Bruins 4 - Devils 3
8 Golden Points:
1. The Bruins winning ways continue as the once 3-7 B's have now won 6 in a row and have improved to 9-7!! They are still "last" in the division as of this morning, but they have at least 2 games in hand and are only 4 points behind the division leaders (Toronto and Buffalo).
2. Unlike the past 5 games, the Bruins had to win a close and tough one. This game was very physical from early on with a combined 55 hits. We saw Chara get flattened, a rare sighting and we also saw Krejci pancake a Devils player... also a rare sighting. The Devils seemed to have controlled most of the play in the beginning, but Boston seemed to have the best actual scoring opportunities. Usually a Bruins-Devils game can be relatively boring as both teams play a defensiveminded game, but there were spurts the other night where the play opened up a bit and you had both goalies needing to make some really nice saves.
3. This was a really solid game for the fourth line. Campbell had one of his best games of the young season, causing the turnover for Kelly's goal and adding his second assist of the night for Thornton's goal. I was very disappointed in Jack and Brick again. Caron's touch pass between the legs to set up Thornton's goal was absolutely beautiful and the barely touched on it. It's nice to see Thornton get rewarded offensively. He does so much for this team that I think everyone can agree you get a little extra excited when you see Thornton pot one.
4. Pepe Le Pouliot threw a mean change-up at Hedberg and completely fooled him. As usual I was getting frustrated with how Pouliot was playing. He seems to spend more time picking himself up off the ice than actually doing something productive. But I will give credit where credit is due. He was in the right place and the right time and although I've faced slow pitch softball pitches that have moved faster, he managed to score the game winning goal.
5. As he has been all year, Bergeron played like a beast. Unfortunately Marchand didn't score, but Bergie made one of the prettiest passes I've seen. After gaining the offensive zone, Bergie circled back towards the blue line waiting for others to join the attack. Along the wall, he did a quick spin move and played a perfect backhand pass to the Gnat. Unfortunately, Hedberg made a really nice save or that would've been a top play.
6. Brad Marchand took a very stupid roughing penalty in the 2nd penalty that resulted in Julien putting him in a time out. He was forced to miss his next few shifts while he thought about his actions. Minus 1. Right off the opening draw in the 3rd period, the B's executed the same play we saw Lucic make a few games ago: the left wing floats to the outside like they are going to go along the boards, then with a burst of speed cut through the middle inbetween the two defensemen. This time it was Marchy and he buried his half breakaway, making up for his mistake. Plus 1. YEAHH!!
7. It was a bit of a frustrating night for Nathan Horton. His first couple chances in the slot he took WAAAYY too long to let his shot go. Later in the game he got ROBBED by Hedberg. Even though he lifted the puck Hedberg still made a great save. You'd like to see Horton hit the water bottle on that one. After not lifting the puck enough, Horton had a great chance to take the lead again shortly after, lifting the puck too high and crushing the cross bar. Just one of those nights for Horty...
8. Even though a total of 7 goals were scored this game, I thought both goaltenders made some really nice saves. Hedberg made 37 overall (Marchand and Horton both getting robbed) and Timmy made 30. Thomas the Bruins may have caught a break as Kovalchuk did not play in this game. But the Devils can't complain, we didn't have Paille. They are practically the same player...
Next up: Tonight vs Columbus Blue Jackets (3-13-1)
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