Bruins Maul Gerber, Sens: Boston 6; Ottawa 4.

In a result that will only shock those of us who check up on hockey once every two years, the Boston Bruins defeated the Ottawa Senators tonight. The Bruins moved into first place overall in the NHL with the win, so the bottom dwelling Senators were unlikely to come away with a victory even if Martin Gerber had stopped more than 75% of the shots he faced. Gerber decided to adopt a “3 out of 4 ain’t bad” approach to goaltending, allowing 5 goals on 21 shots. While the Senators were not at their best defensively, Gerber should have had the first, third, and fourth goals. That botched poke check and the bouncing puck shenanigans that followed on the Krecji goal were laughable, and should have appeased the two of you who hope for zany Gerber antics whilst watching the game.

To be fair to the Swiss Stanley Cup winning back up, he didn’t get much help from his defence. Turnovers led to excellent scoring chances on a number of Boston’s goals, and even a few Gerber saves. Boston can thank Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza respectively for goals four and five, as the Pizza Liners each took a turn at coughing up the puck in dangerous territory. To his credit, Alfredsson took responsibility for his gaffe: "I make one move and try to make another and they score the winner. It’s my fault. I’m trying to do too much." The Senators received more of the puck luck they have become accustomed to this season, with Chuck Kobasew’s 2-0 goal coming on a shot that was headed wide of the net until it deflected off Chris Phillips’ stick, hit the far post, and then fluttered in.


As has been the case in recent losses, the Senators did put forth a respectable effort. Ottawa outshot the Bruins 30-22 and rallied from a two goal deficit to tie it, but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers at inopportune times and their goaltender simply could not bail them out. The captain summed it up nicely, saying “We’re playing a really good team and we didn’t start very well, but we battled back to tie... It was awful because everybody worked really hard and battled."

Craig Hartsburg appeared to lose his patience with the Big 3 in the post game press conference. Hartsburg called out his best players, venting that “those guys cost us the game." Hartsburg said he had hoped he could rely on them in a situation where the team needed them to be at their best, and he was palpably disappointed the with results. This situation is starting to become a real mess. Things could get interesting.