While the Bruins get ready to try to close out the trip in style in Ottawa on Tuesday, here's a look at a half-dozen items from the past week that may have otherwise slipped through the cracks in this week's edition of the Bruins Shootout.
1. The Bruins appear to have gotten just what they wanted out of this season-high six-game road trip, and not just because they assured themselves of a winning record on the trip with victories in the first five games. More important was how those wins were split between netminders Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask. Rask played the first two games and posted back-to-back victories for the first time all season against the Islanders and Senators, then returned to beat the Oilers on Sunday. He also picked up some much-needed confidence and stands a better chance of maintaining that form with more regular work down the stretch.
Thomas, meanwhile, got some rest that he desperately needed with a full week between starts. After allowing 14 goals in his three previous starts, he allowed just one each in his first two games back between the pipes despite facing two of the hottest offenses in the league in Calgary and Vancouver. The Bruins need both goaltenders playing well in these final six weeks of the season to secure the best playoff seeding possible and have Thomas fresh for what they hope will be a long postseason run.
2. The Bruins' nominal first line is finally playing like a top line again. After some extended slumps for all three players, the combination of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton is clicking again as it did at the start of the season. Krejci has eight points in his last six games and 22 over his last 21. Lucic has been even hotter, with 4-4-8 totals in the last five games and 11-7-18 over the last 18, a streak that coincided with his return from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for three games in January. He had no goals and just one assist in 11 games before that absence, but the time off to heal and being reunited with Krejci has done wonders. Horton's point-a-game streak is more modest, but he does have 5-7-12 totals in his last 12 games after an extended slump of his own. With the Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Mark Recchi line still producing steady points and the additions of Peverley and Kelly to bolster the third line, the Bruins have a deep and balanced attack that will be tough to contain if the Krejci line can avoid any further lulls.
3. In just four games, the Bruins have seen both the good and bad in Tomas Kaberle's game. There's no denying his offensive ability and sublime passing skills. While the power play is just 1-for-11 since he joined the team, there's been much better puck possession and movement, and the goals should come soon. Unfortunately, part of the price of adding Kaberle is seeing the puck go in your own net on occasion as well. Despite Claude Julien's protestations that Kaberle's defensive play is vastly underrated, he's shown in his first few games with the Bruins that he's prone to the occasional bad turnover and his lack of physical play in front of the net can cause problems. Both factored into Vancouver's only goal on Saturday, which started with a Kaberle giveaway in his own zone and ended with Manny Malhotra banging home his own rebound while Kaberle failed to clear him out of the crease. It's a trade-off the Bruins are willing to make to add Kaberle's offensive acumen to the blue line, but it is a trade-off nonetheless.
4. The Bruins' penalty kill has been one of the team's strengths for most of the season, with the Bruins at or near the top of the league rankings for the bulk of the campaign. But there have been some cracks in the club's shorthanded play of late. Prior to shutting down Vancouver on all three of its power-play chances on Saturday, the Bruins had allowed 11 goals on just 28 man-advantage opportunities over the previous eight games, a success rate of only 60.7 percent over that span. That's dropped the Bruins all the way down to 17th in the league at 81.8 percent. The penalty killers aren't being overworked, as Boston is tied with Chicago for the fewest times shorthanded this season at 198, but they have been dramatically less effective of late. Boston has to hope that the addition of Kelly will help the PK and that the 3-for-3 night against Vancouver's No. 1-ranked power play will be the start of a turnaround. They did kill off the only power-play chance Edmonton had on Sunday.
5. Mark Recchi really is an amazing model of consistency. He's now scored at least 10 goals in 21 straight NHL seasons. He's just two games shy of tying Scott Stevens for sixth all time in games played at 1,635, and at 43 years young, he's been arguably the Bruins' most consistent offensive performer all season. He's fourth on the team with 11-31-42 totals, second in assists, first in game-winning goals (6), first in power-play points (16), second in power-play goals (6) and one of just six Bruins to play in every game this year. And he's showing no signs of slowing down, as he took a season-high five-game points streak into Saturday's game in Vancouver. As good as his on-ice production has been, his off-ice contributions have be even more valuable, with his leadership in the room and mentoring of youngsters like Tyler Seguin and linemate Marchand, who has blossomed skating alongside Recchi and Bergeron this season.
6. The Bruins certainly don't seem to mind keeping busy. This weekend's set of back-to-back games in Vancouver and Edmonton on Saturday and Sunday was the 11th time this season Boston has played games on consecutive nights. The Bruins are 8-3-0 in the first games of those sets and 8-2-1 in the second game after holding on for the 3-2 win in Sunday's clash with the Oilers. Never mind the practices, the Bruins would like to keep on piling up the games.
