Savard & The 800 Pound Gorilla
The Bruins will be getting Marc Savard back tonight against the Sabres, after missing 8 games due to a partial MCL tear in his right knee. This is a huge step back in the right direction for the struggling B's, who are on a season-high 5-game losing streak right now. From the looks of practice this week Marc will be centering the line with Milan Lucic and Miroslav Satan on the wings. But Savvy isn't the only Bruin on the verge of returning. Steve Begin, Marco Sturm, Byron Bitz, and Andrew Ference were all on the ice Thursday for the team's final practice before heading up to Buffalo.
So is getting the injured players back going to miraculously make everything better? No… But it is a good start. The team on a whole needs to come out on fire and stay that way for the entire 60 minutes. Be mean, be aggressive, be angry, and use it to win. Like Reg Dunlop said, "Get that [expletive] stick in their side. Let 'em know you're there!" This team has the potential, with a full and healthy line up, to once again be a serious threat. Remember we're heading into tonight's game in Buffalo only 1 point out of being back in the playoff picture.
Of course there's the 800 pound gorilla in the room… All the trade rumors that have been the focus of every Bruins related discussion as of late. Personally I think we will definitely be seeing a new face wearing the Spoked B very soon (the Olympic trade freeze is from Feb. 12th through Feb. 28th and the NHL trade deadline is on March 3rd), and if Peter Chiarelli can play the right cards to secure a bona fide goal scorer we could see the Bruins with a another legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup.
Other games I'll be keeping an eye on tonight…
Toronto @ New Jersey – Obviously every Maple Leafs loss will make our draft picks all the more valuable.
Florida @ Washington – We need the Panthers to stay where they are so we can leapfrog them in the standings… and with them facing a Capitals team on a 8-game winning streak, I don't think that will be a problem.
Anaheim @ Tampa Bay – The Lightning are right alongside us with 54 points in the East. So we could use a little bit of help from the Ducks tonight.
