Monday, December 5, 2011

Bruins Shine, Dominate Pens

The Boston Bruins are feeling pretty good about themselves right now, and Monday night proved once again why. The B's went into Pittsburgh to play the Eastern Conference's best team, the Crosby powered Penguins. Well, the Bruins took the measuring stick and beat the Pens up and down the ice, outhitting, out battling, and dominating play for long stretches. Tim Thomas stood tall on multiple occasions and the whole Bruins PK deserved first star honors tonight. After some egregious officiating, the Bruins were left to kill two separate 5 on 3's, one for 1:37 and another for a full 2:00. The Bruins came out strong, consistently gaining entry into the offensive zone and spending some big chunks of time down there. To go along with great play by the forwards, the defensemen have been joining in lately and have been letting shots from the blue line go with regularity. McQuaid let one rip that ended up in the back of the goal, but it was disallowed for a un-penalized goaltender interference (correct call). The Bruins set the tone early and often, but both teams left the ice after one without anything on the scoreboard.

The second period started great as well, and the hard work paid off less than 3 minutes in. A blue collar shift by the fourth line wielded an opportunity in front of Fleury that Campbell took a swat at, got blocked, but elevated his second attempt over Fleury's mitt. Great effort and will to win, which is a staple of this teams and we are fortunate to see night after night. Benoit Pouliot got in on the action a little while later when he roofed a beautiful shot from the slot, once again the opportunity provided via grit and toughness. Sandwiched between those goals was a spirited bout by Brad Marchand, who was on his way to the box for tripping, and old friend Matt Niskanen. I do not think this team needed a lift so to speak, but they play much better when they are angry and physically involved. Brad Marchand provided that, and lit a bit of a fire as opposed to simply serving his two. The guys were excited about it, and the PK took care of the rest. The chippiness picked up from there. The second ended with the camera fixed on Crosby, who was yelling at David Krejci, I believe for messing up his hair. Let me expand upon that comment real quick. I will say a few things about Sidney: He is phenomenal. He is excellent. He is the best offensive player in the NHL (Although I think Datsyuk is 1A). But the guy suffers from Tom Brady syndrome. He wants to push and shove and use some nifty stick work, but do not do it back to him because he immediately looks to the refs. He doesn't dive and I am not saying he is dirty or cheap, but he is certainly one of the biggest cry babies in the sport. I'm getting off my soap box now.

Tyler Seguin notched a PP goal, his 13th of the year, 1:07 in after an absolutely beautiful play and set up by Patrice Bergeron. Matt Cooke broke up the shutout halfway through the 3rd after an unfortunate bounce on Seidenberg but great pass by Joe Vitale, more on him momentarily. It is always an aggravating feeling to see Matt Cooke playing this game while Marc Savard is at home, probably sitting in a dark room because of him. The Bruins once again showed the character of their team and their willingness to play for each other. Vitale, for the second straight rush, invaded Timmy's crease, this time bumping him and actually pushing down on Thomas's head. Like usual, 5 white sweaters were there immediately, gloves and sticks littering the ice. From the scrum emerged a nice lengthy bout between Soupy (Greg Campbell) and Vitale. Both combatants exchanged big blows, Vitale landing the final one before the arm weary warriors toppled to the ice. Whether or not you consider it a win or a loss for Campbell, there is no denying what it says about him as a teammate and person. Tim Thomas postgame echoed the value of the act, saying that Campbell's willingness to stand up for him was much appreciated. He went on to add that with this black and gold team, these acts are unsolicited. The Bruins do not need to be called out in the media and will not be made to look timid in their resolve to be there for each other, and to a man, this team believes in that. While the Bruins were heavily outshot 46-27, thanks in majority to some lengthy home cooking calls and a 23 shot 3rd period, the two teams were dead locked at 16 scoring chances a piece. The defenseman did a great job of forcing shots from the outside and keeping the lanes open for Timmy to track the rubber. He is currently riding a career best win streak at 10 in a row. The Bruins are on a 15 game point streak, going 14-0-1, their longest since the club went 17 games in a row without a loss back in 1983. The Bruins will embark on a nearly 1500 mile trip to Winnipeg for a Tuesday battle with the Jets before returning to the Garden to host the surging Panthers. This 3 game in 4 night trip will certainly test the Bruins, but they appear to be up to the challenge. Later start time tomorrow night, puck dropping around 8:30. Lets hope the boys can keep playing well and go after a new record streak of their own. Let's Go Black And Gold!


+

No comments:

Post a Comment