Say Hello to the 1st Place Team in the Atlantic Division & Eastern Conference: Your Boston Bruins

In the biggest game of the (regular) season thus far, the Bruins (48-17-11) continued their recent dominance of the Lightning (51-22-4) both this season (3-0) and in the past few years (7-1-0 in their last 8). Boston beat Tampa Bay 4-2 in a playoff-like thrilling contest at TD Garden that was complete with the requisite "We Want the Cup" chants and also included multiple fights with just about the most unlikely members of the B's that you can imagine. The regulation win pushed Boston ahead of Tampa Bay for the first time since October 18 and the Bruins aren't content with only leading the Atlantic Division, they are also at the top of the Eastern Conference (with the 2nd most points in the NHL behind only Nashville).

Eight of Boston's last nine contests had been on the road so the Garden fans were extra psyched to see their proud and resilient club that continues to pile up positive results no matter what key players are missing from the lineup. With only six games remaining in the dress rehearsal, the playoffs are understandably coming into focus as the best teams jostle for position while many others fight tooth and nail simply to get in. Tuukka Rask (26 saves, 33-11) has submitted better individual performances in 2017-18 but I'm sure that for many Bruins fans this was their favorite outing by him. For a guy that is often criticized for being too passive or not a leader, he sure didn't look like that as he repeatedly punched Lightning forward Cory Conacher in the second period. Conacher was sitting on Brandon Carlo in Rask's net so Boston's emotional goaltender took exception to that and started whaling on him. If that wasn't enough, David Pastrnak (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 Gordie Howe hat trick!) got into his first career NHL fight in the third period vs. Tampa Bay's veteran defenseman Dan Girardi (who had hit Patrice Bergeron earlier in that shift which apparently enraged Pasta enough to drop the gloves).

The versatility of this Bruins team is what should make them so dangerous come playoff time: they can employ any style that they need to use on a given night. This particular matchup called for grit with a dash of skill. Boston dominated in the first period (outshooting Tampa Bay 17-6) but it took them until the final minute to strike, luckily they did that twice in 32 seconds. Tim Schaller went to the net and was credited for his 12th goal of the season after Tommy Wingels' shot was saved by Andrei Vasilevskiy (26 saves, 42-16) but a Lightning defenseman appeared to knock the puck in his own net (what we'd term an own goal in soccer lingo). Pastrnak made it 2-0 with a deflected goal on the power play. His 32nd goal of the season was assisted by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron.

Tampa Bay's No. 2 ranked power play did its job when Brian Gionta was called for boarding early in the second period. J.T. Miller tapped in a sweet pass from Nikita Kucherov (2nd in the NHL in scoring) at 1:14. Miller's 21st goal of the season was also assisted by Victor Hedman, in case you didn't notice the Lightning are blessed with an abundance of talent at every position on the ice. Similar to Boston in the first period, Tampa Bay skated circles around them in the second (outshooting them 11-3). Still, the Black and Gold stayed in front and never gave up their slim lead. Harvard's Alex Killorn thought he tied the game early in the third but it was wiped out right away since Anthony Cirelli had parked himself in Boston's crease with no plans to move out anytime soon.

The Bruins increased their lead back to two goals as Bergeron finished a beautiful passing sequence with Krug and Marchand at 11:59 for his 28th goal of the season. The Lightning still kept pushing less than two minutes later as Hedman's shot somehow squeezed under Rask's arm before he could close it tight to his body. The hulking defenseman's 15th goal of the season was assisted by Yanni Gourde and Girardi. Tampa Bay pulled Vasilevskiy late in regulation but Boston wrapped it up with an empty-net goal from Marchand at 19:05 (his 34th goal of the season). Bergeron and Pastrnak were each credited with helpers on Marchand's goal and truthfully, either of them could have bagged it themselves but they chose to do the unselfish thing and pass it to a more open linemate.

It's a busy weekend coming up for the B's, who knows if they'll have time to eat a ton of candy and hunt for Easter eggs with their kids. Boston hosts Florida (39-29-8) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) before traveling to Philadelphia (39-25-14) on Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC), don't forget to watch that game before you stuff your face with some delicious food. The Panthers are three points behind the Devils (40-28-9) for the second Wild Card spot in the East while Philadelphia is one point ahead of Columbus (43-29-5) for third-place in the Metropolitan Division. Needless to say, both opponents will be desperate for two points but the Bruins have plenty to play for as well. David Backes returned tonight after missing the past five games with that gruesome cut on his leg. Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy and Jake DeBrusk all skated at practice today and B's head coach Bruce Cassidy sounded hopeful that they could all return in the next few days. Rick Nash's mysterious upper-body injury is much more scary but it's tough to build up too many negative feelings right now about this team that continues to roll no matter what obstacle is placed in front of them.

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Bruins Win Their Season-High Fifth Game In a Row, Rallying For 4-3 Win Over Rangers

Boston (13-8-1) is finally playing good hockey, even at TD Garden and you could make a solid argument that this afternoon's 4-3 come-from-behind win against the Rangers (16-5-2) was their best victory of the young season. Mostly because New York is one of the NHL's truly elite clubs and they had two different leads (2-1 and 3-2) that they couldn't maintain. It extended the Bruins' win-streak to a season-high five games, the 15th time that they have won five games or more in a row under head coach Claude Julien.

It was a great way to celebrate Black Friday without fighting for your life at the mall looking for a stupid toy that's not worth the time or effort it takes to get it. Boston's next game isn't until Wednesday (9:30, NESN) when they start a three-game road trip in Western Canada: Edmonton (7-14-1), Calgary (8-13-1) and Vancouver (9-8-6) in four nights.

Usually matinees are sleepy affairs but not today since this contest had the feel of a playoff game, seriously. Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring at 14:15 when his quick release beat Henrik Lundqvist (30 saves). Torey Krug assisted on Bergeron's eighth goal of the season. New York answered early in the second period when rookie Oscar Lindberg skated around Dennis Seidenberg like he wasn't even there and shot around Tuukka Rask (24 saves) at 2:10. J.T. Miller and Jasper Fast assisted on Lindberg's eighth goal of the season (tied for most in the NHL by a rookie).

Boston's defense once again was caught napping when Brett Connolly's clearing attempt didn't work out so well and Ryan McDonagh was able to pass to a wide open Rick Nash. He went from backhand to forehand (that's how much time and space that he had) for his eighth goal of the season at 5:15. Things got chippy as Matt Beleskey hit Derek Stepan late, causing him to fly into the boards and break some ribs. Immediately like a good teammate, defenseman Dylan McIlrath dropped the gloves with Beleskey and pounded him into submission.

The Bruins' top-ranked power play struck twice in the game, beginning with Connolly's tying goal at 9:34. He made up for his earlier gaffe with his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Colin Miller and Jimmy Hayes (getting some rare power play ice time). King Henrik bought a shaky goaltender interference call on Brad Marchand midway through the third period that was more deserving on an Oscar than a penalty. New York took advantage as Miller tipped Keith Yandle's shot and the puck went off the post, bounced back off Rask then in the net. Kevin Klein had the second assist on Miller's fourth goal of the season.

In a scenario more likely to be found in the NBA, Boston benefited from a makeup call as Fast was whistled for a shady holding penalty late in the third. Wouldn't you know that Boston's power play came through again as David Krejci's simple shot from the point took a wicked deflection off Klein and past Lundqvist. Krejci's ninth goal of the season was unassisted. Stepan will be out indefinitely but it doesn't sound like Beleskey will receive a suspension for his dangerous hit.

Given how well the Bruins have played on the road in 2015-16 (8-2-0, 2nd best road mark in the league) and the fact that the Oilers and Flames are the two worst teams in the West, Boston has a good chance to pick up some points on their upcoming trip. Granted a back-to-back in Calgary on Friday (9, NESN) and Vancouver (10, NESN) on Saturday is tough but all of those teams are .500 or worse at home: Edmonton is 4-5-1 at Rexall Place, Calgary is 5-5-0 at Scotiabank Saddledome and Vancouver is 3-4-3 at Rogers Arena. In other words, the B's should take advantage of playing these garbage teams.

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