Bruins netminder Tim Thomas is renown for his superb athletic ability to react quickly, often relying upon his stellar reflexes to make dazzling saves. Andrei Kostitsyn learned that lesson tonight when Thomas sprung from one post to the other to rob him of a potential game tying goal. Kostitsyn probably didn't expect to find out that the agile Thomas is equally as quick to respond in defense of a fallen teammate.
With 5:30 left in the second period and the game knotted at 1-1, Kostitsyn flattened Aaron Ward on the near boards, dashing away as the B's defenseman laid sprawled out on the Garden ice. With the referee's arm raised for an upcoming major penalty (for boarding) against the Canadiens' LW, Tim Thomas let it be known he'd seen enough and took matters into his own hands. While Kostitsyn drifted toward the goaltender's crease, glancing back at either the puck or in anticipation of getting his clock cleaned by Zdeno Chara, Thomas stepped up and introduced both of his forearms to Kostitsyn's grill, leveling the Habs' forward. The Garden went berserk.
Thomas said he was enraged after hearing the thunderous sound of Ward being planted into the boards. "It was just instinct." the B's netminder said of his reaction to Kostitsyn.
Claude Julien was not pleased with Kostitsyn's behavior either. "It's not the first time he's done something like that." the Head Coach said, adding that the league needs to step up and make an example out of someone to prevent similar instances in the future.
Ward rose to his feet on his own power and headed for the locker room. Despite the concerted efforts of all the King's horses AND all the King's men, Aaron could not be put back together again and did not return.
It was not an easy night for Kostitsyn (despite scoring the lone goal for Montreal). Chara may not have got his chance to lay into him following the boarding penalty, but he certainly made his presence known to #46 early on. Chara. Big Z annihilated him just a minute into play as the Captain was extremely physical against not only Kostitsyn but the entire Habs lineup all night.
Chara was just as beastly down the other end of the ice as well. He did it all tonight. #33 lit the lamp twice in the middle frame, tying the game up with a perfectly placed shot just inside the post off of a Jaroslav Halak rebound, and tallied the eventual GWG on a deflected slapper while Kostitsyn was serving his five minute major.
The two-goal game for Chara was the eighth of his career and his two PPGs made the B's 17 for their last 64 attempts on the man advantage (26.6%).
"We got those power play chances and we really capitalized." Chara said, adding "It was a good team effort."
Halak has been keeping the crease warm while Carey Price goes through an intense rehabilitation process with world-class therapists and psychologists. Price has reportedly been distraught and reclusive after seeing himself inexplicably appear in an on-air interview without having applied the perfect amount of hair gel in preparation for it. Neighboring tenants have complained about loud shrieks and constant wailing sounds coming from the fragile goaltender's apartment.
"I think the only time I've seen him leave the building is to go out and buy more Kleenex. I feel bad for the kid." an imaginary neighbor I've concocted for this joke said.
Price's coiffe quandary may keep him on the sidelines until after the All Star break.
While Thomas' thumping of the elder Kostitsyn brother swung momentum in the second, defenseman Mark Stuart tried to do the same in the first. Stuart dropped the gloves with Kyle Chipchura and walloped him with a few solid rights until the refs broke things up along the boards in front of the Montreal bench.
Stuart's effort to get things going for the Black and Gold was clearly in response to a consistent Montreal attack that forced Tim Thomas to make a whopping 17 first period stops.
"They were really taking it to us, forcing us into turnovers." Stuart said of the Habs' strong play in the early going.
When asked to describe Thomas' performance on the night, the B's defenseman needed just a single word: "Unbelievable."
Thomas truly was unbelievable, and he saved his best for last. With Boston clinging to a 2-1 lead, Thomas robbed Tom Kostopoulos, getting just a sliver of his right pad on the puck to preserve the lead. With just two minutes to go, Thomas had to spring from the right post as a centering pass quickly found it's way to the man whose name I've had to type far too many times in one blog: the oft-mentioned Andrei Kostitsyn. Kostitsyn labeled one for the near top-corner but Thomas pivoted and snagged the puck out of mid-air with his glove for arguably the save of the year.
"He's burned me before, so I didn't feel bad stopping him." Thomas said of his game-saving beauty.
Former Hab Michael Ryder, who's signing prompted Canadiens' fans to warn Bruins followers they were about to witness $4 million dollars go to waste on a slow, defensively inept, overrated one-trick pony who was bound to have a +/- that even Tiger Woods could only dream about, helped shove the dagger in his former teams' heart.
Ryder alertly gathered the puck after misfiring it wide of Halak and quickly spotted David Krejci barreling in. Krejci fired it past the Habs netminder to give Boston a 3-1 lead.
Game. Set. Match.
Ryder looked very pleased after the game, but tried to downplay being victorious against his former team. "Every game counts (equally) during the season" Ryder said.
He tried mightily to hide his personal pleasure in defeating the team that gave up on him and all but shoved him in a tiny dog kennel and locked the cage door last season, a team that went 7-0-1 against Boston a year ago, but now, sans Ryder, has found themselves on the losing end in their last three meetings with the B's. Ryder could spin it any way he wanted to, but the enormous smile on his face said it all.
The Bruins will now travel to Long Island to face off against former Providence Bruins' Head Coach Scott Gordon and his woefully dreadful Islanders on Thursday. It's been a rough first year for Gordon, albeit an expected one. The Isles are 12-27-4, dead last in the entire NHL with just 28 points.
Stark contrast: The Bruins have outscored opponents by a mind-numbing total of 62 goals this season (157-95). The Islanders? They've been outscored by a remarkable 46 goals so far this year (110-156). No word yet on if a parking spot has been reserved for John Tavares outside of the Nassau Coliseum.
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