If the Bruins Go to a Shootout This Season, You Know For Certain That They Are Doomed To Lose

There are few certainties in life: death, taxes and the Bruins losing in shootouts. That might sound like a stretch but with tonight's 4-3 loss to Calgary (35-25-4) at TD Garden, Boston (31-22-10) fell to 2-7 in shootouts this season. Newly acquired David Schlemko (waived by Dallas), a seldom-used defenseman who had the least ice time of anybody on either team (7:00) had the game-winner in round eight for the Flames. Patrice Bergeron was the only Bruin to beat Karri Ramo (34 saves) in the shootout while Josh Jooris was the other guy on Calgary to put one past Tuukka Rask (29 saves).

Oddly enough, the only team in the NHL with a worse shootout record than them is the Kings (1-7). Oh and this was the seventh time in a row that the Bruins lost in a shootout, somehow all with Rask in goal. Ugh. Also this evening, the Panthers lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Stars and the Flyers beat the Blues 3-1 so Boston remains two points ahead of Florida and Philadelphia has pulled to within four points of the Bruins (with 2 games in hand). The other team to watch in this thrilling race for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference is Ottawa who is only five points back of Boston with a game in hand.

For the sixth game in a row, Boston scored the first goal of the game which obviously hasn't translated into that many wins. Brad Marchand wrapped around Calgary's goal and scored on a backhander at 7:46 of the first period. Bergeron and Dougie Hamilton assisted on Marchand's team-leading 19th goal of the season. Calgary's young star Sean Monahan tied it at 18:49. On the power play, he was able to gather a loose puck near Rask and hit the net for his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. Jiri Hudler and Kris Russell had the assists.

Milan Lucic continued to build chemistry with his new linemates Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak. Lucic banged in a one-timer from Spooner and Pastrnak at 2:30 of the second period for his 14th goal of the season which gave Boston a 2-1 lead. Calgary's next goal was all Rask's fault as he kicked a juicy rebound right to Hudler, who deposited that gift at 14:26. His 21st goal of the season was assisted by Mikael Backlund and former Bruins great Dennis Wideman.

The 2014 Hobey Baker winner-BC's Johnny Gaudreau-had a happy return to his old stomping grounds. His power play snipe at 4:59 of the third period snapped a 15-game goalless streak and more importantly, gave his team a 3-2 advantage. Russell and Wideman had the assists on the goal by one of the NHL's top rookies.

It was a tough night for Loui Eriksson, who missed a couple wonderful chances to score, but he at least made one of them count at a very important juncture. He tied it at 11:40 with a shot from in close that he nearly flubbed and Ramo got a piece of it but the puck still had enough juice to go over the line. Eriksson's 15th goal of the season was assisted by Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg.

Boston is 7-3 in overtime this season but when they couldn't score (outshooting Calgary 3-1) in the extra session, you knew that they were screwed since Calgary was 3-1 in shootouts. The only solace for them is that if they can reach the postseason, they won't have to face the dreaded shootout.

Things don't get any easier for the B's since this kicked off three games in four days: the Flyers (28-25-12) come to the Garden on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) followed by the Red Wings (36-15-11) on Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC). Boston has owned Philadelphia the last few years but this is also the same team that lost to Calgary in overtime and a shootout this year so anything can happen. Detroit is having a real good season that nobody has seemed to notice so the Bruins will have their hands full there. Haha is there any chance to Niklas Svedberg starts either game? I would say no.

UPDATE 3/6: The B's only had practice today but they made news as Reilly Smith got a two-year extension worth $6.85 million and Torey Krug got a one-year extension worth $3.4 million. As always, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli felt the need to lock up his "core guys" sooner than most others would ever think to do it. Krug makes sense but two years for Smith, really?

Tweet

Capitals Earn Two Points The Hard Way

If you fell asleep or passed out for the first 2+ periods of tonight's Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals game, you're in luck if you woke up in the third period.

That's when the action really picked up as a scoreless game became 2-2 in a span of less than 11 minutes. Boston (45-28-4) rallied from a 2-0 deficit that looked fatal but Washington (39-31-8) held on in overtime and won 3-2 in a shootout at TD Garden.

Matt Hendricks, Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich (game-winner) scored in the shootout for the Capitals while Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron had the Bruins goals.

Boston picked up a point but their three-game winning streak was snapped just the same. Washington ended the season series 3-1 against Boston, something which should give them confidence should these teams meet in the postseason (a first-round date is certainly possible).

Believe me when I tell you that nothing happened in the first two periods save for Adam McQuaid getting hurt (concussion?) on Jason Chimera's charging penalty in the first (14 strides!) and Caps goaltender Tomas Vokoun left with an injury (groin?) of his own.

Boston was also missing Dennis Seidenberg who was out with an infection from a cut on his leg.

Chimera got a 5-minute major and a game misconduct but the B's weren't able to take advantage of the extended power-play opportunity.

Two mistakes by Boston led to both Washington goals in the third. At 7:59, former Bruin Dennis Wideman (11th of the season) was allowed to slip into the offensive zone and he wristed a shot by Tim Thomas (21 saves; 33-20-0). Marcus Johansson and Alex Ovechin assisted on the goal.

Just 1:55 later, the Capitals seemed to put this one away and get back into eighth place in the Eastern Conference thanks to a 2-on-1 finish by Johansson (14th of the season) from Ovechkin.

The Bruins beat the Capitals by one second as they scored a pair of goals in 1:54. David Krejci (21st of the season) was the first to solve Michal Neuvirth (19 saves) as he redirected Zdeno Chara's shot at 16:50. Milan Lucic had the second assist.

Andrew Ference (6th of the season) tied it at 2 with a slap shot at 18:44. Krejci had the lone assist on the rare Ference goal.

Chris Kelly forced a solid stop by Neuvirth shortly after Ference's strike. Boston had all the momentum going into overtime but they weren't able to score in the extra frame.

Boston will get a full dose of New York this weekend as they travel to Long Island on Saturday to meet the Islanders then they face the Rangers at MSG on Sunday night.

Surprisingly, the Bruins are 1-1 against the Islanders with New York winning 3-2 on March 3 at the Garden. They haven't given up on this season either (even though they aren't going anywhere). The Islanders beat the Penguins 5-3 both nights of a home-and-home this week. Expect Marty Turco to get a start this weekend, more likely Saturday.

UPDATE 3/30: McQuaid didn't make the trip to New York so he's out for this weekend's games. Seidenberg is day-to-day meaning that he could potentially play.

UPDATE 3/31: With Buffalo's loss to Pittsburgh tonight, the Bruins clinched a playoff spot for the fifth straight season under Claude Julien. He has never missed the postseason in Boston.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Time For Some Rest: Capitals Beat Bruins 5-3 In Final Game Before All-Star Break

It is cliche to say it, I think every announcer in each professional sport is obligated to roll out this line but the All-Star break really couldn't come at a better time for the Boston Bruins.

After falling 5-3 tonight to the Washington Capitals (26-19-3) at the Verizon Center, the B's (31-14-2) completed a very tough stretch (6 of 7 on the road) with an uneven 3-4 mark.

Now, most of the team (except Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara, Tyler Seguin, head coach Claude Julien and his assistants) get almost a week off since their next game isn't until next Tuesday against Ottawa. That kicks off a three-game stretch at TD Garden, a place that they haven't occupied too much lately.

The Caps got a hat trick from Mathieu Perreault in an exciting contest that wasn't decided until former Bruins scapegoat Dennis Wideman scored an empty-netter. It was an impressive win for Washington considering that their superstar Alex Ovechkin was out due to a suspension.

Thomas took a seat on the bench this evening, giving him more time to write some vital Facebook posts and Tuukka Rask (18 saves; 11-5-2) got the start.

Rich Peverley (8th of the season) gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first period at 17:46 when his centering pass deflected off a Washington stick and past Tomas Vokoun (29 saves). Patrice Bergeron and Dennis Seidenberg had the assists.

Depending on how much you enjoy defense, the second period was either thrilling or frustrating. Cody Eakin (4th of the season) tied it at 1 when his easy shot dropped off Rask's blocker and slowly crossed the goal line at 2:14. Just 41 seconds later, the Capitals did a solid Bruins impersonation as Perreault (5th in the season) struck in the vulnerable minute (copyright New Jack Edwards), at 2:55. It went off his skate but for some reason, it wasn't reviewed.

Tyler Seguin (19th of the season) tied it at 2 thanks to an ugly turnover by a Capitals defenseman. Seguin walked in on Vokoun and beat him with a sweet roofed backhander. Steven Kampfer (taking Andrew Ference's place-serving his second game of a three-game suspension) had the assist.

Johnny Boychuk handed a breakaway to Perreault at 14:23 and he was able to score his second goal of the game.

President Obama's favorite Bruin Brad Marchand (17th of the season) tied it at 3 late in the second thanks to a power-play goal. He followed Seidenberg's shot from the point and flipped in the rebound. Bergeron had the second assist.

At 3-3 heading into the third and with only 20 minutes before the All-Star break, the Bruins had a nice opportunity to earn two points on the road but they couldn't do it. Perreault completed his hat trick at 7:18 from Roman Hamrlik (2 assists) and Marcus Johansson. Perreault was in the right place in front of Rask since the puck found him by the net and he reacted quickly.

Wideman's (9th of the season) length of the rink clear came with 27 seconds left, a nice moment for him against his old team and a proper send-off as he goes to Ottawa this weekend for the All-Star game (really).

The Fantasy Draft is on Thursday, the skills competition is on Saturday and the game is on Sunday. I'll keep you posted with any notable information about the aforementioned Bruins that will be in Canada's capital.

After a nightmare in October, the B's were spectacular in November, December and early January. I'm confident they'll come back fresh and ready to tackle the final 35 games in the regular season as they get ready for the stretch run and the playoffs.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

This one's for you Matt Cooke (you scumbag)

After missing nearly two months of action thanks to Matt Cooke's cheap shot (that went unpunished by the NHL), Bruins center Marc Savard returned this afternoon and wrote a fairytale chapter to what has been a terrible ordeal for him.

He scored the game-winner in overtime as the B's beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 at TD Garden in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Going into the series, the one thing that seems to distinguish the two teams is that Tuukka Rask is the hottest goalie left in the NHL playoffs and Flyers goalie Brian Boucher is a journeyman scrub (despite his fine play against the Devils).

Boston choked away a pair of two-goal leads (3-1, 4-2) but that was soon forgotten as their best offensive player ended it with a turnaround shot at 13:52 from Dennis Wideman and Zdeno Chara.

As expected, it was a very physical game with both teams not afraid to throwing their bodies all over the ice.

Steve Begin scored his first career playoff goal 2:39 into the game from Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi. Any offense from the fourth line is a big plus and to see a bum like Begin score is similar to a solar eclipse.

Bergeron doubled the lead at 12:54 of the first period with an assist from Wideman.

Ryan Parent opened the scoring for Philly at 7:38 in the second period from Mike Richards and Arron Asham.

Miroslav Satan cashed in on a power-play just over four minutes later. Johnny Boychuk and Wideman.

At 15:48 Chris Pronger got the Flyers closer (3-2) with a power play goal from Kimmo Timonen and Richards.

David Krejci made it 4-2 in the third period with assists from Satan and Milan Lucic. It looked to be over at that point but the stubborn Flyers kept the pressure on and it paid off as Richards and Daniel Briere tied it up.

Boucher (41 saves) and Rask (32 saves) made some outstanding saves in overtime, with Boucher making a bunch of A+ stops in the early going of OT. Boston outshot Philadelphia 15-4 in overtime.

The B's will try to hold serve at home in Game 2 on Monday night.

The NHL playoffs are my drug and the Bruins are my connect

I don't know why exactly but I'm obsessed with the Boston Bruins at the moment and their playoff journey.

Other than doing fantasy hockey, I can't say I pay much attention to other NHL teams during the regular season but now that the playoffs have started I can't look away. Every night there seems to be an incredible game on at all times.

The Bruins took control of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Sabres with a 2-1 Game 3 win last night at the TD Garden. With the win, Boston is up 2-1 with Game 4 tomorrow night at the Garden.

Three of Boston's most consistent players were the three stars of the game: Tuukka Rask (32 saves) outplayed Ryan Miller for the second straight game, Mark Recchi flattened Tim Kennedy and assisted on Patrice Bergeron's game-winner with 7:03 left in the third and Bergeron who one-timed Recchi's perfect feed.

For the third straight game, Buffalo jumped ahead with the first goal as former BU star Mike Grier scored 6:57 into the game from Raffi Torres and Henrik Tallinder.

Former Garden whipping boy Dennis Wideman tied it up (and all is forgiven) with a slap-shot at 15:17 of the first period. Vladimir Sobotka (who has been one of Boston's best players in the series) and Matt Hunwick assisted.

As expected, the goal-scoring has been at a premium with both teams lacking their top offensive players at the moment (Thomas Vanek and Marc Savard) but the games have been very physical and exciting.

Each blocked shot, poke check and pass means something, playoff hockey is one of a kind. I'd go so far as to call it the best, better than the NBA (where the favorites usually win) and MLB (where the same teams usually make the playoffs and the games are ten hours long). NFL playoff games are similarly superb so we'll call it even.

Can't wait for tomorrow night although there's plenty of NHL playoff action tonight to tide me over.

Nothing's ever easy in the Hub of hockey

Like a villain in a bad horror movie, maybe the newest Nightmare on Elm Street, the Boston Bruins stubbornly refuse to die.

They're going to make the playoffs (fingers crossed) but they'll undoubtedly do it in the most ass-backward way possible. That's their MO; this is a team that hasn't won a Stanley Cup in 38 years and counting.

Thanks to last night's 3-1 win over the Sabres at the TD Garden, the B's (37-30-13) have 87 points and are in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining. Montreal is tied with Boston but they have only one game left. Philadelphia has two games left but they're a point behind the B's and Habs.

If the playoffs started today, Boston would face Buffalo (44-26-10) which is a much more favorable matchup than the Capitals or Penguins.

Even with all-world goaltenders Martin Brodeur and Ryan Miller, the Devils and Sabres respectively are teams that the Bruins have a much better shot at in the first round. If they play Washington or Pittsburgh, goodnight. You shouldn't even bother watching.

Derek Roy gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead in the first period with assists from former BC star Nathan Gerbe and Drew Stafford.

Miroslav Satan, who has really picked up his game lately, tied it early in the second period with an assist from David Krejci.

It was a gift win since the Sabres chose to sit Miller in favor of Patrick Lalime. However, the Bruins will take any break they can get.

Dennis Wideman, surprise surprise, scored the winning goal early in the third period. A shot from the point assisted by Vladimir Sobotka and Blake Wheeler (who's still alive apparently).

Mark Recchi clinched it with a goal late in the third period, from Zdeno Chara (playing with a facemask to protect his broken nose) and Milan Lucic. Recchi expertly tipped Chara's shot from the point.

Tuukka Rask made 31 saves to improve to 21-12-5 with a ridiculous GAA of 1.97 and a save percentage of .931. Boston is already guaranteed a top 3 pick in the upcoming draft (thanks to the Phil Kessel trade with Toronto) and if they can luck into the top 2, they'll have a stud offensive player to pair with Rask, who truly is the franchise right now.

The B's host the Hurricanes tomorrow afternoon before a matinee in DC on Sunday against the Caps. Carolina can only be a spoiler and hopefully with the presidents' trophy wrapped up, Washington sits all their good players. Realistically, the B's need to win at least one of the games and get a tie to feel comfortable that they can avoid the eighth spot.

Oh Dennis Wideman, you rascal

Even when he does good things like scoring a goal, Dennis Wideman still finds a way to trump that with an awful mistake.

It's kind of remarkable in a Rain Man type of way. Last night at the Verizon Center in DC, the Capitals won 3-2 in overtime over the Bruins thanks in large part to Wideman's high-sticking penalty 24 seconds into OT.

There's only three games left in the regular season so sadly last night's one point for the B's was vitally important. They're currently in seventh with 85 points, one point behind sixth-place Montreal and one ahead of eighth-place Philly.

From there, it took only twenty seconds for the Caps (52-15-12) to cash in as Alexander Semin's shot hit a wide open Brooks Laich in front of Boston's (36-30-13) net. Laich had enough time to settle the bouncing puck and pop it by B's goalie Tuukka Rask (27 seconds).

Just because the Bruins should have won this game doesn't make me feel any better about the beatdown they'll get from Washington should they meet in the playoffs.

Nicklas Backstrom gave Washington a 1-0 lead 7:36 into the first period from Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble.

Wideman tied it up with two seconds left in the first period with a screened blast from the point. Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron assisted.

Bergeron gave Boston a short-lived 2-1 lead in the second period with a pretty deke of Jose Theodore (28 saves). Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi assisted.

Knuble, the former Bruins great (or something like that) tied it with 29 seconds left in the second period. Ovechkin and Backstrom assisted on the goal.

Boston hosts Buffalo on Thursday night in what seems like the 20th meeting with the Sabres in the last month.

Give it up for Dennis Wideman

As I've said recently, Tim Thomas has had an awful season but it pales in comparison to Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman.

After a career-year last season (50 points and an amazing +32), Wideman can't get out of his own way this season. He has just 22 points and a team-worst -16. His biggest skill is moving the puck up ice and being a mobile defenseman but countless times this season lazy passes and getting caught too far up in the offensive zone have invaded Wideman's game.

Therefore it was nice to see Wideman have a positive effect in yesterday's 2-1 Bruins (32-27-12) win over the New York Rangers (31-32-9) at the TD Garden.

The win kept the B's one point ahead of the Atlanta Thrashers for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

It seemed like the millionth time that these boring-as-watching-pain-dry teams played this season so it was nice that they spiced it up with some fights and chippy play.

As per usual with both teams, goals were at a premium so it was only fitting that they came from some unlikely sources.

Miroslav Satan gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second period off a one-timer from Andrew Ference. Johnny Boychuk also assisted.

Wideman scored the game-winner in the third period with a backhand shot from Vladimir Sobotka and Milan Lucic.

Michael Del Zotto scored for the Rangers with 3:04 left but Tuukka Rask (23 saves) held the fort down for the win.

Boston travels to Atlanta tomorrow night for an eighth-place showdown.

Rick Tocchet probably lost a lot of money on this game

It only took 17 games but the Boston Bruins finally won back-to-back games in the 2009-2010 season. The B's (8-7-2) knocked off the road weary and banged up Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins (12-6-0), 3-0 last night at the TD Garden.

Tim Thomas stopped 27 saves for his second shutout of the season and three different Bruins scored goals.

With 1:36 gone by in the second period, Bruins forward/defenseman Matt Hunwick scored his fourth of the year off assists from Dennis Wideman and Steve Begin. The goal was reviewed since the puck quickly bounced out of the net but it stood.

Daniel Paille scored his first goal for Boston in the third period after he was sent in alone on Penguins goalie Marc Andre-Fleury (26 saves). Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi assisted with Recchi providing the pass that sprung Paille who had just hopped over the boards for a line change.

Bergeron wrapped up the scoring with an empty-net, short-handed goal with four seconds left in the game. Begin and Wideman assisted on the Bruins' first short-handed tally of the season.

Even given all the Penguins' injuries, this was a great win since they're tied for the Capitals for most points in the Eastern Conference.

The Florida Panthers come to the Garden tomorrow night as the Bruins look to make it three in a row.

What will it be like when both the Bruins and Celtics win titles in the same season?

The Boston Bruins won their third game in a row last night, 3-1 at the Wachovia Center against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It was the first meeting of the season between the top team in the Eastern Conference (and NHL) and the feisty Flyers (26-15-9), who are third in the competitive Atlantic division.

After a scoreless first period, Michael Ryder (19th, from Dennis Wideman and David Krejci) began the scoring at 3:07 of the second period.

Just over two minutes later, Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell tied it up with his 19th of the year from Joffrey Lupul and Ryan Parent.

As they have so often during this incredible season, the B's found a way to break a close game open in the third period and decisively take the win.

Krejci scored his 19th of the season after tipping a Shane Hnidy shot past Flyers goalie Martin Biron (33 saves).

35 seconds later, Wideman put the game out of reach for the Flyers as he scored his 12th of the season from Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ference.

There's little rest for Boston as they traveled to Ottawa after the game and tonight face-off against the Northeast basement dwelling Senators.

Games on back-to-back nights, especially on the road, are never easy but the Bruins should take care of the free-falling Senators, who just changed coaches.

Tim Thomas' record is now 23-5-5 after his 26 save effort. The highlight for the Tank was a reflex save on Flyers sniper Jeff Carter in the second period.

Sweet uniforms Montreal

The Bruins' poor play against the Canadiens last season seems like about 20 years ago as Boston won its fourth straight against Montreal, 3-1 yesterday at the Bell Centre.

Robert Lang gave the Canadiens (28-16-6) a 1-0 lead late in the first period with a power-play goal from Andrei Markov and Andrei Kostitsyn.

However, Dennis Wideman and the Bruins took back all the momentum and then some as he found the back of the net with a wrist shot with one second left in the period. It was the emerging defenseman's 11th goal of the season.

After tangling with a monster named Alex Henry in the first period, Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton potted his career high (haha, really) fifth goal of the season in the second period. Linemates Byron Bitz and Stephane Yelle had the assists on what turned out to be the game-winner.

Tim Thomas shut the door on Montreal the rest of the way, finishing with 27 saves as the All-Star moved to 22-5-5.

Marc Savard officially clinched it with his empty-netter (20th of the season) when there were 57 seconds remaining.

The B's hit the road to face the Flyers Wednesday in the teams' first meeting of the season. Philadelphia will also travel to the Garden on Saturday to face the NHL's top team.

Two Jagerbombs chief: Devils beat Bruins, 4-3 in OT

As if the world needed further proof that nobody outside of it likes New Jersey, the Devils are one of the most underrated franchises in recent sports history. They won a few Stanley Cups and they're almost always tough to beat since they play an aggressive forechecking and defensive game.

After taking care of the Southeast-leading Capitals on Tuesday night, the Bruins tangled with the Atlantic-leading Devils at the Garden last night. New Jersey skated away with a hard-earned 4-3 overtime win thanks to Jamie Langenbrunner's second goal of the game.

The Devils (31-15-3) jumped on the Bruins (35-8-6) with a goal in the first and second before Boston finally woke up.

Langenbrunner (11th) started it with a shorthanded tally from Travis Zajac in the first.

Zach Parise scored his 29th goal of the season, this one on the power play, in the second with assists to Langenbrunner and Paul Martin.

The B's shook off the cobwebs and scored three straight goals in 13:30 of the third. First, Chuck Kobasew (9th) found the net with help from Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Ferance.

Next, Marc Savard (18th) poked home a shot after Phil Kessel (returning after missing six games due to mono) and Milan Lucic worked it around.

Finally, Dennis Wideman potted his 10th, which looked like it would be the game-winner for the Bruins, who made a nice comeback after a pretty lifeless first two periods. Kessel and Savard had the helpers.

It was not to be though as Langenbrunner beat Tim Thomas once more in overtime. It was a classic Devils goal: not a beauty but very effective. Langenbrunner was right in front of the crease and slid the rebound past a sprawled out Thomas.

Boston will look to regroup (and get out to a faster start) in tomorrow's matinee against the New York Rangers.

I think this All-Star break was well-earned

In your wildest, alcohol and peyote-induced dreams, did you ever think the Boston Bruins would have an NHL-best (tied with San Jose) 73 points heading into the 2009 All-Star break? Of course not, no matter how much you abused your body, you still wouldn't have been crazy enough to expect this most unexpected of seasons thus far.

The B's (34-8-5) fittingly went into the break with a come-from-behind 4-3 shootout win in Toronto over the Maple Leafs (17-22-8) last night.

Michael Ryder clinched it with a goal as the fourth shooter in the shootout after Tim Thomas had stoned Nikolai Kulemin.

Toronto outplayed Boston for the first two periods. Jason Blake (Lee Stempniak, Dominic Moore) put the Leafs up 1-0 in the first. Blake Wheeler (14th) from Aaron Ward and David Krejci tied it up a little over a minute later.

Stempniak's power-play goal (Blake, Moore) and Brad May's (John Mitchell, Jamal Mayers) gave Toronto the 3-1 advantage in the second.

The Bruins used two power-play goals from defensemen in the third to send it to overtime.

First, Dennis Wideman (9th) scored off assists from Krejci and Ryder. Next, captain Zdeno Chara (11th goal) tipped in a perfect feed down low from Marc Savard (and P.J. Axelsson).

Thomas made 31 saves, inching his record to 20-5-4.

Thomas, Savard, Chara and head coach Claude Julien will go to Montreal for the All-Star Game festivities this weekend while the rest of the team gets a welcome rest.

Boston next meets the Capitals on Tuesday back at the Garden.

Bruins on longest win-streak of my lifetime

Another night, another solid performance from the Boston Bruins.

The B's (28-5-4) went into Mellon Arena last night, facing a Penguins (19-14-4) that is really underachieving and would miss out on the playoffs if they started today.

Pittsburgh was desperate but it didn't matter since right now, the Bruins are the better team. Boston won 5-2, increasing their current win-streak to nine games (the longest since Dec. 1982).

With three minutes left in the first, Pittsburgh got out to a 1-0 lead as Petr Sykora (13th goal) put in a rebound from Ruslan Fedotenko and Dustin Jeffrey.

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (35 saves) was giving up juicy rebounds all night and the B's made him pay starting in the second when they scored two power-play goals.

First Zdeno Chara (7th) finished a perfect pass from P.J. Axelsson (and Dennis Wideman). Marc Savard (12th) made it 2-1 (with assists from David Krejci and Wideman) by settling the puck near the goal-line then roofing it (hitting the Gatorade bottle) over Fleury.

Pascal Dupuis (9th) tied it up later in the second. Chara couldn't clear a bouncing puck from the Boston zone and Sidney Crosby intercepted it. He found Dupuis, who blasted a slapshot over Thomas' glove hand (a very rare occurrence).

Phil Kessel (23rd) scored what turned out to be the game-winner, 90 seconds later when he redirected Savard's cross-crease pass.

Martin St. Pierre made his first goal of the season (and 2nd career NHL strike) really count. He scored when the Bruins were short-handed in the third. St. Pierre blocked a Crosby pass then broke out 2-on-1 with Savard, who no surprise hit him with a crisp pass.

At 9:28 Wideman ended it with a screen shot that Fleury probably never saw. It was Wideman's eighth of the season from Axelsson and Chara.

Tim Thomas was stellar in net once again, making 32 saves while improving to 16-3-3. Even though he's not on the ballot (which is a complete joke), Thomas should be starting in the All-Star game. He had as usual a couple show-stopping saves.

These two teams have New Years Eve off and then they'll face each other once again, tomorrow night in Boston.

Milan Lucic and Pens rookie Tim Wallace threw down near the end of the game and Lucic recorded the win. It was a pretty nice fight and a fitting way to top off this beatdown of the Penguins.

It's going to take more than Hurricanes to stop the B's

The runaway freight train that is the Boston Bruins continued to barrel down the tracks. Last night, the B's (26-5-4) picked up a tight 3-2 win in Carolina (17-15-5) at the RBC Center.

With the two points and coupled with the Sharks loss, the Bruins are one point shy of the best record in the entire NHL.

Matt Cullen gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead in the first period as he scored a goal from Chad LaRose and Frantisek Kaberle.

Rookie phenom Blake Wheeler continued his hot streak as he scored two goals in the second period (in a span of 3:41).

Fellow rookie and defenseman Matt Hunwick assisted on the first tally while David Krejci and Dennis Wideman assisted on the second (Wheeler's 13th of the season).

Carolina's Anton Babchuk tied it up later in the second with help from Brendan Sutter (the sixth Sutter to play in the NHL, really) and Ryan Bayda.

Michael Ryder scored the game-winner for the Bruins, 13:46 into the third period. Marc Savard whipped a crisp pass right to Ryder's stick and Ryder used his quick release to put it by Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward (18 saves).

Chuck Kobasew's empty-netter (from Savard and Wideman) with 16 seconds remaining ended any doubt that Boston would skate away with two points.

Carolina actually controlled most of the play but Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas stood tall with 29 saves as he improved his record to 15-3-3.

The Bruins go to Atlanta this afternoon for a game with the pathetic Thrashers (who they've already beaten three times this season). It is the teams' last meeting of the season.

Bruins just keep piling up the wins

Even when the Boston Bruins don't play particularly well this season, they still win. The B's (19-4-4) scored three goals in a four minute and two second span in the first period and held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-13-8), 5-3, last night at the Garden.

At 6:44 in the first, Milan Lucic began the impressive burst with a power-play goal (his 7th goal of the season) from Dennis Wideman and Phil Kessel.

Kessel made it 2-0 less than three minutes later as his attempted pass went off a Tampa Bay defenseman's stick and past goalie Mike Smith (19 saves).

Michael Ryder (7th of the season) put it out of reach at 10:46 with a nice shot, assists going to Shane Hnidy and Matt Hunwick.

Boston had a chance to make it 4-0 in the second period but P.J. Axelsson could not score on a penalty shot.

Adam Hall cut it to 3-1 Bruins at 13:06 in the second period (assists from Evgeny Artyukhin and Paul Ranger).

My fantasy team got some help from Zdeno Chara (who's had a so-so season thus far) when the big captain blasted home a power-play goal on one of his monstrous slap-shots. David Krejci and Wideman (10th assist) had the helpers.

In the third, Tampa Bay made it interesting by scoring two goals: Vincent Lecavalier (Martin St. Louis, Ranger) and Paul Szczechura (Marek Malik, Andrej Meszaros). The second goal was with just 17 seconds left and it occurred when Tampa Bay had pulled Smith for the extra skater.

The Bruins won the ensuing face-off and Axelsson (1st of the season) sealed it with an empty-netter from Patrice Bergeron.

Boston goalie Tim Thomas finished with 26 saves and improved his record to 11-3-3.

Boston is now 9-0-1 in its last 10 games and they travel to Washington D.C. to face the Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and the high-flying Capitals tomorrow night.

Let's be real: Nobody likes the Islanders

Thanksgiving night, my buddy Jim texted me with an offer to go to the Bruins-Islanders game yesterday afternoon (the annual day after thanksgiving noon start) and of course I said yes even though I'm going tonight too.

The Bruins (15-4-4) came out slow against the Islanders (9-12-2), down 1-0 after the first period but they blew New York out in the third period with a five-goal barrage, en route to a 7-2 domination.

With the games on back-to-back nights, Manny Fernandez got the start against the Islanders and true to form, he gave up a soft goal 1:46 into the game. Nate Thompson skated down the wall and wristed a shot past Fernandez's glove-side.

Chuck Kobasew tied it up 3:28 into the second on a power-play goal (his fourth of the year) from Marc Savard and P.J. Axelsson. Islanders goalie Joey MacDonald stopped the inital shot but Kobasew stuck with it and jammed it over the line.

A bad turnover in their own end by New York led to Michael Ryder's goal 15:16 into the the second. Ryder intercepted the puck and quickly loaded his stick before wristing it past MacDonald (his fourth of the season).

The third period was absurd, definitely one of the craziest 20 minutes I've ever seen for the Bruins as they scored five goals and got into two fights.

At 6:48, Blake Wheeler (6th of the year) scored from David Krejci and Mark Stuart. After winning the ensuing face-off, Krejci scored (his 6th of the season) from Wheeler and Zdeno Chara, just 10 seconds later.

MacDonald got the hook in favor of rookie Peter Mannnino, who was making his NHL debut.

Dennis Wideman tallied a power-play goal (6th of the season) from Matt Hunwick and Phil Kessel. Right after the goal, Milan Lucic and Islanders goon Brendan Witt fought in front of New York's goal.

22 seconds after that, Shane Hnidy and Tim Jackman also fought. Both fights were pretty even but it should be noted that the Bruins guys scored the takedowns.

Richard Park's power-play goal (from Andy Hilbert and Mark Streit) cut the Bruins lead to 5-2.

No matter though as Ryder got a power-play goal (from Wideman and Hunwick) and Kessel scored on a sick deflection of a Lucic pass across the middle (Savard started the play).

Things should be much more difficult tonight as the Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, come to the Garden for an early-season showdown. It's the teams' only meeting of the season and it should be a good one, dare I say a Stanley Cup preview?