By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
A ten-game losing streak. The league’s second-worst offense. Seemingly millions of man-games lost to injury.
The reigning Vezina winner, once a fan favorite, relegated to bench-warming duties and booed off the ice in his final home start. The captain and defending Norris winner, long hailed as a snarling shutdown force, called out for his lack of leadership and made a scapegoat for the team’s pussification. The reigning coach of the year, once seen as the defensive genius responsible for the franchise’s turnaround–well, most of us wanted his head on a platter by midseason.
Oh yea, and Dennis Wideman. And Michael Ryder.
And Matt f-ing Cooke.
All that, and. . . the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs?
Not bad for a nightmare season–not bad at all. With all the bitching and moaning us mercurial Boston fans have been doing (and are still doing, I suppose), you would’ve thought the Bruins were in dead last–and trust me, it did seem that way for much of the season. But a minor hot streak and a few lucky breaks later, they’re in the clear.
In large part, we can thank a weak Eastern Conference for that.
So, instead of the early tee time that seemed inevitable for so many miserable stretches, the Bruins are headed for [...]

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
With just three games remaining and a likely playoff berth in the cards, it isn’t too early to assess a rollercoaster regular season for the Black and Gold. Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds of the 2009-10 season:
The Jack Bauer Award: Given to the player who best exemplifies mental toughness in the midst of crisis, standing out from the rest to deliver results in the clutch.
Recipient: Tuukka Rask
Runner-Up: Patrice Bergeron
Without a doubt the Bruins’ savior of the season, Tuukka has been cool as a cucumber while overtaking Tim Thomas as the #1 goaltender. Although the depths to which Thomas has sunk this season have been significantly overblown–he hasn’t been spectacular, but he certainly hasn’t deserved the magnitude of criticism he has received–Rask has clearly become the superior goaltender, leading the league in both goals against average (1.99) and save percentage (.930) despite having appeared in just 43 games. Often keeping the goal-starved Bruins in games with his calm aura and steady positioning, Rask has been positively Bauer-like in ensuring that this season isn’t bombed to pieces.
The Maurice Clarett Trophy: Because awarding something named the “Maurice Richard Trophy” to the highest-scoring Bruins player this season would be an insult to The Rocket’s legacy, it seemed appropriate to [...]

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Blah.
That’s the best phrase to describe the Bruins’ effort last night. One game after clawing back to force overtime against the Blackhawks–one of the league’s best–they delivered an absolute stinker, losing 2-0 to the lowly Leafs.
That’s right, the same team that gave up 12 goals to the Bruins in their first two meetings this season. The same team that, heading into the game, had allowed the most goals in the NHL.
And as for the Bruins getting back into that “one of the league’s best” category–after a four-game losing streak, it’s starting to look like some of the early-season problems are reemerging. The night-and-day difference between the last two games sums up what has plagued the players and driven fans insane: flashes of last year’s brilliance–as demonstrated by Friday night’s impressive display of resilience–but no consistent finish, few timely plays and little sense of urgency.
The offense continues its torturous path of unpredictability. With Milan Lucic on the shelf, Marc Savard simply doesn’t have anyone to dish the puck to. His revolving door of wingers in the past few weeks, from Blake Wheeler and Byron Bitz to Marco Sturm and Michael Ryder, has produced virtually nothing; [...]

By: Evan Anderholm, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
If how last year ended for the Boston Bruins was any indication, there is still some unfinished business for the black and gold. One year removed from Scott Walker’s heartbreaking overtime winner in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bruins only have one objective for this season: taking a sip out of Lord Stanley’s Cup. It will be a difficult journey for this young squad, especially now that last year’s top scorer, Phil Kessel, is turning a new leaf in Toronto. However, still expect Boston to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
So far this preseason the Bruins have looked sharp and determined to improve as a team. Boston is currently 3-1-1 this preseason, coming off a loss in a shootout against Columbus, Tuesday. In the first five games, one major standout for the Bruins has been goalie Tuukka Rask. He’s the likely candidate to backup last year’s Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas. In two starts, Rask faced 58 shots and allowed only two goals and has only improved from the few starts he had last season. Meanwhile, Tim Thomas hasn’t had a noteworthy preseason. Give the guy a break though; he’s only played [...]