Tonight's recap is going to be a bit different. No words. Just pictures.

After the jump, Patrick Kaleta is a coward, Ryan Miller is emo and Sabres fans are whiny..... even in victory.....

Bruins visit the Sabres. Town's probably already covered in 50' of snow.

Bruins are a mere two points behind the Habs. Sabres are just as bad as the Leafs. That's bad. Like really bad. But in the last 10-games both team's records are virtually the same. Rumor has it that the Sabres are getting some healthy bodies back in the line-up, too. Bruins are going to need to bring their A-game; no screwing around.

This preview? Tougher than Kaleta. If you haven't seen all the Photoshop tomfoolery from us and some of the DOY readers, you should. If nothing else, we learned that pandas are the 'in' animal for 2010. We blame Jack Black.

Today/tonight we're playing a new game on twitter #LindyRuffExcuses.

By @Guid921

Join the game. Have some fun. If the Bruins win we're sure Ruff will have something to complain about. He did all last playoffs and after the last meetup a few games back. Even Ryan Miller started in with the bitching last time.

By @Guid921

After the jump.... projected roster.... game day links for your reading enjoyment... and the game day video...

We asked you all: What's tougher than Patrick Kaleta?

Maybe we should've asked:

Well played, Kevin; well played.

Below is just a small listing of things that are tougher than Kaleta. Check out the "Tougher than Kaleta" folder at our Picasa page for all the pics sent to us. We've given credit where credit is due without giving out too much personal info, hence just first names or first names and last initials. If you want full name credit, let us know.

From Guid921

After the jump... lot more things tougher than Kaleta.

This is just a taste of what's coming later on. But we want to know what you think is Tougher than Kaleta. Email us your ideas/pics/photoshops to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and/or hashtag it on twitter #TougherThanKaleta. Post will come out later tonight or tomorrow.

Some Kaleta antics to get you going:

Notice he doesn't go over to Chara until a ref is there? Smart. Cowardly, but smart.

And how can't we forget this game? Kaleta brought his A-game for it.

Can't wait to see what the Sabres cry about tomorrow night.

This hurts. Losing to the Flyers hurts. Not just because of last year. We love hockey. Watching the Flyers makes us hate hockey. They're goony cowards, with a couple of skill guys mixed in. Claude Giroux is probably the only member of that team that doesn't make us want to choke babies for sport.

Claude Julien applauded the Bruins effort after the game. Not sure we were watching the same game. Lot of uninspired play for long stretches. The Bruins would be buzzing around the Flyers net getting scoring chances and then completely disappear for ten minutes. They had plenty of opportunity to win this game but showed up too late. 

This game contained all the Flyers hallmarks. Cheap shots by Jody Shelley. Hartnell acting tough when the refs were around then running away when they weren't. Pierre McGuire giving Mike Richards hand jobs between periods.

No idea how the Bruins don't catch fire all game. Not saying they should dwell on Game 7, but even after McQuaid went down there was little fire. Not buying that fatigue excuse either. They've been home for a week, sleeping in their own beds. But hey, we're not hockey players. The disappointing part for us is knowing that this was another game the Bruins could've won if they had their heads in the game consistently. Oh well. There's always next time.

After the jump, Thomas is good, Kampfer is good and the people who run the cameras at TD Garden are pedophiles.......

The Flith return to Boston since the Day We Dare Not Speak Of. We're assuming there'll be a shit ton of stories about that, so we won't mentioning it. We refuse to live in the past (when it sucks).

Also, announcers will probably talk about it every second they can get, so maybe be ready to hit mute early and often.

Flyers are fourth in the East; Bruins are fifth. Flyers have six points on the Bruins but have played three more games than Boston. Let's do the math: 3 x 2 (pts/game) = 6 pts. Big game for Boston.

Woke up this morning to see this:

Which means we get to use this graphic at least one more time... if not twice:

Hope you saved some eye bleach from last time.

Listen, we tried trading Sturm in NHL11 and no one wants him. If the Kings want his busted knees, we're all for it. Nothing against Sturm but it's for the best for the Bruins and him. Better than burying him in the AHL (which we did in NHL11).

After the jump... projected roster... game day links... and your game day video...

The above Rene Rancournaments can be yours if you're one of the lucky first 10,000 fans at the Ducks-Bruins game on Monday, December 20th.

This is the greatest thing to happen since Mr. Rene Rancourt himself was born and graced us all with his golden pipes.

We don't think Rene was drunk.

The entire DOY staff will be on attendance, probably camping out overnight to get our hands on what might be the best thing since the Florida Panthers yarmulke, and definitely the best NHL Christmas prize out there.

Speaking of the Great Panthers Yarmulke Disaster -- the Rancourt ornaments are only for the first 10,000 fans and won't be sold in stores (check eBay after the game though), so if you want one, buy tickets now.

No word on which Christmas class Rancourt sings in the ornament. We're looking into it, so stay tuned.

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If you're an Islanders fan, we don't understand how you can go pay to see this team. This isn't the usually harassment we give a team. The Bruins didn't necessarily play a good game. Not bad either. But the Islanders looked like they weren't even trying for like 90% of the game. Three Islanders players would surround one Bruins player... and then just kind of look at him and not do anything.

We knew the Islanders were bad, but we hadn't really watched any of their games this season. But come on. I guess it all stems down from the top. When your management doesn't really seem to care and you play in the worst arena in the league, maybe you just don't feel like playing. But we can definitely understand why Islanders fans are so pissed. If you know an Islanders fan, give them a hug. Seriously. And maybe a pizza. Or a puppy. But definitely a hug.

This is not a photoshop. Jebus.

Is this what they have to do to get fans to go to games? Damn.

After the jump... special teams thrive, DiPietro shouldn't roam, and Lucic loves empty nets......

Bruins host the Islanders tonight.

This was the game that the DOY staff fought over not going not. Don't get us wrong -- we love going to any games we can, but if you have the option of seeing a vs. Capitals, Flyers, Canadiens game or a vs. Islanders game, the choice is pretty darn easy. Fists were thrown. The bond of friendship was tested. We survived.

And hopefully the Bruins will survive this trap game.

How bad are the Islanders? Well, they're worse than the Leafs and Devils for starters.

The big number is the goal differential for both teams. Bruins are a big positive; Islanders are huge negative. This is a huge plus for Boston, now that Mark Stuart is out for a while with a busted hand. Kampfer can try to get acclimated to the NHL regular season speed before a slew of big games over the next week.

Speaking of Stuart...

Matt Kalman over at the theBruinsBlog.net was the first guy we saw tweet this, several hours before everyone else. We just are too lazy to dig through the tweets to find it. 

"It was sore," Stuart said of his hand last Thursday. "We took X-rays after Thursday's game and they were negative. So we just decided to see how it felt, then look at it in a couple days. It was sore, so I taped it up for Toronto and it wasn't feeling good. So we actually planned to get X-rays again after the game on Tuesday. My third shift, all I did was make a pass and it just caved in. It was just hanging on by a thread, I think." --Boston.com

After the jump... a dedication to a lost, local hero... a Bruins fanatic video... projected roster... game day links... and your game day video...

Mark Stuart can be a handy guy to have on defense.  He tries to single-handedly abuse the other team and handles a good portion of the physical game.  Unfortunately, Stuart won't be stickhandling for the next 4-6 weeks after breaking his ring finger.  So as not to be shorthanded, Steven Kampfer, has been handpicked from Providence to replace him.  Kampfer was impressive during training camp and the rookie games, and offhand I can't think of a better replacement.

Kampfer will have one "easy" game on Thursday against the Islanders to get acclimated.  After that, he'll have his hands full with quality teams/rivals like the Flyers, Sabres, Canadiens, and Capitals.

Stuart is an old hand at these types of injuries, last year he had a hand infection (specifically his finger) during the end of season/part of the playoffs.  While these injuries can be a handful, the good news is that it's an upper body injury, and he should be able to stay well conditioned during his recovery, so he shouldn't be too handicapped when he eventually returns.

What can be done to keep him off the IR and on the ice manhandling the opposition? Well as usual, we have a few ideas of our own.

After the jump: A few alternate hands for Stuart.