The Bear Maximum: Postgame Recap 3/3: Bonjour Quebecois

The Bear Maximum: Postgame Recap 3/3: Bonjour Quebecois: On May 16, 1995, the Quebec Nordiques lost to the New York Rangers 4-2 at Madison Square Garden in game 6 of their eastern conference quarte...

Postgame Recap 3/3: Bonjour Quebecois

On May 16, 1995, the Quebec Nordiques lost to the New York Rangers 4-2 at Madison Square Garden in game 6 of their eastern conference quarterfinal matchup.

It was to be their last ever appearance sporting the fleur de lis on the sweaters.

Operating in one of the smallest home markets in all of professional sports and a predominantly Francophone one to boot, the Nordiques were hit hard by the lockout. Ownership had major issues with marketing and keeping the franchise afloat.  Eventually, the owners sought a buyer. The team, featuring such stars as Joe Sakic, Owen Nolan, Wendell Clark and a Swedish rookie sensation named Peter Forsberg, packed up their things and made the move to the Rockies as they became the Colorado Avalanche.

The following season, backed by the acquisition of Hall of Fame goalie to be Patrick Roy, the rebranded franchise went on to hoist Lord Stanley's chalice, sweeping the upstart Florida Panthers 4 games to none.

All the while, a rabid fanbase in Quebec City was left emptyhanded and longing.

Years later, a group of fans took it upon themselves to bring together Quebecers who shared their love of their former NHL team.  Through social and traditional media, thousands of fans were drawn together in their love of the past and hope for the future.  The result was Nordiques Nation.

In the last couple of seasons, Nordiques Nation has organized trips to NHL stadiums in various cities, bringing busloads upon busloads of blue-clad fans aiming to let the league know that there is a large, supportive fanbase in Quebec City just dying to get a franchise back.  In the regular season ending game at Newark, Nordiques Nation was out in full force as the Devils beat the Bruins last April.

For the current season, NN has organized a five game slate of forays to NHL arenas.  The Bruins -Islanders game was the fourth trip on their schedule. When I found out that Le Quebecois were coming to town, I was excited.  After all, these folks hate the Habs just as much as we do.

So it was with great anticipation that I awaited our bon amis from la belle provence.  Let's see what I found:

This is our buddy Lemay.  I don't usually feature non-player customized sweaters, but this one was done up right; proper numbering and that baby blue is so very underrated.  Plus, he ended up sitting behind us in 307 and we had fun talking to him and his heavily accented English.

Sadly, he had no idea who Moe Lemay was.

Circa 1989-90 Guy Lafleur Nordiques home

Oh, the irony.  It was bad enough that Lafleur made his hall of fame bones playing for the Canadiens during their dynasty run in the 70s, then retiring in 1985.  He was then elected to the Hall of Fame in 1988. Not content to sit on the sidelines, he came back to the NHL at age 37, spending one year with the Rangers before jumping ship to the Nordiques for two final seasons. Yep - the team from Quebec City, who just so happened to be one of the Habs' biggest rivals.

And just to remind you - Lafleur was the bastard who scored the OT winner in the "Too many men on the ice" game in 1979.  Eff him.

So I have to chuckle, just a bit, when I see this guy wearing a Lafleur sweater with a "Habs Hater" t-shirt wrapped around his waist.

Mid 80s Dale Hunter Nordiques Away

Well, I'm fairly certain that this used to be a Dale Hunter sweater.  The rubberized lettering has peeled off and the backing is all that remains.

But Dale Hunter sucks. And that's even without discussing his coaching record this season with the Capitals.

'Nuf said.

1994-5 Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg Nordiques Away

Two of the best players to ever wear the fleur de lis (even though Foppa played only one year in Quebec before the team moved out west), commemorated in these stunning replicas.

Now, keep in mind that none of these fine articles of apparel can hold a candle to what is the best Nordiques sweater I've ever seen:



You might remember this beauty from my last blog entry.  If you haven't read it (and why the hell haven't you?), this is an extremely rare Claude Julien Nordiques away replica. No other Nordiques could ever compare.  Okay, perhaps a Paul Stewart one might get somewhat close.

Considering that these folks (at least the older ones) used to root for a team that was in the same division as the Bruins, it was a bit strange to see so many members of Nordiques Nation wearing Bruins gear and openly rooting for the home team.  But then again, we share a common hatred of the Canadiens.  But it was nice to see so many people who had come down to have a good time, see some hockey and hopefully spread the Gospel of Quebec hockey.  They were a great group to talk to and I wish them the best in the future. Hopefully someday we'll be able to reciprocate the goodwill at a game at Le Colisee (or it's modern replacement).

Hoser Homestand

It's a good thing I don't write for a living, at least as far as a media member is concerned.  Between the writer's block and my proclivity for procrastination, I could never, ever meet a deadline, even a self-imposed one.

And because I've been somewhat lazy lately, in conjunction with a full slate of Bruins home games, I am now facing a huge backlog of recaps.  Rather than create separate entries for each game, it's probably best that I do one mega post, as I actually have a decent amount of photos I've collected along the way. Even better, I actually have a common thread amongst the games which only helps to give some flow to my writing.

You see, it is a rarity in today's NHL to have back to back home games featuring opponents from the Great White North.  But with the relocation of the Thrashers to Winnipeg and their subsequent retention in the southeast division, the schedule was to include an additional two games against a Canadian franchise, thus increasing the chances of consecutive games against teams from America's Hat.

And thus, through the miraculous dealings of the NHL schedule makers, the Bruins were set to play not one, not two, not three, but four! games against Canadian franchises: 

First up, the Calgary Flames on January 5th

The Bruins kicked off the new year with a 6-1 dismantling of the Devils and Hall of Fame goalie to be Martin Brodeur in New Jersey.  They then returned to the Garden the following night for their first home game of 2012. Against an depleted lineup missing many regulars, the Bruins showed no signs of fatigue and gave the visitors from Alberta a beat down with Tuukka Rask pitching a shutout as the B's exploded for nine goals (two each from Patrice Bergeron and Nathan Horton), chasing Flames starting Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff midway through the second period.

Being one of the few Canadian representatives from the Western conference, Calgary appearances in Boston are somewhat rare, occurring every other year at best. And this was the first time I've seen them since I started this blog, thus providing me for a chance to scrutinize their uniforms.

Frankly, I'm not a big fan of their current look.  They use one of the worst templates to come out of Reebok's evil design minds in the 2007 league-wide edge system redesign.  The piping along the sides is extraneous and the striping up the sides is incongruous with the rest of the horizontal striping featured on the sleeves, hemline and socks. And don't get me started on the inclusion of the shoulder flag patches for Canada and the province of Alberta - completely nonsensical. The only thing these really have going for them is the color combination. I like the use of red as the base color for the home uniforms as opposed to the black they used to use for their black alternate/home sweater.

Personally, I liked their 1995-2000 set best.  I like the italicized font as well as the addition of black accents which made the red and yellow pop. The hemline that was bisected by a diagonal stripe of the same design was a unique element that no other team used and it worked. Of course, I loved their original look with the white, red and yellow design they carried over from their time in Atlanta.  Speaking of which, the Flames also have one of the best features in all of hockey - the assistant captains 'A's are actually miniature versions of the Atlanta Flames logos, perhaps the best homage to a teams' roots in all of the major sports leagues.

To be honest, I had very low expectations for seeing Flames sweaters at this game.  It was a Thursday night and Calgary really has no ties to Boston, not a major college student component and no minor league affiliate located in New England.  Yet I was quite surprised to see decent representation in the Garden.  Here's a quick rundown of my highlights:

Current Miikka Kiprusoff home replica

Jay Bouwmeester current away replica

2011 Jarome Iginla Heritage Classic replica

Sure, go ahead and make the usual McDonald's remarks.  Fact is, I like these because they were so different.  Plus they were paired with white pants when the Flames took on the Habs in the 2011 Heritage Classic.

Current Jarome Iginla alternate (throwback) replica

When I see this design, it's hard not to think of Lanny McDonald and the 89 Cup winning team.  I  love this design and I'm so glad Calgary brought it back, if only as an alternate to their current monstrosities.

2007 Wayne Primeau away replica

My photographic skills aside (love the sepia tone, it was an accident), this was as obscure a Flames sweater as I found all night.  I actually liked this design, save for the flaming horse logos on the shoulders.

2010 Jarome Iginla Team Canada away replica

After the Bruins dispatched the Flames, it was onto the most anticipated game of the season - the rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals against the hated Vancouver Canucks on January 7th.

For whatever reason, the NHL powers that be scheduled this for a 1:00 afternoon start on a Saturday.  In a way, this was a good thing as I can't even imagine what time Heather and I would have to get into the Fours to make sure we got seats if it started later.  Well, that and the fact that a night start would have meant that people were going to be overly lubed in the Tom Brady sense.

As it was, Heather, Pete and I met up at the Dunks next door around 9:30 am for some iced coffees as we awaited the Fours' opening at 10. 

We made our way upstairs and being the first ones on the scene, we had our choice of seating.  So we went with the same seats we had for game 7 of the finals.  Why the hell not? This was our chance as fans to gloat over winning the Cup.  Cornelius joined us shortly thereafter and brought his mini Stanley Cup.  And frankly, what better way to savor some fine Jameson's than to sample it from a small replica of Lord Stanley's silver chalice? Well, other than the real thing, I mean.  The rest of our crew made their way into the bar, including Tim, Maureen and the seat 11 guest of the day, Robyn, for some pregame shenanigans.

Having done some significant damage to our collective livers, we headed in for the game.  To be honest, going in to this game, it felt like we were dealing with house money.  Sure, two points were on the line, but if the Bruins lost, it wasn't going to be the end of the world.  We were playing a Western conference opponent after all.  However, the Vancouver media fanned the flames (yeah, I mentioned Vancouver and flames, something they have experience with) all week long leading into the game, bitching and moaning about the Bruins.  And there was the small fact that Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault chose to start backup netminder Cory Schneider in goal over our favorite whipping boy Roberto Luongo. This move was made under the lame guise that it was a chance for the Marblehead native to play before his friends and family, despite the fact that he was afforded that opportunity in the finals not once, but twice when Bobby Lu was yanked for being a complete sieve.

In reality, we really, really wanted the Bruins to win.

Alas, the game sucked.  Vancouver resorted to their typical punch and hide tactics, failing to stand up for themselves and slinking behind the refs after instigating the Bruins.  The B's were suckered into the Canucks' tactics, getting caught up emotionally and getting thrown off their game.  They took retaliatory penalties, exacerbated by a refereeing crew that blew it big time by tossing Milan Lucic from the game four minutes in for supposedly jumping off the bench on an illegal line shift to help out Shawn Thornton who was being attacked by no fewer than six Canucks.  In actuality, Looch was on the ice legally and the penalty should never have been called, a fact that was confirmed after the game when the league announced that Looch's match penalty had been rescinded. However, the ineptitude of the refs lead to Vancouver having a 5 on 3 power play in which they scored the first goal of the game.

Brad Marchand's clipping penalty on Sami Salo led to another early exit for a Bruins left winger and the combination of Vancouver man advantages and the Bruins' undermanned roster lead to a total of four Canuck power play goals which were enough to hold off the B's three tallies.

I was pissed after this game.  Not because we lost, but more because of how we lost.  The Bruins were suckered in by Vancouvers' weaselly ways, taking dumb penalties when they should have been focusing on playing hard. I could never root for a team like the Canucks.  Their players aren't tough and  don't stand up for their actions. I'd say they have more bark than bite, but we all know Alexandre Burrows by now.  If the Bruins played like Vancouver, I'd have no problem calling them out on their style of play.

Because this was the most demanded ticket in town, I figured that there wouldn't be many Vancouver fans in the house.  I mean, why ever would they want to come here when we were the ones that beat them for hockey's ultimate prize? They'd be ripped on and ridiculed.

Surprisingly, there were a decent number of away fans there. And there were a couple of sweaters that stood out:

Current Roberto Luongo home replica

Current Alexandre Burrows home replica

Of all the players to wear, these two schmucks went with the two most hated players on the Vancouver roster. This was the equivalent of wearing "kick me" signs. Seriously, there couldn't be two less respected players by the Bruins' fanbase than these two asshats.

Next on the docket was a matchup on January 10th with the second team to abandon Atlanta for colder Canadian climates, the new incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets.

This was second of two home games against the Men form Manitoba, with the Bruins having won the first matchup 4-2 on November 26.  I touched briefly on the Jets sweaters in my recap from that game. However, with this being another midweek matchup against a relatively obscure opponent, my expectations for sweater sightings were relatively low.  Sure enough, I barely saw any Jets sweaters, never mind ones with players names and numbers on them.

There was one glaring exception to this.  And I didn't even happen upon it until we were on our way out of the Garden after the game:

Early 90s Teemu Selanne Winnipeg Jets (1st iteration) home replica

When I think of the old Winnipeg Jets, the first three players that come to mind are Dale Hawerchuk, Keith Tkachuk and Teemu Selanne. You could add in Bobby Hull as well, but I didn't have a recollection of seeing him play live.  But Selanne, a certain hall of famer, burst onto the scene in the 1992-3 season, putting up insane numbers as a rookie.  The Finnish Flash finished with 76-56-132 totals on the season.  It was so memorable to me because here in Boston Joey Juneau had a hell of a rookie season, posting 32-70-102 totals.  But those stats, as great as they were, couldn't hold a candle to the numbers put up by the new kid in Winnipeg.

As far as the old Jets sweaters are concerned, this is my favorite of their three looks, with simple matching hem and sleeve striping and a unique take on the red, white and blue color combination. 

You can also see the current Jets away sweater in this picture. At first, I wasn't sure that I liked them.  The combination of the long vertical sleeve stripes with the horizontal stripes looked weird.  I also wished they had used red as an accent, not just on the crest.  But after seeing them in person, I think I like them.  The font used for the name and numbers is clean and simple, yet modern.  And the use of the two shades of blue is enough to clearly differentiate them from the Leafs, unlike the virtual knockoffs Tampa Bay broke out this season.  They aren't my favorite, not by a longshot, but they aren't the worst, either.

Two days later, it was time for a matchup with our real rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. As much as we collectively hate the Canucks, let us not forget that we have years and years of epic battles with our fellow original six team from La Belle Province. Too many men on the ice, anyone?

This was a big rebound game for the Bruins.  The loss to Vancouver was an emotional letdown.  And the Bruins played a very sloppy game against the Habs.  Sure, they had a two goal lead before giving up a late score at the hands of Yannick Weber.  They held on for the win and the crucial two points.

But the real story of the game was about a player who began the night as a Canadien, but would finish it in a Boston cab en route to Calgary.

Mike Cammalleri (one of the few Members of the Tribe in the NHL, btw) skated 9:02 of ice time before he was told to go to the locker room and change into his street clothes by Montreal management.  Seems that his recent comments about the Habs playing like a bunch of losers hastened his departure from Montreal and in an effort to protect his trade value, he was pulled from the game midway in. This isn't the first time a player has been taken out of a game in order to facilitate  trade, but this usually happens at or around the trade deadline.  Something like this at this time of year is virtually unheard of.

So it was kind of funny when we ran into this guy at the Fours after the game:

2011 Mike Cammalleri home replica

Can we call this a throwback?

In actuality, this guy was fun to chat with and he took our jesting in stride.  We need more fans, both home and away, with a sense of humor and self-deprication.

Now for some housecleaning:

There really haven't been any standout Bruins sweaters in the crowds this year.  Entirely understandable as most fans seem to have taken a shine to the recent cast of characters donning the spoked B.  But in these last few home games, there have been a few that came out of the woodwork that deserve special recognition:

1970 Johnny "Pie" McKenzie away replica

Special points to this guy because I just haven't seen many 1970s throwbacks other than the usual smattering of Orrs, Espositos, Cheevers and Bucyks. Plus, I've had the pleasure of meeting Pie a couple of times.  He's a really nice guy.

Late 80's/Early 90's Reggie Lemelin home replica

I've seen a bunch of Andy Moog replicas at the Garden over the years, but there aren't a lot of the player who made up the other half of the best goaltending tandem I've seen play for the Bruins until this year's combo of Timmay and Tuukka.

Late 980's/Early 90's Bobby Carpenter away replica

This is one of my favorite sweaters ever.

To understand why, you need to know that both Bobby and I grew up in Peabody and went to high school at St. John's Prep in Danvers. Sure, he finished up in 1981 and I graduated 13 years later. At the time, he was the highest American ever picked in the NHL entry draft (#3 overall to Washington).  I remember looking at old yearbooks in the Prep's campus ministry office once and happened across the 1981 edition.  In the back of the book was a full page feature of the day the media came to campus to interview Bobby ahead of the draft. He was big news back then, even making the cover of Sports Illustrated wearing his Prep uniform and labeled "The Can't Miss Kid". As an impressionable youth, this was fascinating and awesome.  When the Bruins traded Steve Kasper to the Kings to acquire Carpenter in 1989, I was elated. Harry Sinden had a propensity to stockpile local players, but for the most part they were never start players.  Bobby had a couple of 25 goal seasons while wearing the black and gold, but he also missed most of the 90-91 season when he shattered his kneecap when he fell into the endboards in a game against the Habs. His Boston tenure ended when he signed back with the Caps prior to the 1993-4 season.

2010 Zdeno Chara Slovakia men's national team home replica

Sure, I see plenty of USA Tim Thomas sweaters at the Garden as well as the occasional Patrice Bergeron Canada one and there's a guy that has a Marco Sturm Germany sweater, but this was the first Chara or Slovakia one I've seen. Cool.

And finally, the piece de resistance:

1985-6 Claude Julien Quebec Nordiques away replica

This, dear friends, is the early leader for sweater of the year.

I ran into this guy on my way to the Fours before the Montreal game. It blew me away.

Our Claude (is an awesome Claude, btw), played but two seasons for the Nordiques, wearing number 34 for his one game appearance in 1984 before switching to number 12 when he played 13 games the following year.

But it is the combination of a relatively obscure NHL career with a beautiful defunct (ok, relocated) franchise sweater and the fact that the B's were playing Montreal (a team that the Francophile Julien used to coach) that made this so very epic.

That's it for now.  Hopefully, I can get back on course with the upcoming tilt against the hated New York Rangers in a battle for Conference supremacy.

Postgame Recap - 12/3: Fall Leaf Collection

I hate Phil Kessel.

No, I mean it.

Not because he's the leading goal scorer in the NHL at the time of this post, for he is a legitimate offensive talent.  Not because he spurned the Bruins' attempts to offer him a contract extension, because eventually that paved the way for the B's to draft Tyler Seguin, Jared Knight and Dougie Hamilton.  And certainly not because he was born in Wisconsin, for he was a member of the US men's Olympic hockey team.

Nope. I hate him because he ruined what could have been an absolutely epic 35th birthday party for me.

A year ago, Heather and I braved the elements and poorly maintained American Eagle aircraft to make the trek up to Toronto for a Bruins-Leafs matchup on my birthday, a Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada game no less.

And we had a blast. Everything was great - the city, the food, the climate controlled underground passageways, the Hockey Hall of Fame, even the people.  And the game itself was great.  For the most part, that is.

Nathan Horton gave the Bruins an early lead before Carl Gunnarsson tied it up late in the first period.  The game was knotted at one a piece into the thrid when Greg Campbell reclaimed the lead for the B's six minutes into the third stanza.  But former Bruins property Kris Versteeg got one back for the Leafs with a powerplay strike in the final minute of play to send the game into overtime.

After a scoreless OT, the game went to shootout. Nazem Kadri beat Tim Thomas on the first shot, but Tyler Seguin equalized with a shot past Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Thomas stoned Nikolai Kulemin and David Krejci couldn't get one past Giguere on the other end.  Then it was Kessel's turn and he slipped one past Thomas.  Michael Ryder was our last hope and he missed. 

Kessel's shot stood as the game winner.

Sure, the Bruins got a point out of the game and perhaps I should be angry at Krejci and Ryder, but it felt like a loss and the fact that it was the petulant Kessel who iced it made it hurt even more.

Fast forward to when the schedule was released for the 2011-2 season and one date immediately stood out: December 3, 2012.

Toronto at Boston.

An Original Six matchup.  The final Saturday night game of the regular season.  The night before my 36th birthday. But perhaps most importantly, a chance at revenge.

Let's take a look back, then, at what went down.

Just the Facts, Jack (Edwards)

• Toronto Maple Leafs (14-9-2) at Boston Bruins (15-7-1)
• Game 24, home game 16
• Bruins with 25 out of a possible 26 points in their last 13 games, going without a regulation loss in the entire month of November
• Second game of a home and home series with Toronto, with the Bruins having won 6-3 at the Air Canada Center two nights prior

John Blue Plate Special

Being a Saturday night game, we figured we'd actually get a good amount of Leafs fans coming down for this game. And because this was going to be the de-facto celebration of my birthday with my hockey peeps, I got to the Fours fairly early, around 4:00.  In fact, Heather and Pete got there earlier and headed upstairs to grab some seats as we also had to deal with crowds watching the various college football conference championships.

By the time I got there, there bar was somewhat full and there were a good number of Leafs fans already enjoying some fine alcoholic libations.  Based on our past experiences, the vast majority of Leafs fans are great people and willing to engage in playful hockey banter. And sure enough, these folks were more than willing to trade friendly barbs with us.  Granted, being able to boast about a certain 35 pound silver chalice gave us all the ammunition we needed, we kept it genial, willing to listen to them blather on about having the league's leading scorer (Kessel) while we thanked them for securing our future (Seguin, Knight and Hamilton) and letting them know that Brian Burke was the best General Manager we've ever had. And for the hate we have for Mike Komisarek, theirs' is apparently greater.  All of which made for, hands down, the most enjoyable pregame of the season to date.

Most surprising, though, was the fact that the vast majority of the Leafs fans at the Fours were not from the province of Ontario.  The ones we hung out with were from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  There may have even been a couple from P.E.I. as well.  And every single one of them had nothing but nice things to say about our fair city.  There were a couple of guys from Halifax who came down to see the Christmas tree that the city donated to Boston, a longstanding traditon, which was pretty cool.

And it just so happened that one of them was a former goalie.  It was imperative, then, that we introduced him to Tim Barry, our resident goal tender/goalie apologist.  Needless to say, they hit it off right away.

And to be honest, this is the way it should be.  I love engaging opposing fans in a jovial manner over drinks before and after the game.  People that travel to see their team play on the road deserve a measure of respect, provided they act respectfully as well. We've had great exchanges with fans in Chicago and Toronto and likewise visiting fans from Toronto, Washington and even Buffalo have been fun to talk to.  It certainly helps when you know your players and history with regard to the other team, but even the most neophyte of fans can get along if there is mutual respect.

Unfortunately, more often than not, there is some idiot on either side that spoils it.  Usually its some drunken imbecile who takes umbrage that someone who ever venture on the road to support their team would have the audacity to show up in our building while having never been on a road trip themselves or don't know jack about their own team.  No, its more important to defend the home turf from someone who would never, ever pose any sort of threat otherwise, than it is to act as a decent human being and a properly mannered hockey fan.

I might be losing ground on my stance here, but I'm not going down without a fight (no pun intended).

As for our dining selections, I was greeted by a plate of dark chocolate raspberry cookies that Heather had baked, the recipe having been used specifically for my birthday proceedings. Absolutelt delicious. We split a Bobby Orr, teriyaki style, with Heather agreeing to the addition of cheese (normally witheld) as another token of birthday salutations. As always, it was fantastic.

Couture Corner

Games against Toronto get me giddy.  With a Saturday night home date, I knew that Toronto fans would be there en masse and thet meant unabashed sweater porn.

But wait, there's more.

The Leafs made a major change to to their third sweater design for the 2011-12 season, ditching the design they wore for the past 11 seasons that was based on what they wore in the early 60's for a new one that is based on the sweaters they wore when the won the Stanley Cup in 1967.

The old Leafs' third sweater was one of my all time favorites, but the new ones are stunning as well.

At first glance, they look somewhat similar to what they normally wear, but a closer look reveals a more pointed crest with a different (and much improved) font. The sleeve and hem striping is bolder and a white stripe has been added down the sides of the pants.  I know these are subtle differences, but when the primary home is close to simplistic perfection to begin with, the slight modifications make the alternates stand out.

When Toronto officially released the new design to the public, they also offered up a list of the 14 games that they'd be wearing them.  Surprisingly, there were a bunch of away games included. And, as luck would have it, the Bruins were one of those teams that would don the old home whites, along with Original Six bretheren in Chicago and New York as well as fellow rivals Ottawa and Buffalo.

The Leafs actually wore their thirds at home against the Bruins on November 5th, a 7-0 shutout for the B's which a bunch of our 307 crews was fornutate to be at.  But when I saw they were going to bring them along for the game on December 3rd, I got excited.  Often, the Bruins wear their white uniforms at home once a season, either at the request of the away team or for photography purposes.

So while a bunch of my friends were across town at the 2011 American Outlaws Winter Ball, getting gussied up and having fun while raising money for a worthwhile cause, I got dressed up myself in my hockey formalwear, in this case going with the 1967 inspired Bobby Orr.

And there were a host of other fans in attendence that broke out their Saturday night bast as well. Let's take a look at some of the highlights:

Circa 1993 Wendel Clark Maple Leafs away replica

Circa 2005 Darcy Tucker Maple Leafs away replica

1997 Sergei Berezin Maple Leafs away replica

This easily takes the award for "most obscure sweater" of the night.

2007 Milan Lucic Vancouver Giants (WHL) home replica

Old school Looch at its finest.

Circa 2000 Curtis Joseph Maple Leafs alternate replica

2006 Eric Lindros Maple Leafs away replica

80's Mike Milbury Bruins away replica

You really need a loafer in your hand to complete this look.

1996 Bill Ranford Bruins away replica

Tought to see it in the picture, but why on earth would anyone ever buy this unless you missed your chance when he was with the Bruins 10 years earlier.

Guy Lafleur Canadiens away replica

Bill Barilko Maple Leafs home replica

Who in their right mind wears a Habs sweater to a Bruins/Leafs game?  Really?

As for the Barilko, as much as he never wore this particular sweater, he's one of only two Leafs players with their numbers retired (Ace Bailey's #6 is the other) having won 4 cups before he died in a plane crash.

Maple Leafs away replica

This one left me stumped.  The style is from the early to mid 70's, as evidenced by the lack of a nameplate, but no Leaf wore #32 until Ron Zanussi wore in in 1980.  By then, players had names on their backs.  So I have no diea what this one is supposed to be, but it does look sharp nonetheless.

circa 2009 Tomas Kaberle Maple Leafs home replica

2011 Dion Phaneuf Maple Leafs alternate replica

circa 2009 Phil Kessel Maple Leafs home replica

 As bad as Kaberle was, at least he can say he won a cup in Boston, which is more than he ever won with Toronto.

The Phaneuf sweater is simple and classy.  Phaneuf? not as much.

The Kessel one? Hey, I didn't buy it.

1926-7 Toronto St. Pats Replica

Before a game, I usually pick a particular sweater design or player for the opposing team as my desired target.  The challenge varies based on who we are playing (let's face it, there isn't much to choose from with the newer franchises), but some team force me to set the bar high.  Toronto is one of them.  So, before the game I told Heather I wanted to find a St. Pat's (the predecessor to the Leafs) sweater. 

We weren't even into the arena before we found this guy.  Maybe I should have set the bar higher?

Mid 90's Doug Gilmour Maple Leafs away replica
2009 Jonas Gustavsson Maple Leafs home replica
2007 Mats Sundin Maple Leafs away replica

These were some of the aforementioned Leafs fans we hung out with at the Fours for pregame.  Quality hosers.

The Row 11 Rundown

As we head closer to ski season, the Saturday appearances by the Hoyts draw to a close and Saturday was no exception.  Kathi, Charla and the kids took the night off and even Cornelius missed out on this one (he had a wedding or something - clearly his friend, or his fiance, was not a Bruins fan).

But we did have Robyn in seat 11, which was nice.

Doosh of the Day

Originally, I was going to give this out to the guy at the bar who kept saying "Leafs suck".  But he was in actuality a Canadian wearing a Leafs sweater who purported to be a Bruins fan.  His whole story was sketchy and he was a fraud hater, so I'll give him a pass.

So, in his stead, I will give it out to the DB who tried to gain access to the private party upstairs at the Fours after the game despite there being a sign on the door clearly stating that the upstairs was closed.  And props to Tina for playing the role of enforcer.

The Bob Lobel Prize

Fortunately, Kessel did not ruin this game for me. He did land five shots on goal, but none went in and he finished a -2 on the night.

The Leafs also have former Bruins first round draft pick Joe Colborne on their roster (16th verall in the 2008 Entry Draft). but he never played a minute for the Bruins in the regular season, thus making him ineligible for the prize.

The Home End

After storming their way through the month of November without a regulation loss (their first month like that since the 1969 season), it was reasonable to think that the advent of December might bring different results.  For this night at least, it was more of the same.  The game was fairly close through the first two periods, with the Bruins holding 2-1 lead.  But the B's extended their lead early in the third on a Johnny Boychuk slapshot.  And midway through the period, the Bruins has a solid two minutes of constant pressure in the Toronto zone.  Though they didn't score, they had their way with the Toronto defense, maintaining possession at will.  And you could see that the Leafs' will was crushed.  There was no way they were going to get back in the game.  Perhaps losing their first three matchups with the Bruins (by scores of 6-2, 7-0 and 6-3) weighed on them as well.  Whatever hope they may have had was completely dashed when Nathan Horton added an insurance goal late in the game.

So the Bruins continued to roll on.  Next up was a date on the road with the best team in the conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins, now bolstered by the return of Sidney Crosby.  Needless to say, this one was highly anticipated.

Postgame Recap - 11/26: Man, Oh Manitoba

November 21, 1995.

Just over 16 years ago, on a Tuesday night, the Bruins last hosted an NHL franchise hailing from the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba.  Courtesy of a hat trick by Jozef Stumpel (sorry, Patty!) the B's would go on to defeat the original (at least the NHL version) of the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 5-4 in the first season at the brand new FleetCenter. The Bruins also got goals from Ray Bourque and Chelmsford homie Steve Leach while Medford native Keith Tkachuk (2 goals), Teemu Selanne and Current Blackhawks/Versus/NBC commentator Eddie Olczyk scored for the Jets. The immortal Scott Bales manned the crease for the Bruins while current Edmonton Oiler Nicolai Khabibulin tended the Winnipeg net. Also playing for the Jets in that game was one Shane Doan, currently the only player still with the franchise including their relocation to the Arizona desert in the 1996-7 season.

The Bruins would take a 5-3 decision in Winnipeg on the last day of 1995 with Cam Neely and Ted Donato chipping in with 2 goals a piece against onetime Bruins netminder Tim Cheveldae as Craig Billington got the win.

And that was the end of NHL hockey in Winnipeg.

Until now.

The demise of the Atlanta Thrashers led to the relocation of the team to the middle of Canada and the rebirth of the Winnipeg Jets name.  Though the new team is a completely separate entity from the team currently toiling in obscurity in Glendale (the Coyotes are the official inheritors of the original Jets history, including retired numbers), the fanbase has taken to the new version with a fervor that few other markets can match.  They play in the MTS Centre, the smallest arena in the league, but tickets are pretty much sold out for the entire season and the few that are available can be had for a hefty sum.  The team is not all that great, having been picked by the pundits to finish somewhere near the bottom of the standings, but they had been somewhat hot of late, with a 4-0-1 record coming into the game.

Which brings us to this past Saturday night. A long holiday weekend tilt, the second half of a back to back homestand against the reborn Jets.  Let's see how it played out.

Just the facts, Jack (Edwards)

• Boston Bruins (13-7-1) vs. Winnipeg Jets (9-9-4)
• Bruins riding an 11 game point streak, having lost in a shootout a day earlier to the Detroit Red Wings, halting their 10 game winning streak
• First game against the Jets since they relocated from Atlanta

John Blue Plate Special

I had flown back from Baltimore earlier in the day, having spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my family at my wife's in-laws.  I had missed attending the Detroit game, but thankfully I was able to watch it on the national NBC broadcast (which was great, I may add).

Having got home fairly early, we were able to get home and unpack and get some stuff done around the house.  But because we had to get up at 6:00 am, we were all somewhat exhausted.  My wife and son fell asleep and I relaxed with some NHL network.  Around 3:30, I headed out into town for the game.  A quick jump on the orange line and I was at the Fours, meeting up with Heather.  

The downstairs was pretty much full, as I had expected given the slate of college football games on the schedule.  So we headed upstairs and were able to land a couple of seats at the bar fairly easily.  Perhaps it was residual tryptophan in people's blood streams or the fact that many season ticket holders gave up their seats for the night, but the pregame crowd was lame.  No energy whatsoever.  Saturday night games are special and ever-increasingly rare and here was a game against a Canadian opponent still with some of that new car smell and people could have seemed less excited. Add to that the fact that Heather was feeling a bit under the weather and the whole scene left something to be desired.

With my partner in crime not having much of an appetite, I had carte blanche to order whatever I wanted off the menu. I went with the Bobby Orr, teriyaki style with cheese, peppers and onions.  I dare you to find a better pregame meal in the city.  Good luck, because you won't.

Couture Corner

Nostalgia is big these days.  Reebok, through their purchase of CCM/Koho, has been able to capitalize on this wave by reissuing some of the sweaters worn by many of the defunct and relocated NHL franchises including such teams as the Hartford Whalers, Minnesota North Stars, Quebec Nordiquies and, of course, the original Winnipeg Jets.

I fully expected to see one or two Teemu Selanne and Keith Tkachuk replicas and sure enough, when I walked into the Fours, I was greeted by a blue #13.  But I wanted more.  And thanks to a conversation with fellow 307 resident Cornelius Hardenbergh, the bar was set: Dale Hawerchuk.

Did I find my white whale?

You'd better believe it!

Circa 1982 Dale Hawerchuk Winnipeg Jets away replica

A close cousin to the disco era New York Rangers uniforms of the late 70s, the Jets wore this design from their inception to 1990. Not the greatest look in my book, but simple and effective.

What else did I find?

Atlanta Thrashers Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little home replicas

I almost felt bad for these guys.  Here they were to support the team they had (seemingly) rooted for only to have the franchise move to greener pastures north of the border.  But for whatever sense of sympathy I might have had for them, it was undone by the fact that they chose to purchase these sweaters.  First introduced in 2003 as an alternate, this design became the home sweater in 2006 and survived the Reebok edge revamp the following season.  I don't mind the color of the body; In fact, I kind of like it.  But the asymmetrical sleeve treatment along with the "Atlanta" down the left side just plain sucks.  The hemline striping and the crest are great, but this just screams "small market shenanigans".

Benoit Pouliot Sudbury Wolves home replica

Before Benny was on his way to being a first round bust in Minnesota and Montreal, he was skating for the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.  Coming off a monster season in junior (he went 29-38-67 with 102 PIMs in 67 games), he was drafted #4 overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

The Row 11 Rundown

Being a Saturday night, Bill and Carol weren't in attendance, but we had John Barry man seat 11 and Chris was the designated Kasper representative.  Charla and the kids weren't there either.  And Heather had to make an early exit as she wasn't in the best of shape due to illness.

Doosh of the Day

After a brief hiatus, we are back with DoTD.  And this time the award goes to the bitchy girls in row 10 (big surprise) who showed up 5 minutes into the game and decided to enter the section while play was going on in our end of the rink, clearly not paying any attention to the signs imploring ticket holders to wait for the whistle.  Granted, the lack of an usher working at the entrance didn't help, but I also didn't need nor appreciate the bitchy retort when I asked them to grab a seat after their prolonged failure to find their actual seats and sit down so we could see the action on the ice.

The Bob Lobel Prize

When the Bruins acquired Rich Peverley from the Thrashers near the trade deadline last year, the gave up forward Blake Wheeler and defensemen Mark Stuart in return.  And Saturday night marked their first return to the Garden ice since that transaction. 

Wheels had an assist on the first Jets goal, recorded one shot on goal and finished with a -1 rating.

Stu also had one shot on net, but finished a +1 on the night.

In all, neither had a major impact on the game.  No real harm done.

The Home End

Perhaps showing the effects of playing a tough game against the Red Wings a day earlier, the Bruins came out of the gate looking a bit sluggish and it showed with Tim Thomas giving up two goals midway through the first.  But Zdeno Chara potted a power play strike from the right faceoff circle to cut the deficit in half a few minutes later. Chris Kelly struck for second period two goals, the first a shorthanded effort, to give the Bruins the lead before Brad Marchand sealed the victory with an empty netter at the end of regulation.  In doing so, the Bruins were able to extend their point scoring streak to 11, garnering a remarkable 23 out 24 possible points in that span.

Up next: A home and home matchup against Phil Kessel and the Toronto Maple Leafs.