Facing A Must-Win vs. Buffalo, Boston Comes Through (Barely) 4-3 in OT Thanks to Eriksson

While I will admit that the Sabres have been playing better lately, a loss against them at anytime is still unacceptable, especially when the Bruins are so desperate for points. That's what made Boston's (17-14-3) 4-3 overtime win against Buffalo (13-18-3) this evening at TD Garden so vital to the B's. I know I said it last week when they won at Minnesota but once again, this might have saved Boston's turbulent season.

Boston actually trailed 3-2 with under two minutes left in regulation before Dougie Hamilton (1st career 2-goal game; tied career-high with 3 points) tied it at 18:29 with a top shelf wrister. That set the stage for Loui Eriksson's second straight overtime game-winner (he also did that vs. Wild on Wednesday) at 2:14 of the extra session. Milan Lucic sprung him by chipping the puck ahead and Zdeno Chara started the play from Boston's end so he got the second assist.

There were two games left before Christmas break and both were at the Garden so the B's couldn't afford to drop another game. They improved to 3-0 vs. the Sabres this season (2-0 in OT) with the much-anticipated finale coming on St. Patrick's Day here in Boston, I'll bring the green beer.

The Bruins actually had a power play goal by Reilly Smith called off for the softest goaltender interference that you've ever seen on Eriksson. He barely touched Jhonas Enroth (33 saves) who still had time to recover anyway yet that's not how the refs saw it. No worries though as Hamilton beat Enroth on that same man-advantage. His sixth goal of the season came at 5:52 and it was assisted by Carl Soderberg and Eriksson.

All hell broke loose later in the first period when Matt Bartkowski absolutely annihilated BC's Brian Gionta with a shoulder right to his head. Gionta got knocked out (and left the game) and Bartkowski (playing in his 100th NHL game) ended up in his first NHL fight vs. Marcus Foligno (who ended up leaving with an injury as well). Bartkowski got a game-misconduct and he could be hearing from the league although who knows since he's never been fined or suspended and he's not a dirty player at all.

Former Bruins great Andrej Meszaros tied it at 6:06 of the second period, tapping in a pass from Chris Stewart (reportedly scouted by Boston for a possible trade) and Johan Larsson. It was his first goal as a Sabre and first since last March 30 with Boston vs. another former team (Philadelphia).

It felt like it wasn't the Bruins' night when Buffalo netted only their ninth power play goal of the season (!). Good old Rasmus Ristolainen's shot deflected off Torey Krug's skate past Tuukka Rask (25 saves). Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons (another fantastic name) were credit with the gift assists as Buffalo took the 2-1 lead.

Luckily Boston's fans only had a minute to stew (literally) as Chris Kelly tied it with an old school tip in that bounced off the ice and into the net. Chara and Hamilton assisted on Kelly's third goal of the season which also gave him a four-game point streak (1 goal, 3 assists).

To say I was conflicted by Buffalo's next goal doesn't even begin to explain it. Providence College graduate and Merrimack, NH native Tim Schaller scored his first career NHL goal and point on a wraparound at 1:27 of the third period. It was a beautiful moment with his parents in the stands and for a while, I thought it would stand up as the game-winner. Against any other team, I'd be going nuts for him.

Boston had some crazy zone time in the third period and outshot Buffalo 13-6 but it looked like a useless stat until Hamilton finally tied it up. Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith both had helpers on Hamilton's huge tally. For a team that struggles so much to score, it is bizarre how well that Boston has done in OT this season (5-1 in OT and 2-2 in shootouts). Likewise, the irony that Eriksson has won them two games in the past five days is hilarious since he's one of the easy targets for most people.

The Predators (21-8-2) are in Columbus tomorrow night before visiting Boston on Tuesday (7, NESN), the Sabres also came in on the second night of a back-to-back. Nashville won 3-2 in a shootout last Tuesday at home, the start of Boston's three-game road trip. They are one of the best teams in the NHL and Pekka Rinne is currently the top goaltender so needless to say the B's will have their hands full before they can enjoy a few much-needed days off.

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Name the Game, the Bruins Will Probably Beat You at It

The Bruins continue to find ways to come away with two points almost every time they lace up their big boy skates. This afternoon at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, they outlasted the Flyers 4-3 in a shootout. Boston (52-17-6) won its franchise record ninth straight game on the road thanks to Tuukka Rask's (career-high 49 saves) superhuman effort and the shootout winner in the fifth round by none other than Reilly Smith.

Boston improved to 2-0 this season vs. Philadelphia (39-27-8) with one game left on Saturday at TD Garden. The Bruins have picked up points in 16 games in a row (14-0-2) and if the Flyers want to feel better, they can be happy they weren't blown out 6-1 like on January 25th.

It was a throwback game in some ways as Vincent Lecavalier scored two goals for Philadelphia and former Flyers great Andrej Meszaros bagged a goal for his new team. Some things like bad goaltending for Philly are timeless though, right Steve Mason (27 saves)? Lecavalier was demoted to the fourth line with the scrubs but he still managed to beat Rask at 5:25 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.

5:18 after that, Meszaros tied it at one with a blast assisted by Brad Marchand and Dougie Hamilton. Meszaros' seventh of the season was his second as a Bruin. Ageless Kimmo Timonen-Rask's Finnish homeboy-gave Philly another lead at 19:18. His one-timer was the result of a gorgeous backhand saucer pass (or sauce as the kids say) by Jakub Voracek.

Many teams would be rattled by that but not our Bruins who potted two goals in the second to go ahead 3-2. That power play machine Zdeno Chara tied it at 5:44 on a backhander assisted by Jarome Iginla and David Krejci. Chara's 17th goal of the season was also his team-leading 10th power play goal of the season which trails only Shea Weber (11) for defensemen.

Patrice Bergeron fooled Mason with a quick turnaround shot at 11:05 that went under him and I'm sure he'd like to have back. It was the seventh straight game with a goal for Bergeron, his 27th of the season was assisted by Smith and Matt Bartkowski. Playing in the second leg of a back-to-back, the B's ran out of gas big time in the third as the Flyers outshot them 17-6. Still, it looked like Boston would escape in regulation but Lecavalier tied it with 25 seconds left and Mason off for an extra attacker.

Philadelphia bombarded Rask some more in overtime (8-1 shots advantage) but he stood tall as any Vezina Trophy favorite should. Bergeron scored in the first round of the shootout and Claude Giroux matched that in the second round. Nobody else could beat Rask or Mason until Smith ended it in the fifth round.

Boston started 2-0 on this four-game road trip. After a few days off, they'll be back at it in Detroit (35-26-14) on Wednesday (8, NBCSN) followed by a visit to Toronto (36-32-8) on Thursday (7:30, NESN). Seven more games left in the regular season for the Bruins (two at TD Garden and five on the road).

UPDATE 3/31: Bergeron was named the NHL's second star of the week.

UPDATE 4/1: Krejci is sick and Soderberg's wife is expecting a baby so Ryan Spooner was recalled from Providence on an emergency basis.

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No More Having to Watch the Panthers for the Rest of the Season!

The Bruins have to be sad to bid farewell to the hapless Panthers for the rest of the season. This evening, Boston (42-17-5) beat Florida (24-33-7) 5-2 at the old BB&T Center. The B's took all five games with the Panthers in 2013-14, by a cumulative score of 22-8. Oh and the Bruins bumped up to first place in the Eastern Conference on idle Pittsburgh.

Boston was playing in a back-to-back but they still seemed like the fresher squad. BC's Jimmy Hayes was able to put a rebound past Chad Johnson (20 saves) at 7:00 of the second period for a surprising 1-0 Panthers lead. Of course, the Bruins recovered as newcomer Andrej Meszaros scored a power play goal at 9:58 on a laser from the point. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by Reilly Smith and Patrice Bergeron.

It was 1-1 heading into the third but did anyone actually think that Florida would pull it off? I don't think so. Krug scored his 13th goal of the season at 7:38 on pretty assists by Marchand and Bergeron. Boston cashed in another power play opportunity as Bergeron slammed in a low slap shot by Roberto Luongo (37 saves) at 11:21. That was Bergeron's 18th goal of the season with assists to Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg.

Hayes cut it to 3-2 with a garbage goal after the puck was stuck in Johnson's skates. Jarome Iginla added his 20th goal of the season on a wide open blast from the slot at 12:13. Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara provided the helpers on career goal No. 550 for Iginla.

Chris Kelly wrapped this all up with an empty netter (his 6th goal of the season). About the only bad thing to come out of this for the B's is that Daniel Paille left after his first shift of the game in the first period. He was hit awkwardly into the boards, left and never returned. Is that Jordan Caron's music?

Boston concludes this three-game trip in Montreal (35-24-7) on Wednesday (7:30, NBCSN). The Canadiens are one of the only teams to impose their will on the B's this season, they are 2-0 and now they also have Thomas Vanek (shits pants).

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