Kane, Toews, and Sharp. Pretty deadly crew to send into a shootout. Not to be outdone, Tim Thomas shut the door on all 3, and Tyler Seguin beat Crawford for a much needed win against the Blackhawks. In what was their best effort so far this year, Boston went into the Madhouse and came from behind to take the 2 points. The Bruins got stronger each period, and were far and away the better team in the second half of that game. It was great to see Horton get on the board this year with a goal, and Seguin picked up his team leading 5th point, but Johnny Boychuk was the star of the play. If it was not for the great play of Tim Thomas, Johnny Boychuk would have to have been the first star for the Bruins. He made so many great plays in the defensive zone, chased down pucks in the neutral zone, and made some very smart pinches in the offensive zone. On the scoring tally in particular, Boychuk chased a puck all the way down the boards beating Seabrook, and then had the offense prowess to move the puck behind the net and find a crashing Horton who deposited the puck glove side past Crawford. Also scoring for the B's was Chris Kelly off of a great pass shorthanded by Rich Peverley.
The Bruins did two things tonight that they have not done so far this year. Gregory Campbell dropped the mits with Jammal Mahers, and the rest of the Bruins were taking the body at all times. This team appeared to have finally realized the formula for their success, and as fans, that exciting brand of hockey is what we want to see. As bad as the powerplay is, the penalty kill is phenominal. The Blackhawks went 0 for 4 tonight and only mustered up one shot. Guys were getting big and blocking shots, putting sticks in passing lanes, and being aggressive knowing how well Chicago can move the puck. The Bruins have now scored as many goals on the PK as they have on the PP. That being said, the B's power play has shown some glimpses of brilliance. They were a couple posts and a few bounces from putting the puck in the net tonight with the extra man. They will eventually start cashing in as long as they continue to work hard. Another area the Bruins need to clean up is some of their D-mens decisions on passes coming through the neutral zone trying to lead breakouts. Teams are on to the D to D passes and cross ice passes from defense to forward. The Blackhawks did a great job of disturbing those passes and even got a breakaway goal off of a stolen pass. All in all, great way to cap the short road trip. The team took two out of a possible four points and if tonights game is any indication of things to come, its starting to look up for the black and gold. This was labeled as a measuring stick game, and the Bruins came out shorthanded with 5 defenseman and minus their top line center, and grinded out a win against a phenominal team.
Tuesday night the boys are back at the garden and get to take another crack at the Carolina Hurricanes. I really believe the Bruins underestimated this team last week, did not prepare well and did not get up for that game. I imagine they will wish to extract a bit of revenge on home ice. We have all seen the caliber of goalie that Cam Ward is, and we know he will be their best player. In order to beat the 'Canes, the Bruins will need to put a lot of rubber on net, put big bodies in front, and grind out another win. All reports look positive that both McQuaid and Krejci will dress and be good to go Tuesday night. What will be interesting is what lines Claude roles.
Please leave an answer: Will David Krejci be back on the first line, or do they stay with Seguin or Bergeron as they roled a few times against Chicago?
I have to agree within the first 5 minutes it looked like a different team to me. It only got better as the game progressed. Lucic still seems off to me, his play seems very laid back and lacking in aggression. I felt everyone else put in in a strong performance. Seguin continues to amaze me he is such a fun player to watch almost as much fun as Marchand who continues with his antics of getting in the other teams face all the time...I love it.
ReplyDeleteI think this next game will see Krejci back in his usual spot but would not be surprised to see Seguin getting put back there. It will certainly help with his development and it might help to create stronger offensive advantages as the players get used to each others strengths and weakness. You never know until you start mixing these guys up how the chemistry is going to be or if there is potential for a powerhouse line to develop.