Bruins and Sabres get reacquainted with each other

Well after Tuesday's game against the Sabres a lot of Bruins fans (such as myself) wanted to see how the Bruins would respond in this game since the last game they did not stand up or even attempt to stand up to the Sabres and for each other. Tonight they came out hitting and played with intensity. The most intense part of the game was in the second period when Bruins Brad Boyes and Sabres Toni Lydman got into a good spirited fight. Boyes and Lydman went toe-to-toe for a second and then it was all Boyes. After the fight Boyes went to his dressing room for a cut on his hand and Lydman went to his dressing room for repairs as he was a bloody mess (look at the image below). Even though the Bruins played hard and showed intensity the same result occurred, they lost. They lost 3-1 to the Sabres, and they'll be playing the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Some quotes from players and Dave Lewis after the game (courtesy of BostonHerald.com):

Dave Lewis on Brad Boyes' fight with Toni Lydman:
"It certainly got everybody's attention in the building. It got everybody's attention on our bench and it takes a lot of courage to do that. And he did a very good job at it. And I thought his game picked up after that, too. Sometimes, that has to happen. Sometimes you have to stick up for yourself, sometimes you have to stick up for your teammates, sometimes you get pushed to the edge, and we're at the edge now.... There are two things that happen: Fight or flee, and I don't mean fight in the literal sense. But some guys have stepped up and fought. Other guys have not yet."

Brad Boyes' comments about the fight:
"I'm not a tough guy, but I tried to help out however I can. I haven't been producing offensively, so I was just trying to lift the team however I could. I hope I provided some spark."

Zdeno Chara talking about Brad Boyes:
"He's not one of those guys who usually (fights), but tonight he stepped up and got everyone into the game. He answered the bell."

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff on the Boyes-Lydman fight:
"Toni was on the ice for well over a minute. He was getting tired. Boyes suckered him to start the fight and Toni held his own. We have time to even that one up."

These two teams play again on February 17th so look for another physical game hopefully. The next meeting between these two teams should be interesting, and hopefully we have more agressive players that play with intensity by then. I was hoping for more aggressive rough play, but tonight's game was a building step, and now the Bruins need to continue this kind of play from game to game. I'm hoping that the Bruins call up Jeremy Reich and Jay Leach from the Providence Bruins to add some toughness to the team. I would send down Petr Tenkrat and Jason York to make room for Reich and Leach.

Sabres Toni Lydman vs Bruins Brad Boyes


A bloody Toni Lydman after the beating he took from Brad Boyes