Charlie Coyle & Marcus Johansson Make Their Home Debut as the Bruins Pummel the Sharks 4-1

I can't wait for that Bruins-Sharks matchup in the Stanley Cup Final in June, how about you? That scenario is really not that far-fetched but seriously though, these teams somehow managed to play two completely different styles but still wildly entertaining games only eight days apart. Boston (37-17-9) beat San Jose (37-19-8) 6-5 last Monday in OT (the craziest tilt of the B's season) on the road then they returned to TD Garden tonight for the first time in two weeks and humbled the Sharks 4-1. In the meantime, the Bruins extended their point streak to a whopping 14 games (10-0-4) while Jaroslav Halak (19 saves, 17th win of the season) saw his point streak increase to six games (4-0-2).

BU alum and Weymouth native Charlie Coyle played 17:14 in his first home game as a Bruin and Marcus Johansson one-upped that with an assist in his first game as a Bruin. Both guys were acquired within the past week and right away, they make Boston's lineup that much deeper and more experienced. San Jose actually scored first as Logan Couture's fluky touch somehow eluded Halak giving the Sharks a power play goal at 12:47 of the first period. Couture's 23rd goal of the season was unassisted and quickly forgotten as David Krejci answered with a power play strike of his own just 1:52 later. Torey Krug and Brad Marchand had the assists on Krejci's 15th goal of the season, another David Pastrnak-like (remember him?) one-timer from the slot.

I doubt that you will find a more dominating period this season by the B's than the second which is all the more impressive considering that they were up against one of the other elite clubs in the NHL. First of all, they scored three goals and they were in the span of 3:19 midway through the frame. Furthermore, they had the first of three fights (Chris Wagner vs. Barclay Goodrow) as the Sharks started to lose their composure on the last night of their four-game road trip. Charlie McAvoy gave the Bruins their first lead of the game at 9:09 as he went top-shelf on Martin Jones (28 saves, 13th loss of the season). Brad Marchand and Danton Heinen had the assists on McAvoy's fifth goal of the season (he's heating up with 3 in his last 5 games). Before that tally had even been announced yet, it was 3-1 for the home team as Jake DeBrusk finished off some nifty passing with his new linemates-Krejci and Johansson-37 seconds later. DeBrusk's 20th goal of the season was his sixth in his last seven games and it marked the first time in his NHL career that he's hit the 20-goal plateau. Marchand put it out of reach with an amazing shorthanded goal at 12:28 from Patrice Bergeron and Brandon Carlo. He weaved between two defenders (including Erik Karlsson who had aggravated his groin injury yet returned to action) before beating Jones for his 25th goal of the season and 25th shorthanded goal of his Bruins career (tying Rick Middleton for the franchise record).

There were no goals in the third period but plenty of shenanigans and tomfoolery as Evander Kane had the bright idea to jump Zdeno Chara after he took an elbow to the face (no penalty was called on that hit by the way). Kane knocked the giant down which is more than most humans could do but then he was predictably destroyed. For his troubles he received a 10-minute misconduct then later a game-misconduct when he couldn't stop yelling at Chara and the refs. Once a punk, always a punk (albeit a very talented and tough one). The only real cringe-worthy moment of the proceedings was David Backes (who has a long, scary history of concussions) dropped the gloves with goon Michael Haley. Yikes, don't do that anymore David.

This was a perfect way to open Boston's longest homestand of the season (6 games). Things only get more real on Thursday (7:30, NBC Sports) as the undisputed best team in the league-Tampa Bay (48-11-4)-pays a visit to the Garden. The Lightning have won nine straight games and straight up embarrassed most of their opponents but I give the Bruins a puncher's chance since Tampa Bay will be in New York tomorrow night to face the Rangers (27-26-9). Defenseman Kevan Miller is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and he was out tonight for the B's but John Moore subbed in admirably. Tuukka Rask (12-0-3 in his last 15 decisions) will be in goal and it should be an awesome playoff-like atmosphere. Who knows, maybe it'll be another playoff series this spring as well after the Lightning rolled in five games last year in the second round vs. Boston.

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Somewhere the Falcons Feel Their Pain as the Bruins Blew a 3-goal Lead & Lost in OT to Buffalo

With so many young players in the lineup every game not to mention numerous injuries that seem to befell them daily, the Bruins (3-3-1) are in no position to switch gears into cruise control at the moment. The Sabres (2-5-2) were coming off a 4-2 loss to Vancouver (3-3-1) on Friday so when they went down 4-1 in the second period at TD Garden on Saturday night, it appeared to be an easy victory lining up for the B's. Unfortunately that wasn't the case at all as Buffalo rattled off four straight goals including Ryan O'Reilly's game-winner in overtime to take a shocking 5-4 victory back to God's Country (Upstate NY).

Anton Khudobin (37 saves) will never be a starting goaltender on a good NHL team, that's just a fact. He is the classic backup goalie that can occasionally catch fire but more often than not, he won't be counted on for anything other than uneven results. Granted, Buffalo outshot Boston 42-31 in the contest, including 15-6 in the third period and 6-0 in overtime so it's tough to pin that loss all on him. Adam McQuaid is out for eight weeks with a broken leg (surgery on Monday) and Kevan Miller was a late scratch with a mangled hand. Who had six games being all that the most injury prone players in the NHL would last in 2017-18? Meanwhile, Colin Miller continues to develop in Vegas. (Huge sigh while throwing my arms in the air).

David Krejci took warmups with the B's tonight but also sat at the last-minute which didn't help the Black and Gold since he had six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in the first six games. Paul Postma and Rob O'Gara made their season debuts for the Bruins (in Postma's case his first ever game for Boston) while Matt Beleskey (0 points in 6 games) was re-inserted into the lineup. Boston opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period as David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand (power-play) continued their race for the team scoring lead as both guys notched their fifth goals of the season. Tim Schaller and Charlie McAvoy assisted on Pasta's fluky jam-shot by the immortal Robin Lehner (27 saves) while Marchand didn't need any help on his.

Marchand made it 3-0 B's 37 seconds into the second period with assists to Anders Bjork and McAvoy. At that point, Buffalo could have easily packed it in and got ready to watch the Bills game tomorrow but veteran Jason Pominville cut it to 3-1 at 8:01 with a snipe from Ryan O'Reilly, his fifth goal of the season. Pastrnak tallied another weird goal-off your boy Matt Tennyson's leg-for a 4-1 Bruins advantage at 11:22. Riley Nash and Torey Krug had the assists as it felt like either Marchand or Pastrnak would get a hat trick for the home crowd. Chelmsford's Jack Eichel deposited a rebound past Khudobin at 16:07 to give the Sabres a breath of life. Marco Scandella and Justin Bailey had the helpers on the former BU star's fourth goal of the season.

Still when you face a nothing team like Buffalo with a three-goal lead or up 4-2 after two periods, you have to put them away. No excuses. Boston couldn't do that though as former Bruins great Benoit Pouliot fired in a loose puck at 6:55 to draw Buffalo within one goal for the first time since the first period. Sam Reinhart and Jake McCabe were credited with assists on Pouliot's first goal of the season (how is he still in the NHL?). For whatever reason, the B's looked like the gassed team that played the night before as Buffalo outworked them for the tying goal at 17:52. Evander Kane potted his sixth goal of the season, off a goal-mouth scramble and the assists went to McCabe and Pominville.

Boston's power play scored for the fifth time in seven contests this campaign but they didn't draw any penalties after early in the second period. Buffalo wasn't ever on a power play in overtime, it just felt like it as the puck was seemingly in Boston's end the entire time. Khudobin was shaky all night, most of his saves weren't exactly masterpieces which in turn made you think that every shot was going in. Torey Krug pushed a Sabre into Khudobin on O'Reilly's goal so the referees reviewed it for awhile but it ultimately held up. O'Reilly made a brilliant play, going 360 degrees from behind the net to his backhand shot. His third goal of the season was unassisted.

The crappy taste from this OT loss will most likely linger for days since the Bruins won't be back in action until Thursday (7, NESN) when they host San Jose (3-4-0). In his press conference after the loss, Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said that Krejci and Miller are each probable to return then but with the way that their players are dropping like flies, we'll have to hope that all the important guys are bound in bubble wrap this week lest they get hit by a meteor or a drone. The Bruins simply cannot afford anymore injuries to key players this early in the season.

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It Is Jack Eichel's World, We're All Just Living In It

In case you didn't know, blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of any type of hockey game is very bad. What about one of the worst teams in the NHL closing out said contest with five unanswered goals you say? The Bruins (19-11-4) were up 3-1 on the Sabres (15-16-4) tonight at TD Garden, with dreams of jumping into first-place in the Atlantic Division as Montreal lost 3-1 in Washington but then the home team completely fell apart in a stunning 6-3 loss. Buffalo's last two goals were empty-netters but you get the picture. North Chelmsford MA native and BU alum (can you say that after 1 year on campus?) Jack Eichel had a decent pro debut in Boston: two goals and two assists.

Coming back from the Christmas break, the Bruins were in control most of the way that is after Evander Kane put in a rebound at 5:13 of the second period to make it 1-0 Sabres. The enigmatic Kane's eighth goal of the season was assisted by Tyler Ennis and Eichel. Jonas Gustavsson (23 saves) got the start against former Bruin Chad Johnson (30 saves) and for a while, it looked like he'd pick up his seventh win of the season, no sweat. Matt Beleskey answered 36 seconds later, tipping in Kevan Miller's shot for his fifth goal of the season. Loui Eriksson had the second helper on Beleskey's tally. Patrice Bergeron gave Boston its first lead at 2-1 when he beat Johnson five-hole (more like 10-hole on that one) at 7:05 of the second. Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara assisted on Bergeron's 12th goal of the season.

David Krejci's beautiful individual effort-he batted his third shot in a row out of mid-air-extended the Bruins' lead to 3-1 at 6:59 of the third period and all seemed well in the Hub. Eriksson picked up his second assist of the night on Krejci's 10th goal of the season. Krejci became the fourth Bruin to reach double-figures in goals this campaign: Marchand (15), Eriksson (13) and Bergeron. Ryan Spooner is the next closest to that mark with eight goals.

All hell started to break loose in the final 10 minutes of regulation as Ryan O'Reilly cut it to 3-2 at 10:21. A rebound off the end-boards caromed right to him and he deposited the puck for his 13th goal of the season. Mike Weber and Cody Franson had the assists on the pricey free agent's innocuous goal. Fate was on Buffalo's side (has that ever been said before?) when Eichel's shot went in the net off of a Bruin skate just 39 seconds later. Jake McCabe had the lone assist on Eichel's 10th goal of the season.

Good old Jamie McGinn had what turned out to be the game-winner at 14:24, a backhander from O'Reilly and Zach Bogosian that was his eighth goal of the season. The No. 1 star of the night-Eichel-and No. 3-O'Reilly boosted their point totals with the empty-netters and the Sabres were on their merry way (sorry about that).

With the loss, Boston also dropped below .500 at the Garden (8-9-2). The good news for them is that they are right back at it tomorrow night (5, NESN) in Ottawa (17-12-6). The Bruins are 11-2-2 on the road and Tuukka Rask will be in net. Haha plus Max Talbot returns from his two-game suspension, game-changer! The Senators have been off since Wednesday and a win tomorrow against the B's would pull them into a tie. From the Things Can Always Be Worse Department: Montreal has lost six games in a row and they remain one point ahead of Boston (who has 3 games in hand).

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Bruins Close Out November With 2-1 Overtime Win Against the Jets

With all their injuries and poor individual performances, it is remarkable that Boston still managed to go 8-3-1 in November. The Bruins (14-9-1) wrapped up the month with a sometimes thrilling but mostly dull 2-1 overtime triumph vs. the Jets (12-9-4) at TD Garden. Dougie Hamilton's first career overtime goal was the difference as Boston left for a critical four-game West Coast trip on a high note.

None of that would have been possible if the B's penalty kill hadn't been successful at the end of regulation (and 30 seconds into OT) after Brad Marchand took a high sticking double minor. Tuukka Rask (35 saves) also was a hair better than former Providence Bruin Michael Hutchinson (36 saves) who has emerged as Winnipeg's No. 1 goaltender this season.

The Jets took a 1-0 lead at 16:24 of the first period on monster Dustin Byfuglien's power play goal. His shot from the point got by Rask after it deflected off Matt Bartkowski's knee pad. It was Byfuglien's fourth goal of the season, assisted by Evander Kane and Mark Scheifele.

There was some question as to if Boston would ever answer this evening but Milan Lucic tied it 3:05 into the final frame. For the second straight game, he scored a goal as he gets used to life on a line with Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson. Soderberg threw it in front and Lucic drove the net so he was able to redirect it past Hutchinson for a pretty tally, his fifth of the season. Hamilton had the second assist on that goal.

Hamilton's goal was also a good one as Soderberg worked it back to him and his shot fluttered past Hutchinson up high. It was his fifth goal of the season and Eriksson had the other assist on it.

Boston is off until Monday but that comes with a major caveat since their game in Anaheim (10, NESN) kicks off a three-games in four-nights stretch and four-games in six-days. It is a brutal trip against the Ducks (14-5-5), Kings (12-6-5), Sharks (10-10-4) and Coyotes (9-11-3). San Jose and Arizona are both pretty mediocre but unfortunately those come at the back end of their week in California and Arizona. Maybe they can shack up with the Patriots who will be hanging out there before their meeting with the Chargers?

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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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The Bruins Do Just Enough To Come Away With A 3-2 Victory In Winnipeg

It wasn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination or even pretty really but what do you expect when you play such a nondescript and boring bunch like the Jets? The Bruins (9-2-2) won 3-2 tonight at Winnipeg's (5-8-1) MTS Centre. After opening their five-game road trip with a weird 4-2 loss to the Sabres on Friday, this was a nice way to respond against a bad team.

Boston rallied twice as Winnipeg jumped out to a 1-0 lead and 2-1 advantage before Brad Marchand scored the game-winner on a Bruins power play. Yes, a power play. Tuukka Rask (7-1-2; 22 saves) outdueled the immortal Ondrej Pavelec (23 saves) and received a fine stroke of luck when Winnipeg's chance in the dying seconds of the game literally rolled across the goal line but not in. Whew.

The Jets scored both goals on sloppy work by the Bruins defense-something that is sadly becoming a pattern in the last few weeks. Alex Burmistrov was positioned right by Rask to put a rebound in at 1:43 of the second period for a 1-0 Winnipeg lead. Tyler Seguin (remember him?) tied it at 10:57 after tipping Zdeno Chara's shot from the point for his third goal of the season. Patrice Bergeron had the second assist but Seguin deserves credit for battling all game and going into the corners (for once) to dig out loose pucks. Finally, he seemed engaged and it might have been his best game of the season.

The last 27 seconds of the second period was bananas as the kids like to say since Evander Kane scored on another rebound by Rask-this time Nathan Horton got caught napping in coverage-at 19:37. It looked like the B's would head into the dressing room with a 2-1 deficit but mighty Daniel Paille tied it with his second goal of the season, a fancy tip in of Johnny Boychuk's shot from the point. Chris Kelly had the other assist at 19:58 as Boston was completely revived.

Marchand earned a tripping call on Ron Hainsey nine seconds into the third period and it should have been a penalty shot as well. Thankfully, we don't have to bitch about or even remember that non-call since Marchand scored 27 seconds later from Bergeron and Chris Bourque. Marchand's backhander (his team-leading eighth goal of the season) gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead which was all they needed.

Up next, Boston visits Tampa Bay's (7-6-1, 2nd Southeast Division) on Thursday night (7:30 p.m., NESN) at Tampa Bay Times Forum. The Lightning are the highest scoring team in the NHL (3.9 goals per game) but they have been wildly inconsistent since their goaltending (Anders Lindback and Mathieu Garon) has been bipolar. Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis are both tied for third in the NHL with 21 points. These teams would have met last Saturday but the blizzard forced the game to be moved to April 25 at TD Garden.

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Bruins Spot The Jets An Early 2-0 Lead But Eventually Rally For A 4-2 Win

After their 10-game winning streak was snapped yesterday afternoon against the Detroit Red Wings, it was predictable that the Boston Bruins would suffer a bit of an emotional letdown as the Winnipeg Jets made their first visit since the franchise moved from Atlanta.

It was a homecoming of sorts as former B's Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart returned to TD Garden after getting shipped out before last season's trade deadline. The Jets (9-10-4) scored two goals halfway through the first period for a 2-0 lead but the Bruins (14-7-1) woke up in time to notch a 4-2 win thanks to four unanswered goals.

Boston has now picked up points in 12 straight games, their longest streak since 2004.

Chris Kelly was the first star thanks to two goals and nearly the hat trick on an empty netter. Tim Thomas (11-4-0) shook off the rough start to record 40 saves.

Evander Kane (10th of the season) gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 9:31 by driving to the net and tucking a pretty backhander past Thomas. Dustin Byfuglien and Wheeler had the assists.

39 seconds later, Byfuglien (5th of the season) made it 2-0 with a seemingly harmless shot from the point. The problem for Thomas was that he was screened and probably never saw the puck until it was too late. Jim Slater (great name) and Jason Jaffrey had the assists.

At that point, Bruins head coach Claude Julien smartly took a timeout to settle his team down. They had completely sleepwalked through the first 10 minutes and paid dearly for it. Thankfully, the B's woke up after that.

Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (32) is one of the worst starters in the NHL so it wasn't a shock that Boston eventually found some holes in his pads. Winnipeg actually outshot Boston 42-36 but after that early flurry, it felt like the Bruins had way more chances.

Zdeno Chara (4th of the season) cut it to 2-1 at 16:38 with a power-play goal from David Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg. In live action and when I saw the replay, I thought Milan Lucic tipped it but regardless, he got in Pavelec's way which was good enough. It was big for Boston to get a goal before the period ended so they didn't have to stare at a 2-0 deficit any longer.

The B's went ahead with a pair of goals in a great second period. Another special teams tally, this time shorthanded at 7:28 tied it up as Chris Kelly (8th of the season) was the beneficiary of some great individual work by Rich Peverley. Peverley worked around a Jets defenseman, went to the net and while his shot was saved, the rebound popped right out to Kelly. All he had to do was tap it in.

Kelly scored the game-winner at 16:26 thanks to a one-timer. Benoit Pouliot had the main assist, finding Kelly with a cross-ice feed that he slammed in. Peverley notched the second assist.

In the third, Thomas kept his team in the lead with a couple outstanding kick saves before Brad Marchand (8th of the season) ended it with an empty netter at 18:51.

Boston closes out November (crazy right?) on Wednesday with a game in Toronto. Then the Maple Leafs come to the Garden on Saturday night. In their two previous meetings so far this season, the Bruins are 2-0 and have outscored the Leafs 13-2. We can only hope they keep that insane pace up against Phil Kessel and Co.

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