No Sturm. No Ward. No Wideman (late injury scratch). No game in five days. No problem.

With half of the defense corps having started the season Providence, the Bruins organization continued with their Pats-like ability to plug holes at a pace Seymour Butts could admire, with last nights 3-1 win over the wounded yet dangerous (and horribly named) Tampa Bay Lightning. Showing the slugishness of a team that hadn't played in nearly a week, the Bruins didn't find their skating legs until about halfway through the 1st, having gone done 1-0 on Marty St. Louis' 6th just 81 seconds into the game. Tank Thomas made a huge save on big Vin Lacavalier shortly after that kept the Bs in the game early. But if there's one complaint about Thomas, despite his stellar play, is that he should handle or attempt to handle to puck as little as possible. He's great right now but he's not a puckhandler. He once again had to rush back toward the net last night after failing to clear the puck, needing to abort mission, and nearly surrendering a goal in the process (it would suck to lose a playoff game because of a goalie's errant attempt to play the puck when it's the weakest part of his game).
 

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