Shawn Thornton

Bruins Continuing To Find Ways To Win

In the course of their 18 games played, the fewest of any team in the NHL, the Boston Bruins have found numerous ways to win. Saturday afternoon’s matinee against the Tampa Bay Lightning was just another example.

Down 2-0 early in the first period after the Lightning potted two quick power play goals, a rarity against Boston, the Bruins looked like they lacked energy. A quick turnaround in the next 40-minutes bounced the Bruins back with three unanswered goals that included a late Brad Marchand goal on the power play to clinch the B’s sixth straight win and the 3-2 victory.

Bruins’ Fourth Line Shines in Win Over Islanders

There were several reasons why Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli re-signed Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton to new contracts before his fourth-line trio hit free agency this past season. On Friday night, it seemed like almost each of those reasons were on full display.

The Bruins skated to a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders on Friday night at the TD Garden, largely in part to the effort put forward by the team’s Merlot line.

The Morning After: Bruins return to form, crush streaking Maple Leafs

For now, all seems right with the Boston Bruins. The components that were deemed missing and the efforts that were lacking when the team started the season all showed up at once on Thursday night when the Bruins beat the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2.

The game was all Boston, really. The team showed a full-60 minute effort, had success on the power-play and big games for many role players who had seemed be complacent to start the season. Maybe it was Shawn Thornton’s spirited bout early in the first period with Colton Orr that set the tone or perhaps the Bruins first power-play goal of the night that built the B’s confidence back up. Whatever it was, worked.

Three Crazy Ideas for the Bruins

By Mike Miccoli, Boston Bruins correspondent

The Boston Bruins winning streak remains at four as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver pauses all NHL action. Yes, you read that right. The Bruins are on a four-game winning streak; second longest in the NHL below the basement-dwelling Carolina Hurricanes’ five-game streak, just as the Olympic break goes into effect. And while maybe just one or two of the victories seemed legitimate, the Bruins were still able to secure an important eight points in four games (10, in six games, if you count the previous two overtime losses) placing them right in playoff contention in the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference. The big question for when play resumes in Boston on March 2 is how will the Bruins be able to carry over that same success seen in the previous few weeks? I’m glad you asked because I have some ideas. As crazy as they may seem…