It's no longer *if* they're going to blow the lead...

...it's *how* they're going to do it.

The Bruins blew 3rd period leads THREE times last night. That's right, three. After blowing a 2-1 lead just 22 seconds into the 3rd, the B's engaged in a scoring tit-for-tat that ultimately resulted in a regulation tie and a shootout loss.

Hannu Toivonen got to see what Tim Thomas has been going through recently, giving up three impossible goals and a stoppable one that would have preserved the lead and the game.

• Goal one: Wayne Primeau lost not only his stick, but also sight of the puck as it wound up behind him. Randy Robitaille, with his stick about a foot in front of Toivo, redirected a low shot about 40 degrees upwards and over a sprawling Hannu. Toivonen had no shot.
• Goal two: Right before Toivonen was engulfed by a mass of humanity that overran him, he had to try to defend a shot while laying on the ground with Andrew Alberts standing/kneeling on him. Pinned to the ice, Toivonen was helpless to stop it.
• Goal three: A slapshot from the point went over the net, bounced off the wall behind Toivonen and found it's way onto the stick of Tom Poti who was waiting on the opposite side of the net. Poti effortlessly popped it in. Another one that Toivonen had no chance at.
• Goal four: A power play goal by Viktor Kozlov who was standing to Toivonen's right. Hannu tried to cover his open holes to protect the corner, but the puck squeezed through. This was the only goal of the night that Hannu should have stopped, but didn't. And it came at the worst time...with a 4-3 lead and 1:39 left on the game. Being on a penalty kill didn't help, but this is where your goalie needs to come through in the clutch.

Overall, this was an extremely solid effort by Toivonen. If this was being considered an audition as the Globe opined yesterday, then he should have passed it. The final goal was a killer but he was fantastic the rest of the night...at least on the goals he had a legitimate chance of stopping. Even in the shootout, he stopped two of the three first shots only to lose in the sudden death portion.