By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It looked like the Bruins were in for a fresh start after the Olympic break. Winners of four straight heading into the layoff, they appeared to finally be gaining steam and getting healthy.
But five games later, it’s the same old story.
Injuries and inconsistency.
The same two factors that have plagued the Bruins through this entire season of disappointment and bizarre twists are unwilling to disappear. The Bruins are just 2-2-1 since returning from their two-week hiatus, and as usual, they pretty much look asleep at the wheel. They blew three separate one-goal leads to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, eventually losing in overtime. Tim Thomas finally had one of his signature games, flopping left and right to make impossible saves, but per usual, the whole team couldn’t find its game simultaneously.
To make matters worse, they may have lost Marc Savard–their most valuable forward–for the season after he suffered a grade 2 concussion on a nasty hit from Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke. Zdeno Chara also missed the Toronto game and has been listed as day-to-day with a minor lower-body injury.
Perhaps of equal concern is that the Bruins, in desperate need of scoring, virtually stood pat on [...]

By: Jess Lander, Yawkey Talkies Editor
Could Boston fans be any more ready for Red Sox season?
The Patriots were the most disappointing they’ve been since before winning their first Super Bowl. I know, they didn’t make playoffs in ‘08 but that was without our Golden Boy.
The Bruins, after an embarrassing 10 game losing streak, finally steered back onto the ice, winning four in a row. They had TWO weeks to rest up during the Olympics and prepare to turn their season around, starting with tonight’s game against Montreal. And then, they were the old Bruins, giving up a 1 goal lead, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period. Hello, ten game losing streak at home.
Does blowing a lead sound familiar? Well, that’s because the Celtics have perfected it. It’s been a problem all season, but more recently it’s been getting worse. The Celts were up on the Cavs by double digits before blowing the lead in the fourth so bad that they lost by 20 points. Then, our Celtics did the unthinkable. They lost to the worst team in the NBA, a team that is almost the worst team in the history of the NBA: the New Jersey Nets, giving [...]

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It’s tough to endure two Bruins-free weeks, especially considering how well they played heading into the break. But, as you all know, there’s still hockey to be watched. I present you with five reasons to pay attention to the men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament:
5) Because it’s so much better than the alternative
Yes, involving the NHL in the Olympics makes for a terrible regular-season schedule, replacing the short all-star break with a
two-week gap. Yes, the competitive nature of the tournament itself hangs a shadow of injury concern over every team sending their best players to participate.
But Olympic hockey in itself is pure entertainment–something that isn’t really offered in the all-star game, which currently serves no purpose other than to collaborate the league’s top talents for a series of cheesy interviews and a painfully dull two-hand-touch scrimmage. Players actually put forth effort in the Olympics–which of course makes sense, because so much more is on the line. And the fact that something is at stake creates a spectacle that captures the interest of the viewing audience.
4) Offense!
On most nights, putting the puck in the net has been as puzzling as rocket science for the Bruins, who still rank 30th in the league in scoring. So it’s a bit refreshing to see the [...]

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
In the first period of Saturday night’s game against the Panthers, David Krejci skated up the boards and flung a desperate, bad-angle shot at Thomas Vokoun as he was forced into the corner. The puck caught the Florida netminder off guard, sneaking through his legs and across the line.
Then, with the game on the line in the third round of the shootout, Marc Savard skated in and fumbled the puck as he deked. Vokoun lost sight of the puck and stayed with Savard as it found its way underneath him, keeping the Bruins alive on another fortuitous bounce. Savard laughed visibly as he skated back to the bench–a loose reaction of joy better associated with the ’08-09 squad than this year’s embattled crew.
It looks like the Bruins are finally getting their breaks.
And now they’ll have the Olympic break, a two-week recess in which the players can ease up a little after stringing together four straight wins. Just one week after losing ten in a row and slipping to 12th in the conference, they’ve jumped all the way back up to 7th place. With four other teams nipping at their heels, however, momentum andconfidence from this four-game stretch will be important in getting the Bruins through the final quarter of [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
It has been a week of almost’s and close calls in Boston this week.
The Eagles almost upset Duke. The Blue Devils had a ten point lead at one point, but BC managed to cut it down and bring the game very much within their reach. Coming off a loss to Florida State but also a good win against Clemson a week before, the Eagles seemed to have the confidence to force an upset. The game ended 66-63, the Eagles just one missed three pointer away from beating the Blue Devils for only the third time ever. But that didn’t happen, and BC sits at ninth in the ACC.
The Celtics almost looked like their old selves and like they were going to beat the Magic, but then they just looked old. Going into halftime, the Celts were up by 11. Then the third quarter happened and the Magic outscored them 36-11 and closed out the game 96-89. More than just another loss, the Magic moved up into the Celts second place in the Eastern Conference. Just the week before, the Celts let the Magic and the Lakers take a lead out from under them, making [...]

Just a few quick updates from the Talkie around Yawkey Way.
BC surprises everyone. Just when people might have been giving up hope, BC gets themselves a key win. They defeated #21 Clemson 75-69 last night. This gives them their third ACC win (the other two against Miami) and they are now tied with Clemson 3-4 in the ACC. Just a few weeks ago Clemson took the game far away from BC, beating them 72-56. The real question is whether Clemson (on a three game losing streak) is just slumping or is BC finally showing some spark?
X-Red Sox gets dumped: He gets boo’d every time he’s at Fenway Park. Johnny Damon, who left Boston for the dark side (Yankees) is currently without a job. The Yankees seem to be pretty set with their outfield, leaving Damon hoping someone else picks him up. KARMA’S A BITCH, MAN. At least now maybe he can grow that beard back?
Bad, Bad Bruins. The Bruins have dropped to 10th in the Eastern Conference and are on a five-game losing streak. They are currently one-point out of a playoff spot.

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It’s no secret that the Bruins have been gliding on thin ice for weeks now, fighting to maintain their wobbly grasp on a spot in the Eastern Conference’s top eight–a spot that even the most skeptical of fans thought was guaranteed heading into the season.
But after a humiliating 5-1 loss to the bottom-feeding Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, the ice has officially cracked. In fact, the Bruins have fallen straight through to the bottom with a resounding thud.
Losers of five straight overall, Boston has now slipped from fifth in the conference to ninth in a matter of one week. More damage is possible during the next four days–the Bruins are idle until Friday night and could potentially be leapfrogged by four more teams over that span. Yes, that means that it is entirely feasible that the Boston Bruins will be thirteenth in the Eastern Conference come Friday, an absolutely stunning fall from grace for a team that once harbored Stanley Cup expectations.
Assessing the carnage is a lengthy task. Defensively, the Bruins are a mess, starting with the captain. Zdeno Chara has just four goals on the season and has struggled in all aspects of his defensive [...]