We’re live from the Garden for another night of Bruins hockey. Tonight, the black and gold take on the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins are coming off a win in Toronto and looking to earn more points to stay at the top of the Eastern division.
Bruins coach; Claude Julien spoken prior to tonight’s game and discussed how important it is for Bruins to be refreshed mentally and physically and the toll these games have been taking on the team.
You can have lots of energy but if you don’t have your head on straight and you’re not making the right decisions out there, all of the energy in the world is not going to help you. We just have to fight thought the physical and the mental fatigue. The one thing about these athletes, they’re well conditioned and sometimes your mind tells you you’re probably more tired than you are, and you’re body has lots left in there. That’s where the mental toughness comes into play and we just have to fight through this stretch here. Hopefully we’ll finish off this month on a real positive note and finish off this stretch.
Remember when you were in school and you picked on that one kid who was a little bit slower than everyone else and after awhile you felt bad and let up a little, but you kept on doing it because it was easy and it was kind of an ego boost? That’s basically what it’s like to play Toronto Maple Leafs. Last night, the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 3-2.
Phil Kessel got the scoring started in the first period, scoring his eighth goal for the season. For those of you were able to tune into last night’s game, the look of disgust on
The Bruins win streak couldn’t last forever. The Black and Gold fell back into bad habits last night when they played the
Nigel Dawes and Markus Naslund tied the game up for the first place Rangers. During the shootout, Rangers, Chris Dury was able to get one past Tim Thomas and that was enough to secure the win. There was some confusion on whether Patrice Bergeron scored a goal during the shoot out, but it was recalled after a review. The Bruins left
Prior to last night’s game, it was announced that Bruins Defenseman, Andrew Ference would be out for the next 6-8 weeks due to a broke tibia. Ference will have surgery on the broken bone on Monday and this injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. Ference spent most of last season injured and was having a successful season so far. Look for Mark Stuart and Matt Hunwick to get more playing time and cover for the injured Ference. If the Bruins are still searching for some extra help, they could recall Matt Lashoff from
Break 12 Game Losing Streak and Focuses on the Future
The Bruins are in first place in the Northeast Division. They have the second best record in the Eastern Conference and the third best record in the NHL. Feel free to take seat on the bandwagon, there’s plenty of room. Yes, we know – it’s still early in the season. But it’s the performance we saw last night that could start filling the seats and getting more people into the Bruins. Last night saw the end of a 12 game losing streak to the Montreal Canadiens. After the game, a reporter asked Captain Zdeno Chara about stopping the streak and the dominance of the Canadiens. “That was last year. We’re not looking back, we’re looking ahead.”
Hi Everyone! Cameron here and tonight we’re coming live from the Garden where the Bruins take on the Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins who are in first place are currently one point ahead of the Habs and the Black & Gold are looking to stay on top and gain a few more points in the standings.
The starting line up for the Bruins are as follows:
L Milan Lucic
D Zdeno Chara
D Aaron Ward
C Phil Kessel, C Marc Savard
Goal Manny Fernandez
We’ll keep you posted on everything that goes on tonight on and off the ice.
7:55 pm The first period has long finished and the Bruins are leading the Habs, 3-0. Shawn Thornton scored his first goal of the season and started the night off right. Followed by Stephane Yelle’s second goal of the season and the second goal of the night and with mere mins left, Marco Sturm made it 3-0. The Bruins snapped Carey Price’s shout record at 65:59. The Bruins are 1 for 1 on the power play and Montreal is 0-1. Manny Fernandez is doing a great job in the goal and we’ll see you after the secon period!
8:35 pm Well, you didn’t expect Manny Fernandez to get a shut out, did you? Saku Koivu scored the first goal for the Habs. Marco Sturm scored his second goal of the night during the power play(Thanks, George LaRaque). The Bruins are still leading going into the third period, 4-1.
Last night the two of the original six teams squared off and
Marco Sturm scored
Tim Thomas, who has not been a fan of shootouts, blocked 2 out of the 3 shots on goal.
The surprise star of the night was veteran left wing, P.J. Axellson. Axellson scored the game winning goal during the shoot out and had been working on a backhanded shot during practices. It seems to have paid off. Last night’s goal was Axellson’s first since March of this year.
Last week, the citizen’s of the United State cast their vote in probably one of the most important presidential elections ever. And now this week, Bruins fans will start electing players onto this year’s All Star Team. As mentioned previously, the Canadien filled ballot features three Bruins players(Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard) and names like Tim Thomas and Phil Kessel were omitted from the list.
Bruins fans thru out the blogosphere and other media outlets voiced their anger with the lack of Thomas on the ballot and when asked about it, Thomas told a reporter that, “I can only control what I can control. I’m just going to try to keep doing the best I can to help this team out. Other than that, I’m not going to comment on it.” Could that be hockey’s version of “It is what it is.”? So what do you do if your team’s goalie, who also happens to be one of the top goalie’s in the NHL, get’s the shaft and left off the All Star ballot? Shawn Thornton said Thomas should campaign for a spot on the team and since Thomas seems to be a little busy to start shaking hands and kissing babies, the fans of the Black & Gold have taken it upon themselves to start the campaign.
The Boston Bruins are currently in first place. Granted, yes, they’re tied with
“It felt good. Timing was a bit off, but it was good to be out there. My line mates made it easy out there tonight.” Chuck Kobasew told reporters, after playing his first game back last night. Kobasew had missed the last 12 games due to a fractured right leg. The right wing scored his first goal of the season last night during the second period, thanks to an assist by Shawn Thornton. “Just being able to get the puck in the net and not having to fight it. It makes it a little bit better; you can relax a bit and go try to play your game.” Kobasew also praised Manny Fernandez last night and his work in the goal, “He’s been playing well and he looked composed tonight. He didn’t give them any rebounds, made some huge saves for us, especially in the third period.”
Hey, everyone! Cameron is here with another game day blog from the Garden. Tonight, the Bruins take on the first place, Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres currently have a two point lead over the Bruins and look for them to put Ryan Miller in the goal tonight. Miller is coming off back to back shut outs. Manny Fernandez will be inbetween the pipes tonight, Shane Nhidy will be a scratch for his second straight game - look for Matt Hunwick to fill in for him.
The whispers about the Bruins possibly signing veteran free-agent, Brendan Shanahan are getting louder. Shanahan lives in the area could be a perfect fit on the team. The 20 year veteran has scored 650 goals and made 690 assists and could be another piece to the puzzle that would make this team successful on the ice and hopefully, in the playoffs.
It’s Military Appreciate Night at the Garden. Bruins defensemen, Aaron Ward purchased $15,000 worth of tickets to tonights game. Because of Ward’s donation, 300 servicemen and women and their families will be able to attend tonight’s game.
We’ll have more from the Garden inbetween the periods!
7:43 pm Well, the first period is over and we’re tied 1-1. Buffalo was first to score thanks to Tim Connolly. Bruins defenseman, Dennis Wideman score the first goal for the Bruins with just over two mintues left in the first period. Wideman was assisted by Stephane Yelle & Chuck Kobasew.
The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs came to Boston, the Bruins gave up a two goal lead and Mike Van Ryan became an answer in Bruins trivia thanks to Milan Lucic. But after Saturday night’s game against the Dallas Stars, the fans hoped that the momentum from that game would carry over 5 days later. And it did when the B’s beat Toronto, 5-3.
Tim Thomas played two periods of shut out hockey, blocked 34 of the 36 shots on goal last night, and was in the goal for his fifth straight start last night. Thomas did finally give up two goals in the third period and told reporters he was more disappointed with the second goal (scored by Toronto’s Mikahail Graboski on an assist by Ian White) and mentioned he didn’t pay much attention to the shut out he had going on into the third period. Thomas was more concerned with making sure the Maple Leafs didn’t win last night. "Toronto is a team that’s making a reputation on comebacks and you don’t want to let them do that, you want to be the one that stops them."
The star of tonight’s game was rookie sensation, Blake Wheeler. Wheeler scored his first NHL hat trick during the final minutes of the third period. The kid from Minnesota scored in all three periods last night. Wheeler previous hat trick came during his sophomore year of college when his team was in the Final Five. Wheeler was also wearing a different number last night. Since the beginning of the season, he had been wearing the number 42 and changed to 26 last night, something he had planned to do as soon as the opportunity arrived. The reason behind the change, 26 is just a cool number.
The first period is over and the Bruins are currently leading 2-0. Now, the last time they played Toronto - they gave up a 2 goal lead in the second and completely fell apart. Let’s hope we don’t see a repeat performace of that game.
Dennis Wideman(who also got an assist in the first period) and Blake Wheeler(who’s wearing #26 tonight) scored the two goals in the first period, both during power play opportunities. Andrew Ference assisted on the Wideman goal and scored his 100th career assist. But Ference isn’t the only one celebrating a record tonight, captain, Zdeno Chara, is playing in his 700th NHL game tonight.
We’ll have more from tonight’s game after the second period.
8:36 pm The second period in tonight’s game was quiet, except for the first few minutes when Blake Wheeler scored his 2nd goal for the night. The Bruins are currently ahead of the Maple Leafs, 3-0.
9:19 pm Despite giving up two goals in the second period, the Bruins still managed to win. This time thanks to Blake Wheeler who scored his third goal in the third period, giving him his first career hat trick. Captain, Zdeno Chara, scored his first goal of the season during the third period. The Bruins beat the Maple Leafs, 5-2.
Three Bruins players were put on the All-Star ballot: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard. The three players selected are great and not to take anything away from them, there were a couple names missing on the ballot that would represent the black & gold.
Where was Phil Kessel? Kessel has had a great first month with seven goals, three power play goals and eight points. But the one Bruin that should be on the list and isn’t, is Tim Thomas. The Bruins #1 goalie has already recorded back to back shut outs and currently leads the league in save percentages and is ranked second in goals against average. So maybe we can start a successful Diane Wilkerson write in campaign for the Tank and Kessel? They deserve to be there just as much, if not more than a few of the names on the list.
Vladmir Sobotka was assigned to the Providence Bruins. Sobotka was initially called up to Boston (along with Matt Hunwick) after the Andrew Alberts trade. Sobotka played in five games since October 14th; he’s been a healthy scratch for the last four games. Sobotka is expected to play this weekend in Providence. While one player leaves, Chuck Kobasew is looking to make his return. Kobasew could return Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Which means there will be changes made and you can’t help but wonder if it’ll be for the good – take in consideration how the team adjusted and how well they’ve been playing as of late, do you really want to ruin the momentum?
As mentioned before, the Bruins play the Maple Leafs on Thursday(11/6/2008). Last time the Bruins played them, Toronto beat the Bruins, 4-2. Although thanks to Milan Lucic, that game will live on through the years on many a hockey highlight reel.
Bruins Weekly Recap
The Bruins earned 4 out of a possible 8 points. Boston is currently in 8th place in the Eastern Confernece and 3rd in the Northeast Division. Here are the results from this weeks games.
| Monday | vs. Pittsburgh | 2-1 OTL |
| Tuesday | @ Buffalo | 3-2 OTL |
| Thursday | vs. Toronto | 4-2 L |
| Saturday | vs. Atlanta | 5-4 W |
Three Up
Milan Lucic-
Milan Lucic not only found the net, he’s seeing the ice better, too. Lucic, playing his second straight game wearing contacts, earned his first career hat trick in the win over the Thrashers on Saturday night. “It’s like going from ordinary TV to high-definition TV,” Lucic joked. “It’s good to be out there when your vision’s clear.” Lucic has also taken full advantage of PJ Axelsson’s early injury and has planted himself on the top line with Marc Savard and power play time on the second unit. This week Lucic has post 3 goals, two assist, and a classic hit. Lucic put Toronto’s Mike Van Ryn through the glass 20 seconds into the second period, sending shards of glass flying into the crowd and raining down on the Leafs defenseman’s neck
Power play 2-
Alex Tanguay scored the shootout winner to give Montreal a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night in the Canadiens’ first home game in their 100th year. This mark the 12th straight regular season win over Boston for Montreal, outscoring Boston 51-22 during the 12-game winning streak.
“Obviously, the first period, that’s not the start that we wanted,” Patrice Bergeron said. “We never stopped battling and we came back in the game, and I think that’s a big point, but we could have avoided going to overtime by playing well in the first period.”
David Krejci drove a slap shot from the slot off the crossbar and into the net 7:15 into the second period for an unassisted goal that cut the lead to 3-1.
Marc Savard, whose power-play goal 7:12 into the third made it 3-2, scored into a wide open net after Canadiens’ goalie Carey Price was caught behind the goal when Michael Ryder’s dump-in took a strange bounce off the right boards and over the back of the net. Savard scored his second third-period goal with 47.6 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 3.
Sobotka recalled to Bruins" class="imgcaption floatr" style="float: right;" />With the trade of Andrew Alberts and the injury to Chuck Kobasew, the Bruins have called up Vladimir Sobotka and Matt Hunwick from Providence of the AHL. Kobasew suffered another set back in his injury plagued career with a broken ankle. He is should be out for 3 weeks.
GM Peter Chiarelli shed sone light on the Alberts trade in his blog on bostonbruins.com.
"We made a move yesterday to trade Andrew Alberts to Philadelphia. There are a lot of components, or reasons, behind that trade - and I will share a couple of them with you."
"Maybe the biggest one was to open up some spots for some young guys (Sobotka and Hunwick) who we called up this morning. Secondly, you have to be very proactive in this system and you have to move early on things. We weren’t going to re-sign Andrew, so we figured we’d better preserve the asset, so to speak, and get something back."
With Kobasew out and Alberts out of town, this left the door wide up for Sobotka and Hunwick.
Hunwick spent the majority of the 07-08 season in Providence where he earned 23 points in 55 games. He was recalled to Boston on four separate occasions last year and tallied one assist in 13 games. Sobotka tallied two goals and two assists in the first two games for the P-Bruins this year. He split the 2007-2008 season between Boston and Providence, and with Boston, saw action in 48 regular season games, contributed one goal and six assists and added two goals in six postseason games.
