Bruins Rally For Their 12th Straight Win, 4-2 vs. Coyotes

At some point in the near future-as soon as Monday at TD Garden vs. Montreal, Boston's current unbelievable win streak is going to come to an end. Until then, we must savor this slice of history that grows bigger and more unbelievable by the day. Tonight, the Bruins (49-17-5) were pushed to the limit by the Coyotes (34-26-11) but still managed to take their punch and come back for a 4-2 victory. Boston has won its last 12 games, their most since 1971 and third best club mark in history. They also have the most points (103) in the NHL, two ahead of St. Louis who has played one less game.

Phoenix was in a charitable mood as they basically handed the B's a 1-0 lead just 3:25 into the first period. Mike Smith's (24 saves) pass was easily picked off by Andrej Meszaros who gave it up to Patrice Bergeron. He followed his own rebound for the 22nd goal of the season (his 6th career 50-point season).

Shane Doan tied it 8:20 after that, also potting a goal after his initial shot was stopped by Tuukka Rask (30 saves). Boston actually trailed for over 20 minutes in game time which hadn't happened to them in weeks. Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson made it 2-1 in favor of his team with a beautiful move then you guessed it, juicy rebound.

No problem, in the second night of a back-to-back and the finale of a three-game road trip, the B's dug extra deep and outscored Phoenix 3-0 in the third period. Jarome Iginla tied it at 3:48 when he stood in front of Smith and Zdeno Chara's missile deflected off him in the net. Dougie Hamilton had the other assist on Iginla's team-best 27th goal.

It felt right that Shawn Thornton ended up scoring the game-winner. It was a very fourth line goal as he battled in front and tipped Daniel Paille's sharp pass. Gregory Campbell had the second assist on Thornton's goal. Iginla added an empty-netter for the final margin. Milan Lucic had the lone assist on Iginla's second goal of the night.

This is the start of a big week for the Bruins as they host the Canadiens (39-26-7) on Monday (7:30, NBCSN) at the Garden and the Blackhawks (41-15-15) on Thursday (7, NESN). Oh and they go to Washington on Saturday and Philadelphia on Sunday for another back-to-back in March. Bet they can't wait to get to April, mostly because that means the playoffs will finally be upon us.

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Well Look Who the Top Team in the Eastern Conference Is (Hint: they play in Boston)

Has it really reached the point where the Bruins' greatness bores us? Haha I'm just kidding but let's be honest: tonight's 2-1 win by Boston over Phoenix at TD Garden was nice albeit pretty dull. You won't see any Bruins (44-17-5) fans complain though since with their seventh straight win, they once again lead the Eastern Conference (one point ahead of the Penguins) and own the longest current win streak in the NHL after the Kings went down vs. Toronto.

I guess I overrate the Coyotes (31-25-11) because it feels like I have half their team on various fantasy squads. Since Boston played in Montreal last night (always an emotional event) and Phoenix was kicking around Boston yesterday, they had no excuse for not playing better. Oh and they're currently in ninth place in the Western Conference so where was their sense of urgency?

The B's got all the offense they would need in the first period. Zdeno Chara ripped a wrist shot high past Mike Smith (18 saves) at 5:54. The captain's 16th goal of the season was unassisted. Boston's other elder statesman provided the offense as Jarome Iginla tipped Johnny Boychuk's shot from the point for his 21st goal of the season at 17:31. Milan Lucic had the second assist on Iginla's tally, do you realize that now he's tied with Brad Marchand for most goals on Boston?

Phoenix's main reason for losing was their pathetic power play which went 0 for 5. For the second game in a row, Rask's shutout bid was extinguished in the third period but at least he got the victory again and that turned out to be the only goal allowed. His fellow countrymen Lauri Korpikoski tipped Oliver Ekman-Larsson's shot at 8:14 with Shane Doan (playing in his 1300th NHL game) picking up the other assist.

Boston's three-game homestand continues on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) against Carolina (29-28-9) who are currently six points out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

UPDATE 3/14: The Bruins recalled forward Matt Lindblad from Providence. Also Daniel Paille skated today and it looks like he could play tomorrow vs. the Hurricanes.

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Bruins Win Seventh In A Row, First Overtime Victory Of The Season

People ask me all the time which Boston team is my favorite and my stock answer is that I like them all equally. The deeper truth is that like any fan, I go through peaks and valleys with each during their respective seasons.

After watching the Celtics mail it in tonight live, there was no better treat than a DVR recording of the Bruins-Coyotes game (which I didn't know the final outcome of).

Unlike the Celtics, who can't get out of their own way at the moment, the B's (24-9-1) are a juggernaut with no signs of slowing down. They battled through a holiday hangover and terrible ice conditions (yeah I said it) to win 2-1 in overtime at Jobing.com Arena against the Coyotes (18-15-4).

Dennis Seidenberg (2nd of the season) scored 58 seconds into the extra session, delivering Boston its first overtime victory of 2011-12 and also pushing the team's winning streak to seven games (2nd streak this season of 7+ wins). And oh by the way, the Bruins are back in first place overall in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the Rangers.

David Krejci (7th of the season) gave the large contingent (haha biggest crowd in Phoenix history, what a joke) of Bruins fans something to cheer about early as he scored 47 seconds into the game. A loose puck popped out to him and he wristed it past Coyotes goaltender Jason LaBarbera (27 saves). Nathan Horton and Brad Marchand had the assists although I can't say they did much to earn them.

The ageless Ray Whitney (13th of the season) continued his great first half by tying it up at 15:16 of the first period. It was all him as he made something out of nothing by stickhandling through two Bruins defenders and flipping a shot past Tuukka Rask (21 saves; 8-4-1).

Ex-Canucks goon Raffi Torres blatantly elbowed Andrew Ference later in the first but Adam McQuaid responded immediately by beating the shit out of Torres. I felt like I was back in high school watching ECW as Quaider opened up a huge gash on Torres' face.

Nothing really happened of note in the second or third periods beside a couple nice saves. Rask stuffed Whitney on a breakaway attempt and LaBarbera caught Marchand's shot on a partial breakaway.

Seidenberg's goal was like Krejci's in that it came out of nowhere. The defenseman was pinching in and he shot the puck on net. It appeared to deflect off Chris Kelly but Seidenberg was credited with the goal while Kelly and Benoit Pouliot had the assists.

The Bruins close out 2011-and what a year it was-by meeting the Stars in Dallas on Saturday night. Expect Tim Thomas (11 days of rest between appearances) to get the start as the B's look to beat former teammate Michael Ryder in his first game against Boston since helping them win the Stanley Cup in June.

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Patrice Bergeron To Be Featured On NHL 36

Every day, I'm reminded why Twitter is so valuable if you consider yourself a true sports fan. With the constant flow of information, it's almost impossible to keep up with it but depending on who you follow, Twitter always comes through with the goods.

This morning, the excellent Matt Kalman (@TheBruinsBlog) tweeted that Bruins center Patrice Bergeron will be featured on NHL 36 next Wednesday. I haven't seen any episodes of the show yet but I've seen a couple commercials for it on the NHL Network. Cameras follow around different NHL players for 36 hours, hence the show title. It seems like a great idea and I can't wait to see Bergeron.

The assistant captain is a fan favorite and for good reason. You won't find players who are more dependable or even keeled than him on Boston or on other NHL teams. He excels at basically every facet of the game and he also seems like an even better guy and teammate. As you can tell, my man love for Bergeron is off the charts.

He has seven goals, 21 assists and he's plus +21. NESN announcer Jack Edwards has been touting Bergeron's Seilke award (defensive forward) candidacy since the 2011-12 season started so it would be nice to see the NHL similarly give him a chance when the award nominees are named in the spring.

Apparently the cameras from NHL 36 began recording Bergeron today as the Bruins left for Phoenix. They play the Coyotes tomorrow night in the desert before heading to Dallas for a New Year's Eve meeting with the Stars.

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Last season is over, time to move on

When the Boston Bruins epically pissed down their leg in May, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference semifinals after leading 3-0 in the series and 3-0 in Game 7 (only 3rd NHL team, 4th in pro sports to cough up 3-0 series lead), there were two choices: never watch the team again or get over the devastating loss (eventually) and look forward.

Like most people, I chose the latter if only because I felt like the B's are on the cusp of being very, very good.

After drafting Tyler Seguin No. 2 overall in the 2010 NHL draft and shipping Dennis Wideman to the Florida Panthers for Nathan Horton (pictured above with his smokeshow wife) and Gregory Campbell, Boston had two scoring studs that it sorely lacked last season.

It's still the Bruins who haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1972 and nothing is ever easy or smooth. That point was hammered home with Marc Savard's post-concussion symptoms that will postpone his return indefinitely. Add to that, Boston completely sleep-walked through their season-opener vs. the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday in Prague, Czech Republic.

Phoenix dominated all game long and won 5-2 although Horton did score twice in his Boston debut.

It figures that I'd park myself in front of the TV to watch all of that stink pie but I missed two periods of yesterday's 3-0 win over those same Coyotes in the O2 Arena in Praha (aka Prague).

A 10 a.m. EST start on a Sunday the morning after my gf's birthday ensured that watching the game live was a pipe dream. However, I did witness Seguin's first career goal (a lovely breakaway where he deeked Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and put the backhander in).

Yesterday was a breath of fresh air for the franchise and it showed why the Bruins are a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference and beyond. Their backup goalie Tim Thomas stopped 29 shots for the shutout, Milan Lucic and Horton scored second period goals and David Krejci had two assists.

Boston has proven the last two seasons that they can play defense and last year with the emergence of Tuukka Rask, they have as good a 1-2 punch between the pipes as you'll find.

The B's get back to action on this side of the pond on Saturday night at New Jersey and the home opener back at the TD Garden is Oct. 21 vs. the Washington Capitals.

No fan base in New England comes close to the Bruins in terms of irrational love and support. To put it simply, if you still follow this team you're a die-hard. Their owners and management have given the fan base plenty of reasons to leave and never come back but there they were showing up in big numbers for two Islanders-Bruins rookie games at the Garden a few weeks ago.

The Red Sox are stuck in neutral in the best division in baseball, nobody knows what to expect from the Patriots week to week and the Celtics are great. The Bruins fill the void in terms of passionate and knowledgeable fans, see you at the Garden.