And the Bruins win one...
Cheers to the effort coming from this entire Bruins team lately. Is it finally coming together for these guys? Are we over the misery and ready to kick some ass? Yeah.

First, though the game vs the Rangers on Saturday ended in disappointment, this team looked alive. Tim Thomas has really stepped up in net. I'm starting to think that after watching these few games, and his time playing in Providence, that this guy should stay. As much as I like Rayzor, I like what Thomas brings to the team that much more. one of the biggest things is his attitude- always smiling, not getting all pissy when things don't go his way- it's refreshing to see a goaltender who does not wear his frustration. (And I'm sorry, but Rayzor has been wearing it all season) I think Hannu is our #1 and Thomas should be our #2. There- I said it.

Enough about the goalies, let's talk about Axelsson- who has been outstanding defensively. Completely shut down Jagr the other night, and Ovechkin tonight. Jurchina looks better and better each game too- he's getting more physical, and that shot has some power behind it. It almost makes me forget that those stupid OLN guys pronounce his name 'yer-seen-a' when it's supposed to be 'yur-chee-na'. Sheesh.

I'm glad to see Leahy back up in Boston- he never should have been sent down. Bergeron and Sturm continue to click. Samsonov, I love the guy but just can't figure out if he's made of glass or if we should spring for a bubble to keep him germ free and ready for game time. Listen to me, I'm rambling like an alcoholic and I'm not even drunk. Anyway- Bruins: 3 Caps: 2, and that's all I have to say about that.

Some stats and standings:
The Bruins are creeping...

TEAM W L OTL PTS
Ottawa 33 10 4 70
Buffalo 29 15 3 61
Toronto 24 21 3 51
Montreal 21 19 6 48
Boston 19 21 8 46

RANK TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT
1 Portland Pirates 44 27 11 3 3 60 .682
2 Manchester Monarchs 44 26 13 1 4 57 .648
3 Hartford Wolf Pack 44 23 14 2 5 53 .602
4 Providence Bruins 42 23 17 1 1 48 .571
5 Lowell Lock Monsters46 17 21 4 4 42 .457
6 Springfield Falcons 43 16 21 2 4 38 .442
7 Albany River Rats 43 14 26 1 2 31 .360

Ahhh yes, the Bruins...
It's just been one of those weeks. There was a death in the family last week, followed by a funeral, and yesterday the worst migraine attack I've had in years. If you've never had one let me just say it's as close to living hell as you can get: woke up with a pulsing pain at 4AM, got up to take medication for it; promptly threw it up; imagine all light, smell and sound magnified 10 times, I stayed in my bedroom tossing and turning, alternately trying to drink water because I was parched and then running to the bathroom to throw it up (did I mention my head was still pounding?) This went on to about 1PM, when I finally went to the doctor, who gave me a shot of an anti-inflammatory right in the rear end, hoping it would take the edge off my headache. It worked enough that I was able to take my prescription when I got home and actually keep it down, and finally, at about 4:30PM, besides being completely drained, started to feel better. Moral: migraines suck and I wouldn't wish them on anyone.

Anyway, how bout those Bruins? They looked pretty sharp against Philly the other night-hopefully they can sustain that tonight against the Rangers.

Bergie and Sturm are starting to get some major chemistry out there- I know it's hard being a fan and having to wait for these things to develop, but they do take time, and this duo seems to be working out. Who knew Travis Green would score twice in one game? Good for him, and that Wayne Primeau goal was highlight material. Once again Tim Thomas looked fab in the net- anyone who's seen him play in Providence should not be surprised. He's plays with passion, and the rest of the team definitely feeds from that.

I think too much has been made of a possible Raycroft trade- sure it could happen, but I think that he truly is hurt. Definitely hasn't been himself, and he really needs to find his confidence again. My feeling is that will happen.

Anyway, it's the Rangers in the gahhhhden tonight, let's hope the same team we saw Thursday shows up tonight.

After two absolutely horrible showings against SJ and LA, then a disappointing shootout loss to Dallas, finally, a win!!!The B's finished off their homestand by beating Anaheim in overtime yesterday 4-3 with a beauty of a goal by Patrice Bergeron. They may have allowed the Ducks to come back from a 3-1 defecit, but at least they pulled through and were able to avoid another god-awful shootout.I've come to the conclusion that Bruins + shootouts = bad, and believe me it didn't take much thinking to figure that out. Thursday the team will be in Philly. Hopefully we will see more of the same only better. I'm through trying to predict the mood of this team. Some days they feel like playing sometimes they don't. Yesterday, they did.

The Kings turned the match into a laugher with four third-period goals, including three from second-year winger Alexander Frolov, one on a penalty shot.

Were there, Sullivan was asked, any positives at all?

“No,” he said. “We sucked.” --- Boston Herald


I've had some time to calm down, time to reflect, and come to the conclusion that last night's game did indeed suck. I was hoping maybe to find something positive, but there was so little. What happened?

The Bruins actually competed the first half of the first period, but things disintgrated from there. By the thrid period you could hardly tell the Bruins were still playing. Rayzor was hung out to dry, Ben Walter's NHL debut completely overshadowed by the rest of the team's crappy performance. What more can I say?

bad, bad, and bad
That's about how I'd sum up last night's effort against the Sharks. No punch, no hustle, no pulse. Except Milan Jurcina, who netted two goals- the only two goals of the game for Boston. And you have to give Andrew Raycroft some credit, who despite letting in 5 goals and being tossed in the third, had some unbelievable saves and let's be honest, was just not given any support by his defense.

Let's not forget Joe Thornton's much anticipated return to Boston, cut short five minutes in when he was tossed from the game for hitting Hal Gill from behind.

6-2 gentlemen. Here I was thinking this team has improved. Last night's performance - That's not just bad, it's embarrassing.

Insert Jaws theme *here*
The Sharks are coming to town, in more ways than one. If you're an AHL fan that lives in the Worcester, MA area, congratulations- you just won a franchise. Say hello to your Worcester Sharks. Though it'll take some time for the name to sound like it belongs there, I'm glad to hear Worcester got a team- they never should have lost one in the first place.

Of course, if you're an NHL fan, specifically a Bruins fan, then tonight's run-in with the Sharks has it's own meaning. That's right, the return of Mr. Thornton-their first and only meeting since "the trade". My feeling is- great, it's nice to see Joe doing so well-but that's where it ends. Here's to a solid 3 in a row for the B's. (Please) (At least to be spared the *Thornton gets revenge on the team that traded him* headlines tomorrow)

The B's have decided to risk calling up netminder Tim Thomas to backup Raycroft while Toivonen is out. He has until noon today to clear waivers, during which another team could snatch him up. Don't worry, I am already keeping my fingers crossed. Providence has called up Mike Brown, which will mean two rookies in the net for the baby B's-fortunately, both are competent.

When I first switched on the television, the Bruins were down 2-0. It was almost 5:30 and I'd just returned home from work. One look at the score, and I got that sinking feeling. Oh no. Here they go again. The Jekyl and Hyde team- two nights ago they smoke the best team in the NHL, and now they're out to lunch. Hel-lo, what's this? Marco Sturm scores a goal. That boiling in my stomach settles down just a bit.

The first intemission comes and I open my mail. Went on a bit of a card buying binge lately (hockey card collector here) and with the majority of my collection being Bruins players, it was time to start buying the 05-06 cards-especially the rookies. Enter one Milan Jurcina rookie- Upper Deck Trilogy #176; limited print 355/999.


The secong period begins, and a little less than 2:00 in, Vinny Lecvalier scores another goal, making it 3-1 Tampa Bay. Not good. I place the new card in my book of current B's players. Despite the lightning goal, the pace has picked up, and the Bruins appear energized. 10:42 left in the period, and Milan jurcina scores his first NHL goal; B's are only down by one. You can see the excitement throughout the entire B's lineup, Jurcina must be absolutely thrilled. Less than 5 minutes later, he scores his second ever NHL goal. The game is tied, and the momentum has shifted solely in favor of the Bruins. They're circling the Tampa Bay net, and bombarding John Grahame with shots. Less than a minute after Jurcina's tying goal, Patrice Bergeron scores the go-ahead. By the end of the period, Boston has outshot Tampa bay 18-8.

As the third period comes along, there's a little bit of nervousness- you have to wonder how the B's will fare, considering the third period has been their achilles heel for much of the season. Luckily, those fears are unfounded. With 11:25 left PJ Axelsson scores on a breakaway that puts the B's up 5-3. Now they need to maintain the lead, and though there's still plenty of time for Tampa to score, and they are clearly outshooting the B's, Boston isn't giving many chances. The Lightning pull their goaltender for the extra attacker after defenseman Brian Leetch goes off for an interference call, but Boston defends its lead with intensity.

The final nail in the coffin comes with Pat Leahy's empty netter in the final minute of the period. Rookie call-up Jordan Sigalet gets to stand guard between the pipes for the final minute as well, after Raycroft goes off with an injury.

(Was that Jurcina card good luck or just a coincidence?)

Okay, silly superstitions aside, what started off as a poor effort by Boston turned into an exciting and hard-fought win. There were casualties: Alex Zhamnov broke his ankle-just not his year. First he misses significant time because of his shoulder, then he's slow to get his game going, and just when it looks like he might break out, he gets hurt again. As little as he's produced for the Bruins, you still have to feel for the guy. Raycroft was also injured, but looks to be fine; supposedly it was just precautionary. The B's keep the Stanley Cup Champs 0 for 5 on the powerplay and beat them 6-3. A good night for Boston, for sure.

Unfortunately providence did not have a good night last night- they lost 6-0 to the Pirates last night. But consider this: the baby B's have won 10 of their last 13 games and have been playing some pretty solid hockey. they will get the chance to redeem themselves today at home against Binghamton.

If you didn't hear the news, tomorrow night's B's game vs. Tampa Bay has been moved to 5:00 PM (EST)-Those of us in the New England area will be rejoicing because it means a B's game followed by a Patriots playoff game. Safe to say I will be riding the sofa tomorrow night.

"We know that Boston Bruins fans are also fans of the other sports teams in town," said Bruins President Harry Sinden. "We are making this change to allow our fans the opportunity to enjoy both our game and the New England Patriots game later that evening."

This was included in the email sent by the team. The cynic in me says that the Bruins realized they couldn't compete with a Patriots playoff game so they moved it. Hmm...

Flashback to 2 years ago: I had tickets to a Bruins game on a Sunday afternoon in February- keep in mind I bought them near the beginning of hockey season. well, gamedate inches closer, and just my luck, this game happens to fall on Superbowl sunday. Not only was it Superbowl Sunday, but the Patriots were in that superbowl. Now hockey may be my passion, but I was raised on football, and the Patriots have been my team since birth. As you can imagine, this was distressing-no way was I missing the Superbowl, but...no way was I giving up my B's tickets. Thankfully, the B's game came early in the afternoon-and with a win under the belt, I made the long trek home and arrived just minutes before kickoff.

Not sure why I shared that story, only that having both games on the same day made me think about that Superbowl. Choosing between the two would be tough- of course, if that's your biggest problem you're in pretty good shape.

Down in Rhody:

The baby B's play at home tonight vs. Manchester-likely I won't be able to go, but I might order the webcast.

Congrats to goaltender Tim Thomas for his selection as AHL player of the month. Also congrats to Eric Healey for his selection as Captain of the AHL all star team.

Now that's what I'm talking about
Who would know that the Bruins would beat the Sens 4-2? I certainly didn't- it seems like predicting the outcome for this team is next to impossible. Overall, this game was just full of emotion. There were several flareups around the net involving Hal Gill-exchanged words with Chris Neil a few times, along with a couple roughing minors for Mr. Gill and Fisher/Smolinski. (Insert C. Orr here...oh wait-my bad)

Let's face it- there was so much good, I couldn't talk about all of it.

Bergeron-all I can say is they better not let this kid get away. 2 points for the night, a few very good opportunities, 110% every shift-what's not to like? Note to Bruins: Please don't sew a "C" on his jersey just yet-he's by far one of the best players on the team, but still just a 20 year old kid. Give it time.

Boyes-scores the go ahead in the third. It may not have been the prettiest goal in the world, but a goal nonetheless. And as far as I'm concerned, anything that gets past Hasek has to be pretty darn good.

Tanabe- Some worry that he's a liability in his own zone, but I don't know- this kid made some key plays tonight.

Hannu,Hannu: Beautiful game as always, PLEASE don't let him be hurt too badly. One of the lowlights of the game: Toivonen goes down in the final seconds of the second period.

Razor: Give the kid a hand- he looked good. Came in the beginning of the third period and was expected to protect a Bruins 2-1 lead. 1 goal against, and it was a breakaway with not a yellow jersey in the vicinity (besides razor). I hope this is the beginning of an upswing for him.

Too many other things to talk about, but I am exhausted. Good night all!!

Are we enablers?
Yes fans, I mean you. Karen Guregian talked about this in her column yesterday: the phenomenon of near sold-out Bruins games,the stands being filled as well- and all this with a last place sub-.500 team. Do Jacobs and co. care enough about the state of the team if those seats are filled and the $$ is in pocket? Seriously, what, besides the team's pride and desire to win will bring this team to the playoffs? From Jacobs' persepctive, the business aspect is all set. He's selling seats, so why should he care how bad the team is? Unless Mike Sullivan is able to whittle a bar of soap into a Stanley Cup, I don't think this team will be seeing any hardware any time soon.

Raycroft is the focus of this morning's papers. You can't help but feel for him- rookie of the year to...this. I really think half the reason he's struggled has been how the team plays around him. I hope he gets his confidence back...

Kevin Dupont brings up an interesting point about the lack of physical game. It's one ingrediant that has been missing this year (for the most part)Can't find a path to the net? Create one. Carry that puck and plow right through the other team. Don't sidestep them, don't dump the puck to the end of the rink or pass it to your nearest teammate. Sheesh.

P-Bruins defenseman Chris Dyment was hit in the face with a bottle on New Year's Eve, leaving his face severly lacerated, and he had to go in for surgery. That just sucks all around-hopefully he will recover, and hopefully the person who threw the bottle will get what's coming to them.

There is some good news out there. Young master Crosby and his struggling Pens kicked the crap out of the Habs yesterday. That may be just enough to put a smile on my face for the day...