Bruins Nation

Finally! Two points. It took us a while to start playing some decent hockey, but we finally did. Last night didn't showcase fantastic hockey, but it was good enough for the win and that's what counts.

The main thing I liked about last night's game was that the Bruins didn't give up. Over the course of the last five games, especially the blowouts against New York and Buffalo, the Bruins basically gave up when they were down. Last night the Bruins found themselves down by two at the end of the first period and they didn't give up. And when momentum shifted towards Carolina at the end of the third period and into overtime, the Bruins still didn't give up, and they ended up winning the game.

Very early in the first period, Carolina got the lead when Brad Stuart completely screwed up in the neutral zone. Erik Cole managed to get the puck and skate down the ice to Thomas, and with a nice swift shot he easily scored. Erik Cole haunted the Bruins again late in the first when he scored to give Carolina a two goal lead. I was really mad when this goal happened because right before Cole's shot, a hurricane player rammed into Thomas knocking him down.

Thirty seconds into the second period, on the power play, Chara's drive was saved, the rebound squirmed in front of the net and Glen Murray managed to shoot the puck in. Then, with under two minutes left in the second, Marc Savard cleared the puck as Brad Boyes' penalty expired. Boyes raced onto the ice, got the puck, and had a wide open lane to the goal. He finished off the play with a nice wrist shot and Boyes scored his first goal since December 26th, ending his drought.

In the middle of the third, Zdeno Chara's drive was saved, but Glen Murray once again got the rebound and scored, giving the Bruins the lead. Then late in the third, a bunch of undisciplined penalties gave teh Hurricanes over two minutes with a 5 on 3 man advantage. Carolina scored on a one-timer and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, Erik Staal's blatant tripping penalty gave the Bruins a power play. Lewis went with Bergeron, Murray, Savard, and Chara. Three forwards and a defenseman, and it paid off. Zdeno Chara's scorching drive scored and the Bruins had their first win since the all-star break.

One last note: Zdeno Chara was on the ice for all four Bruins goals. His drive scored one, and set up both Glen Murray goals.