MVN: Most Valuable Network

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 the only stat that truly matters is how many pucks cause the red light to go on. This one did. David Krejci snapped a cross-ice pass from his own zone to Michael Ryder on the right side of center ice. Ryder turned on the jets, and created a 2-on-1 rush with Blake Wheeler on his left. As the two got to the slot, Ryder dished a pass over to his linemate, and Wheeler slammed it into the back of the cage.

A little more than four minutes later, the Bruins kept the momentum going, by cashing in on their third shot of the contest. Phil Kessel received the puck coming out of the left corner, and tossed a pass back to Shane Hnidy at the right point. Hnidy held the puck, waiting for Kessel to arrive, before returning the favor. Kessel gathered in the pass at the top of the right circle, and beat Ty Conklin cleanly with a wrist shot on his glove side. Detroit held a 10-7 edge in shots after one, but it was the home team with the 2-0 lead on the scoreboard.

The second period had a similar start to the first, as Conklin went untested for the first seven minutes of the frame. However, at 8:01, Boston's train kept on rolling. Patrice Bergeron picked the pocket of a Detroit defender in the right corner of the Bruins' offensive zone. Bergeron turned, and immediately spotted Chuck Kobasew skating toward the slot. Kobasew took the pass from Bergeron, and calmly beat Conklin stick side.

Kobasew's marker spelled the end of the night for the former U.N.H. Wildcat, as Chris Osgood would take over in the Red Wings' net. Conklin allowed three goals on nine shots before getting pulled, making him the second goaltender in a row and third overall to see his night in Boston end early.

With 5:01 remaining in the second, Blake Wheeler got whistled for hooking, putting the Red Wings on the power play. Boston was able to kill off the first two penalties of the game, but weren't so lucky on this attempt. Mikael Samuelsson got the puck at the top of the offensive zone, before working it over to Henrik Zetterberg on his right. Zetterberg skated forward a bit, then sent a pass to Jiri Hulder along the goal line. With Johan Franzen creating havoc in front, Hudler elected to throw the puck into the crease. The shot ended up deflecting off of Manny Fernandez and into the goal. It was a tough break for the Bruins, but they still carried a 3-1 lead after two periods of play, despite being outshot 25-12.

Early in the third period, Boston added insurance. Blake Wheeler won a battle for possession with Valtteri Filppula in the left corner, and swung a pass back to Dennis Wideman at the point. Wideman tried taking a shot through a screen, only to have it get blocked in front of the crease. The block ended up working to the Bruins' advantage, as it landed on David Krejci's stick in the slot. Krejci had his back to Osgood at first, but was able to turn, and wrist a shot into the lower part of the net.

That would be good enough for the Bruins on this night, as Manny Fernandez had another spectacular night between the pipes. Fernandez turned aside 29 of 30 shots, locking up the 4-1 win. Ty Conklin suffered the loss, after allowing three goals on nine shots in the first 28 minutes of the game. Chris Osgood went the rest of the way for the Red Wings, stopping nine of ten shots in relief.

The Providence Bruins also had the benefit of some stellar goaltending on Saturday night, as they shutout the Springfield Falcons 2-0. The P-Bruins got both of their goals in the opening twenty minutes of play. Springfield's Tyler Spurgeon got sent off for hooking just 48 seconds into the evening, putting Providence on the man advantage. Vladimir Sobotka sent Martins Karsums in toward the net, and Karsums was able to beat Devan Dubnyk for the game's opening marker. With 53 seconds to play in the first period, Sobotka was at it again. This time, he was on the receiving end, as Martin St. Pierre found him on the left side of the crease for his ninth goal of the season. From there, the story became the play of Tuukka Rask. Rask stopped all 27 shots he faced, earning his first shutout of the season. Dubnyk had a strong performance for the Falcons, but came up short with 26 saves on 28 shots.

After playing three games in four days, the Boston Bruins will get four days off. Their next game is Thursday night, when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Providence Bruins still have one more game before they get a rest. The P-Bruins host the Hartford Wolf Pack for the second Sunday in a row at 4:00. Last Sunday, Providence defeated Hartford 6-3.

Scoring Summary:
1. BOS Wheeler (8) (Ryder, Krejci) 12:00
1. BOS Kessel (13) (Hnidy, Chara) 16:11
2. BOS Kobasew (5) (Bergeron) 8:01
2. DET Hudler (9) (Zetterberg, Samuelsson) (PP) 16:25
3. BOS Krejci (7) (Ryder, Wideman) 6:51

Penalty Summary:
1. BOS Nokelainen- Roughing 3:16
1. DET Franzen- Roughing 14:43
1. BOS Stuart- Roughing 14:43
2. DET Cleary- Slashing 0:20
2. BOS Hunwick- Holding 10:22
2. BOS Wheeler- Hooking 14:59

Goalies:
DET Ty Conklin (6-3-0): 9 shots, 6 saves
DET Chris Osgood (entered at 8:01 2nd): 10 shots, 9 saves
BOS Manny Fernandez (7-1-1): 30 shots, 29 saves

Shots on Goal:
DET 10-15-5=30
BOS 7-5-7=19

Power Plays:
DET 1-for-3
BOS 0-for-1

Three Stars of the Game:
1- BOS Manny Fernandez
2- BOS Blake Wheeler
3- BOS Zdeno Chara