As expected, the Bruins came out flat in the opening frame. After a three-game roadie out west, their bodies are apparently fighting their way back into the Eastern time zone.
Tim Thomas, who has a stretch of dominance over the Senators with 11 straight wins against them, has looked the flattest of all. Thomas allowed two goals on three shots.
To his credit, the first goal was the result of a nifty stick-handling job through the Bruins' defense by Alex Kovalev, who finished it off by beating Thomas. The second goal though was a bit more questionable, as Daniel Alfredsson beat him and chants of “Tuukka! Tuukka!” broke out in the TD Garden stands — just as they did the last time Ottawa was here, when Thomas allowed two goals on six shots. The shot-to-goal ratio is worse today and we could very well see Tuukka Rask in the second period.
It's great to see the Bruins' leading scorer Patrice Bergeron on the ice again, but as has been the case for the Bruins over the last month, whenever they get a player back, they lose another. That’s what happened this afternoon as Steve Begin and Byron Bitz are both out with undisclosed injuries. Bergeron was a minus in 5:29 of ice time but looked OK.
The Bruins hopefully have their legs back now as this is a much-improved Ottawa team that could get its first win this season over the Bruins.
