SB Nation - Patrice Bergeron

2010 Olympics: Picking Team Canada

James Mirtle — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:05:00 -0000

by Jeff McIntosh - AP

With the Canadian Olympic brass finally set to name their roster a week from today, expect a whole bunch of these lists over the coming days. For mine, I've tried to offer a bit of a statistical bent — although without relying solely on numbers to pick the team.

All of the stats I'm using are from Behind The Net and prior to last night's games. The metrics are "rating," an advanced form of plus-minus; "quality of competition," which measures the strength of opponents; "points per 60 minutes"; and "on ice goals for and goals against per 60 minutes" (along with goal differential).

Players that scored the highest across the board are ranked higher and those marked in yellow are my picks for the team. Keep in mind that this is based solely on even-strength play, so some of these players offer more on the PP and PK that's not ranked here.

Goaltenders

I didn't delve too deeply into the netminder side of things simply because there are only three Canadian-born goalies with more than 11 wins this season, and they'll be the ones that make the team: Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury.

Should one go down to injury, I'm not even sure who No. 4 would be given their play this season. Canada's famed depth at the position isn't all that evident this year.

Defencemen

Into the numbers we go. I've included 12 blueliners I think represent both those talked about and those who should be considered for the team (with my choices to make it in yellow):

	NAME	TM	RATING	QCMP	P/60	GF/60	GA/60	GF-GA
1	BRENT SEABROOK	CHI	0.72	0.16	0.95	2.54	1.69	0.85
2	MIKE GREEN	WSH	0.84	-0.02	1.65	4.22	2.57	1.65
3	CHRIS PRONGER	PHI	0.90	0.11	1.06	2.02	1.64	0.39
4	DREW DOUGHTY	L.A	1.08	0.00	1.10	2.99	2.19	0.80
5	DUNCAN KEITH	CHI	-0.28	0.14	1.44	2.34	1.98	0.36
6	DAN BOYLE	S.J	0.31	0.00	1.19	3.47	2.56	0.91
7	SHEA WEBER	NSH	0.55	0.08	0.84	3.13	2.40	0.73
8	MARC-EDOUARD VLASIC	S.J	-0.36	0.09	0.79	2.68	2.19	0.50
9	JAY BOUWMEESTER	CGY	0.10	0.02	0.37	2.25	1.78	0.47
10	SCOTT NIEDERMAYER	ANA	-1.13	0.11	0.75	2.14	3.20	-1.07
11	DION PHANEUF	CGY	-0.34	0.05	0.67	2.99	2.79	0.19
12	ROBYN REGEHR	CGY	-1.31	0.05	0.74	2.33	2.76	-0.42

If we were to go strictly by the numbers, Niedermayer wouldn't make the team, and Doughty and Weber would. Both youngsters have had great seasons and given some of the other teams I've seen picked, they have a lot of popular support.

My reasoning was putting together three really solid pairings: One made up of Keith and Seabrook, as they've been the best duo on the NHL this season (save for maybe last night); One made up of veterans Niedermayer and Pronger, who had a lot of success together in Anaheim; and one made up of Bouwmeester and either Green or Boyle, a solid third pairing with one excellent defensive player and an excellent offensive one.

Doughty's youth concerns me more than anything, as I saw plenty of games last season when he was still overmatched. He's going to be a pillar on the Canadian blueline going forward, however, and may go as the No. 7 just to gain some experience.

Weber meanwhile just gets lost in the numbers game. He'll also play a major role with Canada down the line.

Phaneuf and Regehr, however, rank last among the metrics I've used here and shouldn't in my mind make the team. There are other players available who do what they do better.

Forwards

Once again, I've included 32 forwards I think represent both those talked about and those who should be considered for the team (with my choices to make it in yellow):

	NAME	TM	RATING	QCMP	P/60	GF/60	GA/60	GF-GA
1	SIDNEY CROSBY	PIT	1.68	0.12	3.37	4.27	2.58	1.68
2	NATHAN HORTON	FLA	2.03	0.09	2.82	3.61	2.71	0.90
3	JOE THORNTON	S.J	1.25	0.07	3.04	3.82	2.25	1.57
4	JONATHAN TOEWS	CHI	1.71	0.09	1.92	3.25	1.48	1.77
5	PATRICK MARLEAU	S.J	1.50	0.02	3.18	4.12	2.35	1.77
6	DUSTIN PENNER	EDM	2.31	-0.04	3.28	4.13	2.67	1.46
7	RYAN SMYTH	L.A	2.13	-0.04	2.59	4.18	2.59	1.59
8	MIKE FISHER	OTT	1.13	0.09	2.21	2.86	2.21	0.65
9	RYAN GETZLAF	ANA	1.25	0.07	2.58	3.33	2.90	0.43
10	PATRICE BERGERON	BOS	0.31	0.18	2.43	3.07	2.81	0.26
11	MIKE CAMMALLERI	MTL	2.16	0.04	2.11	3.22	2.32	0.91
12	DANY HEATLEY	S.J	0.54	0.08	2.28	3.69	2.61	1.09
13	VINCENT LECAVALIER	T.B	1.15	0.06	2.37	2.75	2.25	0.50
14	PATRICK SHARP	CHI	1.26	0.06	1.93	2.96	1.55	1.42
15	JAMES NEAL	DAL	0.95	0.03	2.83	3.67	3.11	0.57
16	JAROME IGINLA	CGY	-0.13	0.10	2.43	2.75	2.43	0.32
17	COREY PERRY	ANA	0.91	0.08	2.31	3.41	3.19	0.22
18	STEPHEN WEISS	FLA	0.55	0.11	2.15	2.82	2.94	-0.11
19	MARTIN ST. LOUIS	T.B	0.45	0.09	2.22	2.92	2.92	0.00
20	MIKE RICHARDS	PHI	0.58	0.10	1.37	2.23	1.99	0.25
21	BRENDEN MORROW	DAL	1.18	0.04	1.58	2.79	2.06	0.73
22	JASON ARNOTT	NSH	0.89	0.01	2.03	3.05	2.03	1.02
23	BRAD RICHARDS	DAL	0.29	0.03	2.87	3.52	3.39	0.13
24	ERIC STAAL	CAR	0.91	0.08	2.00	3.33	3.83	-0.50
25	JORDAN STAAL	PIT	-0.11	0.04	2.20	2.93	2.44	0.49
26	STEVEN STAMKOS	T.B	0.24	0.09	2.09	3.00	3.13	-0.13
27	JASON SPEZZA	OTT	-0.61	0.16	1.37	2.33	2.88	-0.55
28	MARC SAVARD	BOS	0.23	0.04	2.03	2.25	2.03	0.23
29	JOHN TAVARES	NYI	0.65	0.03	1.33	2.54	2.66	-0.12
30	JEFF CARTER	PHI	-0.68	0.05	1.62	2.24	2.86	-0.62
31	SHANE DOAN	PHX	-1.12	0.05	1.07	2.01	2.49	-0.47
32	RICK NASH	CBJ	-0.69	0.03	2.01	2.90	4.01	-1.11

Nash, like Niedermayer, gets a pass because of his experience, both in the NHL and internationally, but neither are having great years. Doan, Carter, Staal, etc. aren't so lucky and I'd leave them behind.

Crosby is, by almost every measure, the top Canadian forward. Thornton, Iginla and Toews are three more no-brainers, and given their success, I think it makes sense to take Thornton's Sharks linemates Marleau and Heatley and try and squeeze some of that chemistry into Team Canada.

Getzlaf-Perry and St. Louis-Lecavalier are two duos to keep together, meanwhile, and all four have been playing better of late even though their teams have struggled. That leaves Richards and Fisher as my depth guys to win faceoffs and kill penalties, which both can do with the best of them.

If you're not a Fisher fan, Sharp and Bergeron could also fill that 13th forward role well.

As for players who are playing well who I left behind, keep in mind that the statistics are only based on 34 or 35 games to this point. Sure, Horton's been a stud in the early going, but his entire body of work isn't enough to get him a spot at the Olympics. Ditto for Penner, Cammalleri and Neal — although don't be surprised if these are the sorts of players we're talking about four years from now.

There's my picks — drop a note in the comments or as a FanPost with yours.

Happy holidays everyone.

Senators shut out by Thomas, Bruins win 2-0

PeterR — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:29:23 -0000

More photos » by Sean Kilpatrick - AP

2 days ago: Ottawa Senators' Chris Kelly, left, get pushed around by Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara, of Slovakia, as Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas keeps his eyes on the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)

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A 2-0 loss was certainly not the result the Ottawa Senators wanted when they were set to take on the Boston Bruins Monday night, but it's the kind of thing Ottawa has probably come to expect when facing Tim Thomas in nets. It was a very tight game, for the most part, with both teams exchanging shots, scoring chances, and big saves, until Boston broke it open in the third period. The Senators couldn't beat Thomas to get back into the game after going down, and that was all she wrote.

Sens killer: Tim Thomas
There is only one tonight. The Level 12 ogre-mage* continues to shut down the Senators whenever he plays them, and has now won the last ten games he's played against Ottawa. He stopped all 29 shots he faced tonight, none of the saves standing out as highlight-reel stops, but huge nonetheless. He's become legendary amongst Senators killers, and could enter the category reserved for Ed Belfour and Gary Roberts if these teams ever meet in the playoffs. It's true that Chara could probably also be classified as a Sens killer, but doing so would downplay the amount of killing that Thomas inflicted.

Sens heroes: Brian Elliott, Alex Kovalev, Jarkko Ruutu
For the first two periods, Elliott was among the Senators' strongest players against Boston. He was making strong saves, with 12 in the first alone, and kept Ottawa in the game through the second period when it looked like they were being brutally outplayed. Neither goal was particularly awful, although the team needed Elliott to stop the very stoppable second goal. Still, Ottawa had no business staying in that second period, if not for Elliott.

Kind of looked like Kovalev enjoys the physical challenge of going up against Zdeno Chara tonight, which seems like the opposite of what you'd expect. Of particular note was a play in the first period, where Kovalev rushed to beat Chara and kind of did, before being taken down hard by Chara behind the net. And, near the end of the game, he even got into a sort-of fight with former teammate Steve Bégin. It was an uncharacteristically gritty, hard-working game for Kovalev, and perhaps if Ottawa got a powerplay opportunity (more on that later), he would have made some magic happen for the Senators' offence.

Of all Senators, Ruutu had the best scoring chances. He had a great opportunity short-handed after Patrice Bergeron coughed up the puck, he was sent on a breakaway by Chris Phillips late in the game. Obviously, he couldn't convert any of the chances he had, but it was a strong game for the pest nonetheless.

(Read more... )

Sens zeros: Josh Hennessy, Erik Karlsson
Might not be fair to put Hennessy in this category considering he only had 5:02 in ice time, he gave the puck away for what would ultimately be the decisive goal. He didn't do much else on the night, and that makes it even uglier for the guy. If it's any consolation for him, though, it wouldn't matter how well he played tonight; when Chris Neil returns to the lineup on Wednesday, Hennessy is (in all likelihood) right back to Binghamton.

One kid who's not going to be going back to Binghamton, though, is Karlsson. He was softer on the puck tonight, for whatever reason--maybe he was hesitant because the Bruins are pretty big, or he was just tired after an emotional game last game, or maybe he's sick of playing with Filip Kuba while Kuba drags his ass all over the ice (seriously, the veteran has to pick up his game). Karlsson was soft in front of the net on Bergeron's game-winning goal, and that's why the rebound went in instead of getting cleared harmlessly to the corner.

Why does this keep happening: Zero powerplays
For the third time this season, the Senators played a saintly team, and were therefore given no powerplays on the night. I could bring up instances where Boston should have been assessed powerplays, we could talk about whether or not the Senators are getting in positions to draw penalties, or whatever else, but we could also mention an old cliche: One is an event, two is a coincidence, three is a trend.

Ugly stat of the night: Jesse Winchester 5-for-21 in faceoffs
I guess the faceoff magic Winch had in his stick for his first couple games on the top line had worn off before tonight, because he was absolutely destroyed in the faceoff circle tonight, with a 24 percent faceoff win number. You've heard it before, but it's not easy for his line to get offence going without the puck, and that's even more devastating because it meant the puck was away from Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek. No one else on Ottawa was below 50 percent in faceoffs.

Commenter of the night: Dany Hea-Traitor
Partied like a rock star who's mildly funny at times.

* - Nickname explanation: Ogre because he's short, mage because he wears a mask/cage hybrid he calls a 'mage', and Level 12 because it makes it even nerdier.

Mark's take: I didn't see this game, but the way Tim Thomas plays against Ottawa, I'm not surprised. I would, however, like to point out that Filip Kuba was a team worst minus two on the night. Kuba's last three games: minus three, minus one, minus two. His December reads like a first grader learning subtraction. I realize plus/minus can be a deceptive stat, but it's not unfair at this point to ask for more defensively from him. At the very least, if he is going to be on the ice giving up goals, he needs to provide some kind of offensive support to balance it out. Isn't that why Bryan Murray signed him?

Thomas and Bruins shutout Ottawa 2-0

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:27:36 -0000

More photos » by Sean Kilpatrick - AP

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Tim Thomas turned aside all 29 shots he faced to earn his fourth shutout of the season as the Bruins finished off their 3-game road trip with a 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators.

After over 43 minutes of scoreless hockey, Patrice Bergeron finally scored the game's first goal 3:19 into the third period, when Bergeron cleaned up Shawn Thornton's rebound.

Marco Sturm gave the Bruins some insurance with 6:53 left in the third period when he found the back of the net after Marc Savard's pass sprung him on a breakaway. Sturm carried the puck in from the right wing wall, cut in front of the net and beat Brian Elliot with a forehand shot for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Final - 12.21.2009	1	2	3	Total
Boston Bruins	0	0	2	2
Ottawa Senators	0	0	0	0

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- The Bruins were extremely disciplined tonight. They did not take a penalty until 18:31 of the third period when Steve Begin was tagged with a double minor (slashing and roughing) for his part in a little dust up with Alex Kovalev.

- Tim Thomas now has 16 career shutouts (only 88 behind Martin Brodeur).

- I was a little nervous when Johnny Boychuk left the game briefly after blocking a shot in the first period. The Bruins can not afford to lose defensemen right now. Fortunately, he returned the game.

- There were 32 blocked shots in this game (16 by each team).

- Dennis Wideman returned after missing the last 2 games with an undisclosed injury. Wideman logged a game-high 28:55 and was on the ice for both goals.

- Mike Fisher finished the night with 6 hits. I guess he isn't getting enough body contact from his new finance Carrie Underwood.

- With the win, the Bruins jumped ahead of the Senators for second pace in the Northeast Division.

- The Bruins are back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Atlanta Thrashers in a Festivus showdown.

This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic - Hawks 5, Bruins 4 (SO - Hawks win shirtless slap fight)

McClure — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:09:48 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Hey! Is that a ninja up there?

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The biggest United Center crowd of the year got to see the Hawks' most entertaining game of the year, outside of the obvious asterisk that the Calgary comeback ever shall be.

The Hawks' lineup looked quite a bit different on Friday, with Antti Niemi starting in net, Niklas Hjalmarsson sitting out because of feeling under the weather (rumor has it he hurt his knee in the Peterborough game), and Ben Eager sitting out presumably because he's a steakhead. Personally, I would have sat Tomas Kopecky again in favor of Eager, but I'm not the guy with the mustache...YET. Both teams traded chances in the opening minutes of the first, with the Hawks once again moving the puck very well, but only seemed to be able to manufacture shots from the perimeter against Tim Thomas, who appeared to be on in the early going with his Hasek-esque style. In their own zone, however, the Hawks were an adventure. Joel Quenneville very quickly into the game rearranged his defensemen, pairing Jordan Hendry with Brian Campbell in order to keep two pairs consistent in Hammer's absence- a result which paid dividends. It did not prevent David Krejci from opening the scoring, however, as Niemi failed to smother a dump in with his catch glove (which was suspect all evening), and the puck came to Krejci out front to poke home.

Early in the second, Kris Versteeg potted the Hawks' equalizer off of a careless pass from Andrew Ference which VERSTEEG! alertly snapped past Thomas. The ice then began to tilt in the Hawks favor, as Patrick Sharp gave the Hawks the lead banging home a rebound crashing the left post. After having some issues with the referee in the corner at the other end of the ice Brent Sopel (at his Sopel-est tonight), coughed up a turnover that led to Daniel Paille tying the game at two. However, in the waning moments of the second, Troy Brouwer threw a goal line pass from the corner to Jonathan Toews, who harpooned the puck between Thomas' legs to give the Hawks the lead after 40. All three Hawks' goal scorers in the period potted their tenth goals of the year.

The Hawks' assault on Thomas continued into the third, but Boston once again drew even, as Johnny Boychuk slapped a cross ice feed undereath Niemi's right arm. Less than two minutes later, Andrew Ladd received credit for redirecting a Brian Campbell point blast into the net after some fine perimeter puck movement by Campbell, Hendry, and Sharp. It would not be a lead the Hawks would hold onto. With less than three minutes remaining, the Bruins found themselves on a 3-on-2, with both Sharp and Marian Hossa late to return on their backchecks, which let Krejci pot his second of the night to tie the game up. After relatively uneventful OT, the contest needed to be decided with a couple rounds of rochambeau, with Q deciding to let the B's shoot first. Patrice Bergeron ran out of room on Niemi, and Toews made him pay with the now trademark snapper at the other end. Blake Wheeler got Niemi down and out but drew iron, which made Patrick Kane's backhader at the other end hold up as the winner. Hawks win.

Observations

Outside of Sharp and Hossa's lackadaisical backcheck, Niemi's glove, and Sopel being Sopel, I found very little to complain about from anyone else. No passengers for this game whatsoever. Even Tomas Kopecky's general invisibility was not for lack of effort.
I was very impressed with Jordan Hendry's ability to step in and play with Brian Campbell, one of the more difficult defenseman in the league to partner with, arguably the most. Credit to Quenneville as well for realizing very quickly that Cam Barker simply does not have the foot speed to recover in time to be paired with Soup at even strength, and making the change. As Sam said, why screw up two pairs with Hammer out?
The Hawks dominated in shots in the second and third, and give credit to the Bruins for capitalizing on the opportunities they got. This game could have been a case of water finding its own level with Antti Niemi, who did make some very good saves when they counted, but a couple of the B's goals - Krejci's first and Boychuck's - could and should have been stopped.
Apologies for the obtuse headline. I know it's a reach, but please bear with me. See what I did there?
I know the Hawks have two games in hand, but how the fuck are they only two points ahead of goddamn Nashville? That Barry Trotz really is something.
Credit the Hawks for not shying away from the monster that is Zdeno Chara. I witnessed Kane, Toews and VERSTEEG! initiate contact with that pituitary case, with Toews retaliating a bit on Versteeg's behalf at one point near the benches, and at one point Troy Brouwer and Chara came to within a hair on my sack from scrapping. It would have been a fight that Our Boy Troy would have been destroyed in, but the courage is admirable.
All eight goals came at even strength. For the top two PK units in the league, I know that's a shock.
Thanks to you, the reader, who now seems to understand that if there's a game on a weekend evening, it's pretty well implied that the wrap isn't coming until the following morning due to this blog's propensity for getting itself banged up before, during, and after games. The fact that the weekday games are now a coin-flip as well could be cause for concern, however. Knowing us, though, we'd make the inevitable intervention an open invite event at the Whirlaway.

Player of the Game

While this award could have gone a number of ways, I'll give it to everyone's, including seemingly Q's, favorite $7 million dollar whipping boy. Even with his Swedish security blanket out of the lineup, Brian Campbell managed to be a +1 with an assist during nearly 28:00 minutes of ice time in a back and forth game. Campbell created opportunities in the offensive zone, had an assist on a redirected slap shot, and was solid in his own end.

Team Canada Watch: Centre

Chemmy — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:20:26 -0000

Maybe the deepest position for Team Canada, what five cent(re/er)s do you take to Vancouver this year? Invitees include guys like Vincent Lecavalier and Eric Staal who haven't impressed this season but ignore players like Steven Stamkos (30pts in 30GP).

In my mind there are two stone cold locks to play Center on Team Canada: Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby. That leaves us two full time spots and an alternate.

So who are the big candidates left?

Ryan Getzlaf

#15 / Center / Anaheim Ducks

Height: 6-4

Weight: 221

Born: May 10, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Ryan Getzlaf	6	30	36	4	29

3rd in scoring amongst Canadian NHL centers, Getzlaf also has the benefit of playing with Corey Perry. Bringing along good winger-center combos should increase Canada's chances of scoring more than ten goals a game which is why I'm going to leave Patrick Marleau off this list. Capable of playing both center and wing he's feasted on the power play with Heatley and Thornton. I'd bring all three because they're comfortable with each other.

Brad Richards

#91 / Center / Dallas Stars

Height: 6-0

Weight: 192

Born: May 02, 1980

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Brad Richards	9	26	35	1	2

I haven't heard anything about Brad Richards this year but he's playing dominant hockey right now. A slick passer without an Olympian winger, I think B. Richards should be able to be plugged in with almost anybody (Iginla?) and make it work.

Mike Richards

#18 / Center / Philadelphia Flyers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 195

Born: Feb 11, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Mike Richards	13	12	25	5	38

Despite claims he was having a bad season, Mike Richards' numbers look solid to me. M. Richards' is a good two way player and comes bundled with Jeff Carter (also a Center I'd move to wing) which gives Canada an amazing penalty killing duo up front. Philly leads the league in shorthanded goals perenially for a reason.

Steven Stamkos

#91 / Center / Tampa Bay Lightning

Height: 6-1

Weight: 196

Born: Feb 07, 1990

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Steven Stamkos	17	13	30	-2	16

Stamkos wasn't invited to camp. Huge numbers though; sixth in the NHL in goals, 4th in power play goals. Probably gets left home this year but if he keeps developing he'll be a lock to play in Sochi barring an NHL ban.

Paul Stastny

#26 / Center / Colorado Avalanche

Height: 6-0

Weight: 205

Born: Dec 27, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Paul Stastny	8	24	32	6	20

Paul Stastny wasn't invited to Team Canada's camp either, but along with Stamkos represents a much stronger candidate than either Eric Staal or Vincent Lecavalier. Stastny's performance this year has helped Colorado get past the loss of Burnaby Joe and is a large reason Avalanche fans forgot the word "rebuild" in a hurry. Edit: Stastny was born in Quebec and is listed as a Canadian by NHL.com, but apparently plays for Team USA in the Olympics. Good for Kessel I suppose. I'll make it up to you with two more options:

Marc Savard

#91 / Center / Boston Bruins

Height: 5-10

Weight: 191

Born: Jul 17, 1977

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Marc Savard	8	6	14	1	8

No invite for Savard, he's firing on all cylinders after missing a bunch of time to start the year. It seems Hockey Canada isn't enamored with Savard and his injuries this year make him even more of a long shot.

Patrice Bergeron

#37 / Center / Boston Bruins

Height: 6-2

Weight: 194

Born: Jul 24, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Patrice Bergeron	8	16	24	2	10

Now that his fragile head hasn't been smashed in years Patrice Bergeron is quietly putting up some solid numbers.

So which five guys do I bring? Thornton, Crosby, M. Richards, Getzlaf and B. Richards is my fill in guy. How about you, who are you bringing and why?

Price / Halak - The Stats - November 2009

Chris Boyle — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:13:39 -0000

What a difference a month makes.

Thirty days ago the Canadiens were in the middle of a goaltending controversy. Jaroslav Halak's agent was NITWITTERING Carey Price's won/loss record, the fanbase had placed the bus in reverse and were attempting to leave a fresh set of treadmarks on Price's back and the Canadiens were plodding through their schedule at .500.

Outside of the Canadiens still flirting with the .500 mark, the attitude regarding the goaltending situation has changed dramatically. Since this article is a retrospective on November, it is heavily weighted towards Price. Halak's one start didn't offer enough of a sample to legitimately track his monthly progress. What began as an even split in October, turned into a clear separation as Price started 11 of 12 games in November, almost rendering the title of this article, and its point, moot for at least the time being. A solid performance by Halak in Ottawa suggest that the busy month of December may tell a different story.

Surprised by the turn this has taken, maybe you shouldn't be. This has been typical of the story that Price has written over the first two and a half seasons of his career. Somehow, instead of the fanbase observing the roller coaster ride from afar, recognizing that as the roller coaster descends, a peak exists for it to climb, they jump on the roller coaster eyes closed screaming for dear life on its mad descents only to extol the virtues of the ride when they disembark.

Should Price struggle in February again, it is likely that the fresh imagery that exists in everybody's minds right now will once again dissipate in a mad panic

Panic in Montreal is generally followed by the rewriting OR ignoring of history. Even with Price's strong November this controversy is not over, it will continue to bubble just below the surface. Should Price struggle in January, the detractors who are silent right now will re-emerge with the same arguments, their memories will once again be wiped clean. While the starting goaltender in Montreal is one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in sports, the easiest may be the backup goaltender in Montreal. The backup's flaws are always concealed under the their baseball caps, their past transgressions completely ignored. This will never change.

At Eyes On The Prize, we continue try to look past the surface level blame and analyze what is really going on. This month we will compare Price's performance in November to October and also look back and try to clarify the factors that contribute to a team based stat like a win / loss record and how it relates to Price and Halak.

One of the main arguments against Price in October was his inability to win games. With Halak sporting a 5-2 record and Price at 2-5, the most simplistic argument was "Price doesn't make the big saves when he needs to" and "Halak wins games". That argument ignored plenty of factors, most importantly that wins are a team based stat.

While perusing the internet I came across an interesting perspective at Brodeur is a Fraud. While trying to debunk the myth of Brodeur's career, he came up with an interesting statistic that he refers to as Win Threshold. It essentially projects out what a goaltender would have had to do to earn a point (.500) by including the teams performance in front of him. In a 3-1 victory, the assumption would be that to earn a point the goaltender would have to allow no more than 3 goals. Inversely, in a 3-1 loss the goaltender would need to have allowed no more than 1 goal.

We can calculate what I'll call the "win threshold" for the goalies on each team by taking (shots against - goals for) / shots against. This gives us the save percentage that would result in the team ending up with an equal number of goals for and goals against over the course of the season. If the goalie's save percentage is above that number, the team is likely to win more than the lose, while anything below the threshold means that the team should end up sub -.500 (or sub -.550 in the shootout era).

This simple statistic beautifully illustrates the career of Chris Osgood AND his playoff run that allowed the media to begin the "Chris Osgood is a Hall of Famer" nonsense.

In 2008-09, Detroit's win threshold was .873, which was the lowest in the league. The Islanders' win threshold was .928, which was not only the highest mark in the league but also the highest of any team since the lockout......Naturally, comparing win totals on goalies playing on the Islanders to goalies playing on the Red Wings is completely senseless.

Using this as a starting point, I compared how this statistic affected goalies on the same team. Was the Canadiens offense responsible for Halak's inflated win total, or was it his superior goaltending? What would Price have had to do to compensate for the woeful offense in front of him? Was it that Halak was receiving an easier ride?

(Let me preface this by stating that this is judging wins and wins alone. If a goaltender was fantastic and had a .960 SV%, but only needed to produce a .895 SV%, it is not devaluing his performance, only stating that his margin for error was very high. I also understand that early saves can keep a team in a period. Teams play to the score and loosen up when they are up big and that some goals are scored late in a game and alter the margin for the threshold. It is obvious that providing replacement value will never replicate the actual performance that history has provided. This theory is being used only to illustrate that wins are a team statistic and that they are heavily influenced by not only what you save, but what offense your team provides).

To put this in perspective, the league average in save percentage is .910.

In order for Price to gain the majority of his wins, he has had to offer above average goaltending.
His margin for error was slim and when he failed to balance on the high wire, he was open to criticism.
A .915 save percentage is currently good to place 20th in the league.

Halak on the other hand was allowed to navigate with a greater margin of error. He only needed to offer a save percentage of .865 to register his 5 victories. Vesa Toskala's save percentage on the season is .863. So any goaltender slightly more competent than Toskala MAY have registered a similar number of victories as Halak.

Both goaltenders would have had to provide Hall of Fame type performances to avoid the majority of their losses.

How would those statistics translate if you offered up average replacement value? If Jimmy Howard and his .910 SV% replaced Price and Halak, the Canadiens would be in deep trouble. The Canadiens would likely be in the hunt for Taylor Hall, not talking about the importance of their December schedule.

Looking at Price's losses below, it is unlikely that an average goaltender makes any impact on his losses, hell, it's unlikely that Roberto Luongo would have made much of a difference.

Price's threshold in his 11 losses is a SV% of 0.944 and a GAA of 1.69. Numbers that would place him above Ryan Miller as the number one goaltender in the league. Six of those starts would have required a .940+ SV% just to procure a shootout. If the team continues to struggle offensively to this capacity, then it is going to require Jose Theodore 2002 MVP type performances to drag them into the playoffs. With Price and Halak entering their RFA season, THAT is a scary and expensive thought.

You would think with Halak's lack of activity in November, that his stat line would remain unchanged, but with only an 8 game sample, one strong start against the Flames resulted in an 11 point improvement on his save percentage and lopping 1/5th of a goal off his goals against average. In October, Price statistically lagged behind in all the major categories, but with a strong month has lessened the paper gap between himself and Halak. I made the argument in October that Price had a higher ceiling, but was prone to wild swings of inconsistency and the 2009 season has proven that out so far.

Through two months, what has been proven, is that the Canadiens goaltending is in good hands. With the transition of turning over half the team, and the numerous injuries to key personnel, the fact the team came through November at .500 is miraculous. At this moment, Halak's consistency offers the perfect compliment to Price, but due to the idiotic actions of his agent (Halak, Halak it a lot?), it is clear that Halak is eyeing a starting assignment, and will not likely find that in Montreal. You may be reading "Price / Sanford: the numbers" by ~~March~~ December. (note: as I am writing this, Sportsnet has reported that Halak has been placed on the trading block).

The fact that I can even mention a 2002 Theodore-like season is based on the strong November showing by Price. Playing behind an injury ravaged defense that produced roughly the same amount of shots as the previous month, from roughly the same areas, Price's numbers improved across the board. Price also managed to avoid a major meltdown like the Vancouver game, as well as producing a couple of 40+ shot gems against the Bruins and Predators.

With Halak pushing Price for the starting job in October, by all accounts Price responded to the challenge with hard work, which resulted in plenty of positive signs over the last month. With hard work Price's confidence level soared and his return to a hybrid style has allowed his athleticism to re-surface, because of this, Price managed to produce some miraculous saves during November. His patience has also been on display, particularly in shootouts and breakaways where once again he is using his huge frame to his advantage and refusing to commit before the shooter. With his gap control improving, he has been extremely hard to beat in 1 on 1 situations. This is a huge improvement on the tentative approach he used in late 2008-09. Add in his aggressive puck handling and his tenacity in battling to track the puck and the hope in Montreal is that Price has begun turning the corner.

Price's save percentage's also improved in almost every category in November, with his biggest improvement coming in shorthanded situations where his save percentage improved by over .200. His woefully low special teams percentage in October masked the fact that he was producing an elite level even strength percentage. With an improvement to mediocre powerplay standards, Price's statistics all experienced a significant jump across the board.

The question remains, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the Canadiens penalty kill improve in November because of Price, or did Price's numbers improve because of the penalty kill? Halak did not suffer the same special teams meltdown. Could that have had anything to do with the power of the opposition, or his own play?

With so many new faces and the loss of Markov, it is no surprise that the PK got off to a slow start. With the return of O'Byrne and Gill and the emergence of White and Pyatt, the October implosion by Price should be avoidable moving forward.

Interesting to note if Price had managed to produce an .878 powerplay SV% in October, his overall SV% would have improved from .889 to .920.

Price and Halak continue to get bombarded by shots and the Canadiens have once again regressed into becoming over reliant on goaltending to win hockey games. With the early season injury to the Canadiens best player (Markov in 2010, Koivu in 2002) and the continual 30+ shot barrages, this season is becoming eerily reminiscent of the 2002 season when Theodore needed to provide the difference every night.

With Price's numbers improving in November, the assumption would be that the Canadiens settled down and began to limit shots and scoring opportunities. The Canadiens actually surrendered an extra two shot attempts per game. Price still is averaging over a shot attempt against per minute on the ice, a trend that will either lead to a statistical regression or an MVP award.

In 8 of his 11 starts in November, Price faced 30+ shots, including a team record tying 53 saves against the Predators and a 42 save gem that was seconds short of his 1st shutout of the season. Only once in his 11 games did he have less than 50 shots directed at him. Price continued to excel on shots outside of 20+ feet as he only allowed 7 of 257 shots to beat him. His SV% below 20' feet drastically improved and is pushing towards the league average.

Price offered up plenty of spectacular saves in November, but also had some concentration lapses that resulted in some questionable goals, something that had been absent from his game in October (only 5 of 25 came in as questionable, with zero registering at fault). Although his statistics drastically improved over the month of November, with the Canadiens lack of scoring ability (25th in the NHL) and his unbelievably tough win threshold (see above), his margin for error was slim. This can be witnessed by his 0-4 record in the 4 games I credited a bad goal. In two of the games (Detroit and Atlanta) the margin of victory was one goal, the other two (Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh) were decided by two goals. As he matures, these goals should occur less frequently allowing him to become even more of a game changing player. He isn't yet ready to carry a team, but it seems the Canadiens have given him little to no choice in the matter presently.

Looking at the zones where Price has given up goals, his glove hand continues to be much maligned even though he has only been beaten high glove side 11 times through November (11/53). The reason for the questions lies in the amount of bad goals high glove side. Out of the 12 goals categorized as suspect or bad, 6 have been high glove side, making it much easier to understand AND defend the criticism.

Looking at his November chart also gives the impression that he is very vulnerable low stick side, but looking at the video below shows that a lot of those goals came as the result of cross ice passes in which Price was not able to square up and were the result of him in transition. A small concern for me through two months has been his vulnerability through the 5-hole, an area he has not been able to cover with his stick either in transition or static and squared up.

Goals deemed questionable or bad are marked in bold.

26. Rich Peverley feeds it in front and it deflects off Bryan Little by a moving Price beating him 5-hole. 10 ft.
27. Pass from behind the net to a wide open Peverley in the slot, snaps a shot by Price low-stick side. 14 ft
28. Point shot by Mark Popovic that knuckles by Carey Price beating him high glove side. 59 ft.
29. 5 on 4 PP. Cross crease feed to a wide-open Pavel Kubina who directs it pass Price into an empty net. 5 ft.
30. Kane cross crease pass to a wide open Colby Armstrong who beats Price low stick side. 8 ft.
31. 6 on 5. Point shot. Price makes the initial stop, Patrice Bergeron rebound beats Price low-stick side. 5 ft.
32. 5 on 4 PP. Scramble. Price makes 2 saves but cannot stop Ryan Malone as he beats him five-hole. 11 ft.
33. Price, big rebound and Alex Tanguay alone, chips it over Price beating him high glove side. 14 ft.
34. 2 on 1. Scramble. Wright beats Gorges to the puck and slides it into an empty net. 6 ft.
35. Price highsticked in the throat by Mara falls down leaving an open net. Robert Lang puts it top shelf. 15 ft.
36. Point shot wide deflects into an open net off Bissonnette's skate beating Price low glove side. 12 ft.
37. Price makes initial save, Steve Sullivan all alone finishes off his rebound beating Price 5-hole. 7 ft
38. 5 on 3 PP. Point shot stopped, Sullivan at the side of the net beats Price low stick side. 14 ft.
39. Odd man rush, cross ice feed to the slot. Brandon Sutter chips it over Price, high glove side. 14 ft.
40. 3 one 2, cross ice feed one timed by Jussi Jokinen beats Price low glove side. 32 ft.
41. Eric Fehr snaps a shot from the face-off dot beating Price high-glove side. 25 ft.
42. Morrison takes a pass in front and moves opposite to Price's momentum beating him low glove side. 6 ft.
43. 5 on 4 PP. Brad Stuart point shot handcuffs Price and trickles in. 55 ft.
44. 5 on 3 PP. Brian Rafalski point pass tipped home by Pavel Datsyuk at the side of the net. 12 ft.                         45. Nash behind the net finds Vermette who one-times it past Price beating him high blocker side. 11 ft.
46. 5 on 4 PP. Rick Nash centers it, Stralman cheating off the point beats Price low blocker side. 24 ft.
47. 5 on 4 PP. Antoine Vermette's shot stopped, rebound back to him, beats Price low blocker side. 20 ft.
48. Sidney Crosby snap shot from the top of the faceoff circle beating Price high glove side. 38 ft.
49. Bill Guerin from the corner. Price makes initial save, doesn't hold the post as he beats him 5-hole. 8 ft.
50. Crosby with a beautiful pass to a streaking Sergei Gonchar who beats Price 5-hole all alone. 8 ft.
51. Point shot deflected in front by Brooks Laich beats Price low blocker side. 18 ft.
52. Alex Ovechkin one timer from the top of the faceoff circle beats Price low blocker side. 38 ft.
53. 6 on 4 PP. Price stops a one-timer by Ovechkin, Fehr slides home the rebound beating Price 5-hole. 10 ft.

The November verdict: You have to be encouraged by the performance of Price and Halak through November and the improved penalty kill is a positive sign and a factor in Price's improved numbers. The volume of shots and scoring opportunities remain a major concern. In October I preached patience because of the integration of 10-12 players and the introduction of a new system. With injuries creating a revolving door of players it is likely that this team has still not properly gelled. The Canadiens have fallen into a pattern of struggling to produce offense and relying on Price and Halak to bail them out, and this is a dangerous game to play with developing goaltenders. They have been able to provide some fantastic results through November, but if this continues they will struggle to make the playoffs. To provide room for improvement moving forward, the goaltenders get a B+ for November.

To view the October Price / Halak analysis, click here.

Savard's hat trick helps Bruins skate past Toronto 7-2 in #81's return to The Hub

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:44:37 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

18 days ago: Boston Bruins' Marc Savard, center, celebrates his hat trick in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009, in Boston. The Bruins won 7-2. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

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The Bruins were able to skate past the Toronto Maple Leafs with ease in a game that featured 9 goals and plenty of rough stuff. This game was supposed to be all about the Leafs off-season addition, but it was former Leafs property Tuukka Rask and newly-extended Bruin Marc Savard who shined the brightest tonight. Savard recorded his third career hat trick, while Rask (31 saves) continuously shutdown the Leafs all night long.

The Bruins jumped out to an early lead 5:28 into the game when Derek Morris' shot from the blue line was tipped by Patrice Bergeron and then deflected again by Marco Sturm for Sturm's 9th goal of the season.

Shawn Thornton and Colton Orr dropped the gloves immediately on the ensuing face-off. The heavyweight bout fittingly ended in a draw. The only losers in this one were the hometown fans that were exposed to Colton Orr's creepy 'stache.

The Leafs' attempt to swing the momentum with fisticuffs didn't pay off as the B's found the back just moments later at 6:01 when Marc Savard jumped on a juicy rebound just lying in the slot and put it home for the early 2-0 lead.

The rough stuff continued a few moments later when Mark Stuart and Jamal Mayers shed the mittens as they were trailing the play. Mayers landed some quick shots and took Stuart down to the ice. Stuart got back up and wanted to continue the bout, but the linesmen quickly stepped in. Somehow the combatants only received 2 minutes each for roughing.

The Bruins extended their lead to 3-0 2:09 into the second period after #81 turned the puck over in his own zone and Zdeno Chara uncorked a slapper from the blue line that deflected off the stick of Leafs defenseman Francois Beauchemin and past Joey MacDonald.

Early in the middle period, Blake Wheeler pushed Ian White from behind into the endboards. A few shifts later, Colton Orr tried to send a message to Blake Wheeler and jumped him. Orr was tagged with 2 minutes for roughing and two minutes for interference for his actions.

The B's made it 4-0 with a power play goal with 5:15 remaining in the second period. Michael Ryder had the puck in "Gretzky's office" and a fed a pass out to Marc Savard, who found the back of the net for his second of the night.

After giving up 4 goals on 23 shots in the first two periods, Joey MacDonald was lifted in favor of Vesa Toskala to start the third period.

Mark Recchi's 550th career goal made it 5-0 Bruins at 6:36 of the third period. Patrice Bergeron weaved his way through the Leafs defense and left a short pass for Recchi near the crease before Recchi directed the puck past Toskala for the milestone marker.

Johnny Boychuk's first NHL goal on a one-time slapper made it 6-0 at 12:26 of the third period.

The Bruins struck again just 19 seconds later when Marc Savard's shot from the right wing half wall found the back of the net for his 3rd career hat trick and a flurry of hats came raining down on the ice at The Garden.

Steve Begin and Jamal Mayers squared off as soon as the puck drop after Savard's goal. Mayers got in a few early scoring blows, but Begin scored the takedown.

Toronto finally got on the board with 4:14 remaining to take the shutout away from Tuukka Rask. Matt Stajan set up behind the net and sent a pass to Niklas Hagman at the right circle, who beat Rask for the first time on the night.

Andrew Ference and Lee Stempniak got into after Stempniak ran Johnny Boychuk from behind and Ference came to the aid of his teammate. Ference and Stempniak each received double minors for roughing, while Wayne Primeau received a 10 minute misconduct, presumably for being the third man in on the altercation.

The Leafs cut the lead to 7-2 with 2:02 left in the game as Mikhail Grabovski deflected a Luke Schenn shot past Rask to account for the final score.

Final - 12.5.2009	1	2	3	Total
Toronto Maple Leafs	0	0	2	2
Boston Bruins	2	2	3	7

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- #81 was booed and jeered by The Garden fans every time he touched the puck tonight.

- #81 finished the night with 16:28 of ice time and was a -3 on the night with 1 shot on goal and 2 take-aways, including one that led directly to Zdeno Chara's goal.

- Is there anyone left out there that doubts that Tuukka Rask is ready to play at the NHL level?

- Marc Savard became the first Bruin since #81 to record a hat trick.

- Zdeno Chara was +4 on the night with a goal and an assist

- 5 Bruins had multi-point games (Savard, Chara, Bergeron, Sturm and Bitz)

- Patrice Bergeron dominated in the face-off circle again tonight winning 75% of his 20 draws.

- Tuukka Rask got his 2nd assist of the season on Mark Recchi's 550th career NHL goal.

"Obviously, we didn't play well tonight. I didn't play well. I don't know what else to say... There was pressure, but that was probably the worst game I have played in a while."

- #81

"I love our fans, so give it to him more. I could care less"

- Shawn Thornton on B's fans booing #81

- In a scheduling quirk, the Bruins will meet the Maple Leafs again at TD Garden on Thursday night. The B's are off until then, but the Leafs will travel home for two games against the Thrashers and Islanders before heading back to Boston for a re-match with the B's.

3 Stars (as selected by 98.5 The Sports Hub)
1st Star: Marc Savard (Hat Trick)
2nd Star: Patrice Bergeron (2 assists, +2, 75% on face-offs)
3rd Star: Tuuka Rask (31 saves on 33 shots, assist)

85 Reasons to Hate the Canadiens

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:57:01 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

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The Bruins will be in Montreal tomorrow night to face-off against the Canadiens. The Habs will be celebrating their 100th anniversary tomorrow night, which is weird because they have been milking this 100th season thing for 2 years now. Instead of doing my typical game preview, I thought I would do something ~~completely unoriginal and hacky~~ different. TSN recently came up with a list of 100 reasons to love the Canadiens, so I decidedly to come up with a rebuttal. The following are 85 reasons to hate the Montreal Canadiens (in no particular order) to celebrate 85 years of Bruins hockey.

1. Almost all of their Stanley Cup wins were a direct result of an unfair player allocation system

2. 2008

3. 2004

4. 2002

5. 1989

6. 1987

7. 1986

8. 1985

9. 1984

10. 1979

11. 1978

12. 1977

13. 1971

14. 1969

15. 1968

16. 1958

17. 1957

18. 1955

19. 1954

20. 1953

21. 1952

22. 1947

23. 1946

24. 1931

25. 1930

26. Their lame fans that flood the streets of Boston

27. Their fans celebrated a first round win over an 8 seed by set their own city's police cars on fire

28. One of their greatest players ever has a nickname that sounds like a sex toy

29. One of their former "coaching masterminds" can't even read a children's book

30. Their fans are living in the past.

31. Ken Dryden F__ that guy!

32. Patrick Roy Just a poor man's Marty Brodeur

33. They are a bunch of purse snatchers

34. They have better diving form than Rodney Rangerfield in "Back to School"

35. Guy LaFleur His son is a creep and the old man isn't much better

36. Ole! Ole! Ole! Ah how cute. You got a little song you sing.

37. I feel guilty every time I order a Molson

38. Who calls for a stick measurement in the Stanley Cup Finals?

39. Their dumb fans that would rather have a team of French Canadians than a competitive team

40. Their jailbird throwback jerseys

41. I hate any team that has a Gionta on it

42. The Habs couldn't give the B's much of a series last year and I think it hurt the B's in Round 2

43. They love to play chippy, but rarely answer the bell

44. Maxim Lapierre's gutless late hit on #81 last year

45. Mike Komisarek's eye gouge on Matt Hunwick

46. George Laraque's idle threats

47. They are the NHL team of choice for Vermont's dirty hippies

48. Most of their forwards aren't tall enough to ride most of the rides at the amusement park

49. Their fans think it is classy to boo the American national anthem

50. They undeservedly got a bunch of their players in the All-Star Game last year.

51. To quote Bill Burr: "their silly little fans who act like they live in Paris even though you can see the place from Vermont"

52. Celine Dion almost bought the team and nobody in Montreal seemed to be embarrassed about this

53. Habs fans boo Chara every time he touches the puck and even the most die hard Habs fan couldn't tell you why.

54. I need to use a passport and my poor high school French to see them play in Montreal

55.

56. They used to employ Mike Ribiero (Timmy's pick)

57. They used to employ Shayne Corson (Timmy's pick)

58. Ryan O'Byrne's turtle move

59. Claude Lemieux gutless puke

60.

61. Guy Carbonneau looks like a movie villain

62. They won the majority of their Stanley Cups in the Original 6 era

63. They thought Hal Gill was a solid off-season pick-up

64. "Too Many Men on The Ice"

65. Red, White, and Blue used to respectable colors

66. The Habs 164 different retro jerseys they have used to commemorate

67. This has been the longest "year" ever

68. Youppi That thing is just flat out creepy

69. They are own by a Brewery, but they can't figure out how to control their team like Doug and Bob McKenzie in "Strange Brew"

70. They hate Michael Ryder

71. They are the only team to get Patrice Bergeron to drop the gloves

72. They cut Mr. Kathryn Tappen

73. Carey Price's haircut

74. Kovalev faking an injury in the 2004 playoffs

75.

76. 1 beer per person limits at The Garden for B's-Habs games

77.

78. The Habs went to a Christian retreat called "Teen Ranch" for team bonding

79. This Guy who took his wife's name and wears a personalized Habs jersey with his new last name on it.

80. Their confused fans

81. Tom Kostopoulos' flying elbow

82.

83. Glen Metropolit used to be a guy you could root for

84. No matter where the B's finish they always seem to draw the Habs

85. Because they are the Habs. You are supposed to hate them.

Bruins breeze past Lightning 4-1

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:00:44 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

21 days ago: Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) reacts after scoring against Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Mike Smith and center Steven Stamkos (91) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Boston on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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Marco Sturm (2 goals), Patrice Bergeron (1 goal, 2 assists) and Mark Recchi (3 assists) led the way offensively for the Bruins, while Tim Thomas held down the fort with 39 saves on 40 shots as the B's downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 at TD Garden.

The Bruins took a 1-0 lead 8:05 into the game when Marc Savard potted his 200th career NHL goal on a backhand wrap around, which Savard admitted was actually a pass attempt that found its way into the back of the net (that's what you call "Puck Luck"). Derek Morris and Zdeno Chara picked up helpers on the power play goal.

Patrice Begeron made it 2-0 with 5:57 left in the opening period when he put home a rebound off Chara's shot from the point.

Marco Sturm made it 3-0 when he jammed home a puck that Bolts goalie Mike Smith couldn't cover up. Mark Recchi and Sturm were hacking away at the puck and it was hard to tell who got a stick on the puck, but the official scorer credited Sturm with the goal. Recchi and Begeron added assists on the goal.

Marco Sturm extended the Bruins' lead to 4-0 just 2:31 later when Patrice Bergeron carried the puck on the right wing side of the ice along the goalline and fed a beautiful centering pass to Sturm, who was going hard to the net.

The Lightning pulled to within three 1:27 into the third period on a put-back in front by Jeff Halpern.

The Bruins were able to hold the lead the rest of the way and skated away with a 4-1 win.

Final - 12.2.2009	1	2	3	Total
Tampa Bay Lightning	0	0	1	1
Boston Bruins	2	2	0	4

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- The teams combined for 79 shots (Boston: 39 Tampa Bay: 40)

- Marco Sturm put 9 shots on goal.

- The Bruins won the battle at the face-off dot 34-24. Patrice Bergeron won 14 of 19 (74%), while Marc Savard won 12 of 15 (80%).

- Sturm, Bergeron, Recchi, Chara, and Morris were all +3 on the night.

- Vladimir Sobotka left the game with a presumed injury and only logged 7:14 of ice time.

- The B's have a big weekend ahead of them. They will travel to Montreal to play the Canadiens on Friday night in their 100th anniversary game (apparently the Quebecois calender considers January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010 to be one year). The B's will then return home to take on #81 and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

3 Stars (as picked by 98.5 The Sports Hub)
1st Star: Marco Sturm (2 goals, +3, 9 shots)
2nd Star:Patrice Bergeron (goal, 2 assists, +3)
3rd Star:Mark Recchi (3 assists, +3)

Bergeron and Hunwick sit out Monday's practice

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:57:29 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

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Patrice Bergeron and Matt Hunwick did not practice with the team on Monday morning. They were the only two players not in attendance at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington for this morning's practice.

Bergeron left Saturday's game in the first period after losing an edge and then getting struck with a puck as he was lying on the ice. He returned to the ice after a brief trip down the tunnel to get looked at by the training staff. Hopefully, Claude Julien is just being cautious here and giving Bergy some time to heal. The Bruins, who have struggled to find goals this year can not afford to lose their leading scorer.

There has been no word on why Matt Hunwick is missing from practice. Until you hear otherwise, consider it a "maintenance day" for the defenseman.

UPDATE (2:06 PM):

According to Claude Julien, both Patrice Bergeron and Matt Hunwick should be back at practice on Tuesday:

"Hunwick is just going to miss [Monday] and he’ll be back on the ice [Tuesday],” said Julien. “Bergie, the same thing. He’ll be in Wednesday. No ifs or buts. It’s just maintenance. Is it due to the other day? Yeah."

- Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien via NESN.com