For the second time in a week the Boston Bruins were victims to some excellent goaltending by Henrik Lundqvist. On Monday, the Bruins fell the to Rangers 3-2 in New York and admist a Saturday crowd fell to them again 3-1. Unlike the Chicago game however, the Bruins seemed to play with some awareness and dare I say, heart.

However Boston also had to fave Henrik Lundqvist, a goaltender that seems to play his best when facing the black and gold. The Rangers are 8-1-1 against the Northeast Division and Lundqvist has been in top form all season. He stopped 29 of 30 shots the Bruins threw his way yesterday. Thomas wasn't as bad as the score may suggest. Thomas stopped 31 of 34 shots and seemed to be in good position all night (day?). The defense left him high and dry a few times, although the goal by Michael Del Zotto is debateable.

Every Bruins fan like to turn to the injury excuse and point out that Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Ference are out, but that doesn't mean the team can play with no heart. Lets be serious here for a minute, the Bruins are playing heartless hockey. Where is their sense of urgency or desperation? There isn't any. In a game where they physically pushed New York around (at least I believe so), they couldn't must many quality scoring chances. Alas, it's time fo:

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good:

Penalty Kill. The Bruins penalty kill continues to be the best in the NHL. Yesterday they killed every penalty they took (4 for 4) with deep clearing attempts and some solid goaltending by Tim Thomas. If there is one thing that can remain a positive throughout the season, this is it.

Effort. Now, before people start pointing out the score, overall the effort was pretty good against New York. The Bruins came out looking for a fight and Shawn Thornton delivered. The Bruins took it to the Rangers physically, the only problem is that a man by the name of Henrik Lundqvist mans the pipes for the Rags. I liked the effort yesterday, but please don't mistake scoring chances for effort.

The Bad

Offense. Again, the Bruins are able to generate a lot of shots (30) but are unable to put the puck in the net. With the absense of Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, you may see the Bruins offense fall a part like it did in the beginning of the season when Savard was on the long term injury reserve list. Get ready Bruins fan because this is going to be a bumpy and ugly ride.

Record. In the last four games the Bruins have a record of 1-3 and it doesn't get any easier in the immediate future. Boston will begin a 3 game (in 4 nights) western road trip that has them facing Anahiem, Los Angeles and San Jose. Again, get ready, it's going to get ugly out there.

The Ugly

Injuries. Holy poop on a stick, what the hell is going on. Milan Lucic comes back and Marc Savard gets hurt. Patrice Bergeron is out 2-3 weeks with a broken thumb. Andrew Ference hurt his vagina and is out for 6 weeks and Mark Stuart is still about 3-4 weeks from a return. Yesterday Danny Paille crawled to the bench in the first period before Shawn Thornton grabbed him like he was falling over a cliff, and Michael Ryder was seen skating gingerly to the bench. Luckily for the Bruins both Paille and Ryder continued playing but if the Bruins sustain anymore injuries, they may be holding tryouts at the Garden for roster spots. Next thing we know, Boston will be calling on some 40 year old drunk goalie to play on their AHL...team...oh wait.

Win of the Night

Sadly, it's Dennis Wideman ending Lundqvist's shut out. I think if he were to shut the Bruins out, you'd start seeing black and gold jersey leaping from the Tobin. This is easily the worst stretch of Bruins hockey all season.

Stat of the Night

Marco Sturm is the first player in Bruins franchise history to have 4 penalty shots in his career.

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