Well, it was not the usual suspects last night. With the exception of a Marchand goal, the role players were the story of this game. A back and forth battle with some huge hits and a lot of good solid body to body contact had the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins trading momentum back and forth all night. Back to back bad penalties had the B's trying to kill off a 5 on 3 when David Clarkson deposited one to give the Devils the lead. 4:06 later, which would proove to be the longest lead time of the evening until late in the 3rd, Gregory Campbell was working his forecheck magic, stealing the puck off of Hedburg's stick and directing to the front of the net where a crashing Chris Kelly had some wide open twine to shoot at. That would be it on the scoreboard until the 3rd period.
Marchand was back on the ice after taking two bad penalties, being benched for about half of the second, and really having an all around sub par 2 periods. But 0:06 into the 3rd off of a set play from the faceoff where the wing curls to the boards but then back to the center of the ice (see Milan Lucic against Toronto as well) and Chara found him sending him in alone and he beat hedburg stick side. For anyone who may be interested that is tied for the 6th fastest goal to start a period. 4 seconds is the record, but I can not figure out how they did that back in 1957. Anyway, it was a beautiful play, but the momentum would not last very long. 2:02 seconds later, a centering attempt somehow perfectly found the tape of Palmieri for another Devils goal. Not to be outdone, only a minute and a half later, more of Campbells hard work was on display as he worked the corner, passed back to Caron who made a magnificant touch pass to Shawn Thornton for his first of the year. 3 minutes later it was Palmieri again on wrister fromt he slot. Boston had many more scoring chances in the 3rd, including 2 point blank shots by Horton, but they could not light the lamp. That was until 16:59 when Benoit Pouliot jumped on a loose puck, muffed the shot, but somehow got enough of it to get by the Devils net minder. New Jersey pulled the goalie with a minute left and put in a lot of hard work. There were some anxious moments for us Bruins fan, but ultimately the boys held on for a hard fought, well earned victory.
I think this type of game is exactly what the Bruins needed. Winning has come semi easy over the last 5 games, and once they got up on a team their opponents would tuck tail and leave. Well Jersey did not do that. They went punch for punch with the black and gold and these type of games can certainly be character builders and can show the "bounce-back-ability" of a team. This is a veteren team with a lot of experience and it is great to come out on the winning end of these battles.
Looking at the calender, the Bruins have a great opportunity this month with what is statistically a weak schedule. Thursday the last place Blue Jackets come to town. At 3-13-1, 0-7 on the road, they will be a hungry team looking to make a statement and gain some respect while trying to take out the defending champs. If Boston sleeps on this team it will be a long night. They have one of the best players in the NHL in Rick Nash and picked up Jeff Carter this offseason as well. The boys then play the Eastern Conferences last place team, The New York Islanders. 4-8-3 but do not let the record fool you, this team is young and fast and historically gives the Bruins trouble. Then Montreal, who sit behind them in the standings, but we all know the scoop with Montreal, standings mean nothing. WARNING WARNING next Wednesday up to Buffalo we go. I am sure Lindy Ruff will have the smurfs ready for battle, and while I fully expect a response from them, I am fairly confident that they wont be stupid enough to try to run Timmy. If Tukkaa is in net, I hope they try, because Tukkaa is a mad man. Lucic has handled Mccormick before, as has Thornton, Campbell, McQauid (see a pattern?) and Paul Gaustaud is a joke. He was on the ice, he did nothing, and he cannot fight anyway. This game means a lot though, and the two points are way more important. Let Buffalo think about revenge and let Boston go out and get 2. The Sabres are 2nd in the east, and though they have played more games than the Bruins, it is a divisional game the black and gold need. Follow that game up with a day after Thanksgiving measuring stick with the Red Wings. A playoff mainstay from the west, Detroit is always a good one. Then November finishes with the Jets and the Leafs. The Jets are second to last, the Leafs are playing very good hockey right now. The Bruins are staring a great opportunity in the face. They have already made the jump from 17th to 9th in 5 games. If they continue to play the brand of hockey they are playing now, they should be back on track to where we thought they would be. Next test is Thursday against the Blue Jackets. Do not go through the motions and I think Boston should be ok. GO Black and Gold!
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