It is cliche to say it, I think every announcer in each professional sport is obligated to roll out this line but the All-Star break really couldn't come at a better time for the Boston Bruins.
After falling 5-3 tonight to the Washington Capitals (26-19-3) at the Verizon Center, the B's (31-14-2) completed a very tough stretch (6 of 7 on the road) with an uneven 3-4 mark.
Now, most of the team (except Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara, Tyler Seguin, head coach Claude Julien and his assistants) get almost a week off since their next game isn't until next Tuesday against Ottawa. That kicks off a three-game stretch at TD Garden, a place that they haven't occupied too much lately.
The Caps got a hat trick from Mathieu Perreault in an exciting contest that wasn't decided until former Bruins scapegoat Dennis Wideman scored an empty-netter. It was an impressive win for Washington considering that their superstar Alex Ovechkin was out due to a suspension.
Thomas took a seat on the bench this evening, giving him more time to write some vital Facebook posts and Tuukka Rask (18 saves; 11-5-2) got the start.
Rich Peverley (8th of the season) gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first period at 17:46 when his centering pass deflected off a Washington stick and past Tomas Vokoun (29 saves). Patrice Bergeron and Dennis Seidenberg had the assists.
Depending on how much you enjoy defense, the second period was either thrilling or frustrating. Cody Eakin (4th of the season) tied it at 1 when his easy shot dropped off Rask's blocker and slowly crossed the goal line at 2:14. Just 41 seconds later, the Capitals did a solid Bruins impersonation as Perreault (5th in the season) struck in the vulnerable minute (copyright New Jack Edwards), at 2:55. It went off his skate but for some reason, it wasn't reviewed.
Tyler Seguin (19th of the season) tied it at 2 thanks to an ugly turnover by a Capitals defenseman. Seguin walked in on Vokoun and beat him with a sweet roofed backhander. Steven Kampfer (taking Andrew Ference's place-serving his second game of a three-game suspension) had the assist.
Johnny Boychuk handed a breakaway to Perreault at 14:23 and he was able to score his second goal of the game.
President Obama's favorite Bruin Brad Marchand (17th of the season) tied it at 3 late in the second thanks to a power-play goal. He followed Seidenberg's shot from the point and flipped in the rebound. Bergeron had the second assist.
At 3-3 heading into the third and with only 20 minutes before the All-Star break, the Bruins had a nice opportunity to earn two points on the road but they couldn't do it. Perreault completed his hat trick at 7:18 from Roman Hamrlik (2 assists) and Marcus Johansson. Perreault was in the right place in front of Rask since the puck found him by the net and he reacted quickly.
Wideman's (9th of the season) length of the rink clear came with 27 seconds left, a nice moment for him against his old team and a proper send-off as he goes to Ottawa this weekend for the All-Star game (really).
The Fantasy Draft is on Thursday, the skills competition is on Saturday and the game is on Sunday. I'll keep you posted with any notable information about the aforementioned Bruins that will be in Canada's capital.
After a nightmare in October, the B's were spectacular in November, December and early January. I'm confident they'll come back fresh and ready to tackle the final 35 games in the regular season as they get ready for the stretch run and the playoffs.
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