Bruins Lose, Boston Wins

The most important parts of last night's game were the moments before and after the game itself: The National Anthem and the players' salute to the crowd.

As far as the game goes, the Bruins played a strong, emotional game. They weren't lackadaisical as they've been in recent memory. Tip your cap to the Sabres, who are fighting for a playoff spot. And give an extra tip of the cap to Ryan Miller who played an excellent game. Let's not forget that the Sabres have a few Boston connections on their roster, and this game must have been emotional for them as well. Brian Flynn, who took the opening face-off, is from Lynnfield, MA. And Nathan Gerbe played at Boston College. The B's clinched a playoff spot. And that's good news. With 6 games left on their schedule they are tied at the top of the Northeast Division, with a game in hand. The Penguins are in town Friday night.

-The Captain

Sabres 7, Bruins 4

The Bruins need to sign Thomas Vanek, or bribe some Western Conference team into signing him, because he absolutely kills the B's. He had 3 goals, 2 assists, and was +4.

As good as Vanek was, the difference in this game was the goaltending. Ryan Miller made some absurd saves in the 3rd period that kept the Bruins stuck at 4 goals. On the other side of the ice, Tuukka Rask wasn't responsible for most of Buffalo's scoring. But on Buffalo's 4th goal, scored by Alexander Sulzer, Rask's glove was just a little bit heavy. You're seeing teams attacking him high glove-side, and it's because he's somewhat slow.

To be clear, I'm not blaming the loss on Rask, I'm just saying the goaltending was a major factor in the outcome of this game. Ryan Miller was great, Rask let up a goal that was possibly due to a weakness of his.

Speaking of weaknesses, the Bruins were 0 for 4 on their power play. They didn't get much going.

Buffalo was skating like it was a playoff game, the Bruins were playing like it was the 7th game of the regular season. Buffalo had lost 4 straight, they were playing a team that's given them trouble in the past, they were motivated. This was Game #7 of the regular season for the Bruins, the Sabres played it like a Game 7.

The Bruins need to recover and regroup. The next two games are also within the division. They're in Toronto Saturday night then Montreal Wednesday night. And they have 2 more against Buffalo in the near future.

I love divisional games.

-The Captain

Sabres @ Bruins Preview

The Bruins are playing their 3rd game in 4 days, and one would think they are going to have a tough time with their endurance. Saying that, the one thing I have preached all season is that the Bruins have more depth then almost any other team in the NHL, and that's why they don't have anything in the loss column.

The Sabres haven't had a great start to the season (2-3-1), and this is a team I think the Bruins could handle easily on a normal schedule. I do think the Bruins are due for a loss, and playing 3 times in 4 nights would give them every excuse in the world. Yet, I still don't think it's tonight.

Rask and this defense make it so tough on every team to really get the Bruins out of the game. Right now, the Bruins have the confidence that if they are within a goal with a minute left they still believe they will win. I think tonight willl be close, but the Bruins will get just enough offense to squeek out their 6th win of the season.

Bruins win 3-2
Player of the Game: Horton
Game starts at 7pm