SB Nation - Boston Bruins

Want it Fast & Hard (No, That's Not What She Said...)

blurr1974 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:00:30 -0000

Here's the skinny. At this writing, I've literally just walked in the door from a weekend in San Francisco. I've left my wife to unload the car and put the bubba to bed, as I've got important things to attend to. No, not really...

Anyhoo, here's your links, quick and dirty, fast and hard. To get you in the mood, here's a clip of Tommy Stinson singing today's theme song.

Steve is seeking first line centers. No, not Matt Stajan....
Bloge Salming has a new video up that somehow has been blocked on my computer. That must mean it's double the times of awesome.
Vintage Leafs. Wendel Clark. 'Nuff said.
The Other Vatican is calling it a year.
Kavel kaptions komik. Part 29 of...?
Toronto Mike is getting misty from some MLG memories. Not to mention, the Bruins Saturday night visit.
Frozen Leafs spins a terrible tale of the return of The Monster. Muwahahahahahaha!
Under the Helmet gets us up to date on Leafs scoring chances for the past two games: First the Leafs @ Buffalo, and secondly with the Bruins in town.
The gang at MLHS has a reason for their writing. I didn't know we needed one.
Greatest Hockey Legends is in the spirit of the season. Leafs hockey season that is...

Top 10 New Jersey Devils Moments of the Decade: Part 1, Honorable Mention

Steve Lepore — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:00:18 -0000

It's been an eventful decade here in the Garden State when it comes to hockey. Two Stanley Cups, three Prince of Wales trophies, five Atlantic Division titles, seven 100-point seasons. Oh, and the Devils' goalie cemented his name in the conversations of "Greatest to ever play the game". Starting this Tuesday, I will countdown the 10 best moments since 2000, but first, a look at some of the things that didn't make the cut.

Devils Hire Larry Robinson as Head Coach... The First Time (March 23, 2000)

The Devils gave then-future Hockey Hall of Famer Larry Robinson his first shot in the coaching ranks, when former Montreal Canadiens teammate Jacques Lemaire brought him as an assistant coach when he took over the Devils in 1993. Robinson, blessed with a defensive unit that included another future Hall of Famer in Scott Stevens as well as veterans Ken Daneyko and Bruce Driver, helped bring along a budding All-Star in young Scott Niedermayer, and meshed together a defensive unit that helped New Jersey win it's first Stanley Cup in 1995.

From there, Robinson got his first head coaching job with the Los Angeles Kings in the summer of that year. After only four playoff games in the next four years, Robinson left the franchise, only to return to the Devils as an assistant for then coach Robbie Ftorek. Everything seemed to be headed in the right direction for New Jersey toward another playoff run. From December 26, 1999 to February 15, 2000, the Devils went a mind-blowing 17-3-3. But then things took a turn for the downright bizarre.

Starting with a 5-5 tie against the Colorado Avalanche on February 17th, the Devils went 5-10-2, culminating in a 5-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello clearly saw Ftorek as losing the team (no, the bench-throwing thing isn't on this list) and leading it toward another first-round playoff exist (the Devils had exited in Conference Quarterfinals the last two seasons). He fired Ftorek on March 23, 2000, in favor of the assistant Robinson. Larry lead the Devils to an 8-2 win over the Isles and a 4-4 record the rest of the way. However, it'd be the post-season where Robinson would prove why he was fit to run this team.

Devils Trade Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson to Vancouver for Alexander Mogilny (March 14, 2000)

Looking for some added scoring touch to support the budding A-line of Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora and Jason Arnott, Lou did what was seen as unprecedented at that time in Devils circles: he brought in a bona fide offensive talent during what you'd call arguably the prime of his career (Mogilny was 31 when acquired by New Jersey). The addition of Mogilny did something that no one previously had: He made the Devils a team you feared offensively every night.

Mogilny has also long been credited with making then-rookie centerman Scott Gomez into the player that later bolted for the Rangers, though that can be argued, as Gomez had fewer points in the full season AlMo spent with Jersey (2000-01) than in his 70-point rookie season. That said, despite a sub-par post-season in 1999-00, Mogilny put up points in that 2000-01 season that were almost unheard of previously for a New Jersey team, with 43 goals and 40 assists, second behind Elias' 96 points, giving the Devs unheard of scoring depth.

Despite chipping in 16 points in the post-season, the Devils would go on to lose the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals to the Colorado Avalanche in seven games. Mogilny signed with Toronto that off-season, only to return for an aborted, half-season stay with New Jersey in 2005-06. He was sent to Albany to make room for Elias' return from Hepatitis, and for all intents and purposes, never heard from again. Devils fans will always remember Mogilny, however, for once and for all proving that the Devils were no mere defensive juggernaut.

Patrik Elias Signs Seven-Year Contract with Devils (July 2, 2006)

Before the lockout, Patrik Elias was well on his way to becoming the offensive version of Martin Brodeur for New Jersey: putting up terrific numbers every year, but largely being taken for granted by a fanbase that wants to win the Stanley Cup every year, rather than see another 40-goal season. The young winger from the Czech Republic had put up his third 35-goal plus season in 2003-04 (38-43-81) and was one of the few Devils that showed any life in New Jersey's five-game playoff defeat to Philadelphia (3-2-5 in the series).

It was the time during the lockout that gave everyone a scare. While having a good season Mettalurg Magnitigorsk in Russia, Elias contracted Hepatitis A from food eaten in the country. The disease, chronicled largely in an NHL Network special that primarily focused on Elias' UNICEF ambassadorship, severely weakened the then 28-year old forward and kept him out of hockey for a while.

Elias didn't return to the game until January 3, 2006, with the Devils playing the Florida Panthers. Put on a line with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta (The "Egg" Line), Elias looked as if he hadn't missed a beat. He scored eight points in his first four games, 45 points in 38 games that season, and led the Devils to an unheard of 15-game winning streak, combining the last 11 games of the season and first four of the playoffs, to lead New Jersey to a shocking Atlantic Division title on the campaign's final night in Montreal.

Elias continued a torrid pace in the playoffs. He had two goals and four assists in Game 1 of the Devils series with the New York Rangers, and went on to score 16 points in nine games that post-season. It made people notice Elias as an elite forward in this league. It also certainly drew attention to the fact that his contract was up that summer.

There were a lot of fears in Devils-land the Patrik would sign with another team. The Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks were reported to have made serious offers. Though the real fear was that he'd sign with the Rangers. Elias alleviated those fears by agreeing to a 7-year, $42 million deal with the Devs the day after the UFA period began in 2006. He's worth every penny, and put up another 30-goal season just this past campaign. Elias will likely be a Devil for life, and hopefully never taken for granted again.

Brian Gionta Breaks the Devil Record For Goals in a Season, Devils Culminate 11-game Win Streak and Division Title With Shocking, Comeback Victory Over Montreal on the Season's Final Night (April 18, 2006)

Coupled with the 1999-00 season, the 2005-06 campaign has got to go down as one of the strangest of the decade. Head coach Larry Robinson said so himself. Robinson, re-hired by the Devils after it was announced that Pat Burns could no longer continue, had to step down after 32 games (14-13-5) when he told Lou Lamoriello at the team's annual Christmas party that the club was making him ill. Happy holidays, for sure.

More changes still were announced after a December 17, 2005 loss to Carolina. All three of the Devils major acquisitions over the off-season (Alexander Mogilny, Dan McGillis and Vladimir Malakhov) were either sent down to AHL Albany, or "retired" under mysterious circumstances. The Devils were, to put it lightly, kind of a mess. They were still figuring out how to make do with life minus Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko on the backline, so this was sort of the beginning of a "new generation" of Devils, if you will.

After Robinson quit at the halfway point, longtime GM Lou Lamoriello took over as coach. A week or so later, forward Patrik Elias returned from Hepatitis A, and the team caught fire. A nine-game winning streak to start the new year let everyone know that the Devils would not suffer in the post-lockout NHL. It was an 11-game winning streak to end the season, however, that made the Devils onto every hockey writer's shortlist for Stanley Cup contenders.

A young forward named Brian Gionta emerged as the team's top scorer that season with Elias out. A small winger, known mostly up to that point for his willingness to go to the front of the net and personal rivalry with gargantuan and polar opposite on the height scale Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, Gionta broke out in 2005-06, his style tailor made for the "New NHL". On March 28, 2006, he became the first Devil to hit 40 goals in a season since Elias and Mogilny in 2001. Going into the NHL and the Devils season's final night, he was tied with Pat Verbeek's all-time single-season goal scoring record of 46.

Now, the Devils were in Montreal that night, and could to the surprise of almost everyone, win the division title after struggling so much for the first half of the season. Everything worked out in their favor, as the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers both lost shortly before. Two points and the Devils get the division over the Flyers (who would have the same amount of points, 101) by virtue of having more wins, as well as #3 seed in the Eastern Conference. The only problem was... well, the Devils didn't show up for the first 40 minutes of that game. The Habs had a 3-0 lead on the Devils at home with three minutes to go in the second period, and only Brodeur keeping things from getting out of hand.

Then, with 2:42 to go, Gionta scored a goal that would personify the type of player he was. A Scott Gomez shot popped high off of Montreal goaltender Cristobal Huet. Gionta gloved the puck out of the air, down onto his stick, and put the puck home to break Verbeek's record, and give the Devils hope going into the third period. Of course, neither the Devils nor Gio were done yet.

Not much was going on early in the third, but nine minutes to go, the Habs took a penalty and the Devils went on the power play. Some slick passing and a Brian Rafalski shot gave Gionta another close-in rebound and a 48th goal that season, just for some distance. All that, and the Devils were within a shot of tying it. Three minutes later, Patrik Elias scored a georgeous goal off a pass from Gomez, who'd made a brilliant rush up the eyes, to tie the game with five minutes left.

With 2:30 to go, Habs forward Alex Kovalev took a shot that Marty Brodeur kicked away, right to a Devil defender, who passed it to Jamie Langenbrunner. He raced it in on a three-on-one against the Canadiens and Huet. Langenbrunner looked over the options, called his own number and ripped a shot by Huet to give the Devils a 4-3 lead. New Jersey hung on and won the division. It was one of the best regular season nights for Jersey's team I've ever seen, and it didn't even make the top 10 list. Ill be back on Monday with part one of that. Meanwhile, leave your own thoughts in the comments and your suggestions for my Top 10.

Bruins look flat as Gustavsson and Maple Leafs shutout B's 2-0

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:43:12 -0000

More photos » by CHRIS YOUNG - AP

1 day ago: Toronto Maple Leafs' Tomas Kaberle, right of Czech Republic, celebrates with teammates Colton Orr, left, and Mike Komosarek after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

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In his first game back from heart surgery, Toronto Maple Leafs rookie netminder Jonas Gustavsson turned aside 25 shots to record his first career shutout as the Leafs beat the B's 2-0. At the other end of the ice, Tuukka Rask (29 saves) looked sharp all night except for a soft goal by Tomas Kaberle in the second period, but couldn't get any help in the offensive zone tonight. The Bruins looked like a team that played back-to-back games as they were flat from the opening face-off and just could not seem to get anything going offensively.

The Maple Leafs got on the board first 2:24 into the second period when Tomas Kaberle put a shot on goal from the left circle. Tuukka Rask seemed to be in position to make the save, but somehow the puck trickled through his legs for the 1-0 Toronto lead.

Jason Blake made it 2-0 when he roofed a shot from the slot that got past a diving Adam McQuaid and goalie Tuukka Rask with 10:17 left in the third period.

Things got a little interesting with just under 7 minutes remaining when Johnny Boychuk lined up Matt Stajan for a BIG open ice hit. The Maple Leafs took exception to what looked like a clean hit and a 5 on 5 scrum ensued. No real punches were thrown and the Bruins ended up on the power play after Alexei Ponikarovsky was tagged with a roughing call for his actions during the altercation. Michael Ryder was whistled for a boarding call just a few minutes later and it looked as if a powder keg was about to erupt, but cooler heads (or a lack of emotion) prevailed.

Final - 12.19.2009	1	2	3	Total
Boston Bruins	0	0	0	0
Toronto Maple Leafs	0	1	1	2

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- I thought Johnny Boychuk's hit was clean. He only left his feet after the initial contact . Stajan got caught with his head down in the neutral zone and unfortunately in the path of a big kid who is trying to make an impression at the NHL level. You decide:

- Mike Komisarek always acts his toughest when he is being held back by two linesmen.

- Derek Morris missed the game with an undisclosed injury.

- When Andrew Ference is logging 28:22 of ice time, you know you have injury problems.

- Adam McQuaid was a -2 with 2 shots and 2 blocked shots. He got formally welcomed to the NHL when he was on the receiving end of a big hit by Colton Orr on his first NHL shift.

- Byron Bitz, was a -2 tonight and is -7 over his last 4 games.

- I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't tell you how Phil Kessel did: 21:48 TOI, 4 shots, 3 give-aways, 4 for 4 on face-offs, even.

- The Bruins need to put this game behind them and focus on Monday's game against the Senators in Ottawa.

- The only remedy for a loss like that is some good old fashioned Phil Kessel mockery: Phil Kessel is softer than an 85 year old man watching a Rosie O'Donnell nude scene. For more Kessel mockery follow me on Twitter (@cupofchowdah).

Bruins head North of the Border for Toronto Tilt

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:58:50 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

10 days ago: Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk, left, checks Toronto Maple Leafs center Phil Kessel, who played for the Bruins since 2006, during the first period of their NHL hockey game in Boston, Thursday Dec. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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The Bruins are in Toronto, where they will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. This is the B's first trip to YYZ this season, but the two teams have faced each other twice already in Boston with the Bruins outscoring the Leafs 12-4 in those two contests. Both teams were in action last night with the Bruins falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Blackhawks in Chicago and the Maple Leafs losing 5-2 to the Sabres in Buffalo.

Know Your Enemy

Toronto Maple Leafs (12-16-7; 5th in Northeast, 14th in Eastern Conference)

Head Coach: Ron Wilson (2nd season behind Toronto's Bench; 46-51-20 with TOR, 564-477-101-66 Lifetime)

SB Nation's Leafs Blog: Pension Plan Puppets

Leading Scorer:

Niklas Hagman

#9 / Left Wing / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 6-0

Weight: 205

Born: Dec 05, 1979

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Niklas Hagman	15	9	24	-2	19

Tonight's Probable Starting Goaltenders

Both teams played last night, so neither team is holding a morning skate today. If I had to guess I would say that both teams will sit the goalies that got the start last night (Tim Thomas and Vesa Toskala).

Tuukka Rask

#40 / Goalie / Boston Bruins

Height: 6-3

Weight: 169

Born: Mar 10, 1987

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Tuukka Rask	14	823	9	2		27	1.97	399	372	.932	1

Jonas Gustavsson

#50 / Goalie / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 6-3

Weight: 192

Born: Oct 24, 1984

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Jonas Gustavsson	17	848	6	5		44	3.11	446	402	.901	0

Injury Report:

Boston Bruins Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Dennis Wideman	undisclosed	12/19/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Milan Lucic	ankle	11/26/2009
Mark Stuart	sternum	12/15/2009

Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Van Ryn	knee	09/30/2009
John Mitchell	knee	11/24/2009
Carl Gunnarsson	elbow	12/01/2009

Projected Lines and D-Pairs:

Boston

Marco Sturm	Marc Savard	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler	David Krejci	Byron Bitz
Steve Begin	Vladimir Sobotka	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Andy Wozniewski	Andrew Ference
Matt Hunwick	Johnny Boychuk

Toronto

Alexei Ponikarovsky	Matt Stajan	Phil Kessel
Jason Blake	Mikhail Grabovski	Niklas Hagman
Nikolai Kulemin	Wayne Primeau	Lee Stempniak
Christian Hanson	Jamal Mayers	Tim Brent

Tomas Kaberle	Mike Komisarek
Francois Beauchemin	Jeff Finger
Ian White	Luke Schenn

Notes:

- Toronto goalie Jonas Gustavsson is expected to get his first start since undergoing heart surgery just 2 weeks ago.

- Leafs Broadcaster Joe Bowen talks about the food in the media room at the ACC, Phil Kessel's game, and the Leafs recent goaltending woes:

- The Leafs started the year losing their first 8 games (0-7-1) and didn't record their first win until October 26th when they beat Anaheim 6-3. Toronto has started to turn things around a bit lately, winning 6 of their last 10.

- This will be the third time the B's and Leafs have played this year. I think we can stop with the "Kessel-Mania" Roman numeral B.S.

- It's almost that time of year when the mercury starts to dip and so does Phil Kessel's production. Don't say I didn't warn you Leafs fans.

- If you are heading to the game in Toronto, be sure to stock up on some masking tape to alter that black & gold #81 jersey you have collecting dust in the closet like this gentleman.

- Game starts at 7:00 and can be seen on NESN, NHL Network, and Hockey Night in Canada. Public Skate open thread starts right here at 6:30.

- For more on the Leafs, check out Pension Plan Puppets

Today's Obligatory Embarrassing Leafs Fan YouTube Video

Haha, even though the Leafs are horrible they have Phil Kessel throwing shots on net to look forward to. Kesel can score 45 goals this year, but the Leafs still won't make the playoffs. Thanks for the draft picks.

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.

Blackhawks down Bruins 5-4 in shootout

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:36:56 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

2 days ago: Boston Bruins left wing Steve Begin, left, watches his shot on-goal get deflected by Chicago Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi during the first period of their NHL Hockey game Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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Patrick Kane scored the game-winner for the Chicago Blackhawks in the shootout on Friday night to beat the visiting Bruins 5-4. The B's tied up the game with 2:43 left in regulation on a goal from David Krejci, but the home team would ultimately prevail in the shootout.

David Krejci got the Bruins on the board 9:22 into the game, ending the Blackhawks' hopes of a third straight shutout. Krejci put a soft wrist shot on goal from the right half wall that Chicago goalie Antti Niemi deflected behind the net. Wheeler gained possession of the puck and found Krejci driving to the net in the slot for the game's first goal.

Andrew Ference handed Kris Versteeg a goal on silver platter when his unforced turnover gave Versteeg the puck right in front of the net. Versteeg was able to beat Tim Thomas to knot the score at 1-1 1:55 into the second period.

The Blackhawks made it 2-1 at 8:22 of the middle period on a goal from Patrick Sharp. Thomas got a piece of Brent Seabrook's shot but left the rebound out front and gift-wrapped for Sharp, who had an empty net to shoot at.

Daniel Paille evened the game up at 2-2 when he hammered home a shot from deep in the offensive zone at the right circle off a nice feed from Mark Recchi with 3:28 remaining in the second.

Chicago re-gained the lead just 3 minutes later when Troy Brouwer slid a nifty pass from the right wing boards to a wide open Jonathan Toews at the doorstep.

Johnny Boychuk tied the game at 3-3 with 14:00 left in the third period on a hard slapper.

The 'Hawks re-claimed their lead just 1:40 later when Andrew Ladd tipped in Brian Campbell's drive from the right point.

David Krejci got his second goal of the game when he put home a rebound in front with 2:43 left in regulation to tie the game at 4-4.

With the game tied after 60 minutes of hockey, the teams headed for overtime. The overtime session featured some frantic moments, good scoring opportunities, and scrum after the final whistle, but no goals.

Shootout

Patrice Bergeron skated inand Niemi kicked up his bid with a left pad save.

Jonathan Toews beat Thomas stick side. 1-0 Chicago

Blake Wheeler rang his shot off the post.

Patrick Kane beat Thomas with a nifty move and tucked the puck into the net through the 5 hole. 2-0 Chicago wins

Final - 12.18.2009	1	2	3	OT	SO	Total
Boston Bruins	1	1	2	0	0	4
Chicago Blackhawks	0	3	1	0	1	5

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- The Bruins were out-shot 44-29

- Tonight was probably Johnny Boychuk's best game in a Boston Bruins uniform. Boychuk finished the night a +3 with a goal in 30:07 of ice time and made plays at both ends of the ice.

- The 4th line of Shawn Thornton, Steve Begin, and Vladimir Sobotka looked very good tonight. They showed a lot of energy all game long and were constantly putting strong forechecking pressure on the Blackhawks' puck carriers.

- If you are going to loss in the shootout, you might as well do it against a Western Conference team.

- Byron Bitz was a -3 in just 12:29 of ice time.

- The Bruins will be back in action tomorrow night when they travel to Toronto to play the Leafs.

Bruins in Chi-Town to take on the Blackhawks

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Danny Moloshok - AP

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The Bruins are in Chicago to skate with the Blackhawks tonight at the United Center. The Bruins, who will be without the services of defensemen Mark Stuart (broken sternum) and Dennis Wideman (undisclosed injury), are looking to snap a 2 game skid. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks have registered back-to-back shutout wins.

Know Your Enemy

Chicago Blackhawks (21-8-3)

Head Coach: Joel Quenneville

SB Nation's Blackhawks Blog: Second City Hockey

Leading Scorer

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Patrick Kane	10	23	33	11	12

4 players with 9 goals (Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Kris Versteeg, & Duston Byfuglien)

Goaltending

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Cristobal Huet	25	1465	15	7		51	2.09	587	536	.913	2

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Antti Niemi	8	480	6	1		12	1.50	191	179	.937	3

Injury Report

Boston
Milan Lucic (Out; Ankle)
Mark Stuart (Out; Broken Sternum)
Dennis Wideman (Doubtful; Undisclosed)

Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Cam Barker	other-excused	12/17/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Dave Bolland	back	11/06/2009
Adam Burish	knee	09/22/2009

Projected Lines

Boston

Marco Sturm	Marc Savard	Michael Ryder
Daniel Paille	Patrice Bergeron	Mark Recchi
Blake Wheeler	David Krejci	Byron Bitz
Steve Begin	Vladimir Sobotka	Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara	Derek Morris
Andy Wozniewski	Andrew Ference
Matt Hunwick	Johnny Boychuk/ Adam McQuaid

Chicago

Patrick Sharp	Jonathan Toews	Marian Hossa
Dustin Byfuglien	Kris Versteeg	Patrick Kane
Andrew Ladd	John Madden	Troy Brouwer
Ben Eager	Colin Fraser	Tomas Kopecky

Duncan Keith	Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson	Brian Campbell
Cam Barker/Jordan Hendry	Brent Sopel

Notes:

- Chicago is 14-3-1 at home

- Chicago has allowed just 2.00 goals per game this season

- The top three teams in face-off percentage are also the top three teams in killing penalties and in my opinion that is not a coincidence (Boston, San Jose, & Chicago).

- If you are in Chicago and you are heading to the game, be sure to pick up a copy of "The Committed Indian" game day program and check out my Q&A with Sam Fels from "The Committed Indian" and Second City Hockey (which I also recommend checking out).

- Patrick Kane celebrated his 21st birthday by begrudgingly agreeing to appear at a charity event to restore his image and spending the night listening to a drunk Vince Vaughn tell him how money he is: (no cabbies were harmed in the making of this video)

- This is the first of a 3 game road trip for the B's who will make stops in Chicago, Toronto, and Ottawa in the next 4 days.

- Game starts at 8:30 and can be seen on NESN and NHL Network. Open thread starts at 8:00.

Today's Obligatory Embarrassing Blackhawks Fan YouTube Video (Language NSFW)

Fenway Park starting to look like a hockey rink

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:06:41 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

3 days ago: Workers continue to prepare the hockey rink on the infield at Fenway Park in Boston Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009 in advance of the Winter Classic NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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The ice is in place at Fenway Park and the Zambonis made their way to The Old Ballyard today in preparation for the NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day.

See the anti-climatic video of the Zambonis arriving below:

At least things went smoother than last year's Zamboni delivery at Wrigley Park:

A ceremonial first skate on the Fenway ice will take place Friday morning at 9:30. Bruins alumni including Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Cam Neely, Terry O'Reilly, Brad Park, Johnny "Pie" McKenzie, Don Sweeney and Milt Schmidt are scheduled to participate in the skate. Prior to the skate, there will be a caravan from TD Garden to Fenway Park to "represent the transition of Bruins hockey from the TD Garden to Fenway Park".

Avalanche Playing Well Despite Grueling Schedule

Joe Dunman — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:40:27 -0000

Last night's non-game notwithstanding, the Avalanche have done pretty well so far this season. Their 19-11-6 record is still sixth-best in the NHL. This is especially impressive considering the grueling nature of their early-season schedule.

So far, the Avs have played 36 games. That's the most in the league and five more games than five other teams have played so far (New Jersey, Chicago, Buffalo, St. Louis and Atlanta have played only 31). The Avs have played six more games on the road (21) than they've played at home (15). While there are thirteen other teams in the NHL that currently have a deficit of home games played to games played on the road, only the Islanders have had it worse than the Avalanche (13 home, 20 road).

Of the thirteen teams who have spent more time on the road than at home, only six are above the post-season cutoff lines in each conference. In the West, Colorado, Calgary, San Jose and Los Angeles are enduring their lop-sided schedules relatively well. In the East, only Boston and Atlanta have overcome the odds to hold playoff spots, and Atlanta's home deficit is just one game.

This season's schedule has also been extremely busy for the Avs. By December 16th last year, the Avs had only played 30 games. The year before, 32 games. Part of the compressed schedule can be attributed to the Olympic break, which comes in February. But even then, this season is significantly harder than past Olympic years. By December 16th of the 2005-06 season, the Avs had only played 31 games, sixteen of which were at home.

In fact, this is the most front-loaded schedule the Avalanche have ever endured since moving to Colorado in 1995-96. The closest they have come to 36 games by December 16th is the 1997-98 season (35), which was an Olympic year. Generally by this date the Avs have only played 30-32 games.

So, the Avs have managed a sixth-best record of 19-11-6 despite: 1) playing more games than any other team to this point in the season, 2) having the second-worst home game deficit, and 3) playing more games between the start of the season to this date than in any year previous, including Olympic years.

Not too shabby for a bunch of rookies and second-year whippersnappers.

Building Blocks: Flyers earn solid victory in Boston

Travis Hughes — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:57:23 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

Look at that face.

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[TSN Recap] - [Boxscore] - [Boston Reaction]

The Boston Bruins hadn't lost a game all season after scoring the first goal, the best mark in the NHL. The Philadelphia Flyers had a 2-11 record when allowing the first goal of the hockey game, the worst mark in the NHL. So you can imagine how fans of the orange and black felt when Vladimir Sobotka scored a lucky, ugly goal in the latter stages of the second period to break a scoreless dead lock.

Same old story, right? It didn't matter that the Flyers had worked hard all game, or that the offensive pressure was there, or that the defense had been quite solid throughout, or that Brian Boucher continued to play like it was Game 7 of the Finals. Nope, bad luck would bite them this time, and a cheap goal would lead this ill-fated team toward yet another loss.

That's what overreacting sounds like when, in the end, the opposite actually happens.

The Flyers didn't give up. When the third period started, they continued to apply the pressure, not giving up. Hard work by Claude Giroux forced a power play, which they were unable to capitalize on, but you could feel it coming. Boston couldn't get out of their end except for a few futile little rushes the other way, which were quickly stomped out by the Flyers defense. With Philly again pressing in the Bruins end, Arron Asham was able to feed James van Riemsdyk in the slot, where he poked the tying goal through the pads of Tim Thomas.

The Flyers didn't stop there, though, continuing to control the pace for the next eight minutes, until a drive from Kimmo Timonen at the point deflected off a Bruin and found its way behind the net. And just like that, Philadelphia had a third period lead. Hard work rewarded.

Scott Hartnell would take a dumb penalty in the waning minutes, but on the ensuing kill, Kimmo Timonen lifted a shot from the far corner all the way down the ice into an empty net to seal the victory. It doesn't get any easier tomorrow in Pittsburgh, but this was an excellent victory tonight. Baby steps. Building blocks.

After the jump, a few more thoughts on this solid Flyers victory, questions with answers, highlights & pressers, and the comment of the night.

Some assorted thoughts...

Ole-Kristian Tollefsen left the game after the first period with a knee injury. He's reportedly going to be out two to three weeks, and Danny Syvret is on his way to Pittsburgh to meet the team. He'll play tomorrow night.
Boston fans are livid about a few questionable calls in this one, proving that everybody -- not just a select few Flyers fans -- believes the NHL is out to get them. Here's a quote from the game thread at Stanley Cup of Chowder...

Stuff like that makes me wonder. With the Classic coming up and Philadelphia clearly not being up to snuff as a team, it’s a little convenient that a game would be called this bad, with much of it in their favor, in the last matchup before the big one.

...you can snuff out the absurdity there, I'm sure. The commenter is referring to a non-goal call in the first period. The Bruins crashed the net and the puck wound up in it. There was no review, justified by the officials because Boucher never had a chance to make a plau. Jack Edwards probably had a heart attack on NESN, and if we can get a clip of that, we'll pass it along.
The Flyers peppered the Bruins with 38 shots, a nice little picture of how much offensive pressure they created. Not all of them were quality, but still.
The power play still looks terrible, though. They're not generating any movement, not getting creative with passes, and opting to take only low-percentage shots through traffic. It has to change.
There was a reported brawl during the Mites on Ice game in the first intermission at TD Garden. And they say we like fighting in Philly. If we get video, we'll be sure to pass it along as well. If you have video, please shoot us an email ASAP, because this has to be hilarious.
JVR broke a 12-game goal-less drought.
Giroux and Hartnell showed a ton of chemistry, and Carcillo looked really strong on the top line. In fact, the entire team put in an excellent effort tonight. They truly earned this one.
Hartnell did take a ton of penalties, though, and you can be sure Peter Laviolette will make him pay in practice.

Questions With Answers

Tim Thomas hasn't won a game since the 2nd and hasn't been great this season. Can the Flyers take advantage? Thomas didn't look particularly weak tonight.
Claude Giroux has scored the Flyers' last three goals. CAN SOMEONE ELSE SCORE, PLEASE? Giroux played fantastic hockey again, but yes! JVR and Timonen had Flyer goals.
Can the Flyers get the first goal and gain some momentum early? No, but they certainly stole the momentum out of the gate in the third and rode it to victory.
Power play. Goals? Nah, don't ask too much, now...
How's Tollefsen look now that he's back in the lineup? Poor guy. Another injury. It's almost funny, in a sick sort of way.
Does Carcillo noticeably hold back at all, fresh off his four game suspension? He didn't take any dumb penalties and even drew one or two, but from an aggressiveness standpoint, he didn't seem to hold back. He put together a nice little game.

Comment of the Night

Everyone remember what clothes they have on RIGHT NOW so you can wear them again tomorrow…

>> NoalB

Highlights

Laviolette Press Conference

Boucher, JVR, & Timonen Post Game