Boston Bruins: Last Skate Of The Day, March 9th, 2014

Mar 9, 2014; Sunrise, FL, USA; Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) leaps over Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo (1) in the second period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins overcame a stubborn Florida defense and put in four third period goals on Roberto Luongo to win their season best fifth straight game, 5-2. The newest member of the Bruins, Andrej Meszaros was brought in (giving Dougie Hamilton the press box view of the game) and he got his first goal as a Bruin (and sixth of the year) to start it off the Black and Gold. That win also put the Boston Bruins atop the Eastern Conference for the first time in a long time. Read all about their outstanding win here: (Boston Bruins)

The Florida Panthers will not mark this game with as much fanfare. No matter what side of the fence you came down on in 2011, or whether or not you believe Roberto Luongo is an improvement over Tim Thomas, the Panthers need a lot more help on their defense if they want to be competitive next season. Once the Bruins found a seam on Luongo, he got exploited and the Bruins racked up the goals. (Florida Panthers)

Personally, I like what Meszaros brings to Boston. He’s a shot blocker and while his first series led to a bad turnover, he got better as the night progressed. Personally, he’s a better fit for the team than Alexander Edler is. Thankfully, I’m not the only one who thinks so. Bruins icon and host of Hockey Night in Canada feels the same way I do. Here’s the legendary ‘Grapes’ and his opinion on the newest blue liner for the Black and Gold. He also takes a shot at Luongo for his Twitter remarks about his old team, the Vancouver Canucks. (CBC)

Joe Haggerty is on board with me and Grapes. He goes so far as saying that he might be the person we needed to be that big presence on defense that the Bruins are currently lacking. He also believes the competition should propel the Bruins on the blue line bubble (Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski especially) to a greater performance(out of fear of living in healthy scratchville or the AHL). (CSNNE)

While the Bruins are back in first, it’s only a one point lead between the first and second seed in the East. How important is the Bruins final position in the post season. The team at Bleacher Report takes a look at where the Bruins should be and where their final placement will help that advance them towards another Stanley Cup Final. (Bleacher Report)