New Bruins Commercial

The bear pays another visit to the Garden, this time breaking into Cam Neely's office to scrounge around for a Winter Classic jersey. Watch it here.

Neely's expression at the end is reminiscient of "You wanna kick my dog while you're here???".

Winter Classic jersey revealed?

Ok, a couple of quick news tidbits:

- The official NHL Twitter feed published this photo of Tim Thomas being interviewed by Carrie Milbank [edit: Looks like the pic was taken down. It's been a bad week for Bettman. You can see the same photo here, as well as another glimpse here. Also, the Flyers officially unveiled their WC unis about half an hour ago.] Hmmmmm.... that's an interesting choice of threads for Timmy. Is this a sneak preview of the retro jersey the Bruins will wear at Fenway?

Uni fanatics will note that this is a slightly-altered version of the sweaters the Bruins wore from 1959 through 1967, Bobby Orr's rookie season. Interesting to see the anachronistic ties at the neck, and the use of a scripted logo similar to the one used in 1948-49. The Flyers also have the option to use a uniform from 1967, which would seem the logical choice.

- I'm going to call off the final round of this year's Hockey Hell series (the goalies). I'm in the middle of changing jobs and cities, and realistically I'm not going to put in the time to make that last entry happen. Let's salute this year's winners (read: losers) with whatever finger you deem most appropriate:

C Bobby Clarke
LW Jarkko Ruutu
RW Marty McSorley
D Bryan Marchment, Chris Pronger

7 games to watch in 2009-10

October 1st vs. Washington - All eyes will be on this opening night matchup of Eastern Conference contenders. Expect a huge amount of media attention and a sloppy, entertaining game. This is also the first matchup in a neat home-and-home -- the Bruins visit the Caps on April 11 to end the season.

November 3rd @ Detroit - It's been years since the Bruins visited the Motor City. Last season their home win against the Red Wings signalled a shift from also-ran into contending status; this game could also be a turning point in the Bruins' season.

December 4th @ Montreal - Montreal's official Centennial Game will close a disastrous commemorative year. Boston has played a huge role in spoiling the Habs' celebrations, from their Patrick Roy Day victory to an ignominious playoff sweep. It would be sweet to win this one, and flip one final bird to the Habs' Year of Self-Congratulation.

January 1st vs. Philadelphia - No extra hype necessary.

February 13th @ Florida - Leading into the Winter Olympics break, Boston plays four road games in six days: divisional matches in Buffalo and Montreal, then a game in Tampa and one in Miami. That's a brutal road trip leading into the 3-week break, especially since all four have the potential to be embarrassing upsets. This game will set the tone for the stretch run.

March 16th @ Carolina - Like the Florida game above, this will be the end of a grueling road trip that features games against 5 of the 8 Eastern playoff teams from 2009. Especially important is the Carolina game, which allows for a true measure of Boston's progress from last season. This one comes 24 hours after a game in Newark, and two days before the Bruins host the defending champs.

April 5th @ Washington - While I could as easily have picked the season-finale in Washington less than a week later, this game is the one I'll be watching most closely. The Caps have an opportunity to punch the Bruins in the mouth, and establish themselves as king of the hill before the playoff rush begins. I would compare this matchup to the Habs game last April 9, which devolved into blatant message-sending on both sides. If it's going to happen between Washington and Boston, it'll probably be in this game rather than their final contest.