BRUINS BACK IN IT, VALENTINE'S DAY 2010

The last time I posted on this here space, the Bruins had just lost their 10th straight hockey game. This week, the black-and-gold played 4 games, and they won them all!
The Bruins went into MTL with this infamous losing streak, and MTL smelled blood. Well, they thought they did. The Bruins got a shutout from Tuukka Rask and won 3-0. The team ended the streak, and heading into first-place BUF for game 2 of a 4 game roadie. The club battled well, and the game went into a SO. The Bruins won it, finally. The two wins sent the club into FLA for two final matches before the 3 week Olympic Break. The team went into Tampa, a team just ahead of them in the standings. The club put up 5 goals through half the game, which was impressive since the Bruins are last in scoring. The Lightning stormed back to pull within one goal and almost tied it late, but the Bruins prevailed and moved into 8th place in the East. The final game was versus the Panthers. The Bruins played sloppy through 2 periods and trailed 2-1. In the 3rd, the Bruins played well and got the equalizer forcing OT. Again, the game went to a SO. The Bruins were down to the final shooter twice but came up with goals, which held the fort until Recchi scored the winner in the 8th round.
So, lost 10 straight, win 4 straight so far. Impressive way to salvage a season and make the last 21 games meaningful and exciting. The club has ridden new starting goalie Tuukka Rask, who won all 4 games. His numbers are comparable to last year's Vezina Trophy winner, teammate Tim Thomas. The club is mostly back to full strength, save for Stuart and Boychuk. The standings are below.
Meanwhile, the Celtics continue to falter. They blew huge 2nd half leads in losing to the Magic and then the Hornets. This was the 2nd time in weeks the club blew a double digit halftime lead versus the Magic. They are now a pathetic 1-7 this season against the Hawks and Magic. Rivers should be fired, but he won't. KG and Ray are having poor seasons, only Rondo and Pierce have earned their paycheck. During this weekends All-Star Weekend, Wallace and Allen have heard their names mentioned often in trades. I agree, the team is 4th in the East at 32-18. They club is 9-13 in the last 22 games, shockingly disturbing.

NHL STANDINGS EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. WASHINGTON 41-13-8 90
2. NEW JERSEY 37-21-3 77
3. BUFFALO 33-18-9 75
4. PITTSBURGH 36-22-4 76
5. OTTAWA 36-23-4 76
6. PHILADELPHIA 32-25-3 67
7. BOSTON 27-22-11 65
8. MONTREAL 29-28-6 64
9. TAMPA BAY 26-24-11 63
10. NEW YORK R 28-27-7 63
11. ATLANTA 26-24-10 62
12. NEW YORK I 25-29-8 58
13. FLORIDA 24-27-10 58
14. CAROLINA 24-30-7 55
15. TORONTO 19-31-11 49