Bruins get by Lightning 5-3

The Bruins beat the Lightning last night to extend their winning streak to 5 games, as they have won 14 of their last 16 games. They had a really good first period, ending it 3-0. Milan Lucic scored a power-play goal, his 7th goal of the season; Phil Kessel scored his 17th goal of the season; and Michael Ryder scored his 7th goal of the season. In the second period, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara scored his 5th goal of the season, a power-play goal to make it 4-1 Bruins. In the third period, the Lightning scored two goals to make it interesting as the Bruins from the second period on didn't play the same as in the first period. Seemed like they sat back a little expecting the Lightning to just give up. P.J. Axelsson closed out the game with an empty net goal, his first goal of the season.

Tim Thomas played in this one and made 26 saves on 29 shots against him. Thomas is now 11-3-3 with a 1.90 GAA and a 94% save percentage. Meanwhile Manny Fernandez is 8-1-1 with a 2.09 GAA and a 92.6% save percentage. Both goalies are playing great and the Bruins defense is playing good as well.

Is it me or does anyone else notice the huge amount of off-sides calls when Blake Wheeler is on the ice? Either when he has the puck or doesn't have it, he goes off-side or causes off-sides a lot. Hopefully he improves in that area. Although he is a surprise to be playing this well with 9 goals, 6 assists for 15 points, with a +15 rating, and he has the highest shooting percentage on the Bruins with a 23.1% percentage.

Bruins beat Sabres, play Panthers tonight

Wednesday night the Bruins were down 4-3 after the 1st period to the Sabres. But the 2nd and 3rd periods were owned by the Bruins outplaying the Sabres in every way just like their previous meeting. The Bruins won the game 7-4. Zdeno Chara and Chuck Kobasew each finished the game with 2 goals apiece (Chara now with 4 goals and Kobasew with 3 goals this season). Marc Savard finished the game with a goal (his 7th goal of the season) and 3 assists. David Krejci had a goal (his 4th goal of the season) and an assist. Marco Sturm didn't play because of an upper body injury, so Petteri Nokelainen played. Manny Fernandez started the game not to good, but got better as it went on. He made 25 saves on 29 shots, getting the win and is now 5-1-1 with a 2.55 GAA and a 91% save percentage.

And it's a joke not seeing Tim Thomas on the All-Star ballot, being 7-2 with a 1.78 GAA and a 94.4% save percentage, with 2 shutouts also.

The Bruins host the Florida Panthers tonight at 7pm EST. Expect Sturm to be out tonight and Nokelainen to play again. Saturday the Bruins play at Montreal which should be a good one. On Monday the Bruins are suppose to unveil their new Reebok third jersey. Read more about the new third jersey unveiling.

Lucic has career game vs Thrashers

Last night Milan Lucic had his best NHL career game scoring 3 goals (his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th goals of the season) and adding an assist for 4 points vs the Atlanta Thrashers. None were pretty goals but hard working goals via tips/deflections and rebounds. Lucic also had 4 hits last night which led the Bruins in that department. You can watch the Thrashers-Bruins game highlights video.

Manny Fernandez started vs the Thrashers and made 28 saves on 32 shots against. Fernandez and Thomas have similar numbers as Claude Julien rotates them to see who plays better. So far this season, in 4 games, Tim Thomas is 1-1, with a 2.65 GAA, and his save percentage is 91.9%. While also in 4 games so far this season, Manny Fernandez is 2-1, with a 2.96 GAA, and his save percentage is 89.2%.

Bruins blow lead to Leafs

Last  night the Bruins had a 2-0 lead against the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs but wound up losing the game 4-2. Patrice Bergeron scored his first goal and Blake Wheeler scored his second goal of the season in the first period. The Leafs tied the game in the second period and then went ahead in the third period. Tim Thomas started for the Bruins, made 33 saves on 36 shots against. Thomas has now started 4 games and is 1-2-2, with a 2.65 GAA, and 91.9% save percentage.

There were two big hits by the Bruins is this game that were noticeable. The first one was Dennis Wideman laying out a Maple Leaf when the Leaf tried cutting into the middle of the defensive zone. It looked like a classic Andrew Alberts or Kyle McLaren type of hit. The next hit was Milan Lucic slamming Leaf defenseman Mike Van Ryn threw the glass. Lucic finished the game with 4 hits, while Zdeno Chara led the team with 5 hits.

You can watch the Leafs-Bruins game highlights, which includes the two big hits.

The Bruins next game is on Saturday at 7pm EST vs the Atlanta Thrashers.

Bruins news this past week

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was named as a finalist for the Norris Trophy which is awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position." Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom and Flames' Dion Phaneuf were also named as finalists.

On Wednesday, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli signed goaltender Kevin Regan and center Levi Nelson to entry-level contracts.

Regan, "23-year old assistant captain and South Boston native finished the 2007-08 season as UNH's career leader with 70 wins, 3,235 saves and a .928 save percentage in 112 collegiate games. He is the only goaltender in UNH history to capture back-to-back 20-win campaigns." (Source)

Nelson "has played the last four seasons with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League, appearing in 198 games with 65 goals, 87 assists and 340 penalty minutes. During the 2007-08 regular season with Swift Current, Nelson notched 25 goals, 31 assists, a +23 plus/minus and 152 penalty minutes in 67 games. He has recently added seven goals and eight assists in 12 postseason games." (Source)

Phil Kessel, Tim Thomas, and Mark Stuart have been added to the roster of the U.S. Men's National Team that will compete at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

On Thursday, Chiarelli announced that forwards Vladimir Sobotka and Petteri Nokelainen have been assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL).

Big game for Bruins tonight

Thursday night the Bruins once again lost to the hated Montreal Canadiens and are still winless this season against the Canadiens. Later today the Bruins will play at Montreal (7pm EST) and try to win to make them closer to the playoffs. The Bruins (8 games remaining with 83 points) are fighting for one of the last two playoff spots with the Philadelphia Flyers (7 games remaining with 84 points), Washington Capitals (6 games remaining with 82 points), and Buffalo Sabres (7 games remaining with 81 points).

I think you may see Alex Auld start against the Canadiens later tonight. That wouldn't surprise me as Tim Thomas has not looked good recently. I haven't read anything yet on who would start though.

On Thursday, the Bruins sent defenseman Matt Lashoff back down to the Providence Bruins (AHL). Lashoff has played in 14 games this season for the Bruins, scoring 1 goal and recording 2 assists.

Vote for Bruins 7th Player Award

It's that time again Bruins fans, it's time to vote for your pick of who should win the Bruins 7th Player Award. You can vote on BostonBruins.com here. The top choices I think are: Milan Lucic, Chuck Kobasew, and Tim Thomas. My choice for the Bruins 7th Player Award is Milan Lucic. He has no doubt surprised everyone with how good he has played being a rookie at 19 years old and has passed everyone's expectations. So far this season Lucic has played in 57 games, has 7 goals (4 game winners) with 13 assists for 20 points. Lucic has 71 PIMs and a team leading 11 fighting majors.

Bruins beat Senators in nice win

The Bruins played great against the Ottawa Senators last night and got the 4-1 win. Tim Thomas really saved the Bruins with some spectacular saves and rookie Milan Lucic continues to show improvement with a goal, an assist, was +2, had 2 shots, and led the Bruins with 4 hits.

The Bruins better be ready for tomorrow night as they play the Detroit Red Wings.

Tim Thomas is named to the All-Star game

On Tuesday the NHL announced that Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

This marks Thomas' first appearance in the NHL All-Star Game. Thomas, 33, currently leads all NHL goaltenders with a .930 save percentage, a ranking he has held most of the season, and he is eighth overall in the league with a 2.30 goals against average. He has played in 31 of Boston's 47 games this season with a 15-11-3 record and one shutout in those contests.

Source. These stats were from before the game vs the Canadiens on Tuesday, so Thomas' numbers have definitely changed after that game.

Bruins trade for goalie Alex Auld

It seems that Tim Thomas may be more injured than what I thought. Last night it looked like he hurt his ankle or groin near the end of the third period, and Tuukka Rask had to come into the game. So the Bruins traded forward Nate DiCasmirro from the Providence Bruins and a 5th round draft choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft to the Phoenix Coyotes for goalie Alex Auld. I could only find news on this trade on the Coyotes site here. From the site:

GLENDALE, ARIZONA -- Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have acquired forward Nate DiCasmirro and a 5th round draft choice in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft from the Boston Bruins in exchange for goaltender Alex Auld.

DiCasmirro, 29, registered 2-3-5 and 12 penalty minutes (PIM) in 20 games this season for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL). DiCasmirro has recorded 57-105-162 in 358 career AHL games with Hamilton, Toronto, Edmonton, Grand Rapids and Providence. He also has 9-10-19 and 44 PIM in 57 career playoff games. The Atikokan, Ontario native set career-highs in points (52), assists (36) and PIM (97) as a member of Grand Rapids during the 2005-06 season.

Auld registered a 3-6-0 record with a 3.54 goals against average (GAA), .880 save percentage (SV%) and one shutout in nine games with the Coyotes this season, his first in Phoenix. He also collected a 1-1-0 record with a 2.53 GAA, .906 SV% and one shutout this season with Phoenix’s AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. For his career, Auld has collected a 49-50-2-11 record with a 2.94 GAA, .901 SV% and three shutouts in 117 NHL games with Vancouver, Florida and Phoenix.

Auld was considered to be a good prospect a few years ago but he hasn't shown much with his time in the NHL so far. For a team that is the third worse so far this season (looking at the team points in the standings, Coyotes have 24, and are only ahead of the Kings and Capitals), and they traded away a goalie can only tell you what they thought of Auld. I'm hoping Rask gets most of the starts while Thomas is out, if he is out for any amount of time, and Auld is just here to backup Rask. Or maybe Thomas is fine and the Bruins want to send Rask back down to Providence for him to play more, and have Auld backup Thomas. I guess we'll find out soon.

The Bruins play the Montreal Canadiens in Boston tonight. Should be a good one, against those pansies and divers.

Update at 6:00pm
I just noticed on the Bruins site they also mentioned the trade. Tim Thomas has a slight groin pull and will be out of the lineup until next week. Also goalie Manny Fernandez has been placed on long-term injured reserve and has been assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) for conditioning.

Bruins and Chara beat up Blackhawks

Last night the Bruins got another win at home. This time beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. Phil Kessel and Tim Thomas had big games. Kessel scored two goals, and now has 5 goals for the season and is leading the Bruins in goals. Thomas made 26 saves on 27 shots against. Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara also had a good game, he played physical and he had a good fight against Blackhawks' enforcer David Koci. Koci had an injury to his nose from a fight against Maple Leafs' Wade Belak, but now his nose is really messed up as Chara bloodied him badly. After the fight Koci's face looked to be covered with blood, as did the ice surface where they fought. Watch the fight below.

Zdeno Chara bloodies David Koci

After the game Chara didn't say much about the fight. From BostonHerald.com, Chara said:

"It was just part of the game. It's something that... it's part of the game. He was doing his job, going hard at the net. I was doing my job, protecting the crease and the goalie. Things like that happen."

Aaron Ward also had some comments about the Chara fight (source):

"You know what? I'm really excited for him. I was here for seven weeks last year and I know the pressure he is under to perform, and that includes being a presence on the ice. It's tough to get a dance partner out there. When you get an opportunity like that, it's very apparent that he plays that role. That's months, if not a year or more, of tension and frustration there. Unfortunately that young man bore the brunt of the emotion Z had pent up there. That's the first time I've actually clapped on the ice. I had lost my stick when we all paired off. The fight got done, and I looked up and I clapped."

Some news on Milan Lucic, it looks like he may be getting tired. Remember he was playing even before the pre-season and before rookie camp. A part from the same article (link above):

"Lucic said his confidence has been growing game by game, although he admitted he is feeling fatigue after a very busy few months.

"Fatigue is starting to kick in," he said. "I've been going at it for a few months already. But that's just something you've got to battle through. I'm just going to sure I get rest and I'm prepared to go when it's time to go."

Don't be surprised if Lucic is scratched in one of the upcoming games to give him a rest and maybe Jeremy Reich or Brandon Bochenski will get to play their first game of the season. The Bruins play the Philadelphia Flyers on tomorrow at 4pm. Expect a physical game between these two teams. I'm expecting a Shawn Thornton vs Riley Cote match-up. Maybe even a Milan Lucic vs Ben Eager match-up.

Savard is out tonight vs Ducks

Bruins' center Marc Savard will not play tonight against the Anaheim Ducks as he has a groin strain. Also Tim Thomas will be starting in goal for the Bruins tonight. Tonight will be a good matchup for the Bruins to see how they play against last season's champions, although the Ducks are missing quite a few players from last season.

Bruins trade for Manny Fernandez

On ESPN.com, they are reporting that the Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild have worked out a trade to send goalie Manny Fernandez to the Bruins for prospect forward Petr Kalus. Fernandez will make $4.33 million next season. Last season Kalus played in 9 games and scored 4 goals. So look for the Bruins to now trade one of their goalies, either Tim Thomas or Hannu Toivonen. I personally don't like giving up Kalus for Fernandez. I thought Kalus played well in those 9 games and showed something. Fernandez is 32 years old, and injured his left knee last season. The most games that he has played in, during one season, is 58 games in 2005-06 when he had 30 wins. Fernandez played in a defensive system for Minnesota which I think helped him get those wins and good GAA. If the Bruins play a good defensive game, then Fernandez should be ok, but I'm worried about this deal. Watch for Kalus to be a good player for the Wild.

Tim Thomas wins 7th player award

On Thursday Bruins goalie Tim Thomas was awarded the 7th Player Award. This was the second year in a row that Thomas has won the award. I personally thought that rookie Phil Kessel would win, he was my vote. But you can't go wrong with Thomas and the way he has played for most of the season, although he didn't play well against the Penguins on Thursday and the Bruins lossed 4-2. With the loss, the Bruins have officially been eliminated from the NHL playoffs this year.

Note: defenseman Mark Stuart was sent back down to Providence.

Dave Lewis' job may not be safe, as I heard during the Flyers-Devils intermission on the Devils telecast, a commentator named Stan (I think it's Stan, sorry I forget his name) said that Dave Lewis is in trouble in Boston and GM Peter Chiarelli may not bring him back next season. I personally have not liked Lewis' coaching style and of course the results. Who would the Bruins bring in to be the next coach? It seems that the Bruins are changing coaches almost every year. I think it would be a dream to say Ray Bourque, Cam Neely, or Terry O'Reilly will be the next Bruins coach, but I like the idea of any of those guys being the next coach. We'll wait and see what happens when the season is over.

On Saturday the Bruins will see MA-born Keith Tkachuk and the Atlanta Thrashers at 1pm. Tkachuk will be a free agent after this season I believe and I wouldn't mind seeing him in a Bruins' uniform next season. Chiarelli has said that he will be going after a second-tier free agent, but I put Tkachuk as a top-tier free agent. Hopefully though Chiarelli goes after Tkachuk in the offseason.