Leafs falling as winter approaches

A few more games, maybe a few more years, and a handful of fights, and fans will start to realize why facing divisional foes eight times is much more appealing than traveling to the Sunbelt for feelingless contests.

December 22nd, the first day of winter, is fast approaching, and in the Bruins/Leafs developing rivalry, we could see a fourth Leaf fall from the tree on Dec. 7 before the Winter Solstice creeps up on us. Pretty soon, I will have a clear view of the city from the roofdeck, with all the leaves on the ground, and the Bruins playoff chances within sight. Chalk up another November victory against the Maple. The B's have now won 8 of 13 in the month, including three over Toronto and one over Ottawa. These three most recent wins against the Leafs have been just huge - a 12 point swing if you want to look at it from a divisional standpoint.


From the B's website earlier today: "It's a lot about hard work," said Glen Murray, whose goal was the eventual game winner. "If you go out there and work your tail off, things will happen and we've done that the last two games."

Not only did Boston look very quick on the puck, but the Bruins were moving fast in the transition game and were pushing hard on the backcheck just as hard as on offense. A few weeks ago, I was all about sending Murray away to one of those teams with two No. 1 keepers. Now, I'm starting to feel comfortable with Thomas, and Murray is starting score consistently and more importanty, he is starting to look like a guy who is finally happy wearing the black and gold and ready to work following a year in which he saw his good friend and setup guy leave.

The guy was excited from start to finish, end-to-end. There were very few lulls in this one - I felt like I was watching a different matchup.
I love the B's third line. Chistov was a great pickup.

I thought Kessel, although he failed to score again, looked frighteningly fast on that coast to coast rush that resulted in a solid wrister on Raycroft.



Tenkrat continues to produce - he fed Murray nicely and credit the B's new management for bringing him up while sticking with Thomas in goal and keeping Murray in town. Three crunch times decisions, all paying off. Unlike past management, Chirelli didn't fret and send all the B's good pieces packing.



Shean Donovan, who I thought would add some scoring, grit and determination in the form of an above-average third-liner, finally potted a goal for the B's. It was a nice one too, fittingly up high on Raycroft (see Savard's pregame comments).

In the end, it all starts and ends with Thomas. He made 45 saves last night, and if the Bruins are to continue to succeed, they will need probably one 30-35+ save performance per week from "Tank." More than anything, I like Tim's approach to the game, and I think it's becoming contageous around the locker room.