Opinion

Odds are Saturday afternoon’s congregation at TD Garden would select a scoreboard sideshow as the highlight of their experience while watching the Bruins’ 2-1 falter to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With 10:21 gone in the first period, the towering black bear of “Boston Bruins Hockey Rules” fame delivered a crisp, cut-and-dry dish of good wishes to the New England Patriots. And if only for a minute, the spirit of Super Bowl Sunday Eve enveloped the hockey atmosphere.

Tyler Seguin’s initiative in the ninth minute of the second period wrote the Boston Bruins a radiant invitation to reverse the momentum in Saturday’s bout with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Chicago Blackhawks left Western Canada on a less than positive note for the second time this season. As they did in November, the 'Hawks dropped three straight games to Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.

Expansion in sports leagues sounds like an awesome way to grow the game. It means tapping into markets which haven't been introduced to the sport. It means exorbitant expansion fees into the pockets of rich owners.

However, that's pretty much all expansion does to grow the league, save for the rare occasion when a market actually appreciates the team for a prolonged period of time. 

What a year the Blues are having. After starting out the season 6-7, the team has stormed back with a 23-6-7 record since Ken Hitchcock took the helm. The Blues have the lowest allowed shots per game, and the fourth best point percentage. All of these statistics are a huge improvement for the team. However, the team needs to keep working in order to stay the course for the playoffs, and needs to be active in order to have a chance at Lord Stanley's Cup.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Friday morning that forward Joe Vitale was signed to a two-year contract extension.

It marks the second time in his tenure that his contract has been extended; he had previously agreed to an additional two years in the 2009-10 season.

The 28-19-3 New Jersey Devils have a big offseason ahead of them, highlighted by the impending free agency of captain Zach Parise.

They'll also need to make a crucial decision in regards to the future of cornerstone, veteran goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has seen his production drop this season.

While it's still too early to tell exactly what type of moves New Jersey will make, there are obvious positions that need to be addressed, and some names out there who can fill the void.

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke must do everything in his power to acquire Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The sniper would thrive in Toronto and would immediately make the Leafs one of the Eastern Conference's most dangerous sleeper teams.

When the New York Rangers decided there was no place in the roster for Sean Avery, he was placed on waivers for the second time of the season on Dec. 30, 2011. A day later, he would clear waivers and has remained in the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Whale, ever since.

In 15 games played for the Rangers this season, he has only three goals and 15 shots on goal.

The Boston Bruins have now gone through nine consecutive games without raising the upper hand early and keeping it up until the final siren.

The last time they scored first and never looked back was en route to a 2-1 squeaker against the Montreal Canadiens Jan. 12. In addition, that was also the last time they mustered a set of back-to-back victories, something they have failed to do on four tries since then.