BOSTON -- Even with team captain Zdeno Chara already in Russia and four more players headed that way, the Boston Bruins didnt appear to have even the slightest pre-Olympic distraction. The Bruins closed out their surge to the Olympic break with a 7-2 rout of the Ottawa Senators on Saturday as seven Boston players finished with multiple points. "Thats something we talked about before the game. We wanted to end this on a good note and feeling good about ourselves heading into the break and I think weve done that," said Patrice Bergeron, who had two goals and an assist. The Bruins won for the ninth time in 11 games with one loss coming in overtime and enter the break with a large lead in the Atlantic Division and second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Bostons spot in the standings was secure regardless of Saturdays result. Instead of coasting into the break, the Bruins closed with their first seven-goal game of the season. "Our transition was great and thats why we had so many odd-man rushes," said Bergeron, whose only upcoming break is a long flight to Russia to join defending Olympic gold medallist Canada. "Im Really excited and now I can look forward to it a lot more." Fellow Olympians David Krejci of the Czech Republic and Swedens Loui Eriksson added a pair of assists apiece in their final game before Olympic play begins. "I liked the way we handled that," Boston coach Claude Juliene said. "Its not like the games we lost we werent very good. Throughout that stretch I thought the consistency we were looking for was there and more." Juliene is also Olympics-bound as a member of the Team Canada coaching staff. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask of Finland got the day off and Chara left Boston early to carry Slovakias flag in the opening ceremony. Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists, Jarome Iginla a goal and assist and Reilly Smith a pair of assists for Boston. The Bruins outshot the Senators 42-28 and chased Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson after Boston took a 5-1 lead early in the third on a goal by Milan Lucic. "This is one of those nights where we just have to let it go, forget about it and move forward," Anderson said. "We have that no-quit mentality and I think its shown over the last month or so. We have put ourselves in a pretty good situation to be in the hunt and to be in the battle for a playoff spot." Bobby Ryan scored in the second period and Patrick Wiercioch added a goal in the third for Ottawa. Boston backup goalie Chad Johnson made 26 saves while getting the start for Tuukka Rask. The Bruins led 2-0 after the first on goals by Bergeron and Chris Kelly, then pulled away with two more in the second. Bergeron scored his second of the game with a series of moves that left the Senators standing still as he made his way to the net and tucked a backhand inside the post. Defenceman Erik Karlsson was bracing to block a shot that never came and was caught standing upright as Bergeron skated around him, then caught Anderson with another fake that sent the Ottawa goalie toward the far side of the net. Bergeron neatly slipped the puck to the back of his stick and poked it in as he went behind the net. Ryan pulled Ottawa within 3-1 on a goal with 2:45 left in the second, catching Johnson offguard with a wrist shot when the goalie was expecting a crossing pass. But Boston scored again just 1:03 later when Krejci slid a pass across the crease to Iginla for a one-timer, then Krejci and Iginla assisted when Boston made it 5-1 3:35 into the third on a goal by Lucic. Notes: Anderson allowed five goals on 33 shots. ... Boston D David Warsofsky picked up his first NHL assist on Kellys goal with 3:34 left in the first period. NMD R1 Canada Sale . "I had a pretty good year," the soft-spoken Granberg told TSN.ca with a grin from the teams annual rookie tournament in London. A fourth-round selection in 2010, Granberg is worth keeping an eye on with NHL training camps rolling around in less than a week. The six-foot-two, 200-pound defender may not possess the wow-inspiring theatrics of fellow prospect Morgan Rielly, but nonetheless has a chance to contribute with the Leafs when all is said and done this season. NMD R1 Canada . Rosbergs time of 1 minute, 33.185 seconds at the Bahrain International Circuit was a quarter of a second faster than Hamilton, who had to abandon his final flying lap after running wide at the first corner. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/nmd-r1-che...eap-canada.html. Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Buy NMDs Canada . The 6-foot-10 centre who won an NBA title with the Miami Heat was voted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday, adding that honour to becoming a board member at his alma mater. y-3 Sale Canada . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot.They say a trip to play Celtic is a vital part of your footballing education. And, of course, when I say they, I mean some of the greatest to ever play the game. Barcelonas Xavi: "The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtics stadium for our visit was the most impressive Ive ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best." If the opinion of Xavi is not enough, how about someone equally as brilliant and smart. Someone like Paolo Maldini... "Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park. I have never felt anything like it," he said. The great thing about Maldini and Xavi is that they are all-time greats, not only for the way they played on the field but also for the way they carried themselves off it. They speak, you listen. They remain two of the smartest players I have ever watched and listened to. Throughout their long careers at the top of the game, they certainly never referred to themselves as one of the games best players. And then there is Mario Balotelli and the comments he made to the Scottish Sun newspaper this week: "I have heard all about the fans and the atmosphere they create - and my message to them is bring it on! "If fans want to try and make a stadium hostile for me - or boo me because I am one of the best players in the world - then I hope they do." One of the best players in the world, eh? Okay. The Italian touched down in Glasgow this week having played a total of 27 Champions League games in his career. For his three teams, Inter Milan, Manchester City and AC Milan, he was important enough to only have started just 11 of those, coming on 16 times as a substitute. He had scored just seven Champions League goals in 1,276 minutes played, averaging a goal every 182 minutes. For Inter, he was nothing more than an after-thought on their way to glory in 2010 while at City, he started just two of 12 matches, spread over two frustrating campaigns for both club and player. The third chapter in his Champions League career is back at the San Siro. For now. The thing with Mario is, you just never quite know what he is going to do next, and that includes choosing where to play. On Saturday, in a league game against Genoa, Balotelli missed a penalty in a frustrating 1-1 draw that sent the Italian giants down to 13th in Serie A. After the match he took to twitter to thicken the plot. This is the end. :-) - Mario Balotelli (@FinallyMario) November 24, 2013 Before the Genoa match, he had told the Italian press I am happy at Milan and I am happy to be here. Balotelli certainly played happy, despite making it eight straight games without a goal, and was a menace throughout the match and arguably Milans best performer. That didnt stop Milan fans from voicing their complaints after the game towards Balotelli and his teammates. It is hard to blame them. Their performances, just like their league position, have not been good enough. Yet, with the transfer window closed until January, this is not a club Balotelli can run away from. At Inter and Manchester City, Balotelli wass surrounded by a plethora of outstanding players who could easily demand a starting spot ahead of the Italian, who could happily move aside and away from having to perform on the field.dddddddddddd At Milan, things are very different. An out-of-form Balotelli, smiling or sulking, remains the clubs best option up front. There will be no sitting on the bench for Mario. And so with that presents the self-proclaimed one of the best players in the world an opportunity, a run of games to help carry Milan back towards the top three in Serie A and into the last 16 of the Champions League. "Great atmosphere always brings the best out of me," he had said in the run-up to the game and so it proved. The game was effectively over as a contest just after half-time, with Milans both goals coming from corners that Celtic failed to deal with, killing the usual atmosphere Celtic Park is famed for. Much will be made of Kakas easy header inside the box to open the scoring but it was Balotellis run from a deep position that led to a free kick that won the corner and placed Milan into scoring territory. It was to be that kind of day for Balotelli, a day where he would have to bide his time, show patience and a mature side to his game when waiting to receive the ball. It is these kind of games that people have wondered about the 23-year-old. He is built very much like a striker who can play up top on his own, but his overall attitude and tendency to drift out of games is one of the reasons he hasnt started as many Champions League games as he should have. At Celtic, he had an appetite to come deep to receive the ball, start quick counter-attacks with his midfielders and drift wide to provide key outlets and pull the central defenders into areas they dont want to go. Balotelli would get rewarded for his hard work when he scored his eighth career Champions League goal in the second half, coming deep, before timing a run superbly, sprinting into space to receive a great ball from Riccardo Montolivo and finishing it off at the near post. He also used his supreme strength to brush aside the defender, let the ball run, and not even touch it until he kicked it into the net. He wasnt the best player on the pitch for Milan but on this night, he didnt need to be. The fantastic Kaka, playing behind Balotelli, was, as the Brazilian rolled back the years with a sensational performance that included powerful runs from distance, incisive passes and an ease at finding space. Kaka, unfortunately, wont be given such space by many teams in Italy and so the responsibility of carrying Milan back towards respectability falls at the feet of Balotelli. In Glasgow, perhaps without even knowing or caring, he passed another test of his footballing education and finally showed signs that he does have an ability to lead the line for a team in Europes elite club competition. He is far from one of the worlds best players but if he wants to get anywhere near to the level once shown by Maldini, and still shown by Xavi, the European Champions League gives him the stage to perform. We know how much he likes a stage, now it is up to him to ensure what he does on it. Why Always Me? The truth is it hasnt been about you enough, Mario. ' ' '