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Boston Bruins Blogger •
With under two minutes to play in Saturday's matchup between the Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins, a number of key, mesmerizing saves by Tim Thomas appeared as though they'd be going to waste as the B's trailed 3-1. Last year's Vezina Trophy winner baffled the Sens with Matrix-like reflexes, robbing them repeatedly on high quality scoring chances including this beauty of a stop on Daniel Alfredsson:
The B's, stonewalled down the other end by backup Brian Elliott for most of the contest, finally awoke when their star netminder was pulled for the extra attacker.
Veteran Mark Recchi tipped a Derek Morris bomb by Elliott to bring the B's to within one. Recchi and linemates David Krejci and Marco Sturm stayed on the ice for the next shift, and with 22 seconds remaining in the game, silenced Scotiabank Place. Morris took a feed from extra skater Patrice Bergeron and sent a brilliant slap pass Krejci's way. The puck jumped off of the center's stick and over a sprawled out Elliot.
Dead in the water just a minute earlier, the Bruins somehow erased the two goal deficit, knotting the game up at three goals apiece.
With 35 seconds left in overtime, Anton Volchenkov was forced to trip up Michael Ryder to prevent him from taking off on a breakaway. With Volchenkov in the box and the Bruins on a 4-on-3 PP, the B's managed to set Zdeno Chara up for two blasts from the point, but both shots were thwarted by Elliott.
In the shootout, Blake Wheeler's bid was stopped while Thomas listened to the loud clanging of iron as Alex Kovalev and Alfredsson both hit the post. Boston's second shooter, Bergeron, managed to squeak a forehand shot through Elliot with the Ottawa goaltender on his knees. It was all up to Jason Spezza to keep the shootout going, but Thomas stuck with the Sens center, shifting to his right while keeping his paddle along the ice to prevent the puck from finding it's way by him.
With the win, the B's salvaged Thomas' stellar performance in a game that could have easily been a blowout by the time that crucial last minute rolled around.
GAME NOTES
* Thomas stopped 27 of 30 shots, and all three attempts in the shootout.
* Dennis Wideman was -2, and looked abysmal all night in every zone. Might have been his worst game in Black and Gold since the Dave Lewis days in late 2007.
* Morris' two assists put him at 1-4-5 in the last three games. Both he and Chara were +2 on the night.
* The contest was Recchi's 1500th career game.
* Daniel Alfredsson's goal was the third shorty the B's have allowed this season, tying the Lightning for worst in the league in that category.
* Even more disturbing is the fact that the Bruins PP has allowed half as many goals (3) as they have scored (6).
* Blake Wheeler, with his 3rd goal of the year tonight, is on pace for around 25 goals, but he just looks...."off" to me. Am I alone here?
* Milan Michalek has been great for the Senators. He now has 6 goals in the last 5 games after his third period tally against Boston.
* How did Jonathan Cheechoo ever score 50 goals? Dany Heatley, now 28 and in the prime of his career, should be thoroughly embarrassed if he doesn't pot at least 40 this year alongside Jumbo Joe.
* No Trent Whitfield tonight as Shawn Thornton was back in the lineup. Whew. Thornton had 11:11 of ice time and a nice scrap with Matt Carkner.
THREE KEYS REVISITED
1. Keep up the good work on the PK.
Result: PASS
Ottawa's horrific 12.5% rate on the PP will drop even lower as the B's stopped all three of their opportunities.
2. Minimize Alfredsson's impact.
Result: FAIL
Alfredsson had one goal (shorthanded) on four shots, and should have had two goals were it not for Thomas' incredible 2nd period stop.
3. History on TT's side.
Result: PASS
Thomas entered the game with a spectacular record, GAA and Sv% against the Sens. While 27 saves on 30 shots might not jump out at you, the fact that so many of them were of the highlight reel variety makes Thomas' performance thumbs-up worthy.
JC
ROCK THE VOTE: Fan Poll Friday: Best Way To End a Regular Season Game Tied After Three Periods
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS?: Email HockeybuzzBruins
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: The HockeybuzzBruins Youtube Channel
FOLLOW ME TO FREEDOM: JC's Tweets
BOOKWORM: The Details of JC's New England Hockey Book in the Works
The B's, stonewalled down the other end by backup Brian Elliott for most of the contest, finally awoke when their star netminder was pulled for the extra attacker.
Veteran Mark Recchi tipped a Derek Morris bomb by Elliott to bring the B's to within one. Recchi and linemates David Krejci and Marco Sturm stayed on the ice for the next shift, and with 22 seconds remaining in the game, silenced Scotiabank Place. Morris took a feed from extra skater Patrice Bergeron and sent a brilliant slap pass Krejci's way. The puck jumped off of the center's stick and over a sprawled out Elliot.
Dead in the water just a minute earlier, the Bruins somehow erased the two goal deficit, knotting the game up at three goals apiece.
With 35 seconds left in overtime, Anton Volchenkov was forced to trip up Michael Ryder to prevent him from taking off on a breakaway. With Volchenkov in the box and the Bruins on a 4-on-3 PP, the B's managed to set Zdeno Chara up for two blasts from the point, but both shots were thwarted by Elliott.
In the shootout, Blake Wheeler's bid was stopped while Thomas listened to the loud clanging of iron as Alex Kovalev and Alfredsson both hit the post. Boston's second shooter, Bergeron, managed to squeak a forehand shot through Elliot with the Ottawa goaltender on his knees. It was all up to Jason Spezza to keep the shootout going, but Thomas stuck with the Sens center, shifting to his right while keeping his paddle along the ice to prevent the puck from finding it's way by him.
With the win, the B's salvaged Thomas' stellar performance in a game that could have easily been a blowout by the time that crucial last minute rolled around.
GAME NOTES
* Thomas stopped 27 of 30 shots, and all three attempts in the shootout.
* Dennis Wideman was -2, and looked abysmal all night in every zone. Might have been his worst game in Black and Gold since the Dave Lewis days in late 2007.
* Morris' two assists put him at 1-4-5 in the last three games. Both he and Chara were +2 on the night.
* The contest was Recchi's 1500th career game.
* Daniel Alfredsson's goal was the third shorty the B's have allowed this season, tying the Lightning for worst in the league in that category.
* Even more disturbing is the fact that the Bruins PP has allowed half as many goals (3) as they have scored (6).
* Blake Wheeler, with his 3rd goal of the year tonight, is on pace for around 25 goals, but he just looks...."off" to me. Am I alone here?
* Milan Michalek has been great for the Senators. He now has 6 goals in the last 5 games after his third period tally against Boston.
* How did Jonathan Cheechoo ever score 50 goals? Dany Heatley, now 28 and in the prime of his career, should be thoroughly embarrassed if he doesn't pot at least 40 this year alongside Jumbo Joe.
* No Trent Whitfield tonight as Shawn Thornton was back in the lineup. Whew. Thornton had 11:11 of ice time and a nice scrap with Matt Carkner.
THREE KEYS REVISITED
1. Keep up the good work on the PK.
Result: PASS
Ottawa's horrific 12.5% rate on the PP will drop even lower as the B's stopped all three of their opportunities.
2. Minimize Alfredsson's impact.
Result: FAIL
Alfredsson had one goal (shorthanded) on four shots, and should have had two goals were it not for Thomas' incredible 2nd period stop.
3. History on TT's side.
Result: PASS
Thomas entered the game with a spectacular record, GAA and Sv% against the Sens. While 27 saves on 30 shots might not jump out at you, the fact that so many of them were of the highlight reel variety makes Thomas' performance thumbs-up worthy.
JC
ROCK THE VOTE: Fan Poll Friday: Best Way To End a Regular Season Game Tied After Three Periods
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS?: Email HockeybuzzBruins
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: The HockeybuzzBruins Youtube Channel
FOLLOW ME TO FREEDOM: JC's Tweets
BOOKWORM: The Details of JC's New England Hockey Book in the Works
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