Bruins Win One, Lose One In Colorado

Game 1 of the pre-All Star road trip is in the books. The Bruins came out firing on all cylinders and exited the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado with a 6-2 win over the Avalanche. Rookie Brad Marchand led the club with two goals and two assists. Not surprisingly, this was Marchand’s best game of the season. The 22 year old winger has shown steady improvement throughout the season and has gained confidence with each performance. In his last two games, Marchand has 3 goals and 2 assists and has not looked out of place riding the wing with veterans Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi, who scored 3 points each in the victory over Colorado. Fellow rookie Tyler Seguin arrived in Boston amidst a large amount of fanfare but Marchand, who had one full season and part of another in the American Hockey League has been a much needed and welcomed addition to the B’s. The seasons he spent in the AHL prepared him well for the rigors of the professional game while Seguin is undergoing on the job training.

Unfortunately, the win was overshadowed by the loss of center Marc Savard in the second period. Savard was beginning to find his game and showed signs of returning to the play maker which Boston fans had grown accustomed to watching before he was checked, cleanly, into the glass by former Bruin Matt Hunwick. As you can see here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0vK2etSmEs Hunwick’s shoulder drove Savard’s head into the glass which opened a cut on Savard’s forehead. Team doctors withheld the slick center out of the game. He returned to Boston Sunday and will be examined today at a Boston hospital. According to TSN’s NHL On the Fly television show, Savard has missed a total of 61 games during the last three seasons due to head injuries. Hopefully, the return to Boston will prove to be nothing more than a precautionary measure and the native of Ottawa will be able to return to the team Wednesday night at home against the Florida Panthers.

As I mentioned in my last entry found here, https://causewaycrowd.com/2011/01/21/fortune-tellers-need-not-apply-to-nhl/, the black and gold return to action this evening in Los Angeles to take on the Kings. The Kings are a struggling team in all areas of the ice except for in goal. Former University of Massachusetts goaltender, Jonathan Quick, is having another very productive season. He has won 20 of the 36 games he has started for LA and is fourth in the National Hockey League with 4 shutouts. His goals against average of 2.22 also ranks the native of Milford, Connecticut fourth in that category. If Bruins netminder, Tim Thomas gets the nod against LA, we will have both backup goalies from the 2010 U.S. Olympic team appearing in this game. The Kings leading scorer is Anze Kopitar who is in 11th place among all NHL scorers with 48 points. Old friend Marco Sturm has played in 15 games since being traded from the Bruins and has notched 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points. Sadly, Sturm will not be in the lineup tonight as he is suffering from tendinitis in his knee. The good news for the Kings and Sturm is it is not the same knee that was surgically repaired last summer. To get more information on Sturm and the Kings, check out Gavin Humes’ report here, http://rinkroyalty.com/

Most of us resolved to get into better shape in 2011 and what better way to do that than to lace ’em up and take to the ice. Why not do that with the Bruins Ice Girls who will be participating in a fund raiser throughout the months of January, March, and April. Bring an item to donate to their Toy Drive, Bruins PJ Drive, and/or Bruins Prom Drive and you will receive a raffle ticket giving you the opportunity to win Bruins autographed memorabilia and other great prizes. The Ice Girls will be skating at Hetland Arena in New Bedford, Massachusetts this Sunday January 30, 2011. They are also scheduled to skate in Revere, Fitchburg, Franklin, and Chelmsford. All of the rinks are in Massachusetts. For the full schedule including dates, times, and other pertinent information, click here, http://bruins.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=58139

For all news pertaining to the NHL in general…..please visit  Too Many Men on the Site – Fansided`s excellent coverage of the Greatest Game on Ice !

Shawn Hutcheon can be followed on twitter by going to www.twitter.com/@shawnhutcheon. You can also become his friend on facebook by going to www.facebook.com/shawnhutcheon.