Bruins Nation

Before I start, I would just like to say that tonight's shutout win against the Vancouver Canucks, was the first game of the season that ended prior to NESN's scheduled time. (The game ended at 9:26, NESN had it ending at 9:30.)

Wow, I have a lot to write about this game, even though basically nothing happened. First, I have to commend Tim Thomas. Every game I usually mention how well Thomas plays, but tonight he was superb. 39 saves on 39 shots. Thomas was a thief, robbing Canuck shot after shot. Also the Bruins defense did a great job stopping the puck from getting to Thomas. The Bruins defense had 15 blocks. Just imagine if they weren't there and Thomas was forced to make 54 saves. Brad Stuart led the team with 3 blocks, including one that got him in the face and required stitches!

In the first period, three minutes in, the Bruins were on the power play when Marc Savard had the puck right next to the net. Savard then passed across the ice to Patrice Bergeron who scored easily, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, the Bruins were on a 5 on 3 power play when Glen Murray's drive went straight into the net. Murray's drive was as fast as lightning, I barely saw the puck in slow motion.

In the second period, with the Bruins up 2-0, nothing really happened. The only remotely interesting thing was when, towards the end of the period, Thomas was steamed. As the NESN broadcaster (I forget which one) said, "[Thomas] was gonna punch anybody". Thomas did attempt to swing at two different Canucks players, but the Bruins defensemen quickly took Thomas's spot in the two mini brawls. Also, at the very end of the period, Stuart, as I mentioned earlier, took a puck in the face and needed stictches. He looked fine in the third period though.

The way the Bruins played in the third period was the deffinition of passivity. The Bruins did not take a single shot! We just played defense and, with the help of Thomas, shut down the Canuck's offense. The Bruins ended up winning 2-0. Hell, a win is a win and two points is two points. And now, after Ottawa lost earlier tonight, the Bruins rose to fourth place in the division with 36 points. And remember, Ottawa has played four more games than we have.

One last note: Vancouver did manage to get the puck in the Bruins net twice, which would have tied the game, but both times the ref had whistled the play dead prior to the goal.