HOCKEY TIME AT LAST

It’s been a long time since we’ve actually talked about hockey in general and the Bruins in particular. The last time we saw them on the ice was last April 25^th when they lost 2-1 to Washington in Game 7 of overtime in the first round, so yeah, it’s been awhile.

The biggest story of the offseason (besides the lockout) was the departure of Tim Thomas. Not long after the season ended, Thomas relocated to Colorado to concentrate on “faith, family and friends”.  Whether this is a retirement or a sabbatical remains to be seen. The only real downside to this is that the B’s have to count Thomas’ (unpaid) salary towards the overall salary cap. In that respect, he’s placed the B’s behind the eight-ball cap-wise. No one can seriously complain about Thomas’ decision. The guy backboned the team to a Stanley Cup. For that alone, he should get a pass. He will be a free agent at the end of this season and will be able to play anywhere he chooses. The relationship between Thomas and the Bruins became frosty around the time he refused to go to the White House for the Cup-winning celebration with the President over a difference in political views. Whatever, most goalies are flakes anyhow.

During last July’s free agent frenzy period, Chiarelli stood pat and will roll out pretty much the same lineup as last year’s. Joe Corvo, who never really fit in here, returned to Carolina as a free agent but other than him and Thomas, the lineup remains intact.  Nathan Horton will return with a clean bill of health after missing the second half of the season with his second concussion. Aaron Johnson (formerly of Columbus) signed as a free agent in hopes of grabbing the sixth D spot. In another move, the B’s traded Zach Hamill (a former #7 overall pick) to Washington in exchange for Raymond’s son, Chris Bourque. It is hoped by both teams that a change in scenery will help these players to realize their potentials.  It is also expected that 2011 first-round pick, defenseman Dougie Hamilton, will compete for a job in camp. He (along with this year’s #1 pick, goaltender Malcolm Subban) had a mixed performance in the recent World Juniors won by USA.

As always, the question revolves around the quality of the goaltending. The B’s are fortunate in this regard as Tuukka Rask can step right in and give the team quality minutes between the pipes. Rask was having a very good season last year when he suffered a groin injury that cost him the remainder of the season. Anton Khudobin will serve as Rask’s backup. Khudobin appeared in one game for the B’s last year and played a sparkling game in net.

A very brief training camp opened on Sunday, January 13^th. All hands were on deck and there were no injured players. Most of the players took off to play in Europe during the lockout but Lucic and Horton remained behind.

On Wednesday, the B’s and their Providence farm club played to a packed hungry sold out throng at the Garden (the tickets were free) as the P-B’s prevailed 7-4.

Game 1 v. NY Rangers (1/19/13): At long last, the Regular Season started with a Saturday night game with the Rangers. Tuukka Rask started in goal for the B’s and had a terrific night as the B’s shut down New York’s vaunted offense en route to a 3-1 victory. Milan Lucic scored the first goal of the season at 14:14 of the first. Daniel Paille made it 2-0 at 8:20 of the second. Mike Richards then scored on a tip-in to make it a 2-1 game at 12:50. There were then a couple of scraps, first between Shawn Thornton and Mike Rupp, then Gregory Campbell and Stu Bickel got into it moments later. In the third, Johnny Boychuk scored on a blast from the point that dipped at the last second and beat Henrik Lunqvist at 8:13 to make it 3-1 B’s. From there, the B’s defense stood tall and the team opened the season with a highly satisfying win. 1 down, 47 to go…