DieHard: The Bruins Are Back
BOSTON (CBS) - Yes, it seems that the Boston Bruins are back. Back where we knew they should be. Back to playing the kind of hockey that we Bruins fans have come to expect. Back to the mean and nastiness which so many people other than Bruins fans hated. And with that aggression comes the goals and the wins.
The B's have won five in a row, have not lost in November and in those five victories, have outsocred their opponents, 3 to 1. Led by super sophomore Tyler Seguin, Boston has scored 30 goals with the 19 year old having a fantastic start to November with seven goals, and a +/- 7. Seguin and the team have turned the page on Summer and October and nowhere was it proven as it was in Saturday's win over Divisision rival Buffalo Sabres when the horse was let out of the barn.
Milan Lucic on a breakaway down the left side lost the puck ahead of him. Buffalo's All-Star goaltender, Ryan Miller came out to the top of the circle and batted the puck to the left boards just in time to be barrelled into by that horse Lucic. Miller was sent flying as was his mask and his mates met Lucic at the end boards as they are supposed to do, but nothing was doing to avenge the incident.
I was not at the game but was in the car listening to the second and third periods on 98.5 The Sports Hub but kept hearing the incredulity in Bruins analyst, Bob Beers referring to the hit and the lack of ANY of Miller's teammates seeking accountability on Lucic for the transgression!
Would it happen to Tim Thomas? Possibly. Would the Bruins, in particular, Shawn Thornton or Zdeno Chara allow the culprit to skate two and a half periods without so much as a stiff body check? Not on your life! There would be hell to pay all night long! It's the Bruins Tradition – except for one unfortunate incident in Pittsburgh two years ago.
The National Hockey League's Disciplinarian, Brendan Shanahan, no shrinking violet when he played, has deemed the event not suspendable nor worthy of a fine, which if Buffalo fans are anything like the Canadiens fans, the 911 phone lines are still clogged.
Ryan Miller certainly doesn't see it that way. Despite being concussed and not playing the third period, he stuck around so he could talk to the media and call Lucic "gutless" and "a piece of sh*t", for his actions.
But its this kind of togetherness and camaraderie and hard work that has brought the team from last place to within two points from a playoff spot, unlike the lack of toughness from the Sabres.
They still have a long way to go, but at least we are seeing some consistency, and scoring from a lot of different sources and play we are used to instead of the heads in the clouds month of October.
