Game 18: What Is Good For One Team Is Good For Another

Now we can all see exactly just how much the condensed schedule is coming on at this point. The fans of the Boston Bruins love to see the Black and Gold on the ice, tired legs and all.

The Bruins were right back on the ice Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Since the Bruins were heading into a back-to-back portion of their schedule, Anton Khudobin got the start in goal.

The Lightning have gotten off to a great start so far this season. They recently have won three-out-of-four games, but they have had their struggles lately. Coming into Saturday's game, they had dropped three straight. 

As for the Bruins, they needed to focus on the task at hand instead of looking ahead to their big divisional game coming up. Matinee hockey games could throw a team off their usual methods of keeping their focus.

One minor change to the Bruins roster for this game was that Shawn Thornton was a healthy scratch. He was replaced in the lineup by Jay Pandolfo.

In the first period, things were sloppy for the Bruins. They allowed two power play goals after taking a few costly penalties. Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn were the goal scorers for the Lightning.

After a couple of fights early on in the game, the Bruins started to find their rhythm. Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley each had a goal in the second period to tie the game. Both goals came from the far side (left point) of the net, a pretty impressive and difficult angle to shoot from. The game went back and forth until late in the third period when Brad Marchand netted his 11th goal of the year on the power play. The final score was 3-2 in favor of the B's. They now have a six-game winning streak.

The Bruins would like to have this game back as far as their early execution. The fact that they scored two power play goals completely overshadowed the first few minutes of the game where they allowed two power play goals, which is a rarity. On the other hand, a win is a win.

The Bruins will play their next game on Sunday night against the Montreal Canadiens. 

Gold Star: Gregory Campbell...He never gets enough credit sometimes. His fight sparked the Bruins and his clutch defensive play was key down the stretch.

Black Star: Chris Bourque...He was demoted to the fourth line and saw only six minutes of ice time. We should not be surprised if he becomes a scratch in the next couple of games.