Welcome to the third edition of Grinding Gears. Last week Angry Bruins Fan, Greg, went on a rant about the Bruins lack luster play. Apparently they listened to him because they've been on fire. This week, Greg talks about the Bruins powerplay and thinks that if you think Thomas sucks, you should go drink bleach.

For more Greg, follow him on Twitter @Pez5611 and read this other blog, Angry Bruins Fan.

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Please note: This was written before the Bruins away game at Carolina. If something should happen in Carolina that proves my points to be invalid, suck it.

You know what is really pissing me off this past week with the Bruins? Surprisingly...nothing. Since the debacle in Montreal, the Bruins have been playing some sound hockey. The team is 4-1 since blowing a 2-0 lead at the Bell Center and although not all of the pieces have been polished (see: defense), the machine is running very well.

It is obvious that there are a few things that need to be addressed but I wouldn't necessarily say I'm pissed off about them. The first is the power play. It's painfully obvious that the Bruins power play is deficient in most areas. There seems to be little cohesion when the team is on the man advantage. Sometimes they'll get it and score but most of the time the penalty is killed by the opponent and life goes on. It's frustrating that the power play is so bad given the amount of talent on this team.

For the season the Bruins are 17.6% successful on the power play. That leaves them at 19th in the NHL, which is rather consistent if you look at where they were at the end of last year (16/6% success, good for 23rd overall). During this five game stretch were Boston posted a 4-1 record, they went 5 for 23 on the power play (21.7% on the power play) which is above their season average, but still not great. Game by game they look like this:

After the jump.... Greg breaks down recent powerplay struggles and discusses how the B's need to tighten their defense......

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Mr. Johnny Boychuk scored his first goal of the season last night, just in time to celebrate his 27th birthday today.


What a stud. Kid's gonna go on like a 10 goal tear now that he's broken the seal.

Celebrate Johnny Rocket's 27th Anniversary of Evacuating the Womb with some little known Johnny Boychuk Facts.

We should probably come up with some more facts, eh? If you got some, send 'em to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Happy Birthday, killer.

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Bruins are just rolling right now. Tim Thomas is out of this world. We feel like we're running out of things to say about him. If the season ended today, the Vezina conversation would be Tim Thomas, Tim Thomas and Tim Thomas. And how can you not talk about Thomas for MVP.

Carolina came out with revenge on their minds. They started slow and then took it to the Bruins. In the second period the Bruins had no answer for the Hurricanes. Tim Thomas did. He stood tall. He went nuts. He hold the Hurricanes to bring it. Then he hulked up.


The kids continue to contribute. Tonight it was Kampfer and Marchand again. Marchand got his 10th of the season. Kampfer's efforts led to Lucic's game winner and he made several fantastic defensive stops. Bruins continue to show what they didn't for most of December... when they want to be, they are one of the better teams in the league. When they don't want to be, Thomas can usually do enough to bail them out. Tonight was no different.

After the jump, Carolina sucks, Tim Thomas is awesome and Tim Thomas is really awesome.....

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The Bruins haven't played the Hurricanes since... yesterday. Yeah.

Yesterday the Bruins were busy putting up more touchdowns against the Hurricanes than the Pats against the Jets. Okay, slight exaggeration.

Seven goals. Chara had three of them. It was raining hats at the TD Garden.


Apparently some Carolina players were pissed the Bruins were still playing their balls off after going up by 7 goals. Waaaaaaaaaaah. If you don't like it then stop them. This ain't pee wee hockey. If some team puts up ten goals against the Bruins we're not gonna get pissed at the other team for driving up the score, we'd get pissed at the Bruins for allowing ten goals. Shut up Carolina.

Pic not ours. Done by a Pensblog reader. We wish we had thought of it. Carolina sucks.
Ference is still injured. According to Julien, Ference could go if the team was desperate and needed him but they're not right now so Ference is likely out.

Most of Carolina is out with bruised egos.
 
After the jump... Carolina perhaps looking for revenge, Justin Peters really, really sucks and Carolina is full of hicks.....
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Wow. Bruins are taking this whole "we can be super good when we want to be" thing seriously. In nine January games the Bruins have scored 36 goals. They have scored six or more goals in four of those games. They're 4-1-0 in their last five games and still looked great in their loss to Pittsburgh. The consistently inconsistent Bruins seem to have gone into hibernation for a bit and the f up your shit Bruins from October seem to have re-emerged.

The most impressive part? They're doing all this without getting much help from their "top line."

Bergeron is ruining lives left and right. Goalies are having nightmares about him. Tim Thomas is getting shutouts and making it look easy. The kids like Marchand, Kampfer and Seguin are contributing more and more. Chara is responding to fans and media questioning his commitment. There's a long way to go, but the Bruins are on the right path.

Their domination continued against the Hurricanes. After pulling Cam Ward after he let up two goal son five shots, Justin Peters entered the Hurricanes net and put on a clinic on "fastest ways to get sent back to the AHL." Kind of hilarious. The Hurricanes were never really in the game. Hurricanes aren't exactly the class of the East but they're not terrible. And the Bruins just tore them apart. Awesome.

After the jump..... Thomas is better than you, Chara's favorite band is Thrice and Bergeron continues to be a beast......

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This preview's going to be short(ish). It's a matinée game on a Monday, so time is short.

First off, we'd like to welcome all the Patriots fans onto the Bruins bandwagon. Yes, some of you have been here from the start -- your seat is still warm and toasty for you. But for the newbies: we ask you to not act like you've been following the team since October (browse our archives to catch up) and if you start the wave at the Garden, god help you.

OK, onto business...

Basically, Bruins are taking on the Hurricanes. This is their Guardian... some Mortal Kombat reject.



When it should be this:

Look out! There's a hurricane coming through!
We think TuukkaTime stole the thumbs up idea from the Hurricane.

More after the jump, including with Looch back, who do the Bruins demote to the fourth line? Hint: It shouldn't be Marchand...
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Hockey is often a game of bounces and inches. Both teams got their bounces today. The Penguins got just one more.

The Penguins played like a team that was still upset about blowing a late third period lead to the Bruins. The Bruins played like a team that wanted to show that comeback was no fluke.

Fleury pretty much won the game for the Penguins. The Bruins were all over the Penguins and forced Fleury to makes several huge stops. Rask answered the bell for the Bruins at the other end. Fleury faced 46 shots. Rask faced 36. Ridiculous.

Pens and Bruins each had one player playing their balls off too. Jordan Staal was everywhere for Pittsburgh. He even nailed Chara a few times. Seemed like every time he was on the ice the Penguins had a scoring chance. He assisted on Pittsburgh's first goal and scored the game winner.

Ryder was everywhere for the Bruins. It seemed like his game tying goal in the second boosted his confidence through the roof. After that he was a one man show. He got pucks behind Fleury two more times. One hit the post and one was saved by Pittsburgh's defense. He was crazy.

Hard to be upset by a loss like this. Bruins played well against a team that ain't too shabby themselves. Pens didn't have Crosby but they're no slouches.  

After the jump.... some thoughts on the game and some sweet links.....

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Boston Bruins host the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Garden this afternoon for what should be another great match up. Some people hate 1pm games; we kinda like the idea of rolling out of bed and heading straight to the Garden for some hockey.

Bruins have scored 17 goals in their last three games, including that 4-2 doggy-style win over the Pens. Offense doesn't seem a problem anymore, but how long will it last? We're still waiting for Horton to break the goal line -- he's played well, just not getting breaks. Same with Savvy.

The Bruins are showing some character, finally, on the ice and are finding ways to win games -- be it from behind against the Pens, a blowout vs. the Sens or a crazy, back-and-forth epic against the Flithadelphia Flyers. Wins, obviously, matter and the Bruins are finding ways to get points in the standings. They haven't always been pretty as of late, but ugly wins can turn into winning streaks. Hopefully the Bruins can keep the ball rolling against Pittsburgh this afternoon.

Penguins are still Crosby-less -- always a plus.

Ference will be sitting out with an "upper body injury" aka, a pulled groin. Stuart says he's ready to go but will probably be unlikely for today's game, and Lucic is still DTD.

Highlights from last Bruins-Pens game. Thanks for the Birthday Win, fellas.


After the jump... Pens and Bruins Guardian go head-to-head... projected roster (it keeps getting younger by the day)... game day links... and your game day video...
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Video is now released of the Boston Bruins Guardian, part of the NHL/Stan Lee Guardian Project.



We're curious as to what this "True Evil" character is. We want it to be Bettman, but it'll probably be the KHL. Or, if we're lucky, something lame (comedy value will be stupendous).

Love how The Bruin is wearing gym clothes from like the '70s. Classy shit right there. But hey, could be worse -- a lot worse.

Also love his super power is precognition and super smell.

New theory is that the 6 is for long lost and much maligned Bruins defenseman, Dennis Wideman. Wow. How shitty and cruel would that be?  Add a comment

What a game. If you didn't like this game, you don't like hockey. Back and forth action. Each team dominating for stretches. Twelve totals goals. Fluke goals, pretty goals. Bruins scored five goals in the third.

Brad Marchand continues to be a beast. So does Bergeron. And Kampfer. Chara continues to respond to getting called out. Thomas was human... and the Bruins still won. Danny Briere continues to be a little bitch. Hartnell still sucks.



When this game started the Bruins looked flat. Took them a few minutes to get their legs. When they blew the lead in the third after scoring two goals in a minute and ten seconds, you wondered for a moment if they were blowing a big game again. But they kept fighting. They didn't just sit back and take it and they were rewarded.

Philly fans are going to be pissed. Just before Marchand scored the puck was out of play but the refs thought it hit the glass and not the netting. To be honest I'm sure we'd be pissed if it went the other way. Oh well.

The only thing that is going to ruin this game is all the people talking about the Bruins "getting revenge" for last year. Let it go. Bruins are riding high right now. Comeback against Pittsburgh. Killing a terrible Ottawa team. Dealing with the ups and downs of this game and grabbing a victory. Seven goals by seven different players.


Wins against Pittsburgh and Philly are big for Boston. Pittsburgh awaits again on Saturday. Lets see if the Bruins keep this momentum going.

After the jump, more goals than you can shake a stick at.....

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