R2 G1 in photos

Photos © Reuter's.

Bs v Hawks: The good, the bad, the ugly

I save the best for last, so we'll start with:

The Ugly

:28 into the game, Marc Savard took an awkward hit, tweaking his knee, went down and didn't return. Word from Julien is he'll be having an MRI today. This is so very not good. 3rd key player to go down in 3 games. Are the Bruins jinxed? If anyone knows a good protection charm to put on the remaining players, now might be the time to get that done.

The Bad
Obviously #1 here is the 5-2 loss. But let's be a little realistic. This is a Franken-Bruin team against the top team in the league. That they scored 2 goals was a blessing if we're going to be honest about things. #2 is that Tim Thomas was pulled after the 4th goal, a 65' wrister of Duncan Keith's that rang in and down off the crossbar. My first thought after that goals was, better pull Tim, and sure enough Coach did. Whether it was a mercy pulling, or a sending-a-message pulling, I don't know. But Tuukka managed to keep the Hawks to only one goal in the remaining period in a half. Sometimes I wonder if Timmy has a Vezina hangover. Sidenote: my 5 year old niece thinks it's cheating by catching the puck. Oh I have much to teach her. Morning lessons in goal-tending commencing in 3.... 2.... 1.

The Good
My favourite part.  Where to start. Let's start with what we all know is my favourite: The return of Milan Lucic.

Now, listen. You can't expect a guy to miss 18 games in a row, who has played a total of 10 (now 11) games this season, and jump back on the ice his first game and kick ass. Yeah, he was rusty. Yeah his hands looked a little heavy. Yeah he wasn't quite back in the groove. But the point is, he's back in the lineup, and with Mark Stuart and Andrew Ference out, despite not being a defenceman, Looch's presence is needed, desperately. No one's afraid of Adam McQuaid or Johnny Boychuk. For what it's worth, Looch had 16:23 of ice time, 5 hits, and was a -2. Considering how the game ended, that's a successful return.

Good #2: Satan scored his first goal as a Bruin, and his first goal in 6+ months. Am I the only one who finds hilarious irony in the word "Satan" being above the #81? No? Good.

Good #2a: Blake Wheeler once again had a multi-goal game, scoring off of Johnny Boychuck's rebound, and figuring in on Satan's goal. If it's not Wheels with the multi-goal games, it's Krejci or Boychuk. I'm liking this new trend. Welcome to the new guard.

Good #3: Johnny Boychuk's first NHL fight, vs Hawks tough guy Colin Fraser. A continuation of Derek Morris' first-period fight with Fraser. JB, however, got the point across a little better than did DeMo.

I'm really starting to love JB. If he's not breaking glass with his slapshots, he's breaking faces with his fists, or sending crisp passes up ice. This guy's a keeper, and giving how our D is dropping like flies (dear God, please don't let Chara or Wideman go down, please please please), he should figure to be in the lineup for a while still. Here's hoping Julien keeps him even once Ference and Stuart are healthy.

Don't forget the Frozen Fenway tonight, the marquis game being the Battle of Comm Ave with puck drop at 7:30 pm. That should be a great atmosphere. It should be around 18°F with snow at when the Eagles and Terriers take the ice. They're college kids, they can take it! Go Eagles!

Up next for the Bruins are the witless/winless Rangers. Unless you count that last time they played the Bruins. I mean for God's sake, the THRASHERS beat them last night. If the Bruins can get their game a little back on track, and re-group with Savvy out (or, miracle of miracles, with Savvy back on the ice having nothing more than a teeny tiny minor tweak), there's no reason this team can't be beat. I mean it's the fucking Rangers, c'mon.

It's the little things that bring me joy

With about 1:49 remaining in the 2nd, and :16 in Toronto's power play, the puck in their defencive zone, Phil Kessel has the puck against the boards. Marc Savard skates all the way across the sheet to throw himself at Kessel, then turns and skitters away to the bench for the change. Kessel turns around, ignoring the puck and the play, and starts chirping Savard. Hey listen, you little snot-nosed punk. You chose to leave. And the boys announced they were going to make your life hell every time you came back. You think because he centred you for 2 years, Savvy's gonna take it easy on you? Grow up. Count your stars that Looch is out right now or you'd be Van Ryn revisited.

Marc Savard, you are totally my hero. I hope you were chirping Kessel while throwing yourself at him. Also I love that Savard doesn't hit, he throws himself at people. Not unlike how he throws himself at the glass after a goal.
 
Big things make me happy too, and let me just say, that robohip David Krejci got during the off-season is really working out for him. Someone put him in an All-Star game. The kid is FAST. He spun Schenn around to leave him on his knees, outskated Kaberle without even trying, and gave every Bruins fan in the world a taste of the skill and talent that's bubbling just below his calm, shy surface. That goal was a thing of beauty and set my heart aflutter. Oh the dekes! Oh the fakes! Oh the wicked forehand he just snapped past Toskala. Was that 7-hole? I think it was!

Toskala is rather askew.

Goal love! Toskala quenching thirst.

And hey, listen, Jamal Mayers? Mark Stuart is going to hand you your ass every time. Just let it go. But thanks for the entertainment!

THAT is how you throw a punch.

Phil Kessel is going to be chirped, booed, and serenaded every time he sets foot in the Garden for the rest of his life. And I could not be happier for that. KesselMania? I think not. KesselFail more like.

I can't wait til Looch is back on the ice and raring to go against Komisarek. Looks like Toronto is suddenly as big an rival as Montreal, if not moreso. When do these two teams play again?!

Psst: It's behind you.

Also, for your pleasure and information, Don Cherry will be manning the NESN desk with Kathryn Tappen and Mike Milbury on 12/30, for the pre-game analysis, and for the 1st intermission, which will be a Bruins-centric Coaches Corner. I can't fucking WAIT. I hope Tappen does as she says she will and just sits back and shuts the fuck up because there is not a THING she can contribute while sitting next to those two great hockey minds. Set your Tivos. 12/30, BOS v ATL. There might be a shoe-beating, who's to say?

Note to self: Save cocky blog posts for after the game, because the opponent will sense said cockiness and set out to shove my foot into my mouth. But thanks to the B's for stepping it up and getting it done. Nice try, Leafs.

Lastly, with tonight's win, Tuukka Rask is 9-2-2 on the season, the best start for a B's goaltender since '73-'74.  God I love Finn goalies.

PS: Yahoo!FAIL:

Um.... pretty sure the only thing Milan Lucic was playing tonight was Brickbreaker on his Blackberry during TV timeouts. Good job using the team's media darling to bring in more clicks, though. Sneaky bastards.

PPS: With Ray Emery on the shelf for 6 weeks with a bruised ego, am I the only one waiting to see how long it takes for Philly to trade for Ty Conklin? It's just not outdoor NHL hockey if Conklin's not playing, and hello - opportunity is knocking!

Phil who?

Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out.

Welcome back, to that same old place that you laughed about.

Well the names have all changed since you hung around,

But those dreams have remained and they're turned around.

Yeah we tease you a lot cause we've got you on the spot, welcome back.

Kessel: Oh hey Marco, great to see you buddy!

           Good luck tonight, haha, you'll need it.

   Sturm:  Bereiten sie zu sterben.                          
(Prepare to die)                       

 

7 + 28.05 + 200 = EPIC WIN

Marc Savard just scored his 200th NHL goal on the eve of re-upping with the B's for 7 years at 28.05m, taking less money than he'd been getting in his current contract, and this is the single most amazing quote I've heard about the re-signing, and I really have to share with my 11 followers:

Savard freely admitted to the media at Wednesday morning’s press briefing he could have entertained more lucrative contract offers had he hit the open market following this season. Toronto, for certain, would have been more than willing to show Savard the money and reunite him with wayward winger Phil Kessel.

But it was an option that the 32-year-old center gave exactly zero thought to while pledging allegiance to the Spoked B – an action that’s effectively thrown down the gauntlet for the rest of the team going forward.

You can read the rest of the article here. But reading between the lines? TAKE THAT, PHIL KESSEL!

Savvy Signs for Seven

I'm kind of in the middle of a move so this'll be short and sweet (just like Savvy himself!). Marc Savard signed a contract extension today with the Bruins for 7 years, $28.5m. What does that say? It says that, just like Krejci, and unlike the winger who fled to Toronto, guys who want to play here, who want to stay in Boston, and stay Bruins, are willing to take less money to get it down. Because let's be honest. Anything over a mill is really just gravy.

Love you Sav! Thanks for staying a Bruin!

The greatest things are on Flickr

Oh Milan Lucic. How awesomely geeky are you?  Thanks to Artimus Duck on flickr for this one:

This could have only been greater if Luke Schenn were in between Darth Vader and Chewie.

Marc Savard being interviewed by Cabbie in a bedazzled Ed Hardy shirt. This is pure gold, people. This photo could only be better if Sav had on leather pants and a sequined hat. Never change, Savvy. We love you just the way you are!

Most amazing thing I've ever seen

Many years ago, I used to watch Dainius Zubrus try to perfect deflecting the puck into the goal with his ass. Then I actually saw him use it in a game, and I was blown away.

Last night I saw something that beats that, hands down.

Milan Lucic deflected the GWG into the net with his crotch. Now there's a SLIM possibility it grazed his hip on the way in but I am prrrrrrrrrrrretty sure it grazed his jock and changed direction.

That, my friends, is talent.

Here is where I would generally bemoan that coach didn't start out Looch, Savvy and Bitzy together, but that's okay because I'm pretty sure Julien was playing Yahtzee with his lines, because there were multiple times where there were 4 forwards out for extended periods of times, so, whatever. WIN!

Leafs sorta win
OK, they lost in OT. To the Islanders. But here's the important thing. JOHN TAVARES HAD ONE SHOT ON GOAL AND THAT WAS IT. No other stats. I have this kid on my fantasy team and elected to play Krejci and Bergeron, and bench Tavares. Good call since Bergie put up four (4) assists in the game, and Krejc at least had a few more SOG. There was even a point where, and I don't know the LeafsTV announcers well enough, this was said "And Luke Schenn will really speed out of the zone." It warmed the cockles. Luke and the word speed in the same sentence without the use of "needs."

I'll also admit I wasn't watching the Leafs game except following it on NHL.com, but a point is a point, even if it came out of a crushing defeat where the boys came back from 3-0 and never stopped fighting. Who here saw the movie Summer School?  That's where I learned that you don't have to do perfect in order to be good. You just have to keep learning, and keep improving. Sure, they lost. But they played hard, their game has improved, and listen people, Rome wasn't built in a day. That light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little bigger after each game. Um. I'm going to put my pom poms away now.

But seriously, folks. Looch scored with his jock. Epic. I'll find photos. Or rip down the goal and post it on the YouTubes. You gotta see it.

Savvy Returns! I'm still adjusting to the Leafs' win...

Per Boston.com, not only will Marc Savard be making his triumphant return to the lineup tonight against the Blues, but Byron Bitz will also be making the shift to the top line, playing with Savvy and Milan Lucic.

God this sounds so familiar... where have I heard this before?

Seriously. This never gets old.

This is also a pretty great quote from the article, if you didn't bother clicking the link:

In the minutes leading up to practice, the players didn’t know what their assignments would be as they sat at their lockers, the suspense ending when one of the trainers finally handed out the color-coded sweaters, with Sturm, Savard, and Bitz all handed first-line whites.

"Yeah, Claude took his time deciding," said Savard, not noting that Julien actually sought his input in the decision. "And when the boys saw Bitzy got a white jersey, a little roar went up in the room. Hey, that’s nice, he deserves it."

 Aww. And props to Sav for nudging coach in the direction of moving Bitzy up. This should be a great game.

The Leafs beat the 1st place Capitals
Listen, this game was 10 kinds of awesome for a lot of reasons for me. I'm unfortunate enough to live in the DC area, so HNIC was actually blacked out for my viewing displeasure. I was about 15 kinds of pissed off. I hate the Caps. And while their broadcasters are quite entertaining (I love that Locker referred to Kessel as "Phil the Thrill" about 27 times), I hate the Caps.

Mid-way through the first, I was a bit surprised to realise it was so quiet in the ACC that it rivaled Philips Arena in Atlanta for silence. Then I further realised, most everyone in the stands was probably doing the same thing I was - holding their collective breaths in fear of breaking the spell that seemed to have captivated the Leafs, and returned skill to their game.

Now I feel it's my duty to add at this point that earlier in the day on Saturday, I'd given myself a Leafs manicure - blue nails with white tips. My manicures are magic. And the Leafs won. Clearly it's all about me. And my nails.

Additionally, I enjoyed the HELL out of the rally helmets for the shootout. I don't know for certain if he was the first to start the tradition, but as far as I know Marc Savard got the rally helmet tradition started in Atlanta in .... 2006?

 
I loved seeing it in the ACC.

Win. Epic, epic win. Let's see if the boys can do it again tonight against Johnny Tavares and his Islanders. It's for sure a media circus in the GTA today.

In totally unrelated news, I'm 204 unique views away from 25,000 visitors. It took about three years to get there, but I want to thank everyone who's visited over the past three years. Including those who found me searching for "does Mike Komisarek have a girlfriend?," "why the fuck isn't versus on my directv?," "new fire wagon designs," "luke schenn shirts," and "hockey cliches." I've gotten hits from all over the world - India, China, Australia, Finland, Canada, South Africa, England, Russia. I've gotten visits from US Federal and State, and Canadian government employees, from players, from Google alerts, and myriad other people, places and things. Thanks you guys. Sincerely. You fucking rock my world. GLOVE BUMP!

PTHI: Lucic en-route to ATL, Savard sitting, Bruins trade update

Title says it all, really. Milan Lucic will be in the ATL for tonight's game, hopefully playing. Game time decision yet again, so change your bets accordingly, ladies and gentlemen. Savard will not be playing tonight, again, adjust your bets. Holla to my Thrashers friends I quickly notified about Looch missing the game, please adjust your hopes accordingly. Juuuuuuuust in case.

I like to think my use of the Serbian in my prior post really helped him feel better (SHUT UP! I'M NOT DELUSIONAL, OK? I LIKE PRETEND.).

And since I'm posting and don't really want to post bomb you like I have been the past few days... More word on the street from Boston.

Summary: Chiarelli won't be making any trades until Lucic and Savard are back.
Translation: If you guys don't step it the fuck by the time those two return, you're ALL on the block. Give your heads a shake and get yo' shit TOGETHER  (in my head, Chiarelli's gangsta).
Solution: (Per me) Try putting Wideman with one of the stay-at-home defenceman tonight, and not with guys who're going to beat him up to the play. Think it through.

But ooooh, trade threats. Scary.

Here's to hoping Looch'll be on the ice shoving guys over the boards by their asses tonight.

Supporting Schenn | Tonight is what Tivo is for

There's a super nice (SHOCKINGLY) article on Luke Schenn in this morning's Star. Someone in Toronto make a sign and take it to the ACC tonight for warmups, and hold it right behind Ron Wilson's head. It should say "YOU NEVER BENCHED WITTER!" Also potentially appropriate, "CAN'T FIRE WILSON CAUSE YOU HIRED HIM FOR TEAM USA? GO CANADA!" I'm just saying.

Get those little digs in where you can, Torontonians, because Wilson sucks as a coach. Can he just get the sack and Burkie ring up Tim Armstrong and have him come take this dude's place?  If CR belongs behind any bench, it's with a big fat ASSISTANT before the word coach. I can't figure out where the hell Army went after the Capitals switched affiliations from Portland to Hershey, but if anyone can lead the Leafs out of the valley and closer to the mountaintop, it's this guy. The first year he coached in Portland, the Pirates went from 12th in the conference with 80 points, to 1st in the conference with 114. I can't remember subsequent seasons, or find ANY information on him on the internets - TIM ARMSTRONG WHERE ARE YOU? Because I sense another Bruce Boudreau situation waiting to happen should Timmy get the call. Make it happen Burkie. The world will forgive you even though you hired Wilson to coach Team USA. But let's be honest, Team USA ain't winning gold anyway. It'll be Canada and Sweden in the final, mark my words.

Sorry, I digressed. We were talking about Luke. Don't bench him. That's the bottom line. He's a fragile little bunny right now, trying to find his confidence and his game again. You really think benching him will give him "the ability to watch the game from up high" and let him lick his wounds? WRONG. That's what IR is for. You just don't do that to a potential franchise defenceman. Case in point: Steve Eminger. Go look him up. He was supposed to be one of the Caps' franchise defencemen and then bounced all over the place after Wilson fucked him up too.

I can go on about this all day, can't I? Here's Luke looking pretty cause all the ladies in the place, I'm callin' out to ya'!

Anyway, tonight is the kind of night Tivo was made for. The Leafs are taking on the WORST team in the league (ha ha Carolina, HA HA!), and the Bruins are down in Atlanta taking on the 4-win-streak-having Thrashers. Plus Lucic and Savard are rumoured to be game-time decisions. With Savard being higher in the "rumour" category than the "reality" category, but no one be surprised if Savvy takes to the ice for warm ups, cause that is just the kind of guy he is. Wysh, over at Puck Daddy, wrote a pretty interesting article about the return of the Lord and his protector. Give him a read. Just skip the parts where he quotes Kathryn Tappen.

So here's what I'm thinking, if you're a betting kind of fan. Keep Schenn in uniform and let him build some confidence against a shit team. I put the line on this game at 4, and I suggest you take the over. Bruins in Atlanta, with a returned Lucic, and possibly Savard taking the warm-ups, this'll have a HUGE psychological impact on the B's so I'm setting the line at 6, and definitely take the under.

THANK YOU TIVO, FOR BEING INVENTED, SO I CAN WATCH ALL THE GAMES. AMEN!

PTH: Savard "close" to signing 7 year deal!!

Sorry I'm all uppity and hysterically fan-girling lately, but DUDE! First off Savvy made the trip with the team to Atlanta - THIS BODES WELL! Secondly, I'm totally copy/pasting from NESN on this one so there's no fuckups in the retelling, cause I've heard he already signed - ENNNNH WRONG!

Report: Bruins, Marc Savard Close to Seven-Year Extension

by John Beattie on Nov 18, 2009 5:52:36 PM

As he nears his return to the ice following a broken foot injury, Bruins' center Marc Savard is also nearing a contract extension with Boston according to Bob Hartley of RDS.

Hartley, who coached Savard for three seasons in Atlanta, is reporting that the Bruins and Savvy are close to a seven-year, $39 million extension.

On Sunday, the Boston Globe reported that the B's and Savard were aiming towards Thanksgiving as a date to agree on a four- or five-year deal at roughly $6- to $6.5 million per season.

The 32-year-old Savard is in the final year of his current four-year, $20 million contract. In his first three-plus seasons with Boston, the All-Star has posted 203 assists and 66 goals in 245 games played.

Bits & Pieces - Bs and Leafs (Milan Lucic up for auction)

Item the first: Marc Savard and Milan Lucic are both to be game-time decisions for playing tomorrow night. Do not let my calm, normal text deceive you. I'm flipping my shit because this has the potential to be the best thing ever. Then again, Pony shut out the Kings 7-0 last week and the Thrashers are on a 4 game win streak. Oh the delicious irony.

Item the second: He made like TWO fucking mistakes on one shift in the third, a 42 second shift if memory serves, and Wilson benched this kid for the rest of the game:

I've read a few things about his fight, and his game, that I disagree with. First off, he was bleeding BEFORE he took on Neil, from Neil cross-checking him in the back as Luke tried to get up from being boarded (if that wasn't boarding, Neil has a career as a prima ballerina when he leaves the game, cause he must've been on the TIPPY TOE of his blade, and frankly, it's Chris Neil. It's not above him to leave his feet). Schenny was on his knees, facing the boards when Neil circled back and smacked him in the back with his stick, causing Luke's face to kiss the boards, helmet askew thus leaving his face unshielded. Watch the replay. You can see the mark the edge of the visor left along his forehead, leading to the laceration. If I'm wrong, mea culpa, but that's how it looked on the Leafs version of the Rogers' broadcast. But I'm not usually wrong.

Secondly, look at how much damage the kid was already playing with. A healing blood blister in his left thumb (and he's left handed), healing bruises on his left hand from punching guys (what was this? 5th fighting major of the season? Has he been hanging out with Lucic? Hmmmm?), looks like his nose has recently been broken (again), and he appears to putting his jaw BACK into place. And then there's that flap of skin above his eyebrow that's gaping and had to be stitched close, cause super glue ain't helping that one. So the kid's just gotten stitched back up and put back together like Frankenstein's monster, he goes out in the 2nd, and OK he was on for one goal against, but he was also on for a goal for. Ruutu then made him a target for the rest of his time on the ice, and when he REALLY started fucking with Luke, John Mitchell (OF ALL PEOPLE) had enough and went after Ruutu. Did I take the blue pill? What was going ON with this game?!

Thirdly, whatever idiot wrote in the Sun or Canada post or wherever the hell it was that Luke "tripped" over Toskala obviously wasn't paying attention the split second BEFORE, when he was hit in the chest with a slapshot that knocked him over. Details, people, try paying attention to them. Shortly thereafter, or perhaps on the same play, it's all blurring at this point, Luke coughed up the puck.

And did not return to the ice.


I'm going over all of this in my mind and trying to decide if Wilson benched him for his own safety, or to send him a message. If it was a message, here's a message, Crazy Ron - go fuck yourself. If it was for his own safety, I'm also of the same mind in my message. Hockey players are the toughest guys you will ever meet. This is a 20 year old kid who's trying to adjust to new partners, new teammates, a slightly different system, and living up to hype. Let him fucking play. Let him make mistakes. I mean seriously, at this point, how much worse can it get? What's he gonna do, let the other team score ANOTHER goal? Whether they're losing by 1 or by 10, they're still losing so let the kid play. Let him find his legs, let him find his game, and stop kicking him while he's down. And while we're at it, someone get the kid some Peas for his face and hands. Greatest thing evar.

Item the third: If you happen to be in Boston on the 27th and 28th of November, you will be able to bid on this spec-fucking-tacular painting of Milan Lucic, created by Russian artist Veronika Loginova. I WANT that. I don't have the money to participate in an auction for it, but that is BEAUTIFUL. Click it to enlarge so you can see the actual texture of the nets in the painting, and how awesome that she used Looch's awesome hit in Seidenberg from last year's playoffs. This is truly an amazing work of art. I expect it to go for no less than $1,500USD. And frankly, that's a steal. I'm not sure of the size of the painting, but depending on size, and if it comes framed or just on stretched canvas, it could realistically go for up to $10k. If I had more information I could use my knowledge of paintings to help you out on a more accurate price. But the proceeds are going to the Boston Sports Museum, who I hope is busy making an awesome fake of it to hang up in their gallery (note: making a fake of a masterpiece is easier than you'd imagine).  So anyway, hit the Garden on the 27/28th and make a bid! THAT COULD BE HANGING OVER YOUR FIREPLACE! Or bed, whatever blows your skirt up.

Pardon the Hysteria (PTH)

Pardon the hysteria, but MARC SAVARD IS BACK ON THE ICE TODAY!!!!! From Bish's blog

10:56 a.m.
I've been watching Marc Savard skate for several minutes and to my untrained eye the Bruins playmaker looks to have no mobility restrictions. He has been working with pucks, skating hard and does not seem to be favoring anything.

It is a darn good sight, frankly. And Derek Morris, Milan Lucic and Marco Sturm have all been out to watch him skate and are wearing smiles.

Clearly, Marc looks a little tired or winded after some of these drills, but after several weeks off, that is to be expected. Not to mention that the man he is working with, John Whitesides, is not known for his easy workouts.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing, at least for Bruins fans, is the big 'ol smile on Savard's face.


12:04 p.m.
My favorite Twitter re-tweet of the day to the news that Savard is skating: "Skies parting... angels singing..." Obviously, there are no miracles yet as Savard is not on the ice for the regular session, but the sentiment is correct.

Skies parting? Sadly, not really, but in honour of it, here's Marc looking like a man's man from the Improper Bostonian photoshoot:

And the angels truly sang....

Praise Jesus and thank the LORD! Christmas is coming early for Bruins fans if Savvy's back on the ice, and Looch is set to return on Thursday/Friday.  Is it ridiculous to post too much hope on 2 men that are merely part of a 23-man unit? Probably but WHO GIVES A FUCK, IT'S LOOCH AND SAVVY!

My suggestion upon their mutual return: Put Sobotka with them and watch points rack up.

Saturday Night sucked.

One minor complaint I have about loving the Bruins and Luke Schenn is that, the B's and Leafs somehow managed to get nearly identical schedules for the duration of the season. How am I supposed to be a good cougar and watch Schenny play when the Bruins are playing at the same time?! Thank god for opening ceremonies EVERY GAME at the ACC (or so it seems), and staggered start times, and commercial breaks. I still haven't quite figured out the length of LeafsTV commercial breaks yet though, so I'm missing important things. Or unimportant, depending.

But Saturday night, I was pumped. It was supposed to be grrrrrrrrrrrreat! The B's taking on the Pens, whom they'd JUST shut out earlier in the week, and the Leafs welcoming the Flames into the ACC (Side note on why this was great: Kipper's GAA in the ACC lifetime is ~5.42) was filled with promise. And it was 80s night at the ACC! WENDEL CLARK! TRUCULENCE! I felt my heart swell watching Wendel not only beat ass, but pot a shitload of goals. Luke Schenn I hope you were watching, young man! THAT is how you do it. Someone set up a meeting with Luke and Wendel. I think that can help his confidence a lot.

Moving on before I fangirl like a teenager who likes Twilight.... So the game starts. And the Flames put up 2 in like a minute in a half, :16 apart. Oh. Shit. But hello pugilists. Was I the only one laughing at Olli Jokinen dropping his gloves? Has anyone ever seen a Finn fight (Tony Salmelainen not included)? I'm trying to think of badass pugilistic Finns, and I'm failing here. Someone help a sista out.

But oh blessed relief, the B's game was about to start. So I'm working my remote-control magic, caressing the remote and flipping at every stoppage in play and every commercial. And holy fucking shit the Bruins and their O! David Krejci, marry me! I love you! I love when you set up beautiful goals put in from the goal line. And I love your goal celebrations! And I love that you and Sobotka were on the 5-on-3 PP towards the end of the 3rd together (well played Coach!). I can't lie. At some point during the evening, possibly once Monster was pulled in favour of Toskala (yeah, I see the irony too), I kind of just gave up on the Leafs, relying on my friends online to tell me when to flip to catch Luke looking truculent. Because the Bruins! They were playing catch up with the Pens every few minutes. It was like watching ping pong. Not that I've ever done that sober, but whatever. And when Timmy stopped Crosby towards the final few minutes, oh dear god how I love this team.

AND THEN THE BRUINS TOOK THE LEAD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE GAME, with 2:29 to go! Danke, Marco! Then Bylsma pulled Johnny out of the net and put the 6th attacker out, and was I the only one waiting for Timmy to shoot for the empty net? He'd been wandering almost up to the blueline all  night and I felt like it was in preparation for something, and MAYBE THAT SOMETHING WAS AN EMPTY NETTER! HERE WAS HIS CHANCE!

And then.... then it all fell apart.

Patrice Bergeron was moving to take a shot at the empty net from the blueline and HIS FUCKING STICK BROKE. HIS STICK BROKE! RIGHT IN FRONT OF CROSBY, MALKIN AND GUERIN! Sweet bleeding Jesus, those are the last 3 guys you want to have an equipment malfunction in front of. And sure enough, the three raced up ice with the puck and with 00:00:00.04 left on the clock, Guerin snapped it high stick side, tying it, and leaving every Bruins fan in the world with a slack-jawed look wondering, what the fuck just happened? No seriously, what the FUCK just happened?

Just when you thought, well it'll be okay, OT, the boys're pretty good in OT, just, for the love of the lord don't let it go to the shootout cause Julien kind of sucks at picking his shootout snipers. And then Timmy wandered into the trapezoid. And Dennis Wideman, who in all fairness should not have been on the ice, what, having taken a slapshot IN THE FOOT in the 3rd and was shown beating his head on the dasher in pain, missed Jordan Staal coming around to steal the puck from Tim, who got sort of caught up on his own pipes, and Pascal Dupuis just hit the layup right into the open net and the green light turned on.

I'm still wondering what the fuck just happened. I'm sort of over it, cause tonight it's the Isles. But you know what? Let's take a look at the positives that came out of Saturday night, shall we?

LUKE SCHENN GOT HIS GAME BACK! Seriously, Ron Wilson if you don't keep Schenn and Gunnarsson together, I'm coming up to TO and keying "you still suck Crazy Ron" into your car. OK no I won't, but I will think about it for a long time! These two played together the same way Luke and Tyler Myers played together in Kelowna. There was instant chemistry there that hasn't been apparent yet between Schenn and ANY of the d-men he's been paired with, no matter how much he can learn from them a veterans. What have we learned from this experiment? Keep the younger guys together, and look - they stay at an even +/-. Who knew?

Also, Phil Kessel, way to keep trying to carry this team on your back. This is unnatural for me, not talking shit about Philly. But I'll give credit where it's due. But Ron Wilson, I mean it, mister! You know I mean business! You keep those boys together and your blue line will improve. OK well, I mean you have 2 other pairings you've gotta worry about but I propose you put Beauchemin and Komisarek together AND LEAVE THEM TOGETHER, and then I guess White and Finger, and just let Ex stay upstairs. I'm sorry, I spent too many years watching Ex lose games for the Thrashers. His play appalls. I am appalled. It's appalling.

David Krejci got goal #2 on the season, and assist, what, 5? He's finding his groove again. I give it another 5 games before he's back into last season's form, and 7-8 before he's showing us what he can REALLY do while healthy. AND! Milan Lucic showed up in the NESN studios during the 2nd intermission to promote Travis Roy's Fenway Winter Classic charity raffle. We all know I love Looch so it was like Christmas for me. Except.. well. OK I like what Looch was wearing, but I have to admit, he's kind of pushing the mobster look a liiiiiiittle too far here. It's a nice shirt but um. Well you guys can decide for yourselves what you think about this:

Keep in mind that Looch's nickname is Gino, and just go ahead and let your mind wander from there. Way to live up to your nickname, big guy. Drop it like it's hot and get your ass in the lineup on Thursday and all will be forgiven.

So! In my way, instead of dwelling on the negative (FUCK YOU, COMPOSITE STICKS!) I will instead ignore everything crappy that happened Saturday, and post some pictures highlighting the positive. Enjoy. Photos courtesy Reuter's and Getty and maybe AP. All rights reserved, etc.

 

 

Apparently David Krejci didn't actually score, since there's no photos of it. ANGRY FACE! Bring it tonight, Bruins.

OH OH! I almost forgot! Word on the street is, Marc Savard will be signed to a contract extension right around American Thanksgiving. Can I get a WHUT WHUT HOLLA HOLLA BLING BLING?! Wooooord up!  Best. News. Evar.

Lastly (hah, yeah right, we've met, you know me and my PS's), if you're into this sort of thing, go over and check out The Handsome Man's Guide To Life where a totally hetero man posts and reviews the fashion wins and fails of professional athletes, and also talks a lot about the Leafs. I have a sneaking suspicion it may be Sean Avery in hiding, but he's funny, so I'll let that suspicion slide by the wayside.

Inside outside upside down

Or something like that, given all that happened in the past 24 hours. Let's see...

• Kobasew traded to Minny for 2 minor leaguers and a draft pick
• Lucic put on Long-Term IR (3-4 weeks)
  
• Sobotka and Marchand called up from Providence
• Looch had surgery to repair broken right index finger
• Savard, Thornton, Lefebvre missed practice today

Well I'm a little mind boggled. Why did Savvy and Thorty miss practice? Was Kobasew traded to clear cap space for Sobotka et al? Isn't that the purpose of putting Looch on LTIR? Was Chia clearing space to re-sign Savvy and Wheels? Will Sobotka play with Krejci, or will Bitzy keep on keepin' on there? Where will Marchand fit in? Wednesday's game v. Nashville should be interesting, to say the least. It IS v. Nashville, right?

The B's took out Big D

My personal 3 stars of the game (having not seen the official ones):

1. Marc Savard - two awesome goals, great PK work, a lot of hustle and instant chemistry with Mike Ryder proved to work to his advantage. And Savvy is now 1 goal away from 200 career goals. Who was hoping for a hat-trick? This girl! And apparently Coach, since he had Sav out at every opportunity in the last 5:00.

2. Tim Thomas - do I really need to explain why?

3. This one was hard, so I'm awarding a two-way tie to Andy Ference and Matt Hunwick. Andy for his hustle, great forecheck, endless work on each PK shift, throwing the hits out like rubbers at a bachelor's party, and just irritating the Stars in general. Matt for basically the same reason AND trying to play goal when Timmy was caught out of net. Once a year it seems one of the D-men doubles up as unprotected goalies, and I think they should starting giving extra hardhat consideration for that. Particularly considering THEY'RE NOT WEARING CAGES.

Now that those are out of the way, onto the game.

Obviously I'm not going to be the first person to say BEST GAME OF THE YEAR despite that 7-2 blowout over the Canes. But with Bergeron taking the first penalty of the game :18 into the 1st, my heart sank. And then... and then... THEY KILLED IT! With APLOMB! And as the seconds ticked by I stopped wanting to chew my nails and throw things. I wouldn't let myself be optimistic though. I kept checking the time, I kept checking the PK time, but most of all I really liked watching the boys playing in the attacking zone most of the night. I'm thinking the NHL's "Event Summary" stats are somewhat incorrect as they're listing Ference with 1 hit and Hunwick with 0, and I saw them hit a lot more than that. This was an awesome, hit-filled game played with confidence, played with consistency, and played by the Bruins everyone is used to seeing play. I was also very impressed with Johnny Boychuk, who did NOT impress me too much in his first NHL game, but this time out, he made well-timed plays, had some nice hits, was a lot more calm and collected on the blue line, and was only caught out of place once or twice. Very worth noting - NO ONE on the team had <10:00 TOI, so no bike riding for anyone last night.

In the end, the boys in black and gold walked (flew) out of Big D with the TKO. And Timmy's first shutout of the season. Well done, boys. Keep it up in Phoenix.

I was going to post some photos, but neither Getty nor AP have any really great ones. What's up with the weak photo representation there, photographers? I'll put up flickr feed on the sidebar to rep the fans that are picking up the slack of the professionals.

Lastly, I don't get anything out of this, no discounts or anything, but Chowdaheadz has a new Bruins shirt. I ordered one last night, and at the low-low price of $12.99, you should consider it too, cause how wicked cool is this?

Click the image to go to the purchase page.

If I were the GM....

You know how I love me some Kari Lehtonen. But wait! This year there is not just one other goalie competing for his spot, not just two, but THREE! THREE GOALIES! Honestly I think there might even be four if we consider the baby goalie from last summer's draft. But we'll skip him for right now (no offence, baby goalie whose name I can't recall... Danique? I dunno. It's too early.)

Kari Lehtonen
A super-star of Patrick Roy magnitude when not injured or recovering from injury. Kari's not yet made his first camp appearance, but is expected today, as he's still recovering from his off-season laminotomy. I've been there, twice, and frankly I was pretty surprised that he thought he would be ready for camp. While he's likely recovered from the invasion of the procedure, there's a sizeable entry point in the skin that one can not risk opening. What's the number one thing one can do to open an incision like that? Play goal. OK and swing dancing, but I'm not really guessing that's a big hobby of Kari's. Golf also a little questionable, but I've never seen the kid on the links, although it IS great therapy for when your entire team pisses you off. I'm digressing, where was I? Oh yes! This has to be Kari's year. It has to be the year he throws down, ignores how his team plays in front of him (although really, Ex is gone, Kubina's here, Bogo's healthy, let's hope for the best shall we?), and just gets into his zone. A zone not unlike the one he was in once the Thrashers were mathematically eliminated last season. When was that anyway? January? I can't tell you how many games I have DVD'd labeled "THRASH BLOW, KARI SHINES!" It's time he stops depending on the team in front of him, and starts believing in himself, and frankly, says FUCK ALL HATERS! You can do it, Karppa. I believe in you.

Ondrej Pavelec
Not a franchise goalie, but a possible cornerstone to focus a rebuild around. Ondrej's probably pretty god damned pissed off right about now. He's proven he's an NHL calibre goalie, and yet, here he still is, the third in line of a team with four or five signed goalies. Which means time relegated to the bench, or a lot more time in Chicago. How many more Calders will he need to win to get his due shot in the Show? For his sake, I hope the team will cut him lose if he doesn't land one of the two coveted spots on the Thrashers. Hahaha, I said "coveted spots on the Thrashers." I crack me up!

Johan Hedburg
Had one fantastic year in the NHL, and is one of the best veterans in the game to learn from. If I were running this team, I would kindly suggest Johan hang 'em up, and let us hire him on as a goaltending coach, which if memory serves, the team still doesn't have. In my honest opinion, there is probably no better NHL goalie to learn from. One of the adages of hockey is that the best players are the worst coaches, and I'm not saying JoJo is a "worst player" but he is not in the upper stratosphere. Plus he has his own goalie school in Leksand. Plus he owns a team in Sweden. Plus he doesn't take anything personally and lets it all roll off his back. And PLUS, he was brought in to Atlanta specifically to mentor Kari. Let's just keep traveling down the path fate started laying out, and offer him a high-paying job as goalie coach.

Manny Legace
Oh Manny, how you  make me laugh. I have a soft spot for this guy, even if I could not give a shit less about any of the teams he played for previously. He's affable, charming, has a thick skin, has won a Cup or two (I think? I'm probably wrong), and has been an All Star multiple times. This is a good guy, and one that is desperately needed in the room. He's the Colby Armstrong of goalies. Or the Marc Savard, to go back in time a little. He would also do well to serve as a goalie coach/mentor, but dollars to donuts, Kari is not going to take to him like he did to Johan. The Scandinavian connection between the other two goalies, despite the tension that was apparent between them last season, is too strong a bond for Kari to break off and immediately turn to a new mentor.

So in summation, if I were the GM, here's what I would do about the goalie situation:

1. Buy out Hedberg's contract and offer him a well-paid position as goalie coach;
2. Trade Pavelec to a team desperately in need of a cornerstone goalie, in exchange for a Savard-like passer;
3. Name Legace the back-up goalie, and split it 70/30 between he and Lehtonen;
4. Assign Lehtonen a sports psychologist, perhaps Marty Brodeur has some free time, to help him grow a thicker skin, and learn to ignore everything around him but the puck.

That's what I'd do if I were the GM. But I'm not, so speaking as me, my offered solution is to trade Kari to the Capitals (seriously, how the fuck is Jose Theodore able to focus and play? If I lost one of the kids in my life, that would be it, I couldn't go on.) in exchange for Boyd Gordon and Karl Alzner, and then all would be right in the world.

Also, I'd like to take a brief moment to point out just how much the Thrashers lost when they let Marc Savard go:

 

Marc Savard is so damned good, he doesn't even have to play to score.  FYI the GWG was scored by Jeff Penner. Well done, NHL.com. You guys keep working out the kinks, eh?

LASTLY! I've started a new blog. It's a generic hockey blog, so I don't bore the Thrash fans with my ramblings about all the other teams and players I pay attention to. It's called English & Profanity. Bookmark me!

Olympic lure hooks Savard

Before we get into Savvy being great, there's things I do want to write about eventually about the Thrashers. But I'm kind of keeping it to myself for right now and just watching what they're doing as I form my thoughts. Actually, life's just gotten super busy so it's more like finding time to think. But um. Yeah. Hey did you change your hair? It looks rilly good!

And of course... good job keeping the throat guard on Kari. How long'd that last? 2 weeks? 3? I feel you. I dunno how anyone wears them, they drive me crazy. Have you considered a kevlar turtleneck? No? Just a thought.

Anyway, back to one of the ones we let get away:

Olympic lure hooks Savard

By ROB LONGLEY, TORONTO SUN

Last Updated: 22nd January 2009, 3:41am

Yes, it's early, and Marc Savard knows he may not be near the top of the average Canadian hockey fan's list of Olympic prospects.

And, yes, he knows there is a lot of hockey to be played over the next year and a lot of hype before the torch is lit in Vancouver.

But when the league takes an extended break next February, not for an all-star game but for the Olympic Games, the Ottawa native suddenly may be a name familiar to Canadians coast-to-coast.

"(The Olympics) are always in the back of my mind, especially with it being in Vancouver," Savard acknowledged yesterday as the Bruins prepared to face the Leafs at the ACC. "I've got some family there. It would be one of the highlights of my career if I got the chance to play for Canada."

With training camp still months away, it is anything but a short list that Steve Yzerman and his staff are working. And as a smallish centre, the 5-foot-10 Savard might have to move to the wing to get his shot.

There is no denying, however, that he's making his case. Prior to last night's action, Savard was a league-best plus-29, dispelling an old knock that he can't play defence.

As well, his 55 points this season not only lead the Bruins, but are tied for third among Canadian-born NHLers, behind only Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby (60) and Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf (56).

"I think he has earned (the attention)," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Since last year, he has shown he is capable of playing a good two-way game. The criticism he was taking at one point, he kind of silenced that and has kept on doing it this year."

He also has been a testament to perseverance. When discussions about the 2006 Canadian team began, Savard was just starting to play for his third NHL team and finally exhibiting the scoring touch that made him a junior star with the Oshawa Generals.

The New York Rangers, who took him in the fourth round of the 1995 draft, dealt him to Calgary in 1999 and, after a so-so stint there, was traded to Atlanta in 2002.

After a breakthrough 2005-06 season in which he scored 28 goals and 69 assists, Savard was a sought-after free agent. At the time, Savard was public about his desire to come to Toronto. There was a reluctance on the part of Maple Leafs management, however, because of the perception that his 97-point season as a Thrasher was largely the result of being on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk.

So, on the same day the Leafs signed Pavel Kubina, the Bruins landed Savard and the now 31-year-old has been the B's leading scorer ever since.

While the hockey world can't generate enough buzz over John Tavares these days, Savard has one up on the junior sensation. When starring for the Gens, he compiled a club-record 413 points. Before being dealt to the London Knights earlier this month, Tavares was at 381.

"That one is still mine," Savard said. "Good thing he got traded."

NO MIRAGE
Good thing Savard landed in Boston, too. He may have been a late-bloomer, but he also has shown that his big Atlanta campaign was anything but a mirage. Earlier this season, he celebrated his 600th NHL point and has 17 multiple-point efforts in his first 47 games.
"It took some time, I learned along the way," said Savard, who produced 78 and 96 points in the past two seasons. "I've had some ups and downs. I'm happy where I've got to, through hard work."

As much as he would revel in the opportunity to play for his country, in what will be a most anticipated series of games on Canadian soil, he is doing his best not to look too far ahead.
And he knows that the success he has in Boston may earn him the first-class ticket to Vancouver.

"Right now, I'm focused on the Bruins," Savard said. "As long as I play hard here, hopefully I will get noticed and get the chance (to be an Olympian.)"

Gather round my loves, it's picture time!

B's pull a sweet win over the Sens (I rather enjoyed how the B's toyed with their emotions, letting them think they MIGHT have a chance to win, then RIPPED all hope out of their hands with the Savard goal!) and was the first team to reach 30 wins this season, having done it in 42 games. Well played, Bruins, well played indeed! Kari got his 1st shutty of the year, 12th of his career, Jimmy Slats had possibly his best game of the year, and holy shit the Thrashers potted 4 goals, and played some damned good defence. Slap my ass and call me Charlie! Although someone, perhaps Valabik as he seems to have learnt and settled down a bit, should take Boults aside and have a word with him about how to pick your battles.

Anyway, moving on, moving on. Look. Teh pictures! So pretty! If ANYONE has a photo of Savvy doing the glove pump up towards the crowd after his goal, I will be your best friend forever, and talk about how amazing you are to my crowd of 9 faithful readers, and then they too will love you! Oh and also, check out this great article on the B's!

As always, pics resize to 1024 etc etc etc. Don't you guys know this by now??

Goal!

Another goal!

 

Goal love!

More goal love!

And even MORE!

This team scores a lot...

Thorty puts it to Neiler

Smoosh

Smash

And POW!
I love that Z's laughing at Fish.

---

Kärrrrrrrrrrrppä!

Army thought he could fly... or something?

Russian/American goal love. I love this game!

I THINK Boults is trying to hug Oyster.

Save

Save

Another...

Y uno mas

Man it's like all this guy did all night was stop pucks!

.... oh wait.