Bradshaw

Snapping back from a 3-2 shootout loss to the Rangers the other night, the Boston Bruins returned to their winning ways with a 3-2 win over the young Leafs in Toronto.

The Bruins took a 2-0 first period lead with goals by Phil Kessel (his 8th of the season) and Matt Hunwick scoring his 1st. Marc Savard and Milan Lucic had assists on both goals. The Leafs Jason Blake brought Toronto to within one beating Tim Thomas on a wrist shot with a little over two minutes to play in the first period.

The Leafs were pressing for the tie in the second, but Michael Ryder deked a Leaf defenseman and snapped a wrist shot past Vesa Toskala for the game winner. Leafs superpest Mikhail Grabovski got his 9th of the year at 8:53 of the third, but then the Bruins slammed the door. Thomas faced a total of 30 shotes (nine in the 3rd as the Leafs struggled to tie the game), while Toskala was peppered with only 22 from the Bruins.

With the win, the Bruins (8-1-1 in their last 10 games) move 4 points up on the Montreal Canadiens, while the Toronto remains in fourth spot in the Northeast Division only 3 up on the Ottawa Senators who have a game in hand on the Leafs.

nossagog

The Bruins have been playing some fine hockey the past few weeks. With Montreal and Buffalo beginning to struggle a little, it could be a chance for them to put a little space behind them in the standings. Couple of key games for them this week with Buffalo and Montreal. Too bad the Montreal game is the second of back to back games(AND 3rd game in 4 days).

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Penguins Fan living in Sabreland

BE-LEAF-ABLE

Kessel's and Ryder's goals were absolutely brutal. I thought goaltending would be Toronto's only strong point this year, but so far it's definitely been their worst.

Then again, Toskala started off the season slowly last season as well, and didn't pick things up until late November. Hopefully that's the case again, because that was terrible.

As for Boston: They look awesome this year. They're big, they're strong, they're fast, they're skilled. I've never been sold on Tim Thomas, but he's been pretty good for the Bruins this year. I like what I see with that team.

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"It's not the way it's going to be. We have to be very, very patient and build this the right way. We have to go through a process. It may be painful. I hope it isn't. But we're prepared for all the bumps and pratfalls and potholes in the road ahead. I'm prepared for it anyway, or I wouldn't have come." - Ron Wilson, Head Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bradshaw

Yeah, the Bruins have a good chance of moving up even farther in the standings. The Habs game should be really good. Boston was ready for them and highly motivated after the 12 game losing streak and the Habs are going to want to show the home town fans that they can still beat up on the Bruins. The Bruins play the Panthers on friday night so hopefully they won't be looking past Florida at saturday's game in Montreal.

If Boston does beat the Habs on Saturday, that will really stick it to them early in their celebratory 100th season. I can hardly wait!