Playground justice has been served by the Buffalo Sabres to the Boston Bruins.
James Patrick didn't hesitate to skate the Boyes-Gaustad-Kaleta line versus Boston's top line on Wednesday night. Lindy Ruff said after the game that he told Jeep that the ball was his to take and run with. No interference. No input on lines or D pairings. Ruff gave Patrick the car keys, and the result was a dramatic win in front of 18,690 amped up fans and a national TV audience watching on the NBC Sports Network.
At the 2:26 mark of the first period, Cody McCormick accepted an early valentine's day dance request from Bruin tough guy Shawn Thornton. McCormick stood his ground and let the Bruins know that he and his teammates were ready for the rough stuff.
Then, the rambunctious Kaleta hacked, scratched, smacked, hacked and burrowed his way underneath the skin of the Bruins from the very first shift of the game and it lasted throughout the entire raucous affair.
When, Kaleta chipped, chased and banged his way into the Boston zone and through their D, Andrew Ference, on the game's first shift, I turned to my man @curtimus, and told him that Buffalo would be the winner because of their aggressive forecheck and dogged o-zone puck support and pressure.
The Sabres made my prediction hold up. They were the better, more disciplined team. Derek Roy told me Wednesday morning after the skate that his team's recent success can be attributed to the fact that they are playing "quick hockey", whereas the D are getting fast to puck retrievals and they are hitting the forwards tape to tape, while leaving the zone. This approach allows the Buffalo forwards to play clean through the neutral zone. Buffalo dictated the terms and conditions because they played on their toes, while the Boston D and forwards were resigned to play flat-footed and on their heels due to Buffalo's speed game through the neutral zone. Roy's line played it to perfection, as did the Ennis, Gaustad, and Adam lines.
Credit all four lines for playing quick, hard hockey. Oh, and add a dollop of "fun" to the top of the sundae.
Pat Kaleta told me after the game:
" I've had actually had a lot of fun playing, especially the past little while. I love when people say that I can't play hockey, that i'm just a "scrub" out there... I guess it gives me more motivation to go out and play hockey, and use my speed and skating to prove everyone wrong".
On Wednesday night, Kaleta made the Bruins look ridiculous, as they chased their tails trying to catch up the PK36 so that they could apply the noogies to his dome, like McQuaid did in the game's dying moments. Artfully, Kaleta placed the hunk of cheese on a bunch of rodent traps and the Bruins could not resist the urge to take the bait.
It was like watching an episode of the old cartoon "Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner".
On Wednesday night, Kaleta ("The Roadrunner") dropped the "ACME" anvil on the heads of the unsuspecting Bruins. For example, when Kaleta checked Chara into Thomas in the second period. Kaleta cleanly finishd Chara. Pissed off, Chara charged 100 feet down the ice, near the wall that separates the benches and creamed Kaleta with a cross check. Kaleta made a hockey play. Chara lost is cool and took yet another stupid retaliatory penalty.
Milan Lucic spent the entire night chasing Kaleta around looking to finish the Buffalo pest. Once they fought, Kaleta got into Lucic's dome. The Boston goon was rendered useless the rest of the game.
Lucic had a lil some some for Kaleta when the two locked horns in front of the penalty boxes in the second period.
"He (Lucic) was talkin to me off the wall . I mean, I think they changed, because Marchand is normally lined up on that wing there, they changed and he just was lookin at me talkin so I'm not gonna back down..."
PK36 knew exactly what he was doing by dancing with the bigger, stronger Lucic. Laughing, Kaleta continued:
"Get the crowd into it, get the blood flowin a little bit, knock the cob webs in the old melon a little bit. I guess it was an awesome night and I'm gonna learn from it moving forward. I'm happy right now".
Advantage: Kaleta.
A pissed off Lucic said of Kaleta after the game: "That's the kind of player he is. If he wants to play that way, whatever..."
thanks, sabres.com
Call it a total domination by Kaleta, Ryan Miller and the Sabres.
Miller made 36 saves. From his seat, he loved the type of effort he saw from his teammates against the burly Bruins.
thanks, sabres.com
Lindy Ruff was proud man after the Bruins blowout.
thanks, sabres.com
****
Game highlights.
Lucic spoke about his team's failures after the game
thanks, bruins.com
Shawn Thornton
thanks, bruins.com
Bruins coach Claude Julien said taht his team's deteriorated as the game wore on
thanks, bruins.com
Tim Thomas didn't have an answer for why his team was so badly outplayed by Buffalo
thanks, bruins.com
***
Ville Leino has been playing like a man possessed for the past two weeks. He fits right in with Roy and Pominville. He's skating well and he's making magical plays like so many of us had only seen him create in Philly and Detroit. Lately, Leino is hotter than a pistol.
I asked Leino after the game about the comments that he had made earlier this week to the effect that his teammates appeared not to be having fun on the ice during the darkest hours of the losing streak this season.
Leino says that he had fun creating plays for his linemates en route to skunking Boston 6-0.
"I felt good, I definitely had fun. Thats the most fun I've had the whole year. Since the (All Star) break, we have been playing well, having more fun and making plays. You cannot win nowadays if you don't make plays and have fun out there. Its awful tough, but we were having fun and making plays. It was a nice day".
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