Bruins Return From Christmas Break & Lay An Egg Vs. One of the Worst Teams in the NHL (Devils)

Games like tonight are part of the reason why it's so impossibly hard to bet on professional sports for a living (don't worry mom, I'm not talking about myself!). The Bruins (20-14-4) couldn't have been in a much more favorable position-on paper-as they hosted the wretched Devils (13-16-7) at TD Garden where they were 13-4-0. At 3-12-3 on the road, New Jersey was starting its third-string rookie goaltender (MacKenzie Blackwood) and their best player (Taylor Hall) was out with a lower-body injury. Naturally with all those factors seemingly piling up against them, the Devils never trailed as they rolled to a 5-2 victory, their first here since October 26, 2013.

Three of Boston's best players-Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller and Jake DeBrusk-all returned to action after extended absences due to various injuries. That changed the lines a bit and while they were understandably a little rusty, they didn't give the team the boost of energy that you would expect. It wasn't Jaroslav Halak (28 saves, 12-6-2) best start of the season but his defense also let him down time and again either with breakdowns, turnovers and/or bad penalties. New Jersey basically was up 1-0 at the opening faceoff as defenseman Damon Severson jumped up into the rush and sniped in a goal just 25 seconds into the contest. Andy Greene and Travis Zajac assisted on his fifth goal of the season. The all-important puck luck was on New Jersey's side as well as evidenced by Kyle Palmieri's power-play goal that went off of Brandon Carlo then Halak and in for a 2-0 Devils lead at 15:25 of the first period. Will Butcher and BC's Brian Boyle provided the assists on reported trade target Palmieri's team-leading 19th goal of the season.

New Jersey outshot Boston 12-10 in the first period but the B's woke up in the second as they outshot them 19-9. Chris Wagner cut it to 2-1 as he one-timed a sweet pass from John Moore at 15:07. Danton Heinen had the secondary assist on Wagner's fourth goal of the season. The B's only trailed 2-1 after two periods and they had 1:49 left on a power play so it felt like they would tie it early in the third. Not so much as New Jersey killed off that penalty and shortly thereafter, Blake Coleman was sent in on a breakaway and beat Halak with a great move and backhander. His 10th goal of the season was unassisted and it completely took the life out of Boston's ill-fated comeback attempt (they are now 0-11-1 when trailing after 2 periods). Ryan Donato got cross-checked in the face with no call and Nico Hischier took advantage on the other end as he finished a breakaway of his own at 12:43. BC's Miles Wood and Stefan Noesen assisted on the former No. 1 pick's 10th goal of the season.

The Bruins finally got a lucky bounce to go their way but it was too late when DeBrusk's centering pass ricocheted off Patrice Bergeron's skate for his 12th goal of the season at 17:05. Coleman added the ultra-rare empty-netter/power-play strike at 19:12, assisted by Hischier and Greene. I can't remember too many Grade-A chances but it's tough to argue about his workload as Blackwood made 40 saves in his first NHL win. The result obviously meant a whole lot to the Devils who came into the evening tied with Los Angeles (14-20-3) for the fewest points in the league.

This was the last home game of 2018 for the Bruins and their final road game of the year will be on Saturday night (7, NESN) in Buffalo (21-12-5). The Sabres fell 4-1 in St. Louis (15-16-4) tonight, meaning that loss by the Black and Gold should sting a little more. If they had simply taken care of the hopeless Devils, they would only trail Buffalo by one point for third-place in the Atlantic Division. Instead, even a Bruins win on Saturday will still leave them behind the Sabres by a point. Blah, Halak had won his previous three starts before this loss and Tuukka Rask was awful in Sunday's 5-3 loss at Carolina (15-16-5) so I won't pretend to know who head coach Bruce Cassidy will pick to start that super important tilt in Buffalo. Keep in mind that Boston's next game after that isn't until Tuesday afternoon (1, NBC) but it is the Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium vs. Chicago (14-20-6) so that's something. The next Bruins home contest is next Thursday (7, NESN) vs. Calgary (23-12-3)-one of the NHL's biggest surprises and the leader of the Pacific Division.

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Santa Bergeron (2 goals, 2 assists) Returns Right In Time to Save Christmas For The Bruins

I'm sure that I don't say this aloud often enough but games like today remind me why it's so fun to cover the Bruins and special players like future NHL Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron in particular. He had been out since November 16 with multiple injuries to his ribs and sternum but as usual, he delivered big-time in his return game with two goals and two assists as Boston (20-12-4) knocked off Nashville (22-13-2)-one of the NHL's true heavyweights-5-2 this afternoon at TD Garden. The B's have won three games in a row while the Preds go into Christmas break with a lump of coal in their skates after dropping their last four games.

The final score is misleading since this was a back-and-forth affair with Boston grabbing two leads then Nashville answered right back before the Bruins scored three consecutive goals to close out a dominant third period (outscoring the Predators 4-1 including an empty-netter). Jaroslav Halak (28 saves, 12-5-2) continued to play great as he's allowed a total of three goals in his last three starts combined all against playoff clubs (Montreal, Anaheim and Nashville) this past week. Boston's special teams continued to perform at a high level as well since the power play was 2-for-3 and the penalty kill was 2-for-2.

Bergy obviously opened the scoring at 15:10 of the first period when he took a pass from Charlie McAvoy, went from backhand to forehand and beat Pekka Rinne (27 saves, 14-8-1) for his 10th goal of the season. Brad Marchand had the second assist as Bergeron became the fourth Bruin this season to reach double-digit goals (David Pastrnak, Marchand and Jake DeBrusk). Boston improved to 13-4-0 at the Garden this season (2nd best home mark in the Eastern Conference behind Tampa Bay) and 13-4-0 when they score first. After McAvoy had a goal incorrectly wiped out for goalie interference on David Backes, Johansen tied it at one at 13:01 of the second period, an average shot that Halak normally stops with no issue. Craig Smith (not the fat guy that played basketball at BC) and Roman Josi had the assists on Johansen's sixth goal of the season.

After back-to-back stupid penalties by the Predators at the end of the second period (interference on Johansen and roughing on Mattias Ekholm) that nullified their own power play and gave Boston a 5-on-3 for 1:05 to start the third, the B's predictably made them pay. Nashville managed to kill the first penalty but before the second was over, Bergeron put the Black and Gold ahead 2-1 at 1:44. Danton Heinen (the new temporary right wing on the 1st line) and Pastrnak both whiffed on the puck but were still credited with assists as Bergeron was the guy to score on a similar forehand roof job like his first goal. Former Senators great Kyle Turris knotted things at two with a shot off the post and in at 9:17. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by Josi and Miikka Salomaki (most Finnish name ever?).

It was a great all-around performance by Boston's best players as Marchand's power play goal-that turned out to be the game-winner-made it 3-2 Bruins at 11:23. His 12th goal of the season was a one-timer that came from Pasta and Bergy. Marchy returned the favor to Pasta with an assist on his own one-timer via a 2-on-1 at 14:09 for a 4-2 Bruins advantage. Pastrnak's team-leading 23rd goal of the season was an interesting one since Marchand's pass was a bouncer so he barely got anything on the shot which probably helped it elude Rinne. I figured that Bergeron would get the requisite hat trick with an empty-net goal by hard-workin' Sean Kuraly instead did the honors at 18:01 for his second goal of the season, assisted by McAvoy and Halak (his 2nd of the season!).

Just one game-tomorrow at Carolina (5, NESN)-separates the B's from Christmas break (Dec. 24-26). By the time that they meet, the Hurricanes (14-14-5) could be under .500 as they host Pittsburgh (17-12-6) this evening. Four wins in a row and a .500 record on the road (currently 7-8-4) would be a pretty great way for the Bruins to get rewarded for their recent strong play. It feels like they usually win in Carolina and beat the Whalers I mean Hurricanes in general so I would expect a quality effort with Tuukka Rask (8-7-2) in between the pipes. Their next home game is on Thursday (7, NESN) vs. atrocious New Jersey (12-15-7) who for now reside in the basement of the Eastern Conference.

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B's Snap Nine-Game Losing Streak (0-8-1) & Beat the Ducks For The First Time In Over Five Years

It has to be the hideous Christmas suits, right? In one of the sneakiest droughts that I can remember, before tonight the Bruins' last win against the Ducks had come on Oct. 21, 2013 (a 3-2 shootout win at TD Garden). After nine fruitless matchups since then (0-8-1), Boston (19-12-4) finally broke that long slump with a complete all-around game in a 3-1 victory at the Garden vs. Anaheim (19-13-5). Coming off Monday's eye-opening 4-0 win at Montreal (17-13-5), the B's followed that up with another solid performance against a fellow playoff contender.

Jaroslav Halak got the start once again and nearly notched another shutout as he made 24 saves in his 11th win of the season. After a scoreless first period, the Bruins scored a pair of goals in the second period and an insurance tally in the third before the Ducks avoided the shutout with a goal in garbage time (late in the 3rd). Interestingly enough, three Bruins recorded career milestones in the win: Torey Krug's assist was the 200th of his NHL career, passing Mike O'Connell for the most by a U.S.-born Bruin; David Backes reached 300 NHL assists and David Krejci hit 600 NHL points.

Boston improved to 12-4-0 at home this season while they cooled off Anaheim (8-2-0 before tonight in their last 10 games) who ended a five-game road trip on a low note. It was all about special teams as the Bruins' power play went 2-for-4 and their penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4. Pasta fittingly enough gave them a 1-0 lead at 8:19 of the second period with a one-timed laser from Krug and Backes. David's team-leading 22nd goal gave him twice as many goals as the next closest Bruin (Marchand with 11). The power play unit was the catalyst again as Krug one-timed in a beautiful pass by Marchand at 18:05 of the second for a 2-0 Black and Gold advantage. Pastrnak had the second assist on Krug's fourth goal of the season.

The B's are now 14-1-0 this season when they have led by 2+ goals so the Ducks might as well have gotten on the plane at that point. It was another one-timer that beat John Gibson (28 saves), this one from Krejci (has he ever had a harder shot?) at 5:21 of the third period. Pastrnak and Marchand assisted on his seventh goal of the season which also extended his point-streak to a whopping eight games (5 goals, 6 assists). Just when I tried to compute how long Halak's shutout streak had lasted in terms of game minutes, Anaheim made that a complete waste of my time. Rookie defenseman Josh Mahura's shot from the point sneaked by Halak, assisted by Carter Rowney at 15:44 which cut it to 3-1.

There are two more games left for the Bruins before they can enjoy a brief Christmas break (Dec. 24-26): they host Nashville (22-12-2) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) and they follow that up with a visit to Carolina (14-14-5) on Sunday night (5, NESN). It seems like it would be tough to sit down Halak at this point but regardless, you can bet that Tuukka Rask (8-7-2) will make an appearance at some point this weekend. The Predators are one of the best teams in hockey but they have been scuffling a bit lately (5-4-1 in their last 10 games) after losing 2-1 at Philadelphia (14-15-2) this evening. Any second game of a back-to-back is difficult but the B's have excelled in them this season and the Hurricanes are having another blah campaign so I expect some sort of result there for the Black and Gold as well.

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Name a Better Boston University Product In the NHL These Days Than Jack Eichel, You Can't!

Massachusetts is not California, Texas or Florida when it comes to grooming professional athletes so while we have a noted advantage when it comes to hockey players (it's cold here for roughly 8 months out of every year), it is still pretty cool to see a hometown guy doing very well at the highest level. Enter Chelmsford MA native and BU one-and-done Jack Eichel who seems to always save his best for when he plays the Bruins. Tonight he had two goals and two assists as Buffalo (20-9-5) doubled up Boston (17-12-4) 4-2 at TD Garden. It's not just the fact that he had a hand in every goal for the Sabres but Eichel did it in a manner befitting a superstar such as himself: two incredible assists, a snipe of a goal and an empty-netter to clinch it. Are you not entertained, Massholes?

After winning three games in a row, the B's had a bummer of a weekend as they lost 5-3 at Pittsburgh (15-11-6) on Friday and followed it up with another zero-point performance. Boston had 67 shot attempts (37 on goal, 14 blocked, 16 missed net) to just 40 for Buffalo (27 on goal, 8 blocked, 5 missed net) so besides Eichel, the Sabres can thank Jeff Skinner (2 goals), Sam Reinhart (2 assists) and Peanuts star Linus Ullmark (35 saves, 7th win of the season) for the victory that split the season series at one game apiece with two more meetings to come.

The Bruins never led in the entire contest but you can't say that they didn't have a good chance as Ryan Donato drew an ultra-rare penalty shot late in the first period. He was hauled down on a breakaway but he slipped taking the penalty shot and Ullmark was able to stop his shot anyway. Things picked up in the second period as Skinner scored his team-leading 23rd goal of the season at 3:18 thanks to a sweet pass from Eichel behind the net. No. 1 pick and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (who is only 18-years-old) had the second assist. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better offseason pickup from last summer in the NHL than Jeff Skinner's trade from Carolina to Buffalo. Two minutes later, Steven Kampfer scored his first goal since his return to Black and Gold as he ripped a shot past Ullmark from Joakim Nordstrom and David Backes. Boston seemed to go up 2-1 late in the frame as Brad Marchand brushed in a loose puck but for some reason, the play was whistled dead before the puck had gone in the net. It was reviewed with the refs concluding after a lengthy delay that it was no goal since it couldn't be reviewed to begin with. Haha OK cool guys, thanks for completely wasting our time.

At the start of the third, Danton Heinen was absolutely robbed by Ullmark who did a full split to make the save. Torey Krug went to the dressing room after taking a puck to the face, something which later happened to Kampfer as well. Eichel's lucky 13th goal of the season came at 5:43, assisted by Reinhart and Dahlin. Krug answered with a goal of his own at 13:21. David Krejci (6-game point streak) did his best Eichel impression with a great feed that led to Krug's slightly mishit but still effective one-timer. His third goal of the season was also assisted by Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (anothe much lesser known BU guy). Buffalo's go-ahead goal came via an eerily similar play by Eichel and Skinner: this time Eichel used a backhander to Skinner for a one-timer that gave him the same amount of goals that he had last season in 48 more games with the lowly Hurricanes. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy did all that he could do-calling a timeout and pulling Rask for an extra skater-but all that happened was Eichel clinched it with an empty-netter at 19:35.

The B's have no time to feel bad for themselves as they are in Montreal (17-11-5) tomorrow night (7:30, NESN) for a huge game with the Canadiens. The winner will be the top Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference while the loser will drop (or in Boston's case remain) in second-place. Jaroslav Halak (9-5-2) figures to get the start for the Bruins who are 1-1 vs. Montreal this season. It'll be Boston's third game in four nights and second half of a back-to-back but at least then their next game isn't until Thursday (7, NESN) vs. Anaheim (18-11-5) at the Garden. The B's haven't been great on the road (6-8-4) but they had perhaps their best road win of this campaign at the Bell Centre: a 3-2 triumph on November 24 thanks to John Moore's game-winner/the only goal of his Bruins career.

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The Bruins Don't Need Patrice Bergeron As Long As They Still Have David Krejci (ducks garbage)!

There is dominating a team for a long stretch of time and then there is completely owning them like the Bruins' (17-10-4) one-sided games with the Coyotes (13-14-2) for the past eight-plus years. No matter if the B's are missing some top players, competing in their third game in four days or even spot Arizona a 2-0 lead, it all ends the same fashion: with a Boston victory. Tonight the Bruins trailed 2-0 almost midway through the second period before exploding for four goals in the span of 4:50 en route to an eventual 4-3 win at TD Garden. If you can believe it, that was the 14th straight win for the Black and Gold vs. the Desert Dogs, now the longest such streak in the NHL.

You have to think that if Arizona was ever going to break that ugly drought (their last two points vs. Boston came back on Oct. 9, 2010 in Prague!), the stars were aligned to do just that this evening. The B's have been great on home ice (11-3-0) but they got off to a slow start in this one as Nick Schmaltz made it 1-0 with a power play goal at 12:22 of the first period. The former Blackhawk's shot went off Tuukka Rask (30 saves, 8th win of the season), off a post and then in for his sixth goal of the season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and BU's Clayton Keller provided the assists on the bizarre goal. While that tally was being announced, the Coyotes doubled their lead as Nick Cousins beat Rask to the shortside 40 seconds later. His third goal of the season was assisted by Alex Goligoski and Josh Archibald as the Garden crowd started to grow a bit restless. If things couldn't get any worse in the first period for the B's, David Backes took an Ekman-Larsson skate blade to the face which forced him to quickly exit the ice and head to the dressing room for some serious repairs.

Arizona has the top penalty-kill unit in the league which is accentuated by the fact that they've scored a whopping 11 shorthanded goals (!). To give you some context on that absurd number, the next closest team is Calgary (6) while Boston has only one this entire campaign. As such, Boston's power play (which came into the contest ranked 6th in the NHL) went 0-for-3 but that hardly mattered as they reeled off four even strength goals in the blink of an eye. Danton Heinen of all people got the comeback started for the Bruins with a nifty goal at 8:40 of the second period. Jacob Forsbacka Karlsson gave him a sweet backhand saucer pass that he settled with his skate like a soccer player then knocked the puck in past Darcy Kuemper (22 saves). The new look third line's other member Ryan Donato had the secondary assist on Heinen's fourth goal of the season. 33 seconds later on the following shift, David Pastrnak tied it with a beautiful net drive that ended with him tapping in a pass from Brad Marchand with Krejci picking up the other helper on Pastrnak's team-leading 21st goal of the season. 2:18 after that, the first line struck again as Marchand tipped in a slap pass from Pastrnak. Krejci had the second assist on Marchand's ninth goal of the season. Three goals in 2:51 was cool but one more was even better: Marchand banged in a loose puck at 13:30 (becoming the 3rd Bruin with double-digit goals) a nanosecond before getting knocked over with Krejci and Pastrnak obviously getting the assists.

Krejci was playing in his 800th NHL game while Arizona defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson reached the 700 game mark as well. Meanwhile, Coyotes left wing Michael Bunting was competing in his inaugural NHL game and he made it a particularly memorable moment with a goal that cut it to 4-3 Bruins at 15:00 of the second period. Truth be told, it was a save that Rask has to make but we'll forgive him since he came up with some bigger ones later on. That's right, there were a total of five goals in 6:20 of game time so naturally, these clubs followed it up with a scoreless third period. Arizona pressed for the tying goal in the third, outshooting Boston 9-5 in the frame but the B's held on despite a late tripping call on John Moore. McAvoy blocked a shot from his fellow Terrier Keller and Krejci hit the post with a shot that would have clinched it but he also had a key blocked shot of his own in crunch time.

With their three wins in a row, the B's earned six points in the past four days which I'd imagine is more than you or I or anyone else that we know has accomplished since Saturday. A stat that perfectly illustrates this team's collective mental toughness is that they improved to 5-1-1 in Game 3s of three games in four nights this season. They have ten more sets throughout 2018-19 so I doubt that absurd percentage will hold but still, can we just appreciate that for a second? The guys get tomorrow off which I'd say that they've earned before they are back at practice on Thursday and then they fly to Pittsburgh for Friday's (7, NESN) meeting with the Penguins (13-10-6). Boston has matched up well with Pittsburgh for years (yes during the Cup runs) and the Pens were a disaster to start this season before recently getting their shit together (6-2-2 in their last 10 games). The Bruins' next home game is on Sunday (5, NESN) vs. Buffalo (18-9-4) who is two points ahead of them in the Atlantic Division for third-place. Patriots-Steelers of course starts at 4:25 pm so make sure that your DVR and/or the last button on your remote is working properly since you'll be doing double-duty on Sunday night.

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In 2018, Bruins vs. Maple Leafs Is Becoming a Nice Little Rivalry Right Before Our Very Own Eyes

Bruins-Canadiens will always hold a special place in our hearts but over the last few seasons, you have to admit that Boston (15-10-4) against Toronto (20-9-1) has become a sexier matchup in the here and now minus the decades of bad blood and fun history since the Maple Leafs have mostly sucked forever. They already met three times in 2018-19 with the B's taking the latest chapter 6-3 this evening at TD Garden to go up 2-1 in the season series with one more in Toronto on January 12. Boston snapped a season-worst three-game losing streak with a resounding victory, perhaps their best outing of the campaign given that the Leafs scored the final two goals in extended garbage time.

This tilt had a little bit of everything: pretty goals, great saves, physical play and multiple fights. What else do you want in a regular season contest? Toronto came in with the second best record in the NHL but for the second time in a row (5-1 on Nov. 10), Boston absolutely slammed them on their home ice. The six goals scored tied for the second-most by the B's this season (Oct. 8 vs. Ottawa), topped only by their 8-2 beating of Detroit on Oct. 13. Boston took control tonight by scoring the first four goals. Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson made it 1-0 at 11:20 of the first period when he snuck a rebound by Frederik Andersen (22 saves, 6 goals allowed). David Pastrnak and Matt Grzelcyk assisted on JFK's third goal of the season.

Boston's second period had to be one of its best frames of the year: David Backes sniped a power-play goal at 8:54 (his 3rd goal of the season was assisted by Brad Marchand and Torey Krug) and Torey Krug bagged his first goal of the season with a long-range shot, assisted by Marchand and David Krejci (which moved him into 10th place on the team's all-time scoring list) at 17:45. In between that, Nazem Kadri for some reason started a fight with Brandon Carlo who dwarfs him. You knew that it was the Black and Gold's night when Danton Heinen pushed the lead to 4-0 with a beautiful goal-scorer's move at 1:47 of the third period. Ryan Donato and John Moore assisted on only his third goal of the season.

Toronto's defense is still their biggest issue which is why they play so many high-scoring affairs. They finally got on the board thanks to a goal by Travis Dermott at 4:03 of the third, Auston Matthews (5-game point-streak) and Jake Gardiner had the helpers on the pure shot that beat Jaroslav Halak (31 saves, 9th win of the season) cleanly. In old school Leafs fashion, they gave that goal right back 34 seconds later as Krejci scored on a 3-on-1 (his 4th goal of the season) with Pasta and Marchand. Things got silly as Andersen gave up a weak one to Donato shortly after that (6:13) that caused him to get pulled in favor of the immortal Garret Sparks. Donato's third goal of the seaosn was assisted by Heinen and Krug.

Matthews tapped in a goal at 9:30 (his 16th of the season, in 16 games!) that cut it to 6-2. That's when things went a little bonkers as good old Zach Hyman (that is a tough name to live with) hit McAvoy late with a cheap shot. Charlie had just returned on Thursday at Tampa Bay (23-7-1) after missing 20 games with a concussion so you can understand why Grzelcyk dropped the gloves with Hyman. McAvoy went to the Bruins' dressing room but thankfully was cleared to return by the end of the game. A few moments later, Chris Wagner (playing in his 200th NHL game) caught Morgan Rielly with a clean open ice hit (don't do that!) so he fought UMass-Lowell alum Ron Hainsey for shits and giggles. Andreas Johnsson (who earlier in the night refused to fight Sean Kuraly) rounded out the scoring with a completely meaningless power play goal at 12:22, his seventh goal of the season was assisted by Patrick Marleau and Gardiner.

The B's have little time to rest at home as they fly out to Ottawa (13-14-3) for tomorrow's meeting with the Senators (5, NESN). Tuukka Rask will get the start as the Bruins try to start a new win streak. Keep in mind, they are 4-0-1 thus far in the second game of back-to-backs and 3-1-1 in Game 3s when they play three times in four days. The Senators are in full rebuild mode and even though they placed Matt Duchene (groin) and Bobby Ryan (concussion) on injured reserve earlier today, they still managed to beat scuffling Pittsburgh (12-10-6) 2-1 in overtime. More numbers to mull over for tomorrow: Boston is 5-7-4 on the road while Ottawa is surprisingly very good at home (10-5-2). With Arizona (13-12-2) coming to the Garden on Tuesday (7, NESN) the B's have the opportunity to grab some points against non-playoff contenders over the next few days.

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Red Wings Win Their Second Game In a Row vs. Bruins, Which For Them is a Huge Accomplishment

The Bruins (14-8-4) and Red Wings (12-11-3) have been in the same division (Atlantic) now for a little while, they even met in the playoffs a few years back but who could call it anything close to a rivalry other than the fact that they both happen to be Original Six clubs? That is partly because Boston has owned that ass while Detroit's absurd postseason streak finally ended and since then, they've faded into NHL mediocrity. Tonight's 4-2 win by the Wings at TD Garden gave at least a breath of life and a sniff of hope that this unnatural pairing of Boston vs. Detroit could turn into something which is better than nothing, am I right folks?

The Wings had beaten the B's 3-2 in overtime on Thanksgiving Eve and this represented their first regulation win vs. the Black and Gold since Valentine's Day 2016 (a 6-5 win in Detroit). Boston had been 15-1-2 in its last 18 games vs. Detroit including points in 11 straight contests (9-0-2). The Bruins outshot the Red Wings 40-27 but that hardly mattered since Detroit beat them up both physically and on the scoreboard (where it really counts, tough guy). 1-0 was the only lead that Boston would have all night as the Red Wings scored twice in the second period and then closed with the final two goals in the latter half of the third period to earn the all-important two points.

Tuukka Rask (23 saves) suffered his first loss in regulation since his brief hiatus but he couldn't be faulted for two of the three goals that he allowed which came via perfect deflections out in front of him. Maine alum Jimmy Howard (38 saves) was immense, other than a bizarre backhand flip by David Backes that went off his shoulder and into the net with 3.8 seconds left in the first period. Other than empty-netters, I doubt that Backes has scored many flukier goals in his long NHL career. His second goal of the season was assisted by John Moore and rookie Colby Cave (his 1st NHL point).

Keep in mind that Detroit had a goal waved off in the second period so it could have been an even worse frame for the B's if that stood (Rask was bumped trying to get in position). Tyler Bertuzzi tied it at 5:45 when Mike Green's shot from the point took an old double deflection off Michael Rasmussen then him for his ninth goal of the season. For the second time in three days, David Krejci took a big (clean) hit at center ice. At least this time he didn't require another emergency trip to the dentist for repairs. Joakim Nordstrom is far from a fighter but he stood up for his new teammate by dropping the gloves with Red Wings defensemen Dennis Cholowski-who had destroyed Krejci. That was nearly the undercard for a massive line brawl that would have included Rask vs. Howard but the no fun refs tied them up and wouldn't let them go. I think I speak for all blood-thirsty fans when I say boooooooooo. The only above average player on the Red Wings these days-Dylan Larkin-made it 2-1 at 17:36 by putting in a rebound on the doorstep. Justin Abdelkader and Gustav Nyquist (another former Black Bear) had the assists on his 10th goal of the season.

It wasn't a banner night for Boston's #2 ranked power play in the NHL (1-for-6) but they knotted it at two thanks to rookie Ryan Donato's tally at 5:31 of the third. His shot deflected off a Red Wing stick but regardless, it was still one of his patented snipes. Donato's second goal of the season was assisted by David Pastrnak and Torey Krug (5-game assist streak). After the shootout game-winner on Thursday and that, it's tough to see him going back down to Providence anytime soon. It looked like it would be another one-goal game that might possibly require overtime but Detroit had other plans as veteran Frans Nielsen tipped in Danny DeKeyser's shot from the point at 11:53 for the go-ahead tally. Nyquist had the secondary assist on Nielsen's first goal of the season. Nyquist completed his three-point night with an empty-netter at 19:33, DeKeyser had the lone assist on his fourth goal of the season.

No practice for the B's on Sunday-the Lord's day-as they'll get back on the ice at Warrior Arena on Monday before travelling to Sunrise, FL to take on the Panthers (10-10-5) on Tuesday (7, NESN). That kicks off a very busy week as the Bruins will be in Tampa (19-7-1) on Thursday (7, NESN) before coming back here briefly to host the Leafs (19-8-0) on Saturday night (7, NESN) before going to Ottawa (12-12-3) the following early evening (5, NESN). It helps when that tough stretch is bookended by doormats like the Panthers and Senators who they should usually beat. Right now, the Lightning and Maple Leafs are the top two teams in the Eastern Conference so both of those contests should be extremely difficult. B's defenseman Brandon Carlo returned this evening after missing the past nine games with an upper-body injury so hopefully between now and game time on Tuesday, nobody on the Bruins slips on a banana peel or falls out of a bunk bed.


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Bruins Win Their 1st Shootout of the Season, 2-1 vs. Islanders Thanks to Marchand, Rask & Donato

With a lineup that has been absolutely decimated by injuries, odds are that the Bruins (14-7-4) aren't going to set the NHL on fire in terms of goal-scoring anytime soon. However, Bruce Cassidy's mentally tough group still keeps finding ways to win as they showed in Thursday's 2-1 shootout victory vs. Islanders (12-9-4) at TD Garden. Tuukka Rask (6-4-2) made 29 saves-including six in overtime-as Boston outlasted New York in its first shootout appearance of 2018-19.

Rask's comeback story is an easy one to identify (even if we'll never know what the real issue for him was) but these two points were also courtesy of rookie forward Ryan Donato who was recalled from Providence on Wednesday. In his first game with the B's in nearly a month (10/30 at Carolina), he managed to score the lone goal for either side in four rounds of the shootout.

As you would expect from a tilt that featured only two goals in 65 minutes of action, there really wasn't too much to talk about from regulation and overtime. Anders Lee had the goal for the Isles that made it 1-0 at 12:17 of the first period. Rask stopped the first shot from last season's Rookie of the Year Mathew Barzal but left the rebound on the doorstep for the Notre Dame product to knock it in for his eighth goal of the season. Defenseman Scott Mayfield had the second assist on what turned out to be New York's only real highlight of the contest.

Both teams only had one power play for the entire game and while the Bruins were able to hold off the Islanders terrible power play (ranked 24th in the NHL) in the second period, the same couldn't be said for Boston's excellent man-advantage (ranked 3rd in the NHL) which cashed in its only chance a few moments later. Torey Krug started the play but David Pastrnak did most of the leg work by beating an Islander in their offensive zone then dishing a backhand pass right on the money to Brad Marchand who smacked in the one-timer at 12:09 of the second. It was Marchand's seventh goal of the season, fittingly also his first in the past seven games (how much does he miss his best buddy Patrice Bergeron?).

The B's probably should have won without needing overtime or a shootout as they outshot the Isles 34-23 through three periods. Still, Barry Trotz's (it's so weird to see him leave the Capitals for this middling franchise) team dominated the extra session as they outshot the home team 6-2 but couldn't convert on two breakaways. New York even had a goal waved off (and held up under review) after one of their players interfered with Rask in the crease. For a team that's seen many similar calls go against them this year, the Black and Gold were happy that at least that one didn't flip on them.

Barzal, Brock Nelson, Valtteri Filppula (playing in his 900th NHL game) and Josh Bailey were all stopped by Rask in the shootout. Jake DeBrusk and Pasta couldn't beat Lehner while Marchand failed at his opportunity to end it. No matter as Donato ended a long night (that began with Rick Middleton's #16 going to the rafters) with a nifty (get it?!) backhander along the ice. The Garden was not nearly full anymore when that happened (it was a school night after all) but those that stuck around were treated to a nice moment for a local guy trying to make his mark.

Saturday night (7, NESN) will already be the third meeting of the season between the Bruins and Red Wings (11-11-3). Boston destroyed them 8-2 here on October 13 then fell 3-2 in overtime in Detroit on the night before Thanksgiving. No matter who is in or out for the B's, I still feel confident that they can find a way to beat the mediocre at best Wings. Boston defensemen Brandon Carlo (upper body) and Charlie McAvoy (concussion) appear close to returning and it sounds like the former could play against Detroit.

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Bruins Close Out a Successful Homestand (3-1-0) With Another Solid Win, 4-1 vs. Golden Knights

Naturally, after Thursday night's ugly 8-5 loss to Vancouver (10-6-2), many feared that debacle (how head coach Bruce Cassidy would later describe it) for the Bruins (10-5-2) would send the Black and Gold over a nearby cliff. Goaltender Tuukka Rask taking an unexpected leave of absence from the team on Friday sent another shockwave through the naturally Debbie Downer fanbase. Of course, there was nothing to be worried about at all as Boston rattled off an easy 5-1 win on Saturday vs. Toronto (11-6-0)-the team right ahead of them for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division-thanks to David Pastrnak's hat trick and then they showed that wasn't a fluke by capping off the weekend back-to-back with a 4-1 victory vs. Vegas (7-10-1) this evening at TD Garden.

It turns out that at least for now, all the B's need is a healthy Jaroslav Halak (6-1-2) as everyday Jaro made 37 saves vs. the Golden Knights for yet another impressive performance by the veteran netminder. Do you realize how good he has been in his first season as a Bruin? He's tied for second in the NHL in goals against average (1.77) and save percentage (.945) plus he's tied for the lead in shutouts (2). As we all know, besides Halak the other major reason that the Bruins are even over .500 is their peerless top forward line (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak). Thankfully, the rest of their underachieving forwards have started to come around over the last few games.

Facing former Bruins draft pick and bust Malcolm "yes I'm P.K's much less talented brother" Subban (33 saves), the B's scored a pair of goals in the first period and another early in the second period to take a commanding 3-0 lead. They improved to a perfect 8-0-0 this season when they are up by 2+ goals. The most promising part about that burst was that two guys outside of the top line tallied the first two goals: after driving to the net, Danton Heinen tipped in a gorgeous backhand pass from Anders Bjork at 2:54 then rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon took advantage of a brutal misplay on the puck by Subban for his first NHL goal at 17:51. Heinen's goal was his second of the season while Sean Kuraly and John Moore (team-high 22:35 of ice time) had the assists on Lauzon's goal.

Not to be left out, Boston's top line still managed to chip in with the final two goals of the contest. Right as a power play expired, Marchand knocked in a slow-motion pass from Bergeron and Pastrnak for his sixth goal of the season 58 seconds into the second period. Cody Eakin had the lone goal for Vegas as he finished a one-timer from BC's Alex Tuch at 10:55 of the second that cut it to 3-1 Bruins. Boston's No. 3 ranked power play didn't have a banner night (1-for-7 even though they had a trio of 2-man advantages) but they made their last 5-on-3 count as Pastrnak beat Subban for his NHL-best 16th goal of the season from Torey Krug and David Krejci at 16:08 of the third period. Bergeron leads the NHL in points (9 goals, 16 assists) so I have to wonder when the last time was that the B's had the the top goal-scorer and points leader at the same time? I'm guessing that it's been a minute.

It's hard to believe but Boston won't play another game here until after Thanksgiving (they host the Penguins on Black Friday). They get another lengthy four-game road trip that will last over a week since they leave on Tuesday after practice and won't return until late the following Wednesday. The itinerary is about as random as they can get too since they start in Colorado (8-6-3) on Wednesday (10, NESN), go to Dallas (9-6-2) on Friday (8, NESN) then Arizona (8-7-1) the next night (8, NESN) and conclude with their somewhat customary Thanksgiving Eve (7:30, NESN) meeting in Detroit (7-8-2). They will have plenty of time to continue to bond on the road since after that Penguins tilt, they travel to Montreal (9-5-3) and Toronto before closing the month on November 29 (7, NESN) against Halak's most recent former employer-the Islanders (8-6-2). A great home team (7-2-0), they are squarely .500 on the road thus far (3-3-2) so that will have to pick up if they want to go anywhere.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bruins Would Like to Cordially Welcome You to Their Gongshow

Once in a while in every season for your favorite sports team, you are treated to a certified Gongshow. That denotes the type of game where everything goes off the rails early and just continues to devolve from there. Unfortunately for the Bruins (8-5-2), they found themselves on the wrong end of such a normally comical occasion (if you're winning) as the Canucks (10-6-1) came to TD Garden tonight and hung a snowman (8 goals) on them in a humbling 8-5 defeat. It was the most goals that Vancouver had scored in nearly nine years (Nov. 14, 2009).

Where to start? Both Boston goaltenders were truly awful, Jaroslav Halak gave up five goals in his first poor performance as a Bruin before he was pulled and Tuukka Rask allowed three more (including a brutal shorthanded goal). It didn't help that their defense was pathetic too as the Canucks scored five goals on them in the second period alone. The B's can only hope that this was a one-off disaster (burn the video!) and not a harbinger of things to come with two good teams coming to town this weekend for the dreaded three games in four days: Toronto (10-5-0) on Saturday night (7, NESN) followed by Vegas (7-8-1) the following night (7, NESN). It isn't all doom and gloom for the Black and Gold though since four of their five goals came from guys not on their annoyingly perfect top line and they also scored two power play goals.

The first period was routine enough in a sense as both teams scored a lone goal. Bo Horvat (2 goals, 2 assists) got an unassisted tally (his 8th of the season) just 2:46 into the contest as a fumbled pass from Danton Heinen to David Backes resulted in a rare soft tally allowed by Halak (hey, that's Tuukka's thing!). Torey Krug Jr., I mean Matt Grzelcyk tied it with a bomb at 13:41. His first goal of the season was assisted by David Krejci (3 assists) and Jake DeBrusk (2 goals). Believe it or not, the Bruins actually led for a few minutes as Patrice Bergeron put in a rebound from a Krug shot 36 seconds into the second, his eighth goal of the season. The Canucks scored a pair of goals 1:26 apart to take a 3-2 lead. Bruins legend Loui Eriksson banged in a loose puck at 7:02, his second goal of the season was assisted by Erik Gudbranson and Markus Granlund. Maine's Ben Hutton's screened shot on the power play found its way past Halak through traffic for his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Horvat and Nikolay Goldobin.

DeBrusk tied it with a nifty tip in at 9:00, his fourth goal of the season came from Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom. It was basically a carbon copy of the same Krejci sauce connection to DeBrusk that worked on October 25 vs. Philadelphia as well. Boston's three penalties in a row in the second period didn't help matters as Vancouver once again cashed in on another power play opportunity. Hutton's shot from the point was tipped in by Eriksson at 13:23, Brendan Leipsic had the second assist on Eriksson's second goal of the night. Halak's outing was over 1:30 later as Antoine Roussel beat him with a tip-in from a bad angle, his third goal of the season was assisted by Granlund and Michael Del Zotto. DeBrusk cut it to 5-4 with his new favorite move (say it with me kids, tip-in), the power play goal was assisted by Krug and Brad Marchand at 17:18. The excitement caused by that goal which trimmed Vancouver's lead to 5-4 lasted for a little over two minutes of game action as Gudbranson beat Rask with a long-range wrist shot with 31.9 seconds left in the frame. His first goal of the season was assisted by Horvat and Eriksson Ugh, that was so deflating.

Tuukka did his best to make sure his team had no chance to rally in the third as he handed Horvat a shorthanded goal by passing the puck right to him for essentially an empty-netter at 9:40. Something called Jake Virtanen doubled up Vancouver's advantage (8-4) at 11:12, his sixth goal of the season was assisted by Goldobin and rookie phenom Elias Pettersson (who wasn't even a factor in the blowout). What's even scarier for the Bruins is that Vancouver's other stud young forward Brock Boeser (groin injury) didn't even dress, so if those two guys had been on, you'd figure they would have reached double-digits easy. Fitting for a guy that's been so invisible to begin this year, Danton Heinen finally got his first goal, a power play strike from Grzelcyk and Krejci in extended garbage time (at 13:38). All that was left was a short (no pun intended) bout between Krug and good old Darren Archibald after the Canucks' fourth liner blasted Nordstrom.

You figure that Rask was scheduled to start vs. the Maple Leafs and I suppose that Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy will stick to that plan but how do you feel confident about either him or Halak? It'll be the first meeting between Boston and Toronto since their epic seven-game playoff series last spring. Also, Saturday represents John Tavares' first game for his hometown team against their new biggest rival (sorry Montreal). Auston Matthews is out with a shoulder injury so that takes away a tiny bit of the anticipation and truth be told, like last season these clubs figure to be playing for second place behind Tampa Bay (12-3-1) in the Atlantic Division. The Golden Knights have predictably gotten off to a sketchy start after their unfathomable success in their inaugural campaign. They are at Montreal (8-5-3) on Saturday night so Sunday could be a bit of a slog for each team. It is the end of Vegas' four-game road trip that lasted over a week so I'm sure they'll be ready to get back to the sun in the desert and out of this crappy weather.

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Marchand Rescues Boston In OT From What Would Have Been a Bitter Loss to Overmatched Dallas

Returning home after a 3-2 win at Carolina and frustrating 1-0 loss in Nashville last week, the Bruins (8-4-2) leaned on what has carried them throughout the early goings of the 2018-19 regular season: their vaunted top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask. Pasta scored a power play goal in the first period and Marchand won it with a power play goal (5-on-3) in the extra session as the B's held off the Stars (8-5-1) 2-1 on the always fantastic Military Appreciation Night at TD Garden. Embattled goaltender Tuukka Rask (24 saves; 4-3-0) gave up another dog's breakfast of a goal but bounced back enough not to allow any other goals thus picking up the victory that got him back over .500.

If you watched the game or just by glancing at the box score, you could easily conclude that the Bruins should have won this game by at least two or three goals. They had 73 shot attempts (!) to just 38 for Dallas. The problem was that despite outshooting the Stars 35-25, they had nine more shots blocked (13-4) and missed the net 16 more times (25-9) which is alarming. Old friend Anton Khudobin (33 saves; 2-1-1) deserved better as he did everything that he possibly could to earn his team a hard-fought point. He was sloppy with some rebounds and also benefited from an insanely quick whistle in the second period that would have wiped out an easy goal for Anders Bjork.

Owner John Henry, president Sam Kennedy and reliever Joe Kelly were apparently all the guys affiliated with the Red Sox that were still in town after their Tour De Force at local sporting events (Celtics game last Thursday and Patriots game last night) so they dropped the ceremonial puck before this contest with the repaired World Series trophy on hand as well. Kelly was wearing a personalized Bruins jersey with red bordering the numbers. It was a weird game as Dallas scored a shorthanded goal at 3:51 of the first period with Roman Polak in the penalty box for interference. Radek Faksa's high-school level shot on net apparently deflected off of Torey Krug's stick (or so he claimed in Boston's dressing room afterwards) but regardless, Rask has to make that save. Miro Heiskanen had the lone assist on Faksa's third goal of the season. What is it with Rask and first periods this season? He had sat on the bench for the past three outings since Jaroslav Halak (4-1-2) has greatly outplayed him in his first campaign with the Black and Gold.

Rask's teammates picked him up though as Pastrnak scored on that same power play, his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk had the assists as Dallas for some reason left David wide open (think Bruins vs. Alex Ovechkin in recent years) for a practice type one-timer at 5:11. You wondered if the B's would score another goal all night as Torey Krug rattled the post and Noel Acciari hit the crossbar in the second period. Bergeron had a shot that slid inches wide of the Stars' goal in the third after Khudobin got a piece of it and Bergy later hit the crossbar in overtime (it looked like it went in but I never saw a replay). Marchand's fifth goal of the season came with 31 seconds left in overtime. He waited on the side of the net (looking for a backdoor pass to Bergeron) but ended up picking the low far corner with the game-winner. David Krejci and Krug had the assists as Dallas was called for too many men on the ice and cross-checking 11 seconds apart (talk about a meltdown).

Including the Predators game on Saturday, Boston has five games in eight days so needless to say it is going to be a very busy week. Thankfully, they at least don't have to go anywhere besides Warrior Ice Arena for practices and morning skates as they welcome Loui Eriksson and Tim Schaller back to town not to mention stud rookie Elias Pettersson and the surprising Canucks (9-6-0) to the Garden on Thursday (7, NESN). Sadly, the Sedin sisters are retired so Vancouver is a little tougher to dump on now. Almost as rare as a Monday night tilt, the Bruins are playing in the usual Saturday night time slot (7, NESN) vs. Toronto (9-5-0) followed by Sunday night (7, NESN) vs. Vegas (6-7-1). It'll be interesting to see how many starts each goaltender gets over those three games, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has been abundantly clear that Rask needs to be better to earn more playing time. What a novel idea!

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The Canadiens Completely Shut Down the Bruins 3-0 In Their 1st Meeting of the 2018-19 Season

Is any goaltender in the NHL currently worse in first periods than Tuukka Rask (3-3-0)? That might be a slight exaggeration but it feels that way as another slow start by the Bruins' (6-3-2) embattled goalie put his team in a hole that they ultimately never recovered from in an utterly lifeless 3-0 loss this evening at TD Garden. Montreal (6-2-2) has been one of the early surprises in the league this year and while they don't appear to be anything too special, they certainly own Rask (10-16-3 in his career vs. the Canadiens). Conversely, Carey Price (25-11-5 in his career vs. the Bruins) made 33 mostly routine saves for his 1st shutout of the season and 41st of his NHL career.

The Atlantic Division should continue to be run by Tampa Bay (7-1-1), Toronto (8-3-0) and Boston once again this season so it will take awhile longer for me to take the rebuilding Canadiens seriously. There are three more meetings between these ancient rivals in this campaign but for Chapter 1, you have to give it up for Claude Julien's rag tag group of young guys and no-name veterans. Not counting the garbage time empty-netter late in the third period, Montreal's two even strength goals were scored 1:21 apart midway through the first period. On one hand, you could say that gave the B's plenty of time to recover. However, I would contend that the first one was so weak that it deflated the home team, only to be accentuated by another that came via a bizarre scramble shortly thereafter.

Brendan Gallagher's sixth goal of the season was all thanks to Rask who somehow couldn't squeeze his pads against the near side post at 9:18. Quinnipiac's Matthew Peca and Xavier Ouellet had the assists on a shot that any NHL goaltender should be able to stop in their sleep. Tie Domi's little boy Max got in on the fun with his first career goal against the Bruins at 10:39. Artturi Lehkonen was hooked on a breakaway (it would have been a penalty) but before Boston could touch the puck for the whistle, it went to Domi who initially whiffed on his shot but then had enough time to recover and roof it by Rask (20 saves) for his sixth goal of the season (extending his point-streak to 6 games). Former Lightning bust Jonathan Drouin (8 points in his last 7 games) and Lehnkoen had the helpers on what turned out to be an insurmountable lead for the Canadiens.

Just like Claude's old Bruins teams, Boston controlled play in the third (outshooting Montreal 14-4) but ended up with nothing to show for it. The gameplan wasn't sexy but the Habs certainly executed it as they had eight more hits (28-20), five more takeaways (16-11), four more blocked shots (12-8) & one more faceoff win (35-34) than the B's. Boston's fourth-ranked power play also went 0-for-3 which didn't help matters. Jamie "the other" Benn banked in the empty-netter with 28.2 seconds left in regulation to send the traveling Montreal fans home happy. That was his first point of the season and first goal since Dec. 5, 2017.

There is one game left in October for the B's as they visit another upstart club-Carolina (6-3-1) on Tuesday (7, NESN). It's an odd (and very rare) two-game road trip that ends in Nashville (8-3-0) next Saturday night (8, NESN). The good news is that will be followed by what has the potential to be an entertaining four-game homestand against Dallas (5-4-0), Vancouver (6-5-0), Toronto and Vegas (4-5-1) that lasts for a week. Boston is 4-1-0 at home and 2-2-0 on the road so expect those records to balance themselves out a little bit more.

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Home Sweet Home: B's Perfect Start at TD Garden Continues (4-0-0) with a 3-0 Shutout of Flyers

The Bruins (6-2-2) hadn't played at TD Garden in nearly two weeks and they were returning from a bumpy road trip to Western Canada (1-1-2) but you wouldn't know that by the workman-like routine beating of the Flyers (4-6-0) 3-0 this evening. With the win, Boston extended its overall point streak to eight games over Philadelphia (6-0-2) while its home point streak vs. the Flyers is even two games longer (9-0-1).

If you've been paying attention in the early going so far this season, you know that "backup" goaltender Jaroslav Halak has greatly outplayed "starter" Tuukka Rask for Boston. Halak's impressive start to his Bruins career continued as he made 26 saves in his second shutout of the season (the 44th of his NHL career). Zdeno Chara scored two goals, Jacob DeBrusk had the other tally and rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon made his NHL debut. All in all it was a fun night for the Black and Gold as they celebrated "Hockey Fights Cancer."

After a dull first period that featured no goals and both teams could only muster seven shots on goal apiece, the Captain got the party started as Chara's blast from the point found a hole through Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott (22 saves) at 13:00 of the second period. Danton Heinen had the lone assist on Chara's second goal of the season. Coming into the game, Boston's power-play unit was ranked sixth in the NHL while Philadelphia's penalty-kill unit was 30th (next to last) in the entire league. Predictably, those trends came to life as DeBrusk's goal at 17:28 of the second was of the power play variety. David Krejci provided a pretty saucer pass that DeBrusk was able to deflect in for his third goal of the season. Oddly enough, he doesn't have any assists yet this year and his other two goals both came in the same contest (10/13 vs. Detroit). Forced into duty with Kevan Miller and Charlie McAvoy out, Steven Kampfer had the secondary assist on DeBrusk's goal which also marked his first point as a Bruin since Jan. 24, 2012 (he's been gone for a long time).

Things got sketchy in the third as Philadelphia was called for six penalties and Boston had four. Kampfer kinda sorta fought Scott Laughton, twice in fact. The first time, Wayne Simmonds came over in the late going and punched Kampfer but somehow only got two minutes for roughing. Chara's second goal was technically on the power play but it always feels a little dirty to say that since it was also an empty-netter (with 22.9 seconds left in regulation). Halak completed his Tour De Force performance with the lone assist on Chara's end-to-end bomb (he shot the puck from his own end boards)-his first point as a Bruin.

Montreal (5-2-2) was expected to be one of the worst teams in the NHL in 2018-19 but as you can tell by their record, they're off a surprisingly solid start (despite tonight's 4-3 loss in Buffalo). With a 7 pm start on NESN this Saturday night at the Garden, the first installment of B's-Habs this season will mostly go up against Game 4 of the Red Sox-Dodgers World Series (8:09 1st pitch) which is a shame. Keep in mind (for your remote) that the hockey game will be going on while you suffer through the endless commercials on Fox during the baseball game. With Halloween right around the corner, it'll be nice to have to Coach Potato Head (aka Claude Julien) back in town. Say hi to Handsome Ralph if you see him in the streets.

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The Red Wings are the Latest Sacrificial Lamb to Visit TD Garden This Season as the Bruins Roll 8-2

It's understandable if you are more locked in on the Red Sox and or Patriots right now but take my word for it: you are going to want to tune in to watch the Bruins (4-1-0) this season when you get a chance. You can already tell that it's going to be a fun year as their top line remains the best group of forwards in the NHL and the rest of their lineup is still filled with intriguing young players and dependable veterans. Detroit (0-3-2) came to TD Garden this afternoon searching for its first win of 2018-19 but they found nothing but a serious beating as the B's destroyed them 8-2 (and it didn't even feel that close).

David Pastrnak scored his second career hat trick (also Boston's second in three games after Patrice Bergeron had one vs. Ottawa on Monday), Bergy had three assists and Brad Marchand added two assists while Jake DeBrusk scored his first two goals of the season. Did I mention that Charlie McAvoy, Anders Bjork and Sean Kuraly also notched their first tallies of the campaign? Yeah, it was that kind of dominant performance for the home team as everything went the Black and Gold's way. They improved to an absurd 15-1-1 in their last 17 games vs. Detroit including a current 10-game point streak (9-0-1).

It was a slow burn for the poor Red Wings (remember when they used to be good?) as Boston scored once in the first period, three in the second and they closed it out with four in the third. Detroit's backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier (31 saves) had the honor of allowing all eight of those goals since they apparently didn't want to have to use starter Jimmy Howard who played in their last tilt (a 5-3 loss vs. Toronto on Thursday). Tuukka Rask (32 saves) didn't get a shutout which is about the only real minor gripe that even the biggest Bruins hater could point out. Stats are for losers but there were a few notable ones for the B's: Pastrnak scored his 100th career NHL goal and Krejci's two assists gave him 400 in his NHL career.

Pasta opened the scoring with a snipe at 19:09 of the first period. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by Brandon Carlo and Chris Wagner. McAvoy doubled Boston's lead early in the second period (4:44) as he snapped in a quick shot after Bergeron's faceoff win went right back to him. DeBrusk's first goal wasn't a beauty but they all count the same as his backhander squeezed through Bernier's leg pads after a brief breakaway. David Krejci had the lone assist at 11:27. DeBrusk was moved to the right wing on Krejci's line today as Ryan Donato slotted back into the lineup as the left wing with those guys, meaning that Danton Heinen was a healthy scratch. Pastrnak put it out of reach for the hapless Wings with a one-timer at 16:20, from Bergeron and Marchand because of course.

Detroit had a two-man advantage from late in the second period into the third and they were able to mercifully avert the shutout with a power-play goal by rookie defenseman Filip Hronek 21 seconds into the final frame. His first NHL goal was assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Maine alum Gustav Nyquist. Boston didn't blink as they scored less than two minutes later (2:05) and it was Pastrnak completing his very predictable (but still quite enjoyable) hat trick. Another lethal one-timer was served up by Bergeron and Marchand (all 3 of them have a 4-game point streak). Other than Toronto's Auston Matthews, who in the league is hotter than those three stars?

Extended garbage time was filled with stat-stuffing as Dylan Larkin scored a shorthanded goal (the 1st that Boston has allowed this season) at 8:23. His third goal of the season was assisted by Frans Nielsen and Nick Jensen. Sadly 5-2 was as close as the Red Wings would get though as Bjork potted an unassisted goal at 10:12, followed by a redirect from DeBrusk at 15:15 (assisted by Carlo and Krejci) and finally, Kuraly beat Bernier from an impossible angle with 1.2 seconds left in regulation. Haha how embarrassing. Kevan Miller and Bjork had the assists on Kuraly's goal that gave the Bruins a snowman (8 goals).

After cleaning up at home on nothing but cupcakes (Senators, Oilers and Red Wings), the Bruins won't be back here until Oct. 25 when they host Philadelphia. In between now and then (also the name of a solid O.A.R. album), they'll visit Canada to play some more average to below average teams as part of a four-game road trip. They are in Calgary (2-2-0) on Wednesday (9:30, NESN) followed the next night (9, NESN) by a visit to Edmonton (1-2-0). Next up, they'll be in Vancouver (2-2-0) on Saturday night (10, NESN) and then they close things out in Ottawa (2-2-1) next Tuesday (7:30, NESN). Winning or at least earning points in three out of four of those matchups should be expected. A clean sweep is within reason too since which of those clubs remotely scares you at all? None, that's what I thought.

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Connor McDavid is Incredible but the Oilers Still Stink as Evidenced in a 4-1 Bruins Victory

Two of the underrated trademarks of the Bruce Cassidy era (already in its third fun-filled season!) with the Bruins (3-1-0) is that they almost always beat the teams that are below them and they usually play well at TD Garden. Those are two positive changes from the end of Claude Julien's tenure here as his team routinely dropped points to garbage teams and likewise, they gave away way too many points on home ice-why they missed the playoffs his last two years. In a weird scheduling quirk, the Oilers (0-2-0) had only played a single game-in Sweden last Saturday-before coming to Boston this evening. You would think that they would be fired up after a crappy opener (5-2 loss to the Devils) but nope, they mostly rolled over in an easy 4-1 win for the B's.

Connor McDavid is undoubtedly the best player in the NHL these days but as last season showed, even he needs some help from his much less talented teammates. Poor goaltending and a crappy defense were Edmonton's biggest issues in 2017-18 and I don't know how much old friend and GM Peter Chiarelli addressed that since it's basically the same flawed group that's returned. It didn't take long for McDavid's singular brilliance to shine through as he scored his first goal of the season on a breakaway at 3:43. Ty Rattie and Darnell Nurse were credited with assists on the play but honestly it was all McDavid since he came from one end of the ice to the other before beating Jaroslav Halak (2-0-0; 25 saves).

That was the only highlight of the entire night for the Oilers though as Boston scored three straight goals in the first period as they cruised to another two points in their third straight win in regulation. Halak has only allowed one goal in his combined two starts so you couldn't ask for much more from the backup goaltender. The Bruins power play had a nice performance as well with a pair of goals on four opportunities. The top line continued to carry the B's which figures to be a bigger issue when they ramp up the competition. If you didn't get enough Bruins-Oilers tonight, the NHL will serve up another helping of it a week from now which is actually Edmonton's home opener as well. Neat.

David Pastrnak has become one of the top young players in the league and best goal-scorers so it was perhaps poetic that he was the one to answer McDavid's goal with an insane goal of his own. He dangled around Northeastern alum Matt Benning and backhanded the puck past Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot (28 saves) at 9:20 of the first period. Matt Grzelcyk had the lone assist on Pasta's fourth goal of the season, their first power play strike. Edmonton made the mistake of putting Boston right back on the power play and the Black and Gold made them pay for it. Brad Marchand's intended pass ended up being kicked in by Drake Caggiula at 14:37. Marchand's first goal of the season was assisted by Grzelcyk and Patrice Bergeron. Cassidy had an Alex Cora moment of good luck as Joakim Nordstrom (in the lineup in place of a healthy Ryan Donato) made his coach's move look smart when he redirected a pass from David Krejci just 36 seconds later for his first goal and point as a Bruin.

Other than a couple scraps, that was about all that happened in this tilt. Kevan Miller fought Jujhar Khaira early in the second period followed by David Backes slashing Caggiula to try and get him to drop the gloves. Benning's rough night continued as Sean Kuraly of all people managed to put him through a pane of glass behind Edmonton's goal (luckily it didn't shatter onto the crowd) with a big hit. Bergeron clinched it with a late empty-netter, his team-leading fifth goal of the season. The top line all has points in the past three games and that figures to continue to Saturday afternoon (3, NESN) as another doormat comes to the Garden: Detroit (0-2-2) is still looking for their first win of this campaign and they'll face Tuukka Rask (1-1-0) before we all rush home to watch Game 1 of the ALCS between the Red Sox and Astros (the NHL was smart enough to change the start time after it was originally 7 pm). Expect many similar results to this throughout October as Boston only plays two playoff teams from last year in their 1st 12 games.

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Behind Bergeron's Hat Trick, Bruins Double Up Senators 6-3 In Their 2018-19 Home Opener

It's not up for discussion: October is unquestionably the best time of the year when it comes to pro sports in America. In Boston, we're lucky enough that all four of our clubs (Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics) are all playoff teams these days at the very least and hopefully legitimate title contenders when it gets right down to it. With a weird Columbus Day afternoon start time, the B's (2-1-0) opened their home slate with an entertaining 6-3 victory over the rebuilding Senators (1-1-1) at TD Garden. Patrice Bergeron had a rough off-season complete with a lovely groin surgery which prohibited him from playing in any preseason games but that all seemed to matter little as he bagged his fourth career hat trick and also added an assist.

Boston's top forward line-the best in the NHL last season-is still together and that should continue to send fear throughout the league. David Pastrnak tied his career-high with four points (2 goals, 2 assists) while Brad Marchand followed up his four assist game in Buffalo on Thursday (a 4-0 Bruins win) with three assists. Combined, those three guys were +10 with five goals and six assists. Haha is that good? One of the main issues though for the Black and Gold in the playoffs last spring vs. Tampa Bay is that they became too reliant on that one line. For that reason, there was murmurs that perhaps head coach Bruce Cassidy would break up the band to start this campaign but for now, they aren't going anywhere else.

After last Wednesday's disastrous season-opener in Washington (a 7-0 beating), the B's righted the ship with a solid 60-minute effort against the supposedly up and coming Sabres and this was another step forward in the right direction. Other than the goofy preseason trip to China, Boston shouldn't have any complaints with its early season schedule as 10 of their 12 games in October are against non-playoff teams from last season. In other words, just clean up on the dregs of the NHL and they should be in a very good position to start the winter.

In terms of start to a home opener, the fans couldn't have asked for much more as Bergeron scored 30 seconds into regulation and then followed that up with a power-play goal at 17:12 of the first period for a quick 2-0 lead. Goal #1 was the result of a rare net drive by Pastrnak that allowed Bergy to follow up for an easy rebound, his second goal of the season was also assisted by McAvoy (who tied his career-high for assists and points (3)). The second goal was more suited for a highlight reel as Marchand flipped a nifty backhand pass to Bergeron for a one-timer into the corner of Ottawa's goal past Belmont Hill alum Mike Condon (24 saves). Pasta had the second assist on Boston's second power play goal of the young season.

After such a great first frame, the Senators predictably responded with a much better effort in the second. Ryan Dzingel potted a rebound of his own at 2:21 to cut it to 2-1 B's. His first goal of the season was assisted by Mark Stone and Zack Smith. Condon had a rough homecoming as he allowed a really weak goal to fellow Masshole Chris Wagner (a Walpole, MA native) that made it 3-1 Bruins at 7:08. McAvoy's shot from the point was meekly tipped by Wagner and somehow Condon's glove completely whiffed on the slow-motion shot. Sean Kuraly had the second assist on Wagner's first goal and first point as a Bruin. Tuukka Rask (28 saves) got pulled against the Capitals and Jaroslav Halak earned the shutout in Buffalo, so this was his first game action in five days. Ottawa's second goal was regrettable for the home team as Zdeno Chara served as a screen on Rask, leaving him with no chance to see Dzingel's shot at 12:13 that trimmed Boston's lead to 3-2 (assisted by Dylan DeMelo and Thomas Chabot).

The Bruins might have had a little trouble putting the pesky Senators away but at least they never let them tie it, let alone take a lead at any juncture. Bergeron completed his hat trick at 4:38 of the third period with a bit of luck fit for a king like him. His intended pass went off an Ottawa defenseman's skate and by Condon who was naturally going the other way. Marchand and McAvoy assisted on the goal which came with the requisite hat tossing from the appreciative crowd filled with plenty kids since it wasn't a school day. The last few minutes of regulation were a bit of a gong show as Pastrnak got on the board with a re-direct of Bergeron's backhand sauce at 16:31. Chara had the second assist on Pastrnak's second goal of the season. The ghost of Bobby Ryan stopped by for a goal at 17:03, his first of the season was assisted by DeMelo and Chris Tierney. Finally, Pasta put an exclamation point on a fun day with an empty-netter at 18:22. Marchand provided the lone assist on Pastrnak's fourth point of the game.

It should continue to be an enjoyable week for the Bruins as they get to spend plenty of time at home with their family and friends before they host Edmonton (0-1-0) on Thursday (7, NESN) and then Detroit (0-1-1) on Saturday night (7, NESN). Keep in mind that the Oilers will be traveling back from Sweden, for some reason they played one game over the weekend there (a 5-2 loss to New Jersey) and the Red Wings will be returning from a West Coast trip to California. No matter if it's Rask or Halak between the pipes, these are all teams that the Bruins should beat, especially when they are at the Garden.

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The B's Rallied From Two Goals Down, Only To Lose Gm 4 in OT After Blowing a Third Period Lead

To beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2018 playoff game, it requires a (cliche alert!) full 60-minute effort or in this case even longer than that. Boston did everything they could to tie up their series at two tonight at TD Garden but they still fell short as Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Girardi re-directed a pass from Harvard's Alex Killorn at 3:18 for a bitter 4-3 overtime victory. The Lightning took a commanding 3-1 series lead with the chance to end things on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC) at Amalie Arena. The B's were plagued by another atrocious start on their home ice-spotting Tampa a 2-0 lead less than halfway through the first period-but unlike Game 3, they were able to recover from that.

For the first time since Game 1, Boston actually led for a little while (6:20). Unfortunately, Tampa Bay wasn't a fan of that as Steven Stamkos tied it at three with a wicked one-timer at 12:56 of the third period. His third goal of the playoffs (2nd of the series/1st non-ENG) was assisted by J.T. Miller. The Bruins actually had a few nice shifts to start their first overtime session of the playoffs but they weren't able to cash any of them in. Like the rest of the Lightning goals in Game 4, Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask (24 saves) couldn't do much to stop Girardi's goal. Killorn took the puck down the right side then threw a backhander in front of Boston's net where it deflected off Brian Gionta (no clue why he had a shift that early in OT) and then Girardi got his stick on it. Yanni Gourde had the second assist on Girardi's game-winning goal, extending his point streak to four games.

I wish I could pinpoint a reason why the B's got off to such miserable starts in Games 3 and 4, my best rationale is that they were too tight. Whatever the case may be, the Lightning are ready to go every time so you have to match that or else your season will be over on Sunday night. Rick Nash's turnover led to Brayden Point skating in and splitting both Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy (how does that happen?) before beating Rask for his third goal of the postseason. Riley Nash was a healthy scratch along with Tommy Wingels and Danton Heinen, meaning that Ryan Donato, Gionta and Tim Schaller were in the lineup for Game 4. Rick's rough first period continued when he was called for a tripping penalty and then Chara put the puck over the glass in his own end for delay of game. Tampa Bay had a two-man advantage for 19 seconds which the Bruins were able to weather but they could do nothing to stop Nikita Kucherov's one-timer from Victor Hedman (4-game point streak) and Stamkos at 9:53.

It became a special teams game and Boston's top-ranked power play (in the playoffs) did its job by going 2-for-4. Their comeback fittingly began with a power play goal from David Pastrnak (5-game point streak) at 15:28 of the first period. It was an amazing bit of hand-eye coordination by Pasta since he was able to hit a floating puck out of mid-air before it dropped back to the ice. His sixth goal of the playoffs was assisted by Torey Krug and Brad Marchand (17th multiple-point playoff game). Trailing 2-1 after the first period, the B's were quickly able to tie it at two early in the second thanks to a power play goal by Patrice Bergeron (5-game point streak). His fifth goal of the postseason was assisted by Krug (7th career multiple-point playoff game).

The Bruins grabbed that 3-2 lead in the third period thanks to a brilliant play by their two best players: Marchand went up ice while they were shorthanded and threaded a pass to Bergeron (20th multiple-point playoff game) between two Lightning defenders that the center was able to deflect in for a beautiful goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy (29 saves) had to be stunned since he hadn't seen his team trail in either Game 2 or 3. I hate to harp on the officials-who have been consistently awful all series-but that particular goal felt like some sort of justice for the Black and Gold since they were only shorthanded because of a bogus hooking call on Noel Acciari (big, strong Hedman flopped like an Italian soccer player). After that, basically everything went wrong for the B's as Krug appeared to suffer a serious ankle (or foot) injury after crashing into the boards and a no-call on Kucherov holding McAvoy which led to the Stamkos tying tally set the stage for the first ever playoff overtime game between these clubs.

So here we are, Krug left the Garden on crutches and in a walking boot therefore I doubt that he'll be available on Sunday. Get ready for Nick Holden trying to keep Boston's season alive! For real though, after such an unexpectedly fun and successful campaign for the Bruins, it would be a shame to see it end in five games in Tampa Bay. If I know the B's, I bet that they find a way to get it done in Game 5 only to return to TD Garden and lose in Game 6. Who knows? As you would expect, the numbers heading into Sunday are nothing but grim if you are a fan of Boston: they are 0-22 all-time in best-of-seven series when they trail 3-1 and 7-15 in Game 5s in which they trail in a series 3-1. Conversely, Tampa Bay's small sample size is pretty solid: they are 4-0 in best-of-seven series when they lead 3-1 and 3-1 in Game 5s when leading a series 3-1. Boston is 1-5 when they allow the first goal this postseason while Tampa Bay is 6-1 when they score first so clearly whichever team strikes first on Sunday will likely be a key factor.

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Tampa Bay Jumps Out to Early 2-0 Lead & Never Look Back En Route to an Easy 4-1 Win In Game 3

To state the obvious: the Lightning are not the Maple Leafs. Nope, not one bit. After Boston managed to come away with a 6-2 victory in Game 1 on Saturday at Tampa Bay, the Lightning bounced back with a 4-2 win at Amalie Arena on Monday. As the series shifted to TD Garden, Tampa continued to be the aggressor as they scored twice in the first 3:19 of Game 3 to skate away with a 4-1 win and 2-1 series lead. Like an older brother to a younger brother, the Lightning completely smothered the Bruins in almost every facet of the contest that mattered: earning four more power plays (5-1) and recording eight more shots on goal (37-29).

This sets up what is basically a must-win for the B's on Friday (7, NBCSN) since it's hard to fathom that they could beat the Lightning three games in a row after what we've seen out of Tampa Bay in the past two tilts. Of course, it's hard to beat anybody in the playoffs when you combine for three goals in two games. The Tuukka Rask (33 saves) haters should take a night off since this wasn't his fault at all, in fact it could have been much worse since he made a bunch of saves when the outcome was still to be decided. Tampa's goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn't looked exactly picturesque in this series, but it's tough to argue with his results lately.

It was the first day of 2018 that felt like summer with temperatures around New England well into the 80s so you could excuse some of the Bruins' fans for showing up a few minutes late. The Lightning didn't take pity on us poor untanned Northerners as they scored not one but two goals before Boston could blink. Boston rookie defenseman Matt Grzelcyk made a mistake on a puck flipped into his defensive zone and Tyler Johnson was able to feed Ondrej Palat for an easy goal at 1:47. Palat's third of the postseason was also assisted by Anton Stralman. Giving up the first goal is one thing but another right on top of it is unforgivable, especially on home ice. Palat bagged another at 3:19 by deftly tipping in a shot from Victor Hedman. The ghost of Dan Girardi had his first assist of the playoffs on Palat's third goal in the last two games (2 periods to be exact).

The only time that Boston was really in it was for a brief few minutes late in the first period: they converted their only power play opportunity in only 29 seconds as Patrice Bergeron banged in a sweet one-handed pass from David Pastrnak. Brad Marchand had the second assist on Bergeron's fourth goal of the postseason which cut Tampa Bay's lead to 2-1. The Bruins defense let Rask and the rest of the club down on the third goal as rookie Anthony Cirelli was able to take not one (whiffed), not two (saved by Rask) but three shots that understandably were too much to survive in such a fast sequence. Cirelli's first career playoff goal was assisted by fellow rookie Yanni Gourde and Ryan McDonagh.

You waited for the Black and Gold to make a push in the second but they didn't. David Backes fought Cedric Paquette after Tampa Bay's resident wannabe tough guy jumped Backes who had had boarded Girardi. Paquette ended up with a 10-minute misconduct but that hardly mattered since he is an irrelevant buffoon. The scary part for the Bruins is that the Lightning two best players (and 2 of the top forwards in the NHL)-Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos-have been really quiet. Stamkos got an empty-netter with 41.2 seconds left in regulation, only his second goal of the postseason and amazingly, the first point of the series for Tampa's beastly top line.

To win Game 4 and get back in this series, Boston has to shoot way better than they did in Game 3. Tonight they had a whopping 19 shots blocked and if that wasn't bad enough, they missed the net with another 17 shots. This evening, Tommy Wingels was inserted on the fourth line for Tim Schaller but he didn't do anything notable (-1 in 11:24 with 1 shot on goal, 5 hits and 1 blocked shot). Since the Bruins have scored only three goals in the past two games (with just 1 from a forward), I would give rookie Ryan Donato another chance because putting the puck in the net is his specialty. Adam McQuaid wasn't hurt but only skated 9:46 in Game 3 so perhaps he could be scratched for Nick Holden, not that he would likely change the dynamics of this matchup.

As you can imagine, the numbers don't look great for the B's heading into Game 4: they are 8-23 all-time in best-of-seven series when they trail a series 2-1 and they are 16-15 in Game 4s when trailing a series 2-1. The Lightning are 5-3 all-time in best-of-seven series when they lead a series 2-1 but they are 3-5 in Game 4s when leading a series 2-1. The simple remedy for the Bruins appears to be a fast start in Game 4: put some actual pressure on the Lightning and make them play from behind while the Garden goes bananas. Boston's fans wanted something to cheer about tonight (with Pedro Martinez and Bobby Orr in the house) but the B's hardly gave them anything to truly appreciate and savor.

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