Bruins vs Thrashers - 4 - 1 After Two

Not much has happened in the way of scoring chances thus far but there have been some very hot tempers erupting into fisticuffs this period. Already Matt Hunwick and Evander Kane have mixed it up as the the undercard for heavy weights Shawn Thornton and Eric Boulton, who have fought many times before. In the first bout, Kane got the early upper hand, but Hunwick caught Kaner with a good right before EK re-asserted his boxing prowess and slipped several quick rights into Hunwick's mush. In the Thornton v. Boulton tilt, Boulton couldn't get completely free to do much damage after the inital flurry of rights, most of which missed, and sustained a bit of damage at the fists of the imposing Thornton. So at the 9 minute mark, it is still 3 to 0 Thrashers and five for fighting has been the theme in the 2nd period. The best scoring chance so far has been that of Nathan Horton who tried to go top shelf from a stationary postion in the slot, but may have caught the butt-end of Pavelec's stick which caused it to ricochet up into the mesh.

-- Blake Wheeler's left-handed wrister from the bottom of the right circle beats Pavelec who was dead to rights after the Thrashers overcommitted on the puck in the neutral zone leading to a wide-open break-in for Wheeler. Pavelec just thwarted another choice opportunity with his deft glove-hand and then his right pad on a hot shot hammered from the right point. Boston has seemed to pick up the level of their play and they are getting the majority of the zone time. Thrashers have had a couple of rushes but can't get any sustained pressure. They need to get back to playing their game and work harder to cycle the puck and keep the B's in their end. Boston is swarming with less than 5 minutes left and Pavelec has been swimming in his crease. Luckily the B's can't come up with the handle and several pucks have trickled just wide of the crease. Pavelec with another big save to stop the onslaught and force a F/O with just over 4 minutes left in the period. Phew. Thrashers need to gather themselves and get back to out-working their opponent. Luckily for the Thrashers, Burmy draws yet another penalty and the boys convert with the man-advantage as Nicky Bergfors "foops" one in off the muffed slap-shot attempt by Byfuglien. Kane and Little did yeoman's work in the opposite corner to keep the puck in the offensive zone and then two crisp tape to tape passes got the puck to Big Buff who heeled his shot attempt, but it was true enough for Bergie to chip it in past Rask for the restoration of the 3-goal lead. In the third, the Thrashers must do a better job of taking care of the puck and keep it deep in the B's zone when they get it in. Boston dominated the 2nd after Wheeler's goal and reeled off 17 shots on goal to the Thrashers measely 8. Probably the worst period for the Thrashers since the infamous 2nd period debacle against Florida.