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I had to chuckle this morning when I saw a headline announcing Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton had been nominated for the Bill Masterson Trophy.  If you’re not familiar with the many large trophies that are given after every season in the NHL, the Masterson is awarded “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.”  The award is given in honor of Bill Masterson, who, in 1968, became the first player in NHL history to die as a result of an injury sustained in a game.

Now, this award usually goes to a player who, at the end of a season, has either A) overcome a serious injury or hardship and returned to the ice or B) has retired after playing a very long career, especially if they’d played for just one team the whole time.  Because of these factors, I happen to like this award a lot.  Past winners include some of my favorite players, such as Cam Neely (knee injuries), Mario Lemieux (Hodgkin’s disease), Pat LaFontaine (serveral concussions), and Ken Daneyko (after getting sober and winning another Stanley Cup with New Jersey).  Some years, you don’t get a feel-good story.  If Marc Savard had been able to make a full comeback this year, he’d win it hands down.  The Bruins will have a finalist this year, the first (I think) since Phil Kessel won in ’07 for coming back from testicular cancer.

Just as surprised as you are

And it’s Shawn Thornton.  I’m skeptical for one major reason, and that’s because Shawn punches people in the face for a living. Don’t get me wrong, I love him for this very reason.  He’s good at it, and he seems to enjoy it.  Like a lot of goons nowadays, he’s also a great grinder and tries his hardest to get in there and score.  His lack of grace and ability with the stick have prevented him in most cases, but his 9-9-18 line in 76 games this year is actually pretty impressive.  Add in a plus-7 and it’s obvious that he’s doing his job  as a fourth line pest regardless of leading the team with 122 penalty minutes.  He’s also been a big part of community fundraising, bringing in money for Parkinson’s research and the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts.  And then he goes back to work:

In all honesty, I do think it would be great if Thornton won the award.  He’s one of the most approachable guys in all of hockey, giving plenty of face time to the media and never compromising in what he wants to say.  He loves giving back to the fans and has become a bit of a symbol of the team’s re-dedication to being “big and bad.”  He’s bouncing right back from 40 stitches over his right eye.  And maybe the NHL just wants to look at him as a “reformed goon.”  But unlike guys like Bob Probert or Chris Simon, I don’t think Thornton has ever been looked at as “infamous.”  So even though he’s on a first name basis with every penalty box attendant in the league, it just might be deserved.

Finally.

The Bruins and the Habs will finally square off tonight.

I’m almost more excited about this than the Celtics/Heat rematch, which will be on at the same time.

All the fuss of this European opening weekend is now behind us.  Things didn’t go entirely as I’d hoped, as the Bruins looked pretty weak in the season opener against Phoenix in Prague.  I didn’t get to watch the second game the next morning, which turned out much better with a shutout victory.  I’d have rather we cut right through the Coyotes in both games, but a split isn’t so bad, I guess.

So now there’s 80 games to go.  And I’m planning on watching as many of them as I can.  I love the Bruins, and you probably know this.  But I’ve got this feeling that it’s all coming together.  The pieces are being put together on the ice and, for once, in the front office.  This, as I’ve been saying to myself all summer, has to be the year.

Expect to see more of this face from Big Z this winter.

To start with, the team is out for redemption, not just to make up for their improbable meltdown in last spring’s playoffs, but to bring the Stanley Cup back to town after 38 years.  There have been some good Bruins teams between then and now, but this year’s edition just seems to have it, especially in today’s league.  These days, it’s the youth who lead (see the dominant performances of Washington, Pittsburgh, and the champs from Chicago), and boy, do they have that in spades.  Most of the team is in their mid-twenties or younger, and many of them are potential all-stars.  The team’s veterans are just the right kind of veterans, too, the ones who lead by example and add the right kind of character to a team that can win a championship.

This youth movement is quite apparent the league over, and the Bruins have been smart about it.  You don’t have to look further than the offseason acquisitions of Tyler Seguin and Nathan Horton.  The drafting of Seguin comes from last season’s trade of Phil Kessel to Toronto.  It wasn’t expected that Toronto would be as dreadful as they were and the Bruins were happy to be rid of Kessel’s “offense-first, defense-never” mentality.  We missed his goals last season, for sure, so the next step was to trade for someone who knows how to score.  That led to what I consider the best trade of the whole summer, in which Peter Chiarelli sent underperforming defenseman Dennis Wideman to Florida for Nathan Horton.  Being a perrenial 30-goal guy and only 25 years old, Horton is getting a fresh start with a team that seems to know what it’s doing in a town that actually gives a damn about its hockey team.  His pleasure with the situation is apparent: he scored both Bruins goals in the comeback attempt on Saturday and would score again the next day.  He’s the kind of “snarly” guy who we’ve needed on this team for a long time.  Add him up with Seguin, who scored his first NHL goal yesterday and is expected to score buckets more over the years.  For once, we’re getting immediate results from our summer shopping.

"Hey Nate, do you like Dunkin' Donuts? Me too!"

The arrival of the new kids isn’t the only great move the front office made this summer.  Cam Neely, my all-time favorite player and a Bruin if I ever saw one, was promoted to team president.  His love of the team and his no-bullshit attitude are going to make things a lot more interesting.  Coach Claude Julien had better keep this team winning or he might be the first victim of #8′s wrath.

The team is also forming quite the core.  Horton and Seguin are joining up with a good group of players.  Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Mark Recchi, and Milan Lucic are the key players right now, with Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask both minding the net.  When Marc Savard is ready to return from post-concussion syndrome and Marco Sturm is back from knee surgery, this will be a very dangerous group of guys.  The dedication to keeping them together was displayed this past weekend when the team extended the contracts of Chara and Bergeron.

Speaking of Chara, his demeanor has been encouraging of late.  The Captain said recently that he’d like to play until he’s 45 (probably why his new extension keeps him in Black and Gold until he’s at least 40), and he’s certainly built for that kind of longevity.  He’s also been pushing himself and his teammates harder.  I don’t know about you, but if the biggest player in NHL history told me to skate harder, I’d do it.

The only thing better than one of them is both of them.

And let’s not forget the goalies.  I love goalies, and the Bruins’ pair are both experts at their trade.  Thomas, the Vezina Trophy winner two years ago, actually lost his starting job Rask, to the team’s Goalie of the Future, during the absolutely horrible stretch the team had in January and February.  Timmy will undoubtedly be trying to get that job back, especially seeing as how his $5 million salary essentially demands that he do so.  Rask isn’t the kind of guy to relinquish that spot without a fight.  Nothing makes two goalies better than friendly competition.  Either way, I feel confident in both of these fiery netminders: Thomas for his experience and Rask for his pure ability.  Throw in the team’s defensive system, and the goals against should be lower than last year.

And so, here’s to the Bruins and their upcoming campaign.  Things get back underway this Saturday against the Devils in New Jersey.

Do not test The Bear.

I guess that I’m a lucky guy, being someone who has two beloved hockey teams that are both in the playoffs.  The Bruins have managed to stumble up to sixth place in the conference.  This is good stuff.  I guess it gives us a chance of at least getting to the second round, although Buffalo seems to be blessed once again with an otherworldly goalkeeper in the form of Ryan Miller.  The series should be a good one, but the rest of the conference competition is pretty steep.  Should be just another bad springtime trip for the Black and Gold.  At least we should get a killer draft pick, that’s all I really think the team needs.

Oh, yeah, I mentioned that I had two teams in the race.  Well, that wouldn’t be the same race, really, seeing as how it’s the Worcester Sharks.  I saw them clinch the division in person on Saturday night.  They played damn well; the defense was tight and there was nothing but hustle on offense.  It was a real flip from the only other game I saw this year, which was the home opener.  They played pretty badly that night.  I’m thinking they’re headed for the finals if Alex Stalock can build on his 40 wins.

I forget where else I was going with this.  Lost is coming on soon, so I’m a little distracted.  I guess I was just looking for an excuse to post that video… so sue me.

The last time I posted about the Bruins, they had just won the Winter Classic in exciting fashion and were looking to start a second-half push to the playoffs.  A month later, key players went down with injuries and we lost ten excruciating games in a row.  Slowly but surely, the likes of Lucic, Savard, and Ference made their way back to the ice and beat the Canadiens a week ago in Montreal.  Three more wins after that, and the B’s are right back in the thick of it, seventh place in the conference and, for the most part, resting up over the Olympic break.

Baaaack in the saddle agaaaain!

All during the bleak month of January, there was all sort of talk going around… fire Claude Julien, kick Tim Thomas out of goal on a permanent basis, etc… the most interesting storyline was the question of whether or not the B’s should have traded for Ilya Kovalchuk.  Kovie is one of the most natural goal-scorers around and there’s no doubt that that’s the one area that the Bruins are truly lacking.  It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Cam Neely or Bill Guerin, so why not get a guy who can score 40-50 a year without much effort?  Well, we didn’t because he’d have only had been a late-season rental.  The team would have had to have given up a lot of great players (not to mention the all-important Toronto pick in next year’s draft) to get it done for a guy who in all likelihood will not even come back to play in the NHL next year; rumor has it he’ll go pick up a huge contract back in Russia.  In my opinion, the Bruins have actually built a great team that only needs a fire lit under them – or that high draft pick next season – to finally get back into the Stanley Cup Finals.  And believe me, that’ll be a sight to see.

My only hope is that the coming break doesn’t mess up any new rhythm the guys have.  They’ve finally started winning again, and it feels good.  We’ve got a lot of guys in the Olympics, but it’s the rest of the team getting their rest that makes me more optimistic than not.  At this point, all we need to do is make the playoffs… sometimes, crazy things happen when you’re there.

If you like Bruins blogging, go check out HubHockey.  It’s not the best written, but like NoMaas does for the Yankees, it’s funny, smart, and goes against the grain from time to time.  It also helps that it’s probably the only Bruins blog that is actually updated every game.  And check out the fight log!!

Yesterday’s Winter Classic was a lot of fun to watch.  I’m not so sure I would have said that if the Bruins didn’t win, though.

Dennis Wideman outruns the Flyers

The game itself was a lot of fun to watch.  Both the Bruins and the Flyers really went at it from the get-go, including the fight between Shawn Thornton and Dan Carcillo.  It was cool to watch the players try to adjust to playing weird bounces and the elements, although everyone said the ice was in perfect shape for a game.  And of course, the late-game comeback thanks to a clutch goal from Mark Recchi and the “walk-off” goal from Marco Sturm to avoid the god-damned shootout.

Presentation, though, left plenty to be desired, both from Fenway and NBC.  I was disappointed to see that they didn’t add seats on the field.  Essentially, the only good seats available were on the first and third base lines, and even then, you were getting the end-view of the game.  I can’t hold it against them, though.  The Fenway grounds crew is damn good, and they probably didn’t want so many fans treading all over the place.

As for NBC, don’t get me started.  Since the game was taking place in a baseball park, they had to get Bob Costas to host the thing.  Then they had to spend all sorts of time talking about the park and the Red Sox, and the whole first period was full of references to “ground rule doubles,” “knucklers,” and other corny lines.   It was good to see Mike Milbury, though, so put all of that together and it’s as if I was watching on NESN anyway.  Also, seeing the 5’5″ Darren Pang interview a 6’9″-plus-skates Zdeno Chara is hilarious.

And I’m going to have to get my hands on one of these hats:

Nice touque, eh?

Pretty soon, the NHL is going to shut down for the Olympics, so we’ll have what will boil down to being a two-week All-Star break.  Glad to see that Tim Thomas will be in goal for the USA.