Last Skate of The Day, January 12th, 2014

Jan 11, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) pushes the puck past San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle (22) during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins shook off the rust that was clinging to them the entire California road trip last night, putting up an all around solid sixty minute performance in a 1-0 win over the San Jose Sharks. It was Tuukka Rask‘s fifth shutout for the season. Rask was thrilled after giving San Jose only their second loss at home in regulation. “That’s how we get points in this league,” said the Bruins net minder post-game. “Sometimes we slip from it, but [this game] was a great example of how we need to play in order to get points.” Read more about the Bruins win from their homepage here: (Boston Bruins)

Here is the persepective from the other side of the country over last night’s game. (San Jose Sharks)

Tomorrow night’s opponent are the Toronto Maple Leafs. At the beginning of the season, they were the hottest club in hockey. Now, they have fallen out of a playoff spot and there seems to be no easy solution on the horizon. In fact, Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis is not even willing to contemplate moves other teams have done recently. Read about his intransigence and what it may end up costing the Leafs here: (Thestar.com)

Speaking of recently contemplated moves, the Winnipeg Jets seem to have had their fill of their .500 ways this season. They fired their one head coach at the top of the hour, and his replacement ready to go by the end of that same hour. Claude Noel got the boot as well as Assistant Coach Perry Pearn. Paul Maurice will be taking over as the new head coach. Perhaps his first order of business will be to get Dustin Byfuglien back in a defenseman’s jersey. (Winnipeg Jets)

On the subject of tired teams trying to fix their problems, the Vancouver Canucks, coming off a 1-2-2 stretch so far this January have announced that they are “getting closer”. You know somewhere in Boston, Patrice Bergeron‘s finger just twitched a little bit at that. Roberto Luongo is on the mend, having been run over by Dustin Brown in a way that made Ryan Miller flinch. The Canucks are currently fourth in the Pacific, and barely hanging on to a playoff slot a the moment. If you’re interested, here’s what’s going on in the Milan Lucic‘s hometown. (Vancouver Canucks)

Jan 11, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) blocks a shot by San Jose Sharks left wing Matt Nieto (83) during the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports