Bear Facts, Boston Bruins Weekly Review: A Good Week for Jan 8-14

In the last three games of the Boston Bruins, we have seen disappointment, redemption, elation and heart attacks.  All inside of a week.

Disappointment

The Bruins had a two-goal lead heading into the final period, only to squander it in the final minute and lose the game in OT.  To the Montreal Canadiens, no less.  Habs stole that one 3-2.  Bs get a point.

Redemption

The Bruins were poised to lose a second game in a row to the Pittsburgh Penguins, going down two goals heading into the third period.

They pulled part of the playbook from the Habs and added a dash of extra determination by adding four goals in the final 3:23 of the game. They stole the win in similar fashion in their last meeting (Bruins were down two goals and added five in the third against the same team).  Bs took that one 4-2.

Elation

The Bs were back home taking on the Ottawa Senators, and they wanted to avenge the 2-0 loss they suffered in their own barn.  Did they ever.  After playing the night before on a full effort against the Penguins, they were at it again, and this time, they either had the right formula, or they caught the Sens flat-footed.

Whatever the reason, they can't say that the Sens were fatigued.  Ottawa's last game before this night was on Saturday (Jan. 8) against Tampa Bay.  To be fair, they were without Alex Kovalev and Jason Spezza, so offense would be at a premium.

Bruins owned this game 6-0 through excellent line management.  They played the night before and by keeping the shifts short and playing smart, with a little luck on two shots that went off the post.

Patrice Bergeron earned his first career hat trick.

Heart Attack

To say this was a goalie duel would be lying...that or blindness has been inflicted.

The Bruins went head-to-head with the Philadelphia Flyers, and no less than 12 goals were scored in regulation.

If you wanted to see lucky bounces, there are a few in this game.

Scott Hartnel opened up the scoring with a shot from behind the goal line only to have it glance off Tim Thomas' glove and in.

Nikolay Zherdev was off to the races all alone to score, but on the replay, it looked like he was offside as he seemed to not have full control of the puck when he entered the B's zone.

Mark Recchi caught a huge break to tie it up.  With a dump in along the glass, the puck bounces off a divider off the glass just before it could get to Boucher, who was behind the net trying to play it.

The puck then goes in front of the net to a charging Recchi who smartly got his skate between Boucher's stick and the puck, and he popped it in.

There were some awesome sniper shots from both teams, and it made for an entertaining game.  The Heart Attack part?  How about five lead changes?  I wasn't sure if the fans at the Garden, Bruins and Flyers fans alike, could take it.

All in all, a good offense effort against a team that aggressively attacks.  The Flyers are tied for second best record in the NHL with Detroit.  To defeat this team, who pretty much have all the components to be a contender, is good for the Bruins' confidence moving forward.

This week, the Bruins are 3-0-1 and have sole possession of the Northeast Division and are currently third in the Eastern Conference.

The Good

With the exception of the blown lead and loss to the Canadiens, Boston had a good week, earning seven out of a possible eight points.  If the rest of the season can go in that fashion, it would be healthy ratio to go into the playoffs.

Their defensive play was good overall in two, and two periods of play out of four games.  The exceptions were the last five minutes of play against the Habs, and the overall play of the Flyers matchup.

The Bad

The Bruins did allow some odd man rushes and breakaways to happen.  For a team that prides themselves in defensive play, it has not been that great as of late.  Mark Stuart's size has been missed.

The Ugly

The Habs' matchup collapse and the scoring bonanza against the Flyers.

The Bruins need to stick to simple hockey and allow the other teams to make the mistakes.  So far, when the Bruins are playing the third period, they rarely lose when they have the lead.

On some occasions that pulls them out when losing and are productive enough to pull out the win.  Twenty minutes of play will not hold out forever, and if they want to go deep in the playoffs, they need to put in the effort for a full 60.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean."