Local Guy Overshadows Joe Thornton's Return To Boston In 4-2 San Jose Win

Well the Boston Bruins are still looking for their first win streak in the 2011-12 season.

Tonight, former No. 1 pick and franchise center Joe Thornton returned with the San Jose Sharks and they beat the Bruins 4-2 at TD Garden.

It wasn't April or May but Thornton mostly disappeared like he's been known to do in the playoffs. Sure he assisted on Joe Pavelski's (4th of the season) goal 1:12 into the game but after that, Jumbo Joe was barely heard from save for a nice highlight package on the Jumbotron (no pun intended) from his days with the spoked B.

This game marked the sixth time in a row that the Bruins have allowed the first goal. They also fell to 2-4 at home and they never led in this one despite a valiant rally in the third period.

The real hero for the Sharks (3-3-0) was Essex, MA native and Boston College alum Benn Ferriero (1st of the season) who netted the game-winning goal at 8:48 of the third period.

In a very weird way, I felt like a proud parent when Ferriero's hustle to a rebound resulted in a diving goal. He was the only pro athlete from the coverage area of the newspaper I used to work for (the Gloucester Daily Times) and that motivated me enough to sponsor his page on hockeyreference.com (look it up) last spring. So while I never enjoy seeing the B's (3-5-0) lose, on this night it didn't feel quite as bad.

You wouldn't know that San Jose was the team that played back-to-back nights on the road. They had more jump than Boston from the start and that resulted in a 1-0 lead after the first which increased to 2-0 at 8:54 of the second when Logan Couture (1st of the season) scored on a nifty pass from Martin Havlat, Ryane Clowe had the second assist.

I don't usually recommend any athletes on Twitter but you have to follow Couture (@logancouture39), he's one of the funniest and most honest pro athletes I can think of.

Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves for the second straight game, this time against Jim Vandermeer, and as usual it served as a wake-up call to his teammates and the crowd.

The B's tied it up with a flurry of goals in 29 seconds early in the third. First Milan Lucic (2nd of the season) scored a classic Looch goal by stealing Antti Niemi's (37 saves) pass behind his own net then wheeling around and beating multiple defensemen and Niemi to shovel it in. Chris Kelly and Patrice Bergeron assisted on that goal.

Tyler Seguin started and finished the next one as he blocked a clearance attempt by a San Jose defenseman then started a 2-on-1 with Lucic. Seguin (3rd of the season) was the recipient of the final pass and he roofed it past Niemi who had no time to react. Kelly had the second assist.

As my friend said after the game, "Lucic and Seguin are going to make sweet music together this season." I couldn't say it any better myself, they appear to be a great match and I hope to see them on the same line for years to come.

Patrick Marleau (1st of the season) added an empty-netter with five seconds left. Boston wasted a serviceable but not great performance by goaltender Tim Thomas (26 saves).

I think I've found the clue to solving the Bruins' woes so far this season: It's all about scoring more than two goals. When they've scored 3+ they are 3-0 while they are 0-5 when they have scored two (twice), one (twice) or none(0-1). It's no secret that head coach Claude Julien's system makes Boston way more strong when playing with a lead since between Thomas and their defensive ability, it's hard to come back on them. Conversely, with their up and down scoring, it's much tougher to play from behind as we have already seen time and again.

The good news is that it should not be hard for the Bruins to focus on their final two games in October: a home and home series with Montreal. The team that everybody loves to hate comes to Boston on Thursday while the B's travel to the Bell Centre on Saturday. All would quickly be forgiven if the Bruins can beat the reeling Habs (1-4-2) twice in three nights.

UPDATE 10/23: Jordan Caron has been sent down to Providence where he'll get much more ice time. He didn't played bad for the Bruins to start this season but I guess they prefer Benoit Pouliot over him at the moment. Keep your head up Jordan!

UPDATE 10/24: Caron returned to B's practice today so he just went down to Providence for one game while Boston had a lengthy break (four days) between games. Expect him to be with the Bruins on Thursday as they host the Canadiens, although he'll most likely be in the press box as a healthy scratch.

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Welcome Back Hockey: Bruins Win Thrilling Shootout Over Blackhawks

There is rarely a game in October that can turn around an NHL season; similarly, you don't expect the fifth game of an 82-game slate to be a classic and yet here we are with a gift from the hockey Gods that we all received earlier tonight.

The Boston Bruins (2-3-0) went into the United Center and snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win over the host Chicago Blackhawks (2-1-1).

Nothing beats Original 6 matchups (just ask NESN which spotlighted my Tweet saying as much during the game), especially when it's Boston vs. Chicago since that juicy game usually occurs but once a regular season. Excuse me while I go start praying for a B's-Hawks Stanley Cup Finals next June.

After starting 2011-12 in a malaise, it was great to see this Bruins team respond just like they did in the playoffs last season. Taking on such a talented squad, they played physically but also stepped up in the clutch when it looked like they were going to take another loss and come back home 0-2 on their inaugural road trip.

Nathan Horton (1st goal of the season) made sure Boston would at least get to overtime as he tied it at two 7:56 into the third period. Johnny Boychuk basically made the play out of thin air as he chipped the puck in deep, won it and then found Horton out front for a high percentage shot. Tyler Seguin had the second assist, he leads the team with five points thus far.

The overtime was bananas as it was end to end action, complete with Rich Peverley getting sprung by Milan Lucic for a breakaway. Of course, Pevs went in on Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (35 saves) and missed the net with his backhander. If missing the net equated to scoring goals, Pevs would be a 50-goal scorer every year, he does it so often.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (2-2-0; 27 saves) showed why he's still the best at his position in the game. He made numerous incredible stops during regulation and in overtime but topped that by stuffing Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp in succession to clinch the shootout. Seguin had the lone goal for the Bruins in the dreaded shootout.

Gregory Campbell squared off with the formidable Jamal Mayers (first Bruins fight of the season) then later Bryan Bickell gave Chicago a 1-0 lead at 16:21 of the first as Andrew Ference turned it over in the neutral zone and handed it right to him.

Chris Kelly (1st goal of the season) answered with a shorthanded tally at 1:33 of the second from Peverley and Ference. It looked like the 2011 playoffs as Peverley and Kelly worked beautifully together to get the goal.

Kane quickly responded for the Blackhawks as he scored at 2:51 on an assist from former Bruins defenseman Sean O'Donnell and Sharp. Kane was left wide open in the slot, which is a deadly proposition and O'Donnell found him from behind the net.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more star-studded (Kane, Toews, Duncan Keith) team than the Blackhawks (the 2009-10 Stanley Cup champions) but the Bruins didn't back down from the challenge as they outhit Chicago 40-34 and outshot them 37-29 in head coach Claude Julien's 300th win overall/181 with the Bruins.

I fully expect this win to springboard Boston on a nice run starting with their next game: Tuesday at home vs. Carolina. After losing to the Hurricanes 3-2 on Wednesday, you better believe that the B's will look like a different team this time around.

Hockey is officially back, that was a hell of a game and a win. It really got me pumped up for what should be another memorable season with the B's.

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Hurricanes Pick Up Their First Win Of Season, At The Bruins' Expense

It is less than a week into the 2011-12 NHL season so pardon me if I can't quite work up a lather yet about the Boston Bruins' lame beginning.

The defending Stanley Cup champs have gotten off to a slow start; their first road game of the season was tonight at the RBC Center in Raleigh Center and the host Hurricanes (1-2-1) picked up their first win with a 3-2 triumph over the B's (1-3-0).

With seven goals in four games, it's clear that putting the puck in the net has been Boston's biggest issue so far. Let's not forget that the power play is still a hot mess, off to a rousing 1 for 18 start (picking up where they left off in the playoffs).

David Krejci missed the game with a midsection injury so Tyler Seguin got the bump up to center on the first line with Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton flanking him. Boston still needs Krejci but for one game at least, Seguin (1 goal, 4 shots, 7 of 9 on face-offs) was a more than suitable replacement.

B's goaltender Tim Thomas (1-2-0) got his third start and yet again, it wasn't his fault that his team failed to get two points. He made 31 saves but was the victim of some bad luck and a shaky defense in front of him.

Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward (26 saves) showed why he's one of the more underrated guys at his position with a strong showing.

After a scoreless first period, Carolina opened the scoring 42 seconds into the second frame with a power-play strike from defenseman Joni Pitkanen (1st of the season). Former Bruins great Tomas Kaberle and Jussi Jokinen assisted on the goal. Pitkanen was by the face-off dot and he took forever to fake a shot twenty times before finally unleashing a low one that found its way past Thomas. It appeared like Erik Staal screened Thomas on the play, regardless he should not have been able to park there so easily.

Boston bumbled through three straight scoreless power play chances and predictably, they didn't get a call the rest of the night (the B's had the last three penalties).

When Carolina's Anthony Stewart (1st of the season) scored 3:42 into the third (from Tim Brent and Tim Gleason) on a shot that trickled past Thomas at the post, I was firing off an angry Tweet but Seguin interrupted my venom with a sick top-shelf wrist shot just 25 seconds later. It was his first of many this season, from Horton and Adam McQuaid. It was a juicy glimpse of what Seguin can do when he has room to shoot.

Something called Jiri Tlusty (1st of the season) iced it with his game-winner at 13:32 from Brandon Sutter and Patrick Dwyer. He was unmarked in the slot and made Thomas and Co. pay for that.

Boston was about to go on another ill-fated power play but Patrice Bergeron hit Brad Marchand with a nice cross-ice feed for a one-timer and the Bruins' second goal (Marchmont's second of the season). Former Hurricane Joe Corvo had the second assist at 16:35.

I'm not going to say time ran out on the Bruins since it never really felt like they'd ever tie it before regulation ended.

McQuaid ran head first into the boards (how many times has he done that in the last year?) in the third and didn't return. Don't be surprised to see him held out of the next game with Matt Bartkowski getting another shot after being a healthy scratch for the last three contests.

It won't get any easier as the B's will remain on the road the next few days before meeting the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. After failing to really show up against two subpar teams (Carolina and Colorado), expect Boston to at least make a game of it in Theo Epstein's new home.

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