Nor for me. Why isn't this game on NESN anyway?

Just like that the B's are down again. They cannot beat this team. Its starting to remind me of the old hex the Devils used to have over the Rangers.

Of course they can beat these guys. Canadiens are nothing special. Still, it's aggravating to be losing once again.

Nice power play D you F'ers. Very frustrating to watch this crap on GameCenter tonight.

Good game, but the B's got sloppy near the end, esp. with the Leetch penalty near the net.

Raycroft, Boynton, Bergeron, Murray, Thornton were all named to Team Canada's list of potential Olympic team members today. (every country has to announce its player pool by Monday. And new names can't be add - thus Gretzky and Co. named 81)

Hockey Canada's list

I would think that Thorton is the strongest bet out of that group to be named to Canada's team with a Bergeron a very long shot. I don't believe the others stand a chance.

I read ThreeIfBaerga's account of his opening night ticket snafu and thought it was a rare mistake.

A friend of mine ordered 4 tickets last Thursday for the Oct. 20 game. The Bruins sent her a confirmation e-mail that said they would be sent via US mail.

As of today, the tickets still hadn't arrived, and she lives in Medford. She called the Bruins ticket office, and the csr checked her order with the confirmation number she received. "Sorry. It looks like we never mailed the tickets. We'll hold them for you at the will call window."

Now I am concerned she will go through the same voucher b-sh*t that ThreeIfBaerga did.

I am amazed how they can f-up what should be a simple process.

I'm glad you reminded me of this Nuf. I meant to post a follow-up to this story.

2 weeks ago, I got a call from a manager at the Garden who apologized and told me I'd be getting another call to resolve this.

So, last week I get a call from "Jen', the rep who I faxed my order form to to buy the tickets before the season started. Right off the bat she had a serious attitude to her tone and said, "Hi, it's Jen ____ from the Bruins....remember me?"
I swear to God, she tried to pin this on me and make it sound like it was my fault. She said, "I can see here the post office made 3 attempts to deliver your tickets and you weren't home". I replied, "Ok, so does that make this my problem?". Complete awkward silence for about 10 seconds and I can tell she hit the mute button to most likely curse me out. (I've worked on the phone for years so I wouldn't blame her if she did).

So, to break the silence, I said, "Jen, did you call me to resolve this issue or to point fingers and blame me for something you guys screwed up?...If it's the latter, I don't have time for it." She lightened up a bit but still had an edge and asked if I wanted her to re-send the tickets to me. I said that would be a great idea.

It's been over a week now since we spoke and I still haven't received my tickets. My next game isn't until the day after Turkey Day so I'm not sweating it.

I almost hope they don't show up so I can march down there and ask for a spot on the 4th line and a free foam finger.

Maybe it's a Medford thing?

Boynton and the Broons screwed by the officials. WTF did he do that was wrong? What was Briere doing in the crease?

The NHL still has the worst officiating of the major sports.

You don't win many games when you're outshot 14-6 in the third period and screwed by the officiating. Ugh.

And our defense still needs some work.

Our power play will be dynamite when Zhamnov comes back, but right now we're just not great overall. I hate not scoring on 5 on 3's.

I agree that the officiating blew - hard. Dumont took out Toivenen twice and then Scatchard gets called on it for doing it to Miller - wtf was that? I thought Toivenen looked solid tonight, though the goal by Kotalik was very weak given the type of shots he'd stopped earlier.

I think we'll win on Saturday.

I thought the Bruins lost because they were outskated last night. The Sabres were forechecking well, and beating the B's to the puck consistently. And Miller is going to be a very good NHL goalie.

My friend was able to get her tickets at the will call window. I hope this means they are getting their act together at the Garden ticket office, but I think they need some training in customer service and courtesy.

They can't keep giving up 39 shots a game and expect to win.

I am getting a nauseous feeling about this team right now. 3-5, last place in the division, 0-5 vs. divisional opponents.

Not good at all. They only good game they've played all season was against Tampa Bay.

The Bruins have the talent. They've had some injuries to key players. But does anyone think that their problem right now is adapting to the new rules & new style of play in the league? Should Sullivan take some of the blame for not having them ready for it coming out of the pre-season?

My considered opinion: They Suck.

I was glad that Arnold and Brickley finally said that the Bruins could be crashing the net and hanging in the crease, just like the Sabres were.

All game they were complaining that the B's defense couldn't touch these guys in front of the net. If I was coach Sullivan, I would have ordered a few guys to go at Miller hard and mix it up.

I also think, moving forward, the B's defense should really lay out the first guy that hangs out in the crease area to set the tone. It was driving me nuts to see these small guys camping out last night in front of Toivenen without having to worry about the consequences.

I'm not much of a Bruins fan, but would like to comment on the lack of publicity given to Don Sweeney's retirement. Don was a Bruin for 15 years, and played over 1000 games for them. The team had a tribute to him last night....but they forgot to tell anyone. Did any of you realize it? It is sad that a player that was loyal to the team for as long as Don was not given a sendoff more fitting to his years of service.

Great point Fris.

The guy played in over 1100 NHL games and was as steady and durable as they come on the blue line. Not to mention, he was well respected and a great teammate.

Sure, the most points he put up in a season was 34 but that wasn't his game. He was in there to keep pucks out of the net.

Definitely a shame he wasn't given a better send-off. I watched last night's game and had no idea it was "Don Sweeney Night".

The problem with the new rules is that NO ONE knows what is going to be called from minute to minute. How can you have a plan of attack when sometimes it's okay to crash the net, and other times it's not? When sometimes it's okay to check a player and somtimes it's not. Or when you can't even protect your goalie in the crease without getting a penalty?

Crazy rules aside, IMO this Bruins team has good talent up front, it's just that there's not enough talent on the blue line. Brian Leetch is still a pretty good player, but he's never been a defensive stopper even in his prime. Nick Boynton is just coming back from his holdout. And I wouldn't give you two cents for any of the other Bruins defensemen.

Lucikly we have two very good young goaltenders, but I think they're going to be seeing a lot of rubber this season.

Come on Felix, you have to give Alberts some Props. The kid may not be all teh way there yet, but he is a very talented rookie defenseman, who is basically getting better every time they drop the puck.

I'm not one of the Hall Gill haters, but could someone give me a good reason why he was out on the ice with Toivonen pulled and just under a minute to play?

Because Mike Sullivan has a misplaced, innate faith in him because he's a veteran.

Other than that, there was no good reason. It was dumb.

To be fair if I remember correctly there had been a coupel of minutes of continuous play with no whistle changes, so they were basically just keeping their regular rotation.

I am somewhat more dismayed that Hannu was probably about 30 seconds late getting off the ice (got off under 1 minute), but again this was at least partially dur to the continuous play

And it's just a coincidence that he played college hockey at BC.

Too bad he's not coming back to put on the skates again. He'd still be the B's best D man right now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2199794

Interestingly, Andrew Alberts in the only Bruins defenseman who has not ben on the ice for a goal against. That's somewhat of a fluke, but Alberts has played very well over ther last few days.

I think there recent problems are almost entirely due to two things:

1. Nick Boynton has been playing at "preseason" level. Since his return, he has been on the ice for 9 of the 13 goals scored against the Bruins, and he was in the box for 2 of the remining 4!

2. Brian Leetch has been awful since Nick Boynton returned. He has been on the ice for each of the last 8 goals scored against the Bruins, and 11 of 13 since Boynton's return.

I'd like to see what Boynton and Alberts can do.

What makes Alberts'"very talented"? If you're counting on this guy to be a big part of your defense, you're in trouble. The same can be said for over-the-hill Brian Leetch. Basically, the B's are not very good defensively.

Bringing Bourque back as a special on-ice consultant is a good move. And at 44 year old, and always in great shape, I wouldn't put it past his being able to play in the NHL now, such as on the power play. I'm sure that's not part of the plan right now but Gordie Howe played into his 50's and Chief Bucyk well into his forties. I think there's an outside possibility it could happen.

Let's see. He's big, very mobile for a big guy, likes to hit people, he's positionally sound in his own end, good at poke/sweep checking with his stick - and at staying in position so that he can still play the body if he misses the poke, and decent with the puck. Also, he's been averaging about 11-12 minutes per game and has yet to be on the ice for a goal scored against the Bruins.

Can the B's play on the PP (esp. 2-man) all year long... it has been pretty explosive tonight.

Just imagine how much better it'll get when it's being headmanned (at least the second unit) by Alex Zhamnov and not Kevin Dallman.

What's that caterpillar under Pat Quinn's eye?

3-2 B's midway through the 2nd. After being down 2-0 to start the period, I'll take this.

If the B's can't win this game now, they don't deserve to ever win another game. And win it now so Toronto doesn't get a point for an OT loss.

Edit: The Loafs are getting at least one point. Can this team get a PP goal against someone other than the Pens?

Edit: Make that two points for the Loafs. Fucking maddening.

Letting the Leafs tie it up in the 3rd shorthanded was inexcusable. It's a given that the B's should have walked out of there tonight with 2 points.

That being said, this was one of the best NHL games I've seen in a while in terms of pure hockey entertainment. Tons of back forth transition with lots of creative offense mixed in with some great physical play.

Belfour looked shaky at best through the first 2 periods but truly brought his A-game in the 3rd, OT and shootout. He made a couple dandies that looked like gimmies.

I love watching Samsonov play but he eternally seems to always make one move too many.

If McCarver did NHL games, he'd constantly refer to Bergeron's "calm eyes". The kid has serious composure out there and is going to be a star in this league. Naturally, he will reach this status the year after he leaves the Bruins.

The defense is still far from great but I see it improving with each game. Sure, you still have a bunch of dumb mistakes like Alberts' terrible giveaway but it looks like they're starting to get the hang of things in front of the net with the new offense-friendly rules.

The new Bruins' drinking game is to take a swig everytime there is a reference to "Flow" or anytime Edwards says that a player "bangs" another player.

Must admit I really like the new/old style of the NHL. A lot of up and down skating and shooting. The B's as always seem to always out shoot the opposition and fail to win. I bet they lead the league in total shots the last 20 years.

Not much hitting, Don Cherry must be pissed about this. But I think in time, some more hitting will creep back in the game. Dallman looks pretty good. He never would have been worth much in the past few years of muckers heaven that was the NHL.

This year 3rd line guys could be scoring 20 plus goals, like Steve Kasper and Dave Poulin used to do. Back when even cranky guys like Mike O'Connell would score 50 points or more.

Fringe players who have been hanging on due to clutching and grabbing must be very nervous. Their time in the NHL is drawing to a close.

There is no doubt that the way the game is being played now due to the strict calling of the rules makes for a very exciting exhibition. Being a Leaf fan I was not upset with the result but still don't like the shootout. In the time it takes to run the shootout at least another five minutes of overtime could have been played. To me, the overtime in this game although just five minutes was tremendously exciting. (Players like the Leafs Wade Belak and the Bruins Hal Gill are definitely on the bubble.)

Now if we just had a goalie... i have never been a raycroft fan at all, and he's showing me nothing to change my mind about him.

I don't know how many games you've watched this year, but without Raycroft and Hannu playing out of their minds the Bruins would be giving up 7 goals a game. The defense has been that bad.

Can we beat just one conference opponent?

I agree, we can't ask anymore from our goaltenders than what we're seeing so far. They say a goalie's job is to keep his team in the game and give them a chance to win. They've both done that so far through 10 games.

I think Raycroft has looked exceptionally good dealing with shots coming through heavy traffic in front and screens. He has played great positionally and when he's giving up rebounds, he's steering them to the sides. There's nothing more frustrating to me than goalies who cough up rebounds to the middle of the ice and I haven't seen too much of it yet.

I think Raycroft's been excellent, he's on the short list for Team Canada.

I don't like Hal Gill, never will, you can't change my mind. I don't care if he starts skating like Bobby Orr with these new rules.

The Bruins were gased by the end of regulation. It seems to be an unintended consequence of your PP unit being on the ice so much. Still, 5 on 3 for 2 minutes should produce a goal.

ThorNton's back check on the breakaway was a thing of beauty, 99% on NHLers would have either not made the play or would have drawn a penalty.

I was thinking the same thing about fatigue and the power play being on the ice so much. While penalty killing obviously puts your team at a disadvantage, it's not that tiring if you maintain a box and aren't looking to actively create offense.

Daalman also did a nice piece of backchecking. He took a shot and his stick broke. It immediately created an odd man rush for the Leafs. Daalman, sans stick, skated hard all the way back and successfully broke up the play without taking a penalty (which I figured was imminent).

Murray and Thornton looked especially gassed towards the end of the game. Thornton was having trouble just keeping the puck on his stick at the end.

Love the Zamboni appearance before the shootout to scrape the ice. Nice touch.

Of course, so is Cam Ward.

that list, hardly short, means little except for the fact that raycroft will be staying away from the roids until february.

This is because players are allowed to hit the puck carrier. After Alberts' giveaway, both Leetch and Alberts had the chance to prevent that goal by taking the body, and both of them chose to flail at the puck instead. If Leetch waits for Lindros to receive the pass and then puts a shoulder on him, no goal.

Stop me if you've heard this one before - "the Bruins had a two goal lead ..." *sigh*

Edit: This team makes me want to hurt small animals. Another point squandered away tonight.

This fucking team is royally pissing me off.

Yet another game where they are completely incapable of holding a 2 goal lead. And then they lose in OT.

I am fed up. This is fucking disgraceful.

Just an ugly ending to this one. Boynton non-challants them tom another loss. No way Raycroft should have had to have dealt with that last sweep. Boynton's supposed to level the guy.

This is going to be a long season. I feel for Raycroft, he is consistently let down by the defensemen on this team. The 3rd Carolina goal, Gill got completely burned. This team is going nowhere.

Raycroft was outstanding, again. I cannot get over how many prime scoring chances he faced, particularly in OT.

This defense sucks.

I am so aggravated right now it's not funny. This team sucks, plain and simple. They have gotten off to an awful start and there's no improvement in sight. The only bright spot tonight was Boyes, who figured in all 3 goals.

Bah. They haven't been outplayed by anyone but Ottawa. They'll be fine.