Game 9: Statement Game

In the world of sports, the unwritten rule for a team coming off a victory is to take it and quickly move on to the next game.

For the Boston Bruins, that "rule" has become an afterthought.

What took place on Wednesday night in Buffalo was hard to watch and even harder to move on from. John Scott blindsided Loui Eriksson with a hit to the head. Since then, Eriksson has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely. As for the perpetrator, Scott is suspended indefinitely until he has his in-person hearing with the NHL. 

The two teams will face each other again on December 19, but who is keeping track.....

Anyway, the Bruins put that behind them the best way that they could as they took on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. 

The Sharks have always been one of the premier teams in the league and this year, that is no different. They have yet to lose in regulation, so this was going to be a tough test for Boston. Also, Freddie Hamilton was in the lineup for the Sharks. He is the brother of B's defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

Jordan Caron took Eriksson's place in the lineup for this game and probably for the foreseeable future. Tuukka Rask also made his return to the net in this one. He opposed Antti Niemi (SJ). 

Through the first two periods, the Sharks absolutely dominated the Bruins. Even though the play was dominated in both zones by San Jose, both goaltenders were in All-Star form. Specifically, Rask stopped 25 shots through the first 40 minutes. That propelled the Bruins to nabbing the first goal of the game towards the end of the second period. Jarome Iginla recorded his first goal as a Bruin as he slid the puck in under Niemi, who made some key stops on the Bruins up until that point.

In the third period, the Sharks got right back into it on an early goal by Patrick Marleau.The game went back and forth until David Krejci scored a goal, literally, in the final second to give the Bruins the 2-1 victory. They were outshot 39-17 in a winning effort.

The Bruins will play their next game on Saturday night when they take on the New Jersey Devils.

Gold Star: Tuukka Rask (38 saves on 39 shots, 1 goal allowed, .974 save percentage)...This was one of those games were a goaltender kept his team in it. Sure enough, the Bruins pulled out a well-deserved victory for him.

Black Star:  Jordan Caron...It may be attributed to rust, but some of his passes were not crisp and he was not physical.