Saturday, November 19, 2011

Game Eighteen: Eight In A Row

In the words of Jack Edwards, "When you are hot, you are smoking."

Even though he was referring to Tyler Seguin when he uttered that phrase a little over a week ago, that phrase is now relevant to the entire Boston Bruins team at this point in time. They picked up their eighth straight victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night and they did it in most convincing fashion with a score of 6-0.

The Bruins remain undefeated this season when entering the third period with a lead (8-0-0). They carried a 3-0 lead into the final 20 minutes where they proceeded to add three more goals to help secure another shutout victory for Tim Thomas.

This game was one-sided from the opening face-off. Just to show you how dominating the B's were against the Isles, they out-shot New York 13-2 in the first period and that forced a goaltender change. Rick DiPietro was replaced by Anders Nilsson after allowing three goals on 13 shots.

Nilsson held the Bruins in check in the second period, but he could not contain them for long in the third period. Chris Kelly scored two goals and an assist in a huge offensive breakout game for the veteran center. Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton, Andrew Ference, and Zdeno Chara each had a goal as well.

Johnny Boychuk made his return to the line-up for Saturday's game, contributing in a huge way on the defensive end of the ice. Joe Corvo also had a big game by finishing the night with an assist and a plus-4 rating.

Not a bad way to begin a three game road trip. The Bruins have a tough week ahead of them. They will travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens on Monday night.

Gold Star: Chris Kelly (2 goals, 1 assist, plus-3 rating, 4 shots on goal, 62% face-offs won).

Black Star: Daniel Paille...Even though he is rocking the face cage, he is still looking a little timid out there and his speed seems to be lacking. Despite his slow game, he still needs to be giving some slack in order to return to form after the facial injury. However, it should not be for too much longer.

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