Not So Good

A 4-3 loss to the Wild, and the best you can say is that the team kept playing and made it interesting in the 3rd period. Also positives about Marc Savard, with 3 goals in 2 games. Another good sign is that Savard and Ryder seem to have some synergy, and Ryder contributed in a way not entirely expected - he sent the two passes that Savard scored on, rather than the other way around. My thought is that the bigger Savard is a threat to score himself, the more effective his passes will be. In the old days, Adam Oates was the best passer in the NHL, but he didn't shoot nearly enough and teams played him to pass. I don't think Savard is quite the passer Oates was, but it is close, and if Savard can also be a threat to score, that bodes well for the Bruins.

Not so good - the goaltending and defense. Fernandez made the Greater St. Paul area quite happy, but no one in Bruins gear, with two awful goals allowed, and the other two marginally better. The only thing that absolves him in any way is that the defense was not so good either. But the fact remains that the Bruins allowed only 26 shots - far fewer than Tim Thomas faced against the Avs, and still came up short. And after the game, the initial story quoted MF as calling himself 'courageous' for playing in the third and not allowing another goal! He faced down every one of those five shots! Does that imply that his natural inclination was to cower in the dressing room for the third period?
Turns out it was a bit of a misquote, as later stories added a parenthetically 'courageuous (for the team)' to clarify or sanitize his remark; we will never know which.

The trade of Andrew Alberts is a bit of a surprise, but not totally because he was not in the line up after having a spotty pre-season (mistake prone in the exhibitions). It is ironic that he was traded to the team that put him out for the season with a concussion last season, but the Flyers were hurtin' and Alberts in their system could be effective if paired up correctly.

The injury to Chuckie K sucks. Is he brittle or unlucky? Hard to say, but he was injured coming from Calgary, and broke a bone last season, and then another one this season. Not is not a good trend. Fortunately the Bruins have a bunch of young guys that should get a cup of Joe with the club while Kobie is out. It doesn't sound like a long term injury but time will tell.

The next game is in Montreal against the hated ones. It will be interesting to see how the lineup looks in goal and on defense, with Alberts traded away to a desperate Philly (2 injured d-men). Also with Kobesew out (fractured ankle) whether the Bruins call up Sobotka or drop a second shoe with a trade now that they have some cap room.