It's that simple, right?

Coming off the 2010-2011 season when Thomas completed the rare trifecta only done by one other goaltender in NHL history^[1], a Boston Bruins fan would have believed Thomas was the second coming of their God, second to Bobby Orr.

But last season, Thomas made more noise off the ice than he did on the ice. The Bruins were granted an opportunity to a meet-and-greet with the President of the United States and visit the White House. The brief ceremony was televised and live-tweeted by media who were in attendance. Towards the end of the visit, reporters started noticing that there was one important player missing, the same one who was nothing short of a God a couple months earlier.

Perhaps Thomas should have remained silent, issued a statement through the organization with his reason for skipping out of the ceremony, and then the media would have let it all go.

Oh wait, this is Boston.

Thomas did the opposite of that. He wrote his own statement on his official Facebook page and some media circled around him like vultures any chance they could. It drew a line in the sand with fans too. Some fans turned on Thomas, saying he should have put his personal beliefs aside and attended the White House ceremony with his teammates. Others defended Thomas because we live in a free country that allows each one of us to have unique views and the right to express those opinions. Some fans believed a professional athlete shouldn't disclose his personal beliefs. Other fans said his beliefs didn't matter as long as he could stop the puck.

I am not trying to tell you how you should feel about a goaltender who helped win a Stanley Cup for your favorite team and made NHL history^[2]. I am simply reminding fans that the stuff on the ice matters a hell of a lot more than the distractions off the ice.

Personally, I am going to remember the Tim Thomas that laced up his skates and stopped pucks for the Bruins; the Tim Thomas who posted back-to-back shutouts on the road in Edmonton and Vancouver in 2008; the Tim Thomas who won two Vezina trophies; the Tim Thomas that helped bring a Stanley Cup back to Boston after 39 years.

However you remember Tim Thomas is up to you.

As some fans may know, EyeCandyAir designed the mage Tim Thomas donned when he played for the Bruins. Fans may remember the "Beware of Bear" on the back. Steve Nash designed a "Fear the Bear" t-shirt fans can purchase from Outer Edge Threads with proceeds going to the Tim Thomas Foundation. It's not a shirt that you'll see worn by 9 out of 10 fans like most championship gear and if you're looking for something different, this might be it.

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[1] First goaltender to win the Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and Vezina trophies in the same season since Bernie Parent for the 1974-75 season.

[2] Thomas set the record for most saves in a single postseason with 798 and the most saves in a Stanley Cup series with 238, and broke Frank McCool's 66-year old record of fewest goals allowed in a 7-game Stanley Cup Finals, allowing only eight goals total (for an all-time record .967 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Finals).

Unfortunately for you and my website, I have some time to physically sit at a computer and type out some thoughts and even that's ironic.^[1] This post has been in my head since before the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in June. It's time to get it out.

Social media has evolved since the last NHL lockout in 2004-2005. Information was sparse around the internet, and there weren't many hockey blogs at that time, and even fewer that were created and maintained by women. There were few hockey forums (shout out to HF Boards) around that brought hockey fans together. Other than that, there weren’t a whole lot of options to get news about one of the least popular sports in the United States. The NHL Network was only available in Canada and we all know how ESPN is with hockey. There weren't hourly Twitter updates about how the NHL and NHLPA negotiations were going, when and where the two parties were meeting, when proposals were made or a photo of a reporter sitting in a kids' chair^[2] waiting for Gary Bettman or Bob Goodenow (executive director at that time) to make a statement.

Before I get to the part where I say I had to walk fifty miles barefoot in the snow and ice to go to a Boston Bruins game at, what was then known as, the FleetCenter and used an elevated Green Line, I'll continue on the lockout tangent.^[3]

There was one blog that stood out with NHL news and it gained momentum during and after the lockout. I'm sure many are familiar with the website now that is Kukla's Korner. That was my go to website for information back then. Now all a hockey fan has to do is unlock the keypad on their smartphone, open their favorite Twitter app (mine is Echofon) and check their timelines, or check their favorite app for hockey news. Looking back to then and now, it's almost an entirely different world. One advantage is I am less confused this time around as you can see by the following quote: If Mario Lemieux attended the Board of Governors meeting, does that mean Owner Mario voted to lock out Player Mario? I see that as a conflict of interest.

Going through the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, my interest this time around isn't there as much. I see updates only because I use Twitter. I know if the NHL made a proposal one day and how the NHLPA reacted or vice versa, and if they plan to keep negotiations open. But until September 15th rolls around, I'm not living and breathing hockey until the puck is dropped. Most of us survived that lockout and I'm certain the majority of us fans will be back if another lockout happens.

Throughout the years as more and more websites and blogs were launched, it almost felt like a waste of time to maintain my own. I used to make efforts to go to practices when nobody else was there and blog about what happened and share photos. Now reporters and credentialed bloggers do that.^[4] I used to sit on my couch and live blog a game. Reporters and bloggers do that or use the live app that does it for them. I used to have a routine to go to a game extra early and take photos of players that I could share with other fans through the website, many that couldn't attend games themselves. Now there's twitpic, flickr and instragram. I still haul my camera to games on occasion, but those games are getting fewer and farther in between.

I don't want to sound like I'm placing blame on others or the evolution of social media for my own shortcomings and failure to adjust. It is hard to have a unique voice when there are thousands (or millions) out there tweeting and blogging something you're thinking. One can only read the same parroted opinions and thoughts so much.

It's not anybody's fault but my own for my website's demise. I could have tried to make a better effort to bring something different instead of believing it wasn't worth the time and effort to be another opinion in the background.

The other day I found an old essay from college that I sat down and read. It made me realize how much I missed writing. (Maybe the A- makes me realize it too. Shout out to Suffolk University.) It made me remember how ideas were formed into sentences and paragraphs that were longer than 140 characters. It didn't have misspelled words and used correct punctuation. Did I mention this essay was handwritten? More importantly, it was formed from thoughts and wasn't the same as anyone else's.

(I swear I am going somewhere with this, and if you've read this far, then I am giving you the golf clap.)

With all of this said, I am going to try my best to revive this website.

Yesterday I came up with the bright idea to tweet a Photo of the Day from the gallery. I'm not really sure why it took me so long to execute this idea or follow through with it. A lot of the content in the gallery was there before Twitter came around - like a lot of Bruins fans, and it might not be a terrible idea to share a photo on a daily, non-annoying basis. September 1st starts the trial run to see how it goes and gather some feedback. If people get sick of it, it can easily be stopped. If people enjoy it, I'll know where to focus some energy towards.

This is the first place where I have mentioned the Photo of the Day project, so if you've read this entire entry, you were the first one to know about something... Unless your name is Staci, then you are the second because I didn't text you.

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[1] It's ironic because the reason I have to sit at a computer is because of my website. Apparently I haven't kept up with emails or spam comments and received an unhappy email from Bluehost about going over the file limit by roughly 300,000. Whoopsie. At least I remembered to renew the hosting package earlier this summer.

[2] The tweet and picture is amusing.

[3] I didn't have to walk fifty miles barefoot, but the elevated Green Line did exist.

[4] If you’re asking why I never got a credential, you’re not the only one. I kick myself every season for not applying. But at the end of the day, I like being a season ticket holder and a fan more.

The Bruins opened the playoffs against their rival, Montreal Canadiens. Who would have thought the Bruins would start that series down 0-2? The series went seven games with Nathan Horton sending the Bruins into the second round with his overtime winner.

Next up were the Philadelphia Flyers, the team that left the Bruins with the distinction of blowing a 3-0 series lead last year. The Bruins didn't have much trouble with the Flyers this time around, sweeping them in four games.

The Tampa Bay Lightning came next and there was little history between the teams. The two teams were closely matched up. Identical records in the regular season and their path to the Eastern Conference Finals were exactly the same. The Bruins held a 3-2 series lead going back to Tampa only to blow a 3-0 lead in a clinching playoff game again. The Lightning forced a Game 7 and the two teams skated scoreless until Horton pulled through with the series clincher again with 7 minutes left in the game.

The Stanley Cup Final was next. The Vancouver Canucks were waiting. The Bruins again went down 0-2 but evened the series after Game 4 in Boston. Horton, the hero twice before, was injured in Game 3, so another Bruin would have to step up. The series came back to Boston with Vancouver up 3-2 with a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Bruins didn't let the Cup enter the TD Garden and forced a Game 7 back in Vancouver, where they hadn't won a game during the series. The Bruins won Game 7 4-0. Tim Thomas won the Conn Smythe and the Stanley Cup was lifted the highest it has ever been lifted.

During their playoff run, the Bruins won three Game 7s and overcame two 0-2 series deficits. The team never got too high or too low, but instead focused on having fun while they marched their way to the Cup.

Your 2011 Stanley Cup Champions are:
Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask
Zdeno Chara, Andrew Ference, Dennis Seindenberg, Tomas Kaberle, Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid, Steven Kampfer, Shane Hnidy
Mark Recchi, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic, Rich Peverley, Tyler Seguin, Michael Ryder, Shawn Thornton, Chris Kelly, Gregory Campbell, Marc Savard

What a season.

The photos* from the playoffs are in the gallery, along with photos from the parade in Boston.

*Stanley Cup Final photos to be added in the next 24 hours.

The rookies report for training camp on Sunday and the veterans report on the 17th. The rookies will play two rookie games against the Islanders' rookies at the TD Garden on the 15th and 16th. General admission is only $5 - the same price as a good draft beer in the TD Garden area - so you should come out and see the rookies play. There will only be two training camp sessions for the public at the TD Garden on the 18th and 19th, much different than in past seasons.

The TD Garden will host two pre-season games on the 25th and 29th. The Florida Panthers will visit the Garden on the 25th and the Washington Capitals will be there on the 29th. After their game against the Capitals, the Bruins fly out to begin their trek overseas stopping in Belfast, Ireland for two pre-season games. Then they will make the trip to Prague, Czech Republic to open their season with two games against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Bruins will play their home opener on October 21st against the Capitals.

News & Notes

The Bruins inked forward Wyatt Smith to a one year contract last week. Smith was signed to take the place of Trent Whitfield who ruptured his Achilles tendon. Smith will probably see the majority of his ice time in Providence barring any injuries (knock on wood) that should occur in Boston. (There is one happy Nashville Predators fan out there.)

The Bruins announced today they have entered a partnership agreement with the Finnish team JYP Jyvaskyla.

Under this agreement, the teams will be able to transfer players and have them train with the partner club and within the partner club’s developmental system, as well as exchange tactics and scouting information.

"It's a working agreement where there's an exchange of resources," said assistant GM Don Sweeney. "If you want to send a guy to the East Coast or to Providence, or if you want to utilize their training in the summer and let a kid work on his skill -- anything. It's an open exchange. There's nothing concrete in place."

The Bruins host their annual State of the Bruins for season ticket and package holders on the 21st. Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi will be the players at the event.

You still come here?

I realize last season this site was not one of the first places you would go to online. It probably wasn't one of the 25 places you'd check in on. I hope to change that this season. I understand the photo gallery is one of the most visited sections on the website and I love that fans enjoy it as much as they do. That will not stop this season and maybe I'll even get photos online before the season ends.

I have many short-term goals for this website and a few long-term ones. With the majority of training camp closed and Bruins' time away in October, the short-term goals will become reality by the time the Bruins play their first regular season game at the Garden.

If you're interested in advertising space, contributing, have a suggestion/complaint, you can e-mail webmaster(at)wickedbruinsfan(dot)com or hit me up on Twitter.

Here's to a great 2010-2011 Bruins season!

It seemed like a tedious task to upload the photos, edit, re-size, and upload again so I let it slide for a while. I took over 700 photos at the Winter Classic alone! Someone would file a missing person's report because I would be gone so long dealing with those photos alone.

The system I created so many years ago was stale and a pain in the you-know-what. But it was etched into me, much like every monumental moment in my history as a Bruins fan.

Well today I came up with a smarter way to upload photos that doesn't have me swearing at myself when I screw up. And believe me, it happens every once in a while. It may have happened twice before the new way was created. I vaguely recall during the season looking through one album and selecting photos from another game to upload. That would have made for a crappy album.

With my new system, I got the remaining albums from the regular season on the site, along with the Winter Classic photos! I have never felt more accomplished. It only took some hours and lots of hockey songs to get through it... And maybe a break for dinner that may have included a beer.

I still have the playoffs to get on the site and some photos from development camp, but I'm calling it a night.

Here are the regular season albums to get you through the stretch run until training camp is here (camp opens on September 17th).

• October 21, 2009
• November 12, 2009 - Military Appreciation Night
• December 5, 2009 - Phil Kessel returns
• January 1, 2010 - Winter Classic
• January 9, 2010 - (Miro) Satan is here
• January 21, 2010
• January 23, 2010 - Winter Classic jerseys worn
• February 4, 2010
• March 18, 2010 - 1970 Stanley Cup team honored
• April 1, 2010
• April 8, 2010
• April 10, 2010 - Regular season finale

Did anybody else forget that Derek Morris was on the team? I will admit I have had a little hockey amnesia lately.

I mean, the photo gallery alone must be good for something.

In the next few weeks, I'll probably do some shifting around on the site within the blog and start a little fresh in July. Perhaps earlier since the draft is coming up and there is some hype around that number 2 pick. The one thing I know for sure is there will be tons of photos making their way to the gallery over the off-season.

I am going to ignore writing about the Bruins playoffs... Not going to rehash that heartache. But there are pictures from at least six pre-game warm-ups.

Go Celtics and Go Blackhawks!

With that said, let's hope it can't get any worse in the 6 remaining games before the Olympic break.

Tuukka Rask (10-7-2, 2.13 GAA, .925 Sv%) will be in goal tonight. Rask has lost his last four starts. His last win was a 4-0 shutout against the Thrashers on December 30th. Rask is looking for his first win in 2010 tonight.

More fun facts from game notes:

- The Bruins have lost their last eight games at 0-6-2 with their last win a 2-1 shootout victory in San Jose on Jan. 14 …It is their longest winless streak since they went 0-5-3-1 from Feb. 15-Mar. 3, 2003 and is their losing streak since an 0-8-0 stretch from Dec. 22, 1955- Jan. 12, 1956, which is the second-longest losing streak in team history (team record is 11 from Dec. 3, 1924-Jan. 5, 1925).

- The Bruins have lost seven straight home games at 0-6-1 with their last home win was a 2-1 overtime victory over Philadelphia at
Fenway Park in the 2010 Winter Classic …That is their longest home winless stretch since an 0-5-4-0 mark from Nov. 28-Dec. 30, 2003
and is the second-longest home losing streak in club history (team record is 11 from Dec. 8, 1924-Feb, 17, 1925).

- The Bruins have had 13 power play opportunities in their last two games (3 for 13, 23.1%), which matches the opportunities in their
previous seven games combined.

- The Bruins have scored two goals or fewer in eight of their last nine games, with the exception in that stretch a 4-3 shootout loss in
Los Angeles on Jan. 16, including their last seven straight (9 goals) …That is the longest such stretch since a seven-game span from
Mar. 3-13, 2008 (8 goals) and they have not gone eight straight games with two-or-less goals per game since Oct. 10-27, 2001 (11
goals).

It can only get better from here, right? Let's hope so. The Bruins need the wins and points before the two week break.

This season hasn't been as fun as last season. It's been frustrating. One of the best games was when the Bruins scored two late goals and won in a shootout against Ottawa. The Winter Classic is not in that same category because nothing will ever compare to that game, and that's why I excluded it. So the game in Ottawa was one of the games when the Bruins never showed any quit.

Lately it seems the quit is coming too often and way too early in games. Despite the injuries and the revolving door between Boston and Providence, there are no excuses when it boils down to the heart, passion and commitment the players have. That stuff shouldn't diminish at all. There are only a handful of guys giving their 110% every game. It's easy to see who they are. Other players teeter between 50% and 100% depending on which way the wind blows that day.

It's no secret some players are having dismal seasons. I felt so bad for Dennis Wideman, I bought a player t-shirt to support the guy. That's one of the things that irks me. No matter how rough the season is for a player, the priority for a fan is to support the team and whoever is on that team. That's my mentality anyway.

So when I saw this quote in the Globe today, I felt horrible.

Even the star-crossed Wideman, who took a puck in the mouth Sunday, reported no significant damage.

When noted that he didn’t miss a shift after eating the puck, Wideman deadpanned, “Why would I go out? I had to be on the ice for another goal against.’’

Wideman was out there for every Hurricanes goal on Sunday. He finished a -4 and was out there for a power play goal against. It's easy to kick someone when they're down, but it's harder to support them when they need it. Making t-shirts that have the #6 on the back and "turnover king" above it is the easy way out. That's my two cents anyway.

Byron Bitz and Marc Savard should be back for Friday's game in Buffalo. There was no reason why players shouldn't have been giving over 100% while they were out, and while Steve Begin, Marco Sturm and Andrew Ference remain out of the line-up. This is the time when the players should have been giving it their all, every minute of every game.

There are only a few more weeks before the Olympic break. We'll see if the Bruins find their heart before then. Let's hope the fans who are lacking find it as well.

My good friend Nicholas has never been to Wilmington in his 20 years of being a fan. I have been going to Wilmington since high school, and that included getting early dismissals to go to practices before they were open to the public. I would go just for autographs and pictures with players.

Nicholas wanted to get his Milan Lucic jersey signed. There have been failed attempts since last season and if he couldn't go, he was going to give it to me to get signed for the next practice I get to. Personally, I think there's nothing like getting something autographed for yourself from your favorite player, so we made the trek up there to the ice box.

Marc Savard, Steve Begin, Byron Bitz and Andrew Ference didn't practice. Dennis Wideman was the first one on the ice, but then went away when Tuukka Rask and Mark "One Man" Stuart came out. Marco Sturm had his serious face on while skating laps to warm up before practice started, and he seemed to be flying, scoring goals in the first couple of drills. But Sturm left midway through leaving Matt Hunwick to fill in as the other wing-man for Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. That was no problem since Adam McQuaid was back from his stay over in Providence last night.

There were some scary moments in the last drill of practice. Matt Hunwick took something (either a stick or a puck) up high near his left eye. Bergeron, being the nice guy, skated over to the bench to retrieve a towel for Hunwick. The trainer checked him out, and then Hunwick went into the locker room and returned soon after. While Hunwick was gone, Stuart blocked a shot with his ankle/foot, but shook it off. Then Miro Satan got a stick up high from Tim Thomas.

After the "they got out alive" drill, the Bruins stretched at center ice. No player went into the center circle until coach Claude Julien skated by and I can only assume told Stuart to get in there. Stuart slid over from his original spot and I wondered how the heck he doesn't have an 'A' on his jersey yet. (He was in the center the last time I went to practice too, before the west coast trip.)

Practice ended and Nicholas and I headed outside to wait. I had something I wanted to get autographed too. A month or so ago, I bought a game program that had Wideman on the cover. (There might be a story behind that but I'm not willing to share.) The one thing I wanted was him to sign it.

Inside there is a two-page poster of Lucic, and one-page posters of Savard and Stuart. Since Savard was already long gone, I thought why not get Stuart to sign too? Stuart came out with Johnny Boychuk and Lucic, so while Nicholas went to Lucic's window to get his jersey personalized, I went to Stuart's and got his autograph.

I asked Stuart how his sternum was and he said it was fine... Because Stuart feels no pain.

The Bruins didn't seem too happy after practice and fans can only hope they come out pissed off against the Blue Jackets tomorrow.

I hope they give me a nice win on my birthday.

When I miss a game, it brings up questions.

• Why aren't you going to the game?
• But you go to every game, don't you?
• Are you selling any more games?
• How many games do you miss?
• How long have you had season tickets?
• Are you going to the next game?
• Are the Bruins going to make the playoffs?
• Why are the Bruins worse than last season?
• Who is injured now?
• Where are your seats?
• And my favorite: How much did you pay for your Winter Classic ticket?

It's endless on some days. And it can get both annoying and exhausting. I feel like I'm answering the same questions over and over and over again. I should start carrying around a frequently asked questions sheet with me and hand it over when the questions start.

I can only imagine what a coach goes through during the length of an 82 game season and the repetitive questions he gets.

I wonder if other Bruins fans get these types of questions from other casual fans. Weigh in, but please don't ask any questions.

The Bruins were trailing 2-0 in the third period. They had penalty trouble in the first period with Vladimir Sobotka getting two penalties and Dennis Wideman adding one in between. The Rangers had a 5-on-3 advantage for over one mine and scored during Wideman's penalty.

The Bruins looked like they were going to be the comeback kids yet again when Matt Hunwick got them on the scoreboard with a shorthanded tally. Then Blake Wheeler scored over a minute later to tie the game.

But the Rangers would get the go-ahead goal with 1:09 remaining and that would be it.

It didn't help the Bruins when Patrice Bergeron, their best player this season, was hit in the hand by a shot off Wideman's stick. Versus reported that Bergeron had X-rays taken, but it was unconfirmed by the Bruins. Bergeron didn't return to the game and is on his way back to Boston while the team goes to Ottawa.

The Bruins didn't deserve the point they were close to getting tonight. Even Claude Julien knows that. We'll see how the Bruins respond to tonight's game when they play the Senators tomorrow.

However, there were some moves coming off last night's 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. During a 5-on-3 penalty kill in the first period, defenseman Dennis Wideman blocked four shots (one up high, three with his feet). Wideman missed a few shifts in the second period, and missed the entire third period. Defenseman Mark Stuart was shaken up in the third period and was in some discomfort on the bench, but didn't miss a shift. On his next shift, he blocked a shot with his leg.

Needless to say the defense is a little banged up at the moment.

Since the Bruins' next game isn't until Friday in Chicago, they recalled defensemen Adam McQuaid and Andy Wozniewski from Providence. Why two when Matt Hunwick is still here? I am not exactly sure. Johnny Boychuk has made his presence on the blue line the past couple of games, netting his first NHL goal earlier this month. Hunwick has seen some time up at forward.

With the recall of McQuaid and Wozniewski, the Bruins placed Milan Lucic (ankle sprain) on the injured reserve to make room. The Bruins might just use McQuaid and Wozniewski for spare parts in practice so they have a full blue line, and if either Wideman or Stuart (if not both) can play Friday, one of the two could be returned to Providence.

There hasn't been many dull moments around the Bruins lately. Just a pretty dull website here.

The Bruins have been around, playing, practicing, traveling, losing, winning, finding their game and getting players back from injuries. At the moment, the Bruins have a nice little three game winning streak going for them. They are on a four game road trip that started in Atlanta and went to Buffalo, then St. Louis and will conclude tomorrow in Minnesota.

Tuukka Rask has started every game on the road trip and looks to be getting the start tomorrow against the Wild. Tim Thomas has a minor undisclosed injury, but has been backing up.

Marc Savard returned to the line-up last night after missing time with a broken foot. Milan Lucic returned last week after being out with a broken finger. Patrice Bergeron had a fantastic game against the Blues, notching assists on all four of the Bruins' goals, including a shorthanded tally by Marco Sturm. The defense pairs seem to be clicking as Dennis Wideman and Andrew Ference were reunited, and Mark Stuart is with Matt Hunwick again. Johnny Boychuk is still forgotten up in the press box, only seen during warm-ups and practices.

I find it's always better to write about the Bruins when they're doing better. The Bruins haven't exactly been terrible... just frustrating. Hopefully this will kick off a series of updates and I'll show some consistency in my website.

If I don't check in before Thanksgiving, here's to a happy holiday.

And please keep in mind, Tuukka has two u's and two k's. If you spell it any other way, a milk crate dies. Don't kill any more milk crates.

Fluto put it best...

The Bruins can cry into their beers all they want about missing Marc Savard and Milan Lucic. But the Wings were without Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, Brian Rafalski, and Jonathan Ericsson tonight, and still managed to tuck two pucks behind Tim Thomas to claim the 2-0 win.

Fans can do the same, whine about who's not in the lineup, but when it comes down to it, there are still 12 forwards in the line-up capable of putting pucks in the net. They have done it before. Maybe they have gotten a little snake bitten the last two games. It does happen to the best of teams. But to search for excuse after excuse why this team isn't scoring or winning two games in a row is a waste of time. It is up to whoever is on the ice to get the job done and that usually means more than one line has to have a strong game and step up.

Don't even get me started on the power play or I'll be here all night.

The Montreal Canadiens come to town on Thursday. If that doesn't get the players to step their games up, get their offensive juices going and put together a strong game, then I don't know what will.

Tim Thomas is in goal for the Bruins. Trent Whitfield, Johnny Boychuk and Guillaume Lefebvre are the healthy scratches. Shawn Thornton is back in the line-up. Mark Recchi is playing his 1,500th NHL game.

First Period

Daniel Paille has impressed me in his first couple of games with the Bruins. I didn't know what to expect when the Bruins acquired him, but so far so good.

Thomas makes a great pad save within the first three minutes on Mike Fisher's tip.

Nice move by Brad Marchand to avoid a check while bringing the puck into the zone. On the same shift, he backhanded the puck to the net.

Nice defensive play by Mark Stuart on Milan Michalek. Michalek went colliding into Thomas forcing the net loose, but all seem to be fine.

Byron Bitz and Matt Carkner drop the gloves. Bitz received a couple of punches.

The Senators recognized Recchi's achievement of playing 1500 games. Too bad NESN dropped the ball a little and all we saw was the Bruins bench tapping sticks.

Bruins are going on the power play. David Krejci took a high-stick. Zdeno Chara breaks his stick trying to blast the puck to the net. Marco Sturm brings the puck in offsides on the next rush. Patrice Bergeron was set up in the slot for a one-timer and Elliott made the save. Thomas makes a save after the penalty expires.

Bitz is going to the penalty box. 1.2 seconds left in the first period. The Senators will start the 2nd period on the power play. Scoreless game after one.

Second Period

Thomas makes two saves on the penalty kill. Penalty is killed off.

Dennis Wideman loses his helmet after being crunched into the boards behind the Bruins' goal. Penalty on the Bruins coming up after the TV timeout. Michalek hit Wideman. Matt Hunwick gets a penalty for hooking. Marchand and Bergeron had a shorthanded chance that went wide. The penalty killers are doing a good job. Thomas makes a nice save on Chris Campoli after the puck was deflected off Thomas to Campoli. Bruins killed off the penalty.

Marchand has some great speed for a penalty killer. His first NHL goal might actually be a shorthanded one.

Jonathan Cheechoo is in the penalty box for hooking. The power play pairing of Wideman and Andrew Ference scared me to start and Daniel Alfredsson confirmed it by scoring a shorthand goal. That is the third shorthanded goal the Bruins have allowed this season. (I am going to start campaigning for Hunwick and Stuart to see some power play time now.) The Senators kill the penalty off.

Thornton and Carkner dropped the gloves. Good to see Thornton fighting in his first game back after missing two games.

Blake Wheeler ties the game with 2:54 left in the second period. Sobotka makes a great pass from the boards to Wheeler for Wheeler's first goal of the season.

Zdeno Chara was shaken up and Thomas made the save of the game on Alfredsson.

Steve Begin and Chris Neil drop the gloves, but Begin got tackled. Begin ends up with the instigator penalty. Begin stood up to Neil after Neil dumped Wideman in the corner.

Third Period

Bruins are on the penalty kill to start this period. Thomas made a save with 12 seconds left on the kill. The penalty is killed off.

Thomas was the last line of defense as he made a glove save on Cheechoo. Timmy is giving the Bruins a chance to win. Hope the Bruins capitalize on it.

Michalek gives the Senators the 2-1 lead with 10:46 left in the 3rd period. Hunwick was beat and Michalek got the puck through the five-hole. Tough break after all those outstanding saves Thomas made before.

Fisher makes it 3-1 off a wonky goal. Sheesh. Bruins are getting some bad breaks, but at the same time, aren't deserving of two points from their play this period.

Bruins will get another crack at the power play. Let's hope they do something with it besides giving up a shorthanded goal. Bruins got a couple shots on the power play, but the penalty is killed off.

Thomas is on the bench with 1:46. Bruins took a timeout. The extra attacker is out there.

Recchi tips a shot by Derek Morris to get within a goal! 1:28 left in the game.

Bruins put Thomas back in the net with a minute left for the face-off. Bruins in the offensive zone. DAVID KREJCI TIES IT ON A TIP ON MORRIS' SHOT! Tied game with 21.6 seconds left.

Overtime

Let's see if the Bruins can steal two points. Thomas makes a save. Wheeler had a shot deflected. Thomas made another save.

Elliott makes a save. 1:08 left in overtime. Ryder made a nice poke check on Jason Spezza coming out of the zone. But then Ryer shot the puck wide.

The Senators are called for a penalty with 36 seconds left. Ryder was tripped at the Bruins' blue line skating to neutral ice. A brief power play for the Bruins. Chara had a shot, but Elliott made the save and Chara shot the second try high.

Shootout

The Senators get to select whether they shoot first or not. Kovalev, Alfredsson and Spezza will be the shooters for Ottawa. Wheeler, Bergeron and Krejci for Boston.

Senators are shooting first. Kovalev shoots it off the post and it goes wide.

Wheeler couldn't get the puck off his stick. Well he did, but too late. Too many moves I suppose.

Alfredsson hits the post. Wow. Thomas is catching some nice karma right now.

Bergeron gets the puck to trickle in under Elliott.

Spezza is stopped by Thomas. Bruins won the shootout 1-0. Krejci never gets to shoot.

Bruins win it 4-3!