Dec 27 2008
Boston Bruins young and scorching hot
ATLANTA - Every year in the NHL there are a few Cinderella teams and this year the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins appear to be one of them.
The Thrashers who are coming off a tough 5-4 loss to Carolina Friday night will face a difficult challenge when the Bruins visit Philips Arena on Sunday.
The Bruins stormed out of the gate with a vengeance this season, winning 25 of 34 games while compiling some dominating numbers. The Bruins who play Carolina on Saturday night, lead the NHL in goals (126) and are on a hot streak (9-1) over the past ten games.
The signings of free agents center Marc Savard and defenseman Zdeno Chara in 2006 is beginning to pay dividends for the Bruins who have surrounded the two veterans with young players who are suddenly making a mark in the league.
Twenty-one-year-old American Philip Kessel is having his best season yet in the NHL and leads the Bruins in goals with twenty-one. Kessel from Madison, Wisconsin isn’t the only young Bruin having a break-out season. Twenty-two-year-old David Krejki (13-24-37), 20-year-old Milan Lucic (10-14-24) and 22-year-old rookie Blake Wheeler (11-9-20) are also greatly contributing to the NHL’s hottest offense.
Winning consistently in the NHL takes great goaltending and the tag team of Tim Thomas (2.04 GAA) and Manny Fernandez (2.09 GAA) have been a wall for the Bruins (25-5-4-54pts).
If the underdog Thrashers (12-19-4-28pts) can bounce back from the Carolina loss and get a win against Boston, it would be a huge confidence boaster before they pack up and go on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hurricanes next week.
