B's Return Home With Their Moms & Beat the Jets 5-4 Thanks to Pasta's 3rd Hat Trick of the Season

NHL teams figured out years ago that one of the keys to break up the grind of the regular season was to plan fun things like a moms trip and a dads trip at different times in the calendar. It's a simple but also brilliant concept for the players to bond with their family members who they probably don't get to see that much anymore yet all had a key role in them becoming professional athletes. Boston (26-8-11) had their mothers (and Charlie Coyle's sister) with them in Nashville (20-16-7) for Tuesday's rousing 6-2 victory and they were back with their boys at TD Garden tonight for a thrilling 5-4 win vs. Winnipeg (24-17-4). David Pastrnak notched his seventh career hat trick and third in 45 games this season, boosting his NHL-leading goal total to 35 which is insane.

In many ways, this was a schedule loss for the Jets since they had beaten the Maple Leafs (24-15-6) 4-3 in a shootout last night in Toronto then dragged their weary bones here for their third game in four nights. They also were starting backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit (4-5-0, 31 saves) who is a borderline NHLer at best. They don't have a ton of depth-hence why they are clinging to the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with Calgary (23-17-5) and Vancouver (23-17-4) breathing down their necks-but Winnipeg does possess some high-end talent. Their top forward line of Kyle Connor (goal, assist), Mark Scheifele (goal, assist) and Patrik Laine (assist) is one of the best in the league.

Zdeno Chara was a last minute scratch from the lineup as he nurses an infection with his surgically-repaired robojaw. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy noted that the captain is in serious pain (but still had to be talked into sitting out by Cassidy & GM Don Sweeney) and he has a follow-up appointment with a doctor tomorrow but they hope to have him on the upcoming road trip. The Jets scored first as Connor roofed a backhander past Jaroslav Halak (17 saves, 10-4-5) at 7:35 of the first period. Nikolaj Ehlers and Scheifele had the assists on Connor's team-leading 22nd goal of the season. Chris Wagner (game-high 7 shots on goal) had a breakaway but he was stopped by Brossoit before crashing painfully into the post. He was pulled by the concussion spotter but returned to Boston's bench to start the second period. Pastrnak tied it at 17:14 with a one-timer from Joakim Nordstrom. Sean Kuraly had the other assist as Pasta got some minutes with the fourth liners when Wagner was out. David has a 12-game point streak (9 goals, 10 assists) with 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) in his last 22 games.

Tied at one going into the second period, things really opened up with both clubs scoring a pair of goals. Andrew Copp tipped in a shot by Josh Morrissey for his 7th goal of the season (100th NHL point) at 6:00. Ehlers had the secondary assist, giving him eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in his last six games. You run out of ways to describe all the absurd goals scored by Pastrnak and his second one was a doozy as he destroyed a one-timer from Torey Krug and Brad Marchand for a power-play goal to tie it at two at 9:41. Jake DeBrusk got a step on everyone and delivered by picking the top corner with a forehand shot on a breakaway for his 12th goal of the season and a 3-2 Bruins advantage at 18:49. Boston's first lead was short-lived though as good old Neal Pionk (who?) scored a power play goal of his own at 19:52. His fourth goal of the season was assisted by ex-Bruin Blake Wheeler (17 points in 21 career games vs. Boston) and Laine (100th career NHL assist). It was 3-3 after two periods but it felt like Boston should be ahead since they had outshot the Jets 24-14.

You would expect tired legs to finally catch up with Winnipeg in the third period but at least initially, they did not as Scheifele banked a shot from behind the goal-line off Halak and in at 7:50 for a 4-3 lead. Scheifele's 22nd goal of the season was assisted by Connor and Dmitry Kulikov. Pasta tied it (because of course he did) after a nifty backhand feed from David Krejci. DeBrusk had the second helper on the memorable goal at 11:13 that sent all the Bruins hats raining down on the Garden ice. After the extended break to clear the hats, the fans didn't have to sit down for long as DeBrusk re-directed a shot by Charlie McAvoy 33 seconds later. Matt Grzelcyk had the other assist on the game-winning tally that gave DeBrusk nine points (6 goals, 3 assists) in his last 10 games.

It sounds silly with a seven-point lead over Tampa Bay (26-13-4) in the Atlantic Division but this was a very important two points for the B's since the Lightning blanked the Coyotes (25-17-4) 4-0 this evening and they are the hottest team in the NHL with nine straight wins (and 2 games in hand). Toronto (24-15-6) is also playing great since they fired head coach Mike Babcock: they are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and nine points behind Boston. With the regular season more than halfway through, the Black and Gold should get used to life on the road as they only have 15 contests left at the Garden.

They head out tomorrow for a three-game trip against Metropolitan Division opponents starting with a visit to the Barclays Center on Saturday night (7, NESN) to face the Islanders (27-12-3). They are off on Sunday (when they should have been watching the Pats visit the Chiefs, sigh) but get a tricky back-to-back on Monday (7, NESN) at Philadelphia (23-15-6) followed by Columbus (21-15-8) the next night (7, NESN) to wrap things up. Boston's next home game is a week from tonight (7, NESN) against Pittsburgh (26-12-5) who has played well lately (7-2-1 in their last 10 games) even with superstar Sidney Crosby out for an extended period of time with a core muscle injury.

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Safe to Say That Wasn't Quite the Start That the Bruins Wanted to 2015-16

With their top two defensemen (Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg) sidelined for the start of the season, the Bruins' most glaring weakness became even more bleak. Their 6-2 loss to Winnipeg tonight at TD Garden will only increase the panic for Boston fans with high-octane Montreal (on Saturday night) and Tampa Bay (on Monday afternoon) coming to town this Columbus Day long weekend. Would you believe that the B's actually led 1-0 after a pretty decent first period?

Yeah, it was all downhill from there as the Jets outscored them 3-0 and scored three more in the third after Boston briefly cut it to 3-2. Tuukka Rask (26 saves) wasn't at fault so much as his awful defense which time and again let him down. Conversely, Boston generated plenty of scoring chances but couldn't finish (a huge problem last season) and therefore made Ondrej Pavelec (29 saves) look like a quality NHL goaltender which is not the easiest thing in the world to do.

Things began on a good note for the home team as David Krejci scored just 5:36 into the first. David Pastrnak stole the puck behind Winnipeg's net then passed to Krejci (with the help of a Jets' skate) and he calmly finished on his backhand. The goal was determined to be unassisted but I thought Pastrnak should have gotten credit for his hard work, oh well. The Jets tied it at 5:26 of the second period on a one-timer by Mark Scheifele from Dustin Byfuglien. Matt Irwin did not have a good debut for the Bruins as he was stripped of the puck leading directly to Winnipeg's second goal by Blake Wheeler (his one-timer was assisted by Andrew Ladd) at 9:17. The Jets punctuated a strong frame with tic-tac-toe passing that ended with a goal by former Sabre Drew Stafford, assisted by Adam Lowry and Ben Chiarot at 17:39.

To Boston's credit they came out with some energy to start the third and were quickly rewarded as David Pastrnak scored on a sweet wrist shot that beat Pavelec up high from a tight angle. Matt Beleskey (his 1st point as a Bruin) and Kevan Miller had the helpers on what was the first of hopefully many goals by the young Czech winger. As fast as you could say we miss Johnny Boychuk, the Jets put it away with a pair of goals. Irwin got caught up ice leading to a 2-on-1 break for Winnipeg and Chris Thorburn's shot went in Boston's net off of Krejci's stick (similar to an own goal in soccer) at 5:17. If that wasn't ugly enough, rookie Nicolas Petan scored in his first career game when fellow rookie Andrew Copp's pass bounced in off the heel of his skate at 9:51. Burmistrov's empty-netter with 3:38 left in regulation sent the disappointed Bruins fans streaming for the exits.

Montreal kicked off its campaign with a 3-1 win at Toronto last night. They will be well rested and ready to go on Saturday against their bitter rivals that they have owned for the last couple years. If we're being positive, things can't get much worse for the Bruins than they were this evening. Then again, the Canadiens are expected to be one of if not the top team in the Eastern Conference yet again so it could very well be another blowout on Causeway Street on Saturday (7, NESN). Just in case, you better start drinking early this weekend to ease the possible pain.

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Anybody But Blake Wheeler, I Beg Of You

The Bruins pissed away a chance to be tied for first place in the Northeast Division tonight in Winnipeg. Boston (19-6-3) held a shaky 1-0 lead in the third period but the Jets (16-12-2) scored three times (including an empty-netter) in the final 8:16 for a 3-1 win at the MTS Centre. The Jets had 16 more hits than the Bruins (33-17), a disparity that never happens to the B's in that manner.

In not even three weeks, Boston has somehow managed to blow leads in the third period four times. For comparison's sake, they didn't do that once last season (32-0-0) when leading after two periods. Ugh. Well at least former Bruin Blake Wheeler scored twice for Winnpeg, oh wait that just makes me more depressed since he was a complete stiff in Black and Gold.

Offense was a real struggle for the B's with David Krejci out and their defense wasn't helped by the fact that Adam McQuaid hurt his shoulder in the first period and never returned. Boston had been lucky for the first month plus not to suffer any injuries but now they are coming nearly every game (Kelly, Krejci, McQuaid). Ryan Spooner, playing his second NHL game, couldn't coax anything out of Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic while the third line continued to exist solely on the side of milk cartons (they still have those right?).

Boston's lone goal was truthfully a gift since a pass around the boards ended up on Brad Marchand's stick alone in front of the Jets' goal. He deposited his team-high 13th of the season in eight seconds, the fastest goal to start a period for the B's all season. After that, Ondrej Pavelec (27 saves) put the clamps on while Tuukka Rask (22 saves; 14-4-3) allowed a tip-in by Wheeler at 11:44 to tie it. Jordan Caron's bonehead hooking penalty made him the goat on that play. Rask had to do better on the game-winner when he couldn't squeeze Grant Clitsome's (poor guy) shot and Evander Kane was there for the rebound 57 seconds after Wheeler's goal.

This is the first time in 2013 that Boston has lost consecutive games in regulation. They will look to regroup in Ottawa on Thursday (7:30 p.m., NESN) against the Senators (16-8-6, 3rd in Northeast Division) who continue to defy the odds by hanging in there despite all their calamitous injuries. Ottawa only trails Boston by three points heading into that game and the B's have won the first two games (in OT and a shootout) but then again, they had won the first two meetings with Winnipeg before this evening.

UPDATE 3/21: McQuaid has a left shoulder strain and he's expected to miss 3-4 weeks. I suppose it could have been worse but that's another obstacle for the Bruins to overcome in the injury department. That means Aaron Johnson will be on the third defensive pair with Andrew Ference.

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You Know The Bruins Are In Trouble When They Make Blake Wheeler Look Good

It's been over a month (Jan. 10 & 12) since the Boston Bruins last won two games in a row.

Their inconsistent stretch of play continued on Friday night as they lost for the second time this season in Winnipeg. Former Bruin Blake Wheeler had a goal and two assists as the Jets (28-26-6) kept their playoff push going with a 4-2 win at the MTS Centre.

The Bruins (35-19-2) couldn't use the momentum from their shootout win in Montreal on Wednesday as they crumbled in the NHL's smallest but likely loudest arena.

The season series ends 2-2 as both teams won twice on their home ice.

Tuukka Rask (21 saves; 11-8-2) showed why his starts have been diminishing lately as he dropped his fifth straight decision.

Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (31 saves) shut the door as Boston tied it up twice but never led. Bryan Little put it away with the game-winner and an insurance tally in the third period.

Alex Burmistrov (12th of the season) opened the scoring for the Jets at 1:59 of the second. His wrist shot up high and glove side, caught Rask by surprise or at least that's how it looked. It was a shot I'm sure Rask would like to have back as it seemed to eat him up. Former Bruin Mark Stuart and Kyle Wellwood had the assists.

Mr. Invisible Jordan Caron (3rd of the season) finally did something as he sniped a goal at 6:10 from Chris Kelly. I had no idea he had that type of shot, maybe because he's never taken one outside of five feet from the net.

Wheeler (11th of the season), aka Mr. Offsides in his Bruin days, made it 2-1 at 15:50 when his wrist shot went through Rask's five-hole. Dustin Byfuglien and Evander Kane assisted on another one that Rask should stop if he wants to be considered a No. 1 goaltender.

David Krejci (12th of the season) picked up his first point in eight games when he tied it at two 49 seconds into the third. Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic had the assists as Krejci put it over Pavelec from in tight. Maybe that will get him going, he's done nothing since Nathan Horton went out of the lineup.

Little's first goal (15th of the season) was the fault of Boston's defense as they all watched as he went for the rebound, untouched, and flipped it by Rask. Wheeler and Andrew Ladd assisted on that at 4:16.

Just 2:04 later, Little sealed it off a nice feed from Wheeler. Tobias Enstrom had the other assist.

Patrice Bergeron had a great chance to cut it to a one-goal game after that but he shot it right in Pavelec's glove.

The B's face the Minnesota Wild for the only time this season on Sunday afternoon (3:30 on NBC) in the Twin Cities. Boston needs to sure up many things: their leaky defense, their goaltending and they need to put the puck in the net more often. Other than that, things are going swell.

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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.

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Thumbs up for the Bruins trade deadline moves

It's not every day that the Boston Bruins actually make a notable trade so even though it happened on Friday (when I was headed out of town), I have to give a short shout-out to GM Peter Chiarelli.

On Friday, the Bruins made two trades that shook up their roster. The big deal was Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle finally coming over for Boston's 2011 first round pick, Providence Bruin Joe Colborne and a conditional second round pick in 2012 (wiped out if Kaberle resigns or the Bruins get to the Stanley Cup Finals).

It's a beautiful thing to see Boston be aggressive for once and not just settle for assorted junk and rentals that won't have much impact. Kaberle is a three-time All-Star and he will help immensely on the power play (one of the Bruins' biggest weaknesses). He's not known for his defensive prowess but that's ok since we needed a defenseman with more offensive creativity.

Losing the first round pick isn't a big deal since we still have Toronto's this summer (which will be much higher) and Colborne was a first round pick last summer but he's clearly stuck behind many centers in the organization so a fresh start is probably in his best interest.

In addition, Boston got rid of some spare parts by dealing Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart to the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday for forward Rich Peverley and minor league defenseman Boris Valabik (who's a 6-foot-7 project).

Everybody in New England was tired of Wheeler's inconsistency and Stuart was solid but Adam McQuaid's production had basically phased him out of the franchise. Peverley sounds like another Chris Kelly, that is a third or fourth line forward that has the two-way game that the Bruins' brass and coaches covet.

Kelly and Kaberle played their first games in Black and Yellow (sorry Wiz Khalifa) on Friday as the Bruins won 4-2 in Ottawa.

Their third game of the road trip is tonight as the Bs visit the red-hot (what a terrible pun) Calgary Flames. It'll be interesting to see all three of the new Bruins in uniform. Watching the replay late Friday night, I honestly didn't notice much from Kaberle or Kelly but I was very tired after a long week.

Bruins fist pump their way to a lop-sided win on the Island

For once this season, the Boston Bruins played well in front of Tuukka Rask and they jump-started their pivotal six-game road trip with a 6-3 thumping of the New York Islanders last night at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

It was a prototypical Bruins (32-19-7) victory with six different players notching goals (from all four lines) while Rask improved to 6-11-1 with 34 saves. They also snapped a three-game losing streak.

The Islanders (21-30-7) are still one of the absolute worst franchises in the NHL but there's been a little hope lately as they came in riding a four-game winning streak. John Tavares scored twice for New York but that was their only highlight since their goaltending situation is nothing short of a nightmare.

Blake Wheeler, the subject of constant trade talk, increased his value with a goal at 1:52 of the first period to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. It was a weak shot that he just threw at the net and Islanders goaltender Nathan Lawson (13 saves) showed why you've never heard of him. Tyler Seguin and Andrew Ference assisted on Wheeler's 11th of the season.

Nine seconds later, Zenon Konopka tried to fire up the home crowd and his teammates by fighting Adam McQuaid but I'd say it didn't really work since the Bs added two more goals in the first period.

At 7:03 Mark Recchi scored his 11th of the season after the puck inadvertently deflected in off his skate (no kicking motion). Patrice Bergeron and Johnny Boychuck assisted.

Just over two minutes later, Gregory Campbell put a shot on goal that appeared to bounced off an Islander stick. It was Campbell's ninth of the season, unassisted.

The second period featured five goals as Boston scored twice more and New York got on the board with a pair.

David Krejci scored his ninth of the season 55 seconds into the frame, from Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic.

Tavares, the former No. 1 pick in 2009, finally got the Islanders a goal (his 22nd) less than a minute later from Blake Comeau.

Seguin notched his 10th of the season at 2:48 from Shawn Thornton and Wheeler. Like Wheeler, it was nice to see Seguin find the back of the net since those times have been few and far between lately. With that, Lawson was done and Al "Don't call me Aldo" Montoya (15 saves) went between the pipes for New York.

Josh Bailey cut it to 5-2 (from Comeau and Radek Martinek) but Lucic sealed it with his 24th of the season (on the power play) from Krecji and Zdeno Chara.

Tavares had the only goal of the third period (from Jack Hillen and Matt Moulson) but by then, the Bruins were doing what any sane person would do: they were dreaming about getting off Long Island.

Boston is right back at it tonight, taking on the Ottawa Senators. Expect Tim Thomas in net and the newest Bruin Chris Kelly (who's had mysterious Visa problems) should be in uniform to make his debut for the Bs against his old team.

Bergeron's 1st career hat trick lifts Boston Bruins over hapless Ottawa Senators

If you're keeping score at home, the Boston Bruins have now scored 10 straight goals over the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators after the Bs embarrassed the Senators 6-0 last night at the TD Garden.

Patrice Bergeron scored his first career hat trick and Tim Thomas made 31 saves for his NHL-leading sixth shutout of the season.

With a big snowstorm in the forecast, the Bruins (23-12-7) treated their fans to one of their best performances this season.

Bergeron began the scoring 3:33 into the contest with an unassisted tally. Blake Wheeler made it 2-0 later in the first period thanks to a nice feed from Tyler Seguin (David Krejci also assisted).

The second period had a little bit of everything for the Black and Gold. They pumped in three more goals and got into two fights with the Senators (16-21-6).

Bergeron scored another goal unassisted, Brad Marchand was credited with a goal that went off an Ottawa skate (from Dennis Seidenberg) and Seguin scored on a sweet shot from Krejci and Zdeno Chara.

It was a funny scene when fans threw hats on the ice for Marchand's goal since it looked at first glance like it might have been Bergeron's third. Luckily, for the poor Hans Molemans out there that lost their hat on a Marchand goal, Bergeron came through with one more in the third period.

Nathan Horton fought Jesse Winchester and Shawn Thornton squared off with Matt Carkner.

Bergeron got the third at 5:04 from Marchand. All that was left was for Carkner to bully Daniel Paille. Credit to Paille as he got into the first fight of his NHL career.

The Bruins will need to bring this emotion to tomorrow night's game as they host the Philadelphia Flyers. A win against the Flyers would go a long way to getting on a nice win streak.

In the land of blue hairs, Bs come away with their 1st shootout win of the season

The Florida Panthers are one of those special franchises in pro sports that is too easy to make fun of. Between their location, non-existent fan base and pathetic jerseys, you almost feel bad for them.

Despite a slow start to their five-game road trip, the Boston Bruins (19-11-4) did just enough to come away with a 3-2 shootout win over the Panthers (16-17-1) last night at the BankAtlantic Center, for their first shootout victory of the season.

As always this season, this win started and ended with Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (32 saves). He not only leads the NHL in goals against but also save percentage which I believe pushes him to the front of the line in terms of most valuable player in the league at the moment (sorry Sidney Crosby).

The two points simultaneously vaulted Boston into a first-place tie with Montreal in the Northeast Division while also carrying over their fine play from last Thursday against the Thrashers.

Other than Thomas, the stars for the Bruins were David Krejci (2 goals), Michael Ryder (2 assists) and Blake Wheeler (1 assist, only shootout goal). Yes, I just wrote that sentence. Perhaps Boston's most frustrating trio have been reunited on a line (they were great together in 2008) and so far, the returns are very positive.

After a scoreless first period, Panthers forward David Booth scored at 1:02 of the second period thanks to a misplayed pass from Bs defenseman Steven Kampfer. Michael Frolik assisted on Booth's shot which was a snipe from close range that Thomas didn't have much time to react to.

Krejci responded with the tying goal at 9:05 in the second. After fine work and shots from Zdeno Chara and Ryder, Krejci was able to get his backhander past Florida goaltender Scott Clemmensen (40 saves).

Panthers forward Mike Santorelli scored a controversial goal later in the second period when he seemed to tip Frolik's shot from the point with an obvious high stick. Surprisingly, the goal stood with Bryan Allen picking up the other assist.

It looked like a classic Bruins road no-show as more than half of the third period had gone by and Florida still led 2-1. However, Krejci stepped up (for one of the only times so far this season) and scored a pretty backhander off an equally gorgeous feed from Wheeler and Ryder at 10:35.

Boston carried play in overtime but couldn't pot the winner. Thomas stopped all three Panthers shooters he faced in the shootout (of course) and Wheeler scored after Tyler Seguin was stuffed.

The Bruins will need to play much better tonight as they travel to Tampa Bay to face the high-scoring Lightning, co-leaders of the Southeast Division with the Washington Capitals.

Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow

It was not pretty and they only played one good period (a superb first) but it was just enough for the Boston Bruins to escape with a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals last night at the TD Garden.

The win snapped Boston's (17-10-4) three-game losing streak and also extended Washington's (18-12-4) skid to eight straight losses.

If you even a passing interest in hockey, please check out HBO's 24/7 about the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. It debuted last week and it's a buildup for their Winter Classic on New Year's Day. It's hard to imagine how Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau is acting in the locker room and at practice now that his team is completely off the rails. If they lose a couple more games, right or wrong he'll most likely be unemployed.

There are two reasons the Bs won: 1) they went up 3-0 in the first period and 2) they have Tim Thomas (39 saves) who is still playing absolutely bananas and is the top goaltender in the NHL, it's not even debatable.

Patrice Bergeron gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 3:27 off assists from Blake Wheeler and Adam McQuaid.

Andrew Ference scored his first goal in 99 games (really) as the Bs took a 2-0 lead less than five minutes later. Brad Marchand and David Krejci assisted on that one.

After a Washington timeout, McQuaid fought Capitals forward Matt Bradley.

At the time, it didn't help the Caps at all as Wheeler capped his incredible period with a goal from Bergeron and Johnny Boychuk.

Given the urgency of the game and the opponent (who was even more desperate), this was one of Boston's best periods of the season.

Bradley got Washington on the board in a second period off assists from David Steckel and Matt Hendricks.

Capitals goaltender Michal Neuvirth (18 saves) looked really shaky in the first period but Boudreau stayed with him and he was rewarded as he didn't allow another goal.

Some scrub named Karl Alzner scored off a shot from the point in the third period as Washington made it 3-2 Boston but they couldn't force overtime as Thomas made countless crazy saves.

It's a big week for Bs as last night was the start of a three-game homestand against quality teams: Washington, Anaheim and Atlanta. The Bruins host the Ducks tomorrow night.

Just in time for the Holidays: the Bruins poop in your stocking and puke under your Christmas tree

Oh god damn it, why must the Boston Bruins torture us so much?

After sleepwalking through the start of last night's game at the Bell Centre in Montreal, that was enough to give the Canadiens a 4-3 win.

The Bruins (16-10-4) scored each goal as they frantically tried to scramble from an early 2-0 deficit but it wasn't enough as they suffered their third straight loss.

At this point, I'm with Mike Felger - the Bruins need to seriously shake this up and there's only two ways to do that: 1) make a big trade or 2) fire head coach Claude Julien. Since you know they won't do the first choice, I'll take door number two.

This team has no balls and they're on cruise control as per usual. They'll make the playoffs but then they'll fall apart as they always do in the spring. After all, they've lost three straight Game 7s.

Ok, end of rant. Losing to Montreal (19-11-2) is never fun but especially on a night like last night when a win would have vaulted the Bs to a first-place tie (and theoretically snapped them out of this latest funk).

Unfortunately nobody gave Boston the memo that it was a big game. Michael Cammalleri earned a bogus penalty shot just 1:04 into the game and deked Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (37 saves) for the 1-0 lead.

Maxim Lapierre (from Mathieu Darche, Alexandre Picard) increased it to 2-0 Montreal with a goal at 6:24 of the first period.

Blake Wheeler benefited from a lucky goal on Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (34 saves) to give Boston some life at 15:52 from Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron.

With 30 seconds left in the first period, the wheels fell off as a harmless pass from Max Pacioretty banked into the Bruins' net off defenseman Andrew Ference's skate. Scott Gomez and Jaroslav Spacek assisted on the complete gift which signaled serious trouble for the Bs.

This team is stubborn though and they cut it to 3-2 in the second period on Marc Savard's first goal of the season. He tipped a shot from Ference, Tyler Seguin also assisted by firing it back to Ference at the point.

Of course, nothing is simple right now for Boston so they had to give up another back-breaking goal late in the second period. Brian Gionta tipped a shot by Pacioretty with Gomez also notching an assist.

Milan Lucic tallied a power-play goal at 15:10 in the third period, from Bergeron and Savard. Lucic tipped Bergeron's shot from the point, for his team-leading 16th of the season.

Believe it or not, Thomas actually played well and garbage like weak penalty shot calls and tough bounces just didn't go his way. He made a bunch of A+ saves that would not have gone most goaltenders' way.

If you've watched 24/7 Capitals-Penguins on HBO which premiered on HBO on Wednesday, you know what a mess the Caps are at this time. With that said, the Bruins are starting to go over the cliff too so Saturday night's game at the TD Garden is a really important one for both teams.

Time for the Bruins to step up or continue to spiral backwards in the Eastern Conference.

The great pro sports fans of Atlanta finally have a hockey team to rally behind

I feel like I'm saying the exact same thing that I wrote after the Bruins' no-show on Friday against the Hurricanes but yesterday's performance in Atlanta was a post-Thanksgiving dump that clogs your toilet and floods the bathroom.

For the fifth straight game, the B's (12-8-2) gave up the first goal and not surprisingly, they've lost four of five during this weird stretch.

Conversely Atlanta (12-9-3) is actually playing some good hockey as evidenced by its fifth straight win yesterday, 4-1 over the Bruins.

Former Blackhawks playoff star Dustin Byfuglien has been reinvented as a defenseman and Boston made him look like Gordie Howe as he had a goal and three assists.

Atlanta pumped home three first period goals to take a 3-0 lead in front of about 1000 people at the Philips Arena.

Evander Kane, Byfuglien and Jim Slater had the first period goals for the Thrashers.

The Bruins should a little pulse in the second period as Matt Hunwick fought Kane and Shawn Thornton squared off with Eric Boulton. It seemed to fire up the team for a few minutes as Blake Wheeler scored from Michael Ryder and Milan Lucic at 12:22.

That hard work and effort was wiped out as Atlanta's Niclas Bergfors tallied a power-play goal with 13 seconds left in the second period. Game over Southern hockey fans.

Atlanta goaltender Ondrej Pavelec looked like Patrick Roy with 40 saves. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask continued to find new and different ways to lose, this time with 22 saves.

Boston will need to find their game or they'll be pummelled in Philadelphia on Wednesday as they take on the Flyers, one of the NHL's best teams.

Perfect time to face the New Jersey Devils

Once upon a time, the New Jersey Devils were one of the truly elite teams in the NHL. They won Stanley Cups, Kevin Smith and Co. wore their jerseys in his movies and life was good in miserable Northern New Jersey.

Times have changed big time, last season's prompt playoff exit was a clue that the immortal Martin Brodeur ain't what he used to be. Coupled with a crippling amount of injuries and throwing way too much money at Ilya Kovalchuk and you can start to understand why the Devils are nothing more than a smoldering wreck on the NHL landscape this season.

Not even former Devils great and Die Hard inspiration John Mclean can turn things around with this AHL worthy squad.

New Jersey (5-11-2) had actually been playing better lately but you wouldn't know it if you watched last night's 3-0 win by the Boston Bruins (9-5-1) at the TD Garden.

Tim Thomas (28 saves) boosted his record to 9-1-0 with his fourth shutout of the season. Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler, Boston's most expendable players who are thought to be gone when Marco Sturm and Marc Savard return, continue to make that decision tougher as they play well and put the puck in the net.

I don't think I've ever mentioned him but Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart had a whale of a game, continually pummelling nameless Devils. Adam McQuaid also fired up the crowd and the team with a fight against Rod Pelley early in the first period. He'll likely be sent down or be a healthy scratch when Johnny Boychuk comes back from his broken forearm but McQuaid has proven he's a solid defenseman.

Ryder gave the Bs a 1-0 lead in the first period with a power play goal (5 on 3) with 4:34 left. Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi assisted on Ryder's sneaky shot from the side. He looked like he was going to pass, Brodeur (21 saves) bought it, and then he whipped it at the goal and in.

43 seconds into the second period, Nathan Horton scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season, from Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara. Lucic found him with a strong cross ice pass and then Horton seemed to catch Brodeur by surprise with a long, low snap shot.

Wheeler capped the scoring 43 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot assisted by Recchi and Jordan Caron. Switched to center (his position in college) with David Krejci out, Wheeler has looked more comfortable on the ice.

The Bruins visit Long Island tomorrow night to visit the NHL's worst team - the Islanders - who fired head coach Scott Gordon (former Providence Bruins coach) yesterday. Boston needs to keep up the momentum while their schedule lets up for a few games.

Get set for another miserable winter in Buffalo

Tim Thomas gave up a season-high two goals but somehow the Bruins still managed to win, 5-2 last night in Buffalo's HSBC Arena.

Thomas (7-0-0) made 33 saves and became the first Bruins goalie in franchise history to start out with that spotless mark.

This one was over early (maybe before it started since Sabres goalie Ryan Miller was out with an injury) as the B's (7-2-0) scored three goals in the first period.

The Sabres (3-8-2) gave up two straight shorthanded in the first period, a pathetic start for a terrible team. Brad Marchand took advantage of missed connection to go in on a breakaway and pot his first NHL goal. Then Patrice Bergeron scored after his first shot was blocked but then he whipped a snipe of a wrist shot in (from Marchand and Gregory Campbell).

Even Blake Wheeler got in on the scoring act (a rare thing) as he tapped in a nice feed from Michael Ryder (stationed behind the Buffalo goal) later in the first period. Zdeno Chara also assisted on Wheeler's first of the season.

Ryder kept the good times rolling with his third of the season 2:11 into the second period.

Buffalo's Drew Stafford got his team on the board with a power play goal at 16:39 in the second period. He was right in front of Thomas and was able to jam it home.

The Sabres added another grimy goal in the third period, from Andrej Sekera. Finally, Milan Lucic iced it with an empty-netter with 2:07. Nathan Horton and David Krejci assisted on Looch's goal.

Boston goes to our nation's capital tomorrow night for its third matchup already with the Capitals. They've beaten them the first two times so Washington is due for a win at some point.

Goodnight Philly, you've been great

This postseason run just gets better and better as the Boston Bruins pick up steam with each game.

They won Game 3 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia last night, 4-1, to take a 3-0 series lead.

Game 4 is tomorrow night; only two teams in NHL history have comeback from a 3-0 deficit and the B's are unbeaten with that lead.

So yeah, last night was big. The great news was tempered with the fact that Boston center David Krejci dislocated his right wrist early in the first period on a hit from Mike Richards and he'll be out for the rest of the playoffs. Not good at all.

For now, let's focus on the victory and pray that somehow the Canadiens beat the Penguins. With Krejci, Pittsburgh would still beat Boston. Without him, it's nearly impossible but that's a worry for a different day.

Philly got it's first lead of the series 2:32 into the game when Arron Asham took a feed from Claude Giroux and deposited it past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (34 saves). Blair Betts also assisted.

Only 1:39 later, Boston tied it up when Blake Wheeler perfectly tipped a Matt Hunwick shot from the point. Marc Savard also assisted.

The B's took the Flyers fans out of it just 1:34 later as Miroslav Satan scored from Milan Lucic and Krejci, who started the play before he got blasted by Richards. Satan waited out Flyers goalie Brian Boucher (16 saves) and put a backhander by him for a stunning 2-1 lead.

After a scoreless second period, Mark Recchi ended it with a power-play goal 2:30 into the third period. Zdeno Chara's slap shot was blocked by Boucher but it bounced to Wheeler in front. It ricocheted off Wheeler's chest right to Recchi, who was on the doorstep. You know Recchi has an idea what to do from there as he poked it in. Wheeler had the other assist as he subbed for Krejci on the power-play.

Philadelphia did everything they could to get back into it (and the series) but they couldn't solve Rask or the Bruins' defense which blocked plenty of shots. Patrice Bergeron added an empty-netter with 1:52 left.

I can confidently say that even the B's can't screw this up with a 3-0 lead. It'll be over either tomorrow night in Philly or back home at the TD Garden on Monday. There's no way that Boucher and the Flyers can beat Boston more than twice in a row, let alone four times.

What's the point of watching the Bruins?

Honestly, why do I still watch the Bruins this season? After Marc Savard went down with a concussion, this team that wasn't getting out of the first round of the playoffs, now seems destined not to even make it.

It's a hard choice: do you want to see the Bruins qualify for the playoffs, only to be swept by the Capitals, Devils or Penguins or just not make it at all?

It seems obvious that any true fan would want them to make the playoffs simply because you never know what'll happen but this edition of the Bruins is one of the most predictable teams I can ever remember.

They're limping home from their season-high seven game road trip after a 3-2 loss in New Jersey last night.

The Devils (41-24-3) took any intrigue out of it by scoring all three goals in the first period. Rob Niedermayer, David Clarkson and Olympic hero Zach Parise all scored for New Jersey.

Boston (30-26-12) made a half-hearted comeback as Blake Wheeler cut it to 3-1 in the second period with his 17th goal (assists to Mark Stuart and David Krejci) and then Patrice Bergeron (his 15th of the season) made it 3-2 with an extra skater on and 1:03 left in the game. He tipped Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point, Wheeler also assisted.

The poster boy for this lost season for the B's has to be goaltender Tim Thomas. He won the Vezina Trophy last season after a career year and was rewarded with a big deal. This season, he has been awful, never getting on a hot streak forcing Boston to constantly flip-flop him with Tuukka Rask.

Thomas (15-17-8) gave up all three goals and was yanked after the first period. Rask (15-9-4) stopped all 16 of the shots he faced in the last two periods.

The ageless Martin Brodeur (38-22-3) stopped 34 shots for the win.

This torturous road trip wraps up tonight in Carolina where the Bruins will no doubt struggle to score goals and lose to an equally terrible Hurricanes team (who have been playing well lately).

Party on Wayne, Party on Garth

By attending last night's Bruins-Blackhawks game at the TD Banknorth Garden, I was able to see what a Stanley Cup contender looks like up close.

Chicago (31-10-3) fell behind 2-0 less than halfway through the first period but didn't flinch as they rattled off five straight goals en route to a 5-2 win.

The Blackhawks came in the with the NHL's best record and it was quite refreshing to see a team that can roll out four solid lines, defensemen that can skate and love to join the rush and strong goaltending. In short, while I was obviously rooting for the Bruins (22-14-7), you have to appreciate greatness and I wouldn't be surprised if the Blackhawks make it even further in the playoffs than last spring (Western Conference Finals). This was a case of the Bruins simply not having the horses to match up with another team.

The game got off to an ominous start for Bruins fans as top-line center (and the only above-average offensive player) Marc Savard crumpled along the boards and left the game with a leg injury. He'll have an MRI today.

Blake Wheeler continued his superb play of late as he tipped home a Derek Morris shot for a power-play goal and a 1-0 Bruins lead. Johnny Boychuk also assisted on that strike.

The good vibes continued when new guy Miroslav Satan scored his first for Boston, a snap shot from in close on Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi (19 saves). Wheeler assisted on that goal. It was much earlier than usual but the Bruins' two-goal ceiling had been reached and therefore the remaining 52 minutes were quite predictable.

Duncan Keith, a fantasy stud and one of the NHL's best defensemen cut it to 2-1 with a laser slap shot from the point. Before the first period was over, Chicago tied it up as fourth-line forward Tomas Kopecky scored on tic-tac-toe passing.

Two more goals in the second period by the Blackhawks (Andrew Ladd tapping one in after Boychuk couldn't clear it from the crease and a screen shot by Keith) led to Tim Thomas (20 saves) getting the hook from Claude Julien in favor of Tuukka Rask. It wasn't Thomas' fault but it was probably best to save him from further damage. The game was over at that point.

After the burst at the beginning of the game, Boston failed to have almost any other quality scoring chances (getting outshot 36-21) and Patrick Kane stopped beating up cab drivers for a minute to score one last goal for Chicago late in the third period.

The B's host the Rangers tomorrow afternoon and Savard has already been ruled out, meaning his injury is probably very serious. Ugh.

When will the misery end for the Bruins?

Any thoughts of some positive carryover effect from the 2010 Winter Classic were quickly extinguished last night in New York as the Bruins sleepwalked through the first two periods, down 2-0 at Madison Square Garden to the average at best Rangers.

Boston (21-13-7) made it interesting by scoring their requisite two goals late in the third period but Tuukka Rask (32 saves) pulled a Tim Thomas by giving up a cellulite-soft goal to Chris Higgins with 1:29 left in the game.

Even worse, the B's lost Patrice Bergeron to a thumb injury earlier in the game when Dennis Wideman hit him with a slap shot. Yup, it's been that type of season. Their three best offensive players: Marc Savard, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron will have all missed significant time in the first half of the season.

Two bums scored for the Rangers (20-17-5), Ales Kotalik had a power-play goal in the first period and Erik Christensen made it 2-0 in the second period.

Matt Hunwick's short-handed goal with 5:27 left in the game put some sparks in the Bruins' skates. Blake Wheeler and David Krejci-two of the team's biggest underachievers-assisted on that goal. 1:26 later, Wheeler tied it up with a snap shot from the slot. Michael Ryder and Hunwick assisted on the goal that looked sure to produce at least one point.

Thomas should be back in net tonight as the Bruins travel to Ottawa. They've beaten the Senators the first three times they've played this season, we'll see if that trend continues. Miroslav Satan is expected to be in the lineup (haha, yes our offense is that bad) with Bergeron shelved anywhere from 2-6 weeks.

Bergeron's injury is certainly not on the Wes Welker level of heartbreak but after having just made the Canadian Olympic team and having a great overall season (Claude Julien called him Boston's best player this season), Bergeron deserved a better fate. This is a guy whose career almost ended with multiple severe concussions, it seemed like he finally was catching some breaks.

Do the Bruins know the season has started?

For the fourth time in five games to start the '09-'10 season, the Boston Bruins did not play well. They lost 4-3 to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday in a Columbus Day matinee at the Garden.

The Avs (3-1-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to some juicy rebounds by Bruins goalie Tukka Rask (18 saves).

At 6:15 Milan Hejduk scored a power-play goal from Matt Duchene and Kyle Quincey. Rask blocked the initial shot but the rebound went right to Hejduk who backhanded it in the net.

37 seconds later, Colorado made it 2-0 when Scott Hannon scored from David Jones and Ryan O'Reilly.

The B's (2-3) regrouped during the first intermission and started playing up to their capabilities with two goals in the second period. Mark Recchi one-timed one home after a nice pass from behind the net by Patrice Bergeron. Chuck Kobasew also assisted on that goal.

Then Blake Wheeler tied it after a beautiful pass by Michael Ryder (and David Krejci) that Wheeler deflected out of mid-air and past Avs goalie Craig Anderson (29 saves).

Special teams killed Boston as Colorado scored another power-play goal. Marek Svatos did the honors from Wojtek Wolski and Brett Clark.

Easily the pivotal play of the game was late in the second period with the Bruins on a power-play. Some miscommunication led to three Boston players going after one Avalanche player near the benches. Somehow T.J. Galiardi came out of the scrum with the puck and sent it up ahead to Jones on a breakaway. He scored and that proved to be the game-winner.

Ryder cut it to 4-3 in the third with a backhander (from Milan Lucic and Krejci) but the B's couldn't find the tying goal.

After a few needed days of practice, the Bruins head out on their first road trip of the season: Dallas on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday. Both are very winnable games so hopefully Boston starts to find its identity before it comes back to the Garden next week.

The Boston Bruins and the Amazing Technicolor Power Play

After going winless in its last four games (0-2-2), the Boston Bruins flipped a switch last night and decided to be the dominant team they'd established themselves as in the season's first half.

Boston (40-10-8) rolled over host Carolina (28-25-5), 5-1, scoring three third period goals on Glen Wesley night (which may or may not still be going on).

Using a variety of goal-scorers and solid goaltending-the two keys to the unbelievable season-the B's showed why the last week has been a slight hiccup.

The Hurricanes actually scored first as Matt Cullen (15th) found the back of the net in the first period, from Ray Whitney and Dennis Seidenberg.

Rookie Blake Wheeler started a run of five straight goals for the visitors as he notched a power-play goal (his 17th) later in the first period, assisted by Milan Lucic and Andrew Ference.

Shane Hnidy gave his team the lead for good in the second period as he potted his third of the season from David Krejci.

Special team's play was the key of the night and the theme of the third period for the B's as Krejci (20th, from Patrice Bergeron) scored a short-handed goal with 3:48 left in the game.

Boston would score two more before it was over: Chuck Kobasew added another power-play goal (his 12th) from Zdeno Chara and P.J. Axelsson. Finally, Bergeron put home an empty-net goal (his 5th), short-handed from Stephane Yelle.

The two goals on the power play were a great sign for the B's since the man advantage has been terrible over the last few weeks.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas made 31 saves and his record moved up to 25-7-5.

After a flight to Florida last night, the Bruins get a day off in the Sunshine State today. The team is playing golf or going deep sea fishing in its free time. They'll play the red-hot Panthers on Saturday night.