The Sky's Not Falling: Bruins Lose To Habs, But Score!

Hear that? That’s the sound of the bandwagon getting a tad lighter in Boston.

Following two mind-rattling losses to the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings, where the B’s scored a total of zero goals in 120 minutes of play. Tonight, it took the black and gold just over 59 minutes before they finally scored a goal against the Montreal Canadiens en route to a 2-1 shootout loss.

Former Boston Bruin Glen Metropolit got the party started for Montreal, scoring a goal late in the first period after a Dennis Wideman positioning blooper led to a collision with Matt Hunwick, leading to Andrei Kostityn having a clear path to the net with Shawn Thornton in hot pursuit of him. Kostityn was denied by Thomas on the initial attempt but was able to wrap it around the net where Metropolit was able to bang it home for his third goal of the season.

The second period was more of the same Boston and Montreal clash we all know as the B’s and Habs engaged into a defensive battle, fighting for every corner and full of hard hitting, and penalties. However, in what’s becoming expected Bruins fashion, the B’s were unable to capitalize on both powerplay chances in the period, and three in total. At the same time though, the B’s penalty kill was up to the task of shutting down the Habs powerplay, killing both powerplays Montreal had in the night.

The highlight of the second period was a goal-call reversed in favor of the Montreal Canadiens as it appeared that the B’s put one by an unsuspecting Carey Price on a rebound. However, as replay clearly showed, the net was taken off it’s moorings and was put in under the dislodged net.

Near the close of the period, a scrum erupted in front of the Boston crease where Andrew Ference and Maxim Lapierre exchanged words and went as far as Ference dropping his glove to challenge Lapierre to a fight −something Lapierre simply would have no part of, per usual. Ference shook off Lapierre and waved his hand at him, skating away while laughing and having some choice words for the Habs agitator.

It’s not often that you say this when referring to a 22-year old goaltender, but last night was vintage Carey Price.

For much of the night, the story was in net for the Montreal Canadiens as Carey Price played perhaps his strongest game of the 2009-10 season. The oft-taunted goaltender in Boston, Price made one save after another, stopping all 26 of Boston’s shots after 40 minutes of play.

In what was very reminiscent of 2007-08, where Price and the Canadiens beat the Bruins eight times in the regular season and knocked the B’s out of the first round of the playoffs, Price demonstrated excellent mechanics and had absolutely phenomenal poise.

Shutting down Boston in typical 2007-08, Price was less than a minute away from securing a regulation win when Patrice Bergeron banged the puck home for his fifth goal of the season.

In overtime, the B’s had their opportunities, none better than Patrice Bergeron’s shot from just over the blue-line in the attacking zone. Bergeron, a mini-breakaway let one rip and Price went down and made a desperation save straight out of the NHL10, stopping Bergeron’s shot with a filthy glove save.

Following a botched scoring opportunity by Blake Wheeler and Vladimir Sobotka on a 2-on-1, the B’s and Habs were going to the shootout for the first time since November 20th, 2008.

The B’s elected to shoot first and it was Blake Wheeler who was stopped by Price. The first shooter for the Canadiens was Michael Cammalleri, who ripped a wrist shot right by Tim Thomas that to be honest, I saw coming from a mile away. After one round, Montreal had the 1-0 lead in the shootout.

The B’s sent Patrice Bergeron to center ice as their second shooter but again, Price stood tall in net, denying Bergeron’s bid to tie it up. Tim Thomas was also able to stop Scott Gomez with a save off his glove as Boston was in a must-score situation when they sent Mark Recchi onto the ice.

“Mark Recchi?! Not Sturm, Ryder, Sobotka or even Marchand? Mark Recchi?!”

Recchi, although making a great attempt, was stopped by Price and the Habs got their first win against Boston since October of last season, ending a nine game losing streak including the playoffs, against Boston.

While the loss to Montreal may sting, the B’s fans should be thrilled with getting a point, along with the team scoring their first goal in 179 minutes and eight seconds. All things considered, the defense and goaltending for Boston is playing phenomenal, pointing to nothing but good coming from the return of Krejci and Savard along with Milan Lucic in the upcoming weeks.

Dumb Quote of the Night

“It’s different when we get outside buddy, when le fists come into play and at le face” - Completely ignorant B’s fans to group of Habs fans celebrating Metropolit’s goal in the first period.

Honestly, I understand this is a rivalry, but why are we resorting to violence towards fans for being happy that their player scored a goal? This fan proceeded to charge at all of these fans during the first intermission, shoving them up against a wall and calling them all cowards because they wouldn’t fight him. For starters, they were here to watch sixty minutes of hockey, not twenty. Secondly, this man had about seven inches and a good hundred pounds on each on them, I can’t blame them.

B’s fans, it’s time to grow up and leave the fighting to the guys on the ice.

What’s Next?

It’ll be a Saturday night showdown with the Northeast Division leading Buffalo Sabres at the Garden. The Sabres come into Boston winning five out of their last six before tonight’s tilt against the Flyers at the HSBC Arena. They’re led by Ryan Miller, who’s completely playing out of skull right now, posting a 9-1-1 record with a 1.69 goals against average and two shutouts.

The Sabres, who always seem to give the B’s a hard time regardless of their record, should provide a daunting challenge to the Boston Bruins, who will once again be without Milan Lucic, Marc Savard, and David Krejci.

Recchi Returns For Another Round

Doesn't it feel good waking up a Bruins fan and realizing the change this organization has made? In previous years, a player such as Mark Recchi would never want to return to Boston, and even if he did, the Bruins front office would have no intentions of bringing the trading deadline acquisition back. However, under head coach Claude Julien and Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli, Boston has become a place where players actually want to play.

Following an encouraging message by Steve Begin to the Boston media of "I'm on the right side now" when asked about his tenure in Montreal, reports out of Boston indicate that 41 year old winger Mark Recchi has signed a 1-year contract worth 1 million dollars to remain in Boston.

When Recchi was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange from could-have-been's Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums, the reaction from Boston was welcoming and excited. Recchi's a proven winner, a great powerplay threat and he provides added veteran leadership in the Bruins march towards a Stanley Cup. Despite the Bruins failure to advance to the Conference Finals, Recchi's presence created an even more dangerous Bruins offense and powerplay.

In 29 total games with the Bruins in the regular season and playoffs, Recchi had 13 goals and 22 points, finishing with a -3. In these games, Recchi had a total of 5 powerplay goals and 4 powerplay assists, often gaining his goals through tip-in's and re-directs out in front of the net, a strategy that the 5'10 forward has used to his advantage throughout his entire career.

In the Bruins 7-game battle with the Carolina Hurricanes, Recchi fought through injuries before having surgery to remove a kidney stone the night before Game 7. His resiliency spoke great volumes to the British Columbia native's drive to win, even though he's already won 2 Stanley Cups in his illustrious career.

The addition of Recchi into the Bruins line-up for another season gives the Bruins three deep scoring lines, and that's without Phil Kessel. Also, the signing of Recchi could possibly point to Phil Kessel officially being on the out's in Boston. Recchi's signing adds another million onto the Boston cap, leaving just over four million dollars left to play with and re-sign Phil Kessel, Matt Hunwick and P.J Axelsson. It's obvious that one, or even two of the three will be let go, and will the rumor mill of Tomas Kaberle coming to Boston in exchange for Phil Kessel, thing's are about to get very interesting in Boston.

The Walking Wounded

Not often is a number 1st seeded team losing to a 6th seeded team considering acceptable, but maybe this news can heal up the wound a little bit faster. It was revealed today during the players and coaches "wrap-up" day at the TD Banknorth Garden that many of the Bruins were suffering from more than just minor injuries.

In front of the media today, Phil Kessel revealed that he had played through the final leg of the regular season and through the entire playoffs with a torn rotator cuff. However, the injuries didn't just end there for the 21 year old Wisconsin native as he was also suffering from a torn labrum. The news came as a shock to Bruins fans considering Kessel's strong play in the playoffs. In 11 games, Kessel scored 6 goals and finished with 11 points and a +7.

Perhaps the biggest name joining Kessel in surgery is fellow-restricted-free-agent-about-to-be David Krejci. Krejci, the Bruins 2nd highest scorer suffered a hip injury during the NHL Playoffs. Like Kessel, Krejci is expected to miss 4-6 months recovering.

It appears that with both Kessel and Krejci out for what could be 6 months, that their stock has certainly dropped. However, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is approaching the situation no differently heading into contract negotiations with two key components of the Boston Bruins future. "As far as their contracts go, I don't see anything being different, other than the fact that they probably won't be playing when the team starts," Chiarelli said. Despite Chiarelli's claim of going into the negotiations no differently, these injuries may have luckily scared some offer sheets from other teams off the table, creating a favorable break for the Bruins.

Along with these major injuries, it was revealed that Chuck Kobasew played through 2 broken ribs, Milan Lucic played through a broken toe, Marc Savard played in Game 7 with a sprained knee, and Zdeno Chara played through a shoulder and knee injury. Then you add in the Bruins obvious injuries to Andrew Ference, who'll have surgery later next month, Matt Hunwick and Marco Sturm and the Bruins were truly the most injury-riddled team in the NHL Playoffs. This is by no means making an excuse for the Bruins lack of intensity in their series against Carolina, but it's a definite indicator as to why they struggled.

Perhaps the only good news coming out of these revelations is what doors it can open for the 2009-10 Boston Bruins. It's now possible that with both Kessel and Krejci going to be rebounding from injuries that they will no longer command the 4.5+ million dollars a season due to the potential issue of becoming injury prone. This could leave enough to cap room to possibly bring back winger Mark Recchi, who at the age of 41 may not be done yet. This could also put the Bruins in the favorable position of not having to trade Marco Sturm due to his rather large salary, giving the Bruins a potentially even more dangerous line-up heading into the 2009-10 season.

Despite losing, the resiliency of the Bruins throughout these major injuries showed the unwillingness of this team to lay down and die, even when they were down 3 games to 1. Their bodies may not have held up their 7 game series loss, but there's no doubting that their heart was as strong as ever.

As One Chapter Ends, The Next Chapter Begins

The night is darkest just before the dawn. Perhaps there was no darker end to the Boston Bruins season as it was on Thursday night. When Hurricanes winger and Boston villain Scott Walker ended the Bruins quest for their 1st Stanley Cup in 37 years, Boston fans fell silent and rally towels littered the ice. Despite the rally cries of "We Want It!", the "Believe" signs and the crowd singing along to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" it simply wasn't to be for the 2008-2009 Boston Bruins. However, as this season ends, it's just the beginning of the Bruins bright future.

2008-09 was the year of the Bruins, they dominated almost every team in the NHL and finished with 50+ wins for the first team since the 1992-93 season. They added veteran Mark Recchi at the trading deadline who contributed nicely, losing just Martins Karsums along with Matt Lashoff, who was never really destined for great things in Boston due to the emergence of Matt Hunwick. Along with Hunwick, Czech center David Krejci had a phenomenal breakout year, who's 73 point season and effectiveness as a special teams threat earned him the Boston Bruins 7th Player Award. 2008-09 also marked the year of continuing development of hulking winger Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel and perhaps the most surprising Byron Bitz.

With 2008-09 officially done for the Bruins, it's time to look towards the future.

First off, one of the bigger questions the Bruins have to address is their free agency situation. Both David Krejci and Phil Kessel are the headliners of the Boston Bruins list of restricted free agents. As the case with all restricted free agents, if a player is to accept an offer sheet from another team, depending on the salary the Bruins receive draft picks from that team as compensation. It's safe to say that Kessel and Krejci should command and earn around the 9 million dollar mark between the two of them, but anything more raises interesting questions.

I think it's safe to pencil in David Krejci for a 4 year contract at 4.5 a season, perhaps a little bit more with added incentives. Krejci is definitely the higher priority of the Bruins if you ask me as at just 22, he's already showing signs of becoming a true number one center in the NHL. There's no doubting that his potential is only going up. Whereas Kessel, despite his ability to often make goalies and defensemen look foolish is too inconsistent to command more than money that Krejci. However, due to both players strong post-season play it's possible that they both of their stocks have just raised.

If either player is to go, it'd be due to another team offering big time money. In which case, it's likely that the compensation would be for over 5 million dollars a season. Which would force the other team to send the Bruins at least their 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks. Ultimately, if it boils down to it, if Kessel leaving the Bruins brings you in multiple high draft picks, I'm not going to lose sleep thinking that the Bruins had made a terrible choice.

Besides Kessel and Krejci, Bruins defensemen Matt Hunwick and Saskatoon native Byron Bitz are also restricted free agents. Both Hunwick and Bitz made strong strides towards becoming NHL ready players, however neither are ready for big money. In all likelihood, both should sign for around the 850-900 thousand mark, the only difference being that their contracts should become 1-way deals, making them have to go through waivers before getting them sent down to Providence, making them likely to stay with Boston all-season long.

Along with these restricted free agents, the Bruins have an older crop of unrestricted free agents they need to address as well. Headlining this list is life-long Bruin P.J Axelsson, who set career highs in virtually every category this season. Axelsson's current salary cap hit sits at 1.8 million dollars a season, however with the Bruins having to re-sign Kessel and Krejci and the NHL salary cap expected to stay at the same amount of money (if not go down), it's unlikely Chiarelli and Co. will be able to give the Swedish forward and penalty-killing machine a raise, let alone his current salary.

Next in line would have to be the depth guys, such as Stephane Yelle and Shane Hnidy. Both Hnidy and Yelle, provide veteran presences on the lower lines for cheap money. If Yelle and Hnidy can be re-signed for the same amount of money (750k) a piece, then it's probably likely to see them both back with the Bruins. However, this could change if the Bruins decide to hand the reins of 4th line center to Vladimir Sobotka, and 7th defensemen to Johnny Boychuk, who had a very strong year for Providence in the AHL.

Perhaps the biggest question mark is the future of Mark Recchi. Recchi is still a capable NHL player even at the age of 41, but his contract up and his future is uncertain. It's likely that the 5'10 winger with over 1,400 career points will retire, but it's also possible that his thirst to continue playing is still alive and well. If he can be brought back for the same price tag, it's likely that the Bruins will do whatever they can within their power to keep Recchi with the Bruins to provide added veteran presence.

The "automatics" to not return to the Bruins have to be Steve "Watch Me Create A Turnover" Montador and Manny Fernandez. Montador truly never wow'd Bruins fans as he often created turnovers within his own zone and looked to be over-thinking every aspect of the game. Fernandez, who missed over a month due to a back injury, is on the fence on whether he wants to retire or continue playing. The opportunity will surely be there for Fernandez to play as a platoon goalie in Colorado, Ottawa, Detroit or even Philadelphia but there's simply no room for him in Boston as Tuukka Rask looks ready to step into the NHL.

With the NHL having a salary cap, it's unlikely that no cap-saving deals will be made. The 3 players that stick out the most as potential trade-baits to "cap crunch" are Patrice Bergeron, Marco Sturm and Aaron Ward. All players make over 2 million dollars and could be dealt if it means keeping the Bruins under the NHL salary cap. Ward's veteran presence on defense is greatly appreciated, making it unlikely that he'll be traded on account of his veteran know-how. However, the Bruins performed very well without 2007-08's leading goal scoring Marco Sturm, who missed most of the season with a knee injury and is most likely to be dealt if need be.

With the Bruins done until October, one thing's for sure, it's going to be an interesting summer.

To Believe, Or Not To Believe

Well, it's official. The Boston Bruins back's are up against the proverbial wall. There's no tomorrow for the Bruins if they don't win tonight's Game 5 showdown at the TD Banknorth Garden; As with just one more loss against the Carolina Hurricanes the Bruins will be knocked out of the series 4 games to 1. However, all faith should not be lost as this task albeit daunting, is not impossible. In fact, it's already been done once so far in this year's playoffs. For all you doubters, here are your reasons to "Believe in the B" for Game 5 and the rest of the series.

Firstly, the powerplay cold streak has been snapped. The Bruins went into Friday night's Game 4 going 0 for their last 16 powerplay attempts, but broke that with a Marc Savard powerplay goal. With Boston's playoff lives on the line expect to see Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic trying to direct the tip-in's in front of the red hot Ward. The Bruins also possess veteran know how. Aaron Ward has been apart of 3 Stanley Cup winning teams. Mark Recchi and Stephane Yelle are right behind Ward with 2 Stanley Cup rings of their own. Their presence and leadership are welcomed greatly in what could be a nerve-filled locker room. However, there's also 10 players in the Carolina locker room with Stanley Cup experience.

Also, somewhat expected turn of events has occurred: Tim Thomas and the rest of the Bruins are beginning to have a hatred for the 'Canes. It's been said by the Vezina trophy finalist that he's developed a hatred for the Raleigh based franchise and when the Bruins get angry, they pick up their intensity. (See: Dallas Stars game in November, April 9th vs. Montreal and January 13th vs. Montreal.). The Bruins are also at home, there was no team better at home in the Eastern Conference than the Boston Bruins during the 2008-09 season. With 17,565 screaming fans behind them, the Bruins will surely have some added fire and fury in their step. If all goes accordingly, the Bruins could be back in Boston for a Game 7.

One of the biggest factors going into tonight is the fact that they've been here before. Just last year, the Bruins found themselves in a 3-1 hole against the first seeded Montreal Canadiens. They fought back to bring the series to a decisive Game 7, despite losing it showed the heart in the Boston Bruins. The heart of the 2008-09 Boston Bruins has yet to be seen, and with a much more talented roster this season it'll be interesting to see how they come out tonight.

Perhaps the largest mind-block that the Bruins need to get over in order to win is that contrary to popular belief, Cam Ward can be beat. The Carolina net-minder has been virtually unbeatable over the past 3 games, or at least it's appeared that way. However, the Bruins have put minimal pressure on the 25 year old Saskatoon native. Outside of the 16 shot 3rd period of Game 2, Ward hasn't faced more than 10 shots in a period. It's time for Kessel, Recchi, Ryder, Krejci, and Chara to fire away and make Ward uncomfortable in between the iron.

Return of the Bergeron

Concussions have ruined the career of many of great hockey players, such as Pat LaFontaine and Eric Lindros. One player however, is determined to not let concussions ruin his career: Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins 23 year old center from Quebec. After suffering a Grade 3 Concussion thanks to a questionable Randy Jones hit on October 27th, 2007 Bergeron struggled to regain his scoring touch in the early parts of the 2008-09 season. Some were saying he wasn't playing with the same tenacity, aggressiveness and consistency that made him so successful. Then, one of the worst fears of any Bruin fan became a reality; On December 20th against the Carolina Hurricanes, Bergeron was the recipient of a shoulder to head hit by Dennis Seidenberg and was down.

Bergeron suffered yet another concussion. Although not as severe as the initial one sustained in 2007, this was Bergeron's second concussion in 14 months and the concern came with good reason. One concussion could ruin a career, but yet another one just over a year later? As the doubts of Bergeron's future grew into the minds of Bruins fans around the world their worries were put to rest on January 27th. Hours before a showdown between the Capitals and Bruins it was announced that Patrice Bergeron would be making his return to the Bruins line-up.

In the game, Bergeron had an assist on a beautiful save to keep the puck in the attacking zone on the powerplay. From that point on, it's been said that Bergeron is making the right steps to becoming the 37 Bruins fans were used to. Now, with the playoffs just on the horizon Bergeron is finding his stride for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The addition of Mark Recchi has ultimately been the biggest help to Patrice, in the 17 games since acquiring the 41 year old winger, Bergeron has scored 1 goal and 11 assists with a +3. Recchi's veteran know-how, Kobasew's raw style of play and Bergeron's resurgence has undoubtedly made the Bruins 3rd line one of the strongest 3rd line's in the NHL.

With two essentially meaningless games left in the Boston Bruins regular season, Bergeron's picked the perfect time to get things going on all levels. There's no debate that last night was by far Bergeron's best game of the 2008-09 season. In the Bruins 5-4 overtime thrilling win over the arch-rival Montreal Canadiens, Bergeron was a major force on the ice. After scoring the first goal of the game on a tic-tac-toe play on a feed from Matt Hunwick, Bergeron was on the board with a goal for just the 8th time this season. He followed this up with an assist on a Bruins powerplay goal, but then the injury bug almost nailed Patrice yet again.

On the penalty kill during the 2nd period, Bergeron took a slapshot right off the foot of the skate. A wobbling Bergeron was assisted back to the bench and down the run-way. The initial reaction of Bruins fans was, well some not so friendly words to share. However, the resilient Bruin wasn't about to sit the remainder of this one out. He returned shortly and made his presence known, just ask Maxim Lapierre. In the overtime, as the Canadiens attempted to go on the attack, Bergeron hit Lapierre with a hip check, freeing the puck, and as Bergeron skated up towards Habs goalie Carey Price he hit Recchi with a pass to put one by Price and win the game for the Bruins.

Bergeron will likely sit out the next two games for the Bruins as they travel to Buffalo and Long Island to finish the season, allowing him more time to rest his foot before the playoffs. In the larger picture, 530 days since the Randy Jones hit, it's safe to say Bergeron is back.