Both the Bruins and the Celtics were North of the border last night, and both came away with victories.
The Bruins got a terrific performance from Tuukka Rask, who withstood an early pelleting from the Montreal Canadiens and the Bruins got third period goals from Tyler Seguin and David Krejci for a 2-1 win over their rivals. The Bruins improved to 7-1-1 on the season.
Meanwhile, the Celtics came back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to post a 99-95 win in Toronto over the Raptors. The win was the fifth in a row for the Celtics.
There are a number of noteworthy columns and articles from today, so lets get right to them.
Rask’s performance in Montreal goes beyond the numbers – Joe Haggerty looks at the performance of the Bruins netminder last night, and why it was even more impressive than a first glance might suggest.
Bruins switch things up in win over Canadiens – Steve Conroy notes that moving Seguin to the line with Krejci paid off for the Bruins.
Pierce: I don’t want to be part of a rebuilding situation – Steve Bulpett has the Celtics captain saying that he would rather be traded or retire rather than have the Celtics torn down around him and rebuilt. Pierce feels confident they can remain viable contenders this year.
Celtics are not better without Rajon Rondo – Kirk Minihane looks at why, despite the five game winning streak, the Celtics are not better without their point guard. He then appears to fire a broadside at the morning hosts of the station he is employed by.
If Rondo looked like John Stockton or Mark Price and acted the way he does, would the word “punk” be used so liberally?
“Punk” is a favorite term used by John Dennis to describe Rondo.
Kobe Bryant dishes on Celtics – I’m always a little uncomfortable hearing or reading Jackie MacMullan talk about Kobe Bryant. There’s a little too much admiration there. He does offer some interesting thoughts on the Celtics, Rajon Rondo and Bill Belichick.
Lakers still stir emotions among Celtics’ faithful – Lenny Megliola notes that no matter the records, Lakers/Celtics always causes some buzz.
Can Jon Lester bounce back? History offers some hints – Alex Speier examines history to determine whether Jon Lester can be the pitcher he once was.
Ben Cherington aims for a do-over – Scott Lauber has the Red Sox GM looking to bounce back from a tough rookie season.
If you haven’t caught Greg Bedard’s season-ending review of the Patriots, it’s worth a look. The first part was posted yesterday, the second part today, with the third to follow:
Why the Patriots actually improved in 2012 – Part I
Grading the Patriots, one by one, for the 2012 season – Part II
