Bruins Nation

Tonight's game was won by the unsung heros on this team. The stars (Chara and Savard) had great games, but the key was the little guys, who have been playing really well this season. Those little guys include PJ Axelsson, Milan Lucic, Dennis Wideman, and Glen Metropolit. All four had great games, and when the end of this season rolls around, could be 7th player award candidates (along with Chuck Kobasew and Tim Thomas). Alex Auld also had a great game. He had 44 saves. THis may seem like a lot of work by the new goalie, but the Bruins defense did play well. They gave up a lot of shots, but very few quality ones. It's a classic example of a bend but don't break defense. The Patriots do the same thing. The other team starts to drive, but adjustments are made and the Patriots can usually stop them before they score a touchdown. We're talking hockey though. One not so good thing about this game was the lack of shots. Only 21 times did the Bruins test Ryan Miller. Miller has been struggling this season (as proven Monday night) and the more shots the better.

The Bruins started everything early in the first period. In the Sabres zone, Glen Murray's pressure on the defensemen who had the puck led to a sloppy pass that was intercepted by Marc Savard. Savard shot and scored (starting a new point streak) and the Bruins were up 1-0. A minute later, Marc Savard in the Sabres corner centered it to PJ Axelsson who scored, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead. Spacek's rebound late in the period brought Buffalo within one, but the Bruins answered. A minute later, Milan Lucic made a great play, stealing the puck in the Sabres zone and then dishing it to Schaefer. Schaefer then scored on a nice shot. Didn't hear to many "lets go Buffalo" chants after that. The Bruins insurance goal came in the third period, when Milan Lucic managed somehow to get Zdeno Chara's rebound. Lucic's shot hit off of Miller's pad and bounced to Metropolit, who easily backhanded it into the net.

That 4-1 win put the Bruins in 4th place in the NHL standings. They're still not getting respect by this town's media though. I was listening to WEEI and one caller took on Dale & Holly. He called and said they should spend some more time on the surging Bruins. Dale & Holly asked what he would like to talk about and the caller replied by saying that he was very impressed with Dennis Wideman. It was a great call. Bruins fans need to keep calling into WEEI. I hate hearing every detail about the Celtics latest win, but nothing on the Bruins win. The Bruins are a very good team and should be treated as such. 35 points in 29 games is very impressive for an injured team. This team (currently without Bergeron, Ward, Ference, Thornton, Fernandez, and Thomas) is on pace for 99 points.