Who Needs Pastrnak? The B's Double Up the Hawks 6-3 As They Win Their 3rd Game In 4 Days

However it happened (drunkenly?) late on Sunday night somewhere in Boston, the end result was that Bruins (32-17-8) star David Pastrnak (31 goals, 35 assists) is out indefinitely following thumb surgery. This was all revealed to the world on Tuesday morning after morning skate so naturally, the B's weren't affected by this shocking news in the least bit as they thumped the Blackhawks (23-25-9) 6-3 tonight at TD Garden as they have earned points in eight games in a row (5-0-3). No matter that Chicago was the hottest team in the league, having won seven games in a row before this. Eight different Bruins recorded points led by Brad Marchand (goal, 3 assists), David Krejci (2 goals, assist), Jake DeBrusk (goal, 2 assists), Danton Heinen (goal, 2 assists) and Patrice Bergeron (2 assists). Tuukka Rask (23 saves, 18-8-4) gave up a howler of an opening goal but still managed to extend his point streak to 12 games (10-0-2).

Earlier in the season, Alex DeBrincat's "goal" that Rask somehow wasn't able to stop despite the fact that it was right at him from a mile away would have derailed the entire team. That was DeBrincat's 29th goal of the season (9-game point streak), assisted by Dominik Kahun and Dylan Strome at 4:22 of the first period. Boston quickly picked themselves up off the ice by scoring three goals to close out the first period and they added another in the second for a commanding 4-1 advantage. Krejci fittingly tied it with a power-play goal from Pasta's office. His one-timer (13th goal of the season) was assisted by Bergeron (5-game point streak) and DeBrusk at 14:47. 49 seconds later, the Bruins went ahead for good on Heinen's tally. Bumped up to first line for the last few games, Heinen has predictably been a totally different player (who wouldn't be with Bergy and Marchy?). His ninth goal of the season was assisted by Marchand (5-game point streak) and Chara. Before Merrimack College's Collin Delia (31 saves, 6-3-3) knew what hit him, Marchand made it 3-1 at 18:59. Heinen and Bergeron notched the assists on Marchand's 22nd goal of the season.

Boston survived a 5-on-3 penalty kill in the first and Chicago did the same in the second before DeBrusk finally picked up his first goal in over a month (Jan. 8 vs. Minnesota). He deflected in Krejci's pass just as a Bruins power play ended, for his 15th goal of the season with Marchand adding the other helper. Duncan Keith (game-high 23:25) cut the deficit to 4-2 with a blast from the point with 23 seconds left in the second period. Connor Murphy and Kahun had the assists on Keith's third goal of the season. It got interesting for a few minutes in the third as the Bruins allowed Erik Gustafsson to walk right into the slot and fire a snipe by Rask at 4:48. Keith and Patrick Kane (15-game point streak!) had the assists on Gustafsson's 12th goal of the season.

It was a big night for Boston's special teams as their power play scored two goals against Chicago's league-worst penalty kill while the Bruins PK was a flawless 3-for-3. Rookie Peter Cehlarik (4th goal of the season) put in a pretty pass from Heinen and Torey Krug for the other goal on the man-advantage at 7:18. Krejci officially sealed it at 6-3 with another nice goal at 15:42, assisted by Marchand and DeBrusk. This was Bruce Cassidy's 100th win as Bruins head coach (in 166 games) and he did it faster than everyone except good old Tom Johnson back in 1971-72 (138 games).

The B's won't be in the Garden for two full weeks as they head out on a five-game West Coast road trip. They are in Anaheim (21-26-9)-the worst team in the Western Conference that just fired their head coach Randy Carlyle-on Friday (10, NESN) followed by a game in LA (23-28-5) the next night (10:30, NESN). The difficulty should pick up on Monday (10, NESN) as they take on old friend Joe Thornton and the Sharks (34-16-7). After that, they are in Vegas (31-22-4) on Wednesday (10, NESN). It all ends in St. Louis (28-22-5) a week from Saturday afternoon (4, NESN). The Bruins' next home game is two weeks from tonight vs. San Jose (7, NESN). Load up on Red Bull or the energy drink of your choice since there are a bunch of late nights coming up for the Black and Gold.

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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.