Last Skate of The Day, January 14, 2014

Nov 9, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman

(33) shakes hands with Sam Berns, who suffers from the disease progeria, prior to a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs were able to hand the Bruins a rare home loss tonight. The Leafs played a stronger game and the Bruins committed too many penalties in a 4-3 win. The loss seemed especially painful after the Bruins held a moment of silence for one of the strongest members of the Bruins family, Sam Berns. Berns lost his battle with the rare genetic disorder progeria at the age of seventeen on Friday. Here is a little snippet from the life of a fan that got to know the Bruins better than most of us ever will, and how he touched their lives, especially the life of our captain, Zdeno Chara. (Sporting News)

Here’s the breakdown of how the Bruins broke down. I can think of no better source than the Boston Bruins themselves. It was great to see a few things though. Shawn Thornton got his first five for fighting since his suspension just three minutes into the game, and new dad Johnny Boychuk put in one of the best hits this season.(Boston Bruins)

For a fair and balanced perspective, here is how the Toronto Maple Leafs saw the game play out. They played like it was game eight of the quarterfinals and earned the win tonight. (Toronto Maple Leafs)

The Bruins were once again hurting on the blue line in the game. Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton was scratched from the game with symptoms of what was believed to be a mild concussion. The Bruins blue line has been stretched pretty thin this season, and once again the remaining people on defense have had to put in the extra effort to keep the Black and Gold competitive this season. (Boston Herald)

While the Bruins have been stretched thin on defense, things haven’t been rosy for the forwards either. At one point in the season, it seemed that the Providence Bruins were making more of an impact then the NHL players. One of the players the Bruins are happy to have back is Loui Eriksson. It wasn’t easy for him this season. He suffered two concussions this season (courtesy of the Buffalo Sabres’ “perma-goon” John Scott and the Pittsburgh Penguins Brooks Orpik) and it cost him an awful lot of playing time. Here’s how the Bruins winger got through it, and how the advice of future saint Patrice Bergeron helped. (CSNNE)