Last Skate of The Day, January 22, 2014

Dec 31, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins right wing

Reilly Smith

(18) tries to control the puck while being defended by New York Islanders center

Brock Nelson

(29) during the third period at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Bruins had a rough start to the month of January, but are coming along thanks to a re-invigorated second line. While we knew Patrice Bergeron‘s quality, and we’re happy to see ‘The Little Ball of Hate’ playing to his strength again. The big surprise of the team this year is certainly Reilly Smith. He’s exceeded all of our expectations. (NESN)

The Bruins are currently 11-4-3 taking on teams from the Western Conference. That ties them among all teams in the East taking on the teams from the West.  The Bruins have been one of the few Eastern teams to find any level of success against them. (CSNNE)

The team over at SB Nation was taking a look at the new Kevan Miller contact. It’s the best idea the Bruins had at fixing their problems with their defensemen in the short term. (SB Nation)

John Tortorella is currently serving out his suspension issued by the league for his over the top meltdown last Saturday. He’s got a six game ‘Shanaban’ for trying to storm the Calgary Flames locker room after their line brawl two seconds in to the game. The team at SI.com have collected a list of all the best Tortorella flip outs over the year, and I thought I’d share them with you. (SI.com)

Our friends over at Editor in Leaf asked me and other editors at FanSided to take a look at our teams this last week and share our opinions on the ups, downs, and things that are currently happening with our teams. Take a look at this week’s Around the Atlantic (Editor in Leaf)