Thomas snubbed...business as usual, isn't it?

I ask you. What in the world is it going to take to get Tim Thomas recognized in this league? Snubbed on the All Star ballot in favor of both Brodeur and DiPietro? Both of whom are injured and have been for the past couple days, at least? Bergeron, Chara and Savard are all on there, which is great, because they all deserve a shot to go (again in Savard and Chara's cases), but come on.

Tim Thomas is the backbone of a Bruins team which is just starting to come out of the doghouse. Clearly, in order to get recognized the way he deserves to be, Tim Thomas has to defeat the giant monkey man and save the ninth dimension, making it back in time to make a stellar save, in order to be recognized the way he should. Poor guy is constantly overlooked. If he happens to get de-snubbed (I'm making words, here) when they realize that two of their guys are injured? I implore all of you. Vote for Tim Thomas for the All Star Game.

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.

Last night and tonight...

Okay, so...the home opener? The way everyone stood and cheered for Patrice Bergeron warmed my heart right to the center. I wish I'd been there, because you would have been able to hear me screaming all the way in China.

Welcome home, boys.

Last night...was a solid 60 minute effort. But if figures that one of those, our best game of the season so far, would be solved in the penalty shot contest known as a shoot out. Shootouts are pretty much the devil, I'd like to think. Seriously, though? The only criticism I can pull from last night's game is...we need to capitalize on those power play chances. We had eight power plays, and one power play goal. Speaking of which...Phil Kessel is pretty much the king right now. But that's beside the point.

Tonight, we're in Buffalo. All we need to do is bring the same effort we brought last night, and we have a huge chance to win this one.

Ah, they didn't let me down.

Kessel, Phil Kessel, whut...

I love it when they listen to me. Last night was a solid 60 minutes of effort, and I really have nothing to complain about. Manny Fernandez wasn't tested too often, but all but a couple of times, he came up big, which is important to the future of the team, at least this season. I'm only hoping that he can keep it up. Oh. And Marc Savard and Michael Ryder? Do I need to say it again? In case I do...YEAR OF THE SAVARD! Just in case you forgot. 9 points in 4 games. Oh, Marc.

PJ Axelsson was out last night, but you 'trade talkers,' this does not mean he's on the trading block. He had muscle spasms, folks. Claude said it himself. He'll be back tomorrow, and helping us out, just like he always does. I'd love, someday, for him to get the recognition he deserves. But that's probably not going to happen.

We come back to the Garden 2-1-1. All in all, a pretty good start to what I perceive to be a pretty good season. Tomorrow, we play the Pens, which will, no doubt, be a challenge. But I have a feeling that if we put together an effort like we did against the Sens last night, we'll be okay.