B's NewsBlast! - 3 Bruins Named as Eastern All Stars!

From BostonBruins.com;
Chara, Savard and Thomas are All-Stars & will play in the 57th All-Star Game in Montreal, Jan. 25

Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas will represent the Boston Bruins at the All-Star game again in 2009.Boston, MA - The NHL announced today that Boston Bruins Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas have been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star roster for the 2009 NHL All-Star game, which will be held on Sunday, January 25 at 6:00 p.m. ET at the Bell Centre in Montreal (National TV: VERSUS).

This marks the fourth all-star appearance for Chara, the second for Savard and the second for Thomas. All three players represented the Bruins at last year's all-star game.

The Bruins captain has posted 7-15-22 totals, a +17 rating and 48 penalty minutes on the year. Chara is also the two-time defending Hardest Shot contest winner at the NHL All-Star game, having recorded blasts of 100.4 MPH in 2007 and 103.1 MPH in 2008. The 2009 Cisco Hardest Shot contest will be held as part of the Honda/NHL All-Star SuperSkills Competition on Saturday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET (National TV: VERSUS)

Savard has tallied the fourth most points in the NHL with 49, trailing only Evgeni Malkin (63), Alex Ovechkin (53) and Sidney Crosby (51). His 36 assists rank third behind Malkin (48) and Joe Thornton (36) and he owns the best plus/minus rating in the NHL, along with teammate Dennis Wideman (+25). Savard scored the game-winning goal in last year’s All-Star game during an 8-7 win for the East.

Thomas, who has compiled a 16-4-3 record on the season, is among the league leaders in all major goaltending categories. He ranks fourth in Goals Against Average (2.13), tied for fourth in Save Percentage (.932), and tied for fifth in shutouts (3). Thomas played a key role in last year's All-Star game, as he played the entire third period and earned the victory for the East. For more information on the All-Star game, and the weekend festivities, visit www.nhl.com.

Eastern Conference All-Star Roster:

STARTERS:Goaltender: C. Price (MTL) Defensemen: A.Markov (MTL), M. Komisarek (MTL) Forwards: S. Crosby (PIT), E. Malkin (PIT), A.Kovalev (MTL)

RESERVES:Goaltenders: H. Lundqvist (NYR), T. Thomas (BOS) Defensemen: J. Bouwmeester (FLA), Z. Chara (BOS), M. Streit (NYI), T. Kaberle (TOR) Forwards: I. Kovalchuk (ATL), M. Savard (BOS), T. Vanek (BUF), E. Staal (CAR), Z Parise (NJD), D. Heatley (OTT), J. Carter (PHI), V. Lecavalier (TBL), A. Ovechkin (WSH)

Western Conference All-Star Roster:

STARTERS:Goaltender: J.S. Giguere (ANA) Defensemen: B. Campbell (CHI), S. Niedermayer (ANA) Forwards: P. Kane (CHI), J. Toews (CHI), R. Getzlaf (ANA)

RESERVES:Goaltenders: N. Backstrom (MIN), R. Luongo (VAN) Defenseman: N. Lidstrom (DET), S. Souray (EDM), S. Weber (NSH), D. Boyle (SJS) Forwards: J. Iginla (CGY), M. Hejduk (COL), R. Nash (CBJ), M. Modano (DAL), P. Datsyuk (DET), D. Brown (LAK), S. Doan (PHX), K. Tkachuk (STL), J. Thornton (SJS)

B's NewsBlast - Kess Named NHL's First Star !

From Bruins.com & the NHL;

Boston, MA -- The NHL announced today that Boston Bruins forward Phil Kessel was named NHL’s First Star of the Week for the week ending December 14.Kessel tallied eight points with three goals and five assists in four games last week and extended his point streak to 15 games. Kessel helped lead the Black and Gold to a 3-1-0 record, which improved their Eastern Conference-leading mark to 21-5-4. Kessel notched one goal and one assist in a 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay December 8, registered an assist in a 3-1 loss at Washington Dec. 10, tallied a goal and two assists in a 7-3 win at Atlanta Dec. 12 and closed the week with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over the Thrashers Dec. 13.Kessel's point streak is a career high, the longest in the NHL this season and longest by a Bruins player since Adam Oates recorded points in 20 consecutive games from Jan. 7 to Feb. 20, 1997. The 21-year-old Madison, Wisconsin native is second in Bruins scoring with 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 30 games, ranks third in the NHL in goals and already has matched his career high of 19 goals set last season.The NHL will conduct a media conference call with Kessel today at 3:00 p.m. ET.Pittsburgh’s Petr Sykora received the Second Star honors as he recorded three goals and five assists in four games last week, while Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek claimed the Third Star after registering a week-high five goals, including two gamewinners.The Bruins return to action on Thursday, December 18 when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Win streak kicks the bucket in DC

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen. The B's started slow last night against the Caps, and this time, they couldn't turn it around quickly enough to salvage a win or a point. The B's seems surprised early on by the pace the Caps were setting. Washington has loads of skill, and it was on display right from the start. By the time the B's got their legs under them and started to carry the play, they were already down 2-0. With Brent Johnson doing his best Gump Worsley impression, they were never able to catch up. But it wasn't just Johnson that kept the B's off the scoreboard for most of the night. Boston had too many quality chances that they just didn't finish. Wheeler, in particular jumps to mind. He (and Sturm when he's playing) are maddening to watch sometimes. I've never seen a kid "assume" he scored before the puck crosses the line. Last night he did it again. He deked Johnson badly and had an open net. But instead of bearing down and BURYING it, he lazy-assed it, and just tried sweeping it in. Of course, Johnson got his arm on it to keep it out. Brickley went on about how the puck was too far in front so he couldn't get leverage blah blah blah. BS. I'd bet you anything if you got Brickley off-record he'd agree that Wheels HAS to bury that shot. He's far from alone, but it was the most glaring missed chance. On the plus side, Wheeler seemed ticked off about it afterwards, and was much more physical for the next few shifts. The kid needs to play that way every shift, and stop passing up shots the way he does. As far as the rest of the game goes, I thought Lucic had a really strong game. He seems to step up to the challenge of playing against high-tempo teams like the Caps. His skill level seemed higher last night than normal, while still using his body well. Fernandez turned in another strong performance as well. Can't blame him for any of the goals. Now, this may be nit-picking, but Lashoff, again, got absolutely abused. On the empty netter, he got caught at the offensive blue line...AGAIN, trying to make a play. I understand it's desperation time then, but his first job has to be to not let AO get a breakaway on an empty net! Just another terrible decision in a long line of terrible decisions by the rook. Don't mean to bash, because hey, I want everyone in a B's jersey to succeed. But he's already a -3 in only 4 games. Normally I'm not a huge +/- guy, but in some cases it's a telling stat. One thing that has kind of caught my eye the last few games, is how chippy Savard is has been. I love it. Our top scorer playing with a little edge is a great thing. Last night he had a couple little exchanges with Poti and another with some other Cap at the B's bench. Now, as one of my buddies mentioned this morning, if anyone decides to call his bluff, he's screwed. But hey, run with it while you can I guess. On a similar note, Krecji started to get "mouthy" and was taking a couple shots at Brashear after the whistle last night. My first reaction was: "STOP IT!". It's one thing to push and shove with other "regular" players. But, and this is no defense of Donald Brashear, doing that stuff to a heavyweight is just....I don't know, wrong. Poking the tiger through the cage like that is uncalled for I think, and doesn't do anything to improve your reputation. All it did was put Brashear in a tough spot.What was he going to do? Drop the gloves and pound Krecji? Of course not, he'd be painted as nothing more than a bully and a goon. So guys like him have to take an endless amount of grief from guys that everyone KNOWS would never back it up. I've never been a big Brashear fan, but he's one of the "honest tough guys" in the league. And among those guys, there is a code. And part of that code is, you don't fight kids you will obviously hammer. You can be sure if Thornton or someone capable of defending himself had started on Brashear like that, he would have retaliated. Sorry for the off topic rant, but I just hate seeing Bruins do that crap. For reference, imagine if Koivu was doing that with Thornton. Would anyone say "wow, good for Saku"? No, we'd all be crucifying him because we know he has no intention of dropping the gloves. Leave that BS for all the little girls on the Canadiens. The Bruins are better than that. Anyway, looking forward to the home and home with Atlanta this weekend. Time for the B's to start another winning streak, and to get back to playing their game. It's been a couple games now that they've been just a little "off". Time to nip that in the bud before bad habits creep in. It's a fine line. Play their system, they're near impossible to beat. Stray away from the system, and they're vulnerable to anyone willing to skate and work hard against them. I have every confidence that Coach Julien has gotten that message across. Go B's-Kynch

The face of shame

As much as I hate to pollute this site with images of cowardly, chickenshit low lifes, I thought putting a face to Steve Ott was worthwhile. This is what a disgraceful player looks like. This is the face of the "New NHL", where you can cheap shot, yap and do whatever you want, and not have to answer for your actions. "Back in the day", had Ott done anything like what he did Saturday at the Garden, he would have been pummeled. Now, with the instigator rules and all that, players have to "ask" for his cooperation, or face ejection and possible suspension. Thornton got a big break only getting the double minor for roughing when he went after Ott (or "Brave Steve" as Jack Edwards so aptly called him). Ott never dropped his stick or gloves. Shane Hnidy tried to engage Ott later on, and again Ott declined. I don't care which side of the fighting debate you're on, you can't tell me you watched his antics the other night and DIDN'T want someone to pound him.

If you aren't convinced that the Ott and Avery show is a pathetic embarrassment, all you need to see are their TEAMMATES comments. Here's a quote from Mike Modano immediately after the game: "Tonight it seemed to be idiotic," said Stars alternate captain Mike Modano of his team's identity. "It's stupid. It's one of the more embarrassing things I have seen, on the ice and involved with the fans. In 20 years, I haven't seen anything like it. If that's what we're going for, maybe I need to find myself an office job."
Those are comments Modano, a Captain, was willing to make to the press. What do you think the conversations were like in private? No way players like Modano, Morrow, Robidas and to a lesser extent, even the likes of Kris Barch can be too happy with these two. Barch had to fight Thornton because of all the bad blood Avery & Ott stirred up. And poor Matt Niskanen got absolutely hammered by Shane Hnidy because of a brawl touched off by yet another cheap shot from Avery.
When your own teammates start calling your actions embarrassing, maybe it's time to reconsider your tactics. But I think we all know these two jackasses will never change. The question is, will they end some one's career with a cheap shot before all is said and done?
Kynch