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These Bears Aren't About to Hibernate

By DJ Abisalih | December 2, 2008 | The Bear Cave

With a short week on tap for the Boston and Providence Bruins, it's time to take a step back and look at where the teams stand through the first two months of the 2008-09 season. We'll start by reviewing Boston today, followed by Providence tomorrow, and without going into too much detail early, both are in a position they enjoy. The first two months have been everything the Boston Bruins could have hoped for, plus more. Once again, experts such as "The Hockey News" predicted that Boston would miss the playoffs. There is still quite a ways to go, but so far, that thought could not be further from the truth. Instead, the Bruins are in a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers, accumulating points in 20 of 24 contests. Boston's overall record stands at 16-4-4, putting them six points ahead of the...

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Defending Champions Fall on Causeway Street

By DJ Abisalih | November 30, 2008 | The Bear Cave

As far as most people were concerned, Saturday night's game would be a test for the Boston Bruins, as they took on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. If it was in fact a test, the Black and Gold passed. Boston got out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, and never looked back, in a 4-1 victory at the TD Banknorth Garden. Despite what the final score might indicate, the beginning of the first period served as a bit of a scare for the home crowd. The Red Wings came out of the locker room ready for anything, as they put six shots on goal in the first 2:43 of action. Luckily for the Bruins, Manny Fernandez came to play once again, and the game remained scoreless. Boston was unable to record their first shot on goal until the 12-minute mark of the opening stanza, but...

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Bruins Feast on Islanders, 7-2

By DJ Abisalih | November 29, 2008 | The Bear Cave

In past seasons, teams across the National Hockey League have encouraged fans to come to home games wearing white. After seeing what happened Friday afternoon at the TD Banknorth Garden, it certainly appears that black is the color of choice for hockey fans around New England. The Boston Bruins took the ice in their new black third jerseys on Black Friday, and went on to hammer the New York Islanders 7-2. Apparently, the Bruins were still working Thanksgiving dinner out of their systems at the beginning of the game, as they fell behind less than two minutes in. Jeremy Colliton banked the puck off of the left wing boards to Nate Thompson entering the offensive zone. Boston's defense was caught out of position, allowing Thompson to carry the puck toward the slot. As he got close to the net, the former Bruin cranked a shot off the right post and...

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Gordon Returns to Face Old Friends

By DJ Abisalih | November 28, 2008 | The Bear Cave

Friday afternoon's tilt between the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders should provide a good amount of excitement for members of each team. As a special tribute to Black Friday, the Bruins will play their first game with their new third jerseys. For the Islanders, an old friend is in town, as Scott Gordon will get the chance to coach his first regular season game at the TD Banknorth Garden, following eight seasons behind the bench in Providence. Seven of the players on Boston's active roster had Gordon as a coach during that time span. The beginning of his first season as an NHL head coach probably hasn't gone the way Scott Gordon had invisioned heading in. That's because injuries have led to a total of 30 different players wearing the New York sweater over the first two months. However, the Islanders have faced the adversity head on, and are...

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Bruins' Point Streak Ends at Ten in Buffalo

By DJ Abisalih | November 27, 2008 | The Bear Cave

As impressive as it would have been to see the Boston Bruins roll through a whole month without a regulation loss, it just wasn't meant to be. On Wednesday night, the Buffalo Sabres got a pair of first period markers from Derek Roy, and went on to defeat the visiting Bruins, 3-2 at HSBC Arena. The regulation loss was Boston's first since October 30th in Calgary, putting an end to their recent ten-game point streak. The scoring began midway through the opening period, when the Sabres took advantage of a rare Boston mistake. Derek Roy worked the puck back to Thomas Vanek for a shot from the point. Vanek's shot sailed wide, but kicked off the boards to Drew Stafford. Stafford swung the puck in front of the net, only to have it land on David Krejci's stick. The puck stayed on Krejci's stick for barely a second, as Roy...

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Some More Buffalo for the Pre-Thanksgiving Feast

By DJ Abisalih | November 26, 2008 | The Bear Cave

Prior to the 2008-09 season, the National Hockey League decided to change the schedule format, by adding more games against the opposite conference, while decreasing the amount of games played within the division. Less than two months into the season, the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres might be tempted to disagree with that statement. That's because Wednesday night will already be the fourth of their six head-to-head meetings on the season. In looking at the standings, Wednesday's contest is your textbook scenario of two teams headed in opposite directions. Simply put, the Boston Bruins have played some incredible hockey to date. After starting off the season at a mediocre 2-2-3 clip, the Bruins have won 12 of their last 14 games, and have built up a six-point lead in the Northeast Division. On the other side of the coin, the Buffalo Sabres have done just the opposite. The Sabres flew...

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P-Bruins Double Up Wolf Pack, 6-3

By DJ Abisalih | November 24, 2008 | The Bear Cave

With the Boston Bruins off for three days, it's time to go down to the farm to check on the Providence Bruins. The P-Bruins were in action on Sunday, completing a three-game weekend by hosting the Hartford Wolf Pack. Fourth place Hartford was able to hang with Providence for the better part of two periods, but the home team ultimately pulled away with a 6-3 win, lighting the lamp three times in the final twenty minutes. Teams around the AHL have quickly learned that giving the Baby B's a power play is not the best idea. Sunday was Hartford's first game against Providence this year, and sure enough, they fell victim to a power play goal 6:53 into the contest. Martin St. Pierre moved the puck back to Johnny Boychuk at the point. Boychuk let one of his trademark slap shots go, only to see Matt Zaba make a save....

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Boston Rookie Ruins Montreal's Party

By DJ Abisalih | November 23, 2008 | The Bear Cave

On a night where an NHL legend's jersey number gets retired in Montreal, it's only fitting that a Boston rookie would get the deciding goal to spoil the fun. That's exactly what happened Saturday night. Prior to the game, the Montreal Canadiens raised Patrick Roy's number 33 to the rafters. But at the end, it was the Bruins who got to celebrate, as 22-year old Blake Wheeler scored the lone shootout goal in a 3-2 Boston win at the Bell Centre. Aside from Roy, one of the biggest stories entering Saturday night's contest was Montreal's desire to see Milan Lucic and Georges Laraque duke it out. The two met up very early in the evening, but with Lucic under strict orders not to fight, there were no fireworks. This frustrated the home crowd, leading them into chants of "Lucic, Lucic, Lucic," directed at the Bruins' second year player. Neither team...

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The New Marek Malik of the Rangers?

By | November 18, 2008 | MVN Outsider

For one and a half seasons, the Madison Square Garden crowd booed every time former New York Ranger Marek Malik touched the puck. Heck, things got so bad that they even booed him when the PA announcer said his name for a goal or an assist.Did he deserve it? Well, in some instances he did, especially if he coughed up the puck in our own zone or let an opposing player go right around him. On the other hand, there were times he didn't deserve it and yet, the Garden crowd still let him have it.One season later, it looks like the Garden crowd has found a new scapegoat in defenseman Michal Rozsival, a guy who signed a $20-million contract extension over the summer. This is something that the Rangers cannot afford to have and Rozsival needs to change things fast or else he is going to make Rangers' management look extremely stupid...Read more

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