The Boston Bruins (9-3-3) continued to make huge strides as they went into Chicago (7-3-4) last night and walked away with a 2-1 shootout victory at the United Center. The fourth win in a row put the Bruins atop the Atlantic Division.
This matchup featured two of the NHL's most up and coming teams featuring plenty of young talent and solid goaltenders. Despite the lack of goals, the portion of the game that I caught was extremely exciting.
With 54 seconds left in the second period, Bruins forward Marco Sturm broke the scoreless tie. He scored his fourth goal of the season, on a power play with assists from Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron.
Nine minutes into the third, Blackhawks stud Jonathan Toews tied it up (second goal of the season) with a power play goal of his own from Patrick Kane and Cam Barker.
The two stars of this game were Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (31 saves) and Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin (38 saves). Thomas stood on his head (as he's known to do) with 18 saves in the first period. After that, Boston woke up and outshot Chicago 33-14 through overtime.
Khabibulin made a couple of ridiculous saves in the extra session, forcing the shootout (one of the Bruins' biggest weaknesses).
Proving that this team is already turning the corner (from earlier in the season when they lost three shootouts in a row), the Bruins received a goal from Blake Wheeler before P.J. Axelsson won it on the third shot.
The Montreal Canadiens come to town tonight in what should be a great game. Unfortunately, the Patriots-Jets showdown happening tonight as well means few will see the B's after the football game starts.
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