The perfect cure for a Red Sox hangover today was the Bruins Home Opener, which is the first game of my 12-game mini pack that I've purchased for the year. I took my Dad, because his birthday was on Thursday, and he was the one who taught me to skate, after all. He hadn't been to a B's game in forever, so it was a no-brainer.
And, man, what a way to start the season. True, the Bruins ended up losing, but as a tried and true Sheep I'll do my best to defend them anyway.
Three Up and Three Down:
UP
1. Scrappy Play. The Bruins showed some character tonight, after playing like crud in the middle portion of the game, they came out shooting to end the 2nd and knot the score, and were consistently on attack in the 3rd. Call my expectations low, but playing the defending Conference Champs to a 1-1 draw after regulation is a sign of hard-earned, blue collar hockey ahead.
2. Phil Kessel. Need to single this kid out, as he scored twice tonight, once in regulation to even the score (which brought the Garden crowd right back into it), and once in the OT shootout to give the Bruins a momentary lead.
3. Shawn Thornton. I like this guy, as evidenced by his willingness to throw down with Georges Laraque in Montreal, and the fact that he dropped the gloves tonight with Eric Godard. This, I might point out, was the first fight I'd seen at an NHL hockey game, and while it was a bit of a dud (Shawn tripped a bit and got knocked to the ice), I feel complete somehow. Now if only Looch would deck someone.
3.5 Bonus UP to the Garden crowd, who are set on turning Milan Lucic into the Bruins' Kevin Youkilis with their "LOOOOOOOOOOOOCH" chant. Love it.
DOWN
1. Bruins offense. Yes, they're the Penguins. Yes, it's good to set up plays and get organized. But getting set up only works if you FINISH the play. SHOOT THE PUCK!
2. Stephane Yelle. The Bruins dodged a major bullet to end the OT period, as through a rather strange series of events they found themselves playing 3-0n-3 (which made the ice look *huge*). Stephane lost his stick, and was playing without, making it essentially 3-on-2. He could have easily skated from the neutral zone and given it up for someone who had a stick, but he stuck around trying to block shots. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it's a miracle the Pens didn't score.
3. Tim Thomas. OK, not going to quibble, and it pains me to put him here. But at least one of those shootout goals looked soft to me. Still gives up too many rebounds, but not a bad effort from Tim. But he can do better.
All around, a solid game to earn the point against one of the league's best teams. Seriously, after a 4-game road trip to open the season (not to mention using Halifax as "home" for some of the preseason), the B's get to come home and play Sid and the Penguins. Apparently taking Montreal to 7 games convinced the NHL scheduling office that the Bruins needed to earn their first few victories. But they're home now (apart from a roadie against the Buffaslugs tomorrow), and you can bet I'll be spending every minute I can on Causeway Street this winter. Ah, it's good to have them back.
Next up, a bonus StubHub game against the Maple Leafs on Thursday. All that's in my way is two days of clinic and a bunch of explanations regarding why I haven't finished certain tasks yet. But that's for another post.
M
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