First things first: I didn''t write this. Kathryn did. That said...
Although development camp is still ahead of us, there's only so much to write about a slew of guys who will inevitable go back to their CHL/NCAA/European teams after five days in the greater Boston area. With that said, cue the ridiculous dog days of summer lists.
Without further ado, the ten best games from the Bruins regular season:
10. October 28th 2010 – Bruins beat Maple Leafs 2-0
Tyler Seguin scores, Bruins fans thank Kessel 10/28/10 (via dafoomie)
It was the first match up against the Leafs with Tyler Seguin in the lineup. Any game against the Leafs is fun because it is another opportunity to mock Phil Kessel and this one is perhaps the best. Patrice Bergeron put the Bruins ahead with a late goal in the opening period but Seguin’s goal in the second got all the attention. More than midway through the period Seguin scored for his first goal in front of the home crowd this season. That spurred the "Thank You Kessel" chant that bellowed so loud throughout the Garden it could easily be heard on the TV broadcast. And it had Seguin giggling on a bench like the 18 year old he was.
9. January 11th 2011 – Bruins beat Senators 6-0
Up until this game, Bergeron had never scored a hat trick and in this game he got to celebrate two hat tricks. He scored in the first period and again in the second for another one of many multi-goal games. The Bruins’ third goal in the game was celebrated as Bergeron’s, with fans screaming and tossing their hats on the ice. Yet, as the period ended the PA announcer snuck in a change in scoring as the goal was given to Brad Marchand. Bergeron did manage to finish the trick with a goal five minutes into the third, sparking a second and even louder celebration. If people hesitated to throw their hats before, they certainly did the second time around.
8. March 15th 2011 – Bruins beat Blue Jackets 3-2 in a shootout
Rich Peverley has arrived. In his tenth game since being traded from the Atlanta Thrashers, Peverley certainly made people remember his name with a shorthanded goal. He carried the puck from the middle of the defensive zone all the way down the ice, walked in on Steve Mason and scored. Tuukka Rask stood on his head making clutch third period saves including a split save after he gave the puck away. Seguin sealed the win in a shootout to give the Bruins their first win over the Blue Jackets in three meetings.
7. February 26th 2011 – Bruins beat Canucks 3-1
Bruins @ Canucks 2/26/11 (via NHLVideo)
Bruins fans were already thinking of potential playoff opponents even as early as February but little did they know this would be a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Canucks have been a scary team to play in recent years with their talent and goaltending but this was the first time they have ever scored on Tim Thomas. The game really belonged to hometown boy Milan Lucic who assisted on Nathan Horton’s goal as well as Bergeron’s empty netter with a game winning goal of his own sandwiched in between. Not to mention this was the fourth win in a row for the Bruins on their way to a seven-game winning streak, six of which were on the road.
6. March 24th 2011 – Bruins beat Canadiens 7-0
In probably the most overhyped game of the entire season, the Bruins just crushed the Canadiens. People in Montreal were calling 9-1-1 on Zdeno Chara, tickets were sky high in price and fans were looking for blood in the first game since Chara hit Max Pacioretty into a stanchion earlier in the month. Johnny Boychuk set the pace with a goal just over a minute into the game and through 45 minutes the Bruins lit up Carey Price four more times. Gregory Campbell capped the scoring with his second goal of the game when the Bruins were trying to kill a 5-on-3 penalty. A statement game for sure.
5. February 3rd 2011 – Bruins beat Stars 6-3
Crazy 2 minutes between Bruins and Stars 2/3/11 (via NHLVideo)
91 penalty minutes are not the 146 the Bruins and Stars combined for back in 2008 but three fights in four seconds and a goal on the first shot of the game made up for it. Right off the face off was Campbell against (brave) Steve Ott. Next up was Thornton and Krys Barch. Not to be outdone, Adam McQuaid dropped the gloves with Brian Sutherby right then. Just over a minute later the Bruins were up by two goals and Andrew Raycroft was chased. And then Andrew Ference broke Adam Burish’s face in the final fight of the period. Marchand had a goal and two assists while Bergeron had two goals and an assist. Can’t wait until the teams take to the Garden ice in the 2012-13 season huh?
4. December 23rd 2010 – Bruins beat Thrashers 4-1
If Shawn Thornton is the first star of the game, then it was obviously a good game. After a fight just two seconds into the game, Thornton had two goals and got real close to a third in the victory. Thornton was so apparently offensively motivated in this game that he left the fighting to Lucic, Horton, Savard and Ference in the last five minutes of play in a line brawl that littered the ice with equipment.
3. January 10th 2010 – Bruins beat the Penguins 4-2
If the Bruins had a "thing" this season other than not scoring on the power play, it was insane third period comebacks. Back in November the Bruins scored five third period goals to win 7-4 over the Penguins but the time in which this particular come back happened is what makes it impressive. The Penguins had a comfortable two goal lead with less than three and a half minutes to play. Chara scored at 16:37, then Marchand just 12 seconds later to tie it. It was looking like overtime with a minute to go until Recchi scored with 50 seconds remaining. Campbell added salt to the wound with an empty netter to make it two games in a season where they embarrassed the Penguins.
2. March 27th 2011 – Bruins beat the Flyers 2-1
The Bruins did not lose to the Flyers in regulation at all this season before they would go on to sweep them in the playoffs. The game was tight and tense through most of it until Marchand put the Bruins ahead 2-1 with 3:43 to go. The goal was Marchand’s 20th of the season, a lot for a kid who did not even have a solidified roster spot prior to the season. That game winning goal is what clinched a playoff spot for the Bruins and it meant even more based on the team they clinched against.
1. February 9th 2011 – Bruins beat the Canadiens 8-6
Canadiens at Bruins Feb 9, 2011 180+ penalty minutes (via HDContentDump02)
All season long the Bruins heard "Only the strongest will survive" as they stepped onto the ice each period and it could not be more true in this game. 182 penalty minutes and 14 goals in the duration of 60 minutes. A game of rivalries at its best, even Thomas and Price decided to throw down to fill the penalty boxes. The game was intense to say the least, 8 goals in the second period alone had the Bruins ahead but the line brawl is really what stole the show that period. The following period was peppered with fights as well but then a second line brawl unfolded. All I can really say is: this game. It brought the offense and it brought the fights; it showed the passion and it showed the players coming to defend other players; old time hockey.