...What the...

After the Habs had their fun with rigging the All Star votes, the league FINALLY decided to take some action.

Well gee, thanks, guys.

Now that, you know, the damage has been done and their lead is insurmountable. I implore each and every one of you who reads this blog to VOTE FOR THE BRUINS IN THE ALL STAR FAN BALLOTING! We can't just let this happen. It's ridiculous.

Now, to more fun matters, ie: the clobbering we laid on the Montreal Canadiens last night. All legitimately, might I add (no, I am not angry, why do you ask?). Firstly, I recommend that all of you watch the video on this page entitled 'Fighting for unity.' Therein lies Mr. Marc Savard's postgame interview. He talks about team unity, beating the Habs, taking Don Cherry to dinner and his relationship with his stick. It's a definite 'must-watch.'

Seriously, though? Last night was proof that this team is no joke. All our top players were top players. All our fourth liners were top players. And Manny Fernandez? I mean, COME ON! This is what we were looking for when we signed the guy. Granted the one goal he let in is one that I'm sure he wants to have back...he was still very, very solid in net. I'm almost sold on him. Almost.

Good old fourth line.

Flying under the radar, as per usual, is the play of Marco Sturm. Finally back to his goal scoring ways, I think this will be the breakout season that was expected from Mr. Sturm. Which is good, because we need him to continue rolling on. Also not to be lost is the absolutely solid performance of Stephan Yelle. And Shawn Thornton. Those guys round out what has turned into a pretty darn scary Bruins lineup. And I really, really think that we finally have a team that's capable of running away with things. Someone who will be sorely, sorely missed over the next few games: Andrew Ference. He was having an incredible season. Figures it would be a game against the Canadiens that we lose him for a stretch. Here's hoping Hunwick can pick up the slack, and Ference can pick right up where he left off when he comes back.

One last thing before I depart...

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

I'm very, very surprised I got through that post without a harsh word to a Montreal Canadiens player, but I did. Go me.

It's been awhile, but...

We had a decent winning streak going on for awhile there, didn't we? And boy, oh boy was it hockey worth watching. Tim Thomas was absolutely stellar in our Western Conference swing (and our first game back, too, but I'll touch on that later), and even though our offense was sort of lacking, we made up for it in other ways. And then, we came back home...and this happened...



And then this happened...



And then, oh yeah...this happened...



Since when did we have a rivalry with Dallas? Well, either way, in the words of Tim Thomas, they must have been looking at the wrong score card, if they thought that they could come into the Garden and play that kind of game. I was pleased with Shawn Thornton, going out there and doing his job like he does every night. And I was also pleased with Shane Hnidy, which is a surprise, because he really went to bat for the rest of the guys, too. I was absolutely blown away by Andrew Ference. That open-ice hit on Ott? Was a thing of beauty. And the fight it caused with Avery (because obviously, Ott couldn't handle it on his own...) was also amazing. Ference scored some serious bonus points with me last night.

However, I was ecstatic when Marc Savard pummeled Avery and beat the ever-loving out of him. Marc Savard is one of the best all around players that I have seen in my hockey watching life, and this just proves it even more. A skill player like Marc Savard, a playmaker, a finesse player, a solid, All Star guy like that, going to the defense of Milan Lucic, who is known for breaking glass with checks? That just shows how united this team is. We stick up from each other, bruisers to All Stars. And that, my friends, is why I love them like I do.

Lost in the shuffle, however, was the actual score and goal tending. Sturm found his way back into our good graces with a pair of goals, which he needed direly, because he was beginning to get snake bitten, like he has the past couple of seasons. Bergeron got another 'front of the net' goal, but a goal doesn't have to be a stunner to do what it needs to do. And if it takes a couple garbage goals to get him back to the way he was before? Then so be it. Kessel showed, once again, that he's an elite player, and hopefully a contender for All Star status this season, and Stuart started off his scoring for the season, being only the second defenseman to do so on the team.

And then, there's Tim Thomas. Easily the best goaltender in the league for the month of October, he showed once again, with a flurry of 21 shots in the second period alone, why he's our number one. And I give props to Manny Fernandez for handling it the way he did, also. He congratulated Thomas, looking like a champ the whole time. It's good to see that he accepts the backup role for what it is.

Team unity, ladies and gentlemen.

The moral of the story is: you mess with one bear? You get the whole pack on your case. Beware of Bear is not just a play on words. It's the way we play our game, and I love it.