Bruins Nation

Even though the only reason that the garden was sold out was because of all the Canadiens' fans there, it was still sold out. The game was a blast and really showed what Boston Bruins hockey is all about. Tim Thomas had an amazing game, Huet had a pretty crappy one, and the Bruins defense played extremely well.

In the first period, the Canadiens came out firing. The Bruins were not mustering any offense and the Canadiens were getting off some good shots. They were all saved by Thomas. In the middle of the period, the Bruins finally got off their first shot, it was a drive by Zdeno Chara that a Canadiens player tipped in, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead. 4 minutes later, the Bruins were on the power play when Patrice Bergeron stole the puck in the Canadiens zone. Bergeron then passed it to Marco Sturm who scored. Sturm's shot was very save-able and Thomas would have easily had it, but Huet missed it and the Bruins had 2 goals on their first 4 shots. Towards the end of the period, the Canadiens managed to get one by Thomas, which revived the Canadiens' fans. Us Bruins fans at the game though got our momentum back when Glen Murray was slashed in the leg by Koivu. They sort of got into a brawl but Murray was pushed down to the ice before anything really happened. They both got roughing penalties. The period ended with the Bruins up 2-1.

In between periods, there was a massive fight inside one of the bathrooms at the garden. I couldn't see any of it but I remember laughing about it.

In the second period the Canadiens opened up the period by almost scoring. All I saw was the puck go in the net, but apparently Thomas had been hit by a Canadien so the goal was not counted. The only other interesting part of the period was when the Bruins were on a 4 minute power play and they got the puck stolen from them. That Canadien breakaway led to a Canadiens short handed goal, tying up the game at two. That is how the period ended.

Six minutes into the third period, the Bruins took the lead when Milan Jurcina's drive went into the net. It was another shot Huet should have had. A little over a minute later, Stan Chistov put some nice moves on the Canadiens' defense and scored his second goal of the season, putting the Bruins ahead 4-2.

It was overall a really fun game, and seeing the Canadiens fans leaving the garden completely silent was also very nice.

One last note: The Bruins with 38 points are now currently in third place in the Northeast division and 9th in the Eastern conference.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all from the President of Bruins Nation!