February 12, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic (17) misses the net of New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) in the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight’s brew of choice: Cisco Brewers, Nantucket – Winter Shredder – Crisp, cold weather style lager. Tastes much better now that it’s been sitting in my fridge for two months.
Game Notes: The B’s showed allot of heart coming back from 3-0 with just over 11:00 left to play in the 3rd. It’s that fight that will take them deep into the playoffs, the ability to overcome the odds late in a hockey game. Even though they lost, kudos for eeking out a point that they had no business stealing. Boston played decent enough to keep the game interesting, but they still seemed to be getting in their own way. The offense had issues getting things going at times, often taking odd angle shots or firing their dumping attempts straight into Rangers players. The defense also made too many passes in front of their own net. That’s hockey 101! It almost burned them late in the game. These last two meetings with the Rangers saw Dougie Hamilton out of place at times, seeming to struggle with the tempo of the Rangers speed game. A case could be made against Zdeno Chara at times as well. Overall, it probably stresses the B’s need to add a solid depth defenseman as insurance come the quicker paced playoff time. Tuukka Rask played solid, though don’t be surprised to see Anton Khudobin get the next start. While Rick Nash absolutely pulled a magician assist on Carl Hagelin’s goal, Rask really should have had Anton Stralman’s bad angle wobbler. Nice to see Lucic continuing to play with a nasty streak. Marchand really developing a sniper’s release. While they lagged for a bit after Stralman’s goal in the 3rd, it was important that the Bruins smelled blood and went for the kill after David Krejci finally cracked Henrik Lundqvist’s puzzle. Power play continues to be complete garbage. Look for tweaks as the season progresses.