INSIDE HOCKEY

Thursday night's game was supposed to pit two teams on the opposite end of the spectrum against each other, two teams on the NHL highway going the same speed, but in completely opposite directions.

The Boston Bruins were buyers at Wednesday's trade deadline, acquiring veteran forward Mark Recchi from the Tampa Bay Lightning and stalwart defenseman Steve Montador from the Anaheim Ducks. The Phoenix Coyotes were big time sellers at the deadline, pawning off Olli Jokinen to the Calgary Flames, Derek Morris to the New York Rangers and Mikael Tellqvist to the Buffalo Sabres.

Boston entered the night leading the Eastern Conference with 93 points. Phoenix was in 14th place in the Western Conference, with just 61 points. On paper, this game seemed like a great chance for the Bruins, struggling of late, to get back on track, and begin the stretch run on the right foot.

However, someone forgot to tell the Coyotes.

The 'Yotes refused to lie down, and instead stuck it to the Eastern Conference leaders, leaving Boston with a 2-1 victory and a boost in confidence.

“We beat a very good hockey club tonight,” said Phoenix head coach Wayne Gretzky. “They’re a big, strong team, and I admire the way our defense took hits to make plays. I liked the way we battled. It was just a nice team effort.”

Steven Reinprecht scored the go-ahead goal for Phoenix at 7:52 of the second period, giving the Coyotes a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Chuck Kobasew netted the lone Boston goal at 7:09 of the first, his 15th, with the assists going to Patrice Bergeron and PJ Axelsson. Newcomer Scottie Upshall tied the game on the power play five minutes later, taking a feed from Joakim Lindstrom and tucking a backhander past Tim Thomas.

However, one of the main stories of this game was the new faces in new places, on both sides of the ice. In all, eight players made debuts for new squads in the game. Neither Recchi nor Montador recorded a point in his debut in black and gold, but, all things considered, coach Claude Julien was happy with his new arrivals.

“I thought they did well,” he said. “Whether it was having to meet the media, having to meet the coaches and go through different things on our system...there was a lot thrown at them today, so if anything I thought they handled it well despite all that.”

Recchi echoed his new coach's sentiments, agreeing that the fast-developing events of deadline day had taken a bit of a toll.

“I didn’t quite have the energy I would’ve liked to have on my first game, but it was a whirlwind day yesterday ,” said the two-time Cup winner. “I’ll get a nice practice in tomorrow with the guys and that will really help me.”

If the Bruins new puckmen had “whirlwind” days, then the last 48 hours in Phoenix must have been true tornadoes.

After the trade deadline passed, there were six new Coyotes on the roster immediately: Upshall, Nigel Dawes, Matthew Lombardi, Petr Prucha, Brandon Prust and Dmitri Kalinin. A five-game road trip that begins against the best team in the Eastern Conference screams “team bonding”, no?

Despite the massive roster turnover, the new 'Yotes came through in their debuts. The six combined for a goal (Upshall) and an assist (Dawes), not bad for a group playing in its first game together.

“I thought it was a great effort from everybody,” said Upshall, who also scored a goal against the Bruins in his last game as a Flyer on Tuesday. “I thought we did a great job of all coming together in a short time and putting together sixty minutes. That team across the ice is a good squad and it’s a big win for us.”

For now, frustration is the key word for that aforementioned team across the ice.

“It was very frustrating,” said center Patrice Bergeron. “It’s not even against who we play, it’s really about us right now. [We have to] figure out what’s going on and really bear down and work hard.”

However, having been here before, Bergeron's new teammate knows what worked in the past, and hopes to see history repeat itself.

“Carolina was in first place; we’re in first place,” said Recchi. “Carolina was kind of hovering, the same type of thing that’s going on right now here. Kind of the dog days right now, but eventually we found a way to get out of it and that’s what I look for in this team.”