Bruins Nation

I must say, we are playing very crappy hockey in the third period. These let downs are absurd. We were playing a great game, up 2-0 after one, still up 2-0 after two, but then in the third period everything went to hell. We gave up 5 goals! I really did think the Bruins were going to win a game without Chara and Stuart (and York most of the way) but I could not have been more wrong.

For the first two periods the Bruins were great, we really kept Ottawa in check, they had very few real scoring chances, and all of those were stopped by Timmy. In the game, Alberts and Mara both put in Chara-like minutes, and Kessel played in 16 shifts. That is just about the only good that came out of Last night.

The Bruins played a fantastic first period. At the beginning, two minutes in, Marco Sturm was tripped by a stck while driving to the net, that got him a penalty shot. Sturm's penalty shot was very clever. He skated hard towards the net, then stopped short, and rifled the puck past Emery, the Senators goalie. Then a little later, with the Bruins still up by a goal, Jason York went down with an injury and did ot return. He put in only 3 shiifts. So the Bruins were left with 5 defensemen, two of them being AHL players. Eleven minutes in, Paul Mara's drive from the corner at the blue line went through Emery's legs, and the Bruins had a 2-0 lead.

The second period was pretty good. Both teams were completely even. No real scoring opportunities occured for wither team. The BRuins had 3 shots and the Senators had 6 shots.

Unlike the first two periods, the third period was hell. Two and a half minutes in, Ottawa scored when Mike Comrie's shot went underneath a diving Tim Thomas. Three minutes later, Heatley scored on a good looking goal. Heatley skated past the Bruins defense and scored, tying the game. Seven minutes later, Ottawa scored the go-ahead goal on a very nice shot in the middle of the Bruins zone. Five minutes later, Ottawa sealed the deal when they scored on a 2 on 1 odd man rush. Ottawa wasn't done though. With Thomas pulled, Peter Schaefer scored an empty net goal from very far away. So the Senators won 5-2. They happen to be on a great hot streak though, and we are cold and injured. Hopefully Chara will be back Thursday, I know Brad Stuart will be, and maybe Jason York isn't injured too badly. Also, the Bruins will be starting Toivenen in the pipes against the Islanders.

One last note: Brad Stuart and his wife had their first kid early yesterday. Young Jake Stuart was born 5 pounds 12 ounces.