At this rate, they'll have a postseason spot locked down by St. Valentine's Day, giving them extra time to send "We Want It As Bad As You" playoff invites to their growing legion of fans, some of whom haven't felt this good since the days when Cam Neely and Adam Oates were dancing the tango around the West End.
"We should expect to win every game," said coach Claude Julien, his club scoring three or more goals in 11 of the last 13 games. "Whether it happens or not is another thing . . . but where we're at right now, wherever we play, we think we are going to beat [the other] team."
The best of the night's drama unfolded late in the second period with the Bruins trying to add to their 2-1 lead. Things were on the quiet side when Phil Kessel found himself behind the Atlanta net, sniffing hound-like for points, when he got in a brief staredown with 6-foot-7-inch Slovak defenseman Boris Valabik. Talk about a revoltin' development. The 6-0 Kessel suddenly looked like he just wandered off the set of "Munchkinland Redux." Rather than just stand there, Kessel used his stick to trade a slash at the front of Valabik's shinpads, who appeared to mutter, "Boy, I say, boy, get away, you bother me."
As it appeared Kessel and Valabik were about to boil over (oh, the humanity), in came 6-9 Zdeno Chara, from a different patch of Slovakia. Big brother to the rescue. Chara grabbed Valabik, the 22-year-old rookie, and the two wandered out to the right circle to exchange a protracted session of tugging and punching. Neither of the big men went down - a credit to their strength, determination, and balance - and the tug-o-titans finally was broken up by linesmen Greg Devorski and Dan Schachte.
The sellout crowd loved it, especially as Chara, tagged with 17 minutes in penalties, lifted both arms high (P.J. Stock-style), imploring the crowd to cheer.
"Part of the game," said a shrugging Chara. "He did his job, trying to play hard against Phil . . . We both did what was necessary."
