Causeway Crowd’s Three Stars (Bruins vs Senators)

Mar 21, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Boston Bruins goalie Anton Khudobin (35) stretches during a break in play in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

What can I say? I bleed black and gold, but you got to give it to the Senators. That team once again forced the Bruins to dig down really deep to come up with a literal last minute goal to get them over the hump. In a measure of pure talent, the Bruins have it all over the Senators. The Senators have us dead to rights in the heart department though. They were making life interesting the entire game for Boston. Robin Lehner did an excellent job stopping the B’s best shots on net.

The only things that caused a dip in my respect for the Senators were these: First, the entire Ottawa line starts pounding on a hurt player. Kaspers Daugavins got a two minute penalty for roughing, but (in my opinion) there should have been an unsportsmanlike conduct tossed in there somewhere. Second, did anyone see Lehner’s tantrum after the Seidenberg goal? It doesn’t speak well for your team’s character when your goalie implodes after a goal.

In the end, the Bruins pulled it out with a 2-1 win, earning their twentieth victory of the year. They remain two points behind the Montreal Canadiens in the hunt for the top of the Northeast Division. Their next game will be tomorrow night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.

March 21, 2013

Boston Bruins vs Ottawa Senators (Bruins @ Scotiabank Place)

Final Score: Boston Bruins 2 – Ottawa Senators 1

Three Stars of the Game:

Third: Robin Lehner (OTT) , Second: Anton Khudobin , First: Patrice Bergeron

Causeway Crowd’s Three Stars of the Game:

Third Star: (TIE)The Merlot Men. It’s a first for us at Causeway Crowd. A three way tie for a star. Everyone chimed in on how it wasn’t just a Paille goal that got the Bruins on the board, but a consistant and aggressive effort by the fourth line. (At this point, we might as well make Merlot the new jersey for the third line.) Paille had a goal(his sixth of the year), a +1 , seventeen shifts and fourteen minutes of ice time. Shawn Thornton put in thirteen and a half minutes on the ice, and added two more penalty minutes for his disagreement with Ottawa’s Guillame Latendresse. Gregory Campbell had an assist on the Paille goal, put another +1 in his column, and skated fifteen and a half minutes. The Merlot Men dragged this team back into the game at the end of the second period, and it was that momentum that got the Bruins those two points last night.

Second Star: Dennis Seidenberg. Seidenberg, known by a lot of the faithful as the German Hammer, put in his first goal of the season last night. #44 is not known for high scoring, but for being one of those defenseman you would rather avoid at all costs. (From Matt)”What a time for Seidenberg to score his first goal of the season.  After a sloppy game by the Bruins, his shot with just over a minute left in the third period gave the Bruins the lead and they were able to salvage the two points.”

First Star: Anton Khudobin. Dobby does it again for us, netting his sixth win and further cementing his position in the Bruins organization. He’s 6-2-0, with a .925 save percentage(a hair’s breath away from Rask’s .928). He’s rocking a respectable 2.14 goals against average, and shut the door on the Ottawa after the Daugavins goal. (From Matt)”Khudobin definitely made a case as why he should get more starts for the Bruins.  He made two timely saves at the end of the first and second period to prevent the Bruins from going into both intermissions giving up a late goal.  He was great all night stopping 27 of 28 shots and once again proved to be a solid goaltender in the NHL. ”