Bruins 5, Devils 4

This team really pisses me off sometimes. They get a few bounces, make a few plays, and find themselves up 4-0. And that's when you get nervous. Because this team tries to run the clock out. They let the Devils back into this game, and that's just too bad. They lose Brad Marchand to an elbow to the head, get a 5 minute Power Play, then fail to get a shot on goal, and allow one in their own end.

It's the same on/off switch crap with this team. I'm tired of seeing Milan Lucic cruising around like it's an open skate. I'm tired of forwards that don't move in the neutral zone to help the defensemen break out. I'm tired of seeing Julien forced to put Jordan Caron on the ice in a Power Play because Lucic and Nathan Horton are lollygagging.

This team now sits in first place in their division. And that's great. But after a game like this it's difficult to be happy. The Bruins had this game in the palm of their hands, and they nearly dropped it. One unfortunate bounce in the last 37 seconds and they might have lost a point.

And the Devils aren't an elite opponent. They're a borderline playoff team, struggling through injuries.

The Bruins host the Islanders tonight. The Islanders are in a tight playoff race, 6th through 10th in the Eastern Conference are covered by 4 points. The Islanders are tied for 7th and are 11-5-2 on the road. The Bruins will need to play a full game, and not just parts of a game.

-The Captain

Bruins @ Devils Preview

The Bruins have scored two goals or fewer in eight straight road contests, losing six, so to say there is a need to get the fucking puck in the net is an under statement. They came out firing against the Hurricanes on Monday scoring a season high 6 goals, so hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

Boston has a chance to move past the Canadiens with a win tonight. We seem to get to this point then lose a couple games, so I am hoping they get over the hump tonight. The Devils blow, they are 15-14-3 on the season, and the Bruins own them winning six straight and 10 of 11 meetings with the Devils.

The Bruins are just the better team. They have a much better goalie, they have much better defenseman, and they have more depth (even with the injuries). The Bruins need to start showing they can win on the road, this should be an easy game for them.

Bruins win 3-0
Player of the Game: Rask
Game starts at 7:30pm

Devils @ Bruins Preview

Jagr makes his debut, and it couldn't come soon enough as the Bruins have been in a scoring slump lately, and have most Bergeron for the foreseeable future (concussion).

The good news is the Bruins are at home tonight where they are 12-2-2 on the year. The Devils are not a good road team (5-6-7), so one would think this should be an easy game for the Bruins. Martin Brodeur is 2-1-3 with a 2.27 goals-against average since returning from a back injury, but he has a 3.38 GAA while dropping his last seven starts versus the Bruins.

So grab some jagermeister and jump on the Jagr bandwagon, because it's going to be a 2 1/2 hour show about him tonight.

Bruins win 4-2
Game starts at 7pm

Bruins 2 Devils 1 SO

The Bruins still have a 0 in the loss column, but it wasn't easy last night. The Bruins were down 1-0 until there were 4 minutes left in the 3rd. That's when Horton (who is having a hell of a start to the season) came threw with a goal and forced OT.

The shootout was odd. Seguin scored on the first round, but it was turned back because some idiot fan threw an object on the ice. The good news is he scored again. The shootout ended up going 5 rounds until Marchand was finally able to break up the tie, and Rask game up with the game winning save.

This was a tough game to win. Playing back-to-back games (and traveling) is really a tough way to keep any kind of endurance, but when it counted the Bruins were able to come through. The Bruins are now 5-0-1 on the season and are in first place in the Eastern Conference. There next game is tomorrow vs Buffalo.

Devils @ Bruins Preview

I hate to admit it, but this shortened season is amazing. They play almost every other night, and the games have been fantastic to watch. I really expected it to be real sloppy, but I haven't noticed that at all.

Tonight the Devils come to town, and neither team has lost a game in regulation. If recent history carries forward the Bruins should come out with the win as they have beat the Devils 8 of the last 9 times they have played.

As I stated in my preview there are so many things to like if you're a Bruins fan right now, but the one that stands out over everything else is the fact their penalty kill unit hasn't let up a goal yet. With Rask back in net I would be shocked if the Bruins let up more then 2 goals tonight, and when you add that to the fact Brodeur is 0-5-2 with a 3.38 GAA over his last seven meetings with Boston, one would think the Bruins will win even though they are playing in back-to-back games.

Bruins win 4-2
Player of the Game: Marchand
Game starts at 7pm