Bruins Head Into Their Extended Break (8 days!) After A Satisfying 3-2 Victory vs. Golden Knights

Thanks to the NHL's scheduling Gods, the Bruins (29-10-12) get an extra long vacation. Not only are they off for the All-Star break (the festivities and game is this weekend in St. Louis if you care) but they had the good fortune to also have their mandatory five-day rest period tacked onto the end of that. Long story short, they won't be back on the ice as a team until next Thursday for practice before traveling to Winnipeg (25-21-4) for next Friday's (8, NESN) meeting with the Jets. That looming layoff heightened the importance of their matchup with the Golden Knights (25-20-7) this evening at TD Garden. Boston's 3-2 win meant that the players and coaches could go into their time off with a clear mind since after all, they have the second most points in the league trailing only Washington (33-11-5).

It wasn't easy for the B's (who were coming off a brutal 4-3 loss in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon where they blew a 3-0 lead) as Vegas scored on their first shot on goal and also were up 2-1 in the second period before the Black and Gold closed with a pair of tallies in the third period. No need for overtime or a shootout since they all have planes to catch to warmer locations, well at least the guys that aren't tied down with wives and young children in school. This is only the third year of existence for the Golden Knights and so far they have had spectacular success for an expansion team but not at the expense of the Bruins. Nope, Boston improved to 5-2 all-time against them including 3-0 at the Garden while also sweeping the brief two-game season series after they won 4-3 way back on October 8 in Sin City.

Vegas is a bit of a mess at the moment since they unexpectedly fired their head coach Gerard Gallant last Wednesday and appointed former Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer (canned earlier this season by San Jose) in his place. They are clinging to the second Wild Card in the Western Conference but then again, they have just as many points (57) as the Coyotes (26-20-5) who are the top Wild Card club. Oh and in the Pacific Division, they have the same amount of points as Edmonton (26-18-5) and Calgary (26-19-5) with only one less than first-place Vancouver (27-18-4). Insanity. Stone-the former Senators star that they traded for last season-beat Jaroslav Halak (27 saves, 12-6-6) with a weak backhander that seemed to handcuff him just 1:24 into the contest. Nate Schmidt provided the lone assist on Stone's 18th goal of the season which gave him 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in his last 20 games.

Called up earlier in the day and appearing in only his second NHL game of the season, Jeremy Lauzon naturally scored the tying goal at 11:40 as his shot from the point found its way past Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (34 saves, 19-12-4). Hat tip to Danton Heinen for the fine screen as well with David Krejci (back after missing 2 games with an upper-body injury) and rookie Karson Kuhlman notching the assists on Lauzon's second career goal (oddly enough the other was also against Vegas, last season). It was tied at one after one period but it felt like Boston should have been ahead because they outshot Vegas 14-8.

The Bruins' third-ranked power play in the NHL could never get going (0-for-5) in this one and the Golden Knights took advantage of one of their only two power plays in the entire game when rookie defenseman Nicolas Hague blasted in a one-timer at 10:59 of the second period. It was his first career NHL goal, assisted by Schmidt and former Panther Jonathan Marchessault. It started to feel like it wasn't meant to be for Boston since David Pastrnak missed a wide open net with a backhander earlier in the frame (something which never happens, especially this season for the NHL's top goal-scorer) and then Charlie McAvoy took a header into the boards thanks to a push from Chandler Stephenson. That was the final power play of the game for the Bruins and when they trailed 2-1 after two periods, you could feel the nerves and frustration building throughout the crowd.

Instead, the home team responded with two unanswered goals in the third period that involved both skill and determination. The tying goal was an absolute snipe by Jake DeBrusk over Fleury's glove hand at 4:26. His 15th goal of the season (4 goals, 5 assists in his last 8 games) was assisted by Charlie Coyle and Halak. It also served as some personal redemption for DeBrusk after Fleury stopped his breakaway attempt late in the first period. Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk left with an arm/wrist injury after getting tangled up with Cody Eakin and he never returned to action. His status will be something to keep an eye on during the break. Krejci bagged the game-winning goal by first deflecting a shot from Brandon Carlo and then following up for the rebound while Flower was out of position. Krejci's 12th goal of the season was also assisted by Heinen. The Golden Knights called a timeout late and pulled Fleury for an extra skater but the Bruins held on for a valuable two points.

Pastrnak and head coach Bruce Cassidy-by virtue of Boston leading the Atlantic Division-will head to St. Louis while other deserving Bruins like Patrice Bergeron (lost in the fan vote) and Brad Marchand (hated by seemingly everyone around the league) more importantly get to rest up for what should be an intense last few months of the regular season. Of Boston's remaining 31 games, only 13 of them will be at the Garden as they have plenty of road trips left to go on. The pieces are still there for another run to the Stanley Cup run, I truly believe that the Capitals are the only team in the Eastern Conference that they could not beat in a series and if they should somehow find themselves back in the Final, we'll reassess the situation at that juncture. The NHL trade deadline is a little over a month away (Feb. 24) and as always, Bruins GM Don Sweeney should be a busy man working the phone lines. BC alum and Topsfield native Chris Kreider-Rangers right winger and All-Star replacement for teammate Artemi Panarin-is rumored to be on the top of Sweeney's wish list but we shall see since that price figures to be going up. Boston is at Minnesota (22-21-6) on February 1 (8, NESN) against the Wild and their next home game is exactly two weeks away on February 4 vs. Vancouver.

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After Two Losses on the Road, Boston Returns Home to Beat Pittsburgh 4-1 In a Playoff-Type Tilt

Up until tonight, it had been a rough week for the Bruins (28-9-12). First, they blew a 5-2 lead in Philadelphia (25-17-6) on Monday then fell to an unexplainable 0-7 in shootouts as Brad Marchand touched the puck but never got control of it on the fruitless last shot attempt. The next night in Columbus (24-16-8) they might not as well have shown up as they got blanked 3-0 by the Blue Jackets and even worse, Tuukka Rask (17-4-6) suffered a concussion from an errant elbow by a nobody that the B's never really responded to. This evening's satisfying 4-1 victory against the Penguins (29-13-5) at TD Garden doesn't erase those losses (or the fact that they placed Rask on IR this afternoon) but at least they gave the Black and Gold not to mention their fans something to feel good about. After all, the Pens entered with a four-game win streak and 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, making them one of the NHL's hottest teams.

What makes this result interesting is that this is essentially a taste of the playoffs for the B's since their next game is Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC) in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are in Detroit (12-32-3) tomorrow night before the return bout with the Bruins but that hardly counts since the Red Wings are easily the worst team in the entire NHL. In their only other meeting this season which was over two months ago, the Bruins also came out on top with a wild 6-4 victory on Nov. 4 at the Garden. The extra physical play was probably just setting the stage for Sunday yet you couldn't help but think what fun it would be to see these teams meet again this spring in the postseason. The 2013 Eastern Conference Finals is the last time they meet in the playoffs so it's been far too long!

Things didn't exactly start out positively for Boston as Sidney Crosby (in his 2nd game back after missing 28 games following muscle core surgery) fired in a laser only 24 seconds into the contest. He returned with four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in Tuesday's 7-3 beating of the Wild (21-20-6) so in that sense, he picked right up where he left out with his seventh goal of the season. Dominik Simon and Jack Johnson (300th NHL point for the veteran defenseman, not the singer from your college days) had the assists on the first shot of the game for either club. Naturally, Boston turned to its third and fourth liners to put them ahead with a pair of goals later in the frame.

Karson Kuhlman is about the furthest thing that you'd find from Crosby-a generational talent-but the Bruins' scrappy rookie returned from missing 32 games of his own with a broken leg. In less than ten minutes of ice time (9:56), he managed to notch two assists (his 2nd multi-point game in the NHL and 1st time he had a pair of helpers) to help spark the offense. Sean Kuraly threw the puck at the net and Kuhlman's net drive did enough to distract Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (26 saves, 16-7-1) with the puck deflecting off a Pittsburgh defenseman. Charlie McAvoy had the secondary assist on Kuraly's fourth goal of the season at 10:03. A little over two minutes later, Par Lindholm tipped in Kuhlman's shot for his third goal of the season.

Things were simmering in the first with five combined penalties and they started to boil over in the second period namely for Torey Krug and Patric Hornqvist. Besides the fact that he stinks, the main reason that Brett Ritchie was placed on waivers yesterday by the B's (for assignment to Providence) is because he didn't step up in a physical way after the Rask injury. Krug is not exactly what you picture when you think of an enforcer but he more than held his own in his fight with Hornqvist late in the second. They were called for matching roughing penalties but that didn't stop them from settling things six seconds after they got out of the box from serving those infractions. With David Krejci out with an upper-body injury, Boston survived another injury scare as Joakim Nordstrom blocked a shot and glided on one leg to the bench in what seemed like serious pain (Patrice Bergeron helped him get to the bench). From there, he briefly sat down then got helped to the dressing room but miraculously he returned and barely missed any time, playing 12:06.

It shouldn't have taken this long to mention him but Jaroslav Halak (29 saves, 11-5-6) played his best game in awhile which was good timing since he'll probably get the other two starts before the All-Star break with Dan Vladar (recalled from Providence today with no NHL regular season experience) serving as his backup. Halak made many fine stops but none were better than the three (Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy thought there were four) saves late in the second when Pittsburgh somehow broke in on a 2-on-0 while they were shorthanded. Halak stoned Bryan Rust once then Northeastern's Zach Aston-Reese at least twice leading the Garden crowd to go crazy (in a good way of course).

Pittsburgh mostly dominated the third period but they had nothing to show for it thanks to Halak. Boston put it out of reach with Bergeron's sweet top-shelf shot at 3:19 from David Pastrnak. It was Bergeron's 20th goal of the season, the seventh year in a row that he's reached that mark and 11th time in his brilliant (and one day Hall of Fame career). Pasta's pass was beautiful too as he spun around by the boards and put the puck right on Bergy's stick without even seeing him there. The NHL's leading goal-scorer was in a giving mood as Pastrnak passed up an empty-netter in the final minute and instead gave it to Marchand who could use that positive reinforcement (especially after he had another puck issue-a shorthanded breakaway ending with him fumbling it away).

Scoreboard watching after the game, the Bruins got some help from the Wild who surprisingly beat the Lightning (28-15-4) 3-2 in regulation. That leaves Boston eight points ahead of Tampa Bay although the Lightning still have two games in hand. Toronto (25-16-7) is a little bit less of an immediate threat since they trail the Bruins by 11 points with only one game in hand on them. No doubt, the B's would love to sweep the season series with the Pens but it won't be easy to complete at PPG Paints Arena where Pittsburgh is 17-5-3 this season. For whatever reason, I feel like Boston's games there in recent years have usually been bonkers.

The Bruins return to the Garden on Tuesday (7, NESN) to host the Golden Knights (25-19-6) who fired their head coach Gerard Gallant yesterday in a move that few saw coming because the team still holds the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. From there, Pastrnak and Cassidy head to the All-Star Game (Rask is skipping it even if he's healthy by then) in St. Louis while everyone else-unless Bergeron or Marchand is an injury replacement for a guy from the Atlantic Division team-gets a legitimate break since the next game isn't until January 31 (8, NESN) at Winnipeg (25-18-4). If the B's can get points in those final two matchups, they'll put themselves in a great spot heading into the stretch drive-the last 31 games of the regular season.

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B's Return Home With Their Moms & Beat the Jets 5-4 Thanks to Pasta's 3rd Hat Trick of the Season

NHL teams figured out years ago that one of the keys to break up the grind of the regular season was to plan fun things like a moms trip and a dads trip at different times in the calendar. It's a simple but also brilliant concept for the players to bond with their family members who they probably don't get to see that much anymore yet all had a key role in them becoming professional athletes. Boston (26-8-11) had their mothers (and Charlie Coyle's sister) with them in Nashville (20-16-7) for Tuesday's rousing 6-2 victory and they were back with their boys at TD Garden tonight for a thrilling 5-4 win vs. Winnipeg (24-17-4). David Pastrnak notched his seventh career hat trick and third in 45 games this season, boosting his NHL-leading goal total to 35 which is insane.

In many ways, this was a schedule loss for the Jets since they had beaten the Maple Leafs (24-15-6) 4-3 in a shootout last night in Toronto then dragged their weary bones here for their third game in four nights. They also were starting backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit (4-5-0, 31 saves) who is a borderline NHLer at best. They don't have a ton of depth-hence why they are clinging to the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with Calgary (23-17-5) and Vancouver (23-17-4) breathing down their necks-but Winnipeg does possess some high-end talent. Their top forward line of Kyle Connor (goal, assist), Mark Scheifele (goal, assist) and Patrik Laine (assist) is one of the best in the league.

Zdeno Chara was a last minute scratch from the lineup as he nurses an infection with his surgically-repaired robojaw. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy noted that the captain is in serious pain (but still had to be talked into sitting out by Cassidy & GM Don Sweeney) and he has a follow-up appointment with a doctor tomorrow but they hope to have him on the upcoming road trip. The Jets scored first as Connor roofed a backhander past Jaroslav Halak (17 saves, 10-4-5) at 7:35 of the first period. Nikolaj Ehlers and Scheifele had the assists on Connor's team-leading 22nd goal of the season. Chris Wagner (game-high 7 shots on goal) had a breakaway but he was stopped by Brossoit before crashing painfully into the post. He was pulled by the concussion spotter but returned to Boston's bench to start the second period. Pastrnak tied it at 17:14 with a one-timer from Joakim Nordstrom. Sean Kuraly had the other assist as Pasta got some minutes with the fourth liners when Wagner was out. David has a 12-game point streak (9 goals, 10 assists) with 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in his last 22 games.

Tied at one going into the second period, things really opened up with both clubs scoring a pair of goals. Andrew Copp tipped in a shot by Josh Morrissey for his 7th goal of the season (100th NHL point) at 6:00. Ehlers had the secondary assist, giving him eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in his last six games. You run out of ways to describe all the absurd goals scored by Pastrnak and his second one was a doozy as he destroyed a one-timer from Torey Krug and Brad Marchand for a power-play goal to tie it at two at 9:41. Jake DeBrusk got a step on everyone and delivered by picking the top corner with a forehand shot on a breakaway for his 12th goal of the season and a 3-2 Bruins advantage at 18:49. Boston's first lead was short-lived though as good old Neal Pionk (who?) scored a power play goal of his own at 19:52. His fourth goal of the season was assisted by ex-Bruin Blake Wheeler (17 points in 21 career games vs. Boston) and Laine (100th career NHL assist). It was 3-3 after two periods but it felt like Boston should be ahead since they had outshot the Jets 24-14.

You would expect tired legs to finally catch up with Winnipeg in the third period but at least initially, they did not as Scheifele banked a shot from behind the goal-line off Halak and in at 7:50 for a 4-3 lead. Scheifele's 22nd goal of the season was assisted by Connor and Dmitry Kulikov. Pasta tied it (because of course he did) after a nifty backhand feed from David Krejci. DeBrusk had the second helper on the memorable goal at 11:13 that sent all the Bruins hats raining down on the Garden ice. After the extended break to clear the hats, the fans didn't have to sit down for long as DeBrusk re-directed a shot by Charlie McAvoy 33 seconds later. Matt Grzelcyk had the other assist on the game-winning tally that gave DeBrusk nine points (6 goals, 3 assists) in his last 10 games.

It sounds silly with a seven-point lead over Tampa Bay (26-13-4) in the Atlantic Division but this was a very important two points for the B's since the Lightning blanked the Coyotes (25-17-4) 4-0 this evening and they are the hottest team in the NHL with nine straight wins (and 2 games in hand). Toronto (24-15-6) is also playing great since they fired head coach Mike Babcock: they are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and nine points behind Boston. With the regular season more than halfway through, the Black and Gold should get used to life on the road as they only have 15 contests left at the Garden.

They head out tomorrow for a three-game trip against Metropolitan Division opponents starting with a visit to the Barclays Center on Saturday night (7, NESN) to face the Islanders (27-12-3). They are off on Sunday (when they should have been watching the Pats visit the Chiefs, sigh) but get a tricky back-to-back on Monday (7, NESN) at Philadelphia (23-15-6) followed by Columbus (21-15-8) the next night (7, NESN) to wrap things up. Boston's next home game is a week from tonight (7, NESN) against Pittsburgh (26-12-5) who has played well lately (7-2-1 in their last 10 games) even with superstar Sidney Crosby out for an extended period of time with a core muscle injury.

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There Is No Other Way to Put It: Your Boston Bruins Are Mired in a Bit of a Funk Right Now

No matter how good your team is in the NHL, at some point in the slog of an 82-game regular season, you are going to run into some speed bumps along the way. The Bruins (24-8-11) are clearly not themselves at the moment as they dropped a rather lifeless 4-1 decision to the Oilers (22-17-5) this afternoon at TD Garden that didn't even feel that close. Make no mistake, Boston had 36 shots on goal not to mention 63 shot attempts overall and yet they could only beat journeyman goaltender Mike Smith (35 saves, 8-9-2 this season and he improved to 5-13 all-time vs. the Bruins in his forgettable career) just one single time. Somehow, it was only their second loss in regulation at home this season and you have to say that it had to be one of their sloppiest efforts-namely countless missed passes and shots right at Smith-of 2019-20.

With a 1 p.m. EST start time, you figured that would have to favor the Bruins who accordingly struck first at 3:10 of the first period. David Pastrnak's shot was perfectly redirected by Edmonton defenseman Kris Russell for Pasta's NHL-leading 31st goal of the season. Torey Krug (1 goal, 7 assists in his last 7 games) and Brad Marchand (2 goals, 7 assists in his last 6 games) had the helpers as David extended his point streak to 10 games (5 goals, 10 assists). He is the only player in the league so far in this campaign to have multiple double-digit point streaks. It was also the 10th straight game with a power play goal for Boston (12 for 39 in that span), their longest stretch since March 7-27, 1996.

Jaroslav Halak (22 saves, 9-4-5) got the start for the Bruins and at least initially he seemed sharp as he made a diving save on a one-timer from Oilers superstar Connor McDavid (fed by his fellow stud Leon Draisaitl) late in the first period. Boston was up 1-0 after the first but they trailed 2-1 after the second as they gave up a pair of absolutely atrocious goals. First, Jake DeBrusk completely whiffed on a clearing pass deep in his own end leading to a breakaway and goal by something called Gaetan Haas (his 4th of the season) at 7:41. If that wasn't gross enough, Halak topped it by allowing a nothing shot on goal by Darnell Nurse squeeze past him (hugging the post, quite ineffectively as it turned out) with only 6.3 seconds left in the frame.

This was a strength on strength battle in terms of special teams as Boston came in with the No. 3 ranked power play and No. 2 penalty kill in the league while Edmonton's power play is the best and their penalty kill is No. 4. That's part of what made this such a bitter loss since Boston's penalty kill unit extended their successful streak to 23 for 23 dating back eight games (Dec. 17 vs. LA). Smith continued to make big saves and McDavid put it away for all intents and purposes early in the third. Goon Zack Kassian-who gets the honor of being on McDavid's line-spun around and hit him wide open from the slot where the best player in the world rarely fails to convert. McDavid's 23rd goal of the season came at 1:48 and it was also assisted by Ethan Bear.

The Bruins dominated in the third, outshooting the Oilers 21-7 but as Claude Julien's underachieving teams always taught us: shots on goal can be a very misleading statistic. Par Lindholm was wide open in the slot but he failed to shoot the puck past Smith, mostly because he stinks (witness his 0-for-6 goose egg on face-offs). Edmonton missed an early empty-netter but Draisaitl put a bow on it with an empty-net goal with nine seconds left in regulation. Every garbage time point means something when you're in the heart of a scoring race. His 24th goal of the season was unassisted and it was soon followed by rare (but totally deserved) boos by the Garden faithful that stuck around to the end. If there hadn't been so many kids here it probably would have been even louder in terms of the booing but I'm sure that the B's got the message.

Matt Grzelcyk was a late scratch for the Bruins with an illness but other than that, it was basically a full lineup (Connor Clifton remains out with an injury) for the home team. Since New Year's Eve, they are 0-1-2 against three blah teams (Devils, Blue Jackets and Oilers) and they have scored four total goals in that time frame. Boston won't practice tomorrow so they'll be back at Warrior Ice Arena on Monday morning before traveling to Nashville that day. They play the Predators (18-15-6) on Tuesday (8, NESN) with a chance to avenge Nashville's 4-3 overtime win here on Dec. 21.

The Predators are a bit of a mess themselves (4-5-1 in their last 10 games) after blowing a 2-0 lead vs. Dallas (24-14-4) in the Winter Classic and their outstanding defenseman Ryan Ellis is on IR with a concussion suffered on a dirty hit by Corey Perry (suspended 5 games for it) in that loss. Regardless, Bridgestone Arena is a tough place to play (Preds are 10-7-4 there this season) and Nashville is desperate for a spark to turn things around before they slip too far down in the Western Conference standings. Boston returns home on Thursday (7, NESN) to face old friend Blake Wheeler, UMass-Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck-one of the top goalies in the NHL-and Winnipeg (22-16-4)-another fringe playoff team on the outside looking in at this very second after losing 3-2 in overtime this afternoon in Minnesota (20-17-5).

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The B's Began 2020 In Similar Fashion to How They Ended 2019: With a Loss to an Inferior Team

New Year's Resolutions are usually reserved for people, not sports teams but I guarantee that the Bruins (24-7-11) came into 2020 looking for a fresh start when it came to their mind-numbing struggles in both overtime (2-5) and shootouts (0-6). After blowing a two-goal lead on New Year's Eve in Newark, NJ then losing 3-2 in a laborious six-round shootout to the awful Devils (15-19-6), they started off the New Year with a 2-1 overtime loss this evening at TD Garden to the Blue Jackets (19-14-8). For the fourth game in a row, Boston was held to three goals or less (2-0-2) and not surprisingly, this lack of offense has led to some spotty results.

On the one hand, Columbus came into this contest with a season-best 11-game point streak (7-0-4) but on the other, they were missing their All-Star goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (17-10-4) and were forced into playing their terrible backup goalie Elvis (insert your very dated joke here) Merzlikins (31 saves) who had one career NHL win to his ironic name. I feel like I say this all the time but it was tough to pin this loss squarely on Tuukka Rask's (25 saves, 15-5-5) shoulders since the two Blue Jacket goals came via a deflection off a Bruins defensemen then an unstoppable one-timer from point blank range on a 2-on-1.

Another reason that Boston should not have lost this first meeting with the Blue Jackets since the second round of the playoffs last spring is that the Bruins' varsity roster was back with Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy and David Krejci all returning from brief injury-related absences. This meant no Brett Ritchie (healthy scratch where he belongs), Steven Kampfer (scratched) or Jeremy Lauzon (sent back to Providence) who had all faced New Jersey in one of the most lifeless losses of this campaign for the Black and Gold. Initially, it seemed like the luck had changed for the Bruins in 2020 at least in terms of coach's challenges (that feel like they never win). The Blue Jackets scored 17 seconds into this tilt on the first shot of the game for either club but Gustav Nyquist's goal was overturned after it was ruled that Boone Jenner had bumped into Rask.

Other than a big hit by Joakim Nordstrom of all people, that was about all that happened in the scoreless first period. The B's took a 1-0 lead a little over midway through the second period (at 11:07 to be exact) as David Pastrnak bombed a one-timer on the power play through former teammate Riley Nash's legs and past your favorite Latvian goalie (besides Columbus' backup Matiss Kivlenieks who was called up for the first time with Korpisalo out for an extended period of time). Pasta's NHL-best 30th goal of the season (the 4th season in a row that he's done that) was assisted by Krug and Patrice Bergeron. David has a nine-game point-streak (4 goals, 10 assists) and he is the fastest Bruin to reach 30 goals (in 42 games) since Cam Neely had 30 in 27 games back in 1993-94.

Columbus might not have much anymore (Artemi Panarin left in free agency for the Rangers last summer while Sergei Bobrovsky now plays for the Panthers) but they do possess the top defensive pairing in the league with Jones and Zach Werenski (game-high 27:00 of ice time). Coming off his first career hat trick on Tuesday vs. Florida, Werenski hit the post in the second period. The Blue Jackets tied it at 2:06 of the third period as BC dropout (look it up) Sonny Milano threw the puck in front and had it bounce off Matt Grzelcyk's leg then into the net. Milano's fourth goal of the season was assisted by BC little person Nathan Gerbe and Vladislav Gavrikov which might be the most Russian name that I've ever heard.

Boston has scored a power play goal in nine straight games and they have killed off 22 straight penalties dating back to Dec. 17 vs. LA (8 games) but those are the positive notes. The most troubling fact is that they continue to fail to put teams away in the third which usually is one of their trademark strengths. Merzlikins made two good saves on Anders Bjork then Danton Heinen and shortly after that, Pastrnak hit the post. Columbus is built to play close, longer games (now 6-6 in OT) so it was no surprise when they won it on the first shot on goal in overtime. Pasta missed the net with a re-direct on one end then Jones skated down the other side with Pierre-Luc Dubois and fed him for a one-timer that he put in the top shelf for his 14th goal of the season, 52 seconds into the extra session. Barf.

The Oilers (21-17-5) are here on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) for their only visit of the regular season. They remain a fringe playoff team at best which becomes more of a shame when you realize that they do nothing but continue to waste some incredible years by the best player in hockey-their once-in a generation center Connor McDavid (22 goals, 44 assists) who leads the NHL in points and assists. There are no automatic wins right now for the Bruins as the Devils debacle proved so while I'll concede that they should beat Edmonton, I don't feel super confident about that statement. Since we are all going to be worried sick about the Patriots' dynasty possibly ending for good later that night vs. Tennessee, couldn't the B's just treat all the kids sure to be in attendance to a laugher? Yeah, that would be fun (fingers and toes all crossed).

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