Out With The Old...

(photo from Yahoo! Sports)

Okay now calm down. Let's not get too excited. As Nancy Marrapese-Burrell points out, "One game does not a season make and no one would suggest one victory means all the Bruins' problems are behind them."

But lemme tell you something. That was a FUN game to be at. The place was jumping and Marco Sturm held his own "Welcome to Boston" party when he scored 77 seconds into the game. Nice work, new guy. Way to get us on your side.

From there, the B's never looked back, scoring twice more - one by Patrice Bergeron (assisted by Sturm and fellow new guy Brad Stuart), and once by Dan LaCouture scoring his first NHL goal. But the real key to the game?

HANNNNNUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!

For real, y'all, the kid's got SKILLS.

And I ain't the only one who's seeing it. Quoth Marrapese-Burrell: "and an inspired performance from goalie Hannu Toivonen, which might just spark a netminding controversy."

Might indeed. And probably should.

Look, I love Rayzor too but I have to wonder how the new rules and the more open ice are affecting him. He's not been spot-on this year, to say the least and I think that might be attributed to a few different factors. One is the new rules and the less time he has to make decisions due to the increased quickness in the game. Another is the abslolute shit-tastic performance of the Bruins defense (save last night in their first shutout of the season). That's not his fault. But I have to wonder how Toivonen, new to the NHL this year, seems to be taking it all in stride. In essence, he doesn't have to adjust to the new rules since this is his first go-round in the NHL. Not that Raycroft is exactly a grizzled, old veteran (he's 25) but in the fast-paced NHL, every year counts.

Anyway, the Bruins shutting out the Senators is fun and good times. It remains to be seen where we go from here but that's a good way to start. Don't make me regret the euphoria, boys.

And speaking of euphoria! I think you should all know that Beth is quite possibly the greatest person in the history of ever. She wins at life and other worthy endeavors. Because she is completely awesome, she is taking me to my FIRST EVER NFL GAME on Sunday! That's right. I will be at Gillette, wearing fifteen sweaters and an atrociously yellow Bruins ski cap and providing oodles of childlike excitement and glee. And probably also some profanity. 'Cause that's how I roll. When I called my dad between the first and second periods of last night's game to tell him, he said, "You've never been to a Pats' game before?" "No," I said, "When would I have gone?" "Hmmm," he thought, "I guess you're right. I haven't been since...(long pause), they sucked." Heh.

So! Patriots! Sunday! Hooray!

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't share with you Marianne's pre-game observations at Boston BeerWorks regarding the Johnny Damon situation. One of the sports newsmagazine shows was shown on one of the many televisions with a caption that said, "Is Damon worth 7 years?" I nearly spit out my beer. "No!" I said. "No way!"

"His arm will fall off before then," Marianne said.

"Or he'll concuss himself into oblivion," I answered.

"I'm actually not worried about his head," Marianne replied, "because he'll play stupid. Pretty sure he doesn't know any other way, actually."

Hee. She speaks the truth.