Bruins Feast On The Road

Being Thanksgiving, we all have a lot to be thankful for.

Friends.

Family.

Health.

And the revival of our beloved Black and Gold.

Before this four game road trip, the Bruins were meandering in mediocrity.

They left the Hub of Hockey with a bad taste in their mouth after suffering a lackluster loss to the New York Isles.

The Bruins embarked on a 4 game road trip to Atlanta, Buffalo, Saint Louis, and Minnesota which could make or break their season.

As we all know, points left on the ice in November could come back and bite you in April and May

First on tap for the B’s, the Atlanta Thrashers, a team that was playing above expectations. The Thrashers, led by returning sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, were going to give the Bruins a battle

The Michael Ryder revival started with two goals which gave Boston a 3-2 lead with less than minute left in the game, but yet again they couldn’t close the deal.

Maxim Afinogenov scored with 41.4 seconds to knot the game up at 3-3.

Could this be another Pittsburgh debacle?

Patrice Bergeron scored a nifty goal in the shootout and Tuuka Rask stoned Kovalchuk to give the visiting and reeling Bruins the much needed win.

The Bruins broke their 3 game losing streak and they were able to overcome another crushing defensive breakdown in the last minute.

The B’s had no time savor their hard fought win with a game the next day in Buffalo.

Milan Lucic, one of the Bruins walking wounded, returned to lineup on Friday night versus the Sabres.

Lucic made his presence felt right away.

LOOCH scored to tie up the game at 1-1 on a great pass from Byron Bitz. He not only contributed with his scoring touch but with physical presence as well, throwing his body around with no regard for human life.

The Bruins survived a 3^rd period flurry from the Sabres when they poured 15 shots on Rask.

Tuuka Rask, making his second consecutive start, held the fort down making 25 saves with only Paul Gaustad’s goal beating him in the first period.

The game went to OT.

Overtime, a time when every Bruins fan has a pit in their stomach and their heart races as fast a Zdeno Chara slap shot.

Speaking of Chara, the Bruins captain flipped a shot from the blue line, which was deflected by Patrice Bergeron for the game winner only 47 seconds into the extra session.

Great players come up in big moments and Patrice Bergeron has done just that. He was like Papelbon closing a game or Brady leading a game winning drive. He executed when the pressure to perform was high and his team needed him the most.

It was on to St. Louis versus the Blues. Marc Savard came off the shelf to join his mates after missing 15 games with a broken foot.

However, Tim Thomas switched places with Savard with an undisclosed injury. Rumor has it he may have a broken hand. The origins of the injury are still unknown but it may be from a fit of rage after the debacle in Pittsburgh.

One man’s loss is another man’s gain.

Tuuka Rask made his third consecutive start versus the Blues and he did not disappoint. Rask batted away 21 of 23 Blues shots which gave his team a chance to win.

Patrice Bergeron continued his stellar road trip recording helpers on all four Boston goals.

The Bruins power play came back to life with goals from Mark Recchi and Blake Wheeler. Marco Sturm also chipped in with a short handed goal. Milan Lucic added his second goal since his return

Boston’s complete team effort paid dividends on route to a 4-2 victory and their first three game winning streak of the season.

One more stop on the pre-Thanksgiving road trip, in Minnesota against the Wild. A Wild team that has historically given the Bruins fits, winning both meetings last year.

Would the Bruins be up for the challenge or set themselves up for a letdown?

Finish strong is a motto the Bruins need to adopt.

They have had a hard time finishing strong by blowing last minute leads recently.

Now the Bruins must finish strong on a very successful road trip before Turkey time!

Byron Bitz, the big man with great hands, opened up the scoring with a deflection from a Derek Morris slap shot. Marc Savard also contributed with his first assist.

The Wild took it to the Bruins putting 24 shot on net in regulation while Boston could only muster 16 shots.

It was up to the goaltender to keep his team in the game.

Tuuka Rask was in Vezina Trophy form. Making highlight film save after save.

Rask made 28 saves overall and some of the incredible variety during a Wild power play in OT.

Do we have a Tom Brady-Drew Bledsoe like controversy brewing in the Hub of Hockey?

The game went to the shootout and the Bruins young stars rose again.

David Krejci faked Wild goalie, Nic Backstrom, out of his pads to give the Bruins the edge.

Former Bruin, Chuck Kobasew had the final shot but was stoned by Rask to seal the team’s fourth straight win.

Successful trip?

4-0!

You betcha!

The Road Warriors from Beantown now have all hands on deck with the returns of Lucic and Savard. Their young stars, Rask, Krejci, and Bergeron are stepping up during the most pressure packed times.

The Bruins finally resemble the team that steamrolled through the regular season last year.

Now they just need to have a good helping of home cooking to show they can win at home too.

Break out the road trip leftovers!

The first test will be the Road Warriors from New Jersey on Friday at noon.

Let’s be thankful that the Big Bad Bruins are back and hopefully to stay!

Joe Gill is a featured blogger for Boston Sports Then and Now, Rootzoo.com and Trufan.com