Tonight's game was sponsored by the number 2. Bruins move to 10-2-2. Bruins scored two goals, then Lightning scored two goals, then Bruins scored two goals.

Nathan Horton scored two goals. Dougie Hamilton assisted on both of those two goals. Justin has a two inch penis. The second Tampa Bay goal was softer than Robb when he sees a naked woman.

Jon is going to get punched in the face twice next time the DOY staff is together. 

Great win though. When the Bruins blew that two goal lead we peed a little. "NOT AGAIN" we may or may not have yelled. But then the Bruins were all like "oh wait, Tampa's goalie sucks. FLAME ON!" Oh Horty you.... you got what we neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed. Tampa can't defend! No Tampa can't defend!

...sorry, where were we?

We're currently contacting the MBTA to see if they can celebrate the Bruins getting 10 wins by putting happy messages on all buses tomorrow. We'll let you know how that goes.

It's been three looooong days but the Days of Y'Orr Pregame Show LIVE returns to the Internet. The show starts at 6:00pm. At around 5:45pm we'll update this page with a live stream player below.

How to Watch:

Blog: Come back to this page at 5:45pm
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YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DaysofYorr

Can't watch it live? No worries. The player will update itself with the live recorded version once the show is over so you can watch at your own leisure.

On Today's Episode:

Tonight we'll be talking about the Bruins/Lightning game, an improving Bruins PP (?), Alfie/Iginla/Ryder trade rumors, and a special Q&A with newly unemployed head coach Lindy Ruff. Also, if you're sensitive to certain words, be forewarned that we don't care. 

Send in Questions/Comments!:

Seriously, we want to hear from the DOY Pregame Show viewers. Send in thoughts and questions via twitter with the hashtag #DOYLive.

Show Notes:

After the show is over we'll update this section to list the stories we refer to and other notes from today's show. Here's a few links to get started, though.

- Greg's Game Day Preview for Bs vs. Lightning
- Bruins are named the 4th Most Active NHL Fanbase
- Ruff is fired
- Montreal needs to calm their tits
- Chiarelli meets with Holmgren
- The return of Ryder?
 

Get Involved:

This is a new endeavor us, so send us feedback on what you like/don't like. Local business looking to advertise are also welcome to contact us. Email us at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  for all show needs and ideas.

I fucking hate these three day waiting periods between games. It's probably the closest thing to being water boarded that I will ever experience outside of a Bruins power play (although not lately!). The worst part about it is that there isn't shit to write about during this time off, except for that Lindy Ruff got fired 5 years to late which is kind of a shitty thing because now someone may actually realize the team is talented and coach them as such. Anywho, the Bruins are now in toasty Florida, where the mice are huge and the 4pm steak is $5 with tax to play the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Last time the Bruins "played" Tampa Bay, a snow storm opened it's anal cavity and dumped about 2 feet of snow on us causing the game to be postponed. Before that game, Tampa was on a virtual tear of NHL goaltending. They put up something like 6+ goals 6 times before their matchup with Boston, but has since cooled off - big time. 

Since the February 10th postponed game, the Lightning are 2-2, losing to Washington and Montreal and beating Toronto and Florida. So they haven't defeated any good teams and got waxed against Washington, where they let up four goals. 

In reality though, the Bruins defense is going to get tested tonight in a big way. Tampa comes into the game ranked number one in offense in the NHL, scoring almost four goals a game. While the Bruins defense is good, they're no longer statistically the best in the NHL. While being ranked 8th is nothing to scoff at, you have to look at how they've played over the past few games. 

The last time the Bruins faced Tampa, the Lightning put a 12 spot on the board and Steven Stamkos went ham - but that was with Party Turco in net. I don't expect a 12 spot to ever grace a Bruins scoreboard again, but the possibility that Tampa can put in 5 or 6 goals is definitely there. While Rask has been good we can't forget his performance against Buffalo when Thomas Vanek was playing puppet master with the Bruins defense, can we? I know we place a lot of that game on a shitty defense - and rightfully so - but there's been so many times where Tuukka has had to been masterful to even keep Boston in a game (hello, Montreal). 

One last thing that scares the piss out of me with regards to the Lightning? Their power play. While the Bruins penalty kill is amazing (and we're talking 94%, best in the NHL amazing) the team has a tendency to take idiotic penalties at the most crucial times. The third pairing of Ference/McQuaid seems to be the worst of the pairs. The pairing has 27 PIMs so far this season and McQuaid has 19 of them. For comparison, Chara is 2nd with 14 and then no defenseman breaks 10 (with Dougie Hamilton having 0 PIMs this season). Putting Tampa Bay on the power play could be suicide. 

Tampa also has three players in the top 20 in total points so far this season in Stamkos (3rd), St. Louis (5th) and Lecavalier (20th). Again, nothing to sneeze at, especially when Vinny L is a second line center. Boston's highest ranking player in terms of total points in David Krejci at 68. Just something to think about. Tampa plays a wide open, offensive scheme and Guy Boucher loves to have his guys shooting the puck. Given that team speed also cripples this defense, it could be a long night. 

After the jump, the rest of the preview...

This afternoon the Buffalol Sabres did the impossible -- they fired head coach Lindy Ruff who has been the team's head coach since 10,00 BC. It was a firing that happened about five years too late at best. With exception of them playing Boston, the Sabres are awful. Just awful. The're 6-10-1 overall and 3-7 in their last 10. From NHL.com:

The Buffalo Sabres have relieved Lindy Ruff of his coaching duties, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

A 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at the First Niagra Center on Tuesday night left the Sabres with a 6-10-1 record this season. Buffalo's 13 points are the fewest in the Northeast Division and tied for the third-fewest in the Eastern Conference.

Ruff, who played most of his NHL career for the Sabres, began coaching the team in 1997-98 and was the longest-tenured coach in the League. He led the Sabres to the 1999 Stanley Cup Final and had a career regular-season record of 562-452-84 along with 78 ties.

Ruff was also the second-longest tenured coach in North American pro sports next to Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.

There is no immediate word on Ruff's replacement

Meanwhile Darcy Regier is still the GM for the Sabres even though he's put together the most inept Sabres maybe ever.

Easy, kid. He just got fired!

It'll be weird seeing a head coach not cry behind the Buffalo bench. We won't know how to react at first, but then we'll find something to run with. Or maybe they'll find another whiney coach to take over. The possibilities are endless!

After the jump, we remember Ruff's legacy...

Last night the Montreal Canadiens defeated  the New York Rangers 3-1. And by doing so they took the top spot in the Eastern Conference. And because it's Montreal, they're already celebrating their quarter-season championship. This was RT by the Sirius XM NHL Radio twitter account this morning:

@canadiensmtl The 107 bus this morning #gohabsgo twitter.com/julesp8/status…

— Julie Paquette (@julesp8) February 20, 2013

Oof. Embarrassing. Let alone it's quarter-season and there's fives teams within three points of them, they're choosing to ignore games played, too.

Math, motherfuckers.

But congrats on the minor achievement. We know there hasn't been much to celebrate recently up in Montreal. Before this the biggest deal in town was kicking out the English-only speaking coaches like in some bizarre hockey version of the Muslim Expulsion from Spain (history, motherfuckers). But man is this going to suck when they create a hour long pre-game ceremony commemorating last night's events.

S/T to Dana N. for sharing the link with us. bWo.

TicketCity sent over this cool infographic about the most engaged NHL fanbases. And since the Bruins came in fourth and we love hockey infographics we figured we'd share:

Top 10 Most Active Fan Bases in the NHL created by TicketCity

Press Release:

The Toronto Maple Leafs hold the #1 spot on the list with an especially tuned-in fan base.  Online search volume for the team is the highest in the NHL with over 300,000 global monthly searches. Home games have long been one of the toughest tickets to acquire even during losing seasons, making Leafs tickets the most expensive in the league. Although slightly less social than other teams included in the top 10, more than 500,000 fans like The Maple Leafs on Facebook- a considerable community when compared to other top global brands.

The enthusiasm of NHL fans on social media is easy to see when compared to other professional leagues like the NFL and Major League Baseball. While the general popularity of other leagues drives more Facebook “Likes” on team pages, Facebook’s “Talking About” numbers reveal that NHL fans are more engaged with their team as fan communities three times their size. The Detroit Red Wings lead all of hockey with over 1.3 million likes on Facebook – including 80,000 fans that are “Talking About” the team on the social network (as of February 15). On Twitter the Montreal Canadiens have the largest reach with over 350,000 followers.

As a "thank you” to fans for putting up with the lockout, many NHL teams have had a multitude of concession giveaways and discounts on souvenir items to draw fans back to the games. The Pittsburgh Penguins -- ranked #3 on the list and #10 in the league for home game attendance -- offered all merchandise available for half-price during the first four games of the season. Fans responded by purchasing 8,680 jerseys and 19,950 t-shirts.

“The teams included on this list have managed to activate their fans in a variety of different ways,” says Rafael Rivas, Chief Strategy Officer at TicketCity. “Whether a fan “Likes” a post on Facebook or decides to attend a game, top NHL teams leverage these experiences to continue to build their fan communities. It’s those experiences that enable certain teams to maintain their success in the league post-lockout, regardless of performance.”

No real shockers on this list. They're all major hockey markets, Original 6 teams, and team's that have been to the Cup Finals recently. Only the St. Louis Blues don't fit this description really. Not overly shocked that they made the list but it's cool to see a team below the Mason Dixon line make the list. Bettman's smiling somewhere. Poor Kings. Not even winning a Cup last year and having a hilarious twitter account seems to engage their fans into this list.

Also, suck it, Buffalo and Winnipeg.

From the Bruins: 

You often hear "putting smiles on kids' faces" as the importance of offering support to the community, but that was - truly - at the core of the visit.

"Important is probably a real small word," said Coach Julien. "For us, it was something that we really wanted to do. The fact that we have that opportunity to come here and hopefully put smiles on faces and to show our support."

"I'm looking at the players and they're still in there having a blast," Coach said, as he watched Adam McQuaid,Daniel Paille, Rich Peverley, Tyler Seguin, Dougie Hamilton, Andrew Ference and Chris Bourque running around with the kids and playing street hockey on the courts stretched in front of him. "That's such a nice thing to see right now. I'm really proud of our players for coming in here and helping out."

"When you look at the faith and you look at the strength of this town and how they've bonded and supported each other, it's amazing - and having the opportunity to be part of that group, and wanting to be part of that group, is pretty special."

What an awesome move by the organization. You know the kids had a great time playing street hockey with those guys, probably except for Chris Bourque who kept shooting the ball off of the basketball back board. I hate to use the word classy because it's so overused in hockey fan vernacular but it that's exactly what it was. 

The Bruins have three power play goals in their last four games and have seen their conversation rate bump from a pitiful 9% success rate to a slightly less pitiful 13%. And they've gone from the second worst in the NHL to third worst... hey, baby steps, folks. Just ahead of them on the "awful PP" list is Buffalo (13.6), Columbus (13.6), and Detroit (13.9).

Bruins were 1-1 last night, 1-2 against the Sabres and 1-6 against the Sabres again.

So why the sudden influx of PPGs?

A possibility. We're not ruling it out... yet. But let's take a look at the recent goals.

More after the jump....

Whoa boy. Another win that was less than pretty. But every two points counts this season, so they don't have to be works of art. Still it'd be nice to see the Bs blow a shitty team out like the Winnipeg Jets once in a while. Bruins did a pretty good job defensively today, keeping the shot count down (24 shots) and the Jets scoring chances to a minimum. Well, that was until the third period (AGAIN!) in which the Bruins couldn't figure out a way of countering the Jets constant pressure.

And those final few seconds? Dear god. Hope you brought an extra pair of Depends 'cause if you're like us you were changing your little diapers right after the game.

Nice work by Boston to beat Winnipeg on Hockey in America Day. Pretty sure this was the Bruins locker room before the game. 

Yes we know they're mostly non-American. Suck it.

Tonight we saw the best games of the season for Boychuk and Bourque. You can even argue Seguin is in that category today. He wasn't lights out offensively but the dude was hustling all over the ice and doing what he could to help the team win. When you're struggling in one area of your game, you gotta look for another to contribute with. Seguin did a bit of everything tonight for the Bruins.

So we can all chill the fuck out. The Bruins epic two-game losing streak is over.

After the jump we recap this bad-larry...