The B's were shut out for the second consecutive game and now have only three goals in their last four games. Ironically, the Bruins on Tuesday had the same amount of shots (29) as they did in their 1-0 loss to the Rangers on Sunday. But the fact remains that none of those shots lit the lamp, and the Bruins now have their first losing streak of the season to think about as they prep for the Canadiens on Thursday.
The power play also remained futile as the Bruins went 0-for-3. With the exception of their final man-advantage in the third period, the Bruins really didn't create much in the way of chances and played better 5-on-5. That is probably the most frustrating thing: that the Bruins are doing plenty of good things at even strength, but can't carry it over to the power play.
With the exception of Marco Sturm's hooking penalty in the offensive zone that resulted in the first goal of the game by Henrik Zetterberg, the Bruins played a smart, sound game. They were able to put some pressure on Wings goalie Chris Osgood, but the possible future Hall of Famer was stellar in net in earning his 50th career shutout.
Boston had the edge in shots (29-26) and in faceoffs (36-25). They also cycled the puck well and got shots through the Detroit defense, but as Osgood said after the game, the Bruins are just "snake-bitten." And while that is definitely a result of missing the contributions of Marc Savard and Milan Lucic, questions are starting to build as to whether others can step up and contribute.
Don't be surprised to hear the Bruins mentioned in trade rumors soon if these scoring and power play issues continue. I spoke to two sources today who said that GM Peter Chiarelli is always listening and looking like any other GM. But don't believe any rumors for now, as there isn't much to be had at this point of the season.
So as Phil Kessel made his season debut as a Maple Leaf, the Bruins were once again looking for ways to score and replace his offense in the lineup. The scarier part, though, is that there are still five 20-goal scorers from 2008-09 remaining on this squad, yet they still can't hit the twine.
The Bruins' archrivals from Montreal are up next on Thursday night at the TD Garden as the two teams meet for the first time since the B's swept the Habs out of the first round of the 2009 playoffs last April. The Habs — 5-4 losers to the Thrashers tonight as I write, watch and listen to the French broadcast on RDS (my French is getting better thanks to Centre Ice!) — will be looking for revenge.
The Habs have been struggling to score and get their power play going as well, so this should be a battle of two desperate teams Thursday. The Bruins will have to figure out a way to channel that desperation into positive energy and not the obvious frustration it has become in the last week.
Thanks for joining us here for our Live Bruins Blog at NESN.com and be sure to check back here for the latest on how the Bruins plan to snap out of these scoring doldrums. Also, of course, follow along with us on Thursday night at 7 p.m. (NESN) for our Live Bruins Blog during the first of six Canadiens-Bruins tilts in 2009-10.
Should be a good one folks! Until then, thanks and goodnight!
Final, Red Wings 2-0: The Bruins fall for the second straight game — their first two-game losing streak of the young '09-10 season — and are again unable to put the puck in the net.
On the Wings' side of things, veteran netminder Chris Osgood earns his 50th career shutout.
We'll have postgame analysis shortly … but something tells me it will focus on the Bruins' struggles on offense — both at even strength and on the power play.
Third period, 1:05, Red Wings 2-0: The B's pull Tim Thomas for the extra attacker, but it would take a small miracle at this point.
Two goals in the final minute? It's been a whole week and a half since they've done that.
Third period, 2:33, Red Wings 2-0: The Bruins manage to kill the Wings' PP, but to be fair, Detroit is just killing time at this point. Darren Helm is out there for the Wings, and he's one of the best in the business when it comes to killing time. The gritty little speedster can skate circles around most defenders.
Not much time here for the Bruins to stage a two-goal comeback, but a goal may be enough to build momentum for the next game.
Third period, 5:22, Red Wings 2-0: Michael Ryder gets two for holding, so now the Bruins will be a man down needing two goals in the final quarter of the third to tie the game.
Third period, 6:51, Red Wings 2-0: Dennis Wideman is off to the box for interference after a mid-ice hit preventing a breakaway, but Red Wings forward Jason Williams is joining him for the same offense to nullify the Red Wings power play. It'll be four on four for a bit.
Third period, 9:50, Red Wings 2-0: The Bruins kill off the Detroit PP, thanks in large part to a terrific, sprawling interception of a crossing pass by Tim Thomas.
Third period, 12:37, Red Wings 2-0: Shawn Thornton takes a penalty for the B's for high-sticking. Let's see if the vaunted Red Wings' power play can get it done.
Third period, 13:48, Red Wings 2-0: The Bruins just had their third power play of the night, but once again, they came up short.
They created a few more chances than they'd had on previous man-advantage opportunities, but they still can't put the puck past Osgood.
Third period, 19:40, Red Wings 2-0: Underway in the third period. Interested to see if Michael Ryder gets more time on the power play. He has had a solid game and hit the post last period.
Second intermission, Red Wings 2-0: The Bruins were 0-for-2 on the power play toward the end of the period, and frankly, they didn't even have any decent chances. They head to the third needing to get their offense in gear if they want to avoid a second-straight shutout.
Second period, 2:56, Red Wings 2-0: The Bruins are going on their second power play of the game and no better time than now to end the power play slump.
Michael Ryder hit the post earlier in the period and the Bruins have been getting a few more chances. They need to shoot, shoot and shoot again.
Second period, 8:27, Red Wings 2-0: This was not the team for the Bruins to play while mired in a scoring and power play drought.
The Red Wings can really clog up the neutral zone and front of the net and for a team definitely frustrated, the Bruins are probably dumbfounded at this point. They need some kind of spark here.
Second period, 12:45, Red Wings 2-0: Chris Osgood appears to be back for the Red Wings. He has made at least four huge saves so far and looks to be the "Ozzie" that carried the Red Wings to two straight Stanley Cup appearances and helped win the 2008 Stanley Cup.
Second period, 14:00, Red Wings 2-0: It's still 2-0 in Detroit, where it is hard to not notice the empty seats at the usually sold-out Joe Louis Arena. It's sad to see the effects of the tough economy trickle into Hockeytown.
Second period, 18:30, Red Wings 2-0: Underway here in the second period. No surprise that Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have factored into the scoring here but the Bruins need to worry about the whole Detroit team as they are simply moving through the neutral zone with ease.
First intermission, Red Wings 2-0: It's been a defensive-minded first period for the most part on both sides, but what makes the Red Wings so good is that they're able to play that style while scoring a goal here and there.
They've scored two goals on two half-chances and otherwise have clamped down on defense. That approach will win you lots of games in this league.
First period, 2:17, Red Wings 2-0: The Red Wings strike again in gorgeous fashion.
Pavel Datsyuk streaks down the left side toward goal, but realizing that he's gone too far and that there are two defenders right with him, he makes a slick, partially blind back-pass to teammate Tomas Holmstrom who's following the play. Holmstrom rips a one-timer past Thomas to double the Wings' advantage.
Man, these guys are good when they play their game.
First period, 5:39, Red Wings 1-0: Well, that was fast. Pavel Datsyuk wins a faceoff in the Bruins' zone, the puck plops out to Henrik Zetterberg right in the slot and he rips a quick wrister just over the shoulder of Tim Thomas. Detroit gets out to a one-goal lead.
First period, 7:36: Once again the Bruins power play failed to convert and they are 0-for-1. They seem to be generating more chances even strength though as Marco Sturm was denied by Chris Osgood prior to the power play on a great save by Osgood. The Bruins need to create these chances on the power play too.
First period, 11:06: Great points earlier by Versus color man Eddie Olzyck when he alluded to the lively boards at Joe Louis Arena. The Wings have used those boards to generate scoring chances plenty of times and they can really catch an opposing defenseman or goalie off guard.
Good to see my good friend Bob Harwood working rink side for Versus. A really funny and intelligent guy.
First period, 14:10: Not many scoring chances thus far but keep an eye on Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk. Since coming back from an injury on October 22, he has eight points in five games.
First period, 19:31: The Bruins and Red Wings are underway in Detroit.
6:55 p.m.: Almost ready for Bruins-Red Wings at "The Joe" in Detroit but before we start up this quick tidbit from Fluto Shinzawa over at Boston.com, who claims the Bruins power play units will have a new look tonight:
Shinzawa predicted the PP units would be as follows:
"PP1 could see Derek Morris and Dennis Wideman at the points, David Krejci and
Patrice Bergeron interchanging on the left side (half-wall and goal
line), and Mark Recchi as the net-front presence.
PP2 will most likely feature Zdeno Chara and either Matt Hunwick or
Andrew Ference at the points, with Vladimir Sobotka, Brad Marchand, and
Blake Wheeler down low.
Hopefully this does the job for the Bruins because the losses will continue to mount as the power play drought continues. Also interesting that Michael Ryder isn't in the mix there. Ryder was expected to fill some of the offensive and power play void left by the departure of Phil Kessel and then during Marc Savard's recovery from a broken foot. Is Ryder in the dog house of his long time coach and mentor, head coach Claude Julien?
5:43 p.m.: As Naoko Funayama points out in her most recent blog the Bruins will have a new look tonight as they sport different line combinations, including head coach Claude Julien reuniting Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron. Should be interesting to see if the pair can find the chemistry they've had in the past. The Bruins could surely benefit from it.
According to Fluto Shinzawa over at Boston.com,
it will be Tim Thomas (4-5-0, 2.66 GAA .910 save percentage) against Chris Osgood (4-2-2, 3.10 GAA .889 save percentage).
Also reports out of Detroit are that Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski is out with the flu and will be replaced by former University of Maine player Doug Janik. For more news on the Bruins opponent tonight checkout Michael Hurley's interview with Casey Richey of Winging It In Motown Blog in Across Enemy Lines.
Finally, former Bruins sniper Phil Kessel will make his season debut tonight with Toronto after recovering from offseason rotator cuff surgery. Kessel has missed the team's first twelve games and is hoping to help the struggling 1-7-4 Leafs stop making Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli look like a genius for getting first and second round picks at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. The worse Toronto gets, the better that pick will be.
But the more the Bruins struggle to score and the more the power play fails, you can be sure to hear media and fans knocking the September 18 trade of Kessel that also got the Bruins the Leafs' first round pick in 2011.
12:54 p.m.: The Bruins (6-6-1) are in Hockeytown to face the defending Western Conference champions, the Detroit Red Wings (5-4-3) at Joe Louis Arena. Hopefully, they can find their scoring touch and find a rhythm on their power play. Both have been missing for quite some time now as the Bruins have only three goals in their last three games and have not lit the lamp on the power play in their last four.
They are 0-for-13 during that span, 1-for-19 over the last seven games and just 6-for-53 (11.3 percent) this season. The power play is clearly killing in-game momentum and is subsequently preventing them from stringing together some wins and momentum in the standings.
Last November, the Bruins went on an 11-1-1 tear in November to have their best month of hockey in 30 years. While they would love to go on a similar run again this month, a two-game win streak would be a good starting point since they haven't even done that yet this season.
This won't be an easy game to start the streak, as they face a Wings team starting to find its groove. After a slow start by Detroit — at least by the standards in Hockeytown, where fans expect nothing but the Stanley Cup each season — the Red Wings have started to silence the critics who questioned whether the Wings' dynasty was coming to an end. Detroit went 2-1-2 on its recent five-game road trip and confidence is building again around the perennial Stanley Cup contenders.
Bruins head coach Claude Julien changed his lines in practice (check out our Facing Off preview for the lineup) yesterday in hopes of jumpstarting the offense, so we will see which Bruins team shows up tonight. It should be another hard-fought battle and the game may very well be decided by one goal again with a play in the neutral zone being a deciding factor. So check back here leading up to the game and then follow the Bruins-Red Wings live blog here at NESN.com throughout the game.
