Bruins find their stride on the road

November 24, 4:40 PMBoston Bruins ExaminerMark Marino

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Tuukka Rask has backstopped the Bruins throughout their recent three-game win streak.

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Nothing cures an up-and-down rollercoaster hangover of alternating wins and losses like a trip on the road. The Bruins, who were in search of a bit of consistency in 2009-10, notched their first three-game win streak of the season last night in St. Louis, with a 4-2 victory over the Blues.

With their recent winning streak, the Black and Gold now have 26 points on the season—one shy of the Northeast Division leaders Ottawa Senators—and have jumped from 11th to 6th place in the Eastern Conference.

Marc Savard returned to the lineup last night after missing the last five weeks with a broken foot, so the Bruins are back, and back healthy. Well, sort of.

Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas missed his fourth consecutive start with a "minor, undisclosed injury", but has been well-enough to ride the pine and serve as back-up to the red-hot, Tuukka Rask.

Boston has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, considering the distraught that ran through nearly everyone in Boston when the words "Vezina Trophy winner" and "injury" were put in the same sentence. However, with the recent success of Rask, the whole city has gone crazy for "Tuukka Time" as Thomas is a mere afterthought for some fans.

Rask has lived-up to the hype that has been surrounding him, since his one-and-only performance last season, when he stopped all 35 shots he faced against the New York Rangers back on Jan. 31, 2009. The 22-year-old Finland native has compiled a 3-1-0 record in Thomas' absence, with a .912 save-percentage and 2.50 goals-against average during that span.

In nine starts, Rask is now 6-2-1 on the season with one shutout, and his .919 save-percentage and 2.27 goals-against average ranks him 9th in the NHL. And just to think that the B's acquired Rask in a one-for-one steal of a deal with the Leafs for Andrew Raycroft.

The B's welcomed back power forward Milan Lucic to their lineup against the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night after missing the previous 14 games with a broken right index finger. Lucic lit the lamp for his first goal of the season the following night in Buffalo against the Sabres, and netted the game-winning-goal last night against the Blues with a redirect from the slot.

No.17 played the first two games with Byron Bitz and Steve Begin, but looked even better last night when centered by Patrice Bergeron, and Mark Recchi on the other side on the second unit. The 21-year-old finished the last three road games—and his first three back from injury—with two goals, plus-1, five shots on net, and nine hits.

Speaking of Patrice Bergeron, his exceptional play all season long is sure to silence even the harshest of critics. No.37 continues to be one of the best and most consistent players on the ice dress in black and gold, night-in and night-out. Still, with one road-game to go (against the 28th ranked Minnesota Wild) Bergeron has averaged over 19 minutes of  ice time during this road-trip; with five points, a plus-1 rating, 10 shots on goal, and has won nearly 60-percent of the face-off draws (33-of-56).

Bergy has elevated his game to new heights this year. His 18 points leads all Bruins' by a five-point margain, and his 61 shots is tied with Zdeno Chara for the top of the list. From forechecking and backchecking to his stellar play on both sides of the special teams' units, Bergeron looks better now than he did in his 73 point season in 2005-06. Clearly the MVP of the Bruins this year, Bergeron will also receive a lot of attention for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward.

What was once labeled as anemic, abysmal, and awful, the Bruins power-play has recently woken-up on the road. Entering Thursday night's contest against the Thrashers, the Bruins were the bottom-dwelling team in the NHL with a 12.9-percent success rate with the man-advantage. Three games later and Boston has crept up a few spots in the rankings (15.2%), after going 3-for-9 on the power play in their last three games away from home.

As this recent road trip nears its end, I think we can all sit down on Thursday with our bellies full, feel optimistic about the 2009-10 season, and look forward to even more notches in the "W" column.

Other road-trip notables:

Marco Sturm: 2-1-3, plus-2, eight shots on net
Dennis Wideman: 0-3-3, plus-2, four shots on net. Playing much better since being reunited with blue-liner, Andrew Ference

Side note: I was ecstatic to finally see Erik Johnson of the Blues last night. After missing the entire 2008-09 season with an ACL and MCL injury, we obviously missed out last season when St. Louis invaded the TD Garden on Jan. 19, 2009, so this game was especially fun to watch. The 21-year-old is just a Norris Trophy winner waiting to happen. To watch the 6'4" 240 lb. kid skate as fast and fluidly as he does is a rarity, and his stick-handling abilities are insane. Johnson is a RFA at the end of this season, but with the talent that he possesses, the Bluenotes are sure to shell out the big bucks for him to build the future around this phenom.