This Is Getting Too Easy: Bruins Win Their 8th Game In A Row

The win streak hasn't reached double digits yet but it feels like the Bruins haven't lost in about three months. The good times keep rolling and everything is awesome (sorry, had to try that one out) as Boston (45-17-5) beat Carolina (29-29-9) 5-1 this afternoon at TD Garden. Boston's top line combined for eight points: Milan Lucic (1 goal, 2 assists), David Krejci (3 assists) and Jarome Iginla (2 goals) could make a solid case that they are the best forward line in the NHL these days.

Even Chad Johnson (29 saves) is playing out of his mind with a career-best nine-game point streak (8-0-1). The B's continue to bury their rivals in the Atlantic Division-they are 15 points ahead of second-place Toronto-while Pittsburgh has started to slow down a bit allowing Boston to build a three-point lead over them (albeit while the Penguins have a game in hand) for first in the East.

The Hurricanes are supposedly fighting for a playoff spot in the stinky Eastern Conference but you wouldn't know it by the lifeless display they put on. Boston outshot them in each period and Cam Ward made 36 saves which sounds good until you remember that he allowed five goals as well.

Lucic's goal at 15:28 of the first gave Boston a 1-0 lead. His 21st goal of the season (temporarily tying him with Brad Marchand and Iginla for the team lead) was assisted by Krejci who was getting tripped by Eric Staal. For some reason, Ward and his defensemen were way out of position.

Iginla showed off his superb hands and shooting skills in tight quarters with his first goal at 17:24 of the second. His 22nd goal of the season made it 2-0 with assists going to Lucic and Krejci.

The only reason that Johnson didn't earn a shutout is because Alexander Semin's shot deflected off Johnny Boychuk's stick in front. I guess Carolina made it interesting for about nine minutes before the Bruins hit them with two goals in 13 seconds (their fastest pair in 2.5 seasons). Chris Kelly went first, scoring his seventh of the season at 12:49 from Krejci and Dougie Hamilton. Before Ward or the Hurricanes could think to settle down, it was 4-1 and basically over. Somehow Iginla was wide open for about 10 minutes in front of the net so Kevan Miller found him. Lucic had the second assist.

Torey Krug scored the epitome of a garbage time goal as his hard wrist shot from the point sneaked in with less than 10 seconds left in this beating. It was his 14th goal of the season, Carl Soderberg and Gregory Campbell earned the helpers.

Boston hosts Minnesota (35-22-10) on Monday (7:30, NBCSN) aka St. Patrick's Day. Yikes, things could get ugly for the Wild if they get blown out and or puked on by the lovely Bruins fans that will surely have been drinking all day.

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Anton Khudobin Wins 1st Start Of Season, Bruins Pick Up 1st Road Win 5-3 At Carolina

The B's (4-0-1) continued their great start to the 2013 season with a thrilling 5-3 victory tonight at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. Boston blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 but Carolina (2-3-0) couldn't rally once the Bruins clinched it with David Krejci's game-winner at 18:10 of the third period followed by Tyler Seguin's empty-netter. Anton Khudobin (29 saves) acquitted himself well in his first start of the season, he did enough to allow Boston to pick up its first road win of the season.

Boston's much-maligned power play scored twice, boosting its season total to three although one was Seguin's so that doesn't really count. Sorry Claude! The Bruins' penalty kill stayed perfect (23 for 23, every other team in the NHL has allowed a power play goal) and they added a bonus: a short-handed goal. Brad Marchand got it started (3rd of the season) with the short-handed tally (Boston's first of the season) just 3:16 into the contest. He was wide open and Zdeno Chara (1 goal, 2 assists) found him with a cross-ice feed that he slammed home past Cam Ward (33 saves). Patrice Bergeron had the second assist. Chara notched a power-play goal (his 2nd goal of the season) less than three minutes later thanks to a screen from Milan Lucic. Krejci and Seguin had the assists on Chara's second goal in as many games.

Carolina looked like they might be run out of their own building but they answered with Jamie McBain's (1st of the season) tip-in at 14:50 of the first period from Eric Staal and Alexander Semin. Tim Gleason took one for the team by fighting Lucic after Boston's second goal and before Carolina's first. That seemed to give the Hurricanes some life in their skates.

Nathan Horton (2nd of the season) made it 3-1 with one of the best goals of his Black and Gold career. He gained the puck at center ice, skated around multiple Hurricanes then dangled around the last one before scoring at 15:52 from Chara and Johnny Boychuk. Again Carolina responded, this time they knotted it at three thanks to a pair of goals within 50 seconds of each other. Jeff Skinner (5th of the season) used his own sick move to cut it to 3-2 at 17:55 from Jordan Staal then Chris Kelly's bad giveaway in his own end led to a one-timer from Semin to Eric Staal (4th of the season) at 18:45.

To Boston's credit, they picked it up immensely in the third period. They clearly didn't want to go to overtime for the third straight game, especially with another game tomorrow night not to mention three games in four days and four games in six days this week. Krejci's goal came after a scramble with Dougie Hamilton laying it off to him when most guys, particularly rookies, would have shot it into traffic. Horton had the second assist, capping his solid night.

Tuukka Rask (3-0-1) should be in net tomorrow as the defending Eastern Conference champs, the Devils (3-0-1) come to TD Garden (7 p.m., NESN). Also, expect Adam McQuaid back in the lineup (and Aaron Johnson out) after Quaider missed tonight for "personal reasons." Tomorrow should be a nice early test for the B's, both in terms of caliber of opponent and what they can do in their first back-to-back.

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Capitals Put The Bruins On The Brink Of Elimination

Coming into this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, on paper it looked like Boston's biggest advantage over Washington was in goal. Surely, Tim Thomas could outplay a third-string rookie (Braden Holtby). Turns out (so far) that we were all wrong.

Once again, Holtby (34 saves) was better than Thomas (28 saves) this afternoon and the Caps took a 3-2 series lead with a 4-3 win at TD Garden.

Every game this series has been decided by one goal and the Capitals have scored first four out of five times.

Washington opened up the first two-goal lead of the series but Boston battled back with a pair of goals in 28 seconds. The Capitals went ahead 3-2 in the third period but the Bruins responded with their first power-play goal of the series. Troy Brouwer (2nd of the playoffs) ended any thoughts of another overtime session as he snapped a shot over Thomas with 1:27 left in regulation. It was extremely deflating since it appeared to be a shot that Thomas would normally stop. No traffic or tips means that there were no excuses. That wasn't the only weak goal that Thomas allowed either.

The B's hit the post twice in the first period: Zdeno Chara rang the crossbar on a power-play and Daniel Paille skated in on a breakaway while Boston was short-handed but he also ended up unlucky.

After no goals in the first, Alexander Semin (3rd of the playoffs) scored on a rebound at 11:16 of the second. Dennis Wideman and Marcus Johansson assisted on the goal. Thomas made a good initial save but neither he nor his defense could clear it out of danger. Despite many bodies between him and the goal, Semin was able to squeeze it through.

The Capitals doubled their lead at 14:27 as Jay Beagle notched his first goal of the postseason. His shot was tipped on the way in but it also went right off Thomas' glove so I think it was one he should have stopped.

Just when it looked like the Bruins had flatlined, Milan Lucic found Dennis Seidenberg (1st of the playoffs) for a pretty goal at 17:21. David Krejci had the second assist. Everyone came out of witness protection (well except for Tyler Seguin) as Brad Marchand (1st of the playoffs) tied it at 17:49. Rich Peverley and Johnny Boychuk assisted on Holtby's token weak one of the contest. Marchand barely poked it but the puck found a hole through Holtby's leg pads.

The difference in the game was the third period. Thomas gave up two bad goals (for him) while Holtby made unquestionably the best stop in the series-a full split to deny Seguin. Old friend Mike Knuble (1st of the playoffs) put Washington up 3-2 at 3:21 when Thomas kicked Joel Ward's shot right to him. John Erskine had the second assist.

Boston snapped a woeful 0-for-16 start on the power play in these playoffs with Boychuk's blast from the point at 8:47. Seidenberg and Marchand picked up the assists. It was surprising to see Holtby get beat on a relatively routine shot from distance like that.

Game 6 is tomorrow afternoon in D.C. (3 p.m., NBC). Patrice Bergeron and Joe Corvo both left with injuries today so who knows if they'll be able to play. Boston has no choice but to win, otherwise it will be an extremely bitter end to a postseason that was filled with so much hope. It starts with Thomas, he needs to be much better. Likewise, their offense needs to show up as well. They can't go out like this.

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Capitals Even The Series With 2-1 Win In Game 4

Hey, has anybody seen Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Tyler Seguin or Brad Marchand?

None of those guys has scored yet in the playoffs and it has added up to a whole lot of frustration as the Capitals beat the Bruins 2-1 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals tonight at Verizon Center. The series now shifts back to Boston for Game 5, tied at two games apiece.

Showing how tight it's been: every game has been decided by a goal, neither team has led by more than one at any point and they have both scored seven goals.

With Nicklas Backstrom-Washington's best all-around player-suspended tonight, the B's missed a major opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Instead, they made Braden Holtby (44 saves) look like the best goaltender in the world. The truth was that without getting much net front traffic or players going hard to the cage, the B's didn't have that many great opportunities despite piling up the gaudy shot total.

In Game 3, it seemed like Boston had solved Holtby by scoring four goals, while also gaining control of the series. That proved to be a fluke as the Bruins scored one goal for the third time in four games.

Marcus Johansson (1st of the playoffs) gave Washington a 1-0 lead only 1:22 into the 1st period. After Andrew Ference fell over and Zdeno Chara got caught in the neutral zone, Brooks Laich and Johansson skated in on Tim Thomas (19 saves) for a 2-on-1. Thomas had no chance to stop it as Laich threw a perfect forehand sauce pass to Johansson that he roofed.

Rich Peverley (2nd of the playoffs) answered later in the frame after a 2-on-1 rush for Boston. Gregory Campbell had the assist as Peverley juked a defenseman and beat Holtby through his five-hole.

In the extended time between Games 3 and 4 (2 days), Washington whined constantly about calls. Not surprisingly, they "earned" the first three power-plays of the night. The Bruins were able to kill the first two but after Patrice Bergeron was whistled for a bogus hooking penalty, Alexander Semin (2nd of the playoffs) made them pay late in the second period. Waltham's Keith Aucoin and Alex Ovechkin had the assists but truthfully it was all Semin's work since he just ripped a snipe into the top far corner. Goals like that make you remember how wildly talented but so underachieving he can be.

Boston had one power-play, midway through the third period and they couldn't convert, meaning that they dropped to 0-12 in the series so far with the man advantage.

I'm not ready to say that Game 5 at TD Garden (3 p.m., Saturday) is a must-win for the Black and Gold but that's not too far off. They have to find a way to score goals and likewise, they need the aforementioned invisible stars to show up. They just have to play their physical, hard-nosed game and make sure to crash the net while using the emotion that is sure to be in the building with their home crowd. Otherwise, they'll be in serious trouble down 3-2 and headed back to D.C. on Sunday.

Whether it means inserting Jordan Caron, Mike Mottau (for Joe Corvo) or Adam McQuaid (although I don't think he's healthy enough) into the lineup or shifting Chris Kelly or Brian Rolston (two of their better forwards in the series) up a line or two, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bruins head coach Claude Julien throw some different wrinkle at the Capitals on Saturday. Why not? It's clear that this current group isn't doing nearly enough against an opponent that's honestly not that good, one that they should handle way more easily.

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Bruins Answer The Bell, Solve Holtby In 4-3 Thriller

Three games into the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Boston Bruins finally proved that Capitals rookie goaltender Braden Holtby isn't the second-coming of Patrick Roy. Not yet at least.

Tonight at Verizon Center, Boston beat Washington 4-3 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. After scoring two goals combined in the first two games, the B's were able to get traffic in front of Holtby (25 saves), roll four lines (that all had tangible contributions) and grab their first lead(s) of the series.

For the third consecutive game, this one looked to be headed for overtime but Bruins captain Zdeno Chara saved Boston from that dicey scenario with a clutch goal at 18:07 in the third period. Patrice Bergeron and Dennis Seidenberg assisted on Chara's first of the playoffs, a one-timer that was a low missile that Holtby could not stop.

Washington scored the first goal but Boston was able to rally twice (down 1-0 and 2-1) to tie it and eventually take a 3-2 lead. The Capitals scored with six minutes left in regulation, a backbreaking goal on a truly putrid defensive breakdown by the B's.

Alexander Semin (1st of the playoffs) scored a power-play goal with four minutes left in the first period. His screened wrist shot found its way past Tim Thomas (29 saves) with assists from Brooks Laich and Alex Ovechkin.

After a slow first period, the Bruins woke up early in the second as Rich Peverley (1st of the playoffs) squeezed one past Holtby 35 seconds in. It was a save that the rookie should have made, the first semi-soft one he's allowed thus far. Nevertheless, a first line forward for Boston finally produced a goal. Chara and Andrew Ference had the helpers.

Before I could even tweet about that goal, Washington scored 13 seconds later. Laich's flip/dump pass found Ovechkin and his shot was deflected by Seidenberg past Thomas. Ovie's first of the playoffs was also assisted by Roman Hamrlik.

Daniel Paille (1st of the [playoffs) made sure Boston wouldn't face another deficit after two periods. He scored on a rebound at 9:38 with assists to Greg Zanon and Gregory Campbell.

A good sign for Boston is that they had jump to start the third and scored an early goal, again. Brian Rolston (1st of the playoffs) scored on another juicy rebound by Holtby. Funny how average a goaltender can look when you get some bodies in his field of vision and don't settle for 50-foot shots. Chris Kelly and Chara assisted on Rolston's first playoff goal for Boston since 2004.

Laich (1st of the playoffs) tied it at 3 after a home-run pass from Nicklas Backstrom found him alone by the Boston bench. He skated in on Thomas and roofed a forehand shot. Mike Green had the second assist.

Game 4 is on Thursday night in D.C. so these teams will have an extra day off to let the hatred build. I didn't think the Capitals had it in them but I guess their head coach Dale Hunter has brainwashed them into taking cheapshots (Examples: Jason Chimera spearing Brad Marchand in the balls and Backstrom picking up a 10-minute match penalty at the final whistle). By the rulebook, Backstrom will miss Game 4 but Hunter said in his postgame comments that he thinks the NHL will rescind it. We shall see about that. Oh and Karl Alzner (who?) made fun of Milan Lucic by making a crybaby hand gesture after a scrum. Haha have fun dealing with that crazy Karl.

There's a big difference between being up 3-1 in a series or tied 2-2 so I have faith that the Bruins will be focused and as a result, they'll play well. Please for the love of God, can they score a power play goal? They were 0 for 5 this evening which makes them 0 for 11 in the playoffs.

UPDATE 4/17: Backstrom had his disciplinary hearing today and his suspension is upheld, he will miss Game 4 on Thursday for his cross-check of Rich Peverley at the end of Game 3. Huge loss for the Caps and a really dumb play by him.

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Capitals Prevent The Bruins From Winning Three In A Row

Facing a team desperate for points as they try to make the playoffs in a Saturday afternoon contest-something the Bruins always struggle in-Boston lost 4-3 to the Washington Capitals today at TD Garden.

The loss ended Boston's modest two-game win streak which was the longest one they had built in two months.

The B's (40-24-3) outplayed the Capitals (34-28-6) for long stretches but that doesn't really matter since they handed Washington a 2-0 lead right out of the gate and later a 4-2 advantage just for shits and giggles. Boston rallied the first time but you'll pretty much never win playing that style so they couldn't do it again.

Alexander Semin (18th of the season) and Matt Hendricks (4th of the season) scored 25 seconds apart, at 7:50 and 8:15 of the first period which caused Bruins head coach Claude Julien to burn his timeout. Semin's goal was Tim Thomas' (26 saves; 26-16-0) fault since Thomas kicked Karl Alzner's shot right to Semin rather than the corner. Boston's defense was the culprit for Hendricks' tally since they let him bust through and stuff in another rebound-from Troy Brouwer's shot.

Momentum shifted as Milan Lucic (23rd of the season) scored with six seconds left in the first period. He seemed to have caught Caps goaltender Tomas Vokoun (30 saves) by surprise as the not very powerful shot slipped between his pads. Patrice Bergeron had the assist.

Brad Marchand (23rd of the season) tied it at two just 4:58 into the second period. He corralled a loose puck and skated in alone on Vokoun before sliding it past him.

Penalties killed the Bruins as they took three in the second period alone. They were able to kill the first two but in between those Jay Beagle (2nd of the season) was able to wrist one by Thomas. That occurred in what NESN's Jack Edwards refers to as the "Vulnerable Minute," the minute after a power play ends. The third penalty was a bogus roughing call on Greg Zanon and to make matters worse, Washington scored on it thanks to a Brooks Laich (13th of the season) tip in. Former Bruin Dennis Wideman and Alexander Ovechkin assisted.

The Bruins absolutely dominated in the third, outshooting the Capitals 13-2, but they could only muster one goal. Johnny Boychuk (5th of the season) roofed a rebound at 16:47 from Marchand and Jordan Caron.

Boston travels to Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon for a tough back-to-back. Let me say that I want to see Marty Turco make his Bruins debut, mostly because Thomas seems dead energy-wise and who can blame him? They picked up Turco so they might as well use him, why not tomorrow? Particularly since it's a back-to-back, on the road, early start and even because the clocks get set an hour later.

The Penguins are 1-1 against the Bruins so far this season, with their last meeting a 2-1 win in Boston on February 4. Pittsburgh always seems to improve as the season goes along-a sign of a great team-and this one is no different. They've won eight straight games including two by a goal and two shootout victories.

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Tim Thomas & Bruins come back down to Earth

After beating the Washington Capitals the first two times they played this season and with Tim Thomas off to the best start in franchise history, both steaks were bound to come to an end sooner or later.

They both went down last night at the Verizon Center in Washington DC as the Captials (9-4-0) beat the Bruins (7-3-0).

Washington scored three goals in the second period, which forced Claude Julien to yank Thomas (22 saves). Of course, the B's scored three goals in a frantic third period comeback but the Captials - the San Jose Sharks of the Eastern Conference - can still score some goals and they got the game-winner in the third period before an empty-netter put this one in the win column.

Defenseman Tyler Sloan began the Caps' second period barrage with a blast from the point, 59 seconds into the frame. He was assisted by Tomas Fleischmann.

Mike Green made it 2-0 with a nice move, assisted by Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The key goal was by Alex Semin, late in the second period, as he went on a shorthanded odd man rush and slammed home a feed from Green.

With Tuukka Rask (12 saves) in between the pipes in the third period, you have to give the Bruins credit for not giving up.

Michael Ryder sparked the three goal flurry with a power play goal (poking home a rebound with a backhander) at 3:07 from Mark Recchi and Dennis Seidenberg. Less than a minute later, Nathan Horton scored another power play goal, this one from Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic.

One of the most unlikely sources tied it up as Shawn Thornton scored on a pretty backhander, following a 2-on-1 breakaway. Brad Marchand and Mark Stuart assisted.

Washington goaltender Michael Neuvirth (11 saves) was pulled at that point, for rookie Braden Holtby (4 saves), who had never played before in the NHL.

At 13:25, Caps defenseman John Carlson scored the game-winner from Eric Fehr and Boyd Gordon and then Ovechkin (from Backstrom and Jeff Schultz) whipped in the empty-netter.

The B's are back home tonight as they host the St. Louis Blues.