They Can't All Be Masterpieces but Bruins Will Take Two Points However They Can Get Them

When you play the worst team in any sport, nothing but a win will ever be tolerated. Predictably Boston (25-17-5) didn't make it easy on themselves as they blew a 2-0 lead against Columbus (17-27-5) tonight at TD Garden but things ended well enough as the Bruins survived 3-2 in a shootout. Backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson improved to 9-3-1 this season as he made 31 saves while Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug (game-winner) provided the shootout goals for the B's.

It's tough to quantify how much of a mess the Blue Jackets have been this miserable season; in fact, head coach John Tortorella wasn't even here after he broke two ribs in practice the other day. Haha it's been that kind of year for Columbus who also traded away their best player (Ryan Johansen) to Nashville a few weeks ago for defenseman Seth Jones. Former Bruin Gregory Campbell got a nice deal with the Blue Jackets so it's a shame to see him wasting away on a club that is going nowhere fast. This was his first game back in the Garden as a visitor so he was treated to a nice video montage on the Jumbotron and deserved standing ovation for someone who did plenty of good deeds in the community as well.

After a scoreless first period, Boston took a 1-0 lead just 32 seconds into the second when Brad Marchand tapped in a pretty passing sequence from Ryan Spooner and Patrice Bergeron. That was Marchand's team-leading 19th goal of the season and the team-leading 25th assists of the season for both Spooner and Bergeron. Marchand has tied his career best streak with goals in four straight games and he extended his point streak to five games (4 goals, 1 assist).

David Pastrnak doubled Boston's lead 3:02 after that when he crashed the net (like ran into it with his stomach) and put in a rebound. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by David Krejci (23rd assist) and Loui Eriksson (24th assist). You would think that Columbus would basically give up when they were down a pair of goals on the road but they didn't as Dalton Prout scored his first goal in 107 games (!) and my man Kerby Rychel tipped in a shot from Justin Falk in the span of 3:10 later in the frame. Gustavsson should have stopped Prout's easy shot that somehow squeezed through from no angle.

Not much happened in the third period and both teams had to kill off penalties in overtime (4-on-3) before it went to the goofy shootout. Being terrible in shootouts has been a hallmark of the Bruins since it was instituted by the NHL and that is one of the numerous reasons that they missed the playoffs last year. It's hard to feel great about what transpired tonight but at least they came away with two points which frankly is all that matters with 35 games left in the regular season.

There are only two games left for the B's before the All-Star break begins next week: they are in Philadelphia (20-17-8) on Monday (7, NESN) and here vs. Anaheim (21-18-7) the next night. Boston has already lost twice to the Flyers this season (5-4 in OT here on Oct. 21 and 3-2 in Philly on Jan. 13) and the Ducks are playing much better (6-3-1 in last 10 games) after their awful start this season but this isn't a killer stretch. The Bruins can finally get to .500 at home this season (something they have yet to do) with a win on Tuesday (11-12-2).

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Just As Nobody Predicted: Bruins End Nightmare Road Trip with 6-2 Blowout Win in Chicago

There are a million reasons why we watch sports: the competition, escape, entertainment, etc. However, today's Bruins-Blackhawks game was another underrated point: the unexpected. Riding a season-long six-game losing streak (0-4-2) into Chicago (35-20-5), Boston (29-21-9) closed out its brutal five-game road trip with a thrilling 6-2 victory this afternoon at the United Center. To say that no one saw that result coming would be the understatement of the season. Also, I really don't think that it is hyperbole (something I despise) to say that this win could have saved (at least temporarily) Boston's season.

So how did the B's do it? They knocked off one of the top teams in the NHL by getting the type of team-wide production (six different goal-scorers, 12 guys with points) that they have been missing for most of this up and down campaign. Boston scored a season-high in goals and tied for their biggest win (4-0 at Buffalo on Oct. 18) while tying the most goals that Chicago has allowed and their largest margin of defeat. The amazing part is that they did all that without the services of David Krejci who is out with his "upper-body" (knee?) injury.

The Bruins jumped out to a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the game as Patrice Bergeron crashed the net to re-direct a beautiful spinning backhand pass from Reilly Smith. Brad Marchand had the second assist on Bergeron's team-leading (tied with Marchand) 17th goal of the season. It was 2-0 at 14:03 as Loui Eriksson tipped in Torey Krug's shot for a power-play goal. Dougie Hamilton had the second assist on Eriksson's 14th goal of the season.

Everything has been a chore lately for the B's so naturally we expected the worst when Tuukka Rask (26 saves) took a penalty with eight seconds left in the first for delay of game (going outside of the lines behind the net). Jonathan Toews scored with two seconds left, the power-play goal cutting it to 2-1. What felt even more frustrating (maybe) was that Rask was tagged with yet another penalty after slamming his stick against the post following Toews' 17th goal of the season (assisted by Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith). Kris Versteeg took a Canadiens-like flop after Rask's stick barely touched him. Honestly, he should be fined for that garbage.

Luckily Boston killed off that second penalty on Rask and they used that momentum to hit Chicago with four goals in the second period. That's right, the Bruins outscored the Blackhawks 4-0 in the second on their home ice. Shocking, I know. Milan Lucic snapped a seven-game goalless streak by batting the puck in from close range at 6:18. His 12th goal of the season was assisted by David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner (who was called up today from Providence while Malcolm Subban was sent down). Adam McQuaid and Daniel Carcillo had a lengthy bout shortly after that but it didn't spark Chicago one bit. In fact, Gregory Campbell scored from the slot (his 6th goal of the season) at 12:19 from Brian Ferlin and Dennis Seidenberg which ended Corey Crawford's day (10 saves) a tad early.

Poor Antti Raanta (14 saves) wasn't much help either as he gave up a soft goal to Dougie Hamilton at 17:27 (his 10th of the season, 5th on the PP) from Bergeron. Then Smith answered Chicago's last-second goal from the first with his own with four seconds left in the frame. His 12th of the season, from Bergeron, gave Boston an incredible 6-1 lead after two periods. Haha still given the way that they had blown a three-goal lead earlier in the trip at Calgary, B's fans didn't feel safe until there was only a few minutes left in regulation.

Bryan Bickell had a garbage goal in the third period for the Blackhawks but nothing at that point could derail some long overdue happiness for the Black and Gold. The trade deadline is a week from tomorrow so who knows if this saved any Bruins' jobs or not? After two weeks away, they finally return to TD Garden on Tuesday (7, NESN) to play Vancouver (34-22-3) who blew them out 5-2 to start the trip on Feb. 13. However, their star goaltender Ryan Miller got hurt today vs. Islanders so it looks like he'll miss that one. After that, Boston goes to New Jersey (24-26-9) on Friday (7, NESN) then hosts Arizona (20-32-7) on Saturday (5:30, NESN). I'm not predicting a win-streak here for the Bruins but let's admit this looks like a favorable week for them-on paper at least.

Florida is three points behind Boston for eighth-place in the Eastern Conference and Philadelphia has closed to within four (although they've played one more game) so every point is vital from here on out. Today was proof that the B's still have something left, now the question is how to bring that type of effort more consistently.

UPDATE 2/24: Many injuries to report for the Bruins. Kevan Miller is done for the season after shoulder surgery, Krejci is out for 4-6 weeks with a partially torn MCL in his left knee and Gregory Campbell is out for a week (or more?) with an upper-body injury.

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Bruins Close Out January On a High Note With 3-1 Win vs. Kings

Remember a month or two ago when we were all legitimately worried about the Bruins? That seems pretty silly now as Boston closed out January 8-1-3 overall and 8-1-1 in their last 10 games thanks to a playoff-like 3-1 win over Los Angeles tonight at TD Garden. The Kings (21-16-12), the defending Stanley Cup champs, are in serious danger of missing out on the playoffs entirely while the Bruins (27-16-7) have climbed up to sixth-place in the Eastern Conference (3 points behind Pittsburgh).

These teams play such a similar physical style with deep rosters and great goaltending so it's no wonder that the few times that they play, they usually result in very entertaining contests. LA had won 2-0 on Dec. 2 at Staples Center when the Bruins were allergic to scoring goals. It was scoreless until 17:20 of the second period when Brad Marchand was able to snipe a shot past UMass' Jonathan Quick (30 saves). Marchand's team-leading 14th goal of the season was assisted by Zdeno Chara and Gregory Campbell.

It was ironic that Marchand scored the opening goal since he thought he had one at the end of the first period except for the fact that the highlight reel sequence came a good two seconds after the final buzzer had sounded. It looked like 1-0 might hold up but Jordan Nolan of all people tied it up with seven minutes left in regulation. His shot deflected off Dougie Hamilton's stick past Tuukka Rask (30 saves). Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin assisted on Nolan's second goal of the season.

Just like the other night in Long Island, where the Bruins shook off a blown two-goal lead, they rallied quickly tonight to ensure this didn't go to overtime or the dreaded shootout. Chris Kelly had a beautiful tip-in of Carl Soderberg's shot at 14:33. Kelly's sixth goal of the season was reviewed since it went high up in the net then came out fast. It stood with Torey Krug picking up the second assist.

LA put pressure on Rask at the end, pulling Quick and regrouping when Boston head coach Claude Julien called his timeout. However, Marchand ended it with a weird empty-netter with 17 seconds left that appeared to go in slow motion after he tried to pass it ahead to either himself or Patrice Bergeron.

The Bruins are off until Wednesday (8, NBCSN) when they travel to Madison Square Garden to face the Rangers (28-15-4). Their next home game isn't until next Saturday (7, NESN) vs. Islanders (32-16-1) then the Canadiens (32-13-3) are in town the following evening (7:30, NBCSN). It should be an interesting week against three other contending Eastern Conference teams that will be in the postseason.

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For One Night Only: The Seguin Trade Doesn't Look So Bad as Bruins beat Stars 3-1 in Dallas

The Bruins and Stars only meet twice this season but Boston (25-16-6) has to be happy with Round 1's result: a much-needed 3-1 road win at American Airlines Arena tonight in Dallas (21-18-7). The B's have now won six of their last seven games and this was a vintage victory for them in terms of dictating their style (timely scoring that's spread out, good defense, strong special teams and great goaltending).

This was one of Tuukka Rask's best games of the season as he put up 36 saves and was helped by the fact that Dallas hit the post at least three times (including once by Seguin who had a game-high 9 shots on goal). Ironically, the one goal he gave up was complete trash. Vernon Fiddler-playing in his 700th NHL game-beat him with a weak backhander that took a slight deflection at 6:46 in the second period. The Jasons (Spezza and Demers) assisted on the only Stars goal.

Former Star Loui Eriksson tied it at 14:17 after one of the prettier sequences of the season for the Bruins. Chris Kelly passed to Carl Soderberg who spun around and hit Eriksson who was wide open coming down the slot. That play actually started behind Boston's net after forcing a turnover. Eriksson beat Kari Lehtonen (24 saves) for his 11th goal of the season. Boston built off that momentum as Gregory Campbell knocked in an ugly but effective goal at 18:27. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by Craig Cunningham and Dougie Hamilton.

Boston took way too many penalties, but luckily their penalty kill was superb (holding Dallas to 0 for 6). Hamilton got the insurance goal that the Bruins needed at 7:41 in the third period. His career-high eighth goal of the season was assisted by another former Star-Reilly Smith.

Tomorrow night (10, NESN) at Colorado (19-18-10) is Boston's final game before the All-Star break. The Avalanche are another flawed Western Conference team that they should beat. It'll be another mini-reunion too with Jarome Iginla and Mark Stuart. Since he's not going to the All-Star Game (only Patrice Bergeron will represent the B's), I think that Rask will get another start. Boston also should benefit from a rejuvenated Brad Marchand who was suspended for the past two games.

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B's Have Figured Out How to Play Well At Home, Consistency & The Road are the Next Steps

It's impossible to explain how a team that could beat Nashville 5-3 last Tuesday then Detroit 5-2 tonight (both at TD Garden) could be the same one that no-showed on Saturday in Columbus (a 6-2 loss that was the lowest point of the season). That's what makes the Bruins (19-15-3) so frustrating in 2014-15; when they are motivated and pulling in the same direction, they are capable of beating anyone. Then they have these frequent bizarre lulls where they are awful and get blown out by non-playoff teams.

Boston came into this evening without the services of Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic, who are both "day-to-day" with injuries picked up from the Blue Jackets debacle. They also lost Matt Fraser as he was picked up off waivers by his hometown Oilers. No problem, they've got Jordan Caron and Matthew Lindblad. Haha ugh. Therefore, it was shocking when the B's played their best first period of the season. They pumped in three goals (season-high) and took 19 shots (also a season-high). They got out to a 3-1 lead as Reilly Smith scored on a blast from the point at 2:44 then Gregory Campbell got a hustle goal on a rebound at 16:12 and Carl Soderberg (3 points) tapped one in from Loui Eriksson (2 assists) behind the net 1:13 after that.

Detroit's (19-9-9) opening goal came on Justin Abdelkader's diving backhander when he was falling down at 11:21 that tied it at one. Smith's goal was his ninth of the season, Campbell's was his fourth (first in over a month) and Soderberg grabbed his seventh. The Red Wings have the No. 3 power play in the league so it made sense when they cut it to 3-2 on Tomas Tatar's screened shot at 15:50 of the second period.

The B's bounced back though with a very solid third period of their own. Seth Griffith potted a sweet power play goal at 5:11, his sixth of the season, assisted by David Krejci. The youngster capped it off with a sweet celly but even cooler than that, he had showed off his skills by ripping a snap shot top shelf by Jimmy Howard (40 saves). Boston's season-high 45 shots came in handy and they clinched it with Chris Kelly's empty-netter at 17:34. Tuukka Rask made 28 saves, a much better effort than his sorry relief work on Saturday.

The stupid cliché that the next game is the most important one for the Bruins is actually true. Doubly so when they meet an Atlantic Division rival like the Red Wings or Maple Leafs on Wednesday (7, NESN) aka New Year's Eve. This mini three-game homestand is capped off by the Senators on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). So while you're waiting for the ball to drop either at a bar or some friend's house, make sure to tune in what should be an interesting contest. Each team has a blowout win to their credit: Boston won 4-1 on Oct. 25 at the Garden then got smoked 6-1 in Toronto on Nov. 12. With tonight's results (Toronto lost 3-2 at Tampa Bay), the B's are only two points behind the Leafs and they have each played 37 games so a win by Boston would tie them up.

For the B's, a spot in the top eighth of the Eastern Conference should be all they are thinking about as the regular season nears the halfway point. They have thrown away too many points already to worry about anything bigger than that.

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You Can Always Trust The Maple Leafs to Make You Feel Better About Your Favorite Team

We wondered how the Bruins would respond in their first full game without captain Zdeno Chara and you have to say that Saturday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre was early proof that Boston (5-5-0) can still be a good team without him. Granted Toronto (3-4-1) is a perpetual mess always in search of a No. 1 goaltender but the B's will take two points however they get them these days.

It should have been a shutout for Boston since Tuukka Rask made 32 saves and the Leafs didn't score their lone goal until it was garbage time: Richard Pannik put the puck in the net after a scramble at 14:27 of the third period (when it was 4-0 Bruins).

This felt like a vintage B's win since they got contributions from guys all over the lineup: a power play goal, a shorthanded goal and three points from Dougie Hamilton (1 goal, 2 assists) which tied a career-high. Patrice Bergeron's two assists put him over 500 career points, now 13th on the Bruins' all-time scoring list.

Carl Soderberg bagged the power play goal just 3:27 into the contest, his third goal of the season. Hamilton's shot was mishit, right to Bergeron who also didn't square it up but fortunately it went right to Soderberg who used his fast Swedish hands to jam it past Jonathan Bernier.

David Krejci scored a highlight reel goal in the second period at 15:58 after he blew by a clearly gassed Phil Kessel and had his initial shot stopped by Bernier before he swatted in the rebound. Dennis Seidenberg (game-high 25:59, +2, 2 blocked shots and 3 hits) and Hamilton provided the assists on Krejci's third goal of the season.

Boston sewed it up with a pair of pretty goals early in the third period. Gregory Campbell scored a shorthanded goal (his 2nd goal of the season) at 2:32, a one-timer from Daniel Paille after a killer forecheck. Hamilton, one of numerous B's that were near their hometown, put the exclamation point on one of their better performances of the season with a filthy goal where he stickhandled through multiple guys then used his speed to find space before roofing a shot by James Reimer. Bergeron and Reilly Smith assisted on Hamilton's second goal of the season.

The Bruins return to TD Garden on Tuesday (7, NESN) to face the Wild (4-2-0) who hung seven goals on Tampa Bay this evening in a 7-2 blowout win. Things ease up as Boston goes back to Buffalo (2-7-0) on Thursday (7, NESN) but then they host sneaky good Ottawa (4-1-1) on Saturday (7, NESN). On the surface, you'd say that the B's should get at least four points out of the next week but keep in mind that the Wild and Senators are probably better than you think.

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Bruins Pick Up Their Best Win of the Young Season: 5-3 Over Sharks

I'm happy to say that it's time to find a new way to make fun of the Bruins this season. After they were so pathetic for the first five games in terms of goal-scoring, they have awoken lately capped off by tonight's 5-3 win over the Sharks at TD Garden.

Boston (4-4) reached the .500 mark while setting a season-high in goals and scoring 4+ for the third straight game. It was also their best victory since San Jose (4-2-1) had been playing great hockey before the end of this arduous five-game road trip.

Milan Lucic tied a career-high with three assists while Torey Krug (1 goal, 2 assists) tied a career-high for points and David Krejci (1 goal, 1 assist) also had multiple points. Boston received goals from three different lines plus a defenseman and their power play even sprung to life with a pair of goals in the first two periods.

Three different Bruins scored their first goals of the season so fittingly, Brad Marchand opened the proceedings with a power-play snipe at 13:57 of the first period from Lucic and Krug. Logan Couture answered with a power play goal of his own at 16:28 when he tipped in Patrick Marleau's shot, also from caveman Brent Burns.

Boston regained the lead early in the second period as Krug whipped in a power play goal at 6:54 from Lucic and Krejci. Couture tied it at 16:52 after Marleau fed him right in front of Tuukka Rask (31 saves). Boston lost their focus for a minute as former Bruins No. 1 draft pick (in 1997!) Joe Thornton batted a Joe Pavelski pass out of the air 37 seconds later. Former UMass star Justin Braun had the second assist.

San Jose had been 4-0-1 entering the third period this season with a lead and Boston was 0-3-0 when they trailed going into the final frame but both those numbers got flipped. Rookie Seth Griffith tied it up at 4:50, putting in a rebound from Lucic and Krug at 4:50 for his first career NHL goal. Good timing right? I'm not going to make too much out of it but it was nice to see a Bruins young player step up and take advantage of a great opportunity.

This was only the third game of the season for Gregory Campbell but he showed his value to the B's with a key goal, the game-winner in fact as he tipped in Daniel Paille's shot at 10:42 after a strong forecheck. Krejci's empty-netter with 25 seconds left in regulation put the finishing touches on a solid two points against a quality Western Conference (still the far superior conference) opponent.

The B's figure to have their hands full again on Thursday (7, NESN) as they host the New York Boychuks (4-2-0), I mean Islanders. It's Boychuk's first game against the Bruins since his stunning trade a few weeks ago so he will surely get a huge ovation at least at the start of the game. The Isles fell 5-2 to the Maple Leafs tonight but they've looked really good thus far so I bet they'll bounce back from that disappointing result.

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For the Seventh Straight Year, the Bruins are Going to the Playoffs

The Everything is Awesome crew that works out of TD Garden took their show on the road as the Bruins won 2-0 tonight vs. Avalanche at Pepsi Center. Boston (48-17-5) has now won its last 11 games, the longest streak in the NHL this season and longest in franchise history since 1971.

Chad Johnson (31 saves) picked up the third shutout of his career and second this season. In the past six games, Boston has never trailed as Patrice Bergeron made it 1-0 5:12 into this much anticipated contest that could be a Stanley Cup Final preview (you never know). Hamilton found him with a good pass and he followed up Semyon Varlamov's (26 saves) rebound for his 21st goal of the season. Hamilton and Zdeno Chara were credited with the assists.

Gregory Campbell and Cody McLeod dropped the gloves a few moments after Bergeron's goal. The B's carried the momentum into the second period and took advantage of a rare power play to grab a commanding 2-0 lead. Carl Soderberg scored his 13th goal of the season, a laser that went top shelf over Varlomov's shoulder. Loui Eriksson and Hamilton both assisted on it.

Gabriel Landeskog hit the post earlier in the game and Johnson was called on to make some quality saves. The Bruins are back at it tomorrow night in Phoenix (9, NESN) at Jobing.Com Arena. It's hard to believe that the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference used to seem like a pipe dream since Boston currently leads Pittsburgh by five points for first place in the Eastern Conference, granted that the Penguins have one game in hand.

Boston has become the team to beat in the East and they are also tied with St. Louis for the most points in the NHL (the Blues also have a game in hand). It is their fourth time with 100+ points under head coach Claude Julien and 20th all-time in franchise history.

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Bruins Blank No-Show Capitals 3-0

Tonight might as well have been a scrimmage in practice since the Bruins didn't really have to do anything (other than show up) to beat the Capitals 3-0 at TD Garden. Washington (29-25-10) had lost the night before in Philadelphia and they played like a team with no energy or spirit. In fact, Braden Holtby (40 saves) had been pulled against the Flyers but he was outstanding against Boston (40-17-5).

This had to be the easiest shutout of Tuukka Rask's career, at least with the black and gold. He only was called on to make 16 saves for his NHL-best sixth shutout of the season. Showing you how non-descript it was, he didn't earn any of the three stars for the game and that didn't even cause you to blink.

The B's got all the offense they would need in the second period. That goal-scoring machine Gregory Campbell tipped Patrice Bergeron's shot at 3:05 for his seventh goal of the season. Matt Bartkowski had the second assist. 5:15 after that, the Swedes connected as Carl Soderberg found Loui Eriksson out in front of the net. Eriksson displayed great hands to lift it over Holtby with little room to maneuver. It was also his seventh goal of the season with Kevan Miller picking up the second assist.

Washington pulled Holtby early to try and generate some offense but predictably that blew up in their faces. Brad Marchand scored an empty-netter, his team-leading 21st goal of the season at 18:26. The teams split the first two meetings and they'll settle things, in the regular season at least, on March 29 in DC.

Like the Red Sox and snow birds from around New England, the B's are lucky enough to get out of here this weekend to enjoy the sun and warmth of Florida. Of course, it's still technically a business trip as they go to Tampa Bay (34-24-5) to check in with Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos on Saturday (7, NESN) then its off to Sunrise to play the Panthers (23-32-7) on Sunday (5, NESN). The Lightning are fading fast, they've lost their last three games to fall 12 points behind the Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division.

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Bruins Hang Six-Pack On Rangers at Madison Square Garden

It only took one game for the Bruins to calm nerves around New England. They allowed the first goal for the third straight game but scored the next three en route to a 6-3 win over the Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden. Boston (38-17-5) avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season and swept the season series (3-0) with New York (33-26-3) in the process for the first time in 31 years.

Tuukka Rask (39 saves) got the start for the second consecutive day and he helped carry the B's in the first period when they were outshot 20-9 yet found themselves tied 1-1. Rangers rookie J.T. Miller had a breakaway and made it 1-0 at 3:20 of the first period. More worrisome for the Bruins, it was the direct result of another careless turnover by one of its players (in this case David Krejci). All was forgiven though as Jarome Iginla tied it at one at 18:07 of the first. Iginla's 18th goal of the season was assisted by Krejci and Dougie Hamilton.

Not surprisingly, Boston looked like a different team in the second period. They opened up a two-goal lead thanks to strikes by Hamilton at 4:07 (his 7th of the season from Milan Lucic and Iginla) and Carl Soderberg at 9:34 (his 10th of the season from Loui Eriksson and Hamilton). Soderberg became the ninth Bruin this season with 10+ goals and only one (Brad Marchand) has reached 20.

New York gained some life at 16:53 when Brad Richards cut it to 3-2, remember when he was in John Tortorella's doghouse last postseason? Good times, he has 16 goals on the goal-challenged Rangers this season so I'd say he still has something left in the tank.

Gregory Campbell of all people helped Boston immensely by potting not one but two goals to start the third, changing it from a tight game to a blowout. He scored a shorthanded goal at 9:04 from Eriksson and Johnny Boychuk. That preceded a redirect from Daniel Paille that went off his skate and in. It was reviewed but stood up for his fifth goal of the season when the refs ruled that he didn't kick it.

Ryan McDonagh's power play goal at 15:18 made the score a little deceiving but Lucic answered with a garbage time goal of his own at 18:24. His 19th goal of the season was assisted by Matt Bartkowski and Krejci.

The B's return to TD Garden for a game on Tuesday (7, NESN) vs. Washington (29-23-10) then hapless Florida (23-31-7) on Thursday (23-31-7). Do I smell two wins and four points at home this week coming Boston's way?

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Bruins Return Home For 1 Night Only, Poop The Bed vs. Maple Leafs In a 4-3 Loss

The Bruins (29-15-2) had been gone for over a week for a 1-2 road trip in California and they came home to face the reeling Maple Leafs (23-20-5) at TD Garden. Naturally, Toronto rallied from two early deficits to win 4-3. Boston had beaten them 3-1 and 5-2 earlier this season with the finale set for April 3 in Toronto.

Every writer will mention it so let me be the millionth to talk about how crappy Boston's special teams were. The Bruins were 0-for-3 on the power play and allowed two goals on Toronto's five man advantages.

The first period harkened back to the glory days of the NHL-70s and 80s-when there was an abundance of goals and even a fight between Shawn Thornton and Frazer McLaren. It was Thornton's first brawl since he got back on Saturday in San Jose. Brad Marchand opened the barrage on Jonathan Bernier (38 saves) with a goal at 3:38 off a rebound. Reilly Smith and Patrice Bergeron assisted on Marchand's 11th of the season.

Tyler Bozak answered at 5:52 with a similar goal, off of Tuukka Rask's (22 saves) juicy rebound. Bozak was assisted by Milan Lucic's rag doll-Carl Gunnarssson and Phil Kessel (3 assists). Boston regained the lead at 10:48 after Bergeron's wraparound fooled Bernier and Toronto's defensemen. His 11th goal of the season was assisted by Zdeno Chara and Marchand.

Bozak potted his second goal at 12:47 of the first, this time on the power play to tie it at two. James van Riemsdyk and Kessel assisted on Bozak's goal which came after a cross ice feed left Rask out of position.

Little did we know that Toronto would rattle off two more goals before Boston responded (too late). Jake Gardiner's wrist shot on the power play made it 3-2 at 7:09. JVR got a lucky break a minute into the third when Johnny Boychuk sent him to the moon with a clean but filthy hit. He got hit so hard that one of the gloves flew into the crowd. He got the last laugh though as his routine wrist shot got by Rask a minute into the third period.

The Bruins' fourth line brought its typical energy and they were rewarded with a goal when Gregory Campbell roofed a backhander past Bernier at 9:35. Campbell had hit the post earlier on the same shift so the goal seemed like a gift from the hockey gods. It was his third goal of the season, assisted by Daniel Paille.

Boston outshot Toronto 41-26 for the game so they should have done more with all their scoring chances. They don't have much time to fix things as they visit Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley and the Stars (21-18-7, 5th in Central Division) on Thursday (8:30, NESN).

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Bruins Drop Out of 1st Place in the Atlantic Division, Fall 2-1 at Canadiens

Normally I would rip the Canadiens and their lame fans to shreds but I lack the venom tonight after watching the Bruins lose 2-1 at the Bell Centre and defenseman Johnny Boychuk get wheeled off on a stretcher with some sort of serious injury (back?) early in the first period. The good news about that is he flew back with the team so their doctors can check him out.

Montreal earned the win and they are now in first place in the Atlantic Division. Granted, the Habs have played two more games than the Bruins but only have one additional point to show for it. Oh well, let's not get the facts caught up in a Stanley Cup parade scheduled for Montreal in December. What's that, they play three more times this season?

The weird part is that Boston dominated in the first period (outshooting Montreal 10-3) and the third period (16-6) but only had one goal to show for it. Conversely, the Canadiens basically saved up all their limited energy for the second period (outshooting Boston 18-7) and it paid off. The Canadiens (18-9-3) scored both of their goals in the frame as they won their second game in two nights to improve to 8-0-1 in their last nine games.

The Bruins (18-8-2) hadn't played in a game since Saturday night which is an eternity in the NHL. Gregory Campbell opened the scoring at 17:35 of the first period thanks to a 2-on-1 with Milan Lucic. His second goal of the season was assisted by Lucic and Dennis Seidenberg (specifically his skate which he used to kick the puck to Looch).

Tomas Plekanec beat Tuukka Rask (25 saves) with a sharp angle shot at 9:16 of the second period. You don't see Rask give up many goals like that but credit to Plekanec who picked a corner, top shelf. He gets paid too you know. Josh Gorges and former BC Eagle star Brian Gionta had the assists. Shawn Thornton and former Ranger Brandon Prust dropped the gloves when it was 1-1 but the fight wasn't anything to write home about.

Just like there always seems to be drama when the B's visit Montreal, Max Pacioretty morphs into a Hall of Famer when he plays Boston. This evening that meant scoring the game-winner at 17:42 of the second period on a backhander through traffic. Raphael Diaz and Brendan Gallagher had the assists.

Sadly, we'll probably have to root for Pacioretty on Team USA at the Olympics which is no fun. Conversely, it should be fantastic to hate on Carey Price (32 saves) who is making a push to be Team Canada's starting goaltender.

Boston gets a breather on Friday but things don't get any easier as they host the Eastern Conference's top team-Pittsburgh (20-9-1, 1st in Metropolitan Division)-on Saturday night (7, NESN) then travel North of the border (again) to Toronto (7, NESN) on Sunday night. The B's and Penguins split their first two matchups this season with each winning on home ice, Boston most recently won 4-3 in OT on Nov. 25 when Torey Krug ended it with his first career overtime tally.

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Bruins-Blues Wouldn't Be a Bad Stanley Cup Final in June

The NHL would do backflips to have a Bruins-Blackhawks rematch in the Stanley Cup Final but after tonight's excellent regular season game between St. Louis and Boston, we can be sure that Blues-Bruins wouldn't be a bad consolation prize (television ratings be damned). The only downside of this evening's proceeding at TD Garden was that it had to be decided in a lame shootout. St. Louis (15-3-3) beat Boston (14-6-2) 3-2 as they scored twice (Alexander Steen and Derek Roy) in the shootout and the Bruins only managed one goal (Patrice Bergeron). Death to the shootout (picks up pitch fork, lights torch)!

I've said for years that St. Louis is basically the Western Conference equivalent of Boston so it was nice to see it up close with my own eyes. Haha I was right after all! The Blues don't have many stars or big names but they have a bunch of solid hockey players. Jaroslav Halak (29 saves) is probably their biggest question mark when they inevitably get into the playoffs but at least tonight he was very good.

Gregory Campbell scored his first goal of the season, a one-timer that he almost whiffed on at 18:20 of the first period from Torey Krug and Daniel Paille. Campbell had been playing better the last few weeks so it was nice to see him finally get rewarded. Now only Dennis Seidenberg and Matt Bartkowski are the only Bruins regulars without goals to their name in 2013-14.

Before you had a chance to take a breath, the Blues had responded with an equally weird goal of their own. Derek Roy's pass wasn't deflected but somehow it still went through Tuukka Rask's (24 saves) pads at 18:51. Rask might not give up a softer goal this season, it was shocking to see the puck go in following such a nothing play.

St. Louis took that momentum and added to it when David Backes tipped in Kevin Shattenkirk's shot from the point at 16:04 of the second period. In this instance, Boston was the team to dust themselves off and tied it up shortly thereafter. Crazy Carl Soderberg wristed one by Halak at 18:41 (his third goal of the season), from Reilly Smith and Chris Kelly.

It was Boston's third game in their last four nights but they dug deep and summoned plenty of energy in the third period and overtime. The problem was that they couldn't solve Halak. In OT: Loui Eriksson had what felt like an hour before he shot it wide of the net and Soderberg was stuffed on a breakaway. Roy also had a breakaway for St. Louis but his shot went off the crossbar and out of play.

They were disappointed to only get one point tonight when they probably deserved one more but the B's have a good chance to accumulate points this week since four of their next five games are at TD Garden. It starts with a very winnable meeting with Carolina (8-10-4, 5th in Metropolitan Division) who they just beat 4-1 on Monday in their home arena. Expect Chad Johnson to get a rare start in a game that you definitely don't want to attend or even watch assuming you have something better to do.

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Bruins Take 3-0 Series Lead On Penguins Thanks To A 2-1 Victory In 2OT

Games like tonight are a wonderful reminder of why the NHL playoffs are second to none. Where else can you say an incredible performance (53 saves by Tuukka Rask), a guy finish a shift on a broken leg (Gregory Campbell) then to top it all off in double overtime, an exquisite goal? The Bruins beat the Penguins 2-1 at TD Garden on Patrice Bergeron's fifth goal of the postseason (2nd OT winner) at 15:19. Boston is one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals as they take a 3-0 lead over Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Brad Marchand had the primary assist but Jaromir Jagr was credited with the second assist and he created the play by losing the puck to Evgeni Malkin then taking it back and starting the rush. For the first three periods, you could say that Rask basically stole the game for the B's since he stood on his head on the way to a career-high in saves. He has clearly psyched out the Penguins (they hit the post four times). In three games (almost 11 full periods with the overtimes), mighty Pittsburgh has scored two goals. Think about that.

David Krejci scored his NHL-best ninth goal of the playoffs just 1:42 into regulation as Pittsburgh somehow lost him at the side of their net and he banked it in off Matt Niskanen's skate. Milan Lucic had the assist on Krejci's fourth goal in three games.

The Penguins blitzed Rask and he couldn't stop every shot although he nearly completed that impossible task once again. Chris Kunitz scored on a one-timer from Paul Martin and Pascal Dupuis at 8:51 in the second period. Keep in mind that Pittsburgh still hasn't led in this series. Tomas Vokoun (38 saves) proved that Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma made the right decision by sticking with him, he was very solid.

Both teams had to kill a pair of penalties in overtime: Pittsburgh's penalty kill came through twice in the first overtime while Boston's had one in each frame to make things extra nerve-wracking (if that's possible).

I can't imagine how the Penguins feel after this loss, they couldn't have done much more but they still came up short. The Bruins are clicking in so many ways which is why they've won eight of their last nine games overall. They'll go for their first sweep of the postseason in Game 4 on Friday (8 p.m., NBCSN). It took Boston three times to put away Toronto. Boston wasn't able to close out the Rangers in four games but they got the job done in Game 5. Maybe now they can do it on the first try.

UPDATE 6/7: Kaspars Daugavins will take Campbell's place but he is expected to skate on the third line. Chris Kelly should center the fourth line with Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton.

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Bruins Head Back To Their 2nd Eastern Conference Finals In 3 Years

There is not one person in the universe that thought for a second the Bruins would get to the Eastern Conference semifinals this season when they trailed 4-1 in the third period against the Maple Leafs in Game 7, yet here we are. Boston dispatched the Rangers in a tidy five games (who would have believed that either?) with a 3-1 win tonight at TD Garden, booking their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals against Pittsburgh.

This was a prototypical victory for the B's since all four lines contributed and their three goals were scored by Gregory Campbell (2) and Torey Krug-not the first names you'd think of. New York actually took a 1-0 lead at 10:39 of the first period on Dan Girardi's power play goal. Matt Zuccarello and Brian Boyle assisted on Girardi's second goal of the playoffs. David Krejci took a dumb cross checking penalty leading to New York's second power play strike in as many games and Boyle screened Tuukka Rask (28 saves).

No worries since Krug potted his fourth goal of the series and third on the man advantage at 3:48 of the second period. His laser went over Henrik Lundqvist's (29 saves) shoulder, assisted by Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand. 9:57 after that, Campbell scored the game-winner after fine work from Shawn Thornton (who had a fight in the first period) and Daniel Paille. The puck bounced in front of New York's goal and Campbell was able to get to it before he was checked to the ice.

There were some sketchy moments for Boston in the third period but Rask stood tall, stopping Rick Nash with a kick save then Ryan Callahan on a backhanded breakaway. Campbell fittingly closed it out with an empty-netter at 19:09 from Nathan Horton. That was Campbell's third goal of the playoffs and he steered it in with one hand on his stick.

It's not hard to figure out why New York's style of play won't be successful in the long run. Head coach John Tortorella plays not to lose, rather than allowing his talented players to be more active offensively. The Rangers scored 10 goals in five games, compared to 16 for the Bruins. Lundqvist might be a better goaltender than Rask but nobody will be able to single-handedly win a series in the NHL with 10 goals from his teammates.

This win was vital for many reasons since Boston missed out on a chance to end it on Thursday and Pittsburgh sent Ottawa home with a win in Game 5 last night. To have any chance against the Penguins, the B's couldn't afford to waste any more energy on a team that they had mentally beaten by the time it was 3-0 in the series. The Bruins and Penguins haven't met since the 1992 playoffs but there are a boatload of storylines: Jaromir Jagr's return to Pittsburgh, Jarome Iginla's refusal to go to Boston, Matt Cooke's cheap shot that ended Marc Savard's career prematurely and overall, two great American sports/hockey cities.

The two series out West are still going on so the Eastern Conference Finals will be put on hold until those are settled. This ensures that Bruins-Penguins will be the best series that it can possibly be. Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg returned to the lineup tonight for the first time since skating a few shifts in Game 7 vs. Toronto. He wasn't quite himself but just his presence alone was a good omen for the B's. This gives him more leeway to ease back into game action when it matters most.

UPDATE 5/27: Forgot to mention that with Saturday's win vs. Rangers, the Bruins now have to give up a first-round draft pick to the Stars in the Jagr deal. I'm sure they don't mind given how the postseason has progressed.

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Bruins Take Control Of Eastern Conference Semifinals Series With 5-2 Pasting Of Rangers In Game 2

Even the best goaltenders in the NHL have off-days as Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves) can attest to after a 5-2 Bruins win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals this afternoon at TD Garden. This one was more wide open from the start than Game 1 with Boston leading 3-2 after two periods and they added two more goals in the third for a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is Tuesday (7:30 p.m., NBCSN) at Madison Square Garden and it's not hyperbole to say that New York faces a must-win.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (35 saves) played better than his more heralded counterpart for the second game in a row. Both of these teams make it hard on themselves at times when it comes to goal-scoring but so far this series, you wouldn't know it by the way that Boston has scored eight goals in two games.

When the B's are playing at their peak level, they get contributions from all four lines and all their defensemen. It doesn't get much more spread out than today where Boston had goals from three different lines plus another pair of goals from defensemen.

In a series with such outstanding goaltenders and pathetic power plays, I think scoring first is more important than usual. Boston has done it in both games so I don't think it's a total coincidence that they lead the series 2-0. Torey Krug scored his second goal in as many games at 5:28 of the first period. He showed incredible hands to dig the puck out of his skates then shoot it past Lundqvist, Nathan Horton and David Krejci had the assists.

New York answered 2:33 later as Ryan Callahan outraced Dougie Hamilton and skated in a breakaway which he coolly finished by Rask. Boston scored the first goal in each frame as Gregory Campbell (first goal of the playoffs) made it 2-1 at 2:24 of the second period with a sweet backhander. Krug and Adam McQuaid had the assists as Campbell was able to get to the rebound off a Ranger skate.

Once again, the Rangers quickly responded as Rick Nash woke up from his slumber to score his first goal of the postseason. It was a great goal-scorer's move too as he got past Chara then ripped a low, hard shot into the corner 56 seconds after Campbell's goal.

Skating 4-on-4, Johnny Boychuk (3rd goal of the playoffs) scored what turned out to be the game-winner at 12:08 of the second period. Patrice Bergeron started the play by winning a faceoff back to Marchand who found Boychuk for a wrister. Bergeron also screened Lundqvist.

The roof began to cave in on New York 26 seconds into the third period as Marchand scored a similar goal to his overtime winner in Game 1. He went to the net and Bergeron found him for the tip in, Matt Bartkowski had the second assist on Marchand's second goal of the postseason.

I thought the Bruins had the worst power play in the universe until I saw the Rangers. New York was 0 for 5 on the man advantage today, making them 2 for 36 in the postseason and 0 for 21 on the road. Haha how is that possible? When the B's went up by two, I felt confident and after Milan Lucic went beast mode right at Lundqvist and knocked in his own rebound at 12:39 (his third goal of the playoffs), I knew it was all over. Krejci and Dougie Hamilton had the assists.

The Rangers know how to comeback from a 0-2 deficit, in fact they did it against the Capitals in the first round. However, it will be very hard to do that again especially in the following series. That's why Game 3 is so important for both teams: the Bruins can put themselves in great shape with another win or they'll let New York climb right back into the series.

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If Only The Bruins Could Play The Hurricanes In The Playoffs Or At Least Every Week

That was exactly what the Bruins needed: after playing tight, low-scoring games almost all season, they exploded for a season-high six goals tonight in a 6-2 beatdown of the lowly Hurricanes at TD Garden. Boston (25-9-4) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second period so I'll forgive them for allowing two meaningless goals in the third to Carolina (16-20-2).

Ironically, Tuukka Rask (17-6-4) was the first star on a team with 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) because he was forced to make a season-high 40 saves. The Hurricanes showed their only signs of life in the very beginning as they outshot the Bruins 7-0 in the first few minutes. That meant nothing though as Rich Peverley (1 goal, 1 assist) followed up his own rebound that fittingly went off the glass, for his fifth goal of the season at 3:51 from Dennis Seidenberg (career-high 3 assists) and Andrew Ference (1 goal, 1 assist).

Brad Marchand (2 goals) stuffed in a rebound from Gregory Campbell (2 assists) and that was the end of Justin Peters' (4 shots, 2 goals) night at 7:58. Things didn't get much better for Dan Ellis (4 goals allowed) as Marchand potted his second goal (team-leading 16th of the season) at 17:20 after Jaromir Jagr went around the net and threw it in front.

You knew it was Boston's night when Ference deflected a shot in (his 3rd goal of the season) off his hand and Jordan Caron scored his first goal of the season in the second period for a commanding 5-0 lead that might as well have been 10-0.

Something named Patrick Dwyer and another anonymous bum called Drayson Bowman ruined Rask's shutout in the third period after some sloppy rebounds but the Bruins fans went home happy since Nathan Horton's goal (his 13th of the season) was the last one of the contest. He tipped in Dougie Hamilton's perfect pass that was right to his blade at 16:56.

It is a busy week (like always this season) for the Bruins with three games in four nights but their opponents aren't exactly a murderer's row: they go to New Jersey (15-14-10) on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network) then return to the Garden on Thursday (7 p.m., NESN) to play the Islanders (19-16-4).

No matter how those winnable games go, they can take heart in the fact that they play the Hurricanes again-on Saturday in Raleigh, NC. Since they scored five goals against them the first time they met in January, put me down for seven this weekend.

UPDATE 4/9: It appears that the Bruins have signed their Swedish man of mystery, winger Carl Soderberg to a multi-year deal. Still waiting for the team to actually make it official, can't just trust the slob beat writers.

UPDATE 4/11: Nevermind, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation blocked Soderberg's move to Boston. Thanks guys.

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Business As Usual: Bruins Own Islanders, 4-1

The Bruins (12-2-2) are on quite a roll, they completed their season-long five-game (4-1) road trip tonight against the Islanders (8-11-1) with the Black and Gold walking away with a 4-1 win at Nassau Coliseum. They last played at TD Garden on February 12, a 4-3 shootout loss vs. Rangers. With the blizzard wiping out their game with the Lightning, they only have two home games in February.

Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask (10-1-2) was immense with a season-high 36 saves while 10 Bruins recorded points, including a pair of assists for Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin. Just like Chris Kelly potted his first goal of the season on Sunday in Florida, Adam McQuaid snapped his bad luck at 6:43 of the first period. Seguin and Bergeron had the assists on a blast from the point that eluded Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (30 saves).

New York responded at 15:49 as Casey Cizikas redirected a centering pass from Josh Bailey. The Islanders took a page out of the Rangers' playbook (since they did a similar thing against Boston earlier this season) by starting from behind their own goal then perfectly executing a set play: they chipped the puck along the boards then Bailey threw it to Cizikas who was behind Boston's defense. Andrew MacDonald had the second assist at 15:49 of the first period.

Sadly for New York, that was the lone highlight of the game for them. They actually had tons of chances but Rask was spectacular, he stopped not one but two shorthanded breakaways by Michael Grabner.

Boston scored two goals in the second period to take control. Brad Marchand notched his 10th of the season on a rebound only 38 seconds into the frame. Andrew Ference and Bergeron had the assists on that one. Then David Krejci (5th of the season) scored one of the prettier goals of the season for the B's. Nathan Horton was on the side wall, he passed it to Lucic who found Krejci. He one-timed it top shelf, it actually made the Gatorade bottle go flying.

The Islanders dominated stretches of the third period but they couldn't solve Rask again. Boston probably experienced some fatigue as they daydreamed about heading home for the first time in two weeks. Gregory Campbell's empty-netter at 18:55 sent the crowd to the exits, just kidding. It was nowhere near sold out to begin with so who could tell? Seguin and Dennis Seidenberg had the assists. Speaking of Seidenberg, him and Ference are the only Bruins regulars not to score a goal yet this season so that's something to remember.

It's going to be a great couple days of hockey in Boston as the Bruins return to TD Garden for three juicy contests: they host the Senators on Thursday (7 p.m., NESN), Lightning on Saturday afternoon and Canadiens on Sunday night. Ottawa (12-6-2, 2nd in Northeast Division) has been decimated by injuries to its two best players: defenseman Erik Karlsson and center Jason Spezza not to mention goaltender Craig Anderson but at least so far, they are finding a way to stay afloat.

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That's More Like It: Bruins Beat Sabres 3-1

After getting pushed around by Buffalo and losing 7-4 at the Garden on January 31 (their only regulation loss this season), Boston (8-1-1) was much better prepared tonight at the First Niagara Center to play their game. The end result was a nice 3-1 road win against the Sabres (5-7-1). Backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (25 saves; 2-0-0) picked up his second win in his second start (both on the road).

Brad Marchand, Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton all returned after missing multiple games, the latter two guys had been out since that initial beating by Buffalo. Their impact was immediate since the B's lines were more balanced again and the AHL All-Stars (Jamie Tardif, Lane MacDermid and Ryan Spooner) were all scratched or back in Providence where they belong. This time around, Thornton wasn't sacrificed to John Scott but Gregory Campbell took on scummy Patrick Kaleta in the first period.

Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller (36 saves) was superb all night but Marchand was able to solve him at 7:10 of the second period with a hard snap shot to the far post. Andrew Ference had the lone assist on Marchand's team-leading sixth goal of the season. Tyler Ennis got Buffalo's only goal on a wrister at 18:01 of the second period after another failed Bruins power play-a constant theme for the B's the past few years. Drew Stafford passed it to Ennis on the doorstep as Boston's defensemen were caught napping a bit.

The Bruins' god awful power play finally potted its first goal in five games and it turned out to be the game-winner. Patrice Bergeron (2nd of the season) made it 2-1 on a snap shot at 7:52 in the third period from Chris Bourque and Rich Peverley. Khudobin and Boston's defense was rock solid from that point on and Milan Lucic (3rd of the season) sent Buffalo fans streaming for the exits with his empty-netter at 19:11.

Boston hosts the Rangers (6-5-0) on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., NESN) as the Black and Gold continue to lead the Eastern Conference and Northeast Division. New York hasn't been a disaster ala Washington but they certainly haven't found any consistency yet this season. The Bruins would like to keep it that way with Tuukka Rask likely back in net. Boston beat New York 3-1 on Opening Night (Jan. 19) then lost 4-3 in overtime at MSG four nights later.

UPDATE 2/11: Tardif, MacDermid and Aaron Johnson were all sent down to Providence.

That Bruins-Lightning game has been rescheduled to Thursday, April 25 at TD Garden.

UPDATE 2/12: TSN's Bob McKenzie (the best NHL reporter in the universe) reports that the B's have signed Burlington native and BU product Jay Pandolofo to a one-year deal worth $600,000 in the NHL and $350,000 in the minors. He was placed on waivers and must clear for the deal to go through. This was expected after the B's traded Tim Thomas, thus freeing up a roster spot. Don't expect anything from the 38-year-old Pandolfo who has been with the team on an extended tryout (weird?) since the beginning of training camp.

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The Bruins Remain Unbeaten (3-0-0) At TD Garden With A 4-2 Win Over The Islanders

There is plenty to like about the Bruins at the moment, they are only four games into the 2013 season but it looks like it could be a very enjoyable team to follow. Boston (3-0-1) beat the Islanders (2-2-0) 4-2 tonight at TD Garden to improve their home record to 3-0-0.

Four different guys notched their first goals of the season for the B's while Tuukka Rask (24 saves) made his fourth straight start and for the third time allowed two goals or less. Rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton had two assists for the first multi-point game of his NHL career.

Boston's fourth line had a great game as they scored a pair of goals. Shawn Thornton made it 1-0 at 4:52 of the first period. He followed a rebound left out by Rick DiPietro (23 saves) on a shot by Daniel Paille. Hamilton had the other assist.

Milan Lucic fought former Senators goon Matt Carkner and completely beat the snot out of him. Waltham native Keith Aucoin (2nd of the season) tied it for the Islanders at 11:13 in the first period from PC's Colin McDonald and David Ullstrom. Boston got caught chasing the puck which left Aucoin wide open in front for a tap in.

Aucoin gave New York the briefest of leads at 9:50 in the second period. Paille's awful turnover went right to him, it was the same effect as a one-timer. The B's had some luck go their way when David Krejci's shot deflected off an Islanders skate right to Gregory Campbell for an easy goal. Chris Kelly had the other assist at 13:42.

Boston took over in the third period and there was nothing that New York could do about it. After great cycling by Nathan Horton, from behind the net Lucic found Zdeno Chara by the right circle. DiPietro had no chance to stop the snap shot at 7:07. Patrice Bergeron iced it with a beauty of a goal at 13:33. Hamilton started the rush with a pass to Brad Marchand, who hit Bergeron alone behind the Islanders defense. He skated in on DiPietro and tucked it under his glove.

The Bruins will look to gain their first road victory on Monday (7 p.m., NESN) as they visit the Carolina Hurricanes (2-2-0, 3rd Southeast Division). Don't bank on it yet but it could be backup goaltender Anton Khudobin's 2013 debut for the Black and Gold. Stay tuned.

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