The Bruins Played Possum With The Canadiens, Tying It Up Late Then Beating Them In Overtime

It had been 23 years since the Bruins (40-15-8) swept the season series with the Canadiens (25-29-11) so Boston took care of some history with their better-late-than-never thrilling 2-1 overtime victory tonight at TD Garden. The B's finished 4-0 against Claude Julien's hapless Habs thanks to an overtime goal by Brad Marchand and 27 saves by Anton Khudobin (14-4-4). Montreal's goaltender Antti Niemi (48 saves, 4-6-3) deserved a better fate as he stood on his head for almost the entire contest before Jake DeBrusk tied it up with a power play goal at 17:15 of the third period.

One of the standard elements of this wonderful season for the Bruins has been numerous guys going down with injuries, only to have countless other teammates step up in their absence. Tuukka Rask was a late scratch with what B's head coach Bruce Cassidy termed a "very minor injury" so Khudobin was a last-minute starter. More worrisome was that rookie stud defenseman Charlie McAvoy skated a grand total of one shift (for 37 seconds) before calling it a night with a lower-body injury. The team has a scheduled day off on Sunday so we'll have to wait and see if he's out there for practice on Monday. Props to the remaining five defenseman for Boston who all played at least 20:04 (Brandon Carlo) and as much as 24:46 (Torey Krug since there were 6 Bruins power plays).

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead at 9:16 of the first period as Kevan Miller threw an outlet pass right to Brendan Gallagher aka Dollar Store Marchand and he buried a shot past Khudobin for his 23rd goal of the season. Khudobin certainly wasn't as busy as Niemi, Montreal outshot Boston 12-10 in the first but proceeded to get bombarded (40-16) over the final 42:06 of action. It was more of a quality over quantity type night for Khudobin who at one point late in the third period had to ditch his mask (to get a whistle) because two of the straps had snapped.

Boston has now won its last six games overall vs. Montreal and they huffed and puffed for most of this one to earn the two points. David Pastrnak hit the post early in the first when the Bruins had a 3-on-1. Boston trailed 1-0 after the first period and couldn't convert a 2-man advantage that they had for 44 seconds in the second period. Going into the third, the records did not favor the home team since they were 2-13-3 when trailing after two while Montreal was 17-1-1 when leading after two. Jonathan Drouin was called for delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass in his own end which finally broke his team's back. Nick Holden played a perfect slap pass to DeBrusk to tip in for his 13th goal of the season with Torey Krug picking up the second assist.

The Bruins continued to dominate in the extra frame as they outshot the Canadiens 4-0 as they never really let Montreal gain possession of the puck. Ironically, Marchand's goal came about with Cassidy shuffling some new players onto the ice. He showed all the power in his small frame by wheeling around the net to gain a good shooting angle where he fired a low shot by Niemi in traffic. Krug and Brian Gionta had the assists on Marchand's 25th goal of the season and his 10th career regular season overtime game-winner.

Boston went 3-0 this week at home without Patrice Bergeron (including 2 OT wins) and they'll try to go 3-0 next week as well with Detroit (26-28-10) coming here on Tuesday (7, NESN) followed by Philadelphia (34-20-11) on Thursday (7, NESN) and Chicago (28-29-8) wrapping things up on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). It's hard not to feel really good about this team, considering how many of these seemingly improbable wins they have pulled out in 2017-18. The moves that they made at the trade deadline have only solidified a group that has legitimate Cup aspirations. Time to start drinking the Black and Gold Kool-Aid folks, it's delicious.

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Far From a Masterpiece but the Bruins Still Picked Up Their 3rd Straight Win, 2-0 vs. Stars

At this time of the year in an NHL regular season, all that matters is the final result and point accumulation if you are still anywhere close to the playoff hunt. Boston (41-30-6) blanked Dallas (31-35-11) 2-0 tonight at TD Garden in a contest that was a complete snoozefest but B's fans won't be complaining after Tuukka Rask (27 saves) recorded his seventh shutout of this campaign. With those two points, the Bruins pulled to within three points of second-place Ottawa (41-26-9) and remained one point behind third-place Toronto (37-24-15) who both have a game in hand. Tampa Bay (38-29-9) is still three points in back of Boston while Carolina (35-27-14) has leapfrogged the Islanders (35-29-12) to pull four points behind the B's.

Last season's No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Stars have been a dumpster fire basically all year and they have already been eliminated from playoff contention. With a lineup sprinkled with minor league players, they looked the part of a team watching the clock before their miserable journey ends next week. Poor NBC Sports was left with this dog's breakfast of a matchup that lived down to that low billing. Brad Marchand gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 15:14 of the first period after he backhanded in a shot off of Dallas goaltender Antti Niemi's (22 saves) leg pads. David Backes had slid the puck across the goal-mouth to Marchand who potted his career-high 38th goal of the season (the most for a Bruin since Glen Murray's 44 in 2002-03).

Jason Spezza was called for hooking early in the second period and that's when Boston's power play made the Stars pay dearly. Torey Krug went to the net and re-directed a beautiful feed by David Pastrnak for his eighth goal of the season (and 50th point). Marchand had the other assist as he has piled up 83 points so far meaning that he deserves the third and fourth-place Hart Trophy votes that he will receive. Tyler Seguin was back in Boston for a little while (sorry ladies) but he didn't make much of an impact tonight besides two wide open shots in front that somehow missed the net completely both times, like his ex-teammate Rich Peverley used to do oh so many times.

Boston was on its way to an easy victory until Kevan Miller's caught Curtis McKenzie in the face with the blade of his stick. With blood immediately gushing everywhere, Miller had to serve a double-minor (4 minutes) with 8:52 left in regulation. That's when Boston's No. 3 ranked penalty kill unit in the NHL came through against Dallas' horrid power play (No. 20 in the NHL). The Stars had some chances all game long but Rask didn't have to work all that hard for the 37th shutout of his NHL career (his 1st vs. Dallas).

It should be an interesting weekend as the B's host another patsy-the Panthers (33-33-11)-who was officially eliminated from playoff contention tonight thanks to Boston's win. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy wouldn't tip his hand but I expect that Rask will get the start on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) here against Florida and then backup Anton Khudobin will get the unenviable task of facing the Blackhawks (49-21-7) on Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC) at the United Center. I think you have to start Rask in the much more winnable game and each contest is still very important to the B's but Chicago is in the Western Conference so you're not as worried about them at this moment. We shall see, I can only say with certainty that each tilt has to be more entertaining than this evening's slop.

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Bruins Steal Two Points vs. Sharks Thanks to Krejci's Game-Winner With 0.8 Seconds Left

After the bush league crap pulled by John Scott last night, it was refreshing to enjoy a hockey game for hockey reasons, in October no less. The Bruins pulled out an improbable win as David Krejci scored with 0.8 seconds left in regulation for a 2-1 victory over the Sharks at TD Garden. San Jose (8-1-1) entered without a loss in regulation and plenty of rest while Boston (7-2-0) had played the night before and had to fly back (albeit a short trip) to face the NHL's top team.

Tuukka Rask (38 saves) beat his Finnish homeboy Antti Niemi (15 saves) as truthfully San Jose dominated most of the game but that doesn't matter since the B's earned the two points at the end. It didn't feel like there would be enough time left but Adam McQuaid put a shot on net that Krejci beautifully redirected for his second goal of the season. Milan Lucic had the other assist on Krejci's buzzer-beater (who knew those existed in hockey?).

San Jose came out flying in the first period, outshooting Boston 16-3 but Rask held the fort as they say. The Bruins actually got on the board first too which was shocking. Jarome Iginla potted his first as a Bruin (one night after it looked like he did that but it was wiped away by Lucic's tip in). Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg assisted at 18:48 as Iginla somehow snuck it by Niemi from no angle.

There is a reason the Sharks entered as the NHL's highest-scoring team, Patrick Marleau tied it up just 18 seconds into the third period after Rask let up a rebound to him. Marc-Edourard Vlasic had the assist on San Jose's lone goal.

Selfishly, I was happy that the Bruins and Sharks didn't go into overtime because I wanted to watch the World Series but there is no way I could have predicted that excellent ending. It helps take a bit of the sting away from the Red Sox' 4-2 loss in Game 2. The B's are off tomorrow but they host the Devils (1-5-4) on Saturday (7, NESN) in another game that goes up against the World Series (Game 3 starts at 8:07 on Fox). The Devils are off to a terrible start but former Bruins Michael Ryder and Jaromir Jagr are putting up points so it'll be fun to see them back at the Garden.

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The More Desperate Team (The Sharks) Wins

It is lazy journalism and reporting to say that the Boston Bruins were simply tired from their cross-country flight to the West Coast.

No, they didn't lose to the San Jose Sharks 2-1 tonight at the HP Pavilion because of the time change and a long plane ride. They lost simply because the Sharks (37-27-10) played like the more desperate team while the Bruins (42-28-3) lacked that same type of energy. The Sharks also swept the season series 2-0.

San Jose needs every point they can get just to make the ultra-competitive Western Conference playoffs. Joe Pavelski (27th of the season) scored 3:57 into the game thanks to a bad defensive zone turnover by Milan Lucic. Former Bruin Joe Thornton intercepted it and fed it to Patrick Marleau who was robbed by Tim Thomas (25 saves; 31-19-0). Pavelski was on the doorstep for the rebound.

This game flew by, with only two penalties combined between the two teams. Former UNH star Daniel Winnik (6th of the season) scored his first goal as a Shark at 2:17 of the third period, the game-winner. Andrew Desjardins (No. 69 in your program, haha really) had the assist as Winnik went top shelf with a snap shot.

The B's made it interesting when Zdeno Chara (11th of the season) banked one in off Antti Niemi's (16 saves) pads with 3:15 left in regulation. Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston assisted on Big Z's goal, the captain was appearing in his 999th career NHL game.

Truthfully, Boston had no business coming that close. They were outshot 27-17 (17 was a season-low for them and season-low allowed by San Jose) and the Sharks had 12 more takeaways (16-4). I don't buy into the tired legs theory since the Bruins outhit the Sharks 40-13. A fatigued team wouldn't have a discrepancy like that. Plus, they hadn't played since Monday night and that was an 8-0 scrimmage vs. Toronto.

The Bruins' journey through California stops in Los Angeles where they'll play the equally desperate Kings, who are also on the cusp of the Western Conference playoffs. Boston beat LA 3-0 on December 13 at the TD Garden.

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Local Guy Overshadows Joe Thornton's Return To Boston In 4-2 San Jose Win

Well the Boston Bruins are still looking for their first win streak in the 2011-12 season.

Tonight, former No. 1 pick and franchise center Joe Thornton returned with the San Jose Sharks and they beat the Bruins 4-2 at TD Garden.

It wasn't April or May but Thornton mostly disappeared like he's been known to do in the playoffs. Sure he assisted on Joe Pavelski's (4th of the season) goal 1:12 into the game but after that, Jumbo Joe was barely heard from save for a nice highlight package on the Jumbotron (no pun intended) from his days with the spoked B.

This game marked the sixth time in a row that the Bruins have allowed the first goal. They also fell to 2-4 at home and they never led in this one despite a valiant rally in the third period.

The real hero for the Sharks (3-3-0) was Essex, MA native and Boston College alum Benn Ferriero (1st of the season) who netted the game-winning goal at 8:48 of the third period.

In a very weird way, I felt like a proud parent when Ferriero's hustle to a rebound resulted in a diving goal. He was the only pro athlete from the coverage area of the newspaper I used to work for (the Gloucester Daily Times) and that motivated me enough to sponsor his page on hockeyreference.com (look it up) last spring. So while I never enjoy seeing the B's (3-5-0) lose, on this night it didn't feel quite as bad.

You wouldn't know that San Jose was the team that played back-to-back nights on the road. They had more jump than Boston from the start and that resulted in a 1-0 lead after the first which increased to 2-0 at 8:54 of the second when Logan Couture (1st of the season) scored on a nifty pass from Martin Havlat, Ryane Clowe had the second assist.

I don't usually recommend any athletes on Twitter but you have to follow Couture (@logancouture39), he's one of the funniest and most honest pro athletes I can think of.

Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves for the second straight game, this time against Jim Vandermeer, and as usual it served as a wake-up call to his teammates and the crowd.

The B's tied it up with a flurry of goals in 29 seconds early in the third. First Milan Lucic (2nd of the season) scored a classic Looch goal by stealing Antti Niemi's (37 saves) pass behind his own net then wheeling around and beating multiple defensemen and Niemi to shovel it in. Chris Kelly and Patrice Bergeron assisted on that goal.

Tyler Seguin started and finished the next one as he blocked a clearance attempt by a San Jose defenseman then started a 2-on-1 with Lucic. Seguin (3rd of the season) was the recipient of the final pass and he roofed it past Niemi who had no time to react. Kelly had the second assist.

As my friend said after the game, "Lucic and Seguin are going to make sweet music together this season." I couldn't say it any better myself, they appear to be a great match and I hope to see them on the same line for years to come.

Patrick Marleau (1st of the season) added an empty-netter with five seconds left. Boston wasted a serviceable but not great performance by goaltender Tim Thomas (26 saves).

I think I've found the clue to solving the Bruins' woes so far this season: It's all about scoring more than two goals. When they've scored 3+ they are 3-0 while they are 0-5 when they have scored two (twice), one (twice) or none(0-1). It's no secret that head coach Claude Julien's system makes Boston way more strong when playing with a lead since between Thomas and their defensive ability, it's hard to come back on them. Conversely, with their up and down scoring, it's much tougher to play from behind as we have already seen time and again.

The good news is that it should not be hard for the Bruins to focus on their final two games in October: a home and home series with Montreal. The team that everybody loves to hate comes to Boston on Thursday while the B's travel to the Bell Centre on Saturday. All would quickly be forgiven if the Bruins can beat the reeling Habs (1-4-2) twice in three nights.

UPDATE 10/23: Jordan Caron has been sent down to Providence where he'll get much more ice time. He didn't played bad for the Bruins to start this season but I guess they prefer Benoit Pouliot over him at the moment. Keep your head up Jordan!

UPDATE 10/24: Caron returned to B's practice today so he just went down to Providence for one game while Boston had a lengthy break (four days) between games. Expect him to be with the Bruins on Thursday as they host the Canadiens, although he'll most likely be in the press box as a healthy scratch.

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Bruins with a lifeless effort against the Sharks

I can't quite put my finger on it, maybe it's because the unwashed masses haven't been liquored up enough at the local watering holes but something seems off when you go to a Boston Bruins game on a Saturday afternoon.

It's the second time this season I've gone to a 1 p.m. start on a Saturday and once again, the Bruins lost. This time it was a completely lifeless effort, a 2-0 loss to former golden boy Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks.

Since the Bruins (30-16-7) had their most exciting game of the season on Thursday against the Dallas Stars, it was predictable that there was a big letdown. Still, it had to be one of the most boring contests of the season since Boston never really did anything against San Jose (28-19-6).

Antti Niemi (26 saves) held the fort, which wasn't too hard while the Sharks scored the only goal they needed in the first period. Rookie stud Logan Couture scored on the power-play (his 23rd of the season) with a weird backhander at 7:22 from Ryane Clowe and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Adam Mcquaid fought Ben Eager late in the first period and that was probably the highlight of the day for the Bs.

Devin Setoguchi scored an empty-netter (his 11th of the season) with three seconds left (from Clowe and Niclas Wallin) to seal it.

Boston goaltender Tim Thomas made just 16 saves in his quietest game of the season in terms of action.

The Bruins get back at it on Wednesday as they host the Montreal Canadiens. I'm thinking they won't have as much trouble getting up for that one against their bitter rival.