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.

Tweet

Bruins Ship Benoit Pouliot To Lightning For Essentially A Bag Of Pucks

I hate to break the bad news folks but we've seen the last of Benoit Pouliot in a Boston Bruins uniform.

Haha the underachieving former first-round pick had a pretty forgettable 2011-12 (16 goals, 16 assists in 74 games) so he's been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Michel Ouelett and a fifth-round draft pick, 131st overall (which turned into forward Seth Griffith).

There was hope last summer when the B's signed Pouliot that he would suddenly become the player he has only shown brief glimpses of. Instead, he was exactly that up and down guy. It seems like the few goals he scored were almost all highlight-reel tallies. Yet there weren't nearly enough of those and he was buried on the third line for the most part. Finally, he was a restricted free agent and would have been eligible for salary arbitration (double what he made in 2011-12) so this made the most sense.

Like Pouliot, Ouelett will be a free agent on July 1 and looking at his career numbers, I feel like it's a long shot that he'll be signed by the B's let alone make any type of dent on the roster. He's played in 190 career NHL games with Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Vancouver but his last NHL appearance was three games in 2008-09 with the Canucks.

For his career, Ouelett has 52 goals and 64 assists for 116 career points. He's 30-years-old and he was a fourth-round draft pick, 124th overall by the Penguins in 2000. All I can say is that he would look great in a Providence Bruins uniform.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Backstrom Scores In Double Overtime, Capitals Even Up The Series At 1

Two goals in 144 minutes of action isn't going to cut it if the Boston Bruins want to advance out of the first round of the 2012 NHL playoffs.

Nicklas Backstrom scored at 2:56 (assisted by Marcus Johansson) into the second overtime this afternoon as the Washington Capitals took Game 2, 2-1 at TD Garden. The series is now even at one and Boston has their hands full.

Let's start with the fact that Braden Holtby (43 saves) followed up his great Game 1 performance with an even better one. Benoit Pouliot tied it at one with 7:47 left in regulation which means that in the first two games, only him and Chris Kelly have scored goals for the B's. Not Tyler Seguin, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, etc. That has to change, fast.

Tim Thomas (37 saves) played very well and he was screened on the game-winner plus it was a fluttering puck.

After a scoreless first period, you could feel that this would be another low-scoring affair after Game 1 was 1-0 in OT. Troy Brouwer broke the deadlock with 2:03 left in the second period on a bizarre play. The puck rolled in on Thomas and he tried to cover it up but he couldn't. Brouwer was there to sweep the gift in, with Alex Ovechkin and Karl Alzner getting the assists.

Typical of Pouliot, his goal was a beauty as he beat Holtby to a loose puck and was able to poke it by him before they bumped into each other. Brian Rolston and Chris Kelly (only guys on the Bruins with multiple points, really) assisted on the electrifying goal which woke up the Garden.

There is no need to panic since the Bruins for the most part are playing fine. Still, you can't help but realize that they could as easily be down 2-0 in this series as they could be up 2-0. I guess 1-1 is fitting. Washington is much more committed to defense than I ever would have imagined and Holtby is legit. It would really help the Bruins if they can get a lead (something they haven't had yet) in Game 3 and make the Capitals play from behind, something Boston excels at (holding leads).

The series shifts to D.C. and Game 3 is Monday night at 7:30 p.m. (NESN).

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Kelly's OT Winner Delivers Game 1 To The Bruins

Are you ready for another unforgettable ride with the Boston Bruins?

Chris Kelly scored 1:18 into overtime tonight as the B's blanked the Washington Capitals 1-0 at TD Garden in Game 1 of their quarterfinal series.

It's been a pulsating start to the 2012 NHL playoffs as four of the seven games so far have gone to overtime. The defending Stanley Cup champs were able to stay focused when other teams might have become discouraged.

Caps rookie goaltender Braden Holtby (29 saves) was excellent, although I think he'd love to have another chance to stop Kelly's shot. Benoit Pouliot sprung Kelly on a partial breakaway and he was able to snipe it in the far corner from some distance. Brian Rolston had the other assist on the winning goal. I'm not saying it was an easy save or a bad shot but Holtby did make some more difficult stops earlier in the night.

By picking up his sixth career playoff shutout, Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (17 saves) was able to stay awake despite only facing seven shots in the first two periods. After carrying the play for the first two frames, Boston watched as Washington (9-3 shot advantage) looked like a different team in the third.

It being the postseason, the Bruins' woeful power-play from last spring appeared to carry over as they went 0 for 4, including a 4-minute advantage. Plus, they picked up a 2-minute penalty on the Capitals right after the 4-minute one expired so they basically had six straight minutes of a power-play, yet it yielded no goals.

If Washington was going to steal a game in Boston, this was the blueprint for such an upset. They didn't allow the Bruins too many good chances (even though they outshot the Caps 30-17) and for the most part, they were able to match Boston's physicality. Alex Ovechkin was clearly a marked man as he was hit hard on nearly every shift, sometimes two or three times.

Game 2 is Saturday afternoon at TD Garden (3 p.m. on NBC). Boston doesn't have to change anything, I expect Washington to play like the more desperate team in that one. The Bruins already proved that they can win a low-scoring game so don't be surprised if it opens up more as the series progresses.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Khudobin Is The Best Third/Fourth String Goaltender In The NHL

Considering that tonight's game once again meant absolutely nothing to the Boston Bruins, they have to be very happy how it ended up.

The B's (48-29-4) reached 100 points with a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators (41-30-10) at Scotiabank Place.

Anton Khudobin made his Bruins debut a memorable one as he stopped 44 shots to grab the victory. Rookie defenseman Torey Krug picked up his first NHL point (an assist) and word out of Boston was that Johnny Boychuk is only day-to-day with a mild knee sprain. That's the best news of all since his injury looked pretty serious.

Former University of Maine goaltender Ben Bishop (24 saves) got the start for Ottawa in net.

The most important thing is that nobody on Boston got injured as they took the season series with Ottawa 5-1. The B's will either play Ottawa (92 points) or Washington (90 points) in the first round of the playoffs, everybody in the NHL wraps up the regular season on Saturday. Boston had way more trouble with the Capitals so I'm rooting for the Senators to face the Bruins. It is just a much better matchup.

Benoit Pouliot (16th of the season), Greg Zanon (3rd of the season) and Milan Lucic (26th of the season) scored for Boston. Jason Spezza (34th of the season) had the lone goal for the Senators.

The Bruins return home for a game Saturday afternoon at TD Garden vs. Buffalo, who found out tonight that they'll miss out on the postseason so they'll have nothing to play for but pride (which is something they usually lack).

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Lose To Penguins, But Who Cares?

Since tonight's game was essentially meaningless to the Boston Bruins, I won't waste much of your time or mine.

The Pittsburgh Penguins (49-25-6) came into TD Garden still looking for home-ice advantage (the No. 4 seed) and so beating the B's (47-29-4) 5-3 was important to them.

Pittsburgh went up 2-0 in the first period, Boston battled back to tie it at 2 in the second before the Penguins rattled off three straight goals to take it. Backup goaltender Brent Johnson made 26 saves for the Penguins.

Sidney Crosby scored twice in the win while Paul Martin, James Neal and Arron Asham also had goals for Pittsburgh. Boston's goals were provided by Benoit Pouliot (15th of the season), Milan Lucic (25th of the season) and Rich Peverley (11th of the season).

Andrew Ference fought Neal late in the second, leaving the smaller Ference with some cuts on his nose and face although to his credit, he was able to take down Neal at the end.

One of the hardest parts about times like this in the NFL or NHL is that you can't scale back the violent nature of the sports. This isn't MLB or NBA where a team can completely coast once they've clinched. That's what makes it so brutal when things like tonight transpire: Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk left in the 3rd period after a nasty (but unintentional) knee-to-knee collision. It'll probably be a few days before we know how bad it truly was but it didn't look good at all. If he's out for a significant amount of time in the playoffs, that's a big loss since he's one of Boston's most reliable defensemen.

I hope you all savored what could possibly be Marty Turco's (22 saves) last game in the Black and Gold. The only other real notable part of this one from a Bruins perspective is that we witnessed Torey Krug's NHL debut. He was solid, the former Michigan State captain is as tiny as advertised but he seems to skate really well for a blueliner.

Before the game, Tyler Seguin received the 7th player award (which is supposed to go to the player who exceeds expectations). How a No. 2 pick can win that is beyond me, Chris Kelly rightfully deserved it although it's a completely useless award, voted on by the fans, so who cares?

The Bruins travel to Ottawa on Thursday. Tim Thomas got some much needed rest tonight and I would expect him to sit out against the Senators too. We might see Anton Khudobin's first NHL start. That's basically the only reason that I will pay any attention to that one.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

The Black And Gold Are Finally Playing Well, At Just The Right Time

With the playoffs only two weeks away, the Boston Bruins are finally starting to resemble the dominant team from earlier in the season and of course during last spring's Stanley Cup run.

It had been three months since the B's (45-28-3) had won three games in a row but that's what they accomplished tonight as they beat the Lightning (35-34-7) 5-2 at TD Garden.

The season series ended 2-2 and there will be no Eastern Conference Finals rematch between these teams this May since Tampa Bay is all but guaranteed to miss out on the playoffs. The Bruins on the other hand have won five out of their last six and they look like they'll win the Northeast Division and grab the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Fittingly on a night when the B's honored captain Zdeno Chara for his 1000th game (this being his 1002nd, he was in LA for the 1000th), he made it particularly memorable as he had three assists.

Five different Bruins scored goals and Tim Thomas (16 saves; 33-19-0) had an easy night except for two more goals by superstar Steven Stamkos.

Tampa Bay actually led 1-0 as Stamkos (54th of the season) took advantage of a Boston giveaway and snapped one past Thomas 5:03 into the first. UVM alum Martin St. Louis had the assist.

It didn't take the Bruins long to tie it up as enforcer Shawn Thornton (5th of the season) showed that he can score the occasional goal. Chara made a nice move to the net and Thornton was there for the rebound at 10:54.

Another unlikely goal-scorer for the B's stepped up as Dennis Seidenberg (4th of the season) made quick work of another juicy Dwayne Roloson (33 saves for the ex-UMass-Lowell River Hawk) rebound at 15:05 of the second. Chara and David Krejci had the assists.

Stamkos earned a bogus power-play as he went down a little too easily and Johnny Boychuk got called for a tripping penalty. Stamkos tied it at 2 just 5:46 into the third. Victor Hedman and St. Louis assisted on Stamkos' rocket one-timer.

Boston had enough so they pumped in three goals in the last 8:30 of the third. Benoit Pouliot (14th of the season) had the go-ahead tally at 11:34 thanks to a nice wraparound pass from Brian Rolston. Chara had the second assist.

Brad Marchand (26th of the season, tying Tyler Seguin for the team lead) put it away at 15:50 after Patrice Bergeron passed it to him then set a perfect screen on Roloson. Seguin had the other assist.

Rich Peverely (10th of the season) rounded out the scoring with an empty-netter from Krejci when seven seconds remained. It was a nice reward for a good performance from him, only his second game back after missing 19 with a knee injury.

Temporarily stuck in ninth place in the East, the Washington Capitals will be here on Thursday. They are 2-1 against the Black and Gold this season including a 4-3 win on March 10 in DC (which kicked off Boston's four-game losing streak). The Bruins will need to bring this same type of intensity and full team effort that they demonstrated tonight if they want to beat the Caps.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Marty Turco Might Not Be So Worthless After All

I can't think of a much better way for the Boston Bruins to wrap up their last significant road trip of the 2011-12 regular season.

Not only did they get Rich Peverley back on the ice but backup goaltender Marty Turco (25 saves; 1-1-0) survived more than four minutes as the B's (44-28-3) held on for a 3-2 win tonight against the Ducks (32-33-11) at the Honda Center.

Boston has righted the ship, winning four out of its last five games after losing a season-high four in a row.

Boston went 2-1 in California, including consecutive wins on back-to-back nights. With only seven games left in the regular season (and due to the fact that he's ineligible for the playoffs), this at least showed that Turco should get another start or two down the stretch.

The offensive revelation for the Bruins the last few weeks, particularly on this trip, was the third line of Chris Kelly, Benoit Pouliot and Brian Rolston. Tonight, they combined for two goals and four assists.

Boston jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second period and a 3-1 lead in the third but they had a few anxious minutes when Lubomir Visnovsky (6th of the season) scored an unassisted goal with 2:29 left in regulation.

Zdeno Chara (12th of the season) potted the first goal at 4:37 of the second on an unassisted slapshot past Jonas Hiller (22 saves). Before the Honda Center game ops guys could cue up Weezer's "My Name is Jonas,"-they really play that-Pouliot (13th of the season) finished a pretty pass from Kelly and Rolston at 5:59.

My hero, 41-year-old Teemu Selanne (24th of the season) got the Ducks on the board at 9:11 of the second thanks to a power-play goal. He tipped Cam Fowler's shot from the point with Ryan Getzlaf picking up the other assist.

If Pouliot's goal was pretty, Rolston's (7th of the season) in the third was a work of art. He blasted a one-timer from Kelly that was all started thanks to Pouliot's breakout pass before he got crushed along the boards in Boston's own defensive zone.

The regular season is rapidly ending, the Bruins only have seven more games. Four at home, three away, all against Eastern Conference teams (5 playoff teams, 2 that will miss out). A busy week (four games) begins on Tuesday as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. When last seen, the Lightning hung a 6-1 loss on the B's in Tampa on March 13. It was probably the low point of the season (not including October) so Boston shouldn't need much motivation.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Send Maple Leafs Down To AHL Or At Least They Should Have

6-0. 36-10. That's the season series and cumulative score respectively between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The B's (42-27-3) saved one final beating for the pitiful Maple Leafs (32-33-8) and they handed it out tonight at TD Garden, 8-0.

This is exactly the type of game Boston needed as they head out on a three-game road trip in California. After beating the Flyers in a shootout on Saturday, this last ass-whooping of the Leafs should do wonders for the Bruins' confidence.

It was all about Boston's third line as Brian Rolston (1 goal, 3 assists), Benoit Pouliot (2 goals, 1 assist) and Chris Kelly (1 goal, 1 assist) all had monster games-for them.

Before you could say Curtis Joseph, the Black and Gold were up 4-0 just 12:42 into the first period. Kelly started it off with his career-high 18th of the season. After a pass from Pouliot, he walked in on James Reimer and worked a backhander around him at 2:25.

Even more embarrassing for Reimer was Gregory Campbell's goal (his 8th of the season) at 5:40. It was something out of Pee Wee hockey as Campbell took the puck from behind the net and beat Reimer to the post to stuff it in.

Pouliot (11th of the season) added a tip-in from Johnny Boychuk and Rolston at 10:58 then Brad Marchand (24th of the season) capped it off with a power-play roof job at 12:42. Tyler Seguin found Marchand with a fastball of a cross-ice feed.

Campbell had fought Jay Rosehill before Marchand's goal and then Shawn Thornton absolutely crushed former Canadien Mike Komisarek shortly after Marchand's goal. Ironically, Komisarek was the one that got it started. Haha good idea.

Boston poured in three more goals in the second on backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson: Pouliot got a one-timer from Rolston, Zdeno Chara (10th of the season) scored with a blast on the power-play and Rolston (6th of the season) finished it off with a snipe.

Seguin (26th of the season) added one more goal late in the third. I didn't mention Tim Thomas (31-18-0; 5th shutout of the season) until now since he only had to make 13 saves. Really. Toronto had two shots in the first period.

The Bruins begin their California trip in San Jose on Thursday night. In their only other meeting, the Sharks won 4-2 in Boston on October 22 which was a lifetime ago. San Jose is right on the cusp of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference so they have plenty to play for.

UPDATE 3/21: Rich Peverley will make the trip to California with the Bruins, meaning he could possibly play on Saturday or Sunday. Also, they recalled Trent Whitfield and sent Max Sauve down to Providence.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Caron And Seguin Score Twice As The Bruins Still Own The Maple Leafs

Well when else fails this season, we can still count on the fact that the Boston Bruins will not lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs travel to the Garden.

The B's (39-29-3) made it 5 for 5 against their Northeast Division rivals as they won a wild one 5-4 tonight at the Air Canada Centre. Boston gets a chance for a season sweep on March 19 when the Maple Leafs (30-29-7).

No matter if it's the Canadiens, Canucks, Maple Leafs or Jets, beating Canadian teams is always a hell of a lot of fun.

Jordan Caron (2 goals, 1 assist) was the unlikely offensive catalyst for the Bruins while Tyler Seguin scored twice as well. Zdeno Chara and Benoit Pouliot both added two assists.

Tim Thomas (25 saves; 28-15-0) isn't himself but he made just enough stops to survive tonight against a desperate team that's currently outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

The first and third periods weren't particularly notable but the second period more than made up for them since it featured six goals and two fights.

Carl Gunnarsson (3rd of the season) staked Toronto to a 1-0 lead 3:01 into the proceedings when his wrist shot found its way past Thomas.

Playing the best hockey of his young NHL career, Caron (5th of the season) tied it up at 13:58 when he pounced on a rebound from Jonas Gustavsson (28 saves). Pouliot and Joe Corvo had the assists. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's the first goal the three of those guys teamed up on this season.

John-Michael Liles (5th of the season) scored a power-play goal 57 seconds into the second that put the Maple Leafs back ahead at 2-1. Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel assisted.

A few moments later, Boston struck back with a pair of goals in 43 seconds. Seguin (23rd of the season) deflected a shot from Chara with David Krejci picking up the other assist. Then Chris Kelly (career-high 16th of the season) scored on another juicy rebound, from Caron and Pouliot.

On the ensuing face-off Shawn Thornton (who leads the NHL with 18 fighting majors) took on youngster Jay Rosehill. Thornton had stitches on Sunday vs. the Rangers after a fight so he got opened up there once again. Later Dennis Seidenberg stood up for a dirty hit by fighting Colby Armstrong. Seids rarely fights but he showed how tough he is by leaving Armstrong sprawled on the ice leaking blood from a cut.

Kessel (33rd of the season) tied it on the power-play at 9:52 with his great release on a snap shot. Caron and Seguin closed out the frame on a high note with Caron tipping a beautiful cross ice feed and Seguin getting all of a one-timer. Chara and Patrice Bergeron then Milan Lucic and Greg Zanon respectively had the helpers.

Things got hairy in the third period when Mikhail Grabovski (21st of the season) was sent in on a breakaway and scored with 6:47 left in regulation. However, Boston was able to protect its one-goal lead and walk out with two points. They snapped a two-game losing streak in the process.

By 12 p.m. tomorrow, we'll know if Marty Turco has cleared waivers and he'll be a Bruin or if another goaltender-needy team (Ottawa, Philadelphia) blocked it. The B's return to TD Garden on Thursday night to face the Buffalo Sabres. Another team on the outside of the playoffs, albeit one that has played itself at least into contention lately. They've beaten Boston the last two times they played after getting smoked twice earlier in the season. The Bruins need to put them back in their place, starting then.

UPDATE 3/7: Turco is at Bruins practice so he's officially part of the team now.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

The Rangers Have The Bruins' Number So Far This Season

It's never a good sign when you play well against a team but they still find a way to beat you on far from their best performance.

The Bruins (38-28-3) controlled play for long stretches today against the Rangers (42-15-7) at Madison Square Garden but New York came out on top 4-3. The Rangers have won all three meetings so far this season between these two Eastern Conference powerhouse teams and they went up a whopping 12 points on the B's.

After being blessed with good health almost all of last season including the playoffs, the opposite has been true lately for the Bruins who are missing five important players (Tuukka Rask, Nathan Horton, Rich Peverley, Andrew Ference and Daniel Paille). As a result, they can't find any consistency. They've lost three of four and still haven't won two straight since mid-January.

Spotting the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first 6:15 never helps either. After Lane MacDermid fought Mike Rupp on MacDermid's first NHL shift, Ruslan Fedotenko (8th of the season) tipped in Anton Stralman's shot from the point at 5:05. Former BC star Brian Boyle had the other assist.

Tim Thomas (13 saves; 27-15-0) had no chance on the second one since Carl Hagelin (12th of the season) banked one off Boston defenseman Greg Zanon, from behind the net. Brad Richards and Dan Giardi assisted on the lucky tally which caused Bruins head coach Claude Julien to call a timeout.

It worked right away as Benoit Pouliot (10th of the season) cut it to 2-1 at 7:57 thanks to some fine work from linemate Jordan Caron on the forecheck. A bad turnover by the Rangers in their own end let Caron snap one past Henrik Lundqvist (30 saves; 31-12-5).

On the ensuing face-off at center ice, for some reason Brandon Prust thought it would be a good idea to fight Milan Lucic. Prust is lucky he didn't get seriously hurt taking on a guy way bigger and tougher than him.

Gregory Campbell and Stu Bickel later in the first period too, making it the third and final bout of a wild frame.

Caron (4th of the season) tied it at two 1:40 into the second with an unassisted goal that Lundqvist would probably like back. Caron's shot from the left face-off dot beat him shortside where they shouldn't be any room.

Marian Gaborik (32nd of the season) took advantage of two mistakes by the normally reliable Dennis Seidenberg to put New York back in front 3-2 at 3:14 in the third. Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto assisted as Gaborik backhanded it in from the side of the net after Thomas made a few saves and Seidenberg tried to put it around the back of the boards but the Rangers intercepted it.

David Krejci (17th of the season) scored his fourth goal in two games, making it 3-3 at 11:42. Once again, it was thanks to fine passing and skating from his new linemates Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin.

Unfortunately just as the Bruins climbed back into it, the Rangers shut the door when Derek Stepan (14th of the season) scored 39 seconds after Krejci's goal. Thomas was screened and Stepan's shot was a laser anyway, right over Thomas' shoulder.

It wasn't Boston's day as evidenced by the absurd stop that Lundqvist made on Brad Marchand and also Gregory Campbell hit the post as well.

The regular season series between these teams will end on April Fool's Day back in New York. They played much better today than the last time they met but Boston is still searching for an elusive point(s) against the class of the East.

No update yet on Tuukka Rask's condition but the Bruins are supposed to address that tomorrow. I have a bad feeling that Tuukka might be done for the season which would be a very tough blow for Boston. The B's will travel to Toronto on Tuesday night to meet the Maple Leafs who as usual are in disarray, this time after firing head coach Ron Wilson over the weekend.

Boston has owned Toronto so far this season to the tune of 4-0 and a 23-6 goal differential. The only hitch is that they haven't played them since December 1. Let's hope the dominance continues for the Black and Gold as they'll look to snap a two-game losing streak.

Bigger picture, the Eastern Conference playoffs will definitely go through New York. The question is if the Bruins (our concern) or somebody else can beat the Rangers since it appears to be their time to make a Cup run. These things can change in a shift though so stay tuned.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Enjoy Missing The Playoffs Montreal

Let me be the first to say: smell you later Montreal, enjoy not making the playoffs this season.

The Boston Bruins did their best to end the regular season series with their biggest rival positively as they won 4-3 in a shootout tonight at the Bell Centre.

Boston (35-18-2) was in control, up 3-1 heading into the third but credit Montreal (23-25-10) for rallying with two goals and forcing overtime. However, the Bruins got the last laugh as Tyler Seguin scored the only shootout goal and Tim Thomas (26 saves; 24-11-0) stopped all three Canadiens shooters.

After losing the first two in October, the B's won the final four against the Habs. It was standard procedure that the finale had to feature some batshit crazy incidents. For instance, four goaltender interference penalties were called in the second (two on each team). Montreal fans proved that they're still the worst in the NHL as they cheered when a puck hit Zdeno Chara in the face, causing him to get stitches. Frankly, I am happy to say goodbye to those clowns who fell to eight points out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Besides the two points, the best part about the victory for Boston was that so many guys that had been cold woke up and made big plays. Just look at who scored the goals: Andrew Ference, Benoit Pouliot and Patrice Bergeron. In short, it was a great way to start their longest road trip of the season.

After Adam McQuaid and Ryan White traded heavy punches, Ference (5th of the season) made it 1-0 at 17:09 of the first from Brad Marchand (more on him later).

Mathieu Darche (5th of the season) tied it at 1 with a shorthanded tally (first one Boston had allowed this season, the last team to give one up) at 1:39 of the second. He drove to the net and P.K. Subban put it on his stick for the redirection.

Pouliot (9th of the season) pulled off a typical Pouliot move: amazing and completely out of nowhere. He put the puck through a Montreal player's legs than put it through Carey Price's (31 saves) legs. Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley had the assists.

At 14:33, Bergeron (17th of the season) increased the lead to 3-1 as he roofed a tough angle shot over Price. The power play goal was assisted by Seguin and Chara.

The second period ended with some more controversy about a Marchand hit. He clipped Alexei Emelin not as blatantly as the one in the Canucks game, but he'll likely be hearing from Brendan Shanahan again.

The Canadiens almost rallied for an epic win as Max Pacioretty (24th of the season) snuck a shot by Thomas at 3:34 and Erik Cole (22nd of the season) tied it at 11:12 thanks to Chara's mind-numbing giveaway.

It was an ugly game but the Bruins got the job done which is all that matters after they were completely outplayed last night against the Rangers. Up next, Boston travels to Winnipeg on Friday. The Jets beat the B's in Winnipeg back in December (2-1 on Dec. 6) but Boston paid them back with a 5-3 win Jan. 10 at the Garden.

There is no question that Tuukka Rask will get the start since Thomas played the last two nights, something which doesn't often happen. Unfortunately, it looks like Peverley will miss some time since he left with a knee injury tonight and never returned. Hopefully it's not too serious.

UPDATE 2/16: Peverley was sent home for further examination. He was injured on a knee to knee hit by former Bruin Hal Gill.

Marchand will not be fined or suspended for his hit which apparently was enough of a hip check to only merit a two-minute penalty. Still, with less than a second on the clock and the puck far away from Boston's goal, he needs to be a little smarter than that.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Winnipeg Blows Three Leads, Loses 5-3 To The Bruins Thanks To A 3-goal 3rd Period

On the surface, a home game against the Winnipeg Jets in January doesn't sound like anything special for a Boston Bruins fan. However, tonight was a prime example of how when you tune in on any given night, you can see something remarkable.

The Bruins (27-11-1) rallied three times against the Jets (20-17-5) and outscored them 3-0 in the third period to post a 5-3 win at TD Garden but all anyone will remember is Shawn Thornton's performance.

This was the first of five games that Boston didn't have Brad Marchand. It didn't seem to matter as like they have all season, the Bruins found a way to get it done despite missing a key player.

Boston's main enforcer-Thornton-earned a penalty shot in the second period after jumping out of the penalty box and collecting the puck. I admit that the holding call that led to the penalty shot was pretty lame but it was no worse than the same bizarre whistle for hooking that led to Winnipeg's Chris Thorburn taking a penalty shot in the first period.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (29 saves; 10-4-1) stuffed Thorburn's weak backhand attempt but Thornton managed to beat Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (37 saves) with a nifty toe-drag, dangle and a hard backhander. It was a special moment for Thornton, his fourth goal of the season tied it at two while Boston was shorthanded.

Jets captain Andrew Ladd (14th of the season) gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead at 16:53 in the first period when he tipped in a shot from the point by Zach Bogosian.

Nathan Horton (13th of the season) tied it at one at 19:20 thanks to his net drive and a crisp feed from Milan Lucic (2 assists). Linemate David Krejci (2 assists; points in nine straight games) had the other assist.

The second period was a big one for former Bruins as Blake Wheeler put the Jets ahead 2-1 and Mark Stuart fought Thornton in a lengthy brawl. Wheeler's (9th of the season) tip in 31 seconds into the frame was thanks to Tobias Enstrom's shot.

After Thornton tied it then squared off with Stuart, the Jets took their final lead at 11:11 as Eric Fehr (1st of the season) took advantage of a bad giveaway in his own end by Joe Corvo. Fehr's shot also deflected off Corvo's skate past Rask.

It only took 6:41 into the third for the B's to vault ahead by two. This should come as no surprise since Boston is statistically the best third period team in the NHL (+37 goal differential after tonight). Horton scored eight seconds into the period after another easy tap in from close range. Krejci had the primary assist with Lucic providing the other assist.

Tyler Seguin (17th of the season) electrified the Garden with a game-winning goal at 3:06. Patrice Bergeron (2 assists) won the puck at the blue line and sent Seguin into the zone with a step on Winnipeg's defense. He didn't disappoint by tucking a backhander past Pavelec.

For good measure, Benoit Pouliot (8th of the season) made it 5-3 with a power-play tally at 6:41 from Bergeron and Rich Peverley. Pouliot's first shot hit the post but it bounced back to him and he was able to fight off a defenseman and scored on the rebound.

Montreal returns to the Garden and things haven't gotten any better for the Habs since they last appeared in Boston, a 3-2 loss on December 19. They are in last place in the Northeast Division and 12th place overall in the Eastern Conference. After losing the first two in the series, the Bruins have won the past two contests. The February 15th game in Montreal is the last regular season meeting and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there will be no chance to see the Canadiens in the playoffs.

This means, we should all savor Thursday night when a rested Tim Thomas will get a chance to shutdown Monteal. It wraps up a four-game homestand for the Bruins, all against Canadian opponents.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Hit Two Grand Slams & Solo Shot Or Score TD & Safety, Crush Flames 9-0

I'll be honest, I'm running out of superlatives to describe the 2011-12 edition of the Boston Bruins. Last night, they beat down the New Jersey Devils 6-1 on the road, and 24 hours later played host to the Calgary Flames, a team that they barely ever see.

24-hour break? Unfamiliar team? No problem, as the B's absolutely steamrolled the Flames (18-19-5) 9-0 before a packed TD Garden.

It was Boston's ninth win in its last ten games, continuing an insane run of 22-3-1 that has stretched from 2011 now into 2012. Also, counting last night's game, the B's have rattled off 15 straight goals. In two games, on back-to-back nights.

Tuukka Rask stopped all 25 shots for yet another shutout (his 3rd in 4 games), Selke Smooth Bergeron and Nathan Horton each had two goals for the Bruins, who ran their overall record to 26-10-1.

Boston's 53 points is good for second in the Eastern Conference, only behind the New York Rangers' 54 points.

Leading the way for the Bruins on offense was Bergeron, who has scored four goals in two games and Tyler Seguin, who was a plus 3 and had a goal and two assists one night after not registering a shot against the Devils. Even Benoit Pouliot managed to notch a career-high three assists as he was bumped up to the second line due to Brad Marchand's illness (flu). It was that kind of night.

Horton and the first line continued their dominant play as of late, as tonight's beatdown saw Horton score his 11th and 12th goal of the season. Milan Lucic (14th of the year) scored on a fluky deflection off of Jokinen's skates early in the first and David Krejci (9th of the season) extended his point streak to seven games on his sweet power-play goal thanks to a crisp cross-ice pass from Rich Peverley in the first period.

Chris Kelly (13th of the year) and Daniel Paille (7th of the year) rounded out the scoring for the best team in hockey.

Rask was solid between the pipes, making 25 saves and preserving his spot atop the league leaders in goals against average and save percentage (1.49 and .949 respectively).

With the B's running up scores like the 2007 Patriots, it is becoming increasingly difficult to critique their game. Literally every aspect of it is top notch, from their depth to their defense, from goaltending to special teams. It truly is a special time to be Bruins fan.

Up next on the menu is a date with the Vancouver Canucks, you know, that team that the Bruins defeated in the Stanley Cup Finals last year? It could have been easy to overlook the Flames tonight with the Canucks on the horizon but the Bruins did what they do best and took it one game at a time. In what should be the most emotional and entertaining game of the young season, the Bruins will look to prove once again why they are the best team in the NHL on Saturday afternoon in Boston.

Tweet


Follow @RyanBurns88

Marchand And Bruins Ensure It Won't Be A Merry Christmas For The Florida Panthers

There is a reason that Las Vegas made the Bruins (-200) heavy favorites tonight against the Panthers, the last team that had beaten them (2-0 back on Dec. 8).

Florida (18-11-7) limped (three injured forwards) into TD Garden for their third game in four nights while Boston (23-9-1) had taken it easy since beating Montreal 3-2 on Monday. The final result tonight was 8-0 as the B's gave their fans an early Christmas present (their sixth consecutive win) while simultaneously ruining the holiday for the Panthers.

Brad Marchand picked up his first career hat trick (with two assists) while Tuukka Rask (30 saves; 7-4-1) picked up his 10th career shutout and second in as many starts.

In total, 14 of the 18 skaters (not including Rask) that suited up this evening had points. The other players with multiple points included Patrice Bergeron (1 goal, 2 assists), Zdeno Chara (2 assists), Tyler Seguin (2 assists) and Dennis Seidenberg (1 goal, 1 assist).

It didn't take long to see that neither Florida's heart nor its legs were into this one as Boston pumped in four first-period goals. Marchand scored a short-handed goal at 5:56 thanks to some loose defensive coverage. Milan Lucic (12th of the season) made it 2-0 at 13:40 thanks to a fortuitous bounce off the back boards that went right to him in front.

Shawn Thornton and Krys Barch had a wrestling match which only led to further Bruins highlights. At 18:31, Benoit Pouliot (7th goal of the season, 3rd straight game with a goal) scored the best goal of the season thus far by using speed then an unbelievable through the legs of a defenseman move capped off by a diving backhander to increase the lead to 3-0.

Seidenberg (1st of the season) got in on the action 31 seconds later as Boston was up 4-0 in the first period.

Panthers goaltender Jose Theodore (10 saves) didn't bother coming out for the second period and who could blame him? Former BC goaltender Scott Clemmensen (17 saves) didn't fare much better as he also gave up four goals over the final two periods.

Boston added two tallies in the second period. Against his former team, Gregory Campbell (3rd of the season) got a nice wrist shot past Clemmensen at 3:50. Bergeron (7th of the season) added another power-play goal at 15:50. By then, Florida basically didn't want to be there.

Marchand capped off this memorable beating with a deflected shot that went in at 1:53 and a pretty feed from Seguin led to the hat trick at 10:53. Marchand's 15th of the season led to numerous hats being thrown onto the ice and a lengthy delay.

There isn't any debate at the moment that the B's are the top team in the Eastern Conference and most likely the NHL as well. It is only December so it doesn't really matter so much now but damn, they really have no flaws.

After a break the next few days-the NHL gives everyone Christmas Eve and Christmas off)-the Bruins return for a three-game road trip (Phoenix, Dallas, New Jersey) that extends into 2012.

It sounds cheesy but this Christmas, more than anything currently in the Boston sports landscape, I am most thankful for getting to watch this superb team every night. It really is a joy to behold.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Turn Up The Heat Late, Beat Canadiens 3-2

If it's possible, tonight's Bruins-Canadiens game didn't have the requisite hype, even though Milan Lucic was suspended for the contest and Montreal had fired head coach Jacques Martin over the weekend. I blame Tim Tebow fatigue.

Whatever the case, Boston (22-9-1) got the job done at TD Garden with a 3-2 win over Montreal (13-4-7). It was the fifth straight win for the B's who took a two-point lead over idle Philadelphia for first-place in the Eastern Conference (not that we're scoreboard watching quite yet).

The victory also evened up the season series at 2-2 with a game remaining in both January and February. After losing the first two, the Bruins have captured the last two against their biggest rival.

After a few sluggish minutes to start the action, the Bruins drew first blood thanks to a fantastic play by Rich Peverley.

After the Habs iced the puck, Pevs won the faceoff forward through former Bruin Petteri Nokelainen's legs before finding Benoit Pouliot (6th of the season) in the crease. The former Hab beat Carey Price (28 saves) stick side on a shot that the Garth Brooks mask wearing goalie had no chance on at 12:13.

After a furious Bruins shift, the Habs evened the game at one as Bruin killer Michael Cammalleri found thomas Tomas Plekanic (7th of the season) down low, who buried the beautiful feed at 13:26. Travis Moen clearly hooked Patrice Bergeron in the Bruins zone to set up the odd man rush but it was to no avail.

The second period was a pretty tame one but the Bruins were able to retake the lead when David Krejci took (kicked) a pass from Andrew Ference past Price, his sixth of the year at 2:42. It was reviewed by the officials and upheld but it seemed like he kicked it in. Oh well, too close to call I guess.

One of the prettiest plays of the year was a product of the Bergeron line with 5:46 left in the third. Bergeron forced a turnover and expertly kept the puck in the Bruins' zone before finding Tyler Seguin. Seguin held the puck just long enough, pulling the defense out of position just enough to find Brad Marchand (12th of the season), who lifted a backhand past Price to extend the lead to 3-1.

Eric Cole (13th of the season) trimmed the lead to one with 1:14 left when his backhander beat Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (33 saves; 16-5-0). Montreal kept the pressure up with some tying bids but Thomas was able to stop all of them and Boston hung on for two points.

The Bruins host the Panthers on Friday, the rare Friday night game, in their last game before Christmas. Florida is still playing very well and they proved they were legit on December 8 when they blanked the B's 2-0 at the Garden.

***Game Notes***

* If I had a nickel for every time Jack Edwards said that Bergeron is the best defensive forward in hockey, I would be able to afford one of the Fenway Park 100-Year commemorative books. That is IF I wanted one.

* In somewhat of a shocker, Claude Julien inserted Daniel Paille onto the first line alongside Krejci and Nathan Horton. He has used Peverley in that same spot in the past, so it was nice to see Paille get a reward for his hard work and solid play in the past few weeks since returning from his pair of injuries.

* Joe Corvo played in his 600th career game tonight. He had four shots on goal and was a plus one. And yes, the only reason I say that is because he is on one of my fantasy teams. So what?

* Gregory Campbell returned to the lineup today after missing a few games with a foot injury and played pretty well in his first game with Zach Hamill, who has been a pleasant surprise for the Bruins.

* Before the game, I was wondering whether or not Tomas Kaberle was going to elicit any sort of reaction from the Garden faithful. I didn't hear a peep on TV when he touched the puck, telling me that the Garden crowd is going to be indifferent towards him, much like that WWE wrestler who is neither a good or a bad guy, he's just there.

* Rob Gronkowski was interviewed by Dale Arnold during the second intermission, which was every bit as awkward as you would expect. NESN had the brilliant idea of replacing Gronk's name with Christmas movie titles. Genius stuff: The Polar Express became Gronk Express, Home Alone became Gronk Alone and Elf became simply Gronk. I wish I was kidding.

* I don't necessarily agree that the Lucic hit was dirty, but you have to admit that Brandon Shanahan has been very clear in the criteria for what it means to be a suspendable hit, something that Colin Campbell (Gregory's dad) always sucked at.

Tweet


Follow @RyanBurns88

Take That 24/7: Bruins Embarrass The Flyers 6-0 In Philadelphia

For Boston Bruins fans disappointed that the team isn't featured on HBO's wonderful 24/7 this season (Rangers-Flyers), they can take solace in the fact that Boston's 6-0 beating they threw against host Philadelphia this afternoon should guarantee that they get some face time next Wednesday night on HBO.

A showdown between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference never materialized at the Wells Fargo Center since the Bruins (21-9-1) hung four on Mr. Universe, Flyers (20-8-3) goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in the first period.

It was basically 40 minutes of extended garbage time after that as Boston added a goal in the second period and third period to skate away with a very impressive road victory, their fourth consecutive win overall.

Tim Thomas (31 saves; 15-5-0) picked up his 30th career shutout with a through performance between the pipes which was juxtaposed with Bryzgalov's (15 saves, 5 goals allowed) nightmare that mercifully ended early in the second period.

With its top two players-defenseman Chris Pronger and NHL leading scorer Claude Giroux-sidelined with injuries, the Flyers were rudderless. 12 Bruins had points and six different players scored, led by Rich Peverley (3 assists), Joe Corvo (2 assists) and Tyler Seguin (1 goal, 1 assist).

Before the fans had even sat down with Yuengling in one hand and cheesesteak in the other, Benoit Pouliot (5th of the season) made it 1-0 only 27 seconds into the game. He tipped it in off a great feed from Peverley.

Daniel Paille (6th of the season, tying his goal output from last season) doubled the lead at 2:50 after following up a rebound. Dennis Seidenberg and Corvo had the assists.

Zdeno Chara (7th of the season) scored the first of Boston's three power-play goals at 8:08, from David Krejci and Peverley. Chara's blast from the point came only a few minutes after he got into a fight with Jody Shelley.

Milan Lucic (11th of the season) closed out the incredible first period for the Bruins with another power-play goal, at 17:10 from Corvo and Seguin.

As the game got out of hand, Philadelphia resorted to its usual tactics-starting fights-but while that might work against some weaker teams (ie. most Canadian squads), the Bruins relish the chance to get into a couple scraps. Johnny Boychuk stuck up for Brad Marchand (and received a 10-minute misconduct in the process) as he fought Scott Hartnell.

The last two goals for Boston will hopefully propel two of its coldest offensive players. Nathan Horton (9th of the season) had the final power-play goal, at 7:06 from Chara (completing the Gordie Howe hat trick-1 fight, 1 goal, 1 assist) and Peverley. Bryzgalov's juicy rebound to Horton signaled the end for everyone's favorite wacky Russian.

Lucic got a game misconduct late in the second for checking from behind. It was a dumb decision that could cost him a game (suspension) or a fine.

Seguin (team-leading 14th of the season) ended the rout with a tally at 12:12 of the third period past backup goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Marchand and Andrew Ference had the assists.

Marchand was the third and final Bruin to get a misconduct late in the third period.

This sets up another big rivalry game on Monday night as the Canadiens-fresh off firing their head coach Jacques Martin this morning-visit TD Garden. So far, Montreal owns the season series 2-1 but Boston won the last game 1-0 on Nov. 21 at the Bell Centre (the game Thomas stole).

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Tuukka Rask Picks Up His First Shutout Of The Season With 3-0 Win Over Kings

For many teams in the NHL or sports in general, they would understandably struggle when their two best players don't play in a game.

Apparently the Boston Bruins aren't most teams as they didn't need either the best goaltender in the NHL-Tim Thomas-or best defensemen in the NHL-Zdeno Chara-as they dispatched the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 tonight at TD Garden without the services of either superstar.

Everybody's favorite Finn-Tuukka Rask (41 saves, 6-4-1)-proved why he's the best backup goalie in the league and probably better than half of the starters with his first shutout of the season and ninth of his career.

Brad Marchand (2 goals) and Patrice Bergeron (2 assists) were the two foremost offensive stars for Boston (19-9-1), who scored a goal in each frame.

Los Angeles (13-13-4) fired its head coach Terry Murray last night but interim coach John Stevens didn't change the tide at all as the Kings dropped their fifth straight contest.

Rich Peverley (6th of the season) scored at 6:32 of the first period thanks to some great work from his makeshift linemates Zach Hammil and Benoit Pouliot. It all started with a nice forecheck behind LA's goal and goaltender Jonathan Quick (19 saves).

Hammil stole the puck, fed Pouliot on the halfboards who gave it back to the recently promoted Hammil. He might never be a great player for the B's but Hammil has already proven in a few games this season that he can put a pass with as much sauce on it as you like. He fired it on Peverley's stick and Pevs one-timed it past Quick.

In the second period, Marchand's (10th of the season) goal at 7:43 made it 2-0 and Jack Edwards noted that the Bruins are 13-0-0 with two-goal leads so far this season. Bergeron won the face-off back to Marchand who snapped it past a possibly screened Quick.

He had an earlier chance on a breakaway to pot his second tally but Marchand erased that bad memory by lifting a backhander over Quick at 5:35 of the third period, again from Bergeron.

Rask had to work for his clean sheet as he helped Boston kill off three consecutive penalties in the second and one in the third.

It will be a late night for the B's as they fly to Ottawa but the flight should feel much better thanks to this solid win. Boston is back at it tomorrow night as they meet the Senators for the second of six times this season.

Boston's 5-3 win over Ottawa, their Northeast Division rival, back on Nov. 1 kicked off the 10-game winning streak and nearly perfect November.

Gregory Campbell will miss his second straight game but Chara is making the trip so he could play and Thomas is expected to get the start.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Win 3-1 In Pittsburgh, Close To Within One Point Of Penguins Atop East

There are times as a Boston sports fan when you truly have to pinch yourself to realize how lucky we are and have been in the last decade. This happens all the time with the greatness of Tom Brady but lately, Tim Thomas has entered this same special Parthenon.

Thomas is unquestionably the greatest goaltender currently plying his trade in the world and he proved it again tonight with a season-high 45 saves in Boston's 3-1 win in Pittsburgh. It also extended his career-best winning streak to 10 games.

The Bruins (17-7-1) pulled within one point of the Penguins (16-8-4) atop the Eastern Conference thanks to the playoff-like victory. That makes Boston 14-0-1 in its last 15 games, not a bad stretch huh?

Pittsburgh outshot Boston 46-27 but honestly, that is skewed by the Penguins pair of two-man advantages, neither of which were successful. Probably the turning point of the game was when the B's killed off the second one which was a full two minutes since Rich Peverley (hooking) and Benoit Pouliot (goaltender interference) received penalties at the same time. No worries though even if Peverley's penalty was shady at best.

After a scoreless first period, the Bruins got on the board in the second with a goal from the fourth line and a goal from the third line.

Gregory Campbell (2nd of the season) batted one past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (24 saves) on his second opportunity at 2:57. Daniel Paille created the play by winning the puck behind the net. Shawn Thornton also assisted on the quintessential Fribble Crew tally.

Pouliot (4th of the season) doubled the lead with an absolute snipe at 7:18 from Peverley (2 assists). As noted by Ryan the other day, Pouliot got off to a slow start (like most of his teammates) but he's definitely found a home in Boston and obvious chemistry with Peverley and Chris Kelly on the third line.

Brad Marchand and Matt Niskanen fought in a sort of lightweight bout between Boston's goals.

Jordan Staal was called for interference to end the second period and it cost his team dearly as Tyler Seguin (13th of the season) scored a power-play goal at 1:07 in the third from Patrice Bergeron and Peverley. Bergeron made a slick move to get around a defenseman then he put it right on Seguin's stick for a money one-timer, Fleury had no shot to stop it.

Noted scumbag Matt Cooke got the Penguins on the board at 10:54, on a one-timer assisted by former Northeastern Husky Joe Vitale. Vitale was one of the few players that showed any heart on Pittsburgh, he fought Campbell shortly after Cooke's goal.

If you're wondering what happened to Evgeni Malkin (9 shots) and Sidney Crosby (5 shots), they piled up the empty shot totals but they didn't have much of an impact on the game. Their most notable accomplishments were when Chris Kunitz ran into Crosby and Malkin tried to line up Paille but Geno ended up taking the worst of it. Stick to scoring goals buddy.

The good news is that this was the first of four regular season battles between these two great teams and who knows what the playoffs will hold? The Penguins will visit TD Garden on Sat. Feb. 4 in the next meeting.

Boston has its second back-to-back so far this season tomorrow night and strangely once again, it is against the Winnipeg Jets. The B's beat the Jets 4-2 on Nov. 26 at the Garden. Expect a tighter one this time with Tuukka Rask likely getting the nod between the pipes.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

A November To Remember: Bruins Complete First Month Without Regulation Loss Since 1969

By virtue of tonight's 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre, the Boston Bruins officially wrapped up one of the best months (12-0-1) in franchise history.

The B's (15-7-1) were in dead last in the Eastern Conference when November rolled around but now they lead the Northeast Division thanks to their third straight win over the Maple Leafs (14-9-2). Boston picked up 25 out of a possible 26 points in November, vaulting them to second in the Eastern Conference (one point behind Pittsburgh). Overall, it was their best month since January of 1969.

The Bruins have recorded points in their last 13 straight games, their longest streak since 17 in a row back in 1983.

It is fair to say that so far this season, Boston has owned Toronto in their three meetings. To the tune of 19-5, including 8-2 in the third period. The teams meet again, on Saturday night at TD Garden in the second part of this home-and-home series.

11 Bruins had points tonight but the real story was the reemergence of the first line. David Krejci (1 goal, 2 assists), Milan Lucic (2 goals) and Nathan Horton (2 assists) all came off a milk carton after virtually disappearing for a while.

Tim Thomas (34 saves) was busy as he improved to 9-0-0 in November and 12-4-0 overall. His best stop was a breakaway attempt by former B's forward Phil Kessel. As I said on Twitter, it's hard to believe there are any goaltenders that are better on breakaways than Thomas.

The Leafs got out to a 1-0 lead as Mikhail Grabovski (6th of the season) scored a power-play goal 7:29 into the first period. Clarke MacArthur found him with a nice pass and Thomas didn't have enough time to react.

Lucic (9th of the season) tied it at 15:08 with a power-play strike of his own. Tyler Seguin and Zdeno Chara assisted. Seguin found Lucic close to Toronto goaltender Jonas Gustavsson (34 saves) and he roofed it with a strong forehand shot. It was Looch's first goal in his last eight games.

Boston started to take control after a hectic back and forth first with two goals in the second. Krejci (4th of the season) potted his first goal in 10 games at 3:33 from Horton and Dennis Seidenberg.

Kessel (-3) combined with Joffrey Lupul (12th of the season) for a pretty goal on a 2-on-1 at 7:00 which tied it at two.

At 15:30, Chara (5th of the season) scored a strange goal that nobody, including the goal light operator, seemed to notice went in. It was a low, hard snap shot assisted by Krejci and Horton.

Benoit Pouliot (3rd of the season) scored at 3:03 of the third and would you believe it was his third game-winning goal of the season? Weird. The most unknown clutch player for the B's made use of his sneaky good shooting ability, with help from Joe Corvo and Gregory Campbell.

Matt Frattin (2nd of the season) gave Toronto life as he banked one in off Thomas' leg pads at 6:00, cutting it to 4-3.

However, Lucic scored his second of the game at 15:21 after a nice cross-ice feed from Krejci and Brad Marchand's (9th of the season) empty-net goal ended it with 52 seconds left.

This is a quiet week with only the two games against Toronto but Boston deserves the rest after all the outstanding work they put in during November to erase their terrible start.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet