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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Everything Left to Play For In Game 82: B's Win & Lightning Lose in OT So Boston Can Be #1 Seed

In such an arduous regular season (82 games), it is always ironic when so much can still hinge on the finale. The Bruins (50-19-12) are happy to find themselves in that enviable position though as the eyes of the entire NHL will be on them tomorrow night since they host Florida (43-30-8) in the last game before the playoffs begin on Wednesday. Boston got off to a slow start but woke up with plenty of time left to beat hapless Ottawa (28-43-11) 5-2 this evening at TD Garden. Minutes later, things got much more interesting for the B's as Tampa Bay (54-23-5) lost 3-2 in overtime at Carolina (36-35-11) leaving the Lightning with only one more point than Boston. That means any type of win for the Black and Gold (in regulation, overtime or a shootout) will give them the Atlantic Division crown, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and perhaps most importantly, they would avoid Toronto (49-26-7) in the first round.

After the Bruins had lost their last three games in a row, it felt like they were destined to finish second in the Atlantic Division and thus meet the Maple Leafs in what would be a very difficult battle. Instead in keeping with the general magic of this campaign overall, they took care of their business while Tampa Bay simultaneously peed down their collective legs. Only Buffalo (25-45-12) finished with a worse record than Ottawa in 2017-18, making last season's improbable postseason run feel like it was a decade ago. Superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson (9 goals, 53 assists) could be gone this summer and if that's the case, talk about a franchise without a direction. All that Ottawa could do tonight was play spoiler and they did that well enough, for about 20 minutes of game action.

My man Ryan Dzingel staked the Senators to a 1-0 lead in the first period as he finished a passing sequence from Matt Duchene and BC's Colin White for his 22nd goal of the season at 12:31. That's really all that happened in the first frame as Ottawa outshot Boston 10-9 and the B's looked completely lifeless. Under former head coach Claude Julien, that might have extended for the next period or the rest of the tilt but Bruce Cassidy's guys have a way of almost always responding to adversity (even that which has been created solely by themselves).

The Bruins scored three unanswered goals in the second to take a commanding 3-1 lead. David Pastrnak tied it with a one-timer and power-play goal at 8:08, his 34th goal of the season (tying Brad Marchand for the team lead) was assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug. 51 seconds later, Tommy Wingels put Boston ahead as his shot hit the post and then Ottawa's third-string goaltender Daniel Taylor (30 saves) had the puck bounce into the net off his glove. Wingels' ninth goal of the season was unassisted. After Anton Khudobin (26 saves in his 16th win of the season) made an absurd save with a full split, rookie Danton Heinen's wicked snap shot gave Boston a 3-1 advantage at 17:01. Talk about scoring depth, his 16th goal of the season was assisted by Brian Gionta and Adam McQuaid.

Dzingel cut it to 3-2 at 7:07 of the third period with a nifty move, assisted again by White and another rookie-defenseman Christian Wolanin-who just turned pro out of the University of North Dakota. The fourth line for the Bruins has been really solid and dependable all year so it was fitting that they provided what basically amounted to the clinching goal. Noel Acciari was sent in on a breakaway by his fellow PC Friar Tim Schaller and he beat Taylor for his 10th goal of the season. Zdeno Chara had the secondary assist on the huge insurance tally at 18:09. Another guy-David Backes-that deserved a goal after all that he's been through this season had the honor of sending the Senators home for good with an empty-netter at 19:17. His 13th goal of the season was assisted by Heinen.

The Panthers were officially eliminated from playoff contention earlier on Saturday so I doubt that their minds will be really too focused tomorrow night what with vacations to plan (although if you live in Florida, do you really need to get away?) and off-seasons to begin as soon as possible. Boston last earned the top seed in the East in 2013 when they captured that cursed Presidents' Trophy. No need to worry about that since Nashville (53-18-11) already wrapped it up days ago. More than just a label or a number, tomorrow's contest means so much because a win would allow the B's to open against the Devils (44-29-9), the second Wild Card (ie. the lowest seed) in the East. New Jersey has put together a very surprising season to reach the playoffs for the first time in six years but who would rather face Toronto than them? Outside of Taylor Hall who should be in the running for the Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP), who else do you fear? The Bruins won't need any additional motivation as they take on the Panthers in front of their home crowd one more time before Game 1 versus whomever on Thursday.

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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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The Bruins Better Hope That They Don't Meet the Ducks In the Stanley Cup Final This Summer

They sadly dropped the Mighty part from their team name ages ago but whenever the Ducks (25-17-9) have met the Bruins (29-11-8) in recent years, they still resemble that youth hockey juggernaut from the Disney movies of our youth. Anaheim kicked off the second half of the regular season with a 3-1 win at TD Garden this evening that laid to rest Boston's remarkable 18-game point streak (14-0-4) which was tied for the second longest in franchise history. The Ducks swept the two-game season series with Boston, outscoring them 7-2 so I'd say that neither result was what you would call a fluke. In fact, the B's are winless in their last eight games against the Ducks (0-7-1) with their last victory coming on October 21, 2013 (3-2 in Boston).

In many ways, the Ducks are a throwback to a bygone era in the NHL: they play what everybody and their mother terms a "heavy game" meaning that they have many bigger players that like to be physical. Besides them the Kings (27-18-5) and Blues (31-18-3) are two other notable clubs to favor that style that used to be so ingrained into Boston's DNA. There is a reason that no team in NHL history has ever earned a point when they have allowed the first goal in eight straight games. That was the mountain that the Bruins built for themselves right off the bat as they allowed a pair of goals in a lifeless first period for the home team. Oddly enough, the B's had a power play 27 seconds into the contest (slashing on Ryan Kesler) but couldn't generate any shots on goal from it (their PP was 0-for-4 in the game). Anaheim's first goal was downright ugly as Anton Khudobin (24 saves) dropped a routine backhand flip into his glove which allowed the puck to bounce in the net off of Zdeno Chara's skate at 9:04. Jakob Silfverberg was credited with his 12th goal of the season (which had to be the easiest of his life), from Cam Fowler and Rickard Rakell. Adam Henrique (6-game point streak)-who has been a great pickup for the Ducks-made it 2-0 with a power play tally at 13:59, an absolute snipe (his 14th goal of the season) that was assisted by Rakell and Fowler once again.

After they were outshot 15-5 in the first period, Boston flipped a switch and outshot Anaheim 13-4 in the second but they simply couldn't find the back of the net as they missed some of their top-end talent. The same was true for much of the third period as John Gibson (25 saves) didn't allow any goals but left late in the frame (for the 2nd straight contest) with an injury. Backup goaltender Ryan Miller allowed a goal to birthday boy Ryan Spooner with 40.7 seconds left in regulation when Khudobin was off for an extra skater but Henrique sealed it with an empty-netter from deep in his own end. Spooner's goal was his eighth of the season, assisted by Torey Krug and David Pastrnak (6-game point streak). The point streak had to end at some point for the Black and Gold but they had nobody else to blame for such an uninspired start that ultimately cost them two points.

Brad Marchand was serving the second game of his five-game suspension, Charlie McAvoy remains out after his heart procedure (the good news was that he skated this afternoon for the first time since last week's surgery) and Noel Acciari (lower-body injury) is also sidelined. Boston lost two more guys during the game as Anders Bjork (upper-body injury) left early in the first after a slight cross-check by Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin to what I guess was a vulnerable spot in his back. Late in the third period, Ducks left wing Nick Ritchie caught David Backes up high with a shoulder right to the face that dazed Backes. It was a dirty hit that should be looked at closely by the NHL's Department of Player Safety. That set off a chain of events that included Zdeno Chara crushing Henrique with a borderline check in the neutral zone followed by Ryan Getzlaf slashing Chara in the legs. Both captains barked at each other as they went to their respective penalty boxes. For what it's worth, you rarely ever see Chara that fired up about anything. He was clearly upset with the officials for the no-call on Ritchie.

Coming directly off of the All-Star break, the Bruins are well-rested since only Marchand was a part of the festivities in Tampa Bay this past weekend. They'll need that extra reserve of energy as two more quality teams visit the Garden later this week: St. Louis is here on Thursday (7, NESN) before Toronto (28-18-5) stops by on Saturday night (7, NESN). The Maple Leafs game is especially important since they are really the only team that can realistically catch the B's in terms of second place in the Atlantic Division: Toronto is five points back with two more games played. Plus the Leafs swept the home-and-home with the Bruins way back in November. Tuukka Rask will make the start in both games which is always a good thing, Khudobin was noticeably rusty against Anaheim particularly in the early going.

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Whatever Happened to Tyler Seguin? Oh That's Right, Now He's a Perennial All-Star in Dallas

It didn't take a genius to know back on that fateful July 4th (in 2013) when the Bruins traded Tyler Seguin to the Stars, that he would soon become one of the best offensive players in the NHL. No doubt the change of scenery was a good thing since Seguin will never be the main story in a town dominated by the Cowboys and Mavericks (when they're at least somewhat relevant). The Bruins (24-10-8) now only get to see their former No. 2 overall pick in 2010 once or twice a season but somehow, he seems to usually find a way to make B's fans wish that things could have worked out better here for him. In an afternoon matinee at TD Garden on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Dallas (25-17-3) skated off to the rest of their six-game Eastern Conference road trip with a 3-2 overtime victory thanks to the eye-popping talent of Seguin who (of course!) bagged the highlight-reel game-winning goal.

Seguin's tally was obviously a punch to the collective nuts for the Bruins but before that, there were plenty of reasons to be content with this result from their perspective. Boston rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second period and earned a point for the 13th game in a row (9-0-4). Remember that they had come into today's tilt as the hottest team in the NHL: 8-0-2 in their past 10 games. With the overtime victory, the Stars jumped over Minnesota (24-17-5) for the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. They are a good team with a decent shot to make the playoffs in the always loaded West especially with head coach Ken Hitchcock behind the bench, bringing stability since he's one of the NHL's all-time winningest coaches.

With three more games left this week (Wednesday vs. Montreal, Thursday at Islanders and Saturday in Montreal), this was an Anton Khudobin (9-2-4) joint for the Bruins. He made 29 saves which was fine but Dallas backup goaltender Kari Lehtonen (30 saves) edged him in his first start in exactly a month (a 5-2 loss at New Jersey on Dec. 15). Lehtonen's most recent win was on Dec. 13 (at Islanders). Dallas' usual goaltender Ben Bishop (former University of Maine standout) had made 11 straight starts which seems like a death wish approved by Canadiens head coach Claude Julien but I digress.

Boston is awful in overtime this season (1-6) while Dallas improved to 3-2 in the extra session. The Garden always lacks noise in afternoon starts (sorry kiddos) but still the team is 3-2-1 in them so far in 2017-18. Finally, the B's are 3-2-2 in game 1s (when they have 3 games in 4 days) and they allowed the first goal in consecutive contests for the first time in nearly a month (Dec. 13, 14 & 16).

After a scoreless 1st period, the Stars woke up before the Bruins as they bagged two goals less than five minutes apart. Stephen Johns sniped in a shot at 3:49 for his 5th goal of the season, assisted by Remi Elie and Brett Ritchie. Haha I swear those are all real people and not assumed names made up by the FBI. Former Canadiens bust Alexander Radulov doubled Dallas' lead at 8:15 after Jamie Benn shot the puck via the face-off then the burly Russian was there to pop in the rebound with a backhander for his 17th goal of the season.

Boston's power play was 0 for 4 on the day so they were no help whatsoever. Zdeno Chara got his team back into it though with a patented blast at 16:28 of the 2nd period, cutting it to 2-1 Stars. Charlie McAvoy & Riley Nash assisted on the Captain's fourth goal of the season. Happily this time around, he didn't send anyone to the hospital when they were hit by one of his wayward shot attempts.

Dallas was 20-1-1 when leading after two this season while Boston was 1-9-2 when trailing after two so the home team obviously had their work cut out for them. Ryan Spooner of all people tied it up at 11:21 when his shot in traffic deflected in off a Stars defenseman's skate. Spooner's fifth goal of the season was assisted by David Krejci and Matt Grzelcyk. I thought that the puck had gone off of Jake DeBrusk's body but the ruling never changed, sorry rookie.

Seguin's goal was pretty brilliant as Dallas had an extra skater on the ice during a delayed penalty call. He skated around multiple Bruins who all futilely dropped to the ice to block his shot before he snuck it between Khudobin's stacked pads. His team-leading 22nd goal of the season was assisted by John Klingberg (who paces the league with 35 assists) and his buddy Benn.

Boston beat Montreal (18-20-5) 4-3 in a thrilling shootout that probably few but the true Bruins hardcores actually saw on Saturday night since it was on at the same exact time as the Patriots' blowout of the Titans. With two more games against the Habs this week, the Black and Gold have a real opportunity to bury their biggest rival for good well before the spring is even here. With the back-to-backs, I'm confident that Tuukka Rask will see Montreal again before Khudobin starts against the Isles (22-18-4). After that who knows if Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy would want Rask to play the same club three times in eight days? That's clearly above my pay grade, haha I'm just a lowly blogger that's lucky to be out of my mother's basement.

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I Am Calling It: 2018 Will Be the Year of Bergy

Sometimes in sports, like in everyday regular people life, you just don't have it. Conversely, there are other magical times where you can literally do no wrong. Tonight was one of those latter such times for Bruins icon Patrice Bergeron. He set a career-high with four goals and tied another personal mark with five points as Boston (23-10-6) pillaged Carolina (19-14-8) 7-1 at TD Garden. When you have an unforgettable performance such as that, there are many statistics that you can highlight: Bergy notched his second career hat trick just 5:36 into the second period and his fourth goal a little over five minutes later tied the club record also matched by 16 others. You might not know anything about them, neither do most people in North Carolina (why are they still there?), but the Hurricanes had been playing really well (7-2-1) and they were coming off of a 4-0 shutout in Pittsburgh (21-19-3) on Thursday.

Carolina goaltender Cam Ward got to play 5:43 which is quite impressive when you consider that he started and wasn't forced out of action with an injury. Nope, Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters (which sounds like the name of your dad's boss) had seen enough after Bergeron flipped a shot by his glove side at 3:14 of the first period. Bergeron's 13th goal of the season was shorthanded and assisted by Brad Marchand (4 assists) who must of fooled Ward into thinking that Bergeron was going to pass it to him? Former Carolina great Riley Nash made it 2-0 at 5:43 when he roofed a shot over Ward's (say it with me kids!) glove side. Nash's fifth goal of the season was assisted by Kevan Miller and David Backes. Ward finished with two goals allowed on two shots against which is really remarkable when you think about it for a guy that's won a Stanley Cup.

For a freezing cold second, the Hurricanes had one last breath of life as Jordan Staal tipped in a Teuvo Teravainen shot for a power play goal at 7:09 which cut it to 2-1 Bruins. Norwood native and former BC star Noah Hanifin had the second assist on Staal's 11th goal of the season. This came right after Marchand had a shorthanded breakaway bid stopped by Scott Darling (no relation to Ron, I think). No problem though, Boston's unstoppable offense roared back with a pair of goals at 9:04 and 10:22 of the first period. David Pastrnak whipped in a one-timer (his 1st goal in 11 games) for his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Bergeron and Danton Heinen (2 goals, 5 assists in his last 7 games). Jake DeBrusk tipped in Ryan Spooner's shot for his ninth goal of the season, assisted by David Krejci. The B's weren't done though in the first as they polished off their first five-goal frame in nearly 7 years (Jan. 13, 2011 vs. Flyers). Bergeron pumped in a one-timer from Marchand for his 700th career point, how cute!

Even the Chiefs couldn't blow that type of lead, oh wait.... Just in case the Hurricanes had any thoughts of making it competitive, they passed out in a snowbank outside the Garden and collectively froze to death. Bergeron got his hat trick, complete with plenty of hats thrown on the ice (props to the Bruins marketing team for saying hats were 30% off in the team store, America!), thanks to another assist from Marchand at 5:36. Finally, Bergy wrapped it up with one last tally from his uber-talented linemates at 10:45 of the second period. It would have been fun to see Boston score double-digit goals but with another game looming tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports) in Pittsburgh, what was the point? There was nothing left to prove against a beaten opponent.

The Bruins improved to 8-0-2 in their last 10 games, the longest point streak since they went 15-0-1 from March 2-30, 2014. They are 11-1-2 in their last 14 games and 17-3-2 in their last 22 games which last time I checked is pretty damn good. The back-to-back champion Penguins have been a mess this season and believe it or not, if the playoffs started today (I know, I hate those hypothetical statements too.....), they would be left out of the mighty Eastern Conference playoff race. Of course, nobody in the world (probably not even the Hurricanes) would pick Carolina to hold off Pittsburgh for the second Wild Card. This is a proud club with a ton of great players so it's a little early to be writing them off, however the B's have a nice opportunity to inflict more damage on the Pens on national TV on a Sunday night, what could be better than that?

Anton Khudobin (27 saves, 9th win of the season) had the honor of facing his former team today so that Tuukka Rask (14-8-3, 2.09 GAA) will be well rested (remember that Boston's game with Florida on Thursday was cancelled on account of the Bomb Cyclone) for the showdown with Pittsburgh. You'll need to get your Black and Gold fix tomorrow since after that, they are off until Saturday (7, NESN) when they travel to see hapless Montreal (17-20-4) coached by some guy named Handsome Ralph I mean Mr. Potato Head, no it's Claude Julien. The NHL schedule makers were clearly tripping on acid when they put together this upcoming slate for the B's after the mandatory break as they play the Habs three times in eight days. Haha WTF? Boston's next home game isn't until a week from Monday (1, NESN), a Martin Luther King Jr. day matinee vs. Dallas (24-16-3).

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B's Win Season-High 4th In A Row As Khudobin Extends Career-Best Point Streak To 9 (7-0-2)

Tuukka Rask might still be the third highest paid goaltender in the NHL but for the time being, he's lost his starting job to a career backup: Anton Khudobin (7-0-2). Boston (10-7-4) beat Pittsburgh (11-10-3) 4-3 this afternoon at TD Garden on Black Friday as the B's have improbably turned their season around with four straight wins. Khudobin entered today owning the best save percentage in the league (.938 save%) and he was third in goals against average (2.13) so while those numbers went down a bit, he is still riding the best point streak of his career and he even admitted in Boston's dressing room after the game that this was the best run he's had in the NHL, even better than with that vaunted Carolina team in 2014.

It's a little early to be projecting a playoff matchup this spring (and keep in mind that they meet twice more in the regular season with another game in Boston) but you have to admit that it would be fun to see the Bruins and Penguins meet in the postseason since Boston improved to 9-1-2 in their last 12 contests vs. the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. For whatever unknown reason, they have given the Penguins more problems than any other opponent over these last few years. Pittsburgh star Evgeni Malkin (7 goals, 14 assists) missed today's action with an upper-body injury but Brad Marchand (8 goals, 7 assists) was also out for Boston so that's basically an even trade-off.

Besides Khudobin (who only had to make 17 saves), the key to Boston's resurgence lately has been the fact that they've consistently gotten off to better starts. It's no surprise that hockey (just like any other team sport) is easier to play with a lead versus playing from behind all the time. The B's were up 2-0 less than 11 minutes into the proceedings as David Krejci (2nd goal of the season) finished a one-timer from Jake DeBrusk and Peter Cehlarik at 6:13 followed by Sean Kuraly's (3rd goal of the season) similar one-timer at 10:51 from fellow rookie Charlie McAvoy. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan (a South Shore resident and another BU connection) used his timeout after that and truthfully, he probably needed it more late in the game when the B's were hanging on but that's neither here nor there.

Pittsburgh trailed 2-0 after the first period but the Penguins cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal by Jake Guentzel at 1:02 of the second, his team-leading ninth of the season. Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby-ever heard of them?-had the helpers as Pittsburgh cashed in on a cheap hooking penalty on Krejci (granted it was Boston's only infraction). It's tough to beat rookie defenseman Matt Grzelcyk's story just to get here: Charlestown native, BU alum and his dad works on the bull gang (the group that changes the ice, court and concert stages) at the Garden. He added another chapter to his hometown hero legacy with his first NHL goal at 10:31. Krejci and DeBrusk (2 goals and 4 assists in 5 games since he was a healthy scratch) had the helpers as Grzelcyk took his head coach Bruce Cassidy's sage advice and pinched up on the play before beating Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (29 saves) down low.

The Penguins are banged up but they (cliche alert!) still have the heart of a (2-time) champion as they rallied for two goals before that frame was over. Former Bruins great Phil Kessel showed off what is still one of the best shots in the league as he sniped the puck past Khudobin at 14:07 to make it 3-2 Boston. Riley Sheahan and Justin Schultz had the assists on Kessel's ninth goal of the season. Crosby tied it up with a bizarre tally: he knocked the puck off of Khudobin's chest (it was just lying there) and it stood up for his seventh goal of the season after a lengthy review and subsequent reach of a coach's challenge by Cassidy. Patric Hornqvist and another former Bruin-Matt Hunwick-had the assists on a goal that showed off some of Crosby's numerous elite skills (hand-eye coordination, instinct, relentlessness, etc) that have all added up to make him an all-time great player.

Coming off an 11-round shootout in New Jersey on Wednesday (won 3-2 by the Bruins), not to mention it being the afternoon following the biggest eating day of the year (sorry Ramadan), the Bruins wanted no part of overtime or God forbid another shootout. They got all the remaining offense that they would need to put it in the win column as David Pastrnak finished off a breakaway from Riley Nash and Ryan Spooner at 5:06 of the third period. Pastrnak's team-leading 11th goal of the season was helped by Nash's long feed but then it was all Pasta's brilliance since he went backhand to forehand before flipping the puck over Murray's glove hand.

Boston will try to keep the good vibes going as they host the reeling Oilers (8-12-2) on Sunday (5, NESN) before the best team in hockey-Tampa Bay (16-3-2) comes to town on Wednesday (7:30, NBC Sports Network). Cassidy said they're taking the goaltender situation "day-to-day" so I have no idea if it'll be Khudobin or Rask vs. Edmonton. You can see it from both sides: when he has enough breaks in between games, why sit Khudobin before he loses in regulation but Rask will also have to start again at some point or you risk really losing him mentally this season. Wear your old Milan Lucic Bruins jersey on Sunday and silently cheer on Looch after you watch the Patriots (8-2) destroy the Dolphins (4-6) at Gillette Stadium (1, CBS).

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Heinen Scores His 1st 2 NHL Goals & Khudobin Stands On His Head as B's Beat Sharks 2-1

With one of the best teams in the NHL visiting TD Garden on Thursday, the Bruins (4-3-1) had to play well to earn any points against the Sharks (4-5-0). Naturally, the Black and Gold were led by that dynamic duo of backup goaltender/No. 1 for now Anton Khudobin (36 saves) and Danton Heinen who potted the first two goals of his NHL career as Boston held off San Jose 2-1 in a playoff-type contest. Haha can anyone say Stanley Cup Finals preview? OK that is a complete reach but coming off that terrible 6-5 overtime loss to Buffalo (3-6-2) on Saturday, it was a good sign that the B's looked like a different team. Heinen already became the fourth Bruins rookie to get his first NHL goal in 2017-18, joining Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy and Anders Bjork.

Boston can't match San Jose's overall skill but they outworked them by blocking two more shots (16-14) and recording three more takeaways (13-10). The ice was very tilted in the Sharks' favor, at least according to the referees who awarded them a whopping six power-plays (3 penalties alone on rookie Sean Kuraly) but Boston's penalty kill managed to go 5-for-6 and they erased that power play goal by potting a shorthanded goal of their own (their 2nd of the young season). Heinen gave his team a 1-0 lead at 9:41 of the first period as former Bruins great Martin Jones (31 saves) left a juicy rebound right on his doorstep for the rookie to knock in his first NHL tally. David Backes and Kevan Miller each had assists-their first points of the season-on the shorthanded goal.

The Bruins led 1-0 after the first period but the Sharks tied it at 10:40 of the second as former Boston No. 1 overall pick Joe Thornton (in 1997!) was helped by Khudobin's save which left a loose puck right in the crease. It was Jumbo Joe's second goal of the season (he has a 5-game point streak) and 1398th career NHL point, tying him with Jari Kurri for 20th all-time. Something called Tim Heed (great name) and Thornton's bearded brother Brent Burns provided the assists. Heinen quickly answered at 13:27 when a lucky bounce (a shot that went wide of the net but caromed right to him stationed on the other post) found his stick for an easy tap-in. Brandon Carlo and Tim Schaller assisted on Heinen's second goal of the night that turned out to be the game-winner.

San Jose outshot Boston 37-33 for the contest, including 15-11 in the third period thanks to two late power plays (they pulled Jones for the latter one). Tom Brady gets all the credit around here for being an unparalleled 40-year-old but Zdeno Chara (game-high 26:40 ice time, 8:21 shorthanded) is also a freak of nature and future first ballot Hall of Famer that continues to defy the laws of aging as well. Fresh off a 4-0 win at hapless Montreal (2-7-1 with a goal-differential of -20) this evening, the high-flying Kings (8-1-1) visit the Garden on Saturday night (7, NESN). It should be a fun atmosphere with another quality opponent in town plus a crowd that is sure to be celebrating Halloween a little early (glug, glug). David Krejci (back) will remain out for that tilt but Tuukka Rask (who backed up Khudobin tonight) could potentially return for his first start in nearly two weeks after being in the concussion protocol.

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Somewhere the Falcons Feel Their Pain as the Bruins Blew a 3-goal Lead & Lost in OT to Buffalo

With so many young players in the lineup every game not to mention numerous injuries that seem to befell them daily, the Bruins (3-3-1) are in no position to switch gears into cruise control at the moment. The Sabres (2-5-2) were coming off a 4-2 loss to Vancouver (3-3-1) on Friday so when they went down 4-1 in the second period at TD Garden on Saturday night, it appeared to be an easy victory lining up for the B's. Unfortunately that wasn't the case at all as Buffalo rattled off four straight goals including Ryan O'Reilly's game-winner in overtime to take a shocking 5-4 victory back to God's Country (Upstate NY).

Anton Khudobin (37 saves) will never be a starting goaltender on a good NHL team, that's just a fact. He is the classic backup goalie that can occasionally catch fire but more often than not, he won't be counted on for anything other than uneven results. Granted, Buffalo outshot Boston 42-31 in the contest, including 15-6 in the third period and 6-0 in overtime so it's tough to pin that loss all on him. Adam McQuaid is out for eight weeks with a broken leg (surgery on Monday) and Kevan Miller was a late scratch with a mangled hand. Who had six games being all that the most injury prone players in the NHL would last in 2017-18? Meanwhile, Colin Miller continues to develop in Vegas. (Huge sigh while throwing my arms in the air).

David Krejci took warmups with the B's tonight but also sat at the last-minute which didn't help the Black and Gold since he had six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in the first six games. Paul Postma and Rob O'Gara made their season debuts for the Bruins (in Postma's case his first ever game for Boston) while Matt Beleskey (0 points in 6 games) was re-inserted into the lineup. Boston opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period as David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand (power-play) continued their race for the team scoring lead as both guys notched their fifth goals of the season. Tim Schaller and Charlie McAvoy assisted on Pasta's fluky jam-shot by the immortal Robin Lehner (27 saves) while Marchand didn't need any help on his.

Marchand made it 3-0 B's 37 seconds into the second period with assists to Anders Bjork and McAvoy. At that point, Buffalo could have easily packed it in and got ready to watch the Bills game tomorrow but veteran Jason Pominville cut it to 3-1 at 8:01 with a snipe from Ryan O'Reilly, his fifth goal of the season. Pastrnak tallied another weird goal-off your boy Matt Tennyson's leg-for a 4-1 Bruins advantage at 11:22. Riley Nash and Torey Krug had the assists as it felt like either Marchand or Pastrnak would get a hat trick for the home crowd. Chelmsford's Jack Eichel deposited a rebound past Khudobin at 16:07 to give the Sabres a breath of life. Marco Scandella and Justin Bailey had the helpers on the former BU star's fourth goal of the season.

Still when you face a nothing team like Buffalo with a three-goal lead or up 4-2 after two periods, you have to put them away. No excuses. Boston couldn't do that though as former Bruins great Benoit Pouliot fired in a loose puck at 6:55 to draw Buffalo within one goal for the first time since the first period. Sam Reinhart and Jake McCabe were credited with assists on Pouliot's first goal of the season (how is he still in the NHL?). For whatever reason, the B's looked like the gassed team that played the night before as Buffalo outworked them for the tying goal at 17:52. Evander Kane potted his sixth goal of the season, off a goal-mouth scramble and the assists went to McCabe and Pominville.

Boston's power play scored for the fifth time in seven contests this campaign but they didn't draw any penalties after early in the second period. Buffalo wasn't ever on a power play in overtime, it just felt like it as the puck was seemingly in Boston's end the entire time. Khudobin was shaky all night, most of his saves weren't exactly masterpieces which in turn made you think that every shot was going in. Torey Krug pushed a Sabre into Khudobin on O'Reilly's goal so the referees reviewed it for awhile but it ultimately held up. O'Reilly made a brilliant play, going 360 degrees from behind the net to his backhand shot. His third goal of the season was unassisted.

The crappy taste from this OT loss will most likely linger for days since the Bruins won't be back in action until Thursday (7, NESN) when they host San Jose (3-4-0). In his press conference after the loss, Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said that Krejci and Miller are each probable to return then but with the way that their players are dropping like flies, we'll have to hope that all the important guys are bound in bubble wrap this week lest they get hit by a meteor or a drone. The Bruins simply cannot afford anymore injuries to key players this early in the season.

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Patrice Bergeron Returns to Save the Day for the Bruins as They Romp the Canucks 6-3

It was a great night to be Patrice Bergeron's agent as the Bruins (3-3-0) center made his 2017-18 debut with a vengeance: he had a goal and three assists (his 5th career 4-point game) as the B's returned to TD Garden and beat the lowly Canucks (2-3-1) 6-3. After losing to Malcolm Subban in their last game and coming off a very uneven 1-2 road trip, the Bruins were in desperate need of a complete performance and luckily for them Vancouver-who has to be one of the worst teams in the NHL-was on the schedule at just the right time.

Tuukka Rask was diagnosed with a concussion today after a collision at practice yesterday with rookie Anders Bjork. Anton Khudobin (26 saves) picked up his second win of the season and the Canucks actually scored first as Derek Dorsett used a knuckle puck type shot to beat Khudobin at 2:58 of the first period. Michael Del Zotto and Christopher Tanev assisted on Dorsett's second goal of the season. It didn't take long for Boston to wake up as Bjork cleaned up a rebound 31 seconds later for his second goal of the season. Bergeron and Brad Marchand had the assists on their rookie linemate's tally.

If you are a Canucks fan, and my sincere apologies if you call yourself that, you can easily pin this loss on one stupid guy: Erik Gudbranson. He hit Frank Vatrano from behind, leading to a fight with Tim Schaller. When the smoke had cleared, Gudbranson was tagged with a boarding major and a game-misconduct. The Bruins proceeded to reel off three power-play goals on the same five-minute major penalty for the first time since Oct. 28, 1998 (vs. Montreal). First David Pastrnak undressed Vancouver's sorry defense for a 2-1 Boston lead at 9:03, his fourth goal of the season. 23 seconds after that, Bjork took a feed from David Krejci and beat poor Anders Nilsson (4 goals allowed, 13 saves) top-shelf for a 3-1 B's advantage. Charlie McAvoy had the second assist. Finally, Krejci made it 4-1 at 10:40 after a juicy rebound from Nilsson (whose night ended after that). David's first goal of the season was assisted by Bergeron and Kenny Agostino (his 1st point in Black and Gold).

Up 4-1 after the first frame, Boston continued to pile it on in the second as Marchand sniped one past backup goaltender Jacob Markstrom (2 goals allowed, 16 saves). Bjork and Bergeron had the helpers as Marchand bolstered his four-game point streak. Other than Dorsett's goal, the Canucks showed only a brief glimpse of life in the second as they cut it to 5-3. Bruins killer Thomas Vanek who will no doubt still be scoring goals against them when he's living in a retirement home tipped in a power-play goal at 16:06. Sam Gagner and Del Zotto assisted on Vanek's third goal of the season. Bo Horvat, who honestly might be Vancouver's best player at the moment, tallied a goal 34 seconds later to cause some panic in the Garden crowd on Hockey Fights Cancer night.

Fittingly Bergeron put this one away for good with Boston's fourth power-play goal of the contest (matching their total from the first 5 games combined) midway through the third period at 11:53. Pastrnak and Marchand notched the assists on Bergeron's first goal of the campaign. David Backes also made his first appearance of the season for the B's and while he didn't record any points, like Bergeron he is known as one of the vocal leaders on the team. Adam McQuaid continued to display incredible toughness as well, blocking two shots on a late third period Vancouver power play before he had to be grabbed by Backes and pushed towards the bench by Zdeno Chara since he was gliding on one leg. Still, I'll bet that McQuaid suits up on Saturday (7, NESN) vs. Buffalo (1-4-2) since he didn't miss any time despite blocking a monster slap shot by former Bruin Colin Miller on Sunday night in Vegas. This was a nice way for Boston to kick off their four-game homestand, now they need to put together their first win-streak of 2017-18.

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B's Lose 3-1 to Caps in Regular Season Finale, Await Either Washington or Ottawa in 1st Round

If the Capitals (55-18-8) don't finally win their first-ever Stanley Cup this summer, they might never get it done. That mildly hot take is a tad sarcastic but come on, does Washington have any real weaknesses? In a game that meant absolutely nothing to the Caps but plenty to the Bruins (44-31-7), Washington still managed to cruise to an easy as pie 3-1 win this afternoon at TD Garden. Boston dropped its last two regular season games so they lost any control over whether they'll finish in third-place in the Atlantic Division or as the second Wild Card (and a certain death penalty vs. Washington). All they can hope is that Toronto (39-26-15) earns no more than two total points in their final two games: vs. Pittsburgh (50-19-11) later tonight and then they host reeling Columbus (49-24-8) to wrap things up tomorrow night.

The B's also suffered what could be another significant injury to their defense as Brandon Carlo (upper-body injury) left in the first period and never returned after a hit by Alex Ovechkin then awkward fall to the ice. Boston has termed defenseman Torey Krug "day-to-day" after he left Thursday's shootout loss to the Senators (44-27-10) but from all accounts, that is being generous since he has a significant right knee injury. Anton Khudobin (21 saves) played for the first two periods before departing because "he didn't feel well." Haha was he hanging out with all the Red Sox that are currently knocked out by the bird flu? BU's Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson made his NHL debut today since PC's Noel Acciari is also out with an upper-body injury. JFK centered the third line for Boston but did barely anything (1 blocked shot, 1-1 on faceoffs in just 8:25 of ice time) of note.

Washington is so skilled and loaded at seemingly every position (keep in mind that defenseman John Carlson and goaltender Braden Holtby both sat out) that many of their goals resemble something you do more frequently in a video game than actually experience in real life. Marcus Johansson (24th goal of the season) scored on a basic give-and-go with Justin Williams as they split Boston's tattered defense at 15:39 for a 1-0 Caps lead. Johansson has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in his last nine games.

The second period had some nastiness as Colin Miller's legs took out Tom Wilson's legs which caused Jay Beagle to take a run at Miller. It was a cheap play that could have resulted in a serious injury since Miller was in a vulnerable position (laying on the ice against the boards) and I wouldn't be shocked if Wilson has a hearing with the league about it. Speaking of which, this was Marchand's second game of his suspension so he is free to play starting in Game 1 of the playoffs next week. Washington has swept Boston the last three seasons (7-0-2) and outscored them 30-11 in the process. The only time that the B's were able to beat backup Philipp Grubauer (21 saves) is when Colin Miller put the puck in a millisecond before Drew Stafford crashed into the net (knocking it off its moorings). The goal was reviewed but stood up, Miller's sixth goal of the season assisted by Stafford.

The tie was short-lived (for 56 seconds) as former BU star Kevin Shattenkirk one-timed a pass from Niklas Backstrom (who leads the NHL in helpers) and Ovechkin at 16:09. Shattenkirk added another goal at 17:31 but it was overturned after Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy used his coach's challenge for goalie interference. It hardly mattered to the Capitals though as they made it 3-1 at 19:10 when Williams completed a pretty passing sequence around multiple helpless Bruins with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nate Schmidt. Tuukka Rask (8 saves) started the third period and that's about all we'll ever say about that forgettable frame. Now all we can do is wait until possibly tomorrow night (the last day of the regular season) for all the scenarios to unfold. The B's have no shot if they face the Caps but a matchup with the Senators is infinitely more winnable despite the fact that Ottawa also swept Boston during this campaign.

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B's Beat Devils 3-2 In Stafford's Debut For Boston

I have never been to that arctic hell hole known as Winnipeg but I can only assume that getting out of there for good has to be one of the best moments of your life. At least that's what new Bruins (34-25-6) right wing Drew Stafford would have you believe after he was named the first star of the game in his debut for Boston, a 3-2 win over New Jersey (25-27-12) tonight at TD Garden. Playing on the third line with Frank Vatrano and Ryan Spooner (Claude Julien's haters), Stafford had an assist, he was +1, a game-high seven shots on goal and four hits in a very productive 14:07 of ice time.

A Weekend at Bernie's style corpse would be an improvement over Jimmy Hayes (2 goals, 3 assists in 49 games this season!) so needless to say that Stafford is already a huge addition if only for the simple reason that it relegated Hayes to the ninth floor as a healthy scratch. Obviously Stafford won't be that good in every game, few teams are more pathetic than the Devils, but this was a promising start for the former Sabre. Also relevant to the B's besides the two points is that backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (15 saves) continued to not be a liability anymore (a drastic change from earlier this season) as he won his third straight start.

Boston improved to 8-2-0 under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy and I'm almost certain (and too lazy to check it) that they haven't had a better 10-game segment in 2016-17. You have to feel bad for Marblehead native and BC alum Cory Schneider (37 saves), besides a few years in Vancouver (where he was never the unquestioned No. 1 goaltender), he's been on a bunch of terrible teams. We think he's one of the best at his position in the NHL but it's hard to really assess when he has yet to compete in a single playoff game as a Devil. For as long as he's been in Dirty Jersey, the once-proud franchise has struggled to score goals which last time I checked is still relevant in terms of winning in hockey.

After a scoreless first period that should have been followed by partial refunds to all the fans in attendance (Boston outshot New Jersey 16-5), there was a flurry by that minimalist standard with three goals in the second frame. Torey Krug gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 7:06 when he hammered in a loose puck for a power play goal. David Pastrnak (5-game point-streak) and Patrice Bergeron had the assists on Krug's sixth goal of the season. The B's appeared to take a 2-0 lead shortly after that as Taylor Hall was in the penalty box for another tripping call. The funny thing is that Hall's penalty had negated a possible goal for his own team but then Stafford's power play goal was overturned for a shaky goaltender interference ruling. Schneider never seemed to control the puck and it was called a goal on the ice but after a lengthy review, the refs said no goal.

A few minutes later New Jersey tied it at one as big and slow Devante Smith-Pelly somehow got on a breakaway and beat Khudobin at 11:48. BC's Steve Santini and Kyle Palmieri had the helpers on Smith-Pelly's fourth goal of the season. The black and gold went ahead 2-1 at 18:25 of the second period as rookie Brandon Carlo got a lucky bounce. His weak backhander was tipped in by New Jersey defenseman Nick Lappin. Bergeron and David Backes assisted on Carlo's sixth goal of the season.

Down 2-1 going into the third period, the Devils didn't go away though as Palmieri tied it after a 2-on-1 with Hall following a blocked shot on Carlo. It was his twentieth goal of the season, giving the American back-to-back 20-goal campaigns which converted to New Jersey terms is like a 30-goal season with most other half-decent clubs. The B's responded quickly in their own right as Vatrano caused a turnover behind Schneider's net then passed to Stafford who fed Spooner for a pretty tap-in. Spooner's 11th goal of the season stood as the game-winner as the Devils never really threatened while the Bruins missed a pair of empty-netters.

When it comes to the jumbled Eastern Conference playoff picture, there won't be many bigger games down the stretch than Monday (7, NESN) as Boston travels to Ottawa (35-22-6). The Senators held off the Blue Jackets (40-17-6) 3-2 tonight so they will come in two points in front of the Bruins with two games in hand. Needless to say, a win by the B's (who are 17-11-6 on the road) would be huge while a Sens victory especially in regulation would be a blow to Boston's hopes of finishing above third in the Atlantic Division. Tuukka Rask (30-15-4) will be well-rested so it should be a good one, a little Monday Night Puck.

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Ugh, the Bruins Continue to Pathetically Fold at TD Garden Against the NHL's Worst Teams

Question: how many last-place teams can come into TD Garden in a short amount of time and all leave here with wins? Answer: three (Colorado, Toronto and Islanders). Tonight, Boston (17-14-3) spotted New York (12-14-6) a 3-0 lead in the second period before they finally decided to show a pulse in the third period. By that time it was too late as the Islanders snapped a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) to take the 4-2 decision. It was a nice homecoming for two former Bruins defensemen: Dennis Seidenberg (playing in his first game back in Boston since signing with NY in September) and Johnny Boychuk were both a game-high +2.

Tuukka Rask (16-6-3) has been stellar all season so I guess he was due for an off-night of sorts. He was victimized by two fluky goals and ended up getting pulled for the first time since April 3, 2015 (at Chicago). He finished with 10 saves and three goals allowed. Anton Khudobin made 15 saves in his appearance that began at 13:42 of the second period. He actually picked up his first career NHL point (an assist) but he allowed an Islanders power play goal in the third period that effectively closed the curtain on this one. New York goaltender Thomas Greiss (7-5-0) made a career-high 48 saves as Boston had a season-high 50 shots on goal (95 shot attempts!).

The B's hadn't played since Sunday afternoon's 1-0 win vs. LA, so they were sitting around at home since then and thus there really is no valid excuse for coming out so slow once again. Rask and Brad Marchand ran into each other behind Boston's net, allowing Anders Lee to knock in an early Christmas present at 3:05 of the first period. Lee's team-leading 11th goal of the season was unassisted. Another rare mistake happened a few moments later as Patrice Bergeron got caught up ice, leaving New York with a 3-on-1. Thomas Hickey beat Rask glove-side with a shot at 5:40 for a 2-0 lead. Josh Bailey and Lee had the assists on Hickey's tally.

Boston's offense had two near misses in the second period as Patrice Bergeron and Austin Czarnik each hit the crossbar in quick succession. New York took a commanding 3-0 lead at 6:18 on yet another bizarre strike. Boychuk dumped the puck in Boston's zone, it bounced off the end boards (and eluded Kevan Miller's stick) before Rask got handcuffed by it on the goal-line. Nikolay Kulemin was there to smack it in for his fourth goal of the season.

As we all predicted, Bruins rookie Anton Blidh sparked the comeback attempt when his centering pass intended for goal-machine Jimmy Hayes deflected by Greiss off of Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy's skate. The first goal of Blidh's NHL career was assisted by Brandon Carlo and Khudobin just 3:04 into the third. After rightfully booing the Bruins off the ice to end the second, the Garden crowd finally had something to cheer about and they really got loud for a few minutes after Dominic Moore tipped in Zdeno Chara's shot from the point at 7:12. Moore's eighth goal of the season was also assisted by Hayes (his 1st helper of the season).

New York head coach Jack Capuano (a Rhode Islander) sensed his team falling apart and smartly took his timeout to settle them down. It worked as they were able to hold off the Bruins and get the insurance goal they needed when Lee received another easy tap-in at 13:02. Khudobin lost the puck in his pads with the assists going to Bailey and Leddy. Boston ended up outshooting New York 23-9 in the third. It seemed like they had a power play (a good one though, not theirs) for almost the entire 20 minutes and they put tons of pressure on the Isles but they never completely cracked like you hoped that they would.

The good news for Boston is that they get to go on the road where they are much better (9-5-3) than at the Garden (8-9-0) so far in 2016-17. The B's are in Florida (15-13-5) on Thursday (7:30, NESN) before they wrap up things (sorry) before a brief Christmas break (Dec. 24-26) on Friday (7:30, NESN) in Carolina (13-11-7). Boston is clinging to third-place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of both the Lightning (16-14-3) and Panthers. Needless to say, Christmas will be much more enjoyable for the entire team if they can get three or four points on their mini-Southern road trip.

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Nevermind Playing Hockey Games, The Worn-Out Bruins Desperately Need a Rest Like Right Now

In any professional sport, every team will face a rough stretch with tons of games (and travel) condensed into a short amount of time. That's why it is pointless fodder (although always a favorite crutch for my fellow lazy media members) to whine about such circumstances since at some point, everyone will have to deal with it. With all that said, the Bruins (16-13-3) have to be happy that they finally get two days between games for the first time in nearly a month (Nov. 20-21). After getting three out of four unlikely points with a 2-1 overtime win in Montreal (19-6-4) on Monday and a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh (20-7-3) last night, they returned to TD Garden and lost 4-3 to the Ducks (16-10-5) this evening.

The season-long trends for the B's of losing in Game 2 of back-to-backs (1-5-0) and Game 3 of three-games-in-four-nights (3-5-0) continued along with the even more troubling poor play when anyone not named Tuukka Rask (15-5-3) occupies their net. Backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (1-5-0) clearly isn't the same guy he was in his first go-around with the Bruins back in 2013 but it doesn't help that his few starts are usually marked by team-wide shitty outings.

A new wrench was thrown into Boston's usual script for home losses as they actually jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period only to see Anaheim quickly erase that. Boston dropped to 11-2-0 this season when they lead by 2+ goals. The Ducks went up 3-2 early in the second period and the Bruins tied it up but once again, Anaheim had the last laugh. The game got off to such a crazy start that it was a shame to see it end in such an anti-climatic fashion (with 0 goals in the final 34:58). It was a battle of backup goaltenders with Khudobin (23 saves) facing your boy Jonathan Bernier (6-2-1) who finished with 31 saves.

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara blasted home a shot from the point at 12:07 of the first period. David Backes and Brad Marchand assisted on Chara's second goal of the season (his 1st goal in 22 games and 1st point in 8 games). Only 13 seconds later, Austin Czarnik doubled Boston's advantage with a one-timer from Ryan Spooner and Riley Nash. The rookie has slowly started to find his legs in the NHL with two goals and two assists in the last six games. It turned into video game hockey as Andrew Cogliano cut it to 2-1 just 24 seconds after Czarnik's strike. The three goals in 37 seconds was the most in a Bruins game since Boston and St. Louis combined for three in 34 seconds on Dec. 19, 1987. In truth, it was an own goal as Cogliano passed it to Jakob Silfverberg but the latter whiffed while David Krejci accidentally put it in his own goal. Woof.

Earlier in the frame, Khudobin had stopped a partial breakaway on Silfverberg but then Kevin Bieksa tied it up at two by jumping out of the penalty box and taking a stretch pass by Ryan Getzlaf (his 23rd assist, 2nd most in the NHL) before he beat Khudobin. Former Northeastern Husky Josh Manson went to the net and was rewarded with a juicy rebound right on his stick with Khudobin way out of position. His 1st goal of the season came 55 seconds into the second period with Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell picking up the assists. Krejci scored one for his team which was nice (his 6th of the season), depositing a power-play goal from Backes and Torey Krug at 2:06.

Rakell put in a rebound at 5:02 of the second period which turned out to be the game-winner. Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler assisted on Rakell's 12th goal of the season (he was also named the 1st star of the game). The B's will have no practice tomorrow and then probably a light workout on Saturday before they host the Kings (15-12-2). Los Angeles is in Pittsburgh tomorrow night so unlike many of their recent contests, Boston will be waiting for someone to visit them rather than the other way around. Tonight's loss dropped them to under .500 at the Garden (7-8-0) in 2016-17. The Kings are hanging onto the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference but without star goaltender Jonathan Quick (what up ZooMass?) out until March with a groin injury, it's doubtful that they'll be able to hang on to it. The B's will have to take advantage of playing a West Coast team on Sunday afternoon (1, NESN), granted the Kings' bodies should be used to the Eastern Time zone by then.

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Bruins Drop Their Third Straight Game as Their Goal-Scoring Has Gone Mostly Missing

Playing their third game in four nights (including a game on Thanksgiving for the 1st time since 1989) and on the second half of a back-to-back, the Bruins (11-10-0) looked predictably tired to start tonight's game vs. Calgary (10-12-1) at TD Garden. Still the Bruins got better as the time went by yet they found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 loss. It's been a rough week as they have lost their captain Zdeno Chara (lower-body injury) on Tuesday vs. St. Louis and now three straight contests. Boston had been 6-0-3 against Calgary in their last nine games with the last regulation loss coming way back on October 30, 2008.

Returning from injury and a rehab stint in Providence, backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (27 saves, 0-3-0) made his first start for Boston since October 22 (4-2 loss vs. Montreal) but he couldn't grab the first win by a Bruins goalie not named Tuukka Rask (11-4-0) of this entire campaign. Khudobin, Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre have combined to go 0-6-0 in 2016-17, is that bad? More relevant at the moment is the alarming lack of goal-scoring by the B's, after all they have been outscored 9-4 in this slide against the Blues, Senators and Flames (only 1 good team in that bunch).

It was a weird night what with former Bruins backup goaltender Chad Johnson (35 saves, 7-3-1) getting the first star of the game (he's won 5 of his last 6 starts and playing the best hockey of his NHL career) and something called Sam Bennett picking up two points. Oh and former BU star Alex Chiasson (who hadn't registered a point in 9 games) provided the game-winning goal. Did I mention that the horrorshow defensive pairing of Kevan Miller and Joe Morrow was on the ice for both Calgary goals? Me thinks that those bozos won't be together for too much longer, hopefully.

After a blocked shot in their own defensive zone, the Flames got a semi-breakaway that was finished by Bennett at 8:36 of the first period. Matt Stajan and T.J. Brodie assisted on Bennett's fifth goal of the season (his 1st point in 10 games). Boston had four of the five power plays of the night but sadly they weren't able to take advantage of any of them. Their only guy that can consistently find the back of the net this season-David Pastrnak-fittingly tied it at one at 5:55 of the third period. After sustained pressure on a power play, he was able to knock in a rebound with plenty of traffic in front. Tim Schaller and John-Michael Liles (celebrating his 34th birthday today) assisted on his team-leading 12th goal of the season (tied for 2nd most in the NHL).

Barely more than a minute later (1:10 after it to be exact), Chiasson roofed it past Khudobin after a sweet backhand no-look pass by Bennett from behind Boston's net. Flames captain Mark Giordano had the second assist on Chiasson's third goal of the season. Jimmy Hayes is still stuck on zero points in 19 games (don't ask me how that's possible) but at least he dropped the gloves tonight and got in a instant classic brawl with Maine native Garnet Hathaway. Just kidding, they spun around for what seemed like an eternity then Hayes basically gave Hathaway a rock bottom to drop him to the ice. Woo, good times.

You know that Rask will be back in net on Sunday afternoon (1, NESN) as the B's host the Lightning (13-8-1). It promises to be a pretty dead atmosphere on an NFL Sunday although the Patriots-Jets game starts at 4:25 p.m. Needless to say Boston could really use a win at this point, no matter how it transpires. Don't expect to see Chara back anytime soon although we still have no real idea what the big man is dealing with in terms of an injury. Without him in the lineup, the team hasn't been nearly the same group that they were through the first 18 games where they got off to a better than expected beginning.

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Bruins Drop Their Third Straight Game as Their Goal-Scoring Has Gone Mostly Missing

Playing their third game in four nights (including a game on Thanksgiving for the 1st time since 1989) and on the second half of a back-to-back, the Bruins (11-10-0) looked predictably tired to start tonight's game vs. Calgary (10-12-1) at TD Garden. Still the Bruins got better as the time went by yet they found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 loss. It's been a rough week as they have lost their captain Zdeno Chara (lower-body injury) on Tuesday vs. St. Louis and now three straight contests. Boston had been 6-0-3 against Calgary in their last nine games with the last regulation loss coming way back on October 30, 2008.

Returning from injury and a rehab stint in Providence, backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (27 saves, 0-3-0) made his first start for Boston since October 22 (4-2 loss vs. Montreal) but he couldn't grab the first win by a Bruins goalie not named Tuukka Rask (11-4-0) of this entire campaign. Khudobin, Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre have combined to go 0-6-0 in 2016-17, is that bad? More relevant at the moment is the alarming lack of goal-scoring by the B's, after all they have been outscored 9-4 in this slide against the Blues, Senators and Flames (only 1 good team in that bunch).

It was a weird night what with former Bruins backup goaltender Chad Johnson (35 saves, 7-3-1) getting the first star of the game (he's won 5 of his last 6 starts and playing the best hockey of his NHL career) and something called Sam Bennett picking up two points. Oh and former BU star Alex Chiasson (who hadn't registered a point in 9 games) provided the game-winning goal. Did I mention that the horrorshow defensive pairing of Kevan Miller and Joe Morrow was on the ice for both Calgary goals? Me thinks that those bozos won't be together for too much longer, hopefully.

After a blocked shot in their own defensive zone, the Flames got a semi-breakaway that was finished by Bennett at 8:36 of the first period. Matt Stajan and T.J. Brodie assisted on Bennett's fifth goal of the season (his 1st point in 10 games). Boston had four of the five power plays of the night but sadly they weren't able to take advantage of any of them. Their only guy that can consistently find the back of the net this season-David Pastrnak-fittingly tied it at one at 5:55 of the third period. After sustained pressure on a power play, he was able to knock in a rebound with plenty of traffic in front. Tim Schaller and John-Michael Liles (celebrating his 34th birthday today) assisted on his team-leading 12th goal of the season (tied for 2nd most in the NHL).

Barely more than a minute later (1:10 after it to be exact), Chiasson roofed it past Khudobin after a sweet backhand no-look pass by Bennett from behind Boston's net. Flames captain Mark Giordano had the second assist on Chiasson's third goal of the season. Jimmy Hayes is still stuck on zero points in 19 games (don't ask me how that's possible) but at least he dropped the gloves tonight and got in a instant classic brawl with Maine native Garnet Hathaway. Just kidding, they spun around for what seemed like an eternity then Hayes basically gave Hathaway a rock bottom to drop him to the ice. Woo, good times.

You know that Rask will be back in net on Sunday afternoon (1, NESN) as the B's host the Lightning (13-8-1). It promises to be a pretty dead atmosphere on an NFL Sunday although the Patriots-Jets game starts at 4:25 p.m. Needless to say Boston could really use a win at this point, no matter how it transpires. Don't expect to see Chara back anytime soon although we still have no real idea what the big man is dealing with in terms of an injury. Without him in the lineup, the team hasn't been nearly the same group that they were through the first 18 games where they got off to a better than expected beginning.

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Bruins Drop Their Third Straight Game as Their Goal-Scoring Has Gone Mostly Missing

Playing their third game in four nights (including a game on Thanksgiving for the 1st time since 1989) and on the second half of a back-to-back, the Bruins (11-10-0) looked predictably tired to start tonight's game vs. Calgary (10-12-1) at TD Garden. Still the Bruins got better as the time went by yet they found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 loss. It's been a rough week as they have lost their captain Zdeno Chara (lower-body injury) on Tuesday vs. St. Louis and now three straight contests. Boston had been 6-0-3 against Calgary in their last nine games with the last regulation loss coming way back on October 30, 2008.

Returning from injury and a rehab stint in Providence, backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (27 saves, 0-3-0) made his first start for Boston since October 22 (4-2 loss vs. Montreal) but he couldn't grab the first win by a Bruins goalie not named Tuukka Rask (11-4-0) of this entire campaign. Khudobin, Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre have combined to go 0-6-0 in 2016-17, is that bad? More relevant at the moment is the alarming lack of goal-scoring by the B's, after all they have been outscored 9-4 in this slide against the Blues, Senators and Flames (only 1 good team in that bunch).

It was a weird night what with former Bruins backup goaltender Chad Johnson (35 saves, 7-3-1) getting the first star of the game (he's won 5 of his last 6 starts and playing the best hockey of his NHL career) and something called Sam Bennett picking up two points. Oh and former BU star Alex Chiasson (who hadn't registered a point in 9 games) provided the game-winning goal. Did I mention that the horrorshow defensive pairing of Kevan Miller and Joe Morrow was on the ice for both Calgary goals? Me thinks that those bozos won't be together for too much longer, hopefully.

After a blocked shot in their own defensive zone, the Flames got a semi-breakaway that was finished by Bennett at 8:36 of the first period. Matt Stajan and T.J. Brodie assisted on Bennett's fifth goal of the season (his 1st point in 10 games). Boston had four of the five power plays of the night but sadly they weren't able to take advantage of any of them. Their only guy that can consistently find the back of the net this season-David Pastrnak-fittingly tied it at one at 5:55 of the third period. After sustained pressure on a power play, he was able to knock in a rebound with plenty of traffic in front. Tim Schaller and John-Michael Liles (celebrating his 34th birthday today) assisted on his team-leading 12th goal of the season (tied for 2nd most in the NHL).

Barely more than a minute later (1:10 after it to be exact), Chiasson roofed it past Khudobin after a sweet backhand no-look pass by Bennett from behind Boston's net. Flames captain Mark Giordano had the second assist on Chiasson's third goal of the season. Jimmy Hayes is still stuck on zero points in 19 games (don't ask me how that's possible) but at least he dropped the gloves tonight and got in a instant classic brawl with Maine native Garnet Hathaway. Just kidding, they spun around for what seemed like an eternity then Hayes basically gave Hathaway a rock bottom to drop him to the ice. Woo, good times.

You know that Rask will be back in net on Sunday afternoon (1, NESN) as the B's host the Lightning (13-8-1). It promises to be a pretty dead atmosphere on an NFL Sunday although the Patriots-Jets game starts at 4:25 p.m. Needless to say Boston could really use a win at this point, no matter how it transpires. Don't expect to see Chara back anytime soon although we still have no real idea what the big man is dealing with in terms of an injury. Without him in the lineup, the team hasn't been nearly the same group that they were through the first 18 games where they got off to a better than expected beginning.

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Bruins Fall 4-2 to the Canadiens in their First Meeting of the Season

We are nowhere close to being sure if the Canadiens (4-0-1) are a quality team in 2016-17 but this much is true: they are better than the assorted slop that the Bruins (3-2-0) faced in their first four games of this campaign (Columbus, Toronto, Winnipeg and New Jersey). Many of the names and faces have changed but in this opening installment of Bruins-Canadiens, Boston was no match for Montreal as they lost 4-2 at TD Garden. Tuukka Rask (general soreness) was surprisingly out for the B's but backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (25 saves) did the best he could on short notice, frankly his teammates let him down for the most part. Oh and Montreal improved to 7-0-2 in their last nine regular season games in Boston, yeesh!

Carey Price (19 saves) didn't need to be anywhere near his best since Boston only managed 21 shots on goal in the entire contest. After a scoreless first period, Montreal potted a pair of goals midway through the second. Brad Marchand's brother from another mother Brendan Gallagher made it 1-0 Canadiens at 11:41. He was left wide open above a face-off circle to fire an easy one-timer from Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk for his third goal of the season. Something named Phillip Danault doubled Montreal's lead at 17:44 when he finished a 2-on-1 from Alexander Radulov for his first goal of the season. Greg Pateryn notched the second helper on the goal that came courtesy of the Bruins getting caught up ice.

The Bruins trailed 2-0 going into the third but thankfully, they woke up a bit thanks to another goal from their fourth line that has already shown some nice chemistry early on. Harvard's Dominic Moore got the goal, assisted by my PC guys Tim Schaller and Noel Acciari. Moore's second tally of the season came at 5:34 to cut it to 2-1 Canadiens. Montreal didn't give Boston much of a sniff at a comeback attempt though as "Lord" Paul Byron broke free for a shorthanded breakaway and goal less than two minutes later at 7:32. Shea Weber (who you might have heard was traded straight up for P.K. Subban over the summer with Nashville) banked the pass to him off the boards that eluded Torey Krug pinching in at Montreal's offensive zone. Andrei Markov had the second assist on Byron's first goal of the season.

Boston's scuffling power play (2 for 20) finally came through 37 seconds after Byron's backbreaking goal as Ryan Spooner (who for some reason was a healthy scratch on Thursday vs. the Devils) hammered in a one-timer from David Backes' sweet cross-crease sauce. David Krejci had the other assist on Spooner's first goal of the season. The B's put some pressure on the Habs for a few minutes when it was a one-goal game but yet again, their suspect defense fell apart when UVM's Torrey Mitchell stole the puck from Joe Morrow and put it past Khudobin with a beautiful diving shot (while he got a high stick in the face by Morrow for his troubles).

This inaugural three-game homestand ends on Tuesday night (7, NESN) as the Bruins host the Wild (3-1-1). Minnesota is at the Islanders (2-3-0) tomorrow night but at the moment, they are in first-place in the Central Division. Unless it's something really serious, you'd have to think that Rask will be back for that one. Following that matchup, Boston heads out on a four-game road trip (Rangers, Red Wings, Panthers and Lightning) that promises to be much more difficult than their first trip. Plus those are all Eastern Conference foes that they'll be seeing plenty of from now until April and hopefully beyond.

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Bruins Squeak Out a 2-1 Overtime Win at Hurricanes, Thanks to Pastrnak & Rask

It was a great day overall for the Bruins (38-25-13): rookie David Pastrnak was the hero as they pulled out a thrilling 2-1 overtime win at Carolina (28-36-11) tonight at half-empty PNC Arena. Meanwhile, Florida (35-26-15) helped them out big-time by winning 4-2 at Ottawa (37-26-12). That put Boston back into eighth-place in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Senators (who still have a game in hand).

The Panthers are four points behind Boston but on another positive note, the B's are only three points behind the Red Wings and Capitals. Most importantly, now they truly control their own playoff destiny from here on out. Boston got all four points that it needed this weekend with back-to-back wins (something they've struggled to attain) against the Rangers and Hurricanes; going back to Thursday vs. Anaheim, five points out of six is not bad for three games in four days.

Tuukka Rask (31-19-12) returned from his scary bout with a migraine headache on Saturday to make 30 saves and earn the win. Rookies scored both goals for the Bruins as Ryan Spooner beat former Boston backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (29 saves) with a quick and low just 2:21 into the tilt. Pastrnak and Adam McQuaid assisted on Spooner's seventh tally of the season.

As they have too often to count this season, Boston let an inferior team hang around and it cost them (at least temporarily). Former BC star Nathan Gerbe used a top-shelf shot to put one past Rask with 22 seconds left in the second period, tying it at one apiece. Chris Terry and Harvard's Danny Biega assisted on Gerbe's eighth goal of the season.

Both teams hit the post and each went 0 for 3 on the power play so it was not a surprise to see it proceed to overtime. Pastrnak's 10th goal of the season had to be one of the most memorable in his young life. Through traffic and without more than a quick glance, Carl Soderberg's backhand pass went right to his tape and he proceeded to crush a one-timer low between Khudobin's five-hole. Torey Krug had the second assist on Pastrnak's third game-winning goal of the season (tied for 3rd most on the team).

For all intents and purposes, Tuesday (7, NESN) could serve as a virtual elimination game for the Panthers. If Boston beats them in regulation at TD Garden, Florida would be six points back with only five games left in the regular season. That's not impossible to overcome but rather unlikely. The B's have no choice but to keep their heads down and to try to keep grinding out results in the final few weeks of their 2014-15 campaign.

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