Bruins 5 - Lightning 2
After a relieving successful California road trip that saw the B's take two out of the three games, there first home game back was a perfect opportunity to get some revenge. The last time these two teams met, the Lightning made the B's look like orange cones, winning 6-1. Although the personnel isn't different, this is a completely different team. The butt whoopin' that they received down in the sunshine state, although very painful to watch, may have been the wake up call this team needed.
- First and foremost, that was a nice, brief celebration of Big Z hitting 1,000 games before the puck dropped. For a man his size, for the style of hockey he plays, and for the amount of minutes he plays, 1,000 games is a real credit to how hard Chara works to keep himself in top shape. Good work, Z. I hope for many more... He didn't disappoint the crowd either, dishing out three helpers on the night.
- This game displayed the Bruins depth as each line got a goal. That takes a lot of pressure off of the first two lines when you get goals from the 3rd and 4th line. Goals from the fourth line are rare, but recently the 3rd line has been carrying the load offensively. Even with Peverley back, Julien does not mess with the chemistry of Pouliot - Kelly - Rolston.
- Speaking of Rolston, I said I'd refrain from judging that trade until he got a few games under his belt. He looked slow and out of place when he first got here, but his conditioning has improved immensely and the chemistry he has with other two on that third line is a relief. This is exactly what we need, especially with Horton out for the unforeseeable future.
- Stamkos is filthy. Soon the NHL should replace Ovechkin with Stamkos. I'm not sure if it's because he's in Tampa, but the NHL needs to showcase this guy more. He's young and just nasty. How this team doesn't make the playoffs with a 55+ goal scorer on their team is a sin. I expect them to be very busy this offseason. Or at least very aggressive towards either Schneider or Bernier.
Next up: The desperate Capitals come into town tonight. They lost a huge game the other night against the Sabres. Both tied for points for the 8th spot in the playoffs, the Capitals failed to give themselves some breathing room by letting the Sabres come into their own house and beat them. Anyways, the Capitals are staring up at the playoff picture right now and will be playing some desperate hockey. Another good test for the B's!
The magic number 4 points, but that number is calculated off of the Capitals, so a win tonight would mean a playoff spot is LOCKED. Just for the record, 6 points locks up the division.
I expect Timmy to get the nod again tonight, with Turco getting the start Saturday against the Islanders and then Timmy again on Sunday against the Rangers. Then if I had to guess, we would see Timmy against the Penguins and then I would think about resting him for the final two games. Those final two games I would hope to see many players getting a rest.
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