For once in their miserable existence, everything falls into place for the Bruins (relatively speaking)

Since they beat the Hurricanes on Saturday, the Bruins went into yesterday's regular season finale in DC with the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference locked up. With Buffalo's loss to New Jersey last night, the Bruins will travel to the Sabres beginning on Thursday night in the series matchup that any Bruins fan was rooting for.

On paper, game #82 didn't mean a thing and therefore it made sense to sit Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi and Tuukka Rask, four players that'll get heavy minutes in the playoffs.

With that said, seeing Boston (39-30-13) pull out a 4-3 shootout win over the mighty Capitals (54-15-13) at the Verizon Center turned out to be one of the best moments of the season. It gave the B's momentum heading into the playoffs, riding a three-game winning streak.

It was a best case scenario for Claude Julian and the B's as two complete frauds decided to drop by: Michael Ryder scored twice and Marco Sturm also had a goal. Backup goalie Tim Thomas, last seen getting pulled early in two of his last three appearances, got the win and Miroslav Satan had the game-winner in the shootout.

Alexander Semin scored his 40th goal of the season, 2:23 into the game. However, Ryder bounced back with a pair of goals in the first period. Milan Lucic and callup Zach Hamill (first NHL point) had the assists on the first one while Dennis Wideman assisted on the second which was a power-play strike.

Ex-Bruin Mike Knuble continued to do damage against his old team, tying it up in the third period with his 29th goal of the season. That's right, Mike Knuble would be far and away the Bruins' leading goal-scorer this dog's breakfast of a campaign, yuck.

Sturm tied it with 4:18 left from David Krejci. Thomas stopped both Capitals shots in the shootout and Krejci scored before Satan iced it with a sweet backhander.

I've said before that Buffalo is not that good and I'll stick by that. Ryan Miller is the best goalie in the NHL and the Bruins have the worst offense, not only in the playoffs but in the NHL, so that's the key matchup. If the B's can somehow survive that, they'd likely meet the Devils in the second round and even that isn't so scary.

The Olympics are over, back to the miserable Bruins

It only took one night (or one period really) but the Boston Bruins pretty much erased all the great memories and excitement from the incredible two weeks of hockey at the Vancouver Olympics.

That's a short-sighted exagerration but you have to admit that the B's are a hell of a buzzkill. They had a four-game winning streak going into the break but you wouldn't know it as they looked like the exact same team that lost 10 in a row earlier in the season with a listless 4-1 loss last night to the visiting Canadiens.

Boston (27-23-11) got a power-play goal by Marco Sturm in the first period (from Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard) but as usual they sat back and couldn't build on that. Montreal (30-28-6) is equally average but they still exploded with four goals in the third period.

With today being the NHL trade deadline, I could wonder if the Bruins will make any significant move but since I've been following the team for most of my life, I'm certain they'll sit on their hands and let other teams go for it. That's their style and that's why they're completely irrelevant both nationally and locally.

Former Bruin Glen Metropolit tied it up just 2:40 into the third. Maxim Lapierre and Mathieu Darche also scored before Benoit Pouliot's empty-netter sent Bruins fans home unhappy once again.

Tukkaa Rask had 28 saves but he wasn't the reason they lost. None of the goals he gave up were soft, they all came on odd-man rushes or rebounds.

The B's host the Maple Leafs tomorrow night back at the TD Garden.

The Bruins decide to give that winning thing a try

After a 10-game losing streak, that matched the franchise's worst skid since 1925 (you know your great grandfather was a huge Bruins fan), the B's finally won a game, 3-0 yesterday afternoon at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Marco Sturm scored twice for Boston (24-22-11) and Tukkaa Rask, making his third start in a row, stopped 36 shots for his third shutout of the season.

The B's jumped out to a surprising 2-0 lead in the first period as rookie defenseman Andy McQuaid scored his first NHL goal with 2:28 left, assisted by Marc Savard.

Sturm doubled the Boston advantage when he scored off a rebound (from Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara) with four seconds remaining. His 17th goal of the season was a huge shot of adreneline as the teams went into the dressing rooms.

Rask stood on his head in the second period as Montreal (28-26-6) outshot Boston 15-3.

The fact that the Bruins had choked away two straight 2-0 leads as well as finding nearly every other possible way to lose during the 10-game losing streak, meant that nothing was comfortable until Sturm's second goal went by Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak (24 saves). Assisted by Bergeron once again, Sturm's wrist shot squirted through Halak's pads and lifted the King Kong size monkey off Boston's backs.

They're tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference with 59 points and they can move up further tomorrow night in Buffalo. They have three more games until the Olympic break when six of their players will go to Vancouver to play for their home countries.

Is Goldberg (the goalie) still alive?

As the Bruins embarked on a three-game West Coast road trip, I wondered why am I even going to watch these miserable games since I know the outcome (no wins)?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results so I guess I'm insane for the Black and Gold.

Boston (22-16-7) actually played a very entertaining game (with two great fights) and showed a lot of heart-which is all you can ask for right now-but still lost 4-3 to the Ducks (21-19-7) last night at the Honda Center.

It was Anaheim's fifth win in a row as they rallied from a 3-2 deficit entering the third period.

Dan Sexton scored a power-play goal with 46 seconds left in the first period to give the Ducks the 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

In one of its most inspired periods of the season, the Bruins pumped in three second period goals, giving them a precarious 3-2 lead heading into the third.

Zdeno Chara started it off with a blast from the point, his fourth goal of the season, from David Krejci and Michael Ryder. Believe it or not, Big Z actually leads the Bruins in points despite the fact that he's having a pretty ho hum offensive season thus far.

A little over three minutes later, the B's grabbed the 2-1 lead as Matt Hunwick scored his sixth of the season from Mark Recchi and Marco Sturm.

Somebody named Matt Beleskey tied it up for Anaheim after B's goalie Tukkaa Rask (28 saves) fumbled with the puck behind the net. Puck-handling is most certainly not the talented Fin's strong suit.

Next, Sturm tipped home a wrist shot by Recchi. Miroslav Satan also assisted. Since the Bruins have absolutely no goal-scoring prowess (have I mentioned that before?) a vast majority of their goals come from tip-ins (hello Recchi) and rebounds around the net. As my friend likes to say, "it's all about mucking and grinding!" Just thought you'd like to know that.

Rask's crazy Tim Thomas-style deflected save fell basically on the goal line and Ryan Getzlaf pounced on it early in the third for the Ducks. Then Steve Eminger's first NHL goal turned out to be the game-winner as Boston could not get one more by Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller (27 saves).

Boston travels to San Jose tonight to take on former star Joe Thornton and his all-star team of studs. It could get ugly which is precisely why I'll watch.

Winter Classic 2010: lived up to the hype and then some

I shelled out my hard-earned (haha) money for a ticket to the 2010 Winter Classic and I'll say it was one of the best investments I've ever made.

I would probably have a different opinion if the game ended in a 1-0 Flyers win (which looked like a certainty) but the Bruins' incredible comeback for a 2-1 overtime win capped off one of the best sporting events I've ever seen, let alone attended.

My buddy Jim and I sat in the bleachers under the scoreboard in center field. For a Sox game, we would have had some of the worst seats in Fenway but yesterday it worked since we were up high and therefore had good sightlines. Money baseball seats (first base, third base lines) weren't good because they were too low meaning most of the action was impossible to see.

Flyers' season-ticket holders had the chance to get tickets to the game and there were a ton of Philly fans decked out in Flyers gear. Haha, I even saw a guy wearing a white Randall Cunningham jersey. I always wonder what goes through people's heads when they were another sport's jersey to something. Bizarre.

There were hours of pomp and circumstance, some might say needless pagentry but for the most part, Boston, the NHL and the Bruins and Flyers got it right. Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke-the greatest Bruin and Flyer-shook hands at center ice and the teams came out to fireworks after the Dropkick Murphys played "Shipping Up to Boston" on a stage near home plate. Somewhere in rehab, Steven Tyler realizes the huge opportunity he missed out on.

There was no scoring in the first period but Daniel Carcillo and Shawn Thornton brought some excitement as they had the first fight in Winter Classic history.

Philadelphia (19-18-3) opened the scoring with a gift of a goal 4:42 into the second period. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (24 saves) went to cross check Scott Hartnell in the back but he forgot that Danny Svret had the puck as he shot it into the wide open net for his first NHL goal.

With Michael Leighton (24 saves) poised for a shutout and Boston's (21-12-7) impotent offense mucking and grinding but not much else, Mark Recchi finally gave Bruins fans something to cheer about as he scored the 1000th tip-in of his career. With just 2:18 left in the game, Recchi set up shop in front of the crease and tipped in David Krejci's perfect feed. It was a power-play goal also assisted by Derek Morris.

The Bruins rode that momentum into overtime and topped it as Marco Sturm scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season and what he called "the most memorable goal he'll ever score." It was also a tip-in, this time from Patrice Bergeron with another assist to Zdeno Chara.

In another great moment, immediately following the game Team USA's roster for the Olympics was announced one by one with little kids wearing the jerseys of the players. The last player they named was Thomas and he skated back onto the ice with a Team USA jersey and full pads on. I'm too old and cynical to get sucked into most cheeseball stuff but this was awesome.

Thomas has never played in the Olympics and he was a journeyman that really found his game a couple seasons ago. To see him skating through the line of kids, high-fiving was one of the best moments in sports that I've ever seen.

Boston still desperately needs someone to score goals for them (haha, they picked up Miroslav Satan today) and Thomas is prone to give up a dud goal in almost every game but you can accept that because he also plays great and makes stops most others can't make routinely.

The Winter Classic is a spectacular event for a league that needs moments like that to remain relevant. I can't say enough good things about my time at Fenway watching the Flyers and Bruins.

All the Bruins wanted for Christmas was a goal-scorer, it didn't happen

I'm sorry to say it but it is painful to watch the Bruins this season.

They've been desperate for a goal-scorer since Phil Kessel left over the summer but they haven't made a move yet.

With two solid goaltenders, the best defenseman in hockey, a great coach and one of the NHL's best playmakers, the pieces are there for a deep Stanley Cup run but without someone that can score 30+ goals every year, they'll be in 3-2 and 2-1 games for the rest of the season.

Last night in Florida stuck right to the script as the Bruins beat the Panthers 2-1, their third consecutive win.

Florida (16-17-7) scored first with a lucky goal-a staple of every Tim Thomas start-when former Harvard great Dominic Moore flipped a shot on Thomas (25 saves) that trickled in. Radek Dvorak and Jordan Leopold assisted on the goal.

Michael Ryder tied it in the second period with his 10th goal of the season. He tipped an Andrew Ference shot from the point with Blake Wheeler also notching an assist.

Marco Sturm, Boston's top goal-scorer at the moment, won it with his 11th 4:39 into the third period. Marc Savard and Dennis Wideman assisted as Sturm went to his patented move, cutting to the middle and snapping a quick shot. It went off the crossbar, off the post, off Scott Clemensen's (26 saves) pads and in.

The Bruins will try and get their fourth win in a row tonight as they continue playing in the Sunshine State, this time against the Lightning.

Kids gather 'round while Grandpa Recchi tells you about when real men played hockey

On the day that the Bruins officially signed Marc Savard to a seven-year extension, it was only fitting that he scored his 200th career goal as a nightcap in a 4-1 win over the Lightning at the TD Garden.

Boston (14-8-5) have won six out of their last seven and they regained control of the Northeast Division. Marco Sturm led the way with two goals while Patrice Bergeron scored once and had two assists while Mark Recchi had three assists.

Tim Thomas (7-6-3) had one of his better games of the season, making 39 saves against the talented Lightning (10-8-8).

Savard opened the scoring with a power-play goal 8:05 into the first period. He banked a shot off Tampa Bay goalie Mike Smith's (35 saves) skates from the side of the net. Derek Morris and Zdeno Chara assisted on the goal.

Almost six minutes later, Bergeron scored off assists from Chara and Recchi.

Sturm is the most mercurial player on the Bruins. He's talented for sure but he goes through long stretches of ineffectiveness not to mention he's about as fragile as J.D. Drew.

Therefore it was nice to see him score two in a row during the second period. Recchi and Bergeron assisted on both of Sturm's goals.

Boston travels to Montreal tomorrow night for a game with some historical significance. It will be the 100th anniversary for the Canadiens so those jokers will be going nuts. Is there anything else to do in Canada? Didn't think so.

Oh Hey

Welcome to the party Michael Ryder, don't know where you've been for the past month and a half but that doesn't matter, you're here now and that's all that counts.

Ryder scored two goals last night for the Bruins as they coughed up a 2-0 lead and late 3-2 lead but won in the shootout 4-3, a forum where the B's are usually allergic to goals and victories.

Another Boston (9-8-4) player who had been invisible this season was Marco Sturm and he emerged last night with a tip-in goal (his 5th) after a Mark Recchi shot in the first period. Andrew Ference also assisted on the goal.

Ryder also scored on a tip-in with 1:49 left in the first period. It was also his fifth of the season, from Blake Wheeler and Dennis Wideman (remember him), other members of Boston's ghost squad.

Nobody is at the games but the Thrashers (10-6-2) can score some goals and they tied it up quickly with two in the second. Nik Antropov scored his first of the season (to go along with 16 assists) before superstud Ilya Kovalchuk tied it up with a power play goal with 5:37 left in the second.

Ryder put his team back ahead with a power play goal, something nearly unheard of for the Bruins, just a few minutes after Kovalchuk's goal. David Krejci and Wideman assisted on that tally.

Boston looked about to seize the two points in regulation when Maxim Afinogenov sent it to overtime with a strike with 42 seconds remaining.

Tukka Rask (32 saves), a last-minute sub for Tim Thomas, played well the entire game and stoned all three Atlanta shooters in the shootout. Patrice Bergeron was Boston's first shooter and fittingly he had the only goal.

It wasn't pretty but it was two points in a manner that this team hasn't excelled at by any means. Milan Lucic returned to the lineup and Marc Savard is due back most likely next week.

They'll look to keep the momentum going as they travel to Buffalo tonight to face red-hot Ryan Miller and the Sabres.

Good thing nobody cares about the NHL in October

For the second time in three games to start the 2009-2010 season, the Boston Bruins submitted a complete clunker.

Last night they went down 6-1 to the Anaheim Ducks at the TD Garden, in a game that the Bruins strangely enough led 1-0 after one period and looked fine.

The B's no-showed against the Caps in the season-opener (4-1), smoked the Hurricanes (7-2; I was there, maybe that's the missing ingredient) and then last night's pathetic display while everyone in New England waited for the Sox game to start.

Marco Sturm put the Bruins (1-2) up 1-0 in the first with a goal from Marc Savard and Dennis Wideman.

Anaheim (1-1-3) popped in three goals in both the second and third periods leaving the Garden quiet and empty by the end of the proceedings.

99-year-old Teemu Selanne started it off with two power-play goals 1:13 apart early in the second period. Corey Perry gave the Ducks a commanding 3-1 lead later in the second.

Evgeny Artyukin and Bobby Ryan put it out of reach and finally Perry notched a short-handed goal that was initially stopped by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas but then bounced off Perry's helmet into the goal. Haha, it was that kind of night.

Backup goalie Tukka Rask deserves a start tomorrow night at the Garden as the Bruins take on the New York Islanders.

Bruins snap 12-game losing streak to Canadiens

In a game they had no business winning (getting home at 3 a.m. from Chicago yesterday morning), the Boston Bruins (10-3-3) continued to defy logic this season as they handed the Montreal Canadiens (9-3-2) a 6-1 beating at the Garden.

Montreal is a good team and they had been waiting in Boston the night before while Boston went to a shootout to beat another quality team in Chicago.

The Bruins current win streak moved to five games while they broke a 12-game regular season losing streak to the Canadiens.

It was over early as Boston blitzed Montreal with three first period goals. One of the biggest surprises of the Bruins' season so far has been the play of its fourth line. The B's have more depth than almost any other NHL team.

This was on display as tough guy Shawn Thornton scored his first of the season off an assist from Stephane Yelle just 2:31 into the game.

Yelle scored his second of the season with three minutes left in the period. Thornton and Chuck Kobasew (who just returned from a broken leg) had the assists.

Marco Sturm (fifth of the season) scored a power play goal with seven seconds left. The assists were from Marc Savard and Michael Ryder.

3:44 into the second, Sturm added another power play strike, from Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara.

Montreal finally woke up as Saku Koivu scored with help from Alex Tanguay.

Boston put it away in the third as Milan Lucic (5th of the season; from Phil Kessel) and Yelle (from Kobasew and Aaron Ward) made the B's lead 6-1.

In between those goals, Lucic took care of the only other thing Boston had to do: he beat the hell out of Canadiens enforcer Mike Komisarek, who had a great series against the Bruins in last spring's playoffs.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price still looks like a fraud as he made 25 stops but gave up all six goals. Bruins backup goalie Manny Fernandez had his second good game in a row (which is a great sign since he's one of the team's biggest question marks) with 27 saves.

The first-place Bruins travel to the Northeast's top team, the New York Rangers tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden.

I love this team

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.

The Best Hockey Game I've Ever Seen

Are you kidding me? Other than the Patriots loss in the Super Bowl a few months back (which we'll never talk about again), could the sports gods be smiling on Boston anymore these days?

The Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-4 last night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at the Garden.

After being down 3-1 in the series, the Bruins can pull off the upset of the top-seeded Canadiens, Monday night at the Bell Centre.

The third period of this game featured six goals, including four by the home team. Boston could not play with anymore heart as they were down three different times in this game and still staved off elimination once again.

Phil Kessel was the star of this game, scoring two goals. Marco Sturm had an assist and the game-winning goal in the third on an outstanding individual effort.

Montreal goalie Carey Price could not be playing worse, having given up 10 goals in the last two games, eight in the last two third periods.

Chris Higgins (first of the series) put the Habs up 1-0 9:44 into the first with a great move around Tim Thomas. Kessel tied it up 1:54 into the second as he gathered the puck at center ice, completely undressed a Montreal defenseman then whipped a shot past Price.

Tomas Plekanec sprang out of the penalty box after a penalty and walked in a breakaway, putting the puck away on a back-hander. The action was back and forth as Montreal hit the crossbar later in the period and the Bruins hit two posts.

3:13 into the third, Vladimir Sobotka (second of the series) scored off a nifty assist from Peter Schaefer. A little over seven minutes later, Montreal defenseman Francis Bouillon (playing in his first game of the series) put the Habs up 3-2. That started a flurry of five goals in seven minutes and nineteen seconds.

Milan Lucic (second of the series) tipped home a Aaron Ward shot from the point off a B's face-off win. Kessel put the Bruins up 4-3 with a one-timer from Sturm. 11 seconds later, Chris Higgins banged home a Saku Koivu pass right on the crease. The game looked destined for overtime but Sturm had other ideas. He checked Roman Hamrlik twice on the same shift, took a shot that was stopped by Price, gathered his rebound, then waited for Price to lay out before flipping a forehand over him.

Montreal pressured the B's for the last two minutes but couldn't equalize. Tim Thomas made a few huge saves to seal the win. The vocal Garden crowd erupted when the final horn sounded.

You couldn't have scripted a better win for the Bruins; the quality of the goals and overcoming multiple Montreal leads in an elimination game made for some high drama.

The only thing that could top last night would be if the Bruins can go up to Montreal tomorrow night and knock off the reeling Canadiens.

Bad Timing

I had meant to write something about those lovable Boston Bruins the other day but I forgot. Of course, last night they went to the Washington Capitals and got an old-fashioned dick-stomping, 10-2. The loss snapped the Bruins six game win streak. The good thing for the B's is that they don't have much time to think about that dreadful performance as they come home tonight to face the Florida Panthers.

Still, the Bruins who are overlooked by almost everyone deserve a little attention. As boring as they are and similarly the NHL, they're 35-24-6, good enough for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference with 76 points. With only 17 games remaining until the playoffs start (when the NHL actually gets interesting), the Bruins look like a good bet to make the playoffs.

Sure, they could choke and just miss out on the playoffs. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised at all given their recent pathetic team history but the fact that they didn't make any moves during the trade deadline, have dealt with a ton of injuries and yet are now playing their best hockey of the year is almost inspiring. Almost. I read about their games the next day but have to say that I can barely sit through more than three minutes of action, even with the esteemed Jack Edwards going bananas over something as mundane as a blocked shot or face-off win.

Marco Sturm is the leading goal-scorer with 23 while Marc Savard leads the team with 74 points (60 assists!). Goaltender Tim Thomas has been solid, he's 23-15-4 with a 2.49 goals against average. Super-sized defenseman Zdeno Chara has had a great season, racking up 15 goals and 31 assists. Many say he's been the best defenseman in the league. The biggest surprise has been rookie left wing Milan Lucic, who has unimpressive numbers-seven goals and 14 assists-but has endeared himself to Bruins fans with his willingness to throw down with any NHL tough guy.

After two years absence, it would be fun to see the Bruins back in the playoffs. Maybe that would slightly help NHL hockey come off life support in the Boston-area.