Sports Redux: Bruins Get Everyone Home In Time For The News

Seven of the last nine Bruins games have gone to overtime, and five of those to shootouts. People were starting to bring toothbrushes and a change of underwear to the Garden.

Not last night. The Bruins blasted Tampa Bay out of the gate, building a 4-0 lead and (and this is the crucial part) holding on to it, beating the Lightning 4-1 and somehow finding themselves this morning in first place in the Northeast Division. The Lightning aren't exactly slouches - they'd be in the playoffs if they started now, which the Bruins wish were the case - but goalie Mike Smith was hammered with 39 Boston shots. Two of those went in in the first (Savard and Bergeron), two more in the second (Sturm and Sturm again), and Tim Thomas took care of the rest, allowing only one of 40 Tampa shots to get past him.

The first goal, career goal #200 for man of the hour Marc Savard, was what people wanted to talk about, since Savvy signed a contract extension that will keep him in Boston for years and years to come. "I wanted to stay in one city, so it's good to be able to do it here," he said. On scoring a milestone goal immediately after becoming a Bruin lifer, Claude Julien said, "Signed a contract and gets his 200th goal...these things have a way of kind of happening." That quote, by the way, works much better if you picture the Quebecois accent and the accompanying Gallic shrug. The B's visit Montreal tomorrow night before a scheduling quirk brings the Leafs to the Garden for two games in a row.

The Celtics have two tough days ahead of them as they close out their road trip. Tonight, they play the always-tough Spurs in San Antonio, and tomorrow they visit Oklahoma City to play a young, energetic team that is exactly the type of team that the C's have struggled with this year. Also in the NBA: the Nets lost their 18th straight game to open the season, an NBA record, and are closing in fast on the 1988 Orioles for sports infamy.

Corey Raji scored 24 points for BC as the Eagles won at Michigan in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. Coach Al Skinner says it's all improvised: "We have yet to call a play for Corey." Might want to consider it...