On to Ottawa! The Bruins travel to play the Senators tomorrow at 7:30PM on NESN.
- The Bruins lost to the Blues, but their biggest loss was Zdeno Chara, who left and did not return in the second period. The defense suffered as a consequence.
- Claude Julien rolled out a few of the line combinations we saw him debut against Winnipeg, and then he rolled the dice again.
- The Bruins are less than forthcoming on injury details? Naaw!! You're kidding me!!
- Was that a Maple Leafs scout at TD Garden to take in the game?
- Tim Schaller has been a pleasant surprise when called upon- he knows his strengths and plays to them. Random notes- David Backes played against the Blues for the first time, Frank Vatrano is skating, and Anton Khudobin should return soon.
- Take five... observations from the game. It was appropriate that a certain franchise milestone goal was scored by David Backes. Ryan Spooner is in positional flux again.
- Backes' family hosted former teammates at dinner on Monday night, and he is still highly esteemed back in St. Louis.
- Lend an ear to Kirk Luedeke and his amigos, who (pre Chara injury) laud the Bruins defense, Tuukka Rask's performance, and send support to Craig Cunningham. (Audio, 1:11:01)
Elsewhere around the rink:
- And with all the hoopla that they can muster in Sin City, a new NHL team is born.
- It was brave of the (sic) Vegas Golden Knights to emerge in the era of social media. Imagine if other NHL teams had faced the music when announcing their names...
- The first promotional poster for the Goon sequel has been released- have a look.
- Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the NHL concussion lawsuit seek the release of a bunch of NHL emails and documents they assert disputes the league's public stance that the science does not connect concussions and brain injury to CTE.
- Thirty Thoughts soberly notes the high percentage of Finns that went from the top Finnish league by age 17 to still playing in the NHL after 200 games (caution- sample size!) as well as the prospect of a 19-year-old draft and then closes with words of encouragement for Craig Cunningham and his family.