MVN: Most Valuable Network

For a brief moment at the end of October, it seemed like a lot of people were ready to name Tim Thomas the Boston Bruins' number one goaltender. Thomas has played in six more games to date, but Manny Fernandez has done practically everything in his power to show that the healthy competition between the two netminders is far from over. Fernandez got the call Saturday night in Sunrise, and responded by making 27 saves for his first shutout of the season, as the Bruins blanked the Florida Panthers 4-0.

The game had a bit of a sluggish start, but the Bruins were doing a solid job controlling the play, and that ultimately paid off 9:02 into the contest. Zdeno Chara started up the play in his own zone, and fired a long lead pass up the middle of the ice for David Krejci at the offensive blueline. Krejci skated into the offensive zone, then left a pass off for Michael Ryder on the right side. Ryder cut to the middle of the ice with Gregory Campbell draped all over him, but still managed to get a shot off, beating a screened Craig Anderson. This was the lone goal from an evenly played first period that saw each squad put nine shots on net.

Early in the second period, Boston doubled their lead. Keith Ballard was whistled for tripping at the 1:40 mark, putting the visitors on the power play. David Krejci gathered in the puck along the left wing boards, before handing off for Phil Kessel below the goal line. Kessel skated out with the puck, dishing back to Dennis Wideman at the left point. Florida's defense allowed the Bruins a good amount of space on the left side of the zone, so Wideman opted to return the favor with a pass back to Kessel. Kessel took advantage of the space, skating into the left circle, before burying a his 16th goal of the season in the lower part of the net on Anderson's glove side. Shots on goal in the middle frame were 13-11 Bruins, with the Black and Gold getting the only marker for the second period in a row.

The third period had a similar start to the second, as the Bruins extended their lead to three. Mark Stuart got the puck at the left point, and cycled it around the boards for David Krejci behind the Florida net. Krejci looked around, before trying to slip a pass to Blake Wheeler on the right side of the slot. The pass went wide to the boards, but Wheeler was still able to hustle over and tap a pass back to Shane Hnidy at the right point. The slot was full of bodies at the time, so Hnidy tossed a shot toward the net. The shot must have had eyes, as Anderson stood helpless with the red light flashing behind him.

There were a couple of scary moments in the middle part of the third period. First, with 12:47 to play, Patrice Bergeron and Craig Anderson collided in the crease. Bergeron got up under his own power, and would return to the game. However, Anderson did not return, forcing Tomas Vokoun to finish the night between the pipes for the Panthers. The second scary moment was when Nick Tarnasky came a crossbar away from spoiling the shutout bid with approximately ten minutes remaining.

From there, the Bruins tacked on an insurance goal. Chuck Kobasew picked off a pass at the offensive blueline, and skated in on the right side. Blake Wheeler stepped in to join his teammate, and Kobasew promptly hit the rookie with a perfect pass in the slot. Wheeler refused to hold back, rifling a shot over Vokoun's glove for a 4-0 Boston lead.

The Panthers were only able to put two more shots on Manny Fernandez in the remaining 6:24 of regulation, allowing the Boston backstop to earn his first shutout of the season, as well as his seventh consecutive victory. Fernandez ended up with 27 saves on the night. Craig Anderson suffered just his second regulation loss of the season in 13 appearances, making 24 saves on 27 shots. Tomas Vokoun stopped four of the five shots he faced after Anderson left.

The Boston Bruins will have Sunday off, but a busy week awaits the Black and Gold. They begin a stretch of four games in six nights on Monday, as the Tampa Bay Lightning make their first visit of the season to New England. Following a rare Saturday night off, the Providence Bruins will be back in action on Sunday, as they host the Springfield Falcons at 4:00.

Scoring Summary:
1. BOS Ryder (6) (Krejci, Chara) 9:02
2. BOS Kessel (16) (Wideman, Krejci) (PP) 2:44
3. BOS Hnidy (1) (Wheeler, Krejci) 2:21
3. BOS Wheeler (9) (Kobasew) 13:36

Penalty Summary:
1. FLA Bench- Too Many Men on the Ice 5:45
1. FLA Bouwmeester- Holding 11:19
1. BOS Bergeron- Interference 19:22
2. FLA Ballard- Tripping 1:40
2. BOS Hnidy- Holding 15:37
3. FLA McArdle- Tripping 11:16

Goalies:
BOS Manny Fernandez (8-1-1): 27 shots, 27 saves
FLA Craig Anderson (6-2-3): 27 shots, 24 saves
FLA Tomas Vokoun (entered at 7:13 3rd): 5 shots, 4 saves

Shots on Goal:
BOS 9-13-10=32
FLA 9-11-7=27

Power Plays:
BOS 1-for-4
FLA 0-for-2

Three Stars of the Game:
1- BOS Manny Fernandez
2- BOS Phil Kessel
3- BOS David Krejci