Bruins Trade Sobotka To Blues

The Bruins have traded Vladimir Sobotka to St. Louis for Boston University's David Warsofsky. Sobotka is a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level deal. Warsofsky is a puck-moving defenseman who won the national title with BU in 2009. Warsofsky was also a member of the US team that struck gold in the World Junior Tournament in 2010.

Solid move by the Bruins here. I guess if they wanted to they could keep Savard/Krejci/Bergeron and put Tyler Seguin on the 4th line, but the Bruins are going to want to give him more playing time then that, and rumors stated that they are still looking to deal Savard. The Bruins still have some salary cap problems, but it is being reported that Tim Thomas has waived his no trade clause, and the Flyers are rumored to have interest.

If any more news comes out we'll let you know.

Keith Tkachuk To Bruins Rumor

We had mentioned before that the Bruins may try to make another move to get Keith Tkachuk, since they attempted to land him last year when they tried to send Phil Kessel to St. Louis to Tkachuk and David Perron.

Well, these rumors are heating up again, as NESN is saying that the Bruins have made some calls to the Blues about Tkachuk (and maybe Paul Kariya too). Tkachuk is said to be ecstatic about the chance to play for his hometown team. Personally, I have always been a Tkachuk fan, so I would love to see this happen. Plus, this deal would most likely keep their core players intact, so they won't be sacrificing their future at all.

I am sure there will be a lot more rumors, but I am also certain that the Bruins will make a deal before the trade deadline (March 3).

Bruins 4, Blues 2

A nice 4-2 win was the best birthday gift I received yesterday. Second best actually, behind the new Star Trek DVD. And third best if you count birthday beers as gifts.



The Bruins have only had multiple power play goals in three games this year. They had 23 such games last season. Even strength, the Blues outscored the Bruins 2-1, but the Bruins notched a pair of power play goals, and also a shorthanded score from Sturm.

Patrice Bergeron assisted on all 4 goals. His heads-up play on the B's final goal was simply stupendous. Slapping the puck down with his backhand, then finding Sturm in the high slot, all in one motion. It was utterly brilliant, and the kind of play you'd see from Bergeron 3 years ago.



This was without a doubt Bergeron's best offensive game since the concussion.

Marc Savard returned and looked like his old self. During a 2-on-1 breakaway with Sturm, Savard's pass was so clever that it actually fooled Sturm, who couldn't get a handle on it in time to score.

Milan Lucic had another crushing game. When he and Bitz are on the ice at the same time, it's very fun hockey to watch. Bitz also had a nice fight. What I like best about his technique is that he wasn't trying too hard for the takedown. He wanted Jackman to stay upright so he could fight some more.



The Bruins look to make it four straight Wednesday night in Minnesota when they take on the Wild (awful name, almost as bad as Thrashers or Predators). The Wild have the 3rd worst record in the NHL.

-The Commodore

Bruins @ Blues Preview

Both these teams are riding a 2 game winning streak, but it is Boston that is expected to breakout. The Bruins get Savard back tonight, which could spell trouble for the rest of the Eastern Conference. Savard adds his great play making ability to a team that is starting show that they can crash the net whenever they want.

Tim Thomas will not play tonight as he recovers from an undisclosed injury. This shouldn't matter as Rask is red hot lately. Rask is probably the best backup goalie in the NHL, and looks to have a bright future.

Even though the Bruins have lost 8 of their last 9 games against the Blues, I expect them to talk all over this team tonight. The Bruins got a spark when Lucic returned, and I expect an even bigger one now that Savard will be able to play.

Game starts at 8pm on NESN.

Claude Julien Coach Of The Year?

The Bruins have made an epic turnaround this year. The Bruins last year had 94 points, and just barely made the playoffs as a #8 seed. This season they have all but locked up the #1 spot and already have 108 points. Julien seems to press the right buttons when he needs to. He sent struggling Lucic, who was battling a long scoreless streak, to the 4th line and now he is popping in goals in looking like his old self.

When the Bruins went through their skid, Julien made a point to go after Savard. Since then the team is playing a lot better hockey, and Savard has made it a point to limit his turnovers (something the whole team was struggling with).

Still a very strong case could be made for St. Louis coach Andy Murray. The Blues were last in the West at the All-Star break, but have picked up points in 23 of 30 games since. Now they are in the hunt for the playoffs and should be able to grab that 8 seed. They did all this with Kariya hurt, and having to play 5 different goalies over the season.

My vote is for Julien. He has made the Bruins relevant again, but this is all for nothing if the Bruins don't get through at least a round or two of the playoffs.

Blues 5 Bruins 4

Tough game for the Bruins today, but I have to say it was one of the more exciting 3rd periods I have ever seen. Boston was down 2-1 going into the 3rd, but were able to battle back by scoring 2 goals in 19 seconds. It was insane, the Bruins looked unstoppable, they even added another goal when Chara scored with 3:05 left in the game. The good times did not last though, as the Bruins were just out played in the last two minutes of the game. The Blues started their comeback with David Perron's power-play goal with 1:20 left. Still, the Bruins seemed to be in control, but with 1.4 secs left in the game, David Backes was able to get his stick on the puck while it was in the air and slap it past Thomas. It was heart breaking, and even had to be reviewed, since it was really close to being above the crossbar. It was not overturned (though I think it should have been).

The game went into overtime, and the Bruins eventually lost in a shootout. I really think the Bruins are starting to show some cracks with all their injuries. There are just too many guys out right now, that they are going to have a hard to keeping up their pace. What you have to hope though, is that when they are healthy again, they will be able to find that same stride that had earlier in the season.

-BMack