Boston Wins Its 5th Straight Game, 5-2 vs. Ottawa On An Otherwise Depressing Night at TD Garden

Hockey is an incredible sport that I will put up there with any other in the world in terms of entertainment value, life lessons that it teaches and team bonding that it naturally produces. With that said, since most of the violence has been rightfully erased from the NHL over the last decade, you almost forget that a game built on such breathtaking speed and agility sometimes can produce horrifying collisions. That's the grim backdrop for what otherwise should have been a very enjoyable night on Causeway Street as the B's (10-1-2) used a 3-0 third period to pick up a 5-2 victory against the Senators (3-8-1). Boston has the second best record in the Eastern Conference and the NHL while Ottawa is the worst team in both cases so the two points were a mere formality since the Bruins have now picked up five wins in a row.

Unfortunately, this game will most likely be remembered for one thing only: the scary scene in the first period after Senators rookie Scott Sabourin ran into David Backes and appeared to be knocked out in midair before he hit the ice face-first. Ugh, what a brutal event. He was down and motionless for what felt like an eternity as all of Ottawa and Boston's medical staff attended to him. The good news is that he gave the thumbs up to the crowd as he got wheeled off the ice on a stretcher and Ottawa's PR staff later reported on Twitter that he was alert and talking to the doctors before going to a hospital in Boston. Backes went to the dressing room for what we assumed was just to compose himself but it turned out that he left with an upper-body injury. He's suffered a sickening amount of concussions already in the league so I really hope that isn't the case once again, he'll be evaluated more tomorrow.

It seems secondary to even mention it at this point but there was a game after all and things did happen in it worth noting. The NHL's second star of the month in October-David Pastrnak-picked up right where he left off with a power-play goal just 1:17 into his first tilt in November. His NHL-best 13th goal of the season was also his seventh in the first period already this season and it extended his point streak to 11 games. It actually came off a set play that him and Torey Krug used last season vs. Calgary. Krug banked it off the end boards behind Senators goaltender Craig Anderson (27 saves, 2-5-0) and Pasta raced to it first before dekeing and jamming the puck over the line. Ottawa tied it at 12:04 of the first period when Anthony Duclair put in a one-timer from Logan Brown (who later left with an upper body injury of his own) and Mark Borowiecki.

With the top ranked power play in the NHL along with a penalty kill that isn't too shabby either (#9), Boston loves when games are decided by special teams and this was one of those routine events in today's whistle-happy league. The Bruins were caught with too many men on the ice early in the second period then Brad Marchand was called for two penalties (minor for hooking and double minor for spearing) on the same play. That meant they had to hold off the Senators for 55 seconds of a 5-on-3 then 5:05 of Marchand's temporary stupidity. Spoiler alert: they were able to do it. Granted, Ottawa has the worst power play in the NHL (#31) but it was still impressive nonetheless. Tuukka Rask (30 saves, 7-0-1) remains unbeaten in regulation for 2019-20.

The B's had taken a 2-1 lead earlier in the frame as Pastrnak chose to dish the puck to Patrice Bergeron (6 goals, 8 assists in his last 12 games) rather than take his own wide open shot. Bergeron's sixth goal of the season came at 1:51 and it was also assisted by Marchand (12-game point streak and 11-game assist streak, both career highs). The Senators might be awful and constantly rebuilding but at least they showed more effort than the Sharks for instance last Tuesday. Connor Brown tied it at 3:04 as he threw the puck in front and it bounced by Rask for his second goal of the season, assisted by Borowiecki and Dylan DeMelo (which sounds like the name of a bully at your local high school).

Riding an eight game point streak, I don't think that many Bruins fans were sweating despite the fact that their favorite team was knotted at two heading into the third period. The few doubters were quickly told to shut up for the evening as Boston scored three unanswered goals to clinch it. Danton Heinen started it off with a great individual effort to win the puck along the wall in the neutral zone and eventually find it again out front for his third goal of the season, unassisted at 5:43. Borowiecki took his third penalty of the contest and Marchand immediately made him pay with a one-timer from Pastrnak and Bergeron (his 500th NHL assist, only the 15th active player to reach that mark) at 6:50 for his eighth goal of the season. For good measure, Jake DeBrusk cranked in his best shot of the young season-a one-timer from Heinen at 16:16 for his second goal of the campaign.

Brett Ritchie and Joakim Nordstrom were both out with similar infections (were they hanging out in the Browns' staph infection riddled locker room from a few years ago?) so Peter Cehlarik was recalled from Providence. As usual, he showed no reason why he should featured regularly in the NHL (at least yet) so hopefully one or both of those guys can play in a few days when things should be much more difficult. Boston hosts Pittsburgh (8-5-1) on Monday (7, NESN)-the rare Monday Night Hockey-followed by their first meeting with Montreal (7-5-2) the following night (7:30, NBCSN) North of the border. I thought that Jaroslav Halak would get the start tonight (WRONG!) so I'll lick my wounds from that and guess that he will play against the Canadiens since Rask has a terrible history at the Bell Centre. Don't listen to me though as Jaro will probably start on Monday and Rask will get the start vs. Claude Julien's pukes. Regardless, it probably doesn't matter at the moment since the Black and Gold are absolutely on fire with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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The Maple Leafs Never Trailed In Game 5, Stave Off Elimination With a White-Knuckle 4-3 Victory

Unlike the NBA playoffs where most teams pack it in when they are down two or three games, they say that the toughest thing to do in the NHL playoffs is to eliminate a team and while that old adage is somewhat flawed, it was definitely the case on Saturday night at TD Garden as Toronto beat Boston 4-3 to cut the Bruins' series lead to 3-2. Game 6 shifts back to the Air Canada Centre on Monday (7, NESN). When you look at the final stats, it's hard to believe that the B's lost: they outshot the Leafs 45-21 (including 20-5 in the 3rd) and had six power plays to one for Toronto.

Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (42 saves, 2nd win of the series) was the star for Toronto and he was also helped by the fact that his teammates gave him multiple two-goal leads (2-0 and 3-1) and even a three-goal advantage to play with (4-1). You couldn't help but think of the epic 2013 playoff series between these clubs as Boston cut it to 4-3 early in the third period on Noel Acciari's goal but it wasn't to be as the Leafs held on for the improbable win. After Tuukka Rask was so brilliant in Game 4 (31 saves), it was only befitting of the roller coaster nature of the postseason that the next time out he was nothing like that. He made nine saves and allowed four goals before being pulled although to be fair, you can't really fault him for any of those tallies. At that point, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was just looking for a way to spark his club and it helped as Anton Khudobin stopped all eight shots he faced in his NHL playoff debut. Before you can say goalie controversy, there is no doubt in the universe that Rask will start Game 6. Haha hopefully playing half of Game 5 will give him a little more energy.

The team that has scored the first goal has won every game of the series and that continued this evening as Connor Brown notched his first career NHL playoff goal at 6:36 of the first period. He batted the puck out of mid-air, assisted by Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman. Before the Bruins knew what hit them, it was 2-0 Toronto as Andreas Johnsson also bagged his first career playoff goal, assisted by Nazem Kadri (who returned from being suspended for Games 2-4) and Jake Gardiner at 10:12. Boston had only trailed once after the first period in the series and that came in Game 3 (their only loss).

The B's had outshot Toronto 15-6 in the first period but things seem to break their way when Jake DeBrusk's shot went wide of the net but David Backes was there to tap it in for an easy power play goal at 9:45 of the second period. Backes' second goal of the series was also assisted by Torey Krug. The problem was that Toronto responded 51 seconds later with a tally from Tyler Bozak (his 2nd of the series), assisted by Morgan Rielly and James van Riemsdyk. It was a backbreaking goal for the B's after it looked like they had swung the momentum back in their favor. JVR roofed one past Rask at 11:55 of the second which ended Rask's night (he basically sprinted to Boston's dressing room after getting off the ice). Mitch Marner (who's been Toronto's best player all series) and Bozak had the helpers on what turned out to be a game-winning goal for the UNH product (JVR).

Sean Kuraly potted a one-timer off a nifty backhander feed from Matt Grzelcyk at 17:18 of the second period. Kuraly's second goal of the series was also assisted by Acciari. Toronto was their own worst enemy for much of this contest as they repeatedly got stupid penalties to put Boston's top ranked power play (in the postseason) back on the ice. In fact, they survived a two-man advantage for 1:34 that ended shortly before Kuraly's goal. Boston was down two goals headed into the third period but with 33 seconds remaining on yet another power play, they had more than a flicker of hope. Boston couldn't have dominated the third in every facet (except on the scoreboard) any more as they outshot Toronto 20-5. Andersen didn't exactly make every save look routine or easy but credit to him for getting the job done. Acciari's classic fourth-liner goal (his 1st of the series; assisted by Tim Schaller and Krug) at 5:58 cut it to 4-3 Leafs but that's how it would end.

Tampa Bay did their job earlier today by knocking out New Jersey (3-1 in Game 5) when they had the first opportunity to do so. That means that regardless of who wins this series, the Lightning are looking at a few days off in the Florida sun. That doesn't sound so bad, huh? You could say that Rask and the B's stole Game 4 in Toronto and despite all the big leads, I think you could also say the same for the Leafs in Game 5. It was in Boston's best interest to end things tonight so needless to say, they really want no part of a Game 7 even though it would be back in Boston on Wednesday. When you have a chance end a series, you have to go for it (see: Winnipeg last night vs. Minnesota).

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The Maple Leafs Most Certainly Look Like a Playoff Team In 2016-17 While The Bruins Sadly Do Not

You could make an easily compelling case that tonight was the most important game of the season thus far for the Bruins (26-23-6). So you can probably guess how things turned out for them at TD Garden vs. the Maple Leafs (24-17-9) as Tuukka Rask faced 14 shots and only made 10 saves therefore he was pulled halfway through the contest with his team trailing 4-1. The Bruins made a valiant comeback attempt (tying it at 4-4 midway through the 3rd period on Ryan Spooner's goal and then 5-5 late in the 3rd on Patrice Bergeron's power play goal) but earned zero points as UNH's James van Riemsdyk scored the game-winner (his 2nd of the game) at 18:24 for a 6-5 Toronto victory.

This was the third of four meetings in 2016-17 between the Bruins and Maple Leafs with Toronto improving to 3-0. To make matters worse for the B's, they are now only one point ahead of their Original Six rivals who have a whopping five games in hand on them. To further illustrate just how vital this tilt was, SportsclubStats.com says that Boston's playoff chances dropped from 37.2% to 27.8%. They would have gone up by 7.0% with a regulation win, ugh. Fatigue (and injuries) have clearly caught up to Rask who was making his 12th straight start in goal for Boston (and 18 out of the last 19 games).

The B's actually led 1-0 2:17 into the first period as David Pastrnak (21st goal of the season) finished a pass from Bergeron and Chara. Frederik Andersen (36 saves) remains unbeaten (7-0-0) vs. Boston in his career despite such a high-scoring back and forth affair. Toronto has a scary amount of uber-talented rookies led by William Nylander (1st NHL hat trick) and Auston Matthews (3 assists). Nylander tied it up at one after pretty passing with Nazem Kadri and Matthews before he wove around Rask for his 11th goal of the season. The roof caved in on Rask in a rough second period as Toronto scored three goals in the span of 1:46: van Riemsdyk capitalized on an Adam McQuaid turnover then Nylander scored a pair of goals 38 seconds apart (2nd was on a power play) to complete his hat trick. Bruins head coach Claude Julien called his timeout after the third goal and Rask was pulled after the fourth but neither move seemed to produce much of a jolt.

Pastrnak regained some momentum by cutting it to 4-2 (assisted by Bergeron and Chara) at 10:55 then McQuaid and Matt Martin had what might be the fight of the year in the NHL. Both guys traded haymakers for nearly a minute which is a lifetime in a bout. When it was over, the Garden was rocking and Martin had a large cut behind his left ear. Krug's power play goal at 15:53 made it 4-3 Toronto as Pasta and Ryan Spooner assisted on his fifth goal of the season. Spooner put in a rebound at 10:06 of the third period to knot it at four. Chara's third assist tied a career-high (for assists and points in a game) and Dominic Moore notched the other helper.

This isn't your father's Maple Leafs since Toronto didn't seem fazed by blowing a three-goal lead at all (somewhere James Reimer cries himself to sleep). Another rookie Connor Brown made it 5-4 at 15:15 (his 12th goal of the season) with assists going to Zach Hyman and Matthews. Boston cashed in on another power play as Bergeron (13th goal; 5-game point-streak) backhanded in a loose puck at 17:06 from Krug and Brad Marchand (5-game point-streak). It looked like the Bruins would at least steal a point by going to overtime and/or a shootout but Zane McIntyre (10 saves, 2 goals allowed) couldn't get them there, not that it was solely the rookie's backup goaltender's fault. JVR wheeled around the net and beat him with a wicked shot that went top-shelf at 18:24 for his 19th goal of the season. Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner (2 assists) had the helpers on van Riemsdyk's game-winner which was matched by his younger brother Trevor who had the game-winning goal in Chicago's 5-3 win at Dallas this evening.

Boston's next game isn't until Thursday (7, NESN) when they host last season's Western Conference champions-the Sharks (33-17-2). They have a practice tomorrow and then they are getting two days off which they could use. It should be a wacky week as the Bruins have three games (all at the Garden) in four days. Vancouver (23-22-6) is here on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) and then Montreal (30-16-7) on Sunday night (7:30, NBC Sports). With tonight's loss, the B's fell back under .500 (12-13-0) at the Garden and 3-6-1 in their third jersey (with 5 more games scheduled to wear them) that they might as well burn at this point. The Sharks and Canadiens are both really good and the Canucks are mediocre (plus it will feel like a 10 am start for their bodies) so make of that what you will.

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B's Double Down On Their Bad Loss To Avs With an Equally Horrifying Loss to Wretched Leafs

Every game in the marathon known as the 82-game regular season of the NHL is for all intents and purposes worth the same: two points. However, that doesn't mean that they always feel like they have the same exact worth. If you beat a quality team or even get a point against them (think that 4-3 overtime loss to Washington on Wednesday), that is seen as a good thing. Conversely, when you lose to the dregs of the league, there is no putting lipstick on that pig. Boston (15-12-2) lost 4-2 to lowly Colorado (10-15-1) on Thursday which was depressing enough and they followed that up with another poopfest, a 4-1 setback to Toronto (11-10-5) tonight at TD Garden.

Along with their alarming lack of goal-scoring (outside of one David Pastrnak), Boston's latest issue has been allowing the first goal. They have done that in the last three games and in fact, they have been down 2-0 to the Capitals, Avalanche and Maple Leafs so it's no wonder that they only got one point out of a possible six points in that stretch. Boston outshot Toronto 11-2 in the first period (tied for the fewest shots they've allowed in a frame this season) but weren't able to find the back of the net. The Maple Leafs took a 1-0 lead 1:44 into the second period as American hero Auston Matthews (the No. 1 pick this past summer) beat Tuukka Rask (16 saves) top shelf. William Nylander had the assist on Matthews' 12th goal of the season (tied for the team-lead) after Pastrnak had turned over the puck in his own end.

Zach Hyman tipped in a floater from the point by Jake Gardiner, giving Toronto a 2-0 advantage at 15:14 of the second period. Former Bruins great Matt Hunwick had the second assist on Hyman's (tough name) fourth goal of the season. Unbeknownst to everyone in the world except his family and agent, Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (32 saves) is now 6-0-0 in six career games against the B's. The good news for the Bruins is that if they get to the playoffs this spring, at least he won't be there. Brad Marchand cut it to 2-1 at 18:39 as he poked in a backhander after a scramble in front of Andersen. David Backes assisted on Marchand's eighth goal of the season. As Marchy noted after the game, they need to get more dirty goals like that to snap this team-wide scoring drought.

Former UNH star James van Riemsdyk put this one away with an acrobatic tip-in of his own at 9:52 of the third period to make it 3-1 in favor of the Leafs. Tyler Bozak made the play happen with a great backhand pass and JVR was out front to get just enough of it to sneak it by Rask. Hunwick picked up his second assist of the game (he had 4 in 17 games coming in) on van Riemsdyk's 12th goal of the season. Connor Brown's empty-netter at 18:27 gave us that gross final score.

On paper (and probably in real life as well), things don't figure to ease up for Boston this week as they go to Montreal (19-6-3) on Monday (7:30, NESN) and then Pittsburgh (18-7-3) on Wednesday (7:30, NBC Sports)-the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. They return to the Garden on Thursday (7, NESN) vs. Anaheim (14-9-5) and they host Los Angeles (14-11-2) on Sunday afternoon (1, NESN). Rask is due to win at the Bell Centre sometime soon, right? Maybe it'll be the old reverse lock against the Canadiens. The Bruins can't let this slide go on for very long or else they'll drop out of a playoff spot; it sounds silly but even this early in the season, it's hard to make up much ground when so many teams are in front of you.

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