By Kali Heffernan
The opening month of October for the Boston Bruins was a mixed start. They finished with an 8-4-0 record. As of November 12, they have an 11-5-1 record, meaning they only have 1 regulation loss in the month of November and it came on the 2nd of November, the first game of the month, against the New York Islanders. They lost 3-1. They came home to start at 5 game home stand, their longest of the season. It also became reunion week at the Garden with former teammates Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverly, Tim Thomas, and Phil Kessel coming to the Garden with their new teams.
The Bruins started this home stand on November 5 against Dallas. They lost in a shootout after a Dallas penalty shot tied the game. Ironically, Seguin and Peverly scored for Dallas in the shootout to win the game over their former team (more on that game below). They continued on Thursday November 7 against Florida with a 4-1 win over the Panthers. Although former teammate Tim Thomas was not in goal, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and a video tribute for what he did for the team when he was in Boston, leading them to a Stanley Cup in 2011. On November 9, Phil Kessel and the Toronto Maple Leafs came to town. This marked the first meeting between the two since Boston’s amazing game 7 comeback last May. While Boston dominated the first period, Toronto came back in the second, but the Bruins came out with a 3-1 victory.
On Veterans Day the Bruins faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in a matinee at the Garden. Tampa’s Steven Stamkos had a collision with the goalie post in the second, causing him to be taken out on a stretcher. Late in the second, Patrice Bergeron finally scored for the Bruins. The goal was first awarded to Bergeron, then given to Torey Krug, but eventually given back to Bergeron. Either way the Bruins had a 1-0 lead late in the second. Just 20 seconds later, Danny Paille scored his second of the year. Late in the third David Krejci scored, but it was waved off because of goalie interference, but Jarome Iginla got an empty net with 1 minute left to give the Bruins a 3-0. After a rougher start in October, November and the months to come seem very promising for this Boston Bruins team.
Bruins vs. Stars Nov. 5: a rematch after big summer trade
On November 5, the Boston Bruins faced the Dallas Stars. Over the summer the Bruins and Stars made a huge trade sending Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverly and prospect Ryan Button to Dallas for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Joe Morrow and Matt Fraser. This game marked the first meeting between the two since then. It was bound to be an interesting game. I was personally there to witness it all. The scoring in this one started early with Dallas captain Jamie Benn scoring his 5th of the year just 3:38 in. Just under a minute later the Bruins most offensive defenseman, Torey Krug, scored his 5th of the season. The first period ended tied with the Bruins outshooting the Stars 18-10.
The second period was rough with the Bruins only recording 4 shots, while the Stars had 13. They managed to keep it a 1-1 game going into the 3rd. Halfway through the 3rd period, Milan Lucic scored his team-leading 7th of the year to give the Bruins the 2-1 lead. With about 3 minutes remaining in the game, Dennis Seidenberg interfered on Vernon Fiddler’s shot and instead of Seidenberg being given a penalty, Fiddler was rewarded a penalty shot. Fiddler beat Tuukka Rask to even the game at 2-2. It continued into the extra 5-minute overtime where it remained a tie, so this one would need a shootout.
In the first round, Patrice Bergeron scored on Kari Lehtonen and Tuukka Rask stopped Jamie Benn. In the second round, Lehtonen stopped Jarome Iginla, while former Bruins Tyler Seguin scored on Tuukka Rask. Loui Eriksson, in his first game back since his concussion, had a chance to score against his former team, but Lehtonen denied him. This gave Dallas the chance to win it if Alex Chiasson could score, but Rask stopped him. This extended the shootout for David Krejci, but he too was stopped by Lehtonen, which again gave Dallas the chance to win it. It was up to former Bruins Rich Peverly for the game-winning shootout goal against his former team, and he got it. The Dallas Stars took this one 3-2.
The Hawk 