Nobody Will Consistently Let You Down Like The B's Who Fell 4-3 To The Panthers In Game 7 OT

 

    In any playoff format-particularly the ultra marathon that is better known as the NHL playoffs-when you have the chance to knock out an opponent, you have to do it. Otherwise, you run the risk of an epic choke job like the latest one suffered by your Boston Bruins. The best regular season team in league history was up 3-1 in their first round series vs. Florida and then they proceeded to fall apart rapidly, culminating with tonight's soul-crushing 4-3 overtime defeat in Game 7 at TD Garden. The B's got what they deserved both this evening and in this series as they came out flat yet again and trailed 2-0 in the second period before they finally woke up. Boston admirably rallied to tie it and even go ahead 3-2 in the third period but obviously they allowed the backbreaking tying goal with a minute left in regulation. Center Carter Verhaegae's series-clinching goal at 8:35 in OT felt like a formality as the Panthers dominated the extra session and now they advance to play the Maple Leafs in the second round (who picked that second round matchup?) while the Bruins are left wondering where it all went wrong? 

    Boston head coach Jim Montgomery made a big change by starting goaltender Jeremy Swayman (27 saves) for the first time in the series and in a vacuum, I would not say that it blew up in his face (because Swayman was OK) but it certainly did not rally the team like I'm sure he hoped that it would. Instead, a group with so much experience and talent seemed to crack under the pressure of such high expectations after a perfect regular season. It is a credit to Florida as well since they were the exact opposite: they never flinched as they won the final three games at the Garden including the last two in overtime. They don't give out MVP awards for a first round playoff series but if they did, UMass alum and Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour would get it as he scored not once but twice in Game 7. He opened the scoring with a power play goal at 12:23 of the first period. Center Anton Lundell and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (33 saves) had the assists on a backhander that Swayman probably should have stopped but it went in for Montour's fourth goal of the series. 

    Any thoughts of the Bruins coming out strong in the second period were quickly extinguished as center Sam Reinhart took a wide open drop pass in the slot and beat Swayman with a high shot at 1:14 for a stunning 2-0 Florida lead. Defenseman Eetu Luostarinen and Lundell provided the helpers on Reinhart's fourth goal of the playoffs. One of Boston's oldest players was the one to finally stem the tide as center David Krejci one-timed in a power play goal at 7:52 of the second period that cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov and center Pavel Zacha assisted on Krejci's first goal of the series. Boston still trailed though 2-1 entering the third period. 

    The B's tied it at two 55 seconds into the third as they scored another power play goal. Left wing Tyler Bertuzzi tipped in Orlov's shot for his team-high fifth goal of the series, assisted by Krejci. Boston soon after gained its only lead of the third period when Bobrovsky allowed a juicy rebound that right wing David Pastrnak was able to follow up for his fifth goal of the postseason and a 3-2 advantage for the Black and Gold. Defenseman Brandon Carlo and Krejci had the assists at 4:11 as the Garden went wild. It would have been great to see the B's build on that lead but they seemed to sit back and try to hang on for dear life rather than take the game by the scruff of its neck. Bobrovsky was out for an extra attacker and the puck deflected right to who else but Montour who put it in for the devastating tying goal. Center Aleksander Barkov and Verhaeghe notched the assists on the biggest goal in Montour's life and one of the biggest in Panthers franchise history. 

    Each team had five shots on goal in overtime but if you watched it, Florida completely dominated zone time and in terms of puck possession. Swayman actually stopped a breakaway by Panthers star left wing Matthew Tkachuk and made a few other quality saves as his petrified teammates mostly stumbled around their defensive zone. After captain and center Patrice Bergeron contemplated retirement for a long time last summer and Krejci returned from the Czech Republic, you have to wonder if they are both done after this latest depressing result. On the one hand, it feels like it would be impossible to go out on this pathetic note after such great Bruins careers but then again, both guys seemed extra emotional leaving the ice after this one. Who knows? It should not have ended like this for the 2022-23 Bruins, they should have done so much more damage in the Stanley Cup playoffs or maybe not since this follows an all too familiar pattern of postseason letdowns for a club that still has only won a single Stanley Cup since 1972 (in 2011). 

By Giving Away A Two-Game Lead, The B's Are On The Verge Of Yet Another Historic Playoff Collapse

 

    As we are constantly reminded, being a fan of the Bruins is never an easy existence. They can have a once in a lifetime record-setting regular season only to follow that up by struggling mightily to put away an inferior team in its first round playoff series. For the second game in a row, Boston had a chance to eliminate Florida but once again, they could not complete the task as they lost 7-5 tonight at FLA Live Arena in Game 7. This sets up a pressure packed Game 7 on Sunday night (6:30, NESN) at TD Garden which I truly believe is a legacy type contest for Bruins veterans like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci. If they lose, our worst fears will be correct (that the regular season was just a mirage) and it would be more damning evidence that this group has been vastly overrated and winning the Stanley Cup way back in 2011 will feel like even more of a fluke.

    Oh hey, which goaltender do you think that B's head coach Jim Montgomery should start on Sunday? Linus Ullmark (26 saves) is a lock to win the Vezina Trophy but right now, he is completely unraveling both physically and mentally. Boston used him and Jeremy Swayman in a lethal tandem all season and they talked about doing that in the playoffs as well but so far, Ullmark has played every game. I think that Swayman should start in Game 7 but it is rather insane to expect a guy that has been sitting all series long to suddenly step in with the weight of the franchise on his young and slender shoulders. 

    This felt like another game that the Bruins were left chasing the more aggressive and determined Panthers from the start. UMass defenseman Brandon Montour continued his stellar series with a power play goal at 2:01 of the first period. Left wing Matthew Tkachuk and center Aleksander Barkov had the assists on Montour's third goal of the playoffs in which he walked right in and took a low wrist shot by Ullmark. B's left wing Tyler Bertuzzi quickly answered with a power play tally of his own at 6:09. Left wing Brad Marchand and defenseman Charlie McAvoy had the helpers on Bertuzzi's third goal of the season where he knocked in a nice feed from Marchy. Ullmark's juicy rebound led to Tkachuk's go-ahead goal that made it 2-1 for the home team at 13:52. Left wing Nick Cousins smartly shot the puck right at Ullmark's leg pads thus creating an easy rebound opportunity that Tkachuk buried for his fourth goal of the postseason. 

    Trailing 2-1 going into the second period, B's right wing David Pastrnak finally reemerged with a filthy between the legs shot for a tying power play goal at 5:42. Marchand and McAvoy had the assists on Pasta's third goal of the series. Boston should have grabbed a 3-2 advantage but defenseman Brandon Carlo's possible goal was waived off for an extremely questionable hand pass call on B's left wing Jake DeBrusk. Naturally, moments later Barkov broke his goalless drought with an easy tap-in at 9:22. Left wing Anthony Duclair and center Carter Verhaeghe picked up the assists on Barkov's first goal of the series. Florida was up 3-2 heading into the third period but nobody could have anticipated how bonkers that final frame would actually turn out to be. 

    Boston briefly had the lead not once but twice in the third period. Bertuzzi and Pastrnak both notched their second goals of the game a little over two minutes apart. Bert fired through a screen of Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (29 saves) at 1:31 with the assists going to Carlo and Marchand. Pasta was finally heating up and looking like the 61 goal scorer in the regular season as he one-timed a pass from Bertuzzi for a 4-3 B's lead at 3:53. Marchand had the other assist on another highlight reel strike by Pastrnak in this contest. 

    Besides Ullmark turning into a puddle, Boston's defense is similarly in shambles. First they let some AHL scrub (right wing Zac Dalpe) tie it with a wide open one-timer from the slot at 7:21. Defenseman Eetu Luostarinen and center Anton Lundell notched the assists on Dalpe's memorable first goal of the series. DeBrusk staked Boston to its last lead (5-4) with a shorthanded goal at 10:22. Center Pavel Zacha stripped the puck away from a Panthers defenseman which led to DeBrusk having a mini-breakaway that he finished with a backhander. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov had the other assist on Jake's fourth goal of the postseason. Tkachuk could not be stopped though as the poked in a power play goal just 27 seconds later which tied it at five. Lundell and defenseman Gustav Forsling had the assists on the stunning goal from Florida's emotional leader. Things only got worse from there as Luostarinen got the last go-ahead goal with a high wrist shot that eluded Ullmark. Montour had the lone assist on Eetu's second goal of this series at 14:22. The Black and Gold pushed for a tying goal late in regulation but Bobrovsky made his most important stop of the series as he had a kick save on Pastrnak that led to center Sam Reinhart's empty net goal with 28 seconds remaining. His third goal of the series was assisted by defenseman and noted goon Radko Gudas. 

    You could say that it will be nice for the Bruins to have Game 7 on their home ice but I think that the brave fans who decide to go to it will (understandably) be paralyzed by fear the entire night. Remember that Boston is 1-2 at the Garden in this series and they have lost their last two outings there so yikes. We all remember in 2010 when the Bruins somehow choked away a 3-0 series lead against the Flyers so it would be tough to ever top that but if they lose on Sunday to the Panthers, look out below. It would be a an absolutely terrible finish to what had seemed like it was shaping up to be a very special season for the B's.

The Bruins Cap A Horrific Two Nights At The Garden With A 4-3 Overtime Loss To The Panthers

 

    This postseason is supposed to be different but tonight's gut punch of a 4-3 overtime loss by the Bruins to the Panthers in Game 5 of the first round felt hauntingly familiar. With a chance to be the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs in the league, the B's made it harder on themselves as they never led and fell despite outshooting Florida by a huge margin (47-25). The overtime goal came courtesy of a horrific mistake by Boston's goaltender Linus Ullmark (21 saves) who went to play the puck behind his net but instead, fumbled it away then tried to scramble back in time to stop Panthers star left wing Matthew Tkachuk. Ullmark was down and out as Tkachuk patiently waited before lifting a backhander over Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk at 6:05 of overtime. Florida center Carter Verhaeghe (3 assists) had the lone helper on Tkachuk's third goal of the series. Now, instead of getting some extra time to rest before their next series (against a better club), Boston has to schlep back to the Sunshine State for Game 6 on Friday (7:30, NESN). Ugh. 

    Among many things that the B's wasted in this contest was the emotional return of captain Patrice Bergeron who made his first appearance of the series and scored his 50th career playoff goal because of course he did. In a potential close out game, the Panthers picked a good time to score their first goal in a first period during this series. Verhaeghe fed left wing Anthony Duclair who knocked the puck out of the air in traffic to net his first goal of the postseason at 8:26. Florida's much-maligned goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (44 saves) got another start and he had some shaky moments but ultimately he came out on top. B's left wing Brad Marchand continued to play really well as he tallied a power play goal that tied it at one early in the second period. He took a shot that Bobrovsky stopped but like a basketball player that misses a shot, he followed up his own rebound and put it in for his fourth goal of the series. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy registered the lone assist at 2:27. It looked like it would be tied 1-1 heading into the third period but the Panthers scored a crushing goal at 18:52 as center Sam Bennett ripped a wrist shot from the slot into the top corner past Ullmark. Verhaeghe and left wing Nick Cousins notched the assists on Bennett's third goal of the series. 

    Trailing 2-1 to begin the third period, Boston's power play once again clicked to get an early goal to knot it up. Bergeron perfectly tipped a shot by Marchand with McAvoy grabbing the other assist. The Garden's PA announcer had not even talked about Bergeron's goal before Florida answered with another go-ahead tally: right wing Sam Reinhart (much like Sam Bennett) was left wide open in the slot where he cranked a shot past Ullmark. The power play goal was his second goal of the series with assists to Tkachuk and center Aleksander Barkov (who has been noticeably quiet for most of these games) at 5:14. No worries though as the B's had one last mini-comeback left in them: left wing Taylor Hall (who is currently on fire) found a loose puck in front of Bobrovsky, he wheeled away from defenders and fired a rocket that went in the top corner. Defenseman Brandon Carlo and center Charlie Coyle picked up the assists at 9:16 on Hall's team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs. In the final seconds of regulation, Marchand had a breakaway but Bobrovsky stopped what would have been an insane series-clinching strike 

    Going back on the road might actually not be the worst thing for the Bruins at least in this series since they are 1-2 at the Garden (losing their last two) and 2-0 in Florida. There is guaranteed to be tons of Bruins fans in the building which has to help matters. As the hockey cliche goes: the fourth win is the hardest one to get in a playoff series. Much like the Hawks last night, the Panthers proved something by showing up and battling rather than rolling over after they lost the crucial Game 4 at home. Wacky stuff constantly happens in the NHL playoffs but you have to believe that the B's will not let another opportunity to eliminate Florida slip through their hands. Needless to say, they want no part of a Game 7 against an opponent that has absolutely nothing to lose so all the pressure would be solely on them.

Bruins Take A 3-1 Series Lead & Depart Florida With The Panthers' Soul After A Lovely 6-2 Victory

 

    After radio silence for the first three games of this first round playoff series, I just had to chime in today after the Bruins and Panthers treated us sleep deprived young dads to a rainy Sunday afternoon special. Boston kept the momentum rolling from Friday's pivotal 4-2 victory in Game 3 as they won 6-2 today at good old FLA Live Arena to put the Panthers on the brink of elimination facing a 3-1 deficit. The teams get an extra day off (for Florida to start booking those tee times and island vacations?) before they meet again for Game 5 on Wednesday (7, NESN) at TD Garden. After surprisingly crumbling in the third period of Game 2 and getting blown out 6-3, the B's righted the ship with a memorable weekend in the Sunshine State. Neither performance was perfect but they looked much more like the club that had the best record in NHL regular season history. 

    The two main stars in Game 4 for Boston were goaltender Linus Ullmark (41 saves)-shown above challenging Panthers bozo Matthew Tkachuk to a fight in garbage time-along with left wing Taylor Hall (2 goals, 2 assists). Shouts to left wing Jake DeBrusk who also added two goals plus left wing Tyler Bertuzzi (goal, assist) who has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in his first four NHL playoff games and fellow newcomer Dmitry Orlov (assist) who has a point in all four contests. This was a true team win for the Black and Gold as every guy that suited up (and remember that they were once again missing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci) seemingly made a positive contribution. 

    Boston never trailed in Florida this weekend and their much maligned power play scored a goal in the first period and in the second period to stake the Bruins to a 2-0 lead. Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (25 saves) was making his first start since March 27 and shocker, he looked rusty. He made a good save but then couldn't cover up the puck which allowed left wing Brad Marchand to knock the puck in at 9:45 of the first period. Center Pavel Zacha and Bertuzzi had the assists on Marchand's third goal of the series. 

    After Tkachuk picked up a stupid cross-checking penalty at the end of the first period, the B's made him pay as DeBrusk finished a pretty passing sequence from Orlov and Hall at 1:52 of the second period. Jake's second goal of the postseason gave Boston a 2-0 lead. Tkachuk briefly made up for his idiocy with a goal at 16:00 of the second period that cut the Bruins' advantage down to 2-1. He made the most of a favorable bounce and put in a sweet shot between his legs before Ullmark could recover. His second goal of the playoffs was assisted by center Carter Verhaeghe and UMass defenseman Brandon Montour.  

    Once again, Boston struck early-this time in the third period-to regain control of the contest. Bertuzzi had an awesome re-direct of a shot by defenseman Brandon Carlo. Left wing Nick Foligno added the secondary assist at 2:26 on Bertuzzi's second goal of the series. Florida briefly made it interesting as center Sam Bennett's power play goal made it 3-2 Boston at 6:11. He went to the net and was rewarded when Ullmark left a rebound on the doorstep. Montour and Tkachuk assisted on Bennett's second goal of the playoffs. The B's wasted little time wrapping it up though as DeBrusk scored a similar tally to Bennett's less than two minutes later at 8:05. Zacha and Hall provided the helpers on that one before Hall clinched it with a beautiful goal via a breakaway. His filthy dangle around a helpless Bobrovsky was a reminder that he used to be an NHL MVP not that long ago. Center Tomas Nosek and Ullmark notched the assists on probably the prettiest goal that a Bruin will score this postseason. For good measure, Hall added an empty netter at 19:31 for the final margin. Rookie left wing Jakub Lauko and Kennebunkport native Garnet Hathaway got their names on the scoresheet with the assists. 

    This is not the NBA and we are talking about the Bruins so even with a commanding 3-1 series lead, this is not fully over quite yet. Still, you have to like their chances to get this done in three possible games. They are clearly better than the Panthers so there is no need to give them any hope and have to go back to Florida for a Game 6. Get this over with on Wednesday and hope that the Leafs-Lightning series (which Toronto currently leads 2-1) goes seven games before you have to face one of those much better teams in the second round.

    

Everybody Knows That A Four-Goal Lead Is the Most Dangerous One In Hockey, Wait What?

It's hard for a single sporting event (played early in the regular season) to create a wider range of emotions than what the Bruins (11-3-4) and Panthers (9-4-5) produced tonight at TD Garden for Military Appreciation Night. The first period might have been the most boring in NHL history (slight exaggeration but it was scoreless with 12 combined shots) but the B's followed that with four goals in a thrilling second period for what should always be an insurmountable 4-0 advantage. However, Florida responded with not one, not two (LeBron voice), not three but four goals in the third to send it to overtime. It was a thrilling five minutes that sadly lacked a goal, setting the stage for yet another shootout loss for the Black and Gold (their 2nd in 3 nights and 3rd of the season), 5-4.

Where to begin? Outside of the playoffs-which are a whole other ball of wax-it's tough to picture the Bruins suffering a worse loss from now until mid-April 2020 when the regular season mercifully ends. The Panthers should be commended for rallying behind backup goaltender Sam Montembeault (15 saves) who came on in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky (19 saves, 4 goals allowed) who was pulled after two periods. Still, Florida isn't exactly Washington or St. Louis, they are probably a fringe playoff team in the Eastern Conference at best. This also painfully extended Boston's losing streak to four games (0-2-2) although they've taken single points in the last two not that anybody feels too thrilled about that.

Every team has bad stretches and maybe that's the biggest explanation at the moment for the B's. The injuries that keep piling up especially to their forwards can't help either: Zach Senyshyn left tonight's game with a knee injury that hopefully isn't too serious since he's looked pretty promising in four games since being recalled from Providence. This is a club that prides itself on closing out games and with so many dependable veterans in the lineup, losses like tonight are super rare but incredibly painful.

The first omen that it was going to be a wacky night was when the lights conveniently went out for a few seconds early in the second period when Florida happened to have the puck in a dangerous scoring position. After Bobrovsky made a few quality saves, Boston found a way to bombard him with four goals just 7:36 apart from the middle of the frame to near the end of it. Obviously David Pastrnak opened the barrage with his NHL-best 16th goal of the season at 11:55. Bergeron had picked off the puck at center ice and fed him for a 2-on-1 with Brad Marchand. In his second game back after missing eight of nine with an elbow infection, Joakim Nordstrom made it 2-0 Bruins at 14:02 with a low snipe on Bobrovsky. Charlie Coyle had the lone assist on Nordy's second goal of the season. Anders Bjork's power play goal at 17:16 was I'm sure the one that Sergei would like to have back since he tipped it with his glove but couldn't snap it closed in time. David Krejci and Marchand had the assists on Bjork's third goal of the season. Finally, the captain Zdeno Chara flipped in a loose puck and topped that off with Jake DeBrusk's (a nice tribute to a sidelined buddy) signature celebration for a 4-0 Bruins lead at 19:31. Krejci had the primary assist after Bobrovsky flat out robbed him and Danton Heinen had the secondary assist on Chara's third goal of the season.

Tuukka Rask's (25 saves, 7-2-2) shutout bid ended 50 seconds into the third period as Aaron Ekblad cranked a one-timer past him. Milton MA native and Cushing Academy alum Keith Yandle and Aleksander Barkov had the assists on Ekblad's second goal of the season. That didn't seem like a big deal until Boston was whistled for a couple shaky penalties (slashing on Chris Wagner and hooking on Sean Kuraly) that ended up both costing them dearly. UMass alum, Longmeadow MA native and former Bruin Frank Vatrano cut Boston's lead to 4-2 at 5:26 with a one-timer that he snuck under Rask's leg pads. Jonathan Huberdeau had the lone assist on Vatrano's sixth goal of the season. The wheels really started to come off for the B's and the crowd got understandably nervous when Rask gave up his extra soft goal of the game. Mike Hoffman tried to backhand a pass across the crease but it ended up in the back of the net, an unforgivable mistake for Tuukka (which will surely serve as fresh kindling for his usual haters). Hoffman's seventh goal of the season was assisted by Yandle and Huberdeau.

Boston seemed to finally regain some semblance of balance as Coyle hit the crossbar then Sean Kuraly drew a tripping penalty on his former linemate and PC icon Noel Acciari. Florida's penalty kill unit survived that one though and Yandle unbelievably tied it up when he roofed the puck past Rask at 18:21. A huge defensive breakdown led to his second goal of the season, assisted by Barkov and Huberdeau (the 1st star of the game). I'm not going to say it was a foregone conclusion at that juncture since Marchand had a breakaway in overtime (and Rask also stopped Hoffman's breakaway) but when it got to the shootout, you felt like Boston's kryptonite would get them once again like it had on Sunday night vs. Philadelphia. This time they did get a goal in the shootout (Coyle in the 3rd round to extend it) but lost in the fourth round as Hoffman scored and Charlie McAvoy did not. Vincent Trocheck provided the other shootout goal for Florida in the second round.

There is no practice tomorrow for the Bruins which honestly is a good thing since I'm sure the last thing they want to do is get yelled at by the coaching staff for a few hours after this debacle. Instead, they'll be back on the ice on Thursday before traveling to Toronto (9-6-4) for another showdown with the Maple Leafs on Friday (7, NESN). That is sure to be an emotional and competitive game with an even better team-the Capitals (13-2-4)-waiting for them at the Garden on Saturday night (7, NESN). Eventually, Boston will get itself out of this funk and against the Leafs would be as good a time as any to look like themselves again. They have already split the first two games with them this season with each team winning on its home ice. The Caps are another story since no team has owned the Bruins for years quite like them but we'll deal with that come Saturday morning.

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Trying to Clinch Home Ice vs. Leafs, B's Give Away a Game Against the Going Nowhere Panthers

How did the Bruins (47-22-9) game against the Panthers (35-32-12) at TD Garden go this afternoon you ask? Well to illustrate how poorly things went for the home team, good old Roberto Luongo (30 saves, 17-16-4) was named the No. 1 star. In other words, I feel bad for anyone that paid to get into this dog's breakfast of a performance by the B's. Hell I go for free (humblebrag) and I still wanted a refund for being subjected to that gross 4-1 win by Florida.

Boston could never really make it interesting as they trailed 2-0 in the first period, got their only goal midway through the second then Tuukka Rask (19 saves, 26-12-5) gave up a soft shorthanded goal that he has to stop when it matters (say in the playoffs in a few weeks). It's tough to get to down though on a team that is tied with Calgary (48-23-7) for the second most points in the NHL. Furthermore, before this no-show, they had won 12 straight games at the Garden and earned points in 14 in a row (12-0-2) here. Likewise, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand saw their 17-game home point streaks end in front of mostly children and their families on a sunny Saturday in late March.

Florida has been an underachieving team for years; at least if you look at their collection of talented young forwards and defensemen, you wonder why they haven't been more of a factor in the Eastern Conference. Truth be told, Luongo and/or their lack of other quality goaltending options have been their biggest issue for why they'll miss the playoffs once again in 2018-19. They have the No. 2 power play in the NHL which isn't the be-all end-all but a top line of Jonathan Huberdeau (2 assists), Aleksander Barkov (assist) and Evgeni Dadonov (2 goals) is pretty nice. Of course, it doesn't help matters that they play in the toughest division in hockey with Tampa Bay (59-14-4), Boston and Toronto (45-25-7) all looking down on them. Carey Price is the only reason they aren't better than the Canadiens (41-29-8) in my humble opinion, how else can you explain why Montreal is a playoff contender and they aren't?

The puck luck was on the Panthers' side all afternoon (side note Boston had been 7-0-1 in matinees this season before this) from start to finish. A loose puck bounced in off of Riley Sheahan at 13:37 of the first period for a 1-0 Florida lead. Dryden Hunt (that can't be a real name) and Milton MA's own Keith Yandle had the assists on Sheahan's ninth goal of the season. A juicy rebound kicked out by Rask led to another goal for the Panthers a little over two minutes later: Dadonov potted the goal (his 27th of the season), from Aaron Ekblad (game-high 25:20 of ice time) and Huberdeau at 15:44.

Fittingly for such a crap performance, Boston's fourth line was the only one cited positively in head coach Bruce Cassidy's post-game remarks. Noel Acciari cut it to 2-1 at 13:12 of the second period after an awesome shift by Torey Krug (tying his career-high from last season with 45 assists) who threw the puck across the ice and the former PC standout put in a working man's backhander. His sixth goal of the season was also assisted by Joakim Nordstrom. B's fans finally had something legitimate to cheer about but Rask managed to end that quickly by allowing Troy Brouwer to beat him blocker side for a backbreaking shorthanded goal at 14:19. BC's Mike Matheson had the second assist on Brouwer's 11th goal of the season.

The Bruins outshot the Panthers 31-23 and had 61 shot attempts (20 blocked, 10 missed net) to their 35 (8 blocked, 4 missed net) but in the end (Lincoln Park voice, sorry that's very dated and quite lame) it didn't matter one bit. Dadonov scored an empty-net goal at 17:41 of the third period and everyone went home slightly upset. Granted it's tough to be that angry on a Saturday unless you are truly a psycho. Even if Toronto (45-25-7) wins as expected tonight at tanking Ottawa (27-44-6), the Leafs would still trail Boston by four points while both have four games remaining in the regular season. That is not an insurmountable lead for the B's but they appear unlikely to blow that while Toronto is all over the place.

Enough of these worthless matchups against clubs that will be sitting on a tropical beach and drinking their faces off by next Sunday. Speaking of which, Boston is at Detroit (30-38-10) tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports) to start their final (Midwest) road trip that also includes stops in Columbus (43-30-4) on Tuesday (7, NESN) and Minnesota (36-33-9) on Thursday (8, NESN) before returning for their home/regular season finale vs. the Lightning next Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). The Red Wings have won four games in a row which I suppose is swell but that franchise is still a hot pile of garbage. Jaroslav Halak (21-10-4) will be in net as the Bruins try to improve on their stellar records this season in Game 2s of back-to-backs (9-2-2) and Game 2s of three games in four days (11-3-2).

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What an Exciting & Enjoyable (Regular) Season That This Has Turned Out to Be for Your Bruins

Help, it's only early March and I'm starting to run out of ways to praise the 2018-19 Bruins. Tonight at TD Garden, for the second game in a row, they spotted their opponent (Florida) a 2-0 lead but nobody will remember that is they rallied for a bonkers 4-3 win that extended their point-streak to 18 games (14-0-4) tied with last season's identical run for the second-longest mark in franchise history (23 in 1940-41). What was particularly nuts about these two points is that the B's (41-17-9) tied it with 36.5 seconds left in regulation on Matt Grzelcyk's bardown blast and Patrice Bergeron was the hero for the millionth time as he scored the game-winning goal with 6.7 seconds left on poor Roberto Luongo (24 saves). Who needs overtime anyway?

Obviously relying on comebacks like this won't be sustainable in the postseason but with guys like David Pastrnak (thumb surgery), Jake DeBrusk (lower-body injury) and Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) currently sidelined with injuries, you take the victories however you can stack them up. Tuukka Rask (22 saves, 23-8-5) had his worst performance in a long time and yet he still managed to extend his own point-streak to 18 games (15-0-3). During that stretch, he has a goals against average of 1.93 and a .931 save percentage. Hi Tuukka haters, how are you all doing? (Crickets).

Fittingly for such a bottom of the barrel franchise, tonight's loss clinched another playoff-less season (for the 20th time in 25 seasons of existence) for the Panthers (28-27-12) not that anyone will likely notice or more importantly care one bit. After a scoreless first period, Florida's No. 3 power play in the NHL flexed its muscles with a pair of goals. First captain Aleksander Barkov (who I just found out tonight is Finnish, wouldn't you think that he's Russian?) tipped in Milton MA native Keith Yandle's wrister for his 29th goal of the season. Jonathan Huberdeau had the second assist on the game's opening goal at 2:48 of the second period. Things got worse for the Bruins and their penalty kill unit as Huberdeau batted a puck out of the air for another power play tally at 6:27. Barkov and Yandle (playing in his NHL-best 782nd consecutive game) had the helpers on Huberdeau's 19th goal of the season. Rask flailed at the slow motion shot with his glove and he got a piece of it but couldn't corral it completely.

Boston responded midway through that frame as David Krejci worked a pretty give-and-go with Danton Heinen for his 17th goal of the season at 10:29. David Backes had the second assist on Krejci's tight angle shot that he still managed to roof over a prone Luongo. At 39, you have to think that this could Luongo's last season in the NHL and when he finally retires, the Bruins and their fans will be sad to see that day since they have owned him for almost eight years now and counting. Bergeron tied it with a shorthanded goal for the second game in a row. Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand had the assists on his 24th goal of the season at 8:50 of the third period. It was a wrist shot from some distance but somehow Luongo couldn't stop it.

Huberdeau wouldn't let his team fold though at least at that point as he spun around to fire a shot past Zdeno Chara and Rask at 10:55. Evgeni Dadonov and Aaron Ekblad had the assists on that shot that seemed to catch Rask by surprise. Boston waited until the last minute to really build the suspense: it started with David Krejci drawing a tripping penalty on Mike Hoffman and eventually Rask came to the bench for an extra skater. Grzelcyk's goal came with one second left on the power play with Marchand and McAvoy registering the assists on his second goal of the season and undoubtedly the biggest of his brief Bruins career. I had complete confidence that the Black and Gold would find a way to win it in overtime but good old Luongo made sure that they wouldn't need to go beyond regulation. Marchand won a puck battle in the corner and fed Bergeron in the slot for his latest highlight reel unforgettable goal. Like any Bruins fan, I'm thankful every day that I get to watch those two fantastic hockey players on my favorite team.

This dream of a six-game homestand (5-0-0) comes to an end on Saturday night (7, NESN) as the Bruins have the honor of hosting the NHL's worst team-the Senators (23-39-6). Anything can happen in this league but I'd be shocked if the B's let up and this incredible points streak ends against that AHL-level club. Sean Kuraly returned this evening after missing the past two games with a concussion and head coach Bruce Cassidy said that DeBrusk could possibly play on Saturday since his latest injury didn't seem too serious. Most importantly, this result pushed Boston four points ahead of Toronto (41-21-5) while both teams have exactly 15 games remaining in the regular season with no head-to-head matchups left. It looks almost like a lock (barring a huge closing run by Montreal and/or an epic collapse by the Leafs) that it will be Boston vs. Toronto for the second year in a row in Round 1 of the playoffs.

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B's Choke Away the Atlantic Division Title & #1 Seed in the East So They'll Face Leafs in Rd. 1

It's been an unexpectedly wonderful 2017-18 regular season for your Boston Bruins (50-20-12) but there is no way to sugarcoat tonight's result: their 4-2 loss to the Panthers (44-30-8) at TD Garden was an unmitigated disaster that ultimately could cost them the chance at the Stanley Cup this spring/summer. A win would have netted the B's many nice things: the Atlantic Division title, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference (with home ice throughout) and perhaps most importantly, a first-round date with New Jersey (44-29-9), a team that they went 3-0 against this season and is undoubtedly the worst outfit to make it from the East. Instead, Boston finished second in the Atlantic Division which means that they'll face Toronto (49-26-7)-one of the best teams in the NHL and a club that went 3-1 vs. their Original Six rivals during this campaign.

The oddest part of this evening is that with so much on the line, the Black and Gold came out flat yet again (an all too common theme lately). Panthers rookie Henrik Borgstrom (who just a few weeks ago was playing at the University of Denver) scored his first NHL goal at 1:22 of the first period, assisted by former Bruins great Frank Vatrano. The Bruins seemed to wake up less than seven minutes later as David Backes deposited a rebound by James Reimer (33 saves, 2 goals allowed). Kevan Miller and David Krejci had the assists on Backes' 14th goal of the season. Vatrano is apparently becoming something of a Bruins killer as he bagged a goal in his second straight game vs. Boston. His one-timer at 16:46 of the first period restored Florida's lead while Jared McCann and Jamie McGinn (say that ten times fast) provided the assists on Vatrano's seventh goal of the season.

The B's successfully flushed a crappy (get it?!) first period down the toilet last night against Ottawa (28-43-11) but it proved to be not nearly as easy against the Panthers who have to be one of the best non-playoff teams in NHL history (they had 96 points, only one less than Columbus and New Jersey). Something called Maxim Mamin (what a great name!) beat Tuukka Rask (22 saves) with another one-timer at 13:33 of the second period for a 3-1 Florida advantage. Reimer stopped Jake DeBrusk on a breakaway later in the frame as the Bruins were still down two goals when the second had mercifully ended.

Boston finally woke up in the third period but it was much too late. Jonathan Huberdeau's double-minor for high sticking on Zdeno Chara sparked a short-lived comeback attempt by the B's as David Pastrnak cashed in with a power-play goal at 9:54. Pasta's team-best and career-high 35th goal of the season was assisted by Patrice Bergeron (3 goals, 6 assists in his last 9 games) and Ryan Donato. Reimer actually left late in the third with a leg injury but Roberto Luongo (8 saves) of all people managed to hang on for the win. Evgenii Dadonov sent Bruins fans running to the exits when he put in a juicy rebound at 18:11. McCann assisted on Dadonov's 28th goal of the season which handed their Sunshine State neighbors (Tampa Bay) the Atlantic Division and top seed in the East.

In the last week or so, the Bruins appeared to be understandably gassed. They lost four out of their last five games which is not exactly what you want to see from a team that will be expected to make a deep playoff run. Still, it sounds like the Nashes (Rick and Riley) should hopefully be back for Game 1 vs. Toronto on Thursday (7, NESN) which would give their forward lines some additional quality depth. Game 2 is Saturday night (8, NESN) with the series shifting to Toronto for Game 3 on Patriots Day (7, NESN) and next Thursday (7, NESN).

Thankfully, I'm not in the prediction business but you are crazy if you think that Bruins-Maple Leafs will be decided either way by a sweep or in five games. This has epic six or seven-game tight playoff series written all over it. Besides Tampa Bay (54-23-5) vs. New Jersey, the other Eastern Conference series are Washington (49-26-7) vs. Columbus (45-30-7) and Pittsburgh (47-29-6) vs. Philadelphia (42-26-14). I would argue that there is nothing in sports better than the Stanley Cup Playoffs so you have to savor all of them that you can get. Like the Bruins, we all could use a little rest before the fun begins on Wednesday for some teams and Thursday for them. See you then.

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Bruins Pummel the Panthers 5-1 to Clinch Home Ice In At Least the First Round of the Playoffs

With the finish line of the regular season in plain sight, the Bruins (49-17-11) are starting to set their laser-like focus on the playoffs while also making sure to get the requisite points that they need to hopefully rest key guys at some juncture in the final week. Boston allowed the first goal of the game this afternoon at TD Garden against the desperate Panthers (39-30-8) but from there, the B's hit them with five straight goals (not to mention countless literal punches to the face) to come away with a satisfying 5-1 victory. With the win, the Black and Gold regained first-place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division from Tampa Bay (52-22-4) who had destroyed the Rangers (33-36-9) 7-3 last night. The B's also still own a game in hand against the Lightning plus they meet one more time on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) in the Sunshine State as Boston goes for the season sweep (right now they're 3-0 vs. TB).

The only negative part of the contest for Boston was that they somehow suffered two more injuries to important players: center Riley Nash left in the second period after taking a Torey Krug shot to the ear, he received stitches (ouch!) and didn't return. In the third period defenseman Brandon Carlo went down in a heap with the dreaded non-contact injury. He lunged at the puck with his right skate and his right leg/knee seemed to give out. Ugh, it just so happened to occur right by the corner with the paramedics stationed nearby so he was wheeled out on a stretcher.

Jamie McGinn gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 4:59 of the first period after jamming in the puck past Tuukka Rask (30 saves, 34-11-5; 10-0-1 in his last 11 starts). Milton native Keith Yandle (5-game point streak) and Vincent Trocheck had the assists on McGinn's 13th goal of the season. The Bruins responded with two goals later in the first period and three goals in the second to put this away early. Center David Krejci (3 assists) was the catalyst for the B's offense along with rookie winger Jake DeBrusk (2 goals, 1 assist) who returned after missing eight games with an upper-body injury to play on Krejci's line with fellow rookie Ryan Donato (goal, assist).

Nick Holden's 1st goal as a Bruin (4th of the season overall) tied it at 11:15 as he went to the net and Krejci whirled around to put the puck right on his stick for a sweet re-direct with DeBrusk picking up the second helper. An aggressive forecheck all day by the B's paid off with a couple goals: Panthers defenseman Alexander Petrovic lost the puck behind his own net and Donato was on it to feed DeBrusk for a nifty one-timer at 14:06. Krejci had the second assist on DeBrusk's 15th goal of the season.

It was another tough day at the Garden for James Reimer (15 saves, 5 goals allowed) as Donato made it 3-1 at 1:32 of the second period after Krejci caused a turnover and passed it to the rookie for his fourth goal in seven NHL games. Adam McQuaid fought Michael Haley after that goal but much like in the game itself, the Panthers were beaten in that matchup as well. Reimer allowed a pair of goals that he should have stopped as Patrice Bergeron banged in a rebound at 13:40 of the second (similar to McGinn's goal) for his 29th goal of the season, assisted by David Backes and David Pastrnak (200th NHL point). Good old Roberto Luongo came in after Reimer gave up another leaky tally as he couldn't squeeze Kevan Miller's shot and DeBrusk was on the spot to tap it in at 16:32. It was all Hockey East alums on the assists as Matt Grzelcyk provided the second helper.

Noel Acciari had surprisingly never been in an NHL bout so he got that out of the way in the third period vs. something named MacKenzie Weegar. The Bruins got out of the building fast since they have to play the Flyers (39-25-14) tomorrow afternoon (12:30, NBC) on Easter Sunday. Expect Anton Khudobin to get the start in goal for Boston, I'm not sure if Riley Nash will be back but I highly doubt that Carlo could be available anytime soon. Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy (who won NESN's 7th player award before today's tilt) have both inched closer to a return this week and by chance, the Providence Bruins are in Pennsylvania playing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms so perhaps Paul Postma or another Providence defenseman could be recalled. Head coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned Brian Gionta (who was a healthy scratch today) as somebody that could take Riley's place if he can't go against Philadelphia who currently lead the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference.

Boston only has two home games left, vs. Ottawa (27-39-11) next Saturday night (7, NESN) and against Florida on Sunday night (7:30, NESN)-the makeup game from the snowstorm in January that postponed the game until the last day of the regular season. The Bruins and Panthers had plenty of scrums today and that should be a theme as they also meet in Sunrise, FL on Thursday (7:30, NESN). Today's loss pushed Florida further out of the playoff race as they fell to three points behind New Jersey (40-28-9) for the second Wild Card in the East. Needless to say, the Panthers really needed at least a point today and not only did they fail to get that but they also were humiliated by a determined opponent.

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Bruins Sweep the Five-Game Season Series With Panthers and Win Their Fourth Straight Game

It's been a very good week for the Bruins (42-30-6) as they inched closer to their first playoff spot in three years by beating the Panthers (33-34-11) 5-2 this afternoon at TD Garden for their fourth win in a row. PS that might have been the most misleading three-goal win in recent NHL history. Boston improved to 9-2-0 in afternoon games this season as the Garden crowd bid farewell to former Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton (playing in his final NHL season) who still lives in Charlestown in the summer. Tuukka Rask (24 saves in his 36th win of the season) has allowed three total goals in the last three games, stopping 75 out of 78 shots. Haha does anybody still think that backup goaltender Anton Khudobin should start over him?

Rookie Noel Acciari scored another big goal for the B's as he opened the proceedings late in the first period. He blocked a shot then went in on a breakaway-while fighting off Panthers defenseman Jakub Kindl-and beat the immortal Reto Berra (24 saves) for his second goal of the season. The second period had way more excitement as both teams potted a pair of goals. Thomas Vanek was the beneficiary of a puck that bounced in off of David Krejci's skate at 1:38. Patrice Bergeron put Boston back ahead with a shot off a rebound from Zdeno Chara and David Pastrnak at 7:56. Forget Tom Brady (never!), the real ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr knotted things at two with a power play goal at 9:53. Milton native Keith Yandle and Jonathan Marchessault assisted on Jagr's 16th goal of the season and only the 765th of his incredible NHL career. Krejci and the B's received a lucky bounce to retake the lead as Berra cleared the puck right to him along the boards so he could fire it in for his 23rd goal of the season at 14:30.

Florida has nothing to play for but pride (and jobs) at this point but give them credit for competing all game long (well except for much of the 1st period). In fact, they outshot Boston 13-5 in the third and really dominated puck possession and zone time but they couldn't find a way to put another shot past Rask. Vanek was called for a late high-sticking penalty and that's when the Black and Gold put it in the win column. Brad Marchand roofed a rebound on the doorstep (his 39th goal of the season) from Ryan Spooner and Pastrnak at 18:16 for a 4-2 advantage. Bergeron added an empty-netter with 12 seconds left in regulation for his 20th goal of the campaign (the 8th time he's done that in his storied Bruins career).

The Bruins head to Chicago tonight to face the Blackhawks (50-21-7) tomorrow afternoon (12:30, NBC). It's a foregone conclusion that Chicago will be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and a win vs. Boston would officially clinch that. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy reiterated what he had said on Friday: Khudobin will get the start vs. Blackhawks. Also, not that anyone would notice but Jimmy Hayes suffered a lower-body injury in today's contest so he was deemed day-to-day and it sounds like some unnamed forward from Providence will be called up to replace him. It's the last road game of the regular season for the B's as they wrap up 2016-17 with three more on home ice next week (vs. Tampa Bay, Ottawa and Washington).

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David Pastrnak is Here to Save Us All from Another Season of Bruins Mediocrity

All night at TD Garden, the Bruins (15-10-1) couldn't shake the Panthers (12-11-3). Three different times Boston scored to take a temporary one-goal lead but each time Florida answered with a tying goal. Luckily for the B's and their fans, they employ David Pastrnak who you may have heard has morphed into one of the best goal-scorers in the NHL (see: his overtime goal that gave Boston a thrilling 4-3 win). Pasta had scored earlier in the contest to make it 2-1 and he potted the game-winner at 1:23 of overtime that will undoubtedly be in every highlight reel for awhile (not just hockey).

It was a big two points for the Bruins since the Panthers entered in a bit of a tailspin (after surprisingly firing head coach Gerard Gallant last weekend and replacing him with GM Tom Rowe). Moreover, with Roberto Luongo (9-8-1) in between the pipes for Florida, Boston had to take advantage of the same bozo from the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Vancouver. In 38 career games against the Bruins, Luongo fell to 15-17-1. Florida won the Atlantic Division last season but Boston still owns them (10-1-0 in their last 11 games in Boston and 15-2-1 in their last 18 games overall) dating back several years now.

After missing six games with a lower-body injury Bruins captain Zdeno Chara returned with a team-high 23:31 time on ice. There was plenty of action in the first period even though it looked like it would end 0-0. Former BC star Michael Matheson had a shorthanded bid stopped by Tuukka Rask (27 saves; 14-4-1). On the other end, Luongo robbed Ryan Spooner (the subject of trade rumors since he hasn't played well so far this season) with a ridiculous glove save. David Backes' one-timer from the doorstep hit Luongo in the chest and rookie Anton Blidh nearly nabbed his first NHL goal when he redirected Adam McQuaid's slap pass just wide. PC's Tim Schaller gave the B's a 1-0 lead at 18:32 (with his 4th goal of the season) when he one-timed a pass from David Krejci (who was stationed behind Florida's net).

The ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr tied it at 9:44 with a one-timer of his own. Florida's great young franchise defenseman Aaron Ekblad fed it to Jagr for his fifth goal of the season (and 754th all-time, 3rd most in NHL history). Pastrnak helped Boston regain a 2-1 lead at 16:37 with help from a slick feed by linemate Brad Marchand. Patrice Bergeron had the other assist on Pastrnak's 14th goal of the season (3rd most in the NHL). It was only a one-goal advantage but the team records were in Boston's favor after two periods: they were 11-0-0 when leading after two and Florida was 1-7-2 when trailing after two.

Obviously, that one-sided sample will change for the B's at some point and it appeared to be this evening as Alexander Barkov tied it at 7:54 of the third period. Patrice Bergeron turned the puck over in his own zone (something which hardly ever happens) and former teammate Reilly Smith was there to pass it to Barkov for an absolute snipe on Rask. Boston responded a little over five minutes later as Backes tipped in Spooner's shot from the half-wall for his seventh goal of the season. Luongo had just reached his bench when Jason Demers scored one last tally that knotted things at three. Matheson and Vincent Trocheck assisted on Demers' fourth goal of the season which came at 18:31 after a fortuitous bounce off the end boards came right to him and he was able to sneak it by Rask from a tough angle.

Pastrnak's goal in overtime as mentioned above was pure filth, some fine Bruins porn if you will. Krejci held the puck and waited for his fellow Czech to go out of the zone then come back in with speed so when he got the puck he was able to work it around Matheson and then Luongo who went down to the ice a bit early. Pastrnak was able to lift the puck with a forehand shot over Luongo as the Garden crowd exploded. Rookie Brandon Carlo had the second assist on Pastrnak's unforgettable strike (which tied his total goal output from last season).

This was the start of another busy week as Boston is at Washington (14-7-3) on Wednesday (8, NBC Sports) before they host Colorado (9-13-1) on Thursday (7, NESN) and Toronto (10-9-5) on Saturday night (7, NESN). The Capitals are still one of the top teams in the NHL and they always seem to give Boston a tough game, no surprise. The Bruins have won three games in a row and they extended their season-long point streak to five games (4-0-1). The Avalanche are currently in last-place in the Western Conference and the Maple Leafs as always are near the bottom in the East so those are two prime matchups for the B's to continue to bolster their home record (7-5-0). So far, this edition of the Bruins is playing moderately better on home ice, one of their main shortcomings that bit them in the ass last season.

Left wing Matt Beleskey is expected to miss the next six weeks after he hurt his right knee in Saturday's 2-1 win at Buffalo. He had gotten off to a crappy start (2 goals, 3 assists in 24 games) but Boston has very little depth at that particular position so it could be a sneaky important loss for the Black and Gold.

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Bruins Lose Their Fifth Straight Game, 4-1 to the Panthers, Leaving Their Playoff Hopes in Jeopardy

Even in a marathon 82-game regular season, there is never a good time to have a five-game losing streak (all in regulation, their longest such streak in over 6 years) but I'd say that during crunch time of a playoff push is just about the worst possible occasion to completely fall apart. Boston (39-28-8) lost all three of its games in California last week, fell 5-2 to the Rangers (42-24-8) last night at Madison Square Garden and this evening they came home to TD Garden and promptly lost 4-1 to Florida (41-24-9) in another must-win game.

The wonderful pregame ceremony for B's head coach Claude Julien (now the franchise's all-time leader in wins) was one of the only things for Bruins fans to feel good about after Boston failed to gain the all-important season sweep (3-1) of Florida who with the victory went five points ahead of them with a game in hand. As usual this season, a replay didn't go in Boston's favor (same story as the Rangers game) as a possible tying goal by Patrice Bergeron midway through the third period was wiped away and the B's proceeded to disintegrate.

After a scoreless first period, the Bruins broke the deadlock as Ryan Spooner beat Roberto Luongo (34 saves) at 7:42. Frank Vatrano and Loui Eriksson assisted on Spooner's 13th goal of the season (his 1st since March 3 vs. Chicago). Former Bruins great Reilly Smith tied it one at 13:51 as Tuukka Rask (32 saves) couldn't corral a rebound. Victor Trocheck and Jussi Jokinen assisted on Smith's 24th goal of the season (tying him with Jaromir Jagr for the team lead). I know everyone was in favor of it at the time but trading Smith straight up for Jimmy Hayes (13 goals, 16 assists) has been nothing short of a disaster in Year 1. Boston's suddenly useless power play went 0 for 4 and they compounded that by giving up a shorthanded goal to Trocheck at 18:46. Torey Krug got caught up ice and Trocheck was able to roof a shot over Rask's glove. Alex Petrovic had the lone assist on Trocheck's 24th goal of the season.

It has reached the point where I can honestly say after watching so many Bruins goals get called off for various reasons in 2015-16 (offside, goalie interference, no conclusive evidence the puck crossed the line, etc.) that I find it impossible to say what is or isn't a goal anymore in the NHL. Bergeron jammed in a loose puck that clearly was in the net before Luongo fished it out and yet after a lengthy review, the men in stripes deemed it still not worthy (it was ruled no goal initially). Julien has lost his mind over those type of incidents countless times this campaign and the normally unflappable Bergeron was understandably upset.

As you would expect, the momentum flipped and the Panthers quickly put it out of reach as Jokinen tipped in Dmitry Kulikov's shot at 10:56 for a 3-1 advantage (2nd assist to former Bruin Steven Kampfer) and Jonathan Huberdeau's empty-netter at 19:39 ended it. Boston only has seven games left (4 on the road and 3 at home) beginning on Saturday (7, NESN) at Toronto (27-35-11). Yes the Maple Leafs are one of the worst teams in the league but they beat Anaheim (40-23-10) tonight in overtime so it's not like they are a pushover that has given up. The Bruins are at New Jersey (36-31-7) on Tuesday (7, NESN) before a brutal one-two punch of at St. Louis (43-22-9) on Friday (8, NESN) followed by their final road game of the regular season-at Chicago (42-25-7) on Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC).

If they can survive that gauntlet, their last three favorable tilts are all at the Garden: vs. Carolina (32-28-14) on April 5 (7, NESN), vs. Detroit (37-26-11) on April 7 (7, NESN) and vs. Ottawa (34-33-8) on April 9 (12:30, NESN). The top Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference-the Islanders (39-24-9) have one more point than the Bruins but that's not nearly as relevant as the Red Wings since they are also in the Atlantic Division. Boston is a point ahead of Detroit but the Red Wings have a game in hand which is why that meeting on April 7 seems like it'll be enormously important for both clubs. All that the B's can do is focus on their next game and hope that they can break this killer losing streak otherwise they are going to narrowly miss the playoffs for the second year in a row (which would surely cost Julien his job).

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Bruins Continue Their Domination of the Panthers, Pick Up Easy 3-1 Win at TD Garden

If you enjoy free money (and who doesn't?), throw down a bet on the Bruins the next time that they play the Panthers, particularly if it's at TD Garden. Boston (16-9-3) coasted to a simple 3-1 victory against Florida (14-12-4) this afternoon at TD Garden. With the two points, the B's have won their last nine games in a row at home vs. the Panthers (Florida's last win here was Dec. 8, 2011).

Ryan Spooner scored two goals for the third time in his short NHL career and Tuukka Rask (26 saves) continued his recent wonderful play (6-0-2 in last 8 games with 1.52 goals against average & .948 save percentage). Boston improved to 7-1-2 in its last 10 games and they moved to three points ahead of Florida in the Atlantic Division with two games in hand. It was good to see that the B's didn't suffer a letdown after Wednesday's huge road win in Montreal. They are clearly starting to make progress this season after such a rough start.

Spooner made it 1-0 at 11:35 of the first period when he tipped in Torey Krug's shot from the point. It was Spooner's sixth goal of the season and Krug's 14th assist. Boston's top-ranked power-play did what it does as Spooner cashed in on their first chance in the second period at 8:00. Truthfully, Roberto Luongo (22 saves) should have made the save on a shot that went through his five-hole but nobody on the Bruins or in the crowd was complaining. Patrice Bergeron picked up his 18th assist (he's tied with Patrick Kane for the NHL lead with 15 power play points) and David Krejci notched his team-leading 19th assist on Spooner's second tally of the game.

Old friend Reilly Smith cut it to 2-1 at 13:56 when his shot from distanced trickled through Rask's legs. It was a shot that Tuukka no doubt would want back but he's been so good lately that what could you objectively say about it? Aaron Ekblad had the lone assist on Smith's eighth goal of the season. Brad Marchand wrapped it up with an empty-netter at 18:37, his team-leading 14th goal of the season. Bergeron picked up the assist (he has a 4-game point streak and 17 points in his last 16 games).

This was the start of an important stretch for the Black and Gold since seven of their next nine games are all at the Garden. They'll need their rest the next few days since they host Edmonton (13-15-2)-who has won five straight games-on Monday (7, NESN) which is the beginning of a four-game week. They have a home-and-home with the reeling Penguins (15-10-3) on Wednesday and Friday-who just fired head coach Mike Johnston this morning and replaced him with former Bruins assistant Mike Sullivan-then they host the Devils (15-10-4) on Sunday (5, NESN).

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Maybe There Is a Method to Don Sweeney's Madness After All

This is such a wasteland on the American sports calendar every year and it certainly doesn't help when the Red Sox are so unwatchable and irrelevant by the middle of May. I'm trying to (partially) rationalize why we tend to overreact to any significant trades involving our local teams that come at this extremely dull point of the summer. Case in point, the Bruins last week looked like a drunken mess as they traded Carl Soderberg to Colorado for a sixth-round pick, Dougie Hamilton to Calgary for three picks and Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for Martin Jones, a minor league defenseman and a pick. We wondered, "what the hell is Don Sweeney doing?" He doubled up on the crazy by rewarding mediocre defenseman Adam McQuaid with a four-year contract.

For a change from last week's constant drama and unending questions, today brought some sense of clarity for the Black and Gold. First, they signed coveted free agent left wing Matt Beleskey to a five-year deal worth $19 million. He's the exact same age-down to the day-as Lucic (27) but unlike the former Bruin, his career trajectory seems to be trending upwards. Last season, he put up a career-best 22 goals in the regular season (65 games) followed by eight goals in the postseason for Anaheim. Granted playing with Cory Perry and Ryan Getzlaf would turn almost anyone into a 20-goal scorer but Beleskey similarly should bring size (206 pounds), toughness and the left-handed shot that they were looking for. Put him with David Krejci and David Pastrnak or Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand then we might have something.

Sweeney won more support by trading away oft-criticized forward Reilly Smith and Marc Savard's $4 million cap hit to Florida for former BC star and Dorchester native Jimmy Hayes. Smith scored 20 goals two seasons ago but that went down to only 13 this past campaign. That coupled with the fact that he does literally nothing else made him easily expendable. I would normally bitch about the Bruins giving him that silly extension last year but I'm tired so oh well. Hayes' numbers were pretty similar to Smith's last season (19 goals, 16 assists) and his huge frame (6-foot-6, 221 pounds) should help the Bruins crash the net better (something that nobody consistently does for them).

Now it's time to sign some NHL-caliber top-six defensemen since at the moment, Boston has like four that they can reasonably count on: Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Torey Krug and McQuaid (kind of). Matt Bartkowski signed a one-year deal with Vancouver and Gregory Campbell agreed to a two-year deal with Columbus; needless to say after their rough performances last season, most Bruins fans aren't sad to see those two leave town.

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Bruins Beat Panthers 3-2 to Go Up Six Points on Florida (With 5 Games Left)

It wasn't an instant classic by any means but the Bruins still managed to get exactly what they needed on Tuesday at TD Garden: a 3-2 regulation win vs. Panthers. Boston (39-25-13) survived a poor second period, where Florida (35-27-15) outscored them 2-0, to score the last two goals of the game in the third period. Rookie David Pastrnak tied it at two with a deft tip-in and Milan Lucic was the hero, potting the game-winner with 1:09 left in regulation. The B's closed March on a modest three-game win streak and with seven points in their past four games.

Loui Eriksson gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 16:57 of the first period and simultaneously scored his 20th goal of the season (for the 5th time in his career and 1st as a Bruin). It was a beautiful goal as he waited for Roberto Luongo (26 saves) to go down before lifting a backhander over him from a very tough angle. Carl Soderberg had the lone assist.

I don't know what it is about the second period but it seems like Boston has always played poorly in them this season. Brandon Pirri tied it at one with a power-play snipe from the point, 55 seconds into the frame. Brian Campbell and BC's Jimmy Hayes had the assists on Pirri's 21st goal of the season which was a one-timer that went top-shelf on Tuukka Rask (22 saves).

Former Bruin Brad Boyes made it 2-1 Florida at 12:37 after a total breakdown by Boston. Matt Bartkowski had the puck hop over his stick in the Panthers' end, Boyes skated in on a partial breakaway and squeezed it under Rask's leg pads. Boyes' 13th goal of the season was unassisted and although Bartkowski deserves most of the blame, Rask should make that save in a game of this magnitude.

The Bruins were pressing for the tying goal in the third period and leave it to their 2015 Seventh Player award winner (handed out before tonight's game) to come through with the huge goal. Spooner put the puck on net and Pastrnak was close to the goal but still got a piece of it to fool Luongo just enough. His 11th goal of the season was also assisted by Lucic. The big guy scored one of the most important goals of Boston's season by causing a turnover then having the confidence (and power) to beat Luongo with a low but hard shot from inside the blue line that went split two Panthers defensemen. Milan's 18th goal of the season was assisted by Pastrnak and Spooner.

Now Boston has 91 points while Florida is stuck with 85, each team has five games left so the Panthers really are in a deep hole here. Ottawa (38-26-12) rallied for a 2-1 shootout win in Detroit (40-23-13) which means that the Bruins didn't gain any more distance between them and the Senators but they are only two points behind the Red Wings. Wouldn't you know that the B's are in Detroit on Thursday (7:30, NBCSN) for another huge contest between Atlantic Division rivals. You have to love this time of year!

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Bruins Show Up Just Barely Enough to Beat Panthers 2-1 in Overtime, Thanks Marchy

Usually when you have a long win streak against a team (in any sport really), there is a game or two along the way that you probably should have lost but for some reason you don't. The Bruins didn't play terrible on Tuesday night at TD Garden vs. the Panthers, rather both teams played a complete snoozefest, that is until Brad Marchand won it with a sick goal in overtime for the 2-1 Boston (8-6) victory.

The B's have won nine straight games against the improved Panthers (4-2-4) and four of their last five overall-their best stretch of the season. Other than Marchand's game-winner, the only reason that anyone will remember this forgettable contest is because it was Shawn Thornton's first game at the Garden as a visitor. He had a game-high five hits and more importantly, he received a raucous standing ovation when his personal highlight video was shown. It was truly the loudest it's been here since last postseason and it couldn't happen to a better guy.

After a scoreless first period, Florida took a 1-0 lead at 4:04 of the second period thanks to Jussi Jokinen's one-timer. Boston gave him way too much space to crank a one-timer by Tuukka Rask (18 saves), with assists to another former Bruin Brad Boyes and Aaron Ekblad.

The lead didn't last long for the Panthers though as Patrice Bergeron went top shelf with a sweet wrister for his second goal of the season at 7:29. His linemates Marchand and Reilly Smith had the assists. Bergy has been scuffling in the goal-scoring department so far this season so that tally had to feel extra satisfying.

Florida had a great chance to grab a goal late in the third period but Erik Gudbranson's deflected shot went off the post. Roberto Luongo (23 saves) actually had a pretty decent performance but as a Bruins fan you have to laugh that once again he couldn't get the job done in Boston.

Edmonton (4-7-1) limps into the Garden on Thursday, after losing 4-1 tonight in Philadelphia. The two players that we'd most want to see-Taylor Hall and Andrew Ference-are both out with an injury and a suspension respectively. Still, there is plenty to play for as the B's go for their fourth straight win by fattening up on mostly bottom-feeders of the NHL.

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No More Having to Watch the Panthers for the Rest of the Season!

The Bruins have to be sad to bid farewell to the hapless Panthers for the rest of the season. This evening, Boston (42-17-5) beat Florida (24-33-7) 5-2 at the old BB&T Center. The B's took all five games with the Panthers in 2013-14, by a cumulative score of 22-8. Oh and the Bruins bumped up to first place in the Eastern Conference on idle Pittsburgh.

Boston was playing in a back-to-back but they still seemed like the fresher squad. BC's Jimmy Hayes was able to put a rebound past Chad Johnson (20 saves) at 7:00 of the second period for a surprising 1-0 Panthers lead. Of course, the Bruins recovered as newcomer Andrej Meszaros scored a power play goal at 9:58 on a laser from the point. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by Reilly Smith and Patrice Bergeron.

It was 1-1 heading into the third but did anyone actually think that Florida would pull it off? I don't think so. Krug scored his 13th goal of the season at 7:38 on pretty assists by Marchand and Bergeron. Boston cashed in another power play opportunity as Bergeron slammed in a low slap shot by Roberto Luongo (37 saves) at 11:21. That was Bergeron's 18th goal of the season with assists to Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg.

Hayes cut it to 3-2 with a garbage goal after the puck was stuck in Johnson's skates. Jarome Iginla added his 20th goal of the season on a wide open blast from the slot at 12:13. Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara provided the helpers on career goal No. 550 for Iginla.

Chris Kelly wrapped this all up with an empty netter (his 6th goal of the season). About the only bad thing to come out of this for the B's is that Daniel Paille left after his first shift of the game in the first period. He was hit awkwardly into the boards, left and never returned. Is that Jordan Caron's music?

Boston concludes this three-game trip in Montreal (35-24-7) on Wednesday (7:30, NBCSN). The Canadiens are one of the only teams to impose their will on the B's this season, they are 2-0 and now they also have Thomas Vanek (shits pants).

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Honestly, How are the Panthers Still in the NHL?

I won't waste your time for too long talking about a 4-1 Bruins laugher over the Panthers at TD Garden. David Krejci scored a hat trick for Boston (39-17-5) and Chad Johnson made 23 of the easiest saves in his life. Florida (23-32-7) is now 0-4 against the B's this season, with one more chance to get something in the win column on Sunday (not likely).

The Bruins needed a game like this to take their mind off of the impending trade deadline. So far, they surpisingly haven't made any moves. All we know is that they scratched Loui Eriksson with a mysterious injury and Jordan Caron was in the lineup (on the 3rd line no less). Hmmmmm. Caron doubled his point production with his first assist of the season (he has one goal) so I'm thinking maybe they can flip him for Sidney Crosby or at least Evgeni Malkin.

Tim Thomas (35 saves) can still make highlight reel saves but behind a team that has given up, it's hard to tell how good he can be these days. Oh and the Panthers traded for Roberto Luongo this afternoon so good luck with that guys! Krejci tallied his 14th goal of the season at 7:29 of the first period. He simply stole the puck behind Florida's goal then came around and beat Thomas.

Iginla put the B's up 2-0 at 11:01 on Thomas' juicy rebound. His 19th goal of the season was assisted by Caron (who took the initial shot) and Chris Kelly. Krys Barch appeared to be the only Panther to give a shit about anything. He fought Milan Lucic in the first and Shawn Thornton in the second so props to him.

Krejci found himself all alone in the slot, again, and he sniped it over Thomas' shoulder with 48 seconds left in the second for a commanding 3-0 lead. Kevan Miller had the lone assist.

Congrats to Florida though for avoiding the shutout (something that Boston hasn't done to them in 2013-14). Brian Campbell's weak backhander somehow deflected off Matt Bartkowski's stick and in the net at 12:47 of the third. No problem, Krejci notched his third career regular season hat trick (don't forget two in the playoffs as well) on an empty-netter.

This is the worst week of the season thanks to the schedule makers having Boston play Washington and Florida twice apiece. The Capitals (29-23-10) won 4-2 at the Garden on Saturday so naturally they come right back here on Thursday (7, NESN). After that, the B's hit the Sunshine State for spring training, I mean games at Tampa Bay on Saturday and Florida on Sunday. At least the Lightning are a good and exciting team despite their recent struggles.

UPDATE 3/5: So far, all the B's have done is claim defenseman Corey Potter off waivers from Edmonton. In 16 games this season, he has five assists and 21 penalty minutes. He was a fourth round pick of the Rangers in 2003 and he went to Michigan State (like Torey Krug). He's a Lansing, MI native.

The Bruins made one other move: they traded for Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros. He's 28 and a former first round pick that has five goals and 12 assists in 38 games this season. He's left-handed which they like but the knock on him is that he's injury prone and soft despite his good size (6 foot 2, 223 pounds). He's Slovakian and has played on the last three Olympic teams with Zdeno Chara so there is that. Granted all he cost was a third-round pick.

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Bruins Destroy Tim Thomas & Panthers, 6-2 at TD Garden

Seeing them up close and personal, you realize that you had forgotten how completely terrible the Panthers are virtually every season. Bruins fans welcomed Tim Thomas (35 saves) back to TD Garden but watched him get shelled as Boston (34-15-3) rolled 6-2 over Florida (21-25-7). It was the third game in a row that the B's have scored exactly six goals. Also, they improved to 3-0 against the tomato can Panthers with two more meetings left in the regular season. Atlantic Division!

Tuukka Rask made 28 of the quietest saves in NHL history since by the second period, Boston had built up a 4-0 lead. It would have been cool to see him get a shutout vs. Thomas, but we have no reason to complain (Boston has won five of its last six and four in a row).

A night after the Bruins' second line went nuts at the Islanders, the first line nearly matched it with a combined seven points from David Krejci (1 goal, 2 assists), Jarome Iginla (2 assists) and Milan Lucic (2 goals).

Lucic scored at 7:41 of the first period to make it 1-0. His 14th of the season was assisted by Iginla and Krejci. He went into the infamous dirty area and was rewarded with a loose puck. Boston doubled its advantage with a pathetic mistake by Thomas: Zdeno Chara's nothing wrist shot from the point trickled in off Thomas who somehow dropped it. Chara's 13th goal of the season (3rd in 3 games) was assisted by Torey Krug and Krejci at 15:26.

Looch got another gift from Thomas when he couldn't smother the puck so Lucic shoveled it in at 1:46 of the second period. People in the crowd forgot that the second goal wasn't his (it was close) so a few stray hats went on the ice when they thought he got a hat trick. Nice try folks. Iginla and Matt Bartkowski had the assists.

Reilly Smith re-took the team goal-scoring lead with his 18th of the season at 14:54 that made it 4-0, from Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson on the power play. Former Bruin Brad Boyes' one-timer ensured that the Panthers at least wouldn't be shut out. Dmitry Kulikov cut it to 4-2 at 4:00 of the third period with a power play goal.

No problem, Shawn Thornton netted the prettiest goal of them all at 8:14. His fourth of the season was assisted by partner in crime Gregory Campbell. Buffalo forked over one more goal to the B's as a pitiful turnover in their own zone went right to Krejci's stick. He put it by Thomas with a quick flock of a wrist shot.

Tell your friends, the first installment of Bruins-Canadiens for this season is on Thursday (7:00, NESN and 98.5 FM) at the Garden. Montreal (28-20-5, 4th in Atlantic Division) has fallen back recently but it shouldn't take them much to get up for their bitter rival.

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The Florida Panthers Have the Cure for What Ails You in the NHL

You might ask why are the Panthers still in Florida which is a valid point but an important question for another day. They have served a very important role as the punching bag of the NHL the last few seasons. The Bruins had been playing like garbage the last few weeks (dropping 4 of their last 5 games) but you wouldn't know it by the way they dominated the third period (3-1) en route to a 4-1 win over the hapless Panthers tonight at TD Garden. Great to have you in the Atlantic Division!

After sleepwalking through a dull first period, Boston (9-5-1) scored the first goal for the first time in five games, see a pattern there? David Krejci scored his third goal of the season at 7:17 from Zdeno Chara and Dougie Hamilton. Not really known for his powerful slap shot, Krejci still unloaded one from the blue line through traffic.

The B's also had some luck on their side too, which had been lacking lately, as Brad Marchand was able to score a goal for the first time in 13 games at 4:09 of the third period. Dennis Seidenberg's blast was tipped by Loui Eriksson and it went through Scott Clemmensen's pads, all Marchand had to do was poke it over the line. Literally anyone in the NHL save for maybe John Scott would have scored on it.

Super sophomore Torey Krug made it 3-0 and pinned the Panthers (3-9-4) with their seventh loss in a row. His sixth of the season (tied for most in the NHL by a defenseman) came at 8:57 from Chris Kelly and Reilly Smith. It was a clean breakout as Smith gained the zone, fed Kelly then he held up and went back to Krug who snapped a beautiful shot past Clemmensen.

The Panthers' lone goal was from Jesse Winchester at 14:25. Nick Bjugstad's shot seemed to catch Tuukka Rask (23 saves) awkwardly up high and Winchester was there to put in the rebound. He might be hearing from the NHL in the next few days though after he blatantly elbowed Kelly in the head during the first period. Somehow Kelly only missed a few minutes, it could have been much worse.

In a different way, Smith like Marchand had a cupcake of a goal delivered to him. A Florida defenseman inexplicably didn't see him in the offensive zone so his clearing attempt was put right on his stick. His unassisted goal at 18:13 was his second of the season.

The B's know they have to pick it up way more when they host the Maple Leafs (10-5-0) on Saturday (7, NESN) in their first meeting since the epic seven-game first round playoff series last season. It is the middle game of the season-long five game homestand for the Bruins.

UPDATE 11/8: Winchester was suspended by the NHL for three games. Oh and Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen was fired, tough day for Florida.

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