Posted by Gayle Simone, Sun Staff
Another shootout victory and another hero.
Tonight the game winner was courtesy of Rookie Phil Kessel.
After Sturm, Bergeron, Murray, Savard, Boyes and Tenkrat were all unsuccessful - Kessel made a great move and beat Tampa Bay goalieMarc Denis to give the Bs the 4-3 win.
Tim Thomas was outstanding stopping all seven of the Lightning's shootout attempts and made 31 saves during regulation and OT.
OK - if you didn't watch the game, you missed yet another good one.
Now, you all know I am not the biggest fan of Thomas' but he has been pretty solid in net for the Bs as of late, except for the Carolina game the day after Thanksgiving BUT no one on the Bruins showed up to play in that one.
The Bruins are now 12-9-2 on the season, winning eight of their last 10 - not too shabby for a club that started 4-7-2.
Now I don't expect all of you to jump on the bandwagon, in fact I think I have said it once or twice - I don't let people back on too quickly after they jump off.
I'm not saying this team is going to win the Stanley Cup, but they have proved when they come to play they can beat just about any other team.
Maybe my wish list of having a true, bonafide #1 netminder can be put on hold for the moment. Again I said MAYBE.
So, with the apparent turn around - anyone else out there going to start tuning in to more Bruins games? Do you think the club can make the playoffs if they keep playing this way? If not, what are they missing and how do they fix it?
Starting to believe this team might sneak into the playoffs, though I have to question the "they can beat anyone" line there, Gayle. They can beat most teams, but I'd still love to see them beat a Carolina or one of the upper echelon squads.
Also, good game last night, but how pathetic that two teams can only score 1-goal in 14-penalty shot chances?
Posted by Teddy Panos | December 1, 2006 12:37 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 12:37
I don't think it was a matter of "pathetic" in the shoot out. I think it was a matter of two really hot goalies still on their stride. Even Dale said it, that players, especially goalies, spend more time looking at shoot out videos. It took the Bruins getting to a shooter who never took a shoot out attempt to get one by Denis.
Also, I believe it's been said in the papers today that Kessel is probably the most gifted goal scorer on the team. Once he has a time to fill out physically, and mature into the NHL game, is going to be better than any one in Bruins nation can phathom.
As far as beating an upper echelon team...what is Toronto? They are well ahead of the Bruins in the East. I think the Carolina game was a fluke. This weekend should be interesting to see where they stand, after a road test at Carolina and a tilt with perrenial rival Montreal.
Posted by GWBruinsfan | December 1, 2006 1:33 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 13:33
If that's the case, Martin Brodeur will never allow a shootout goal. Though I bet if you trim the goalie's padding down to 1980's size, you'll see a bit more scoring in shootouts. As good as he's playing, I find it hard to believe Tim Thomas is good enough to stop 7 consecutive breakaways without a little help from his friends.
Posted by Teddy Panos | December 1, 2006 1:42 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 13:42
Thomas has been pretty bad in shoot out games except for the last couple. If you are looking for a fluke..this was it. Normally, i would expect the Bruins to lose 90% of the shoot outs there are involved with.
Posted by MaLockFan | December 1, 2006 4:28 PM
Posted on December 1, 2006 16:28