Bruins week ahead

November 10, 2008
Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Courtesy of the Bruins’ media relations department:

BOSTON BRUINS WEEK AHEAD 11/8 - 11/14

B’S, THOMAS LOOK TO KEEP ROLLING:  The Bruins are 5-1-0 in their last
six games and will look to continue their recent run when they host the
Northeast Division leading Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at the TD
Banknorth Garden.  B’s goaltender Tim Thomas – who leads the NHL in
save percentage (.944) – has started the last five games and has
compiled a 4-1-0 record. Thomas, who owns a 1.85 goals against average,
good for third in the league, has conceded just six goals over that
span.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD:  The Bruins next four opponents have a combined
33-10-7 record as of Friday, November 7.  After playing the 8-2-2 Sabres
on Saturday, they will travel to Chicago to face the 6-3-3 Blackhawks on
Wednesday, November 12, return to Boston to face the 8-1-1 Canadiens at
home on Thursday, November 13 and travel to New York City to play the
11-4-1 Rangers on Saturday, November 15.

HOT WHEELS:  Blake Wheeler scored his first career hat trick on
Thursday, November 6, the second hat trick of the season by a Bruin
(Milan Lucic vs. Atlanta on Oct. 25th). The current season is the first
campaign in which more than one Boston hat trick has been recorded since
2002-03 (Glen Murray vs. Calgary on Nov. 26, 2002; Marty McInnis vs. NY
Islanders on Mar. 6, 2003; Martin Lapointe vs. New Jersey on Mar.13,
2003).  Wheeler is now tied for league lead in goals scored by a rookie
with six.

CAST YOUR BALLOT:  Online voting for the NHL All-Star game begins on
Wednesday, November 12.  Representing the Bruins on the ballot are
Patrice Bergeron, Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara.  Voters also have the
opportunity to write-in other players not on the ballot.
AROUND TOWN:
WHAT:  Military Appreciation Night
-The Boston Bruins organization will be hosting 1200 soldiers and their
families Saturday night for the Boston Bruins/Buffalo Sabres game.
Soldiers and their families will be participating in various experiences
including Zamboni rides, bench assistant, and All-Access.
- Three Families attending the game will receive a surprise video
message from their family member currently serving in Iraq.
- 50 Soldiers from each branch of the military and their families will
be sitting in Aaron Ward’s section.  Aaron Ward donated $15,000 for
Military appreciation night, which went towards a total of 300 tickets.
WHEN: Saturday, November 8, 7:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: TD Banknorth Garden during Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres

THE BUZZ IS BACK:  On this week’s episode of the Buzz, take a look at
NHL #2 Star of The Week Tim Thomas’ stingy puck stopping play, hear from
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, recap the action-packed 5-1 victory over the
Dallas Stars last Saturday and check out the first ever Bru Fest
tailgate party, which was held in the Garden parking lot before the
B’s/Leafs game on Thursday. The Buzz airs Saturday, November 8 at 6:00
p.m. ET.

COURTESY OF THE BOSTON BRUINS WEEK AHEAD STAT MACHINE…
Rookie Blake Wheeler’s hat trick vs. Toronto on November 7 came in just
his 13th NHL game. It was the quickest hat trick by a Bruins rookie
since Craig Janney netted three in his fifth career game on March 12,
1988 against the Quebec Nordiques.

STUDENT NIGHTS:  Every Bruins home game on Monday through Thursday is
“Student Night” at the Garden, where students can purchase discounted
tickets for $23.50.  The Bruins Student Sections are in sections 320 and
321, rows 3-15.

BRUINS ON THE NHL LEADERBOARD:
-Tim Thomas is first in the NHL with a .944 save percentage
-Thomas is third in the NHL in GAA with 1.85 (R. Miller BUF, 1.62; A.
Auld OTT, 1.84)
-Thomas is tied for second in the NHL with 2 shutouts (R. Luongo VAN,
4)
-Marc Savard is tied for sixth in the NHL with 15 points (E. Malkin
PIT, 21)
-Blake Wheeler leads all rookies in the NHL in goals with 6 (tied with
M. Grabovski TOR) and is tied for third amongst all rookies in points
with 8 (D. Brassard CBJ, 12) and third amongst all rookies in shooting
percentage at 30 percent (F. Brunnstrom DAL, 35.7)

BRUINS REGULAR SEASON LEADERS:
Goals
1. P. Kessel 7
2. B. Wheeler 6
3. M. Savard 5

Assists
1. M. Savard 10
2. A. Ference 7
t3. D. Krejci 6
t3. M. Ryder 6
t3. M. Sturm 6

Points
1. M. Savard 15
t2. D. Krejci 9
t2. M. Sturm 9
t3. P. Bergeron 8
t3. P. Kessel 8
t3. M. Lucic 8
t3. M. Ryder 8
t3. B. Wheeler 8

Plus/Minus
t1. A. Ference +8
t1. M. Sturm +8
2. M. Ryder +7
3. M. Savard +6

Penalty Minutes
1. M. Lucic 32
2. M. Savard 26
3. S. Thornton 23

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Posted by Mike McMahon

This team has some fight in them

November 1, 2008
Associated Press

Credit: Associated Press

BOSTON — Well that was fun, wasn’t it?

The Bruins battled (literally) to a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars at the TD Banknorth Garden on Saturday night, and the fists were flying.

Eight fighting majors, and seven misconducts headlined the festivities. Not to mention five unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and a whopping 144 total penalty minutes between the two teams.

Oh yeah, and the Bruins netted five goals against a pretty good goaltender, Marty Turco, who the Garden crowd taunted right from Marco Sturm’s tally 2:41 into the game that made it 1-0.

His counterpart, Tim Thomas, was immense again. Thomas stopped 35 of 36 shots and in the second period, with the B’s being outshot 31-16 (and 25-5 in the second frame alone), Thomas put his team on his back. He’s earned every minute he’s played.

And, he was primed and ready to drop gloves with Turco in the third, when an all out line brawl ensued.

It will be interesting to see what this win does for the Bruins. Guys were physically sticking up for one another. Games like this can bond a team — think the Red Sox in 2004 after the Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez battle. Sure, fights happen much more frequently in hockey, but this team stuck together. Guys battled for each other.

On another note, Sean Avery made a fan out of me tonight. He is the perfect antagonist. He’s a guy that everyone hates, but if he were donning a black and gold shirt, the Garden would love him. He was jawing with fans from the penalty box, and jabbering with fans behind the Dallas bench which forced a large police detail to surround the aisle way when he was given a misconduct (along with many others) at the 11:44 mark of the third.

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Posted by Mike McMahon

Thomas proves himself, again and again

October 30, 2008
AP

Credit: AP

What Tim Thomas is doing is exactly what good goalies do. They bail the rest of the team out when they suffer through offensive woes.

Since posting a six-spot against Atlanta on Saturday, the B’s have suffered through two straight one-goal performances. Well, maybe suffer isn’t the right word. Thomas has stopped a combined 58 shots in a row the last two nights, with a shutout streak that now sits at 132:32.

And let’s be honest, 1-0 shutouts are the toughest to earn. Sure, it’s easy to stop pucks with a three or four goal cushion, but when every shot can change the outcome of the game, the pressure is on.

Thomas keeps proving himself. But, should he have to prove himself anymore, or is he done proving?

No offense to Manny Fernandez, but Thomas is the best goalie on the B’s roster right now, and until he there is a miscue, he needs to start every  night.

If you subscribe to the theory, as I do, that the B’s will only re-sign one of their two impending UFA goalies, then the choice has to be Thomas, at least based on what we’ve seen thus far.

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Posted by Mike McMahon

Thomas at the top of his game

October 28, 2008

He’s not your typical NHL goalie. He’s unorthodox, to say the least. But, Tim Thomas has been getting the job done.

Monday night, it was more of the same, with the 34-year-old backstopping the B’s to a 1-0 win in Edmonton, in OT.

It improves Thomas’ record to 2-1-2 on the year, which an impressive 2.12 GAA and an even more impressive .932 save percentage.

He may not always be in the best position, but he stops pucks. That is, after all, his main job description.

Thomas has helped the B’s survive an awfuly tough October. Just two regulation losses (4-2-3) through nine games is quite the feat, considering the travel and all around crazy schedule the Bruins are going through at the moment.

A trip to Colorado to start the year, and then travel back east with some stops along the way. Two weeks later, they go back out west to Edmonton last night, then fly to Vancouver (Wed.) and then back to Alberta to face Calgary (Thurs.).

Going in, a .500 record would have been impressive for the month. The B’s are on pace to better that, and much of it has to do with the play of Thomas.

COURTESY OF THE BOSTON BRUINS WEEK AHEAD STAT MACHINE

The Bruins will travel 5,063 miles on their current road trip.  Here’s
the breakdown:
Bedford, Mass. - Edmonton 2060 Miles
Edmonton - Vancouver  503 Miles
Vancouver - Calgary  426 Miles
Calgary - Bedford, Mass.  2074 Miles
TOTAL: 5,063

UNFAMILIAR FOES

The Bruins played the Oilers for the first time since February 13, 2007 on Monday night, and will play the Flames for the first time since October 19, 2006 and the Canucks for the first time since December 21, 2006 on the rest of the road trip.  The Black and Gold have fared well against these three clubs in the past, as they own a 39-17-6-0 lifetime mark against Edmonton after Monday’s win, a 66-24-15-0 record against Vancouver and a 51-31-10-1 record against Calgary.

1 Comment | Musings | Permalink
Posted by Mike McMahon

Ugly effort dooms B’s

October 24, 2008
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Credit: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

It doesn’t get much worse than that.

Simply put, the Bruins were outworked by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at the TD Banknorth Garden, falling 4-2 after squandering a 2-0 lead.

“This is our bread and butter,” said head coach Claude Julien. “Our work ethic and our commitment. And we didn’t have our bread and butter tonight. Guys weren’t focused, they weren’t ready, and they didn’t take our advice and what we said to them the past two days seriously enough, and we got burnt tonight,”

The Bruins stormed out to a 2-0 lead when Patrice Bergeron and Blake Wheeler scored goals within seconds of each other in the first period. After that, the B’s struggled to contain the puck in the zone, and netted just four shots on four power plays.

“It wasn’t a good effort,” said Milan Lucic. “There was nothing really positive we could take out of that. You should never get outworked in your own building.”

Lucic added, “When we get leads, we’ve got to have the killer instinct to extend the lead. But today, especially, we just sat on the lead and let them take over.”

Added Bergeron, “It’s about us. We have to be better and bear down when we have those chances. It’s going to happen that you won’t have that many. It’s not always going to be 20 (shots) a game. But when you have one, you have to make sure you put it in.”

The Bruins will have Friday off before getting back to work against the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday. The key word there — work.

“Usually our forte is outworking the other teams,” said Thomas. “Toronto is trying to forge an identity as a hard-working team. It was a challenge for us to match that tonight. We fell short.”

Milan Lucic hit

The hit of the night, of course, was Lucic plastering Mike Van Ryn through the glass. Unfortunately, there was a young child right in front of the action.

“I just went in there to finish the check,” said Lucic. “Went through the glass and unfortunately hit the two people who were sitting there. I felt a little bad for them after. Hopefully, they’re all right. I saw them bleeding. It would be nice for me to do something for them because I felt bad they were cut open like that on an unfortunate and unlucky thing for them.”

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Posted by Mike McMahon

Two nights, two shootouts, two losses

October 22, 2008
Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Well, two points isn’t as good as four, but it’s certainly better than none.

The B’s get back to work Thursday night against the Maple Leafs at the Garden. To say the Leafs are struggling would be an understatement. Toronto sits at just 1-2-3 on the year, and has scored just 11 goals in six games — a pathetic 1.83 goals per game.

If the rotation stays to form, Tim Thomas will be between the pipes for the B’s. Thomas looked great against the Penguins on Monday, making 31 saves. Manny Fernandez had a strong outing against the Sabres as well, stopping 28 of 30 shots.

Goaltending could prove to be the B’s best position.

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Posted by Mike McMahon

ET: Phil Kessel is all grown up

October 21, 2008

Good morning.

After last night’s home opener at the Garden, I spoke with Bruins forward Phil Kessel, who has emerged as the deadly goal-scoring threat that the Bruins need him to be. Contract extensions for restricted free agents are somewhat rare in the NHL, but Kessel is making a statement early that he needs to be a priority this summer.

Patrice Bergeron made his return in front of the hometown fans last night, and is happy to finally put last year’s injury behind him. “There are no more firsts, so now I can move forward,” Bergeron said.

The B’s headed up north to Buffalo after last night’s game. They’ll take on the Sabres tonight. More updates will be on the way later.

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Posted by Mike McMahon

Penguins 2, Bruins 1: F/SO

October 20, 2008

That’s it from the TD Banknorth Garden.

I’ll be back with more updates tomorrow, including links to tonight’s column and notebook.

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Posted by Mike McMahon

Bruins 1, Penguins 1: End of 2nd

October 20, 2008

BOSTON — Phil Kessel is turning into the sniper that the Bruins need him to be. With about six minutes remaining in the second period, Andrew Ference fed Kessel at the top of the circle and the third-year forward skated into the slot with authority before unleashing a blazing wrist shot that Pittsburgh goaltender Danny Sabourin never saw go over his shoulder. For Kessel, it’s his fifth goal in as many games to start the season and tie the game at 1-1.

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Posted by Mike McMahon

Penguins 1, Bruins 0: End of 1st

October 20, 2008

BOSTON — A funny moment before the start of the game; as the TD Banknorth Garden PA announcer was introducing the team one by one (in numerical order), someone forgot to add Mark Stuart’s name to the list. So, Instead of reading “No. 45 Mark Stuart,” the announcements went straight from Aaron Ward (No. 44) to David Krejci (No. 46). Stuart was left standing in the aisle until after all of the introductions were done, when he skated to the blue line and was met with some laughs from teammates Marc Savard and Phil Kessel.

Pittsburgh 1, Boston 0 — Miroslav Satan rushed out of the box after his hooking penalty expired and trailed Evegeni Malkin, who backhanded a shot that Tim Thomas stopped along the ice with his stick, but no one was there to tie up Satan, who one-timed the rebound over a diving Thomas.

The B’s had three power plays in the first period, and weren’t able to convert on any of the chances.

Shawn Thornton and Eric Godard dropped gloves towards the end of the first period. Both were squaring off and did some grabbing before Thornton lost his balance and Godard fell on top of the B’s forward.

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Posted by Mike McMahon

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