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

Sharks 4, Bruins 2

The good news is that the mistakes that the Bruins made are easily fixed. That's also what makes them so frustrating to watch. San Jose came into Boston after playing 65 minutes in New Jersey the night before. The Bruins should have tried to grind a game out, play mistake free, and hope to outplay and outwork the Sharks in the 3rd. Instead, they made some stupid mistakes (especially David Krejci) early on and were playing catch-up hockey most of the night.

Pavelski's goal 72 seconds into the game was assisted by Joe Thornton, but Krejci deserved the second assist. He surrendered the puck in the Neutral Zone with a careless pass that had no chance of not being a turnover.

San Jose's second goal came when Krejci didn't cover the slot in front of Thomas. Instead, he kind of joined a 2-on-2 scrum for the puck on the boards behind the net (I say "kind of" because he didn't really do anything to help the two Bruins defensemen engaged). This left Logan Couture uncovered in front, and when the Sharks won the board battle, Couture made the Bruins pay for Krejci's absentmindedness.

I criticize Krejci for not being much of a scorer. The playoffs silenced that critique. But he's praised for his puck-possession skills. Turnovers and defensive mistakes are acceptable realities for guys who can score 40 goals. For someone who struggles to reach 20 goals, and who is supposed to do the smart, little things, Krejci's mistakes were intolerable.

He's -5 on the season and that's one of the reasons he's been taken off the top line. He's better than this. He'll play better.

The Bruins' play improved in the late parts of the 2nd and scored twice in the 3rd. Lucic's goal was pure effort and muscle. Seguin's goal was a bit cleaner, but still assisted by the strength of Lucic and Kelly. I'm liking the Lucic-Kelly-Seguin line.

But the Sharks got the game-winner thanks to a faceoff win, some food forechecking, and a bit of indecisiveness from Steve Kampfer.

The Bruins are successful when they do the little things right. ALL the little things. That's why they won the Cup, that's why they had a good start to the 3rd period. Overall in the game, though, the Bruins turned the puck over 23 times (San Jose had 6 giveaways) and didn't complete many of their passes.

We saw this routine last year. We even saw it a few times in the playoffs. The Bruins fell behind to Montreal and Vancouver because they didn't take care of the puck. This team can play better than this and I'm sure within the remaining 74 games, they will.

Big game Thursday as the Habs come to town. Montreal is 1-4-2 and this is a good chance to keep a divisional foe down.

-The Commodore

Bruins 6, Maple Leafs 2

The Leafs came into this game as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. But the Bruins were coming off an emotional loss on Tuesday, and Toronto would be playing for the second straight night. The Bruins added focus to their fire, and it showed from the 1st period on.

Thornton had his first fighting major of the season. Coming into this game, the B's were 32-10-8 when he fights. And he wasn't the only Bruins who showed up and played with energy.

Horton's Power Play goal was a great example of patience and poise as he waited for the best shooting opportunity. He got the chance because Chara had a chance to shoot from the point. Chara got that chance because Benoit Pouliot drew the penalty.

Pouliot drew another penalty and Chara scored the PP goal after sneaking into the faceoff circle. Tyler Seguin got an assist on the goal. Last year he barely played any PP minutes, but this year he's been a consistent presence with a man advantage. Seguin now has 2 points on the Power Play. He had 3 all of last season.

Chris Kelly's goal in the 1st was a great example of earning a loose puck. Lucic drove deep into the zone. Kelly didn't have much time or space to take a quality shot, but he earned two shots in the paint, and the second went in.

The Bruins did not let the Leafs come back. Only 7 third period shots for Toronto.

Seguin ended the game with a goal and two assists. Kessel had 0 points, which snaps a 15 game point streak. That's too bad.

The Bruins needed to get back on track. As frustrating as that last game against Carolina was, this team has a unique ability to turn pain on Tuesday into joy on Thursday. They really do rebound well. B's host Joe Thornton and the Sharks Saturday night.

-The Commodore

Bruins 3, Blackhawks 2 (SO)

It wasn't perfect, but the Bruins finally put forth a strong effort and tried to force their opponent to play Bruins hockey. They worked hard for every loose puck, they did make a few mistakes, but for the most part they valued the puck. And Tim Thomas being a freak of nature didn't hurt.

Ference's giveaway which led to a Chicago goal was a poor decision. As frustrating as it was, bad decisions are much better than bad effort levels.

Thomas and Seguin are the two best Bruins at the moment. Peverley is a close third. Boychuk's dump-and-chase move was exactly the kind of play that the defensemen need to make to help these forwards out. The Bruins forwards are not snipers, they're not ridiculously talented offensive forces. In order to confuse an opponent, they need a guy like Boychuk to make plays like that. That's how you force mistakes.

If Seguin isn't involved in every shootout the Bruins have this year, I want to know why. He's tailor made for that.

I only wish we got to play the Blackhawks more. Two big markets, two Original Six teams, two very good teams. And we won't see the 'Hawks for the rest of the (regular) season. It's too bad.

But hey, we get to see Carolina come to town on Tuesday.

-The Commodore

3 Carolina, 2 Bruins

Another lackluster performance by the Boston Bruins last night as they gave the Carolina Hurricanes their first win of the season. Cam Ward (26 saves) shut the door for most of the game until the Bruins found the back of the net in the third period. Tim Thomas (31 saves) had to make a few ridiculous saves just to keep some tallies off of the board for the Canes. Its early, but the chemistry just doesn't seem to be there yet.

The first goal was scored by Carolina's Joni Pitkanen when he got a shot pass Thomas on a power-play. Then Old friend Tomas Kaberle was credited with an assist on the Canes first goal....typical.

It didn't take long into the third period for the Hurricanes to add another goal to their total as Anthony Stewart found the back of the net at 3:42 while Thomas although he was being screened, I think he could have stopped this shot. The Bruins found themselves down by two goals and it really wasn't looking too promising. However, not even thirty seconds later at 4:07 Tyler Seguin puts one right over Ward's shoulder after assists from Adam McQuaid and Nathan Horton. Seguin scoring is a great sign for things to come for the Bruins this season.

Once the the Canes scored their 3rd goal it was over. The Bruins turned the puck over which led to Jiri Tlusty goal. It was a pretty bad turnover, Thomas didn't have a chance. The Bruins were very shaky to even get the 2 goals in the first place. Marchand scored the second goal for the Bruins and the second of his season, but it was too little too late.

They take on my boy Patrick Kane and Chicago next.

Bruins 4, Lightning 1

The Bruins were a little more like themselves on Saturday. Thomas was outstanding in net, the Penalty Kill was impressive, and the Bruins kept the pressure on goal, shooting 42 pucks at Mathieu Garon.

Tyler Seguin has looked great in these two games. He's comfortable, he's focusing on making plays, and he deservedly won 3rd star Saturday night. He was +2 with 2 assists, but what I like seeing is that he was on the ice for just over 16 minutes. And 4:15 was on the Power Play, 0:15 was shorthanded. That demonstrates how much he's grown as a player. Seguin only averaged 1:21 of PP time per game last year. And he spent 1:58 total on the ice shorthanded. That's less than 2 minutes for an entire season.

Julien clearly trusts Seguin more, and it's paying dividends. Seeing Marchand on the Power Play also looked good. Marchand also spent over 4 minutes on the ice with a man advantage. He averaged 0:32 per game last year.

Patrice Bergeron only had 1 assist, but his impact on the game was tremendous. If you DVR the game, and the Bruins score with Bergeron on the ice, just rewind the recording a few seconds, and you'll likely see him make a small but meaningful play that eventually leads to the goal.

Bergeron needs talented players around him to truly be productive. He's not a scorer on his own. But put the likes of Marchand and Rich Peverley around him, and goals will occur.

I'm not even going to try to sum up Tim Thomas' performance. Just watch:

He's not human.

Bruins host the Avalanche this afternoon in a matinee game.

-The Commodore

Flyers 2, Bruins 1

Before discussing the game, I just want to say that the pre-game ceremony was quite cool. Having armed forces, police, and firefighters lining the Cup's path into the building, then the video of all the ups and downs of the playoffs, then unveiling the banner itself, that was pretty neat.

I'm glad the speeches were short and sweat. And it was very classy to have players from the 1972 team, along with Milt Schmidt help carry the banner to its raising point. And the poignant tribute to Mark Recchi was the icing on the cake. Very well done.

The game was not so well done. It was the type of game that one year ago would have sent me into a frenzy. Not making plays out of the zone, allowing easy entry, not dumping and chasing. These were some of the problems the Bruins had last night.

Marchand and Seguin were the only two Bruins who had truly good offensive games. The Bruins had 23 shots on goal in this game, only 6 in both the 1st and 2nd periods. Give credit to Bryzgalov for stopping 22 shots. He was very impressive, and it's safe to say that goaltending is no longer a liability for the Flyers.

The Bruins allowed their first goal thanks to surrendering the blue-line too easily. Four Bruins around one Flyer, and he manages to get through. Then the second goal came after Seidenberg had the puck on his own blue line and just tapped it toward the red line. He didn't carry it, or attempt to pass it to a teammate. He just tapped it forward, Philly recaptured it, and a few seconds later they made it a 2-1 game.

I really wish the announcers had mentioned Jaromir Jagr at least once. I certainly did not get my fill on hearing about how amazing Jaromir Jagr has been for the Flyers.

There are 81 games left and I'm not going to flip out as badly as I did last year after just one frustrating loss. These are fixable problems. And on the bright side, Marchand looks great and Seguin looks good.

Bruins host the Lightning Saturday night.

-The Commodore

Bruins Season Preview

That seemed like the shortest off-season in history. That's a good thing. The Bruins look to defend the Cup and become the first repeat winners since the Red Wings did it in 1997 and 1998. And they have most of the same pieces in place as they did last year.

Both goalies return, 5 of 6 defensemen are back, and so are 11 of 13 forwards. The Bruins lost Tomas Kaberle, Mark Rechhi, and Michael Ryder. They've brought in veteran defenseman Joe Corvo, and winger Benoit Pouliot.

The loss of Rechhi hurts. The Bergeron-Marchand-Rechhi line carried this team during a tough stretch in the regular season, then scored 22 goals in the postseason. Not only do the Bruins lose Rechhi's production, he made things so easy for Marchand. Peverley could fill-in and is a solid enough player to allow Bergeron and Marchand to make plays. But nobody can truly replace Mark Recchi.

The top line of Krejci-Lucic-Horton should be back to form. This line struggled with consistency, particularly from Horton. But they came through in the playoffs, especially Krejci. I've often criticized Krejci for not being a true #1 center because he's not a scorer. 12 goals in 25 playoff games shut me up.

Tyler Seguin showed sparks last year. Will those sparks ignite into a fire? I think that will take time to happen. He's talented, he's learning how to play defense, and he's learning how NHL players play defense against him. Seguin scored 11 goals last year and it's not out of the question that he score 20+ this year. The question is: which line does he play for? He's not consistent enough to be on the first line, but that's the level of talent he needs to be surrounded by. He's too talented to be on a grinding line. Maybe he could play with Marchand and Bergeron. But he has to earn that spot.

The true strength of this team is its defense and goaltending. And both of those should be as good as they were last year.

I was reading something about the Top 10 Stanley Cup contenders, and the fucking San Jose Sharks were listed as #1. The Bruins were third, behind the Penguins. ESPN.com canvassed their 8 experts and 6 of them picked the Sabres to win the Northeast. 1 picked the Canadiens. 1 picked the Bruins. Thank you, Scott Burnside.

Really? The Sharks? The Sabres? Did people not see what Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, and Dennis Seidenberg did to the NHL's best offensive players? Then again, none of those ESPN.com experts picked Thomas to win the Vezina this season, and none of them picked Chara to win the Norris.

18 players on the Stanley Cup Champions have returned, and this team isn't the favorite to win it all?

The Bruins return their best 5 defensemen, got rid of their worst, then added one who can not only score (which Kaberle had never been able to) but can play solid on defense. This is an elite group of blue-liners. And there's depth, too. Bartkowski and Kampfer, who were both solid when called upon last year, are waiting in the wings in case of injury.

Then there's the goalie. Tim Thomas is perhaps the most important player in the League to any team's success. He is 37 years old, but he looked healthier than ever last season. That being said, he played in 57 regular season games, plus 25 postseason games. He played about 4,900 minutes in net. 2,660 shots came his way. He's only had 16 weeks to recover from all this.

So this year, expect Rask to play a bigger part during the regular season. He started 27 games last year, expect just under 40 this year. It's not going to be a 1A/1B situation. Thomas is clearly the best goalie on this team. This will be an effort to keep Thomas fresh and frisky.

Stanley Cups aren't won on paper. This team is almost identical to the team that won it all last year. The Cup is won with execution and effort and that has to come out in the postseason. Regular season results are easy to predict, but the playoffs come down to a few plays here and there.

Buffalo is going to be tougher to beat. They added scorers to an already talented offense. And they have Ryan Miller.

Montreal is pretty much the same team. But remember, they played the Bruins the best in the playoffs.

Ottawa is still rebuilding.

The Leafs might be more respectable, but they're not a threat.

The Flyers dumped their offense and they're going to try to follow a model similar to the Bruins': Defensemen and goaltending. Pronger's great, but Bryzgalov is no Tim Thomas.

The Rangers are finally picking good talent, and they'll be strong. They have a goalie and goal-scorers.

The Lightning still allow too many goals.

The Penguins will always be contenders. And if they get Crosby back, they'll be serious contenders.

If the Capitals get stellar production from Ovechkin once more, their defense might be strong enough for them to do damage in the playoffs.

Out West, Nashville is just a few goal scorers away from being a Stanley Cup contender. Detroit is old but still deep.

San Jose has names. ESPN says they have "all the ingredients," but it takes more than correct ingredients to cook a good meal. And goalie Antti Niemi might have a ring, but he wasn't the big reason Chicago won that title.

And Vancouver... well, we know their weaknesses.

My prediction for the season: Bruins win the Northeast with 110 points, are the #2 seed in the East, and let's be optimistic and say that they win another Cup.

-The Commodore