For the first time in many years, the Boston Bruins remained intact as the 3 p.m. trade deadline passed. Since then, the Bruins have managed to boost their winning streak to five and outscored their opponents nine goals to one. No easy feat when those opponents are the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

While not poised to make a big move before the deadline, Boston was able to capitalize on the lack of attention and upset two Stanley Cup contending teams. Critics of the Bruins were hushed on Tuesday night when the B's shutout a struggling Ottawa team and were silenced on Thursday with a big win over the highly touted Penguins.

In two games of firsts and lasts, the Bruins were victorious over the Sens 4-0, in what would be head coach John Paddock's final game. Paddock was fired after his team was unable to score a goal in either of their last two games, one against Boston and the other against the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins spoiled Marian Hossa's debut as a Penguin by manhandling the team and both Pittsburgh goaltenders by a 5-1 score.

Rookie David Krejci notched his first two goals as an NHL forward in both of these games while Marco Sturm emerged the as the leader in goals scored with a total of 22.
Tim Thomas played both games for the Bruins allowing one goal and pushing his goals-against-average down to a measly 2.38.

By continuing their pattern of wins, Boston is slowly becoming a dark horse contender for the playoffs. Going into Saturday's game against the Atlanta Thrashers, the Bruins have a record of 34-23-6 and are sitting in the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. They are winners of six of their last seven, and have managed to accumulate 13 out of a possible 14 points in those games, all without the presence of All-Star center, Patrice Bergeron.

In years past, the trade deadline signified a fire sale for Bruins players. Fans have seen favorites such as Sergei Samsonov, Brad Boyes and even Ray Bourque dealt around the deadline. This year, not one player was removed from the team and the chemistry that has been gradually developing has been given a chance to blossom. And both the Bruins and their fans are starting to see results, good results.