Bruins with a lifeless effort against the Sharks

I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe it's because the unwashed masses haven't been liquored up enough at the local watering holes but something seems off when you go to a Boston Bruins game on a Saturday afternoon.

It's the second time this season I've gone to a 1 p.m. start on a Saturday and once again, the Bruins lost. This time it was a completely lifeless effort, a 2-0 loss to former golden boy Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks.

Since the Bruins (30-16-7) had their most exciting game of the season on Thursday against the Dallas Stars, it was predictable that there was a big letdown. Still, it had to be one of the most boring contests of the season since Boston never really did anything against San Jose (28-19-6).

Antti Niemi (26 saves) held the fort, which wasn't too hard while the Sharks scored the only goal they needed in the first period. Rookie stud Logan Couture scored on the power-play(his 23rd of the season) with a weird backhander at 7:22 from Ryane Clowe and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Adam Mcquaid fought Ben Eager late in the first period and that was probably the highlight of the day for the Bs.

Devin Setoguchi scored an empty-netter (his 11th of the season) with three seconds left (from Clowe and Niclas Wallin) to seal it.

Boston goaltender Tim Thomas made just 16 saves in his quietest game of the season in terms of action.

The Bruins get back at it on Wednesday as they host the Montreal Canadiens. I'm thinking they won't have as much trouble getting up for that one against their bitter rival.

It's too bad nobody saw this gem of a win

Without a doubt, I'm sure the only people in New England that saw the Bruins' thrilling 2-1 shootout win in San Jose last night were me, a few of my friends, hopeless alcoholics, drug addicts, strip club owners and bartenders. And that's a shame because wins like this, especially with the current hand they've been dealt, are rare indeed for the B's.

Tim Thomas played like the Vezina trophy winner of last season, stopping a season-high 41 shots, Zdeno Chara scored the only goal in the shootout and for one night, you could forget that we use to have Joe Thornton (a future MVP) and then we shipped him away for a bag of pucks and some broken sticks.

Daniel Paille gave Boston (23-16-7) a 1-0 lead in the second period after an assist from Shawn Thornton. San Jose (30-10-8) defenseman Rob Blake had the rebound of Paille's shot go off his skate and past Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov (30 saves).

It didn't take San Jose long to tie it as Thornton stuffed in a rebound, assisted by Dany Heatley and Boyle.

After a scoreless but very exciting third period and overtime session, it went to a shootout which Chara solved by cranking a slap shot from 10 feet away.

If the Bruins can manage at least a point tomorrow afternoon vs. the Kings, it'll be a .500 West Coast road trip. Joy.

Revisiting one of the worst trades in sports history

With all the success the Boston Bruins have experienced this season, its easy to forget (especially for recent bandwagon jumpers) how much former GM Mike O'Connell screwed the B's on November 30, 2005.

The former No. 1 overall pick and face of the franchise, center Joe Thornton, was traded to the San Jose Sharks for essentially some sticks and a bag of pucks: Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart.

Boston wasn't going anywhere with Thornton but that wasn't his fault since his supporting cast was usually terrible to mediocre at best. Since he's switched coasts, he's won an MVP trophy but still hasn't found much success in the playoffs.

With all these storylines floating around and hopefully O'Connell getting a break from flipping burgers last night to watch, the Sharks-the top team in the Western Conference-came to Boston last night to skate at the TD Banknorth Garden.

San Jose (37-7-7) scored four unanswered goals in the third to take a convincing 5-2 win over Boston (39-9-7).

A pass-first offensive player, Thornton scored a goal in the third period barrage. it wasn't exactly a thing of beauty as it deflected off his skate (but he didn't kick it) into the net.

Things looked good for the B's in the first when Milan Lucic potted a pair of goals (from Marc Savard and Dennis Wideman and Petteri Nokelainen respectively), sandwiched around a power-play goal from Sharks defenseman Rob Blake (Marc Edouard-Vlasic and Ryane Clowe assisted).

Neither team could find the net in the second period as each has top-notch goaltenders. San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov improved to 28-6-6 with 28 saves while Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (24-6-5) made 26 saves in the loss.

Patrick Marleau started the Sharks' run in the third, tying it at two with helpers from Christian Ehrhoff and Clowe.

Milan Michalek put San Jose up 3-2 from Dan Boyle and Clowe. Thornton's strike put it in the win column at 4-2 and finally, former BU star Mike Grier scored an empty-netter for the 5-2 final.

It was a disappointing result and to make matters worse, the walking wounded continue to pile up for the Bruins. Michael Ryder had surgery to fix his orbital bone and he's expected to miss 3-4 weeks. During last night's contest, Nokelainen was poke in the eye with an errant stick and was forced to leave the game while Chuck Kobasew wrenched his knee.

Boston will hit the road to face New Jersey on Friday night; many people would probably be surprised to know that the Devils are currently No. 2 in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the more hyped Capitals.