed a rebound at the near post and tucked it past Gustavsson. Pouliot went off for boarding at 11:41. The B’s went back on the power play and Chara scored from the right circle at 16:05 to take a 2-1 lead. Chris Kelly made it 3-1 at 17:49 when he took a pass from Lucic directly out in front of the net and banged in his own rebound.

Seguin had a quick shot from in close early in the second period that Gustavsson knocked away. Steckel was sent off at 2:57 for tripping Paille. Peverley had a chance at the open side from the left circle that was tipped aside. Chara then went off at 5:26 for tripping Bozak, actually he pushed Bozak down on the back check and Bozak fell down. Liles fired a blast from the left point that Thomas knocked away. After Marchand had a break on the shorthand, Grabovski was caught holding Bergeron’s stick at 6:33 and then took a heavy hit from Ference. Boychuk then went off at 7:50 and the teams played 4-on-3. Lupul’s shot from the right point hit the post. Peverley had a point blank chance on the 4-on-4 that Gustavsson smartly stopped. Thomas then robbed Grabovski on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box. Kadri went off at 11:45 for hitting Steve Kampfer off the head with a high stick. Seguin had a rebound of Chara’s shot from the left point that Gustavsson covered. Frattin was hauled down by Joe Corvo leading to a hooking call at 15:28. Liles’ shot from the right point was deflected away by Thomas. Thomas robbed Steckel again in the closing seconds as Leafs crashed the net.

Bergeron had two quick shots on goal in the opening minute of the third that Gustavsson turned aside. Lucic made it 4-1 at 2:08 on a perfect give n’ go with Seguin that started in the neutral zone and then Seguin blew past Phaneuf and fed Lucic who broke toward the net. Brown went off for tripping at 2:50 but the Leafs killed off the power play. Kampfer then had a blast from the right circle that Gustavsson deflected away. Lupul had a point blank chance that was denied by Thomas. Bergeron scored at 10:08 on a shot from between the circles as he grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated in untouched and fired the puck past Gustavsson. Seguin made it 6-1 at 11:43 as he took a pass from Lucic directly out in front and fired the puck through a screen and into the net. Grabovski scored at 12:33 as he took a pass from behind the net and fired a wrist shot that beat Thomas. The B’s had a couple more chances but most importantly rebounded from a bad effort with a solid two-way game.

Game 8 v. San Jose Sharks (10/22/11):

Jumbo Joe Thornton returned to Boston with the Sharks on Saturday night. The Sharks defeated New Jersey 3-2 in a shootout on Friday night, Antti Niemi started in goal for the Sharks opposite Tim Thomas. Thornton had a rebound shot in the opening seconds that Thomas scrambled to save. Joe Pavelski scored at 1:12 when he picked a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated in alone and fired a wrist shot past Thomas. The Sharks came out at a very high tempo. Andrew Desjardins hit Campbell from behind and was sent off for boarding at 2:08. Corvo had a blast from the point that Niemi smothered. The B’s picked up their pace and peppered Niemi with several shots. Seguin then rang a hard shot off the post as both teams were playing at a very fast pace. Chara went off for interfering with Marleau at 11:12. The Sharks had a couple of quick chances on the power play before the B’s PK unit clamped down. Vlasic then fired a bomb that Thomas covered. Horton then broke in with Pouliot on a 2-on-1 but Horton’s shot was deflected away by Niemi. Late in the period, there was then a little scrum at the B’s net between Handzus and Chara. Despite being down a goal, the B’s overcame sloppy play early on to play much better later on.

Marchand put a shot on Niemi in the first minute of the second period and Niemi left another fat rebound out there for the taking. The Sharks were caught with too many men on the ice at 2:48, giving the B’s their second shot on the power play. The B’s spent the entire power play chasing their tails as the Sharks did a great job on the penalty kill. Marleau had a shot on that Thomas knocked aside. Logan Couture made it 2-0 at 8:54 as he was wide open in the slot and took a pass from behind the net from Martin Havlat and slammed it past Thomas. Thornton and Jim Vandermeer had a go at center ice with Thornton slightly winning the bout on points. Pavelski then fired a shot on Thomas on a pass from Marleau. Late in the period, Bergeron and Paille broke in on a 2-on-1 but Paille’s shot went wide of the net. Chara followed up with a shot from the point that went over the net. The B’s skated like they had lead in their boots in that period.

Seguin ripped a shot on goal in the opening seconds of the third period that Niemi gloved. Kampfer followed that up with a shot that went wide of the net. Milan Lucic finally put the B’s on the board at 3:43 has he backhanded in a loose puck in a crowd in front of the net that squirted through the far side. Seguin tied the game 39 seconds later as he broke in on a 2-on-1 with Lucic and Seguin buried the puck. Lucic grabbed a turnover at the blue line and passed to a wide open Seguin. Peverley broke in on a pass but Vandermeer tipped the puck away. Paille then had a quick shot that Niemi smothered. Desjardins then picked a loose puck and fired on goal but Thomas covered the puck. Paille fed Campbell with a shot that went just wide. The Sharks went back ahead at 8:48 as Benn Ferriero picked up a loose puck out in front of Thomas and banged it in. Kelly had a chance when he broke in with Seguin and Lucic but Niemi blocked his shot. With the one goal lead, the Sharks were content to chip away at the puck and ice it. Handzus then unleashed a bomb from the left circle that trickled through Thomas’ pads but Seguin was able to clear the puck before it cross the goal line. Seguin found Kelly on the doorstep but Niemi blocked the puck. Late in the period, Seguin was chopped on the leg by Ferriero and was hobbled getting back to the bench. Thomas was pulled with a minute left and Marleau scored on an empty net with five seconds left to post the 4-2 win.