As most of you know the Bruins won their 10th straight game last night when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout at the First Niagara Center. Since losing a home and home to the dreaded Montreal Canadiens leaving them in last place in the Eastern Conference at 3-7 the Spoked B’s have reeled off 10 straight wins and catapulted themselves into 3rd place in the East and 1st in the Northeast division. That makes a perfect 10-0 month of November with the always-formidable Detriot Red Wings coming to town tomorrow. Yet of all the wins during the streak the effort put forth last night was the most impressive one during the streak from this bloggers perspective. The reason being that there was more at stake in this rematch than the 2 points.
If you’ve had your TV on NESN at some point in the past two weeks then you’re aware that the last time these two teams crossed paths, it was 5 games ago when the Bruins won their fifth straight beating the Sabres 6-2 in case you weren’t paying attention, Sabres all-world G Ryan Miller and LW Milan Lucic had a nasty collision. The open ice collision led to a minor penalty for Lucic and a trip to the ‘dark room’ and subsequent concussion for Miller. Miller, coach Lindy Ruff, and his fellow Sabres then took on a media crusade calling the collision ‘gutless’ and Lucic ‘a piece of shit’ for having 50 pounds on Miller and ‘running him like that’. Lucic and the Bruins decided not to fight their battles through the media and even though I’m biased as a Bruins fan I think this was the right path to take. Don’t try to win your battles through the media it’s not the way sports are played, especially not the great game of hockey, and wouldn’t you know the Sabres finally got the message and last night old time hockey lived again.
No matter what side of the debate you lay your allegiances one thing is clear: the Sabres didn’t do anything in that November 12th matchup to stand up for their star goalie. After Miller got ‘run’ by Lucic and was forced out of the game after the 2nd period with that concussion the Sabres didn’t touch Lucic outside of a few shoves and pushes but the gloves weren’t dropped and Lucic wasn’t challenged. After complaining through the media after the NHL didn’t discipline Lucic the Sabres finally realized that the best course of action was to appease the hockey Gods and drop the gloves with Lucic. On Lucic’s first shift on the ice last night resident goon Paul Gaustad followed him to the faceoff dot and immediately challenged him to the much-anticipated showdown. Like a man Lucic accepted the fight and decided to take it one step further by landing a few good rights on Gaustad while only taking a hit or two and winning the decision by an unanimous vote.
This is the way is supposed to be played. If the opposing team goes after or knocks down your star player whether he’s a defenseman, forward, or goalie you show that you aren’t going to stand for that and send out your goon to get the point across. The Sabres failed to do that the first time around but they got it right this time around and I give them credit for that. The energy that standing up for your star players injects into the team and the building is palpable and that’s why I give the Bruins credit for rising to the challenge and withstanding the momentum gained by Buffalo after the opening fight and coming away with a hard fought 2 points. The Sabres jumped out to a 2-0 lead that the Bruins shaved to 2-1 only to see the Sabres open it back up to 3-1 yet the B’s stood tall and worked it back to a 3-3 tie that would be settled in a shootout. A shootout ended in the Bruins favor by a Benoit Pouliot roofed wrister.
It was a good game by all parties involved and another example of how well the hometown Bruins are clicking right now. During their winning streak they’ve won games all different kinds of ways whether it’s by jumping out early or coming back late, winning with offense (they scored 30 goals in one five game stretch) or winning with defense (1-0 defeat of the Canadiens at the Bell Centre). Whatever it takes to win the Bruins have been done it in the past month. Tyler Seguin becoming a bona fide superstar right in front of our very eyes doesn’t hurt either. I’m now a full believer in the Stanley Cup hangover after watching the Bruins sluggishly drag through October only to pick it up like a juggernaut in November. That’s all for now Bruins fans don’t forget to tune in tomorrow at 1:00 pm on NBC to see if the Bruins can extend their hot streak to 11 straight against the Detroit Red Wings. To you and yours Happy Thanksgiving!
Geoff Jablonski
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