SB Nation - Blake Wheeler

Ian White is Moustachulent, Blake Wheeler Should Be Suspended, and Hockey Night in Canada Hates Us

PPP — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:30:13 -0000

Glove tap to Belligerent Burkie for finding the incident in question

This has nothing to with this post other than I love posting Ian White kicking ass
The Man, The Myth, The Moustache

17. Bill McCreary apologized to Ian White for missing Blake Wheeler’s push from behind that sent White hard into boards. White said after the game, "I was lucky." Obviously, you’d love McCreary to see it and call it live, but good on him for manning up.

- Elliotte Friedman, 30 Thoughts

How long r we going to treat refs like they're above the law, above being questioned by the media? It's an outdated concept that needs 2 die

- Jason Whitlock, Twitter

Those two tweets, the latter re-tweeted by yours truly, were enough to sitr me from my blogging slumber. As usual, my muse Godd Till, was on gchat immediately to kick-start the creative process:

Till: AH YES, BECAUSE THE STANDARD OF OFFICIATING WOULD CERTAINLY BE IMPROVED BY SUSTAINED, INTELLIGENT CRITICISM BY THE HOWARD BERGERS OF THE WORLD

PPP: Not from the dumbasses of the world but the refs should have to answer for why they screwed up like with that White hit.

Till: UH HUH. 'REPLAYS SHOW THAT I WAS BLOCKED OUT ON THE PLAY' Remember that? Can't wait for more of that standard of ass-covering. This should be great.

Obviously, the fact that Bill McCreary missed the hit is mind-blowing. I won't beat around the bush, Ian White is bang on: he is very lucky. If he had been hit a half a stride or so sooner he could have woken up Sunday with a halo and paralysed from the waist or neck down. Blake Wheeler laid an absolutely filthy hit and the fact that he isn't suspended and that there was no call on the ice highlights the massive trouble the league faces in trying to cut dirty play out of the game.

The more upsetting part was that Blake Wheeler didn't stand up to Colton Orr when it came time to pay the piper. Normally, non-fighters obviously don't have to fight enforcers but 'The Code' is supposed to keep players from making those kinds of hits because they'll have to fight the Colton Orrs of the world. Instead, we saw Wheeler pull his best Claude Lemieux impression while the Bruins were rewarded with a powerplay. Of course, I don't want Orr to pull a Carcillo but is it to much to ask that Blake Wheeler man up? And if he won't, would it kill the league to dish out some punishment? I guess so.

There was obviously a lot of ugly things in a broadcast that features the Leafs losing 7-2 in Phil Kessel's first trip back to Boston but one we could both agree on was that Mike Milbury's presence was the straw that broke the camel's back. How bad was it? Godd Till actually wrote a post about how it made him realise Pierre McGuire's genius. Put aside the fact that the very idea of having him present his opinions on anything related to the NHL is laughable.

Till: And what the fuck was with having Mike Milbury in the booth? That POS defended Wheeler on that play.

PPP: WASN'T THAT PAINFUL?

Till: Fuck, Hughson and Simpson are bad enough but that addition was so fucking bad.

PPP: Yeah, it was disgusting.

Till: Hmm, let's put a grating loudmouth Bruins homer in the booth.

PPP: Yeah, this is genius. Ok, next we're going to put a West Coaster with an inferiority complex about Toronto.

Till: Check!

PPP: And some twit that didn't want to play in Toronto because he was a pussy.

Till: GREATTTTT IDEA!

PPP: This is going to be awesome
/scribbles HNiC script

Till: THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS ARE PROUD TO SELECT, FROM SASKATOON OF THE WHL, D WENDEL CLARK! FUCK YOU SIMPSON!

PPP: THEN FUCKING BENEDICT CHERRY WEARS A FUCKING BROOONS TIE!

Thanks to a quirk in the schedule the Maple Leafs are back in Boston on Thursday night for a rematch. This is probably a great thing for Phil Kessel in terms of facing a pressure-packed environment. It also lets the Leafs work on the things that killed them on Saturday night: their lack of attention to detail, their lack of offensive desire, and their lack of passion. The one advantage they have is that the Bruins won't be getting shellacked by the Habs Wednesday night because anyone that watched Friday's 100th anniversary game knew what was going to happen:

The Bruins are going to be flying tomorrow night. Freaking bums
- Some Guy On Twitter

God, I hate it when randoms on Twitter are right.

Devils outlast Bruins 2-1 in shootout

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:25:23 -0000

More photos » by Mary Schwalm - AP

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The Bruins fell to the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in the shootout in a matinee at TD Garden. In a game that was all about the goaltenders, Martin Brodeur made history by becoming the NHL leader in minutes played by a goaltender, surpassing Patrick Roy on the all-time list. Brodeur has now logged 60,215 minutes over his 17 year NHL career. Brodeur turned aside 32 shots, while Tuukka Rask continued his strong play in the Bruins net with 36 saves.

Zach Parise put the Devils up 1-0 9:45 into the second period when he jammed the puck in off of a scrum in front of Rask's net.

Blake Wheeler got the equalizer for the B's 12 seconds into the third period. Byron Bitz slid a cross-crease pass to Wheeler, who was stationed by the left post and quickly swept the puck into the net.

The same two guys that found the back of the net in regulation (Wheeler & Parise) were also successful in the shootout. With the shootout knotted up at 1-1, it was up to Jamie Langenbrunner to seal the win for the Devils. Langenbrunner skated in and fired a snap shot that beat Rask five hole.

Final - 11.27.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
New Jersey Devils	0	1	0	0	1	2
Boston Bruins	0	0	1	0	0	1

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- Bad news on the Milan Lucic injury front: Lucic is expected to miss about 4 weeks with a high ankle sprain.

- I thought that Brodeur would have gotten a bigger ovation for breaking Roy's record. They announced his achievement over the PA system. It seemed like the crowd was starting to give a standing ovation and then they quickly dropped the puck.

- The Bruins have earned points in 10 of their last 11 games.

- Shawn Thornton scored the take-down in his bout with Andrew Peters, Peters landed a few solid blows.

- The B's won't have much time to think about this loss. They are back in action tomorrow night against Northeast Division rivals, the Ottawa Senators.

New Jersey Devils Grind Out a Win over Boston Bruins with the Shootout, 2-1

John Fischer — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:38:49 -0000

More photos » by Mary Schwalm - AP

The New Jersey Devils celebrate after getting one past Boston's Tuukka Rask. Zach Parise was the goalscorer and turned out to be the only one for NJ during regulation. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

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It wasn't an easy game at all for the New Jersey Devils. The Boston Bruins, who won their last four, were pressing hard early and in the third period. While the Devils outshot the Bruins 37-33, the Bruins had more possession, pinned the Devils back in their own end more often, and had better scoring chances. Yet, the score remained tied thanks to one man: Martin Brodeur.

Today, Martin Brodeur broke the all-time NHL record for career minutes played in the second period. That wasn't all. He wasn't just big in Boston, he was massive. Long shots, point-blank shots, shots from the slot, up high, down low, on the ground, while standing - Brodeur made every stop except for one. A shot right on Brodeur's flank right in front of the crease courtesy of Blake Wheeler. Nevertheless, Martin Brodeur prevented this one from becoming a Boston rout in the third period and for that alone, he should be praised. The Devils get nothing from today's game if it wasn't for Brodeur bringing his "A" game.

Credit should also go to Boston's Tuukka Rask as well; he had a busy afternoon with 37 shots against and he was only beaten by Zach Parise forcing a puck into the net. But the Bruins had more scoring chances in my opinion, more dangerous shots on net, and Brodeur was the sole reason the Devils got a point - much less two. Jamie Langenbrunner sealed the deal in the shootout and so the Devils win their second straight over Boston and in general. NHL.com has their recap up with a link to the boxscore and other stats.

Check out Stanley Cup of Chowder for his recap later on - he was at the game, as I understand it so it'll be up a little later. My recap continues after the jump.

First, an embedded video of the game's highlights via NHL.com. Expect a lot of saves:

The win didn't come easy at all for New Jersey. First, the Devils lost David Clarkson early in the game. Clarkson blocked a Zdeno Chara slapshot from point blank right on his right ankle. He had to crawl to the bench, he did not return at all, and that is definitely concerning. The last thing the Devils need is another injured forward. Unfortunately, per this postgame post by Tom Gulitti, Jacques Lemaire is already saying that the injury "doesn't look good." That could mean just the fact that another Devils is injured doesn't look good, but it could also mean the injury is serious. More will be available tomorrow, but I wouldn't expect Clarkson to play at the Rock.

Second, the Devils had to make a lot of heads up plays in their own end, leading them to be pinned back further. The Devils blocked a total of 17 shots, 4 by Bryce Salvador, but many of these blocks led to an errant clearance that the Bruins picked up in New Jersey's end or a clearance that got the Devils to change but Boston easily got so they could start again. Ultimately, the Devils got into too many cycles where they kept having to defend over and over. It's great that they made defensive stops, and it's great that Martin Brodeur made so many saves. But it's not great that the Devils essentially made it easier for the Bruins to attack over and over. In particular, the make-shift third line of Tim Sestito-Dean McAmmond-Matt Halischuk got worked over the most in the third period but this was true across all four lines.

Yes, all four lines. There was a Rod Pelley and Andrew Peters sighting in the third period. Not that Jacques Lemaire wanted to spread out some of the fatigue among the forwards. The top two lines got plenty of work with all of them playing at least 20 minutes today except for Nicklas Bergfors (18:28). As usual, the defensemen endured a disparity in time played. While Matthew Corrente got 10:52 of ice time, the workload was all over the top four with Andy Greene playing a mind-boggling 27:59 this afternoon. And to think, only Mike Mottau (26:52) made a fatal error - giving the puck right to Byron Bitz who fed Blake Wheeler for the goal. I really hope Greene gets a lot of rest tonight because the Islanders aren't going to give him a break tomorrow.

With respect to individual statlines, this may surprise you, but Brian Rolston had the most impressive set of numbers. He played 22:45, put 7 shots on net, attempted 10 (3 misses), and had 5 hits. Really. He had the second best scoring chance in the first period when he broke away on a breakaway, but was forced to the side by Dennis Wideman from behind and so Rolston's shot was on an angle and hit Tuukka Rask's helmet.

Going back to things that made this game difficult for New Jersey: the power play. The Devils didn't have too many of these, the refs let the players play today. But in the first period, Travis Zajac had a wide open net right in front and the shot was shanked during the Devils' first power play. The miss wasn't fatal, but it was regrettable. If only Zajac actually had the puck on his stick when he attempted to shoot it! Who knows how . Later on, during a power play late in the second period, Brian Rolston "slashed" Dennis Wideman (I'll give Dennis this, he knows how to sell a move - like a wrestler!) which led to a minor penalty that wiped that chance out early into the man advantage. I can't complain about the special teams too loudly, since the Devils' PK was solid, but it's still opportunities wasted.

Lastly, I have to praise the Bruins' for their balanced attack. 33 shots, Patrice Bergeron led with 5, but 5 other Bruins had at least 3 shots on net, and only Marco Sturm ended the game without a shot on net - and that's only because Matthew Corrente recovered from getting burned to stop him from shooting. The Bruins were better at faceoffs, winning 61% of all draws - further proof of Boston's advantage in terms of puck possession. It wasn't one line or one player that gave the Devils' issues - it was the whole team.

That all said, I would have been happy with just a point. But the Devils managed to hold steady in overtime and earn the win in the shootout. This reminded me of Stanley Cup of Chowder's recap of Boston's previous win: a game where the Bruins didn't look like the superior team, where the Bruins kept it close largely in part of their goaltender, and got the win (2-1, no less). The Devils will take the win; but they'll have to be ready for a tough one tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, they all get a good night's sleep - they'll need it after such a tight game today.

Thanks to Steve for the GameThread, the commenters in said GameThread, and you, for reading all this. Please share your thoughts, concerns, and such in the comments.

Bruins skate past Blues 4-2

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:56:35 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

23 days ago: Boston Bruins' Mark Recchi, right, celebrates with teammate Patrice Bergeron after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Patrice Bergeron (4 assists) factored into all four Boston goals as the Bruins defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Monday night. Mark Recchi, Blake Wheeler, Milan Lucic, and Marco Sturm were the goal scorers for the B's, while Tuukka Rask held down the fort between the pipes with 29 saves.

Mark Recchi spotted the Bruins a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the game when he batted a bouncing puck out of mid-air and past Chris Mason for a power play goal.

The Blues knotted things up at 1-1 just a minute and 31 seconds later when Keith Tkachuk set up in the slot and tipped in a shot from the point by Carlo Colaiacovo.

The B's made it 2-1 off a power play goal by Blake Wheeler 3:02 into the second period. Patrice Bergeron found a seam and threaded a nice cross-ice pass to Blake Wheeler, who fired a quick wrister into the back the back of the net.

Byron Bitz and Barret Jackman dropped the gloves just over 7 minutes into the middle period. The bout appeared to give the Blues a boost. Just 15 seconds later, Carlo Colaiacovo made it 2-2 off a 2 on 1 break with Brad Boyes.

The Bruins regained the lead at 12:10 of the second period on a goal from Milan Lucic. Zdeno Chara ripped a shot from the blueline with Shawn Thornton and Milan Lucic screening the goaltenderr Chirs Mason. The shot deflected off Lucic and in to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.

The Bruins added an insurance marker with 9:46 remaining in the 3rd period when Patrice Bergeron and Marco Sturm broke in 2 on 1. Bergeron slid a pass to Sturm and Sturm buried for the 4-2 lead.

Final - 11.23.2009	1	2	3	Total
Boston Bruins	1	2	1	4
St. Louis Blues	1	1	0	2

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- Bruins were 2 for 3 on the power play.

- The Bruins have their first 3-game win streak of the '09-'10 campaign.

- The B's won 61% of the face-offs tonight.

- The Bruins are back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild.

3 Stars (as chosen by the St. Louis media....not Timmy)

1st Star: Patrice Bergeron (4 assists, +1, 69% face-offs)

2nd Star: Milan Lucic (goal, 5 hits)

3rd Star: Carlo Colaiacovo (goal, assist, +1)

Game Recap: Bruins vs Islanders

timmorrison23 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:06:10 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

about 1 month ago: Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, right, of Finland, makes a save as New York Islanders center Josh Bailey hits the ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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What began as a pretty solid night for the Bruins certainly did not end that way, as the Bruins suffered a crushing loss to the Islanders 4-1 at the TD Garden. The Bruins and Islanders both played a pretty solid 1st period with both teams getting some solid goal scoring chances. The Islanders took the lead 6 minutes into the period. After a crucial offensive zone turn over by the Bruins Matt Moulson cashed in on a feed by Jack Hillen for the 1-0 lead. The Bruins had a great chance to make their mark on the game early with a 5-3 power play, however as the case has been lately they were only able to manage 5 shots on net during their 2 man advantage. After the 1st period the Islanders led 1-0.

The 2nd period started out strong for the Bruins, as they buzzed and created many solid scoring chances. After Blake Wheeler, Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci were all turned aside by "The Pride of UMass Lowell" Dwayne Roloson, Daniel Paille was finally able to cash in. With David Krejci working the puck strongly against John Tavares, Paille snuck to the net and tucked in a backhand off a the dish by Krejci. Unfortunately for the Bruins the lead didn't last long. With the 2nd period winding down, Tuukka Rask handled the puck behind the net, he tried to pass it up the boards to Zdeno Chara, however the puck bounced right to RIchard Park, he fed Matt Moulson in front for his 2nd goal of the night and a 2-1 Islander lead.

The 3rd period went much as the 2nd did. Only 2 minutes into the 3rd the Islanders and John Tavares struck again. John Tavares fired the puck on net, as it went towards it deflected off Matt Hunwick to put the Islanders up 3-1. With just under a minute left in the game Trent Hunter would put the exclamation point on the win for the Islanders and make it 4-1.

My 3 Stars of the Night

1)Dwayne Roloson - he was very solid and made big stops when he needed to.

2) Richard Park - he had 3 helpers tonight and was around the puck seemingly all night.

3) David Krejci - looked fantastic tonight, the lone bright spot for the Bruins, was flying all over the ice.

Byron Bitz wishes he was Suri Cruise and other fun facts from the Bruins Media Guide

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:35:20 -0000

I was perusing the '09-'10 Boston Bruins Media Guide and Record Book recently and discovered that there are some interesting facts in there. Let's get to know your '09-'10 Boston Bruins a little better.

Did you know...?

- If Byron Bitz could choose any two celebrities to be his parents, he would choose Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

- Patrice Bergeron's ideal linemate would be Peter Forsberg (....stay tuned).

- Andrew Bodnarchuk's biggest fear/phobia is the "the feel of cotton balls".

- Andrew Ference's nickname is "Ferknuckle". I guess this nickname hasn't quite caught on yet. I'll stick with Fragile Ference and Captain Planet.

- Ference chose Oprah and Bono for his celebrity parents. Really? OK, so you would be super rich, but still you would have to spend time with Oprah and Bono. Are there two more overrated celebrities on the planet?

- Jeff LoVecchio appeared in a GMC commercial with Brendan Shanahan when he was in second grade.

- Andrew Bodnarchuk and Brad Marchand grew up together in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia.

- Zach McKelvie played one year with the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program.

- Most of the Bruins players were asked what they would bring to a desert island. I think Adam McQuaid might be the only one who would survive. His answer: food, water, and someone else. Marc Savard also had a great answer: a sand wedge, a golf ball, and a flashlight. Trent Whitfield had a similar answer: golf clubs, a 1,000 balls, and bug spray.

- Apparently Kevin Regan really wants to be a back-up goalie. When asked if he could play with any Bruin in history, he chose Andy Moog.

- Vladimir Sobotka's favorite band is Nickelback. I just lost a little bit of respect for Vlady.

- Sobotka also apparently wishes he was an orphan from a third world country. His choice for celebrity parents: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

- Marco Sturm does not have a very good eye for the ladies (or sense of historical perspective). If he could meet anyone in history, he would choose Steffi Graf.

- One of Tim Thomas' nicknames is "Cheeseburger". This one hasn't caught on yet either. It may stem from his pre-game ritual of eating a cheeseburger the day before a game.

- Blake Wheeler's father James was a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers system.

- Andy Wozniewski claims to have never been bitten by a mosquito.

My SpOoKy Halloween Recap!

timmorrison23 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:11:49 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

about 1 month ago: Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) makes a save as Edmonton Oilers center Gilbert Brule (67) looks for the rebound with Boston defenseman Derek Morris, right, during the third period of Boston's 2-0 win in an NHL hockey game in Boston, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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With today being Halloween, our home town Bruins did all they could to give their fans some treats to leave the garden with today against the Oilers. I was at the game today, albeit it was a predominantly young crowd since it was a matinee game. From the opening puck drop the Bruins established what I believe to be two of their biggest reasons for today's win, their fore check and the tone of physical play.

The 1st period was pretty even with both teams getting a few scoring chances, and some solid defense and goal tending by both Tuukka Rask and "The Age-less Wonder" Nikolai Khabibulin (it feels like he has been in the league for 20 seasons). The teams went into the first intermission with zeros across the board. Period 2 was a bit lopsided in the Bruins direction. At one point the Bruins were outshooting the Oilers 14-8, and were really carrying the play. Through the entire game the Bruins were led by the line of Blake Wheeler, Danielle Paille, and Vladimir Sobotka. They really started to click in the 2nd period. Despite some solid physical play and the better scoring chances by the Bruins the game was scoreless through the first 40 minutes of play.

Period 3 was basically the Wheeler,Paille,Sobotka show for the Bruins. This line was all over the ice, both defensively and offensively. Roughly 3 minutes into the period their hard work finally paid off. With Vladimir Sobotka applying some great work along the boards behind the Edmonton net and gaining the puck, Blake Wheeler cut to the front of the cage and dropped a trick into the Edmonton pillow case for a 1-0 Bruin lead. This line would terrorize the Oilers again about 5 minutes later. After winning a puck battle in the Bruins zone, Sobotka jumped up for a two on one rush with Wheeler. Blake Wheeler made a nice aerial touch pass to Sobotka who put it past the 'Bulin wall for a 2-0 Bruin lead. That would prove to be the eventual game winner, as Rask made the lead stand up for his team. The Bruins only let 19 shots get through to their young goalie, but he turned them all aside for the shutout.

My Halloween themed 3 stars of the game:

1) Zdeno "Chainsaw Massacre" Chara, was an absolute beast today, he set the tone with his constant physical play and in your face style against Dustin Penner

2) The line of "Psycho" Sobotka, "Poltergeist" Paille, "Blair Witch" Wheeler, they were by far the Bruins most effective line for the full 60 minutes tonight. Scoring both goals, and playing very solid defensivley.

3) Tuukka "Tales from the glove side" Rask, was good when he needed to be, stopped several flurrys and a few breaks by the Oilers to earn the shutout.

Bruins stage 3rd period comeback, win in SO

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:54:19 -0000

More photos » by Fred Chartrand - AP

about 1 month ago: Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (30) makes a shoot out save on a shot by Ottawa Senators' Jason Spezza (19) during NHL hockey action in Ottawa Saturday Oct. 24, 2009. The Bruins won 4-3 in a shoot out. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)

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The Bruins scored two goals in the final 1:28 of the third period to tie the game up at 3-3 and force overtime. Patrice Bergeron finished off the comeback for the Bruins with a shootout goal and Tim Thomas did his part but shutting down the Senators in the shootout.

After a scoreless first period, the Bruins struggled to get things going offensively early in the second period. The Bruins had just two shots on goal in the first 11:14 of the second period when the Senators' Jonathan Cheechoo was whistled for hooking. With Cheechoo in the box, the Bruins had a chance to get something going on the power play but coughed up the puck in the attacking zone. Mike Fisher's pass sprung Daniel Alfredsson for a breakaway and the first goal of the game at 11:31 of the second period.

The Bruins evened things up at 1-1 with 2:54 left in the second period when Blake Wheeler's shot from the left circle off a good cycle beat Brian Elliott for his 3rd goal of the season.

Milan Michalek gave the Sens a 2-1 lead with 10:46 left in the period when he went five hole to beat Tim Thomas.

Mike Fisher made it 3-1 Ottawa when his tough angle shot from the along the right wing boards on the goal line changed directions went it deflected off of a skate and made its way past Tim Thomas.

With 1:28 left in the third period and Tim Thomas on the bench in favor of the extra attacker, Mark Recchi tipped home Derek Morris' shot to give the Bruins new life at 3-2.

The Bruins weren't done yet. With 22 seconds remaining in regulation, David Krejci slipped the puck past Brian Elliott with a quick off a feed from Derek Morris for the game-tying goal.

Both teams had several scoring chances in the overtime session, but couldn't find the back of the net. After 65 minutes of hockey, it was off to the shootout for the second straight game.

Shootout

Senators 1st Shot:Alex Kovalev rang the puck off post.

Bruins 1st Shot: Wheeler tried to tuck the puck past Brian Elliot on the backhand but couldn't elevate the puck and Elliott made a right pad save.

Senators 2nd Shot:Daniel Alfredsson's shot hit the post on Thomas' glove side.

Bruins 2nd Shot:Bergeron fakes a shot and gets Elliot to bite and Bergeron's shot slowly tickles past the goal line under Elliott. 1-0 Bruins lead

Senators 3rd Shot:Jason Spezza is denied by Tim Thomas with a right pad save. B's WIN!!!

Final - 10.24.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
Boston Bruins	0	1	2	0	1	4
Ottawa Senators	0	1	2	0	0	3

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- Derek Morris factored into both of the third period goals and has his second straight 2 point night.

- Mark Recchi played in his 1,500th game (most of any active NHL player).

- Tim Thomas made 27 saves, including one cross-crease dive that almost gave Jack Edwards an aneurysm.

- Byron Bitz had his first fight of the season when he traded punches with Matt Carkner.

- If you are Steve Begin's teammate, you have to appreciate how willing this guy is to stick up for the boys in black & gold.

- Vladimir Sobotka recorded 7 hits.

- Patrice Bergeron was the only Bruins' skater not to record a hit tonight (33 hits for the B's tonight).

- Patrice Bergeron looked very good in the faceoff circle (69%).

- Bruins will return to game action on Thursday night when they host the New Jersey Devils.

Coyotes vs. Bruins - Game Preview #7 - BOOOOO WHEELER BOOOO!

OdinMercer — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:11:52 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

2 months ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Vernon Fiddler, left, comes in to join Phoenix Coyotes' Zbynek Michalek (4), of the Czech Republic, Peter Mueller and Ed Jovanovski to celebrate Jovanovski's game-winning goal against the St. Louis Blues during overtime of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Blues 3-2 in overtime. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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The Pacific Division leading Phoenix Coyotes take on the 3-3 Boston Bruins tonight, hopefully in front of a larger crowd than the one we saw on Thursday. The 6,000 or so saw a good come from behind win in OT, but we need to get more fans in the stands. This 4-2 start is a good way to get that going but it needs to be built on even more starting tonight. This is also the first time Blake Wheeler will be playing in Glendale since he turned down the Coyotes and ran away to Boston. Hopefully fans let him have it. No word on the starting goalie as Thomas played last night, shutting out the stars, so we may see Tuuka Rask.

Five for Winning

No More Breakouts for Yandle: That poke check/own goal last game against the Blues was brutal. Keith either needs to get some more confidence with the puck so he isn't retreating near the crease, or just not bother with the breakout and let someone else carry the puck out. Those types of mistakes will lead to losses more often than not and our guys bailed him out on Thursday.

Keep the lines together: At least the Hanzal line and the Lombardi one. Both have found their rhythm and are making things happen. That Lombardi to Upshall goal was a thing of beauty in an otherwise ugly game. I understand getting matchups or trying to create, but with how those lines are playing why mess with a good thing?

Shift Change Effectively: We're at home, so let's get the right guys on the ice. Not only to keep Martin Hanzal against their top guys, but to keep our top lines away from Zdeno Chara as well. Now that we've found ways to score again we need to keep it up, Chara won't help.

Special Teams: The power play still needs some work, but the Kill has been solid this year. It's typically one of the weakest areas for the guys has been much improved. We went 76% last season, and so far this year have killed 82% of the penalties we've taken. Still room to improve, but that's much better than last year.

Keep Being Stingy: So far this season we've been the hardest team to score against in the entire league. The team goals against averages out to 1.50 goals per game. Absolutely insane compared with 3.04 per game. The Bruins have been averaging 3 goals a game so far though (putting them in the middle of the league in that stat) so we'll see what that equals out to tonight. Hopefully Ilya Bryzgalov can bring or GAA down even more with another solid game.

GO YOTES! (Hurt Wheeler!)

Bruins can't survive Avalanche 4-3

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:07:15 -0000

More photos » by Steven Senne - AP

2 months ago: Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, of Finland, top, is unable to stop a shot into the net by Colorado Avalanche's Scott Hannan, bottom, in the first period of an NHL hockey game, in Boston, Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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The Bruins may have had a bit of a tryptophan hangover after having too much turkey for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. The Bruins came out of the gate sluggish, giving the Avalanche an early 2-0 lead. The B's made the game close, but the Avs ultimately handed the B's a 4-3 loss.

The Avs got on the board first, when Milan Hejduk scored a powerplay goal 6:15 into the game with Matt Hunwick in the box for a hook.

Colorado would strike again just 37 seconds later when Scott Hannan found the back of the net off a rebound from a long shot by David Jones to spot the Avs an early 2-0 lead.

The Bruins spent 5:02 on the powerplay in the opening period, but just couldn't seem to convert with the man advantage and filed off the ice to the dressing room down 2-0 after one.

The Bruins pulled to within one at 7:45 of the second period. Patrice Bergeron set up behind the net and fed a pass out front to Mark Recchi at the left circle, whose quick shot beat Craig Anderson for his first goal of the season.

The B's evened the game up 2:25 later with a goal in transition. Micheal Ryder threw a puck on net from the right wing boards and Blake Wheeler batted the puck out of mid-air while driving to the net for his second goal of the season.

The Bruins PK woes continued when Marek Svatos put back his own rebound with 6:28 reamaing in the second to give Colorado a 3-2 lead.

The special teams problems continued for the B's on the power play. With the Bruins on the man advantage with 3:10 left in the middle period, they coughed up the puck in the neutral zone when 3 black jerseys collapsed on the puck, which sprung David Jones in on a breakaway. Jones fired a hard wrister from the slot that beat Rask for the short-handed goal and a two goal lead.

Michael Ryder pulled the B's to within one at 6:24 of the third period on a backhander off a rebound in front.

The Bruins showed a lot of intensity and controlled the play for most of the third, but it was too little, too late as the Bruins dug themselves into a hole early and were not able to stage another comeback.

Final - 10.12.2009	1	2	3	Total
Colorado Avalanche	2	2	0	4
Boston Bruins	0	2	1	3

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Notes:

- Milan Lucic and Kyle Quincey got into a bit of a wrestling match after the final whistle.

- Special teams play continues to be a major issue for the B's. The Bruins were only able to kill off 1 of 3 Avs powerplays today and were 0 for 5 today.

- Patrice Bergeron was 72% from the dot (13 of 18)

- Johnny Boychuk was +2 and recorded 4 hits in his '09-'10 debut.

- Colorado blocked 21 of the 53 shots that the Bruins directed towards goals (32 shots on goal).

- The Bruins return to action on Friday night when they travel to Dallas to take on the Stars