Canadiens 4, Bruins 2

The B's won the Cup and returned almost the entire team intact. And maybe that's part of the problem. This team isn't playing like they have anything to prove. Guys who played with hunger last year (Marchand, Horton) aren't playing with the same ferocity every shift. Maybe it's time for some healthy scratches, maybe it's time to see guys like Caron get more ice time, maybe it's time to make a trade.

Give credit to Montreal for blocking shots (29 of them in total, Spacek blocked 7, Gill blocked 5) and for breaking up Bruins' passes, but it didn't seem like the Bruins properly respected Montreal's abilities to do so. How many passes did the B's try to slip past Montreal sticks that were already down on the ice? How many times did one sole Bruin try to carry the puck through 2 or 3 Canadiens?

The breaks in Saturday's game didn't go the Bruins' way. The Habs had the first 5 Power Plays. The B's hit a few posts in the early stages. But the Bruins didn't capitalize on things that did go their way. They failed to convert a lengthy 5-on-3 into a goal (Seidenberg's failure to keep the puck in the zone during that Power Play sums up how the Bruins' season has gone). And almost every Bruins' possession was short and ended with a whimper.

Montreal matches up well against the Bruins. Their speed allows them to get to loose pucks first, allows them to harass opposing forwards, and makes their counterattack quite deadly. The Bruins' strength is their physicality. And that was only sporadically apparent Saturday. We've seen the Canadiens fear the Bruins before. They're not afraid right now though.

And don't let Pussy Kunt Subban get under your skin. That's his goal. And yes, I would say that to Subban's face, so long as we were in a Foot Locker or at the zebra enclosure in a zoo. The sight of those black and white stripes make him go down with just a nudge.

Ference's post-Subban penalty was a bad call, but Lucic shouldn't give Subban the excuse to dive. If you're going to get a 2 minute slashing penalty, make Subban feel it for 20 minutes. And if Subban wants to play these silly games, then drive Brian Gionta through the boards in response.

The Bruins have some fundamental problems to work out. Their breakout is ugly. They're not dumping and chasing enough. They don't move the puck with any purpose. They're not imposing their style of game on the opposition.

And when is Joe Corvo going to do anything positive? he's an improvement over Kaberle, but who wouldn't be? He's been sound defensively, but hasn't contributed to the offense, and has looked tentative on the breakout.

On the bright side, the goalies are playing well. Tim Thomas doesn't look a year older, and the goals Rask allowed weren't his fault. The Penalty Kill has been reliable. Shawn Thornton is doing his job. Tyler Seguin looks like he's been in the NHL for 4 years. He's on pace for 30+ goals and 80 points. Bergeron is doing the little things, which is more than can be said for some of his teammates.

The Bruins have the talent, some of the guys are playing very well, but some individuals making mistakes and not making good plays are sabotaging the team. And they need to shape up or be shipped out.

Bruins host the Senators Tuesday night. Ottawa are 7-5 and have won 6 straight. When a hot team meets a cold team it'll either be a blowout, a turning point, or a tornado.

-The Commodore

Avalanche 1, Bruins 0

Uninspired. That's a good word to describe the Bruins' effort Monday afternoon. A few players played hard, Tuukka Rask played well, the Bruins just didn't seem to want to win as much as the Avalanche.

Give some credit to Semyon Varlamov (Voldemort), who made a few big stops. But the word "few" is the key part of that sentence. Only 30 shots on goal, 18 in the first two periods. Few of these shots were very good. The Bruins would enter the zone, shoot from 30 feet out, before anyone was in position to capitalize on a rebound, and Colorado would recover the puck. But Varlamov did have some outstanding stops.

The first line hasn't been productive. I think part of the problem is a rusty Nathan Horton. He was slightly off-balance for a scoring chance against Philly, and he was off balance in that 2-on-1 with Lucic. Varlamov didn't have to respect Horton's ability to shoot because Horton was too extended to shoot.

I wouldn't mind seeing Marchand or Seguin on the top line. I'd rather keep Marchand with Bergeron and Peverley. But until Horton gets his legs back, why not utilize a strong-skating Seguin on the most talented line?

A road trip isn't a bad thing at this point. Bruins are in Raleigh to play the Hurricanes on Wednesday, then Chicago on Saturday. A few days away from Boston might allow this team to focus and work.

-The Commodore

Rask To Play More This Year

"We're going to have to see as time goes on and the one thing that's pretty obvious is that with the amount of games that we played last year and where Tim is in his career, you have to think about making sure he gets the proper rest if we want to get the same performance from him," Claude Julien said. "So Tuukka will play a bigger role. But it's not going to take anything away from the strength of our team. If anything, it'll only make it better and give us some durability (ESPN)."

I think he is right, and Rask is going to have to play more, because Thomas is older, and played a ton of hockey last year. Rask played 29 games last season, and I think he will be closer to 35-40 (depending on how the Bruins are playing), as they try to keep Thomas fresh. The NHL regular season is so long, and we have seen time and again that being in 1st place doesn't mean all that much. What counts is being fresh and healthy.