Boston Plays Down to Calgary's Level Yet Still Comes Out On Top, 2-1 Thanks to Bergeron's PPG

When you are in the middle of a congested playoff race in the Eastern Conference with time ticking away, every point matters, particularly when the two best teams in the NHL (Chicago and Washington) are up next on the schedule. Boston (35-23-6) played one of its most boring contests of the season but they managed to beat lowly Calgary (26-33-4) 2-1 tonight at TD Garden. Take that Dougie Hamilton!

Besides the two very valuable points that they earned, the contest was most notable for the B's since it was the debut for three players: right wing Lee Stempniak (1 takeaway in 16:12), defenseman John-Michael Liles (1 hit in 16:55) and rookie center Noel Acciari (+1, 1 shot on goal, 2 hits & 4-3 on faceoffs). Stempniak (from New Jersey) and Liles (from Carolina) were acquired in trades on Monday while Acciari is an undrafted rookie from Providence College that earned a promotion from the Providence Bruins after Zac Rinaldo (also suspended 5 games), Max Talbot and Jonas Kemppainen were all sent down on Monday.

The Bruins new-look fourth line (Acciari, Landon Ferraro and Brett Connolly) came through with a goal on their first shift of the game at 7:05. Torey Krug (28th) and Connolly (16th) had the assists on Ferraro's fifth goal of the season that went top-shelf on winless Joni Ortio (23 saves). Boston was up 1-0 after the first period and the score remained the same after a sleepy second frame.

The Flames were playing in the second night of a back-to-back (they lost 5-3 in Philly last night) but they tied it at one on rookie defenseman Jakub Nakladal's 1st career NHL goal. His one-timer from Jyrki Jokipakka (1st game for Calgary after being traded by Dallas) and Michael Frolik at 5:35 put the requisite amount of angst in Bruins fans' heads. After the 1-0 lead was erased, this looked to be headed to overtime but Patrice Bergeron rescued Boston for the millionth time in his storied career when he scored on a one-timer at 16:36 from one of his favorite spots (high slot). Ryan Spooner (32nd) and David Krejci (team-leading 35th) assisted on Bergeron's 24th goal of the season (tying him for 10th all-time in Bruins history) which came on the power play thanks to a silly too many men on the ice call on Calgary.

Chicago (39-20-5) is at Detroit (32-20-11) tomorrow night before they come to Boston on Thursday (7, NESN) so the best the B's can hope is that they are a little tired and perhaps the Black and Gold can jump on them early or wear them out. Realistically, the Blackhawks will be heavily favored as they should be. The defending Stanley Cup champs loaded up at the trade deadline (Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann) and they appear to be a serious threat to repeat which is basically impossible in the NHL. I thought that Tuukka Rask (24 saves) might get this evening off but I guess that you can't risk that given how hopeless the Bruins have been at home (14-16-3) in 2015-16. Things can't go any worse for the B's than they did against the Kings on Feb. 9 (9-2 embarrassment), right?

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Who Needs The Oscars If You Can See the B's No-Show at Home for the 100th Time This Season?

This is my fourth season covering the Bruins but I can sense that 2015-16 has been special in a certain way since I feel like I am living in the movie "Groundhog's Day." Every time that I come to TD Garden, I dream that this is the occasion when Boston (34-23-6) will actually put together a win-streak at home but then I usually go home disappointed after another horrid showing by the Black and Gold. Tonight, the Lightning (36-22-4) entered with the exact same amount of points (74) as the B's (with a game in hand) but they left little doubt as to who was the better team as they skated away with an easy 4-1 victory.

As usual, it was a strange contest here as Boston actually scored first but proceeded to allow four straight goals (including 2 on the power play and a penalty shot) to put it out of reach just halfway through regulation. Kevan Miller scored at 6:01 into the first period when his screened shot from the point went in past Tampa Bay's excellent goaltender (and former Maine Black Bear) Ben Bishop (32 saves). Jonas Kempainen won the faceoff and had the primary assist while Landon Ferraro picked up the second helper on Miller's fifth goal of the season.

Zac Rinaldo was placed on waivers today by the Bruins but somehow he could also play (explain that to me, better yet don't) in this tilt. He was called for an illegal check to the head of Lightning forward Cedric Paquette (who briefly went to the dressing room afterwards). Harvard hockey alum Alex Killorn tied it at 11:19 with a power play tally that such was a snipe that Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (26 saves) had little chance to stop it. Anton Stralman and Ryan Callahan assisted on Killorn's 12th goal of the season. Before you could say Crimson, Tampa Bay struck again as Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid hilariously fell down at the opposing blue line which allowed the Lightning to have an ultra-rare 2-on-0. Killorn fed Callahan for his ninth goal of the season at 14:39, they don't come much easier than that.

Tampa Bay was up 2-1 after the first period and Patrice Bergeron was nabbed for goaltender interference after bumping Bishop midway through the second. Seven seconds into their second power play, the Lightning once again only needed one shot (kid!) to make the Bruins pay. Callahan tipped in Stamkos' rocket from the point with Stralman picking up the second assist. Boston had no answer as Stamkos earned a penalty shot less than two minutes later when he was hooked down by Brad Marchand. It was the third penalty shot taken by Stamkos this season but he improved to 2 for 6 in his career on them. Rask had faced one another penalty shot this campaign (Feb. 16 vs. Columbus' Alexander Wennberg) and he is 4 for 8 in terms of stopping them. Stamkos' 28th goal of the season came at 10:04 and it extended his goal-streak to six games (7 goals, 2 assists).

We are mere hours away (3 pm on Monday) from the NHL Trade Deadline mercifully being over. Boston had done a pretty good job of not being distracted by it, that is until this evening when they flat-lined. More importantly, the Bruins' power play was 0 for 6 and if they make the postseason this spring, their special teams can't have outings like that or it promises to be a very short stay.

Loui Eriksson and many of the other B's will surely be anxious until that time passes. It's hard to predict what Boston's front office will do since this is GM Don Sweeney's first go-round so we don't have a track record to look back at in regards to his moves (or lack of deals) at the deadline. As the Bruins have been all season-long, they are an extremely flawed team that never makes any sense from game-to-game. Their latest blowout loss to a fellow Eastern Conference "contender" had to leave a bitter taste in everyone's mouth associated with the club.

Besides the deadline, it's another busy week on Causeway Street as Boston hosts Calgary (26-31-4) on Tuesday (7, NESN), the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks (39-20-5) on Thursday and then the best team in the Eastern Conference-the Capitals (45-12-4) on Saturday (7, NESN). The Bruins have to beat the Flames because any point earned against the two top teams in the league should be incredibly hard to come by.

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Bruins Use Strong 3rd Period (3-0) to Demolish the Penguins 5-1 & Sweep the 3-Game Season Series

One of the major storylines for the Bruins this season has been the stunted development of second-year right wing David Pastrnak. After getting injured early in the season, going to the World Junior Championships again with Czech Republic and rehabbing in Providence, he finally seems to be settling in. Tonight, he scored two goals as Boston (33-22-6) beat Pittsburgh (30-21-8) 5-1 at TD Garden. Thanks to the win, the B's swept the season series (3-0) with the Pens and outscored them 14-3.

It was the Pasta Show early on as he was awarded a penalty shot with four minutes left in the first period and used a stop and start move to throw off Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (24 saves). Boston led 1-0 after the first period and Landon Ferraro dropped the gloves with UMass-Lowell alum Scott Wilson 1:42 into the second period. Shortly after that, Pastrnak doubled the Bruins' advantage after Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maata pulled a Kevan Miller and handed the puck right to him in front of the Penguins' net. Pastrnak waited until Fleury went down and put the puck around him for his eighth goal of the season at 3:12. He has four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in his last four games and it was his third career two-goal game.

Tuukka Rask (41 saves; 23-17-5) probably deserved a shutout as the only "shot" that beat him came off the skate of Penguins winger Tom Kuhnhackl. Rask kicked out a big rebound of rookie Oskar Sundqvist's shot and Kuhnhackl made a hockey stop directly into the puck at 4:07 of the second period. It was reviewed but the call stood since the referees felt like it didn't constitute a distinct kicking motion. Boston's buzzard's luck when it comes to reviews and coach's challenges this season has been unbelievably poor. Kuhnhackl's second goal of the season was also assisted by Trevor Daley.

With Boston up 2-1 after two periods, it appeared to be another white-knuckle finish at the Garden (where they improved to 13-15-3 this season) until the Bruins finished with a flourish of three goals in 4:53. Jimmy Hayes tapped-in a pretty feed from Ryan Spooner at 10:34. The former BC star's 13th goal of the season was also assisted by Adam McQuaid (game-high 4 blocked shots). For once, Boston made the other team crumble in crunch time as Ferraro scored on a breakaway at 14:26 from Dennis Seidenberg. His fourth goal of the season was his first point in 26 games (an assist vs. Pittsburgh on Dec. 18). Finally, Brad Marchand knocked in a rebound 1:01 after Ferraro's goal for his team-leading 31st goal of the season. Amazingly enough, he's tied with former Bruin Tyler Seguin for the fourth most goals in the NHL. Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron had the last helpers.

The Bruins dads were in the locker room after the game as they will head to Carolina (28-23-10) along with their sons for Friday's contest (7, NESN). It's a cool little perk for the team during an arduous season and surely something that the fathers look forward to every year. The B's are 20-7-3 on the road but the Hurricanes have been surprisingly decent in 2015-16 so that is no gimmee although Carolina is at Toronto on Thursday so they'll be in the second leg of a back-to-back. Two more points there would be nice for the Black and Gold who return home for a rare Sunday night (6:30, NBCSN) meeting with Tampa Bay (34-22-4) who is currently tied with Boston (although they own the tiebreaker with a game in hand).

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Bruins Rally From 2-0 Deficit But Eventually Fall 3-2 in Overtime to Red-Hot Oilers

Most people outside of Edmonton probably aren't aware of this but believe it or not, the Oilers (14-15-2) are the hottest team in the NHL. They picked up their sixth straight win tonight, a 3-2 overtime victory at TD Garden against the Bruins (16-9-4). Edmonton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period then Boston eventually tied it with a goal in the second and a goal in the third before defenseman Andrej Sekera won it 41 seconds into overtime. This was a bitter loss for the Bruins since they fired a season-high 49 shots on Cam Talbot (47 saves).

This was the third straight time that Boston and Edmonton have gone to overtime and the Oilers improved to 2-0 against the Bruins this season after winning in a shootout at home a few weeks back. The B's fell to 1-3 in overtime this season and 1-1 in shootouts. Jordan Eberle (1 goal, 2 assists) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1 goal, 1 assist) showed off some of their immense talents in the win. Eberle scored at 8:29 of the first period after the puck bounced off the back boards to him and he was able to beat Jonas Gustavsson (21 saves) from a tight angle. Eberle's seventh goal of the season was assisted by BU's Eric Gryba and Brandon Davidson.

After Zdeno Chara fell, Eberle fed Nugent-Hopkins for an easy goal at 13:58 of the first. Nikita Nikitin had the other assist on Nugent-Hopkins' eighth goal of the season. Some puck luck finally went Boston's way at 13:29 of the second period as Matt Beleskey's stuff shot went in off Talbot after the goaltender kicked it back with his leg pad. Beleskey has been snake-bitten most of the way in his first season with the Black and Gold so he probably deserved this after playing well for weeks. David Krejci and Chara assisted on Beleskey's fourth goal of the season.

Brad Marchand is starting to put together an All-Star type resume in 2015-16 so predictably he was the Bruin that tied it up with 4:38 left in regulation. The play actually looked offside and was reviewed but stood up for his team-leading 15th goal of the season. Landon Ferraro and Patrice Bergeron assisted on Marchand's shot that went up under the bar over Talbot's blocker (with a defenseman possibly screening him as well).

As noted in the records, overtime still doesn't seem to agree with Boston. In fact, after losing the opening faceoff in the extra session, the Oilers had the puck in the Bruins' end the entire time. Sekera's initial shot went off of Torey Krug (who was tied up in front) then with all the extra space he was able to collect the rebound and put it in for his third goal of the season. Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins assisted on the overtime game-winner that had to make former Bruins GM/current Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli smile.

Up next, the Bruins have a home-and-home with the Penguins (15-11-3) who lost head coach Mike Sullivan's debut 4-1 tonight against Washington. Pittsburgh is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and 3-4-3 in their last 10 games. Wednesday (8, NBCSN) at the Garden will be the first matchup of the season.

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For A Change, the Bruins Decide to Play Well In Montreal & Actually Beat the Canadiens (3-1)

In recent seasons, the NHL's undisputed best rivalry-Bruins vs. Canadiens-had been downgraded since frankly it became extremely one-sided. That's what made tonight so sweet: Boston (15-9-3) went into the Bell Centre and knocked off Montreal (19-7-3) 3-1. The Canadiens still lead the season series 2-1 with two more games left to play (both in 2016) but at least for once, the B's didn't get psyched out by the Habs.

If it felt like it had been a while since Boston beat Montreal, you were correct. This win for the Bruins snapped a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1) to the Habs. The best element of this for them was that goaltender Tuukka Rask (32 saves) was great as he earned the No. 1 star of the game.

It was a very slow start for Boston as they gave up a stupid fluke goal at 8:49 of the first period. Defenseman Paul Byron threw the puck in front of Rask and it deflected in the net off of Zach Trotman. After the goal initially went to Tomas Plekanec, Byron was correctly credited with his fourth goal of the season and Plekanec (a noted Bruins killer) picked up the lone assist.

Montreal outshot Boston 14-7 in the first period and 12-7 in the second period but Rask kept them in it. Also, it helped that they weren't suckered into dumb penalties like usual when they face the Canadiens (hi Milan Lucic). Brad Marchand and P.K. Subban got matching slashing penalties late in the first while Montreal had two penalties in the second (interference on Tomas Fleischmann and roughing on Christian Thomas) and Trotman was called for hooking but none of the power plays cashed in.

Belmont Hill alum and Needham native Mike Condon (20 saves) is Montreal's No. 1 goaltender for a while with Carey Price on the shelf (lower-body injury). He has been fine although this turned out to be their third loss in a row. In fact, Boston is only eight points behind Montreal in the Atlantic Division now with two games in hand. Haha I know, I know. Just saying. To call the Bruins' third period comeback unexpected is quite an understatement.

The B's tied it at 7:53 on a beautiful shorthanded goal by Loui Eriksson (to quote Rounders: "Pay the man his money"). Zdeno Chara started the play by batting the puck out of mid-air right to a streaking (easy ladies) Eriksson who fought off a check to finish with a nice shot down low on Condon. It was Eriksson's 11th goal of the season. Just 42 seconds later, cult hero Landon Ferraro (with his dad Ray faithfully in the stands) scored the go-ahead goal. He roofed it blocker side on a screened Condon after a nifty backhand assist by Ryan Spooner. Torey Krug had the second assist on Ferraro's third goal in a Bruins uniform (talk about a timely waiver wire pickup by GM Don Sweeney a few weeks ago).

It was only fitting that Patrice Bergeron put it on ice with a pretty insurance tally at 13:42 from who else but Brad Marchand. Matt Beleskey had the second assist on Bergy's ninth goal of the season where he received the puck close to Condon and was able to deke around him to tuck it in.

This is one game basically a third of the way through the 2015-16 campaign but it was a most vital victory for the B's. They had to prove to themselves and the world at large that they could still beat the Canadiens every once in a while. The timing couldn't have worked out better with the Winter Classic only a few weeks away at Gillette Stadium. Boston can go into that confident and without that long losing streak hanging over their collective heads.

The Bruins' next game is on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) against the Panthers (13-11-4). That contest will be important in a different fashion since Boston is only up three points on Florida (with a game in hand) in the Atlantic Division. Nevertheless, the B's are playing some quality hockey (7-1-2 in last 10 games) while Florida has dropped its last two games heading into Thursday's meeting with red-hot Washington (19-5-2).

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