I’m Thankful for the Boston Bruins 10 game-winning streak and Milan Lucic winning the decision over Paul Gaustad

As most of you know the Bruins won their 10^th 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 3^rd place in the East and 1^st 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 12^th matchup to stand up for their star goalie. After Miller got ‘run’ by Lucic and was forced out of the game after the 2^nd 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

Bruins Struggle to Light the Lamp Through 8 Games

After the first two and half weeks of the 2011-12 season the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins are 4^th in the Northeast division and 12^th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 3-5-0 (6 pts). The problem with the Bruins through the first 8 games of the season is obvious: the offense hasn’t shown up on a consistent basis. The lack of potted goals can be attributed to a few factors namely a poor power play unit for the second straight year, an early ‘lower body’ injury to offensive magician David Krejci, and basically zero production from the 4^th line that last year in the playoffs stepped up huge and produced on the offensive and defensive ends.  Probably the only thing keeping the Bruins out of the NHL offensive basement is the play of budding superstar C/RW Tyler Seguin (we’ll get back to him shortly).

The Bruins team offensive stat line currently sits at 2.3 goals per game, 12.5% on the power play, and a collective -6. Out of the 30 team NHL the Bruins rank 21^st in GPG and 22^nd in PP% - not good nor championship worthy. The Bruins have had their opportunities on the power play racking up almost 30 attempts thru 8 games the problem is that they just can’t execute with only 4 power play tallies and even that stat is skewed by 2 power play goals in the 1^st period against the Maple Leafs last week. A healthy Krejci on the man advantage should help the Bruins efficiency go up but as an entire unit everyone needs to step up get pucks on the net and scrap for rebounds. The main thing missing from the Bruins power play unit is someone with the ability to cycle the puck from behind the net a la Joe Thornton or, for fans of the greatest to ever play, Wayne ‘The Great One’ Gretzky. I think that Seguin can be that guy but he’s only 19 and not quite ready to carry the team in all facets of the game yet. Until then the unit will continue to struggle unless Krejci channels the David Krejci who looked like one of the best players in the world during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver playing for the Czech Republic. As a Bruins fan I hope/think that Krejci will get healthy and help breathe life into the Bruins zombie-esque power play unit.

Speaking of Tyler Seguin he appears to have taken a HUGE leap forward in his 2^nd full season with the Bruins after being the 2^nd overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. Last year Seguin got last in coach Claude Julien’s defensive minded system and only posted 22 points (11 G, 11 A) in 74 games. After showing commitment to the defensive end of the ice towards the end of last year and thru the playoffs Julien has taken off the reins and let Seguin’s offensive prowess show through. As evident by his play as a spark plug against the Lightning in the Conference Finals last year Seguin has the ability to be a primetime C for years to come. This year he’s leading the Bruins in goals (3), assists (6), points (9), and plus/minus (+7). That +7 is good for #1 in the NHL as well. He’s also second on the team with 27 shots on net 1 behind Patrice Bergeron’s 28. The best part is that again he’s only 19 and is going to continue his ascend to the top of the NHL’s talent mountain. He’s done all he can to put points on the board for the Bruins the only problem is he’s been alone for most of the year.

Now that I’ve gushed for a solid paragraph about Seguin let’s talk about the lack of presence from the 4^th, grinder line of Shawn Thornton-Gregory Campbell-Daniel Paille. The grinder line isn’t meant to put up a ton of points but they are supposed to play the other teams top line even and wear down the other team thru tough shifts helping to set up the scoring lines. This line last year was key throughout the Bruins run to the Cup. Thornton and Campbell specifically were instrumental in shutting down the other teams top line and even bringing some offense to the table helping set up the whole rest of the team. Again any offensive production from the 4^th line is gravy but the plus/minus rating of the 4^th line tends to tell the story of how they’re doing and this units combine plus/minus is -10. That’s all you need to know. The three have combined to score 1 goal (Paille), record 0 assists, and only take 24 shots. They aren’t shutting down the other teams top lines nor are they bringing any offense to the rink. I’ll take one or the other really and in my opinion that’ll partially help jumpstart the Bruins stagnant, dormant offense.

Another thing that the Bruins appear to lack on offense outside of Krejci and Seguin is creativity. The Black and Gold as a whole are more straight line and stone handed (Milan Lucic) than offensive wizard. None of the lines can create a goal from nothing for the most part though Nathan Horton possess the ability to score at will he just has to channel his inner 40 goal scorer. A little bit of creativity will go a long way in helping the Bruins solve their offensive woes.

So what do we have for solutions to the Bruins offensive struggles going forward? David Krejci getting healthy, the power play getting pucks on the net and cycling, the 4^th line getting back to doing what they did last year, and a little bit more zest and creativity in the offensive zone. If the Spoked B can follow my simple recipe for offensive success I think you’re looking at a team worthy of getting back to the Conference Finals with their already airtight defense and goaltending. A little bit of offense will go a long way for this group of B’s on Causeway.

Geoff Jablonski