MVN: Most Valuable Network

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 in past Manny Fernandez. Thompson's tally was the lone goal of the opening 20 minutes, as the Bruins were having a difficult time finding the net.

2:49 into the second period, the Bruins got the break they were looking for. Jeff Tambellini got sent off for tripping, putting the home team on the power play. After receiving a pass from Chuck Kobasew beneath the goal line, Marc Savard swung out in front, putting a pass of his own into the crease for PJ Axelsson. Axelsson had his attempt foiled by Joey MacDonald, but Kobasew continued to pound away, ultimately pushing the puck in over the line.

The game remained tied for most of the second period, but with 4:44 to go, another New York mistake led to a Boston goal. Brendan Witt gathered in the puck deep in his own zone, trying to start a breakout with a pass to Josh Bailey. The pass never reached Bailey, as Michael Ryder stepped up in the right circle to make the steal. Ryder wasn't about to wait around after making the steal, as he rifled a shot over MacDonald's glove to give his squad the lead. The Bruins took that 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

Early in the third period, the Islanders had a golden chance to tie the game. Bill Guerin got a breakaway opportunity, only to see Fernandez stack his pads for a huge save. As is the case more often than not, the Bruins used the save to their advantage, extending their lead moments later. David Krejci led the rush down the right side of the offensive zone. As he skated along, Krejci spotted Blake Wheeler heading into the slot. Krejci nailed his teammate with a perfect pass, and Wheeler buried a shot in the back of the net.

At that point, the foot was firmly down on the gas pedal, and Boston scored again ten seconds later. This time, it was Wheeler carrying the puck in on the left side of the offensive zone. Krejci joined the play late, but got a pass off the boards from his linemate, springing him toward the net. Despite being guarded closely by Jon Sim, Krejci still managed to get a shot off, beating MacDonald high over the blocker. With MacDonald expected to start again on Saturday, Scott Gordon decided it would be a good time to give Peter Mannino his first NHL appearance between the pipes.

Unfortunately for the rookie netminder, stopping the Black and Gold was going to be a tough task on this day. Trent Hunter got whistled for slashing at the 7:59 mark, putting the Bruins on their third power play. Matt Hunwick started the play by handing the puck off for Phil Kessel on the left side. Kessel glided into the middle of the ice, before dishing over to Dennis Wideman inside the right circle. Wideman kept it simple, beating Mannino with a wrist shot into the top part of the net.

Frustration set in for the Islanders immediately following Boston's fifth goal, as Brendan Witt challenged Milan Lucic to his third fight of the season. Lucic got the upper hand in the fight, ultimately taking down the New York defenseman. 22 seconds later, Shane Hnidy and Tim Jackman decided to give it a go. Jackman caught Hnidy with a punch below the right eye, but Hnidy would return to finish the game.

A little more than two minutes later, New York got one of the goals back, as they picked up a power play marker of their own. Andy Hilbert got the puck to Richard Park in the right corner of the offensive zone. Park spun around, stickhandling into the right circle. As the Islanders' forward reached the face-off dot, he let a wrist shot go, beating Fernandez through the legs.

The Bruins weren't quite finished yet. With 5:51 remaining, Andy Sutton took a holding penalty, giving the men in black their fourth power play opportunity. Once again, they made it count. After receiving a pass from Matt Hunwick in his own zone, Dennis Wideman looked ahead and saw Michael Ryder at the offensive blueline. Wideman sent a long lead pass his way, giving Ryder a great chance as he skated in. Mannino tried to get into position for a save, but couldn't do much as Ryder picked the top-right corner with a wrist shot for his second goal of the day.

Phil Kessel capped the scoring for the home team by finishing off a play with 2:33 to go, giving the Bruins a 7-2 victory.

Manny Fernandez was the winning netminder, as he made 22 saves on 24 shots for the Bruins. Joey MacDonald suffered the loss, making 27 saves on 31 shots, before getting pulled with 13:02 left to play. Peter Mannino finished the day for the Islanders, stopping five of the eight shots he saw in his NHL debut.

The Providence Bruins also got to enjoy a win in their first game after the holiday, as they scored three goals in the third period to defeat the Worcester Sharks 5-3 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The game started out well for the home team. Martins Karsums opened the scoring with a power play goal 5:16 in, and Jeff Penner doubled the lead at the 12:02 mark. Worcester responded with goals from Jamie McGinn, Tom Cavanagh, and Ryan Vesce to take a 3-2 lead after two periods of play, but the P-Bruins had other ideas in the third. Martin St. Pierre scored on a partial breakaway 2:52 into the final stanza to even the score at three, before Matt Lashoff netted the eventual game-winning goal from the right circle with 3:15 to play. Jeremy Reich added an empty netter for insurance, giving Providence the 5-3 win. Tuukka Rask played in his first game for the Baby B's since November 15th, stopping 35 of 38 shots in the win. Thomas Greiss was on the losing end for the Sharks, turning aside 26 of 30 shots.

Both teams in the organization will be in action on Saturday. The Boston Bruins are home for the second day in a row, as they host the Detroit Red Wings at 7:00. Detroit is coming off of a 5-3 win at home against Columbus Friday night. The Providence Bruins hop on the bus for a 7:00 face-off in Springfield against the Falcons.

Scoring Summary:
1. NYI Thompson (2) (Colliton, Witt) 1:46
2. BOS Kobasew (4) (Axelsson, Savard) (PP) 3:28
2. BOS Ryder (4) (Unassisted) 15:16
3. BOS Wheeler (7) (Krejci, Stuart) 6:48
3. BOS Krejci (6) (Wheeler, Chara) 6:58
3. BOS Wideman (6) (Hunwick, Kessel) (PP) 9:10
3. NYI Park (4) (Hilbert, Streit) (PP) 11:23
3. BOS Ryder (5) (Wideman, Hunwick) (PP) 15:32
3. BOS Kessel (12) (Lucic, Savard) 17:27

Penalty Summary:
1. NYI Bergenheim- Cross Checking 8:05
1. BOS Chara- Cross Checking 8:05
2. NYI Tambellini- Tripping 2:49
2. BOS Hnidy- High Sticking 4:35
2. NYI Tambellini- High Sticking 12:43
2. BOS Bergeron- Hooking 19:34
3. NYI Hunter- Slashing 7:59
3. NYI Witt- Fighting 9:10
3. BOS Lucic- Fighting 9:10
3. NYI Jackman- Fighting 9:32
3. BOS Hnidy- Fighting 9:32
3. BOS Savard- High Sticking 9:51
3. NYI Sutton- Holding 14:09

Goalies:
NYI Joey MacDonald (9-9-2): 31 shots, 27 saves
NYI Peter Mannino (entered at 13:02 3rd): 8 shots, 5 saves
BOS Manny Fernandez (6-1-1): 24 shots, 22 saves

Shots on Goal:
NYI 9-9-6=24
BOS 7-16-16=39

Power Plays:
NYI 1-for-3
BOS 3-for-4

Three Stars of the Game:
1- BOS Michael Ryder
2- BOS Blake Wheeler
3- BOS David Krejci