Game 28: From First To Second

There are some things that are so obvious that they do not need to be pointed out, especially by someone who constructs a blog that goes without reading by his peers....

However, this blog is about the Boston Bruins so pointing out the obvious will have to be done on this occasion.

The month of December is upon us and the NHL season is heating up. For the Bruins, they will be playing in some key games that are upcoming on the schedule. Thursday night marked the first time this season that they played the Montreal Canadiens and unless you have been living under a rock, this is the matchup of all matchups.

The greatest rivalry in all of sports is Boston/Montreal. Here is one of the reasons why:

With both of these teams near the top of the Eastern Conference yet again, all four games this year will be intense and entertaining. Brian Gionta and Alexei Emelin are healthy for the Habs, and the Bruins have their roster back to full strength. This rivalry was about to write a new chapter to its history and it all started on Thursday night.

As expected, Tuukka Rask opposed Carey Price in the goaltender matchup. Adam McQuaid did not make the trip to Montreal for this one due to an undisclosed injury. This led to the emergency call-up of Kevan Miller from Providence.

The Bell Centre, home of the Habs, is surely a great home-ice advantage for Montreal. Among the sea of red lied a sheet of white that displayed one great hockey game. The game started out sluggish, but slowly picked up. The hits came often and the teams responded by elevating their play. The Bruins got the better of the Habs early on in terms of shots, but Montreal put more pressure on Rask than expected.

The score was 2-1 in favor of the Canadiens heading into the third period. The Bruins absolutely dominated the final 20 minutes. It was as if they refused to spend any time in their defensive zone. They put an enormous amount of pressure on Price, but they could not get the puck in the net. The Bruins fell to the Canadiens and dropped to second place in the Atlantic Division.

*There was a scary moment that took place during the first period. Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty checked Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk hard into the boards and could not get up. He had to be stretchered off the ice and taken to a local hospital. According to B's General Manager Peter Chiarelli, he was responsive and moving all of his extremities. Pacioretty received a two-minute boarding minor on the play. His status will be updated as the week progresses. 

The Bruins will return home on Saturday night to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Gold Star: Tuukka Rask (25 saves on 27 shots, 2 goals allowed, .926 save percentage)...He did all that he could to try and seal the two points, but he just could not get enough offensive help from his teammates.

Black Star: Jarome Iginla...It was rough to see so many off passes. What was worse was the lack of physicality. What is going on?