WickedBruinsFan's Blog

Bruins Line-up:

Schaefer-Savard-Kobasew
Sturm-Bergeron-Murray
Axelsson-Krejci-Kessel
Lucic-Metropolit-Thornton

Chara-Ward
Alberts-Ference
Stuart-Wideman

Thomas

Murray and Kobasew switched lines. Bochenski, Allen and Reich are the scratches.

First: I saw Boynton play his first shift against the Bruins. Bergeron draws a penalty on Morris for hooking at 4:02. And it didn’t take long for Bergeron to capitalize with his second power play goal of the season at 4:09. The assists go to Chara and Savard. Schaefer is getting a penalty for goaltender interference at 4:19. Kobasew scores a shorthanded goal at 4:47! The goal was assisted by Axelsson. (+1 Kobasew, Axelsson, Alberts, Ference.) Now Chara is going to the penalty box for cross-checking at 6:23. Nice play by Wideman to get the puck up to Savard in the neutral zone. Thomas had some strong saves before the second TV timeout. Oh, the score is 2-0 Bruins. It happened so quickly, I didn’t put it anywhere. The Coyotes are out-shooting the Bruins 9-5 however. Wideman had a shot blocked from the blueline. Schaefer with a nice pick-off of a cross-ice pass by the Coyotes but shot the puck wide of the net. Lucic hit Boynton by the penalty boxes. Sturm with a heck of a shot… and then Murray missed then net on the rebound shot. Bruins go into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead. Coyotes had 10 shots and the Bruins had 9 shots.

Intermission Chatter: I was asked earlier who I would root for if Boynton got into a fight tonight. At first I said Boynton, which I probably would, as long as he didn’t fight Chara. But come to think of it, I usually have one hand covering my eyes during any Boynton fight. And I always have one hand covering my eyes during any Alberts fight. So if it was a Boynton and Alberts fight, I would have both eyes covered.

Second: Kobasew (my new favorite this season) was interviewed during the intermission by Simpson. “Ooooooh!” Boynton almost scored! The puck was sitting right behind Thomas on the goal line. So I can want Boynton to score and the Bruins to win. That’s a fair deal. I can text message and watch the game at the same time. Lucic hit Ballard. Kobasew gets an interference penalty at 4:20. Thomas makes a save on the first shot, and the second save on the rebound. Savard gets a tripping penalty at 6:46. They showed Savard working on his stick during the commercial break, probably making it less sticky. Stuart lost the puck in the defensive zone, but recovered nicely to cover his man. Metropolit forced the linesman to waive off an icing call. Murray steals the puck in the Coyotes zone and his shot was stopped by Tellqvist. Nice set up by Kessel for Axelsson. Lucic hit Boynton again. Boynton got another shot on Thomas. Kapenen cuts the Bruins lead in half at 14:39. (-1 Chara, Ward, Sturm, Bergeron, Murray.) Savard just left the bench and went to the dressing room. He seemed to be in a little bit of pain. Thomas makes a save at one end and Kessel carries the puck all the way to the Coyotes zone for a shot on net. Sturm hit the post. Metropolit is doing well on face-offs, replacing Savard, centering Schaefer and Kobasew. Thomas had a save on Winnik. Coyotes pull their goaltender with 2 seconds left in the period, but don’t have enough time to get a shot off. Bruins lead 2-1 after two periods.

A Boynton Moment: Boynton was interviewed during the intermission!!! Thank you Rob Simpson! Boynton said he was disappointed that the schedule currently didn’t have every team playing each other (that changes next season!) because he would’ve liked to play in Boston. He said he doesn’t know a lot of the players on the Bruins anymore. And that’s all I remember. It’s the little things.

Third: Chara only played a little over 15 minutes so far, causing speculation that his shoulder is still bothering him from the pre-season. I take Andy Brickley’s side who says that they have seven defensemen on the trip and I think they’re managing his minutes, since it is the second game in two nights. Simpson informs viewers that Savard is out with a core injury and will not be returning to the game. Lucic hits Morris, and then gets a shot on goal. Boynton had another shot on Thomas. Axelsson got caught with a high-stick. Carcillo goes to the box at 4:39. Ference snowed Thomas towards the end of the power play. Coyotes killed off the penalty. Another Coyotes penalty coming up and this time it is Caldwell for roughing Kobasew at 7:15. There was some nice puck possession recovery by Kessel and Sturm on the power play. The work pays off with a power play goal for Sturm at 9:15. The assists went to Krejci and Kessel. Bruins take a 3-1 lead. That assist was Krejci’s first NHL point. Thornton missed a chance at a heck of a one-timer. Thomas made a spectacular save on Carcillo. Brickley notes that Thomas is making the timely saves tonight. Holy Tim Thomas! Thomas made a huge save on Doan with less than two minutes to go. Coyotes pull their goalie for an extra attacker. Krejci hit the post of the empty net. Bergeron had his shot at the empty net blocked by Morris. Thomas makes another save with two seconds left in the game. The Bruins won 3-1.

Thomas had 36 saves on 37 shots. The Bruins had 24 shots on net. Krejci led the team with 3 blocked shots. Chara had the most ice-time (23:51), nine seconds more than Ference. Lucic had the least ice time with 6:49, but definitely made the most of that 6:49. Thomas was the #1 star and Chara was the #3 star.

WBF View: I think this was the Bruins team fans were meant to see last night. Even losing Savard didn’t put this team down as Metropolit stepped up in his place. The Bruins’ special teams were great, and while fans may still be waiting for them to score their first even-strength goal of the season, fans have to be happy with the effort tonight. The team needs to maintain some consistency for the rest of the road trip.

The Bruins will have four days off before facing the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Anaheim Ducks, on Wednesday night.