10) February 19th 2008 at Carolina Hurricanes
- This was deja-vu for most Bruins fans of the Dave Lewis era. The Bruins were poised to win when Ray Whitney and Eric Staal both scored with less than 2 minutes in the 3rd to tie the game and send it to OT. Following the 5 minute OT Claude Julien took a chance on David Krejci in the shootout and it payed off as Krejci netted a SO goal to win the game for Boston.
9) February 28th 2008 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
- What made this game exciting was the fact that it was Marian Hossa's first game as a Pen. It didn't live up to the Hossa hype as he left the game in the 1st period with an injury. The Bruins went on to a 5-1 rout of the Penguins, including a Lucic beatdown of Jarkko Ruutu.
8) March 8th 2008 vs. Washington Capitals
- A true test of how legitimate this team really was. The B's trailed most of this game but it wasn't until a Donald Brashear 6 minute major for sucker punching Shane Hnidy that put Boston over the top. Zdeno Chara netted the teams first goal to tie it up at 1 a piece. Following a Tom Poti slash the Bruins were on the 5 on 3 powerplay when Marco Sturm put one by Cristobal Huet to give the B's the lead as Sturm did his best Ovechkin impression as he jumped into the glass to the thrill of the crowd.
7) January 19th 2008 vs. New York Rangers
- This was the TD Banknorth Garden's 6th sellout of the season as the stadium was filled with black, gold and bits of red, white and blue as some Ranger fans made the trek from New York to attend the game. The Boston Bruins hosted the Rangers on a Saturday Matinee at the Garden which was also the 50th anniversary of Willie O'Ree breaking the color barrier in the NHL. The game was back and forth throughout as both goalies buckled down, deliving strong performances. The Rangers survived the OT shorthanded as Jaromir Jagr got called for a penalty and it went to the shootout where Phil Kessel and Zdeno Chara netted goals for Boston to get them the win.
6) November 1st vs. Dallas Stars
- Saturday night's alright for fighting after all. The Bruins and Stars met in this fight filled affair which was mainly instigated by Steve Ott and his cowardly low hit on Stephane Yelle. This game showed the heart the Bruins have as play erupted into a 5 on 5 fight after Sean Avery boarded fan favorite Milan Lucic. On top of the fighting majors the Bruins made easy work of Marty Turco and went on to a 5-1 win.
5) November 22nd at Montreal Canadiens
- It was Patrick Roy night at the Bell Centre as the Bruins almost found themselves in a familiar position, about to blow it against the Habs in Montreal. The Habs jumped out a 1-0 lead early in the 1st as Andrei Kostityn put a wrist shot past Tim Thomas. The Bruins responded back ten minutes later on a Bruins goal by none other than Montreal's public enemy number one Milan Lucic who was on the receiving end of heckles and jeers by the Habitants de Quebec for much of the night. As the Bruins netted another goal to go up 2-1 the Habs caught a great break when Tom Kostopoulos scored with just under 4 minutes left in the 3rd. In the end it was Blake Wheeler saving the day for the Bruins in the shootout.
4)March 15th vs. Philadelphia Flyers
- This was Philadelphia and Boston's final meeting of the season. Both were jostling for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and it was the Flyers first game back at the Garden after injuring Bruins star C Patrice Bergeron. The game seemed to belong to Marty Biron and the Flyers as they were clinging on for dear life to their 2-1 lead. With under a minute left to play it was desperation time for the Bruins as they pulled Tim Thomas from net for the extra attacker. Andrew Ference then went on the attack as he put a slapshot by Biron with 30 seconds left in the 3rd to tie it. Then in the OT it was Aaron Ward who came through again as the Bruins won 3-2, proving them as a playoff worthy team.
3) November 29th 2008 vs. Detroit Red Wings
- It was the big test, could the 21st century rendition of the Big Bad Bruins days of yore hang with the leagues best? The answer we were given was a yes as the Bruins beat the defending champs 4-1. The message was loud and clear; the Bruins of old are back.
2) April 13th 2008 vs. Montreal Canadiens
- Less than a day after Alex Kovalev crushed the hopes of tying the series with his OT winner the Bruins took to their home ice to try and get on the board with a win to make the series 1-2. Milan Lucic got the Bruins on the board first as the Bruins headed into the locker room with a 1-0 lead after 1. In the 2nd the Canadiens tied it right back up with a Kostopoulos wrist shot. It stayed at 1-1 all the way into the overtime as both Carey Price and Tim Thomas made beautiful save after save. In the OT the Bruins found themselves in Montreal's zone with a delayed penalty coming against the Habs when Dennis Wideman delivered a great pass to a wide open Marc Savard who snapped a shot right by Price to give the B's their first win over Montreal and avoid going down 0-3 in the series.
1) April 19th vs. Montreal Canadiens
- This was it. Either win and force a Game 7 in Montreal or get beat on home ice and watch as your bitter rivals go on to the next round. The B's were coming off a 5-1 win in Montreal. It was classic, old fashioned back and forth action as the Bruins and Canadiens literally went back and forth between scoring goals. Phil Kessel who played with an extra fire in his heart scored two absolutely brilliant goals for the Bruins but it was Marco Sturm's goal in the 3rd that put the Bruins over the top for the win.
Here's to '08, hopefully 2009 can bring the Bruins more good fortune and a parade in June if you get what I'm saying.
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