Brad Boyes on the 2nd line tonight. About time.

So at what point does Raycroft get benched?

This team flat out sucks

how's that for analysis? If they fire Sullivan it's just laughable. If you are going to make that move then finally toss out MOC as well because he obviously does not even have the talent to find a coach, let alone put together a good team

I was at the game tonight, and have seen most of the games this year on TV. My professional opinion is that as a team, the Bruins are a bunch of gutless pukes. They have the talent but they are wussies. They lack even the tiniest shred of mental toughness or even self respect. Competitive fire? None whatsoever.

When they take the ice, they KNOW that they are going to lose - they just don't know HOW they will lose. They are capable of games like tonight where they play solid hockey for a period or two. But the moment they get a bad break, or screw something up, or give up a goal, they quit on themselves, their teammates, and the organization.

I'm embarrassed to be a fan of this team. They make it difficult.

After tonight's stinker, I think it's time to fire Sullivan *and* O'Connell.

Indeed, it was a pretty gutless performance tonight. Just looks like they are all lacking some semblance of passion out there. Sure, there are 3 or 4 spurts a game where you can see the intensity pick up a bit but it's typically short-lived.

I'd hold off on making a coaching change for now. Especially if there's a deal in the works to add a blueliner to the roster in a trade. When this offense is playing their game, they are an above average offense. But the defense is just really bad and not going to get much better without help.

On a positive note, I thought Gill played a decent game tonight and I don't ever say that. He was playing physical and aggressive and was throwing his weight around.
Alberts also had a decent overall game and he's quickly getting the reputation of being the better checkers in the league on defense. If he can continue to nurture that part of his game, it'll pay big dividends. Go ask Scott Stevens.

Anyone notice how few tickets are available to a lot of games, yet the Garden always seems to only be at about 60% capacity when you watch on television?

Hmmm... pile of shit + decent blueliner = ????

I think it's time for some firings, and a trade of a "name" player (Joe?) if they can get fair value in return, which may not be likely.

I'd boot both Sullivan and O'Connell at this point.

Sullivan has proven himself to be a terrible coach of young players. Boyes is 6th on the team in scoring yet receives 10 fewer minutes of ice time than the top line and less ice time than any other forward except Orr. That's a terribly poor decision on Sullivan's part. The team struggles at the end of games because Sullivan only uses the vets late in games and they get tired.

O'Connell has put together a team of old players with redundant skills who are fundamentally incapable of playing effectively in the "new" NHL. Fitzgerald, Green, Scatchard, McEachern...they're all the same guy. They're all in their 30s, and they all stink. And MOC brought them all in at the same time.

Clean house in the management ranks. I've been a big believer in the front office for many years, but no longer. With a salary cap providing an even ground for evaluation, they come up terribly short.

Well, changes are here:

Dave Scatchard traded to Phoenix for defenseman David Tanabe.

A good trade IMHO, although not a panacea. Scatchard's skills were replicated by others in the Bruins' lineup (Fitzgerald, Green, and McEachern all did pretty much the same things). Tanabe is a very mobile skating defenseman who will give the team some badly needed speed.

It's a start.

I like this trade. I feel that Scatchard really was excess, and that we can finally play Boyes more and probably get better production while saving cash.

Tanabe isn't a world beater, but he's a solid defenseman with a great shot from the point.

Good trade but I'll miss Scatchard's toughness. He was a big guy that was good at using his body to shield defenders well while they were cycling around the perimeter.

Tanabe is a decent pickup though. He's sound as a pound on the blueline and, like Smiling Joe stated, we do have plenty of guys already that play Scatchard's type of game.

14 -year old Julie Dubela may have been the highlight of the season this far...the only moment i've enjoyed during a Bruins broadcast in some time...

Some things never change in the NHL.

One of them is Kerry Fraser. He still sucks.

When will the losing end? This is getting to be a desperate situation right now.

At least they only lost by 1 tonight. This season's been so awful that that's the best thing we can say about them lately.

I asked my (Canadiens fan) boss at work today, "Are the Bruins losing today?" He said, "Have they started yet?" I responded, "I don't know...are they playing then?" "Yeah." "Then they'll be losing."

He asked me later when I checked on my phone, "Who they playing?" "Buffalo." "Oh, easy win." "I dunno, they already beat us once this year." He was surprised at that.

I wasn't. I would have been surprised had they won tonight.

Our of a possible 20 points available against divisional opponents this season, the Bruins have picked up...3.

A few post game thoughts:

1. Tonight's game wasn't quite so bad at the last few because they at least did not quit when they were down 2-1 or 3-2.

2. The officiating tonight was just awful. Bruins got screwed every which way by the calls in the third period:

- A Sabre dumps the puck past Boynton, who turns to play it, but can't because the guy is holding his stick. Boynton hits him instead and gets called for holding.

- Thornton gets absolutely crushed from behind, very similar to the penalty Isbister picked up, but no call. ***?

- About a minute or 2 before the Thornton non-call, the Sabres misplay a puck high in their zone. Tanabe tried to jump on the loose puck, but is hooked just enough to prevent him from going in alone. Nothing major, but Fitzgerald, Scatchard and Slegr have served a dozen or more of calls like that this year.

3. All three goals against scored because the Bruins lack discipline, which is part of being mentally tough. Goal one scores on a power play after Isbister's stupid retaliation. Goals 2 and 3 score because Bruin wingers didn't cover their men at the point, and because Joe lost his check behind the net.

4. Tanabe basically had a good debut. Had a few problems, but for the most part got the job done. He and Alberts looked very good most of the time.

5. Everyone is raving about Colton Orr, and he played well for a player of his "talent". But he had five shifts and the Bruins wound up pinned in their end on three of them. And he blew the 2 on 1 chance, just as he blew a chance at a goal on Thursday night. He's an AHL level player at best right now.

6. Isbister. I don't know what to say about him. The guy plays hard, but it is no surprise why even with his tools he has never fulfilled his promise - his vision of the ice is about as bad as any guy in the league. I was at the game Thursday night, and he made several nice passes to no one. He just doesn't have a clue. Third line at best. Putting him on one of the top two lines just wastes the skills of the other guys on his line.

7. McEachern? A 2 year deal? Oops.

1:30 away from the SIXTH straight loss

BRUINS...it's called losing

At least it was a good game tonight. Although shorthanded, they played hard and could have won this game had things bounced a bit differently. I don't like losing, but at least this was a pretty good effort. IMO.

5 straight regulation losses (getting 0 points in those games).

Last place in the division.

Only 4 teams in the league have fewer victories.

Just playing out the string now.

Well beyond the point of getting style points, though. They're so far behind in the division and conference that they really have very little chance of even making the playoffs at this point.

I no longer care about trying hard, although at least they did tonight. But that's not good enough. They are in such bad shape that they need points far more than a good effort.

Yuck. Things are getting worse for the local puckmen.

The best thing I saw in tonight's game was NY's "HMO" line. What a great line to inject into the game 4 or 5 times a period. They noticeably changed the momentum of the game about 3 times vs. the B's.

As bad as things are right now, I still see this team going on a run in early 06 and making the playoffs as the #6 or 7 seed in the East.

He must have meant "easy win, for buffalo".

God they suck, is it time to fire the coach yet?

The coach, the coaching staff, and the ownership. That would be a good start.

My boss said the Bruins just haven't adjusted to the new rules yet but, once they do, look out because of their offense. I tend to agree, but I think we need more than Nick "Show Me the Money" Boynton back there protecting Raycroft and Toivonen. Nobody else seems to be able to do that. Losing Gonchar was a big blow to this team. I think it's time to start casting about for more trades to bolster the D. Toss Colton Orr's and Isbister's names out there and see who bites.

Is there a Sidney Crosby in next year's draft we can look forward to?

I mean, other than taking dives.

I think Angelo Esposito (no relation, but he does wear #7) is the next big thing, but he may not be in the draft 'til '07.

I'm sure the B's can suck for 2 years if need be.

That's the Thrashers plan too, if and when they ever get healthy goaltending. One more team to play leap frog over.

Just a minor correction: the Buffalo Sabres had already beaten the Bruins twice before Saturday's game. Once in Boston and once in Buffalo back in October.

Well, now it's three times. Maybe it isn't just the officiating.

I went to the Buffalo game Saturday, and though I am far from a hockey expert, a huge problem for the Bruins was their inability to get the puck out of the defensive zone and get an offensive rush going - icing or flipping the puck out was basically all they could do. And all that did was give them a chance to make a line change before the Sabres came rushing back. Unless on the PP, Bruins' just couldn't maintain offensive pressure; it was one shot and done.

I also never saw so many bad passes, wide shots on net, and players actually skating into each other and just flat-out falling down than in that game. Yeah, it's called Bruins.

Nazz, your observations are correct. It's been a while since I've seen a team more inept at clearing the puck out of the defensive zone. Over the past 5 or 6 games, it's become even worse.

Time after time they try to jam it out and fail. So, they half-heartedly slap it around the boards in the opposite direction but never with enough speed to beat the opposing defender, who more often than not, pinches in and keeps it alive for the attackers.

I know the new icing rule leaves you unable to make a line change but an icing call isn't THAT bad of a thing. If you have people that can win faceoffs, it's not a big deal. For the love of God, ice the puck with a 75 foot high lob and regroup.

Esposito isn't draft eligible for another year, but the hype machine has already begun:

Damien Cox in Toronto Star on Saturday

This year's big catch is Phil Kessel of Minnesota.

Monday's Toronto Sun: "Kid phenom Kessel taking hockey world by storm"

Great night for the Bruins tonight, they didn't have to play.

If I get into a drunken brawl at the game Friday afternoon, does that mean the Bruins MAKE me come to the final 8 games of my 10 game package?

I'd become the yin to Chris House's yang.

I'm so confused right now.

Still time to lose this game. Up 4-0 with half the game left.

Maybe they finally got woken up? Wouldn't that be nice?

Who were those guys in black and gold out there tonight?

I was thinking the exact same thing.

Oh, and how nice was Boyes' play on the Boyes/Samsonov 2 on 1? Gets a pass in his skates, transfers it, and passes it back through the defender's legs in one motion. He finally got some icetime, likely due to the Scatchard trade (15:38 tonight), and Tanabe played pretty well imo, second to Boynton for overall icetime.

Awesome game tonight. Hopefully, they'll duplicate it Friday when I'm in the house

It's been a long time coming. Nice to finally get a win.

Raycroft made some big stops just after the Leafs scored to ensure that they didn't get any more momentum.

Even McEachern scored. Miracle.

Now, let's try to win two!

The Boyes/Zhamnov/Samsonov line was AWESOME!

Since they played a great game last night, I'll offer up some praise.

Alberts is definitely not playing like a rookie. He looks pretty confident out there and is playing well. I loved how he immediately stood up to Domi and fought him when Domi tried to intimidate him.

Boyes is going to be VERY good. It's apparent that his stickhandling and passing skills are well above average. Also seems like he has great vision out there and can thread the pass through traffic.

Slegr turned his best 2-way performance of the season last night. He's putting a ton of pucks on net and complimented it with some tight defense. I love seeing him jump up into the play on transition. There's no hesitation with him. Once he commits, he goes in hard and makes things happen.

Nicklaus played his heart out last night. Granted, he's not a truly gifted player but he fits in well on that checking line.

Is Orr a healthy scratch right now or did he get hurt? I found it a little peculiar that just when he started to show a little something besides fighting, he disappeared from the lineup.

Bruins down 1-0 to Ottawa after only 34 seconds. This is actually an improvement from the last time they played Ottawa, when they scored 27 seconds into the game.

Ottawa's definitely my pick to win the Cup this year. They look like a pro team skating against a beer league team so far.

Tied 1-1 after one. Raycroft is keeping the B's in the game so far, and Boyes and Isbister connected on a beautiful 2-on-1 to tie the game.

I'm loving watching Brad Boyes play, and Isbister has been a surprise for me as well. Boyes seems to make something happen each time he's on the ice - the Isbister goal as well as drawing the hooking penalty by feeding Isbister. Why Boyes isn't on the primary PP unit is beyond me.

Raycroft has been brilliant - he's making every shot look easy, when he's faced a number of difficult shots.

Sun rise, sun set, Bruins lose.

The more things change....

Damn is Ottawa a good team this season. Heatley is having a monster season and it's not even half-over. A point in EVERY game this season! That's insane.

The Bruins' biggest problem is their inability to move the puck out of their own zone. They have no transition game to speak of.

They just can't keep up with the likes of Ottawa.

With their forwards pulled way down low in front of the net all the time, why would you expect them to have a transition game?

The only guy who impressed me tonight was David Tanabe.

We would have had a better chance at this one with Toivonen in net. Raycroft just looks awful. I don't think he allowed a wraparound goal in all of 2003-04, but he gave up the backbreaker to Heatley.

Time to fire everyone.

EJ, I thought that Raycroft actually had a good game tonight. He kept them in the game in the first period in that relentless onslaught. While the wraparound goal was no beauty, overall he played a pretty good game.

I do agree that it's time to start a rotation with Raycroft and Hannu to see if that gives the team some spark.

Agreed. Also, when Murray gets back, this is the line combination I'd like to see Sullivan go with for the time being:

Thornton-Boyes-Murray
Zhamnov-Samsonov-Bergeron
Green-Axelsson-Isbister
Healey-McEachern-Fitzgerald

I think it's time that Boyes got some better passers and overall players around him, and he's a very good passer - I think he'd fit in very well with Thornton and Murray. When they're on, that second line could be very dynamic as well. Isbister should also get some rotations on the Thornton line.