Bruins Blank Lifeless Devils 3-0, Behind Lucic (2 goals) & Svedberg (14-save shutout)

Unless you are related to Niklas Svedberg or Milan Lucic, odds are that you won't remember tonight's Bruins-Devils tilt. Regardless, Boston (21-15-6) did what they had to do to pick up two more extremely valuable points with a 3-0 win over New Jersey (15-21-7). The Bruins outshot the Devils 43-14 so if it wasn't for the heroics of BC's Cory Schneider (40 saves), Boston would have won by five or six goals.

The B's improved to 5-2-3 in their last 10 games, they have points in their last six games (3-0-3) and they won back-to-back games for the first time in two weeks. It's hard to believe that there are worse teams in the NHL than the Devils but they have clearly tuned out their stupid three head coaches system. Basically, all that's left for them to do in the second half of the season is to ship away various veterans (Jagr, Ryder, etc.) to contenders and hope that next season gets better.

Lucic gave Boston a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 18:50 of the first period. His seventh goal of the season was assisted by David Krejci and Torey Krug. He blasted a shot from the slot through a bunch of bodies. Earlier in the frame, the Bruins had a two-man advantage for 1:08 but they weren't able to cash in. No worries, when you play New Jersey eventually they will give you something tasty.

The Devils had three shots on goal in the first period, three. Haha they increased that by 33% with four in the second period but the B's took a 2-0 lead on Carl Soderberg's unassisted tally at 8:31. Chris Kelly's forecheck caused a turnover and Soderberg was out in front to finish it Brad Marchand style-top shelf.

Even in forgettable contests like this, you never know what you'll see. Case in point: Jordan Caron dropped the gloves shortly after Soderberg's goal with Jordin Tootoo of all people. It wasn't a classic, mostly of the clutch and grab variety, but you have to give Caron credit (for once), he apparently is doing anything he can to hang around this time.

The last goal came via an empty-netter by Lucic with 12 seconds left in regulation. Lucic went back and forth with Bergeron but the big guy was able to pot his second of the game with the other assist going to Kelly.

Boston is back in action on Saturday (1, NESN) in Philadelphia (16-18-7). That is another must-win for the Bruins because the Flyers aren't going anywhere either, they need to make the most out of this short lull in their schedule.

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Bruins Begin to Assert Their Dominance over Red Wings with 3-0 Win in Game 3

You won't find a much more impressive or thorough road win in the NHL playoffs than the one turned in by the Bruins tonight in Game 3 of their first round series vs. Red Wings. Boston won 3-0 at Joe Louis Arena to take a 2-1 series lead. The B's have won the last two games and outscored the Red Wings 7-2 overall in the series. Tuukka Rask made 23 saves for his fourth career postseason shutout but truthfully, he didn't have to stop too many spectacular shots besides Justin Abdelkader's backhander in the third period.

Boston never really let Detroit get comfortable as they scored two goals in the first period. The Bruins continued their theme of different players stepping up every game as Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron (seriously) potted the first two tallies. Through the first three games, seven different Bruins have scored all their goals.

Hamilton's came on a rush at 9:00 when Detroit gave him way too much space so he roofed a shot past Jimmy Howard (31 saves). Reilly Smith and Patrice Bergeron had the assists. Every Bruins fan has made fun of Caron numerous times or just gotten tired of ripping him so it was nice to see him actually make a nice play. He came off the bench for a line change and bolted right to the net so he was there for the rebound after Shawn Thornton's shot at 15:48. It was his first career playoff goal. Kevan Miller had the second assist.

Much like the second period of Game 2, the Red Wings started to wake up in the second 20 minutes but they weren't able to score so it didn't matter all that much. With the way they dominated puck possession and in terms of quality scoring chances, the B's probably should have won by four or five goals. Patrice Bergeron's audacious empty-netter (from inside his own blue line) at 18:01 sealed it.

Red Wings fans took off after that so when the final whistle blew, the stands were nearly empty. The remaining stragglers were left stunned by the Bruins. Game 4 is on Thursday (8, NESN) and needless to say it is the most important one so far in the series. If Boston wins, I think they'll definitely close out Detroit in five at the Garden on Saturday. If Detroit wins, buckle up because this would probably go seven games. What's better than playoff hockey?

That killer strain of the flu that numerous Bruins picked up finally seemed to have left as Matt Bartkowski played in his first game of the series. That meant that Andrej Meszaros went back to where he belongs-as a healthy scratch in the lineup.

UPDATE 4/24: The three Selke Trophy finalists were named today: Bergeron, LA's Anze Kopitar and Chicago's Jonathan Toews.

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Hey Red Wings, Welcome to the Atlantic Division

It will take some time to remember that the Bruins and Red Wings are now in the same division (Atlantic) now, thanks NHL realignment! Boston's first meeting with Detroit went swimmingly as they rolled 4-1 tonight at TD Garden. Give me a game vs. the Red Wings over contests against bum teams like the Lightning, Panthers or Sabres any day of the week. Boston (2-0) scored their first two power play goals of the season and killed two more penalties, making their penalty kill unit 7 for 7.

Lost in the shuffle of four different goal scorers, the power play and penalty kill success plus the third line's emergence was the steady presence of Tuukka Rask. Ho hum, another 25 saves. The one goal he allowed was off a rebound to Henrik Zetterberg at 16:49 of the first period that tied it at one. Other than that, he wasn't tested that much but then again, we expect greatness basically every time that he starts.

The B's scored first as Torey Krug ripped a slap shot past Jimmy Howard (33 saves) with help from Zdeno Chara's enormous screen. Milan Lucic and David Krejci assisted on Krug's first NHL regular season goal. Brad Marchand scored his first goal of the season 36 seconds into the second period and it was a beauty. His wrist shot from the off wing (right side) went off the post and in. Johnny Boychuk had the lone assist on Marchand's goal. Later in that frame he got run over by Justin Abdelkader's cheap shot and retreated to the dressing room. Bruins fans had to be breathing a sigh of relief when Marchand returned, he led the B's in scoring last season.

Nobody would ever call me a founding member of the Jordan Caron fan club but he's starting (repeat starting) to win me over with some solid performances. He got jobbed out of a goal on Opening Night but this time he cashed in off a filthy backhand pass by Reilly Smith at 7:58 of the second period. Adam McQuaid had the second assist on his first goal of the season.

The Red Wings lost their cool in the third with a pair of lazy interference penalties. Boston made them pay as Chara scored a power play goal at 12:17 that you had to see to believe. It started with Krug intercepting the puck in Detroit's end and Lucic also had an assist but the big man did the rest. He beat Howard with an unreal backhander that left the former Maine star with a broken stick (after he smashed it in frustration).

The schedule makers obviously wanted the B's to enjoy a nice fall in New England since they don't return to action until Thursday (7, NESN) when they host the Avalanche (2-0). The Garden has the little booth between benches, where NBCSN's Pierre Maguire hangs out, so it'll be tough for Patrick Roy to really go after Claude Julien after he inevitably does something to set him off.

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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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Bruins Sweep Aside Flyers, 3-0, With Relative Ease

At the TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, we were treated to a pair of hockey teams that are going in opposite directions. Boston (16-3-3) beat Philadelphia (11-14-1) 3-0 as Tuukka Rask (12-2-3) made 23 saves for his 13th career shutout and second this season. He hadn't beaten the Flyers since the 2010 playoffs and we all remember how that ended so I'm sure it felt good to get this personal footnote out of the way. Truthfully, he really wasn't tested at all. It had to be one of the easiest NHL shutouts in his career.

Since Philly had dreams of a Stanley Cup run (however misguided those were), you have to think that something big is coming down the pike soon if they keep this crappy play up. They lost their third straight game and it's not out of the realm of possibility that they'll either fire head coach Peter Laviolette or trade one of their underachieving big names (Hartnell or Briere come to mind).

If you boiled it down, this game basically had two exciting parts. Granted one of those was when the B's poured in all three of their goals in 2:18 during the second period. The other instance was when Shawn Thornton fought Zac Rinaldo and dropped him I might add.

Tyler Seguin continued to heat up as he scored his eighth goal of the season, on the power play no less, from Milan Lucic and David Krejci at 11:53. Lucic used his backhand to throw it across the crease and Seguin ripped a one-timer before Ilya Bryzgalov (25 saves) had much of a chance to react. Chris Kelly got out of his slump with his second goal of the season, thanks to Jordan Caron's assist from the side of the goal (in his first game with the B's this season) at 13:28. Rich Peverley had the second assist as Boston's third line cashed in a goal they desperately needed. When Daniel Paille scored 43 seconds later, the rout was on. All but the first line had goals for the B's, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton had the assists on Paille's fourth goal of the season-a sweet backhander after he got behind Philly's lazy defense.

These teams play twice more, the next one is March 30 in Philadelphia so it's not hard to picture the Flyers that take the ice that night looking much different. Boston needed this win since the upcoming week is brutal: five games in seven days including a pair of back-to-backs. Woof. Up next, they'll be at Ottawa (13-8-4, 3rd in Northeast Division) on Monday night (7:30 p.m., NESN). The Bruins beat the Senators 2-1 in overtime (on Patrice Bergeron's winner) February 28 at the Garden.

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Lightning Help Bruins Hit Rock Bottom For 2011-12

The Boston Bruins have been handing out two-goal leads to start games like they were candy on Halloween. Tonight, they thought why not take it a step further as they were down 3-0 at 4:31 and 4-0 at 15:38 of the first period.

By rolling 6-1, the Tampa Bay Lightning (32-30-7) helped push the B's (40-26-03) over the cliff at the Tampa Bay Times Forum and they didn't forget to pour gasoline over the tire fire that is the Black and gold.

It's the first time since October, the month that shall not be spoken about, that Boston has lost three games in a row. The worst part was that this prideful team simply laid down from beginning to end, against an average opponent.

Marty Turco (8 saves) got the start but he was yanked after allowing three goals, one of which was completely preventable and his fault. Tim Thomas (3 saves) came in for almost two periods but he wasn't much better as he allowed two goals. Turco returned in the third period and he had the honor of allowing Steven Stamkos' 50th goal of the season (second time he's done that in his career, 51 in '09-'10).

Tom Pyatt (8th of the season) kicked off the scoring (no pun intended) by knocking the puck off his skate. It was called no-goal on the ice but somehow the league officials in Toronto thought it was a goal so it was reversed. Things only got worse as Turco fumbled a puck right to Nate Thompson (9th of the season) then former BC star Ryan Shannon (4th of the season) skated in on a breakaway.

Tampa Bay scored its fourth goal-the most Boston has allowed in a period this season-when Victor Hedman (4th of the season) put one over Thomas' shoulder. The only semblance of pride exhibited by the B's in that frame was from Shawn Thornton, as usual, who beat the hell out of Mike Commodore.

Did I mention that Boston had two shots (really) in the first? Stamkos' received a gift from Thomas in the form of his 49th goal in the second period. Stamkos flipped it on net, with no power and Thomas fall over the line and couldn't stop it.

Jordan Caron (7th of the season) prevented the shutout for Dustin Tokarski (33 saves) when he tipped in a shot by Johnny Boychuk in the third period.

The Lightning come to TD Garden in two weeks, maybe by then the Bruins will have woken up. Either that or they'll no longer be in first in the Northeast Division so they'll be on the fringe of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Boston ends this torturous trip (0-2 so far, 3 goals scored, 11 goals allowed) on Thursday against the Panthers. The Bruins are 2-1 against Florida so far this season although they haven't played them in nearly two months.

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Caron And Seguin Score Twice As The Bruins Still Own The Maple Leafs

Well when else fails this season, we can still count on the fact that the Boston Bruins will not lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs travel to the Garden.

The B's (39-29-3) made it 5 for 5 against their Northeast Division rivals as they won a wild one 5-4 tonight at the Air Canada Centre. Boston gets a chance for a season sweep on March 19 when the Maple Leafs (30-29-7).

No matter if it's the Canadiens, Canucks, Maple Leafs or Jets, beating Canadian teams is always a hell of a lot of fun.

Jordan Caron (2 goals, 1 assist) was the unlikely offensive catalyst for the Bruins while Tyler Seguin scored twice as well. Zdeno Chara and Benoit Pouliot both added two assists.

Tim Thomas (25 saves; 28-15-0) isn't himself but he made just enough stops to survive tonight against a desperate team that's currently outside the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

The first and third periods weren't particularly notable but the second period more than made up for them since it featured six goals and two fights.

Carl Gunnarsson (3rd of the season) staked Toronto to a 1-0 lead 3:01 into the proceedings when his wrist shot found its way past Thomas.

Playing the best hockey of his young NHL career, Caron (5th of the season) tied it up at 13:58 when he pounced on a rebound from Jonas Gustavsson (28 saves). Pouliot and Joe Corvo had the assists. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's the first goal the three of those guys teamed up on this season.

John-Michael Liles (5th of the season) scored a power-play goal 57 seconds into the second that put the Maple Leafs back ahead at 2-1. Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel assisted.

A few moments later, Boston struck back with a pair of goals in 43 seconds. Seguin (23rd of the season) deflected a shot from Chara with David Krejci picking up the other assist. Then Chris Kelly (career-high 16th of the season) scored on another juicy rebound, from Caron and Pouliot.

On the ensuing face-off Shawn Thornton (who leads the NHL with 18 fighting majors) took on youngster Jay Rosehill. Thornton had stitches on Sunday vs. the Rangers after a fight so he got opened up there once again. Later Dennis Seidenberg stood up for a dirty hit by fighting Colby Armstrong. Seids rarely fights but he showed how tough he is by leaving Armstrong sprawled on the ice leaking blood from a cut.

Kessel (33rd of the season) tied it on the power-play at 9:52 with his great release on a snap shot. Caron and Seguin closed out the frame on a high note with Caron tipping a beautiful cross ice feed and Seguin getting all of a one-timer. Chara and Patrice Bergeron then Milan Lucic and Greg Zanon respectively had the helpers.

Things got hairy in the third period when Mikhail Grabovski (21st of the season) was sent in on a breakaway and scored with 6:47 left in regulation. However, Boston was able to protect its one-goal lead and walk out with two points. They snapped a two-game losing streak in the process.

By 12 p.m. tomorrow, we'll know if Marty Turco has cleared waivers and he'll be a Bruin or if another goaltender-needy team (Ottawa, Philadelphia) blocked it. The B's return to TD Garden on Thursday night to face the Buffalo Sabres. Another team on the outside of the playoffs, albeit one that has played itself at least into contention lately. They've beaten Boston the last two times they played after getting smoked twice earlier in the season. The Bruins need to put them back in their place, starting then.

UPDATE 3/7: Turco is at Bruins practice so he's officially part of the team now.

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The Rangers Have The Bruins' Number So Far This Season

It's never a good sign when you play well against a team but they still find a way to beat you on far from their best performance.

The Bruins (38-28-3) controlled play for long stretches today against the Rangers (42-15-7) at Madison Square Garden but New York came out on top 4-3. The Rangers have won all three meetings so far this season between these two Eastern Conference powerhouse teams and they went up a whopping 12 points on the B's.

After being blessed with good health almost all of last season including the playoffs, the opposite has been true lately for the Bruins who are missing five important players (Tuukka Rask, Nathan Horton, Rich Peverley, Andrew Ference and Daniel Paille). As a result, they can't find any consistency. They've lost three of four and still haven't won two straight since mid-January.

Spotting the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first 6:15 never helps either. After Lane MacDermid fought Mike Rupp on MacDermid's first NHL shift, Ruslan Fedotenko (8th of the season) tipped in Anton Stralman's shot from the point at 5:05. Former BC star Brian Boyle had the other assist.

Tim Thomas (13 saves; 27-15-0) had no chance on the second one since Carl Hagelin (12th of the season) banked one off Boston defenseman Greg Zanon, from behind the net. Brad Richards and Dan Giardi assisted on the lucky tally which caused Bruins head coach Claude Julien to call a timeout.

It worked right away as Benoit Pouliot (10th of the season) cut it to 2-1 at 7:57 thanks to some fine work from linemate Jordan Caron on the forecheck. A bad turnover by the Rangers in their own end let Caron snap one past Henrik Lundqvist (30 saves; 31-12-5).

On the ensuing face-off at center ice, for some reason Brandon Prust thought it would be a good idea to fight Milan Lucic. Prust is lucky he didn't get seriously hurt taking on a guy way bigger and tougher than him.

Gregory Campbell and Stu Bickel later in the first period too, making it the third and final bout of a wild frame.

Caron (4th of the season) tied it at two 1:40 into the second with an unassisted goal that Lundqvist would probably like back. Caron's shot from the left face-off dot beat him shortside where they shouldn't be any room.

Marian Gaborik (32nd of the season) took advantage of two mistakes by the normally reliable Dennis Seidenberg to put New York back in front 3-2 at 3:14 in the third. Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto assisted as Gaborik backhanded it in from the side of the net after Thomas made a few saves and Seidenberg tried to put it around the back of the boards but the Rangers intercepted it.

David Krejci (17th of the season) scored his fourth goal in two games, making it 3-3 at 11:42. Once again, it was thanks to fine passing and skating from his new linemates Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin.

Unfortunately just as the Bruins climbed back into it, the Rangers shut the door when Derek Stepan (14th of the season) scored 39 seconds after Krejci's goal. Thomas was screened and Stepan's shot was a laser anyway, right over Thomas' shoulder.

It wasn't Boston's day as evidenced by the absurd stop that Lundqvist made on Brad Marchand and also Gregory Campbell hit the post as well.

The regular season series between these teams will end on April Fool's Day back in New York. They played much better today than the last time they met but Boston is still searching for an elusive point(s) against the class of the East.

No update yet on Tuukka Rask's condition but the Bruins are supposed to address that tomorrow. I have a bad feeling that Tuukka might be done for the season which would be a very tough blow for Boston. The B's will travel to Toronto on Tuesday night to meet the Maple Leafs who as usual are in disarray, this time after firing head coach Ron Wilson over the weekend.

Boston has owned Toronto so far this season to the tune of 4-0 and a 23-6 goal differential. The only hitch is that they haven't played them since December 1. Let's hope the dominance continues for the Black and Gold as they'll look to snap a two-game losing streak.

Bigger picture, the Eastern Conference playoffs will definitely go through New York. The question is if the Bruins (our concern) or somebody else can beat the Rangers since it appears to be their time to make a Cup run. These things can change in a shift though so stay tuned.

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You Know The Bruins Are In Trouble When They Make Blake Wheeler Look Good

It's been over a month (Jan. 10 & 12) since the Boston Bruins last won two games in a row.

Their inconsistent stretch of play continued on Friday night as they lost for the second time this season in Winnipeg. Former Bruin Blake Wheeler had a goal and two assists as the Jets (28-26-6) kept their playoff push going with a 4-2 win at the MTS Centre.

The Bruins (35-19-2) couldn't use the momentum from their shootout win in Montreal on Wednesday as they crumbled in the NHL's smallest but likely loudest arena.

The season series ends 2-2 as both teams won twice on their home ice.

Tuukka Rask (21 saves; 11-8-2) showed why his starts have been diminishing lately as he dropped his fifth straight decision.

Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec (31 saves) shut the door as Boston tied it up twice but never led. Bryan Little put it away with the game-winner and an insurance tally in the third period.

Alex Burmistrov (12th of the season) opened the scoring for the Jets at 1:59 of the second. His wrist shot up high and glove side, caught Rask by surprise or at least that's how it looked. It was a shot I'm sure Rask would like to have back as it seemed to eat him up. Former Bruin Mark Stuart and Kyle Wellwood had the assists.

Mr. Invisible Jordan Caron (3rd of the season) finally did something as he sniped a goal at 6:10 from Chris Kelly. I had no idea he had that type of shot, maybe because he's never taken one outside of five feet from the net.

Wheeler (11th of the season), aka Mr. Offsides in his Bruin days, made it 2-1 at 15:50 when his wrist shot went through Rask's five-hole. Dustin Byfuglien and Evander Kane assisted on another one that Rask should stop if he wants to be considered a No. 1 goaltender.

David Krejci (12th of the season) picked up his first point in eight games when he tied it at two 49 seconds into the third. Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic had the assists as Krejci put it over Pavelec from in tight. Maybe that will get him going, he's done nothing since Nathan Horton went out of the lineup.

Little's first goal (15th of the season) was the fault of Boston's defense as they all watched as he went for the rebound, untouched, and flipped it by Rask. Wheeler and Andrew Ladd assisted on that at 4:16.

Just 2:04 later, Little sealed it off a nice feed from Wheeler. Tobias Enstrom had the other assist.

Patrice Bergeron had a great chance to cut it to a one-goal game after that but he shot it right in Pavelec's glove.

The B's face the Minnesota Wild for the only time this season on Sunday afternoon (3:30 on NBC) in the Twin Cities. Boston needs to sure up many things: their leaky defense, their goaltending and they need to put the puck in the net more often. Other than that, things are going swell.

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Zach Hamill Put On Waivers By The Bruins

Today the Bruins placed forward Zach Hamill on waivers. If he clears them, he will be sent back down to the Providence Bruins.

This move was totally expected if you pay attention to the B's on a daily basis. Hamill played a season-low 8:19 in Saturday's 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh and then he was a healthy scratch yesterday in Washington, D.C. Jordan Caron had been recalled from Providence and he had basically taken Hamill's place, at least until Nathan Horton returns from his latest concussion.

I'd like to say that Hamill is close to making a real impact in the NHL but I just don't see it, so far. In 16 games with Boston this season, he has 0 goals, 2 assists and he's +3 with 13 shots on goal. It's pretty tough to play that many games with this team and have offensive numbers that are so low.

He's still only 23 but the clock is ticking on Boston's first-round pick from 2007 (8th overall). Hamill is small (5-11, 173 pounds) so he isn't particularly strong on the puck and he doesn't seem to fit the Bruins mold of a physical, tough player. Sure he has skills but he'll never see the ice under Claude Julien if he can't be more responsible in his own end, not to mention have the ability to play on the penalty kill and power play.

All we can do is hope that with more playing time in Providence, against competition that's more on his level, he can excel and therefore build his confidence back up. I'm guessing it's not too high at the moment. It's not time to give up on Zach Hamill but right now, Boston just doesn't have any use for him.

It wouldn't shock me at all if he gets dealt at the trade deadline (February 27). Perhaps a change of scenery would do him some good; he would be better suited for an uptempo offensive style that's less reliant on throwing checks. Plus, he wouldn't feel the pressure that he no doubt is under with the team that drafted him. Something to keep in mind as the trade deadline approaches, maybe Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli can flip Hamill for somebody Boston needs more.

UPDATE 2/7: Hamill cleared waivers (nobody in the NHL claimed him) so he'll go to Providence.

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Bruins Pick Up Their Third Straight Win Against The Canadiens, 2-1 At TD Garden

How much of a mess are the Montreal Canadiens this season? Well they pulled a bush league move that I've never even heard of by trading forward Michael Cammalleri to the Calgary Flames for forward Rene Bourque, between periods of a game.

The best part is that Cammalleri likely got shipped out of town because he ripped the Canadiens organization the other day for their "losing mentality". Just great stuff.

This all happened tonight as the Habs (16-20-7) fell 2-1 to the Bruins (28-11-1) in a meeting that was a complete snoozer as far as this storied rivalry goes.

Boston recorded its third straight win against Montreal-after starting the season with two consecutive losses-thanks to a fluky goal from Jordan Caron, a nice backhander from Milan Lucic and 33 saves by Tim Thomas (18-7-0).

The fact that Vancouver was here last weekend and also that the Canadiens sit 18 points behind the Bruins in the Northeast Division took some juice away from this matchup.

Of course, P.K. Subban had to do something cowardly while he was at the Garden so he chose to give David Krejci a forearm shiver to his head. Andrew Ference jumped all over Subban but all the Canadiens defenseman could do was lay on the ice with his hands covering his head. Really.

Caron was a surprise addition to the lineup after getting called up from Providence yesterday. He took Zach Hamill's spot. 1:23 into the proceedings, Johnny Boychuk's dump in took a crazy bounce off the back boards leaving Montreal goaltender Carey Price (28 saves) totally out of position (somewhere Roberto Luongo lectures the media). Caron (2nd of the season) got an easy tap-in with Zdeno Chara picking up the second assist.

After a scoreless second period, Lucic (15th of the season) scored the game-winner at 3:43 of the third on a backhander. Nathan Horton set him up from behind the net and Krejci (points in 10 straight games) had the other assist.

Ference was tagged with two penalties so the Canadiens took advantage as Yannick Weber (4th of the season) ended Thomas's shutout bid at 12:46 with a screened blast from the point.

This concluded a four-game homestand for the Bruins, all against Canadian teams. They went 3-1 and now they head out to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. Hopefully nothing too crazy happens because I'll be watching only be watching bits and pieces of it between commercials during the Patriots-Broncos game.

Boston has one final game in Montreal, on February 15, but after that they can bid adieu to an opponent that is going nowhere fast this season. I'd be shocked if the Canadiens made the playoffs. At least they have a bunch of other professional teams and sports to focus on up there, oh wait.

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Tyler Seguin & Zdeno Chara Named To The 2012 NHL All-Star Roster In Ottawa

A week after Tim Thomas was named as the fan selection for starting goaltender, the NHL announced today that Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin will join the Bruins netminder in Ottawa for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game on January 29th.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien and his assistants were also named to the All-Star Game last week as well so this year's festivities will have a distinct Black & Gold taste.

Seguin was inexplicably missing from this year's ballot despite starting the season on a scoring tear including posting his first career hat trick against the Maple Leafs on November 5th. Who can forget his amazing goal in that same game? And if you forgot about it, here it is.



Seguin has really turned a corner this season, as his 17 goals in just 38 games so far absolutely dwarfs his 11 goals in 74 games last season and leads the team. The speedy winger leads the league in Plus/Minus with a plus 33 and is third in the NHL in game-winning goals with five. Seguin was a write-in candidate in this year's All-Star balloting and his strong performance coupled with his all-world play has catapulted him into the forefront of All-Star discussion.

Chara is obviously one of, if not the best defenseman in the NHL and he is a perennial All-Star. Even if Chara played like garbage this year, he would still be invited off the strength of his record breaking slap shot in the hardest shot contest last season.

Chara has had a fantastic year once again as his +27 is good for second in the NHL (behind Seguin). His plus/minus is doubly impressive because Chara is always paired up against the opposition's top players such as Phil Kessel, Alex Ovechkin, the Sedins and Steven Stamkos.

I can't really make the argument for many other Bruins, as their team oriented style of play doesn't lend itself to individual accolades but one player that I thought would make the team is Patrice Bergeron. Selke Smooth is having his best season and has really shown his value to this team since Boston's second forward line has been its best thus far. He has never made an All-Star Game which boggles my mind, so for him to miss out on this year's contest is a little shocking but I'm sure he wouldn't complain about having a few extra days off.

The All-Star rosters will follow the same format as last year with both teams being decided by a draft on Friday night. Haha who can forget Kessel being Mr. Irrelevant last season? One of the all-time classic awkward moments in a sports broadcast-"Hey Phil!".

UPDATE 1/12: Jordan Caron was called up from Providence since Brad Marchand is still serving his five-game suspension. Caron is playing on a line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley, meaning that Zach Hamill is a healthy scratch.

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Milan Lucic Suspended For One Game (Tonight), Bruins Recall Kampfer, Caron

Well Bruins haters who claim that the Black and Gold are "above the law" for their various borderline hits should be pleased today, as the NHL announced that they are suspending Milan Lucic one game (tonight vs. Montreal) for his hit on Flyers winger Zac Rinaldo.

Lucic, who has only been suspended once before, for his crosscheck to the face of Maxim Lapierre boarded Rinaldo during Saturday's 6-0 rout of the Broad St. Bullies, sparking a brawl that saw Nathan Horton dropping the gloves. Lucic was later served a five-minute major and a ten-minute major which ended his day prematurely.

It is unclear if Lucic will appeal the suspension.

Lucic, who has 24 points in 31 games this season, recently came under fire for railroading Sabres goalie Ryan Miller back on November 12. He was not suspended for the hit, which drew sharp criticism from Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff as well as the usual suspects of Bruins haters (shout out to Pat Hickey at the Montreal Gazette).

On first glance and subsequent replays, I didn't see a major problem with the hit, but I guess sending a message to a now repeat offender like Lucic is what discipline czar Shanahan is going for. At least it's only one game.

In other Bruins news, the team has announced that they have recalled Steven Kampfer and Jordan Caron once again, after sending them down to Providence on Saturday. It was a measure taken to give the healthy scratches some game action.

Gregory Campbell (foot) looks like he could be a go versus Montreal tonight, as he was one of nine bruins who participated in the Bruins morning skate. He will likely be a game-time decision.

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Kampfer & Caron Go To Providence, Meaning Big Z Returns on Saturday?

You have to feel bad for Steven Kampfer and Jordan Caron.

They are both NHL-caliber players that would play for many teams around the league but since they are on the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, it's a constant battle for them just to find ice time on a stacked roster.

The Providence Bruins have games on Saturday and Sunday so Boston sent Kampfer and Caron down to their AHL affiliate with the thought that they'll play big minutes in both contests.

In 13 games with Boston so far this season, Caron has a goal and two assists. In seven games with Boston, Kampfer has one assist. These guys are almost always the healthy scratches so anytime they get a chance to have a starring role it is a good thing. They're very young and if Boston sticks with them, I think they can both be solid contributors in a year or two.

The trickle down effect of this likely means that Boston Bruins superstar defenseman Zdeno Chara should play on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia against the Flyers after missing the last two games. Earlier today, Chara practiced for the first time since injuring his knee against Columbus last Saturday. He will be a game-time decision for tomorrow's monster showdown between the top two clubs in the Eastern Conference.

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Busy Thirsty Thursday For The B's: Krejci Extended Through 2014-15 Season

A day after scoring a goal and assisting on two others against Toronto, David Krejci signed a three-year extension ($5.25 million per season) today which keeps the Finals standout in Black and Gold through 2014-15.

Krejci, who has missed some time this season, has 13 points in 20 games and is an overall -2. Still only 25-years-old, Krejci is the latest of the current Bruins to be rewarded with extensions recently as Rich Peverley, Brad Marchand and Adam McQuaid have all agreed to deals since winning the Stanley Cup.

This speaks to the new Bruins philosophy of developing talent in a set system, breeding them into solid NHL players and locking them up before they get a chance to test the free agent waters.

The entire hockey world saw what Krejci did last in the postseason. Shit if it wasn't for Tim Thomas, Krejci would probably have his name on the Conn Smythe right now. Let's face it, the Bruins are doing as good a job as I can remember balancing the need to build for the future while winning in the present.

And with each potential cornerstone player they resign, that championship window isn't closing anytime soon. Krejci can be maddeningly inconsistent in the regular season but there's no arguing that he's a big game player that is at his best in the playoffs and in the games that really matter. Plus, other than Tyler Seguin, he has the best offensive skill set on this team and he's a natural center.

In other Bruins news, Thomas received the NHL's number 1 star for his perfect November (9-0-0, 1.76 goals against average and .941 save percentage) while Steven Kampfer and Jordan Caron were sent down to Providence. They're expected to be in the Baby B's lineup tomorrow night. This only means that Boston's front office wanted them to get some playing time; they'll probably be back to TD Garden although it will be in the Press Box again. Benoit Pouliot is earning his minutes now.

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Bruins Are Finding Their Groove, Second Straight Win For Tuukka Rask

Only time will tell if the Edmonton Oilers are going to be a good team this season or if they simply got off to a nice start.

Regardless, the Oilers (9-4-2) came into the TD Garden tonight having won seven of their last eight games. They had the third most points in the NHL but that didn't seem to matter as the Bruins (7-7-0) climbed to .500 for the first time in 2011-12 with a 6-3 victory.

Boston has now beaten Edmonton ten times in a row, dating back to October 2000. It is ironic that the Bruins struggled so much to score to begin the season because they have potted 24 goals (6 per game) in their last four contests.

The B's are riding a four-game win streak and even more promising, they've won Tuukka Rask's (27 saves) last two starts. Even the power-play is starting to come around with two more goals this evening.

Brad Marchand (2 goals) shook off a 10-game goalless stretch, Joe Corvo added three assists, Tyler Seguin (1 goal, 1 assist) continue to put the puck in the net while Nathan Horton had two assists.

Rich Peverley sat out another game with his undisclosed injury and Daniel Paille missed the contest following the surgery for his broken nose. Providence Bruins standout Zach Hamill made the most of his first appearance (this season) with the big club, picking up his third NHL assist. Unfortunately, Andrew Ference left in the second period with an injury and he never returned. If he can't go on Saturday, expect Steven Kampfer to return to the lineup.

With games in Detroit and Chicago this weekend, the Oilers sat their starting goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. It was an all backup occasion with Devan Dubnyk (22 saves) taking on Rask.

Boston took an early 2-0 lead in the first period as Johnny Boychuk (2nd of the season) scored at 7:11 from David Krejci and Horton then Jordan Caron (1st of the season) doubled it with an assist from Hamill. Boychuk's shot was a blast from the point, his specialty; Caron mishit his shot but the pass was so good that a simple redirect got the job done.

Edmonton tied it up with a pair of goals in 29 seconds (12:02 and 12:31). Mark Recchi lite aka Ryan Smith (8th of the season) tipped a shot from the point by Theo Peckham. 2011 No. 1 pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (7th of the season) finished a feed from 2011 No. 1 pick Taylor Hall.

Boston took control with two unanswered tallies in the second. Marchand (3rd of the season) deflected Corvo's shot from the point on the power-play (Seguin assisted too). Seguin showed he's not afraid to go to the net and he was rewarded with his ninth goal of the season, from Corvo.

Smyth's tap in at 15:18 of the third period brought the Oilers within a goal but no worries, the Bruins had this one in the skate bag. Milan Lucic (8th of the season) got an easy power-play goal thanks to Corvo's gorgeous feed. Horton assisted on Lucic's goal and Marchmont ended it with an unassisted snipe at 17:57 that looked like something he did in the playoffs last spring.

The Buffalo Sabres make their first pilgrimage to Boston on Saturday night. Their Northeast Division rivals still have All-World goaltender Ryan Miller, who's off to a slow start by his impossibly high standards. For whatever reason, the Sabres usually give the Bruins trouble and the games are almost always very competitive.

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Jump aboard the Black & Gold bandwagon while there is still room

If the Boston Bruins go on to do something special in the spring (namely end a 39 year drought for a Stanley Cup), I can proudly say that my buddy Rick and I were on the ground floor of some history.

One of my best friends from college and I were in Loge 7 last night for the Bruins' home opener against the Washington Capitals and it was a great time to be a Masshole as the B's (4-1-0) won convincingly 4-1 at the TD Garden.

It was Boston's fourth straight victory as Tim Thomas (38 saves, 4-0-0) was in between the pipes for the fourth game in a row and he looked like the Vezina trophy winner of two seasons ago, rather than the hobbled bum that was stapled to the bench last season behind Tuukka Rask.

Washington (4-3-0) has been one of the most high-octane offenses in the NHL the past few seasons but as their postseason chokes attest, that formula falls apart when the game changes in the playoffs (just ask the San Jose Sharks). It's all about goaltending, defense and timely scoring in that order when the results really count.

If I could bottle up any crowd in professional sports around here, no doubt it would be the Bruins. The prices get hiked up every season, the B's continue to epically fail in the playoffs and yet the residents of South Boston, Winthrop, Revere, etc. continue to eat it up. They love their predictable hard rock soundtracks and you can't accuse people that go to Bruins games of being frauds.

You go to Patriots games to drink in a parking lot, to Red Sox games to be seen (and scope out smokeshows in the summer temps.) and to Celtics games for the party atmosphere. There's nothing sexy about Bruins fans, quite the opposite when you see most of them up close, but it's all authentic blood, guts and cheap light beer (that they'll gladly spill on you after a goal). Kind of like they just stepped off the set as extras for The Town, I can't say enough about it.

Even in the home opener, we'll boo Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder for being underachieving (former) and overpaid (latter) bums but we'll still cheer Ryder for potting a sweet power-play goal in the first period last night from Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin. That came with 28 seconds left in the first period, a turning point heading into the locker room.

Rookie Jordan Caron, who is playing out of his mind, made it 2-0 at 2:22 into the second period. Bergeron found him with a pretty no-look feed from behind the net and he roofed it over Sergei Varlamov (30 saves). Matt Hunwick also assisted.

Besides Seguin and Caron, the other real notable Garden debut was for Nathan Horton. He continued his torrid start with a power-play goal at 12:16 in the second period. Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic assisted the ex-Florida Panther, who skated into a soft spot in the Caps' defensive zone and fired a slap shot that had just enough oomph to trickle into the net.

Thomas' shutout was erased in the third period as he cleared it right to Washington forward Jason Chimera but nobody really minded. Boston captain Zdeno Chara added his club's third power-play tally (after coming into the game with one as a team while Washington hadn't allowed one PP goal) with 16 seconds left in the game. Blake Wheeler and Johnny Boychuk assisted on Chara's thunderbolt that sent an already tipsy Garden crowd back to the surrounding bars after the game for more opening night merriment.

The Rangers come to the Garden on Saturday night.

Must not overhype, must not overhype

The New Jersey Devils are a mess right now. Last week, they dressed only 16 players for a game and have been skating three lines of forwards due to various injuries.

It is also October so the NHL season hasn't even begun unless you're a serious puckhead or NHL fantasy fan.

Nonetheless, seeing the Bruins (2-1) absolutely smoke the Devils (1-4-1) 4-1 last night in beautiful Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center was one of the highlights of my weekend (and I had a great one, thanks for asking).

Where to start? For the second straight game, Tim Thomas looked like the Tim Thomas of two seasons ago (the Vezina Trophy winner) vs. the 2009 version that was a shaky backup for young stud Tuukka Rask.

Boston was off for almost a week as they recovered from their European working vacation but Thomas is already in mid-season form, turning aside 31 shots by the Devils to improve to 2-0-0.

The B's also featured four different goal-scorers, who found the back of the net in a four-goal spurt that covered less than 13 minutes in the second period.

Dainius Zubrus gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead 3:45 into the second frame assisted by Zach Parise and Andy Greene but less than two minutes later, Jordan Caron scored his first NHL goal (helper to Johnny Boychuk). It was not highlight worthy, a simple rebound from the dirty area around the net, but it worked for a 20-year-old guy who wasn't supposed to make the team this season (or at least right out of camp).

The phantom that is Michael Ryder made an appearance and scored his first of the season, thanks to a gorgeous assist from stud Tyler Seguin and Mark Recchi.

Boston's fourth line (or energy/checking line) kept the good times rolling with the third even strength goal of the period, by Shawn Thornton. He showed some good skill, stickhandling in the New Jersey zone and past Martin Brodeur (31 saves but finally slowing down). Gregory Campbell and Brad Marchand assisted on Thornton's tally.

Finally, Milan Lucic got his second goal of the season with 1:51 left in the second period. His top linemates of David Krejci and Nathan Horton were credited with assists. Looks like Looch might have his scoring touch back after it was completely absent last season (due to numerous nagging injuries).

Boston outshot New Jersey 11-7 in the third period (and 35-32 for the game) but it was a scoreless final 20 minutes.

This sets up a nice home and home with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday in the nation's capital and Thursday night at the Garden for the 2010 home opener (which I will be at, WOOOOOOOOOO!).