Patrice “Selke Smooth” Bergeron had two classic Bergeron goals and the first line got it going as the Bruins defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-1 last night at the Prudential Center in hell's gate aka Newark, N.J.
It was a great start to 2012 for the B's which included six unanswered goals.
Reeling from their disappointing showing against the Dallas Stars on New Years Eve, the Bruins (25-10-1) had three days to rest before the Devils (21-16-2) game, the first of 12 games in 18 days for the defending Stanley Cup Champs.
Shawn Thornton and Cam Janssen had a great bout to begin the game, with both heavyweights trading punches and waving off the linesmen over and over again. Janssen can go with absolutely anyone in the league and helped the Devils get off to a fast start.
David Clarkson (15th of the season) scored the Devils 1st and only goal of the night early in the first, taking a nice centering feed from Zach Parise and coming within two goals of matching his career high of 17. His 15 goals leads the Devils in scoring, which is pretty pathetic if you ask me.
Just when you thought that the Devils were going to make this a competitive game, it was the fourth line once again that calmed down the action and turned energy into efficiency. It started with Daniel Paille finding Andrew Ference at the blue line, whose shot redirected off of Gregory Campbell's (4th of the season) skate and past Martin Brodeur to tie the game at one.
David Krejci and Nathan Horton have certainly underachieved at times this season, but both looked great on the Bruins next goal. With a man advantage, Milan Lucic hit Krejci with a perfect pass to set up Horton for his 10th goal of the season.
The second period saw Bergeron display his Selke skills yet again and if this game was on NESN, Jack Edwards would've reminded us of this. With the Bruins down a man, Bergeron blocked a shot and then chased down the loose puck, drew a hooking penalty and simply undressed Brodeur to stake the visitors to a 3-1 lead.
At the intermission, Mike Milbury and Greg Jones talked about Bergeron’s move to beat Brodeur, more on that later.
Once the Bruins decided to straight up suffocate the Devils, they pretty much owned the rest of the action in the contest. Bergeron scored his second of the game on an excellent play from Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin, Krejci redirected a Dennis Seidenberg bomb and Shawn “Snipes” Thornton even scored a goal, albeit an absolutley gross one, sending the Devils fans home pissed off.
Another three goals in the third period, another shellacking from the spoked B, another two points.
All in all it was a total team effort. 12 Bruins had points. All but two Bruins had shots. All four lines made plays. It was a perfect win to bounce back from the Dallas debacle and should get them ready for the next stretch of brutal games, which continues tonight at the Garden vs Calgary.
*Game Notes*
*It's always good to see fellow Friars in any professional sport, however last night was extra special for me. Matt Taormina (’09) and Mark Fayne (’10) both suited up for the Devils tonight and even played on the same defensive pair at times. PC didn’t exactly have the best program in the Hockey East when they graduated, so it's nice to see both players get some shine.
*Sometimes it is like pulling teeth to get a glowing quote from Eddie Olczyk about the Bruins, but god damn if Pierre McGuire didn’t make up for it tonight. From the fourth line, to Bergeron, to the goaltending, it was as if Jack Edwards was operating McGuire like one of Jeff Dunham’s puppets. Only Jack is much funnier.
*One McGuire quote that jumped out at me was that the Bruins were “brilliantly built.” Raise your hand if you would have said that about the team two years ago with Byron Bitz, Derek Morris, Steve Begin and Miroslav Satan. If your hand is in the air, you're lying your balls off.
*Seriously, this team is as deep as any NHL team I can remember in the last few years. So much so that their second line (Bergy, Marchand, Seguin) is more effective and consistent than the first. Chemistry is huge in this sport and Bergeron’s second goal was a product of the newfound chemistry between the kids. It started with Marchand controlling the puck behind the net (shocker) and after he curled around Brodeur, Seguin and Bergeron both posted up down low. From here there are so many options for each player, whether it be a deflected shot or a simple one-timer. Bergeron wanted the latter, so he bounced outside and was wide open as the Devils defense was preoccupied with Seguin and Marchand. Marchand’s crisp pass found Bergy and we all know what happened next.
*No bias here at all, but the Enterprise Rent A Car Agent in their new ad campaign is fire. Straight fire. I'm willing to overlook the fact that she is in Vancouver. 
*Not as fire as Timmy’s commercial for Discover with “Peggy” and the creepy cab driver. When he slinks into the seat at the end, I almost lost it. Can you win a Stanley Cup, Vezina, Conn Smythe AND and Oscar all in one year?
*Maybe Number 30 is in line for a SpikeTV Man Award for deflecting a shot from the wing with the crown of his helmet! Did you see that shit? A shot came in from his left side and rather than paddling the puck away, he stuck his head right in the line of fire and headed the puck to his left. Rediculous. You don’t do that unless you're having fun out there, word to Brett Favre.
*Feel free to start calling Bergeron “Selke Smooth”. Shit it's better than Poo Poo Pouliot.
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