Lucic (1 goal, 1 assist) Returns to Boston and Helps the Kings Bludgeon the Bruins, 9-2

If you are Milan Lucic, in your wildest dreams I'm pretty sure that you couldn't come up with a more enjoyable experience that what happened for him tonight in his first game back at TD Garden since getting traded to Los Angeles over the summer. He had a goal, assist & was +2 as the Kings (32-17-3) neutered the Bruins (28-19-6) 9-2 at TD Garden.

It was the most goals given up by the B's in nearly eight years (10 at Washington on March 3, 2008) and the most shots on goal allowed by them (57) in almost 41 years (57 on March 18, 1965 vs. Detroit). The burly former Bruins left wing received a huge ovation during warmups, after a video tribute for him was shown on the Jumbotron in the first period and even after the beating as he took a victory lap to thank the few fans that remained (all to see him and boo the Bruins in the process).

For Boston, they have to hope that their consistent struggles at home (12-14-3) this season still don't carry over to the road as they get ready to head out on a season-long six-game road trip (16-5-3). The good news for them is that mighty LA is in the Western Conference so as ugly as this blowout loss was, it really doesn't mean all that much in the grand scheme of things. It was a bizarre game as the Bruins actually scored first on Brad Marchand's team-leading 25th goal of the season at 5:03 (a power play goal from Matt Beleskey and Zdeno Chara that was Marchand's 10th goal in his last 11) of the first period but then the Garden roof caved in. LA scored two goals late in the first period by Jeff Carter (on a power play that was deflected in by Kevan Miller) and a sick top-shelf backhander from Marian Gaborik.

After Marchand's goal, Boston hit three posts so despite being down 2-1 after the first, things didn't seem so bad. Miller's season-long horrorshow here continued as he literally handed another tally right to the Kings-his turnover went right to Andy Andreoff (great name!) who beat Tuukka Rask (27 saves) at 2:42 of the second period. How about Colin Miller plays home games and Kevan Miller plays road games, I wish that I was kidding but Kevan is somehow immune to being a healthy scratch. Drew Doughty added a power play goal (the Kings were 3 for 3 on them this evening), assisted by Lucic and Dwight King tapped in a rebound 33 seconds later for a 5-1 lead. Not that it was all his fault but Rask had to be pulled at that point for his own sanity and Jonas Gustavsson (21 saves) promptly gave up a goal to Trevor Lewis with 1:04 left in the second. At least Gustavsson was back in action after he left his last appearance (Jan. 26 vs. Anaheim) in an ambulance with worries about his heart condition.

The third period was the equivalent of garbage time in a preseason NHL game, it was that tedious. Tyler Randell had fought Kyle Clifford in the first and Beleskey dropped the gloves with Andreoff in the second but there would be no return bout for Lucic on this night. UMass product Jonathan Quick (35 saves) made his usual assortment of incredible saves and luckily seemed to avoid injury in the last seconds when Jimmy Hayes barreled into his left leg/knee. Lucic got a tap-in goal to cap off LA's absurd seven-goal run before Randell scored (his 5th goal of the season) in his first game in a month (he was a scratched for the past 12 contests). Luke Schenn potted the third power play goal for the Kings and Dustin Brown closed it out by padding his stats with a goal.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this trip could very well be a defining moment for the B's when it comes to whether they make the playoffs or not this spring. It isn't as daunting as you'd think though (at least on paper) since three of the six teams that they'll meet (Winnipeg, Minnesota and Columbus) currently are out of the playoff picture in their respective conferences. Of course, this is all assuming that the Bruins continue to defy reason as one of the best road teams in the league.

The fun starts on Thursday (8, NESN) in Winnipeg (24-26-3) where the Jets are playing out the string in a disappointing campaign (what up Jeb Bush?). Boston is at Minnesota (23-20-10) on Saturday for a rare afternoon tilt (2, NESN) then they complete a back-to-back in Detroit (27-18-8) on Valentine's Day (3:30, NBC). Can you think of more romantic spot than the Motor City? The Bruins are in Columbus (21-28-6) a week from tonight (7, NESN) then at Nashville (25-21-8) on Thursday (8, NESN) and things end in Dallas (34-15-5) against Tyler Seguin and the high-flying Stars a week from Saturday (8, NESN).

You won't see the Bruins at the Garden for almost two entire weeks-their next game in town is Monday, February 22 vs. Columbus-which is probably a good thing. It's easy to forget given the way that things played out in tonight's nightmare but Boston had quietly been playing pretty well lately (7-2-1 coming into this debacle). It shouldn't take long to get a feel for the trip as they play three games in four days to kick it all off. Get some rest everybody!

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There Goes That Unbeaten Season, B's Fall 4-3 To Rangers In Overtime

A Bruins-Rangers Eastern Conference Finals in May would be pretty sweet, huh? New York (1-2-0) picked up its first win of 2013 tonight with a 4-3 overtime decision against Boston (2-0-1) at Madison Square Garden. Marian Gaborik notched his 14th career hat trick which included the game-winner only 27 seconds into the extra session.

Even though they lost, the B's still earned a point and more importantly, showed some resiliency by rallying from an early 2-0 hole and down 3-2 late in the third period. From the opening face-off, the Rangers looked nothing like the team that lost 3-1 in Boston on Saturday night in the opener or got blasted 6-3 by the Penguins the next night.

Gaborik (1st of the season) scored at 4:36 and 6:49 of the first period. His first tally was thanks to some exquisite passing from Rick Nash and Brad Richards. All Gaborik had to do was wait for Tuukka Rask (29 saves; 2-0-1) to commit then he roofed it over him. The second goal was due to his own persistence as he followed up a rebound with Michael Del Zotto and Marc Staal picking up the assists.

Eventually, the Bruins found their skating legs and woke up later in the frame. Adam McQuaid fought Brian Boyle after the former BC Eagle shot the puck after the whistle, right into McQuaid's shin/ankle. Typical BC classless move.

Boston looked like a completely different team in the second period. Brad Marchand (2nd of the season) tipped in Dougie Hamilton's shot from the point at 1:05. It was a memorable goal for two reasons: it broke Boston's 0-for-11 start this season on the power-play and it was Hamilton's first NHL point. Rich Peverely also was credited with an assist.

Milan Lucic (2nd of the season) continued to play his style of game, he tied it at two at 12:24. He followed his own rebound with assists from Zdeno Chara and David Krejci. Unfortunately, New York answered immediately as Taylor Pyatt (2nd of the season) scored a goal that was very similar except that it came as a result of Shawn Thornton's ill-fated clearing attempt.

Nathan Horton (1st of the season) basically earned Boston the point with a clutch goal, at 15:37 of the third period. It was all thanks to Andrew Ference's pinch along the boards and Gregory Campbell's hustle that kept it in the zone then found Horton. He didn't hesitate to put it through Henrik Lundqvist's (26 saves) five-hole.

A bad pass in New York's offensive zone from Chris Kelly to Ference allowed Gaborik to skate in on a breakaway. Rask made the initial save but Gaborik was able to poke it in before Ference or Johnny Boychuk recovered. It was a rough and sudden ending to a very entertaining game.

Boston returns to TD Garden on Friday (7 p.m., NESN) to face the Islanders (1-1-0). They only face the Rangers once more (Feb. 12 in Boston) in the regular season.

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By Beating The Rangers (Finally), The Bruins Win The Northeast Division & Secure No. 2 Seed In East

Within reason, it is hard to ask for much more than what the Boston Bruins accomplished tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The B's (47-28-4) not only found a way to finally beat the Rangers (50-22-7) 2-1, for the first time in four tries, but they also locked up the Northeast Division snagged the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

All in all it was a great night as Boston picked up one of their most meaningful wins of the season, on the road no less.

Did I mention that Tim Thomas (33 saves; 34-19-1) is playing his best hockey since December? He's allowed two goals or less in seven straight games so it shouldn't come as a shock that Boston has found its way out of the muck in that same time frame.

Thomas held the fort in the third, protecting a 2-1 lead as the Rangers bombarded the Bruins in shots (19-3 advantage) but couldn't tie it up.

The Bruins have won five out of six and gained points in each contest. After losing the first three times this season to the Rangers (once in a shootout), Boston proved to themselves and the rest of the NHL that the East still goes through them even if New York has the top seed and the best record.

Adam McQuaid (eye) and Gregory Campbell (lower body) were scratched but that just paved the way for Dennis Seidenberg and Daniel Paille to return from brief hiatuses.

Marian Gaborik (40th of the season) walked in on a strange breakaway and scored 4:33 into this one. It all started when Zdeno Chara's shot bounced off of teammate Jordan Caron. The carom went to Gaborik and nobody could catch him.

Boston rallied with a pair of goals in the second as they solved Henrik Lundqvist (19 saves) just enough. Seidenberg's (5th of the season) slap shot tied it at 4:00 on assists from Chara and Brad Marchand.

Patrice Bergeron (22nd of the season) scored the game-winner on a power-play goal at 11:52 that was classic Bergeron and the stuff of Seilke (defensive forward) award winners. After getting stripped of the puck behind New York's net, Bergeron got it back and wrapped it around the post before Lundqvist could react fast enough. Tyler Seguin had the assist.

Thankfully this is the last week of the regular season. Boston hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday before heading to Ottawa on Thursday then wrapping things up at the Garden on Saturday vs. Buffalo. Since they've lost their last two meetings with the Penguins, it would be nice to see the Bruins knock off one of the Eastern Conference's (and NHL's) best.

Thomas has earned more of a break and he'll probably only play once this week, against the Senators, with Marty Turco getting two more starts before he's ineligible for the playoffs. Might as well get full use out of him.

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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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OT Thriller: Rangers Beat Bruins 3-2 In Possible Eastern Conference Final Preview

There aren't many NHL regular season games that get hyped up since with 82 to select for every team each year, you need to pick and choose what to devote extra time and attention to.

When the top two teams in the Eastern Conference-the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers-met this afternoon at TD Garden, it was the first time the Original 6 rivals had faced off in 2011-12. Not surprisingly, the game was spectacular even though the B's (30-13-2) came up on the short end as the Rangers (30-12-4) won 3-2 in overtime on Marian Gaborik's goal with four seconds left.

I had the same feeling after this one that I did when the Bruins lost to the Red Wings in a shootout the day after Thanksgiving. I want more, specifically in the playoffs. New York is a real threat in the East and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see them and Boston as the top two seeds. Therefore an Eastern Conference Final between them (Boston vs. New York) wouldn't be too much to ask.

Other good news is that these teams will meet three more times in the regular season, starting Valentine's Day back at the Garden. Then Boston goes to New York on March 4 and April Fool's Day (both Sunday afternoon national games).

After a scoreless first period, that was still filled with action, the Rangers got on the board first at 1:31 into the second when captain Ryan Callahan (16th of the season) jumped out of the penalty box and beat Tuukka Rask (30 saves; 11-5-1).

Heavyweights Shawn Thornton and Mike Rupp fought less than two minutes later and although it was a split decision, Boston seemed to gain more momentum from the scrap. Andrew Ference (4th of the season) scored a goal for the second straight game as he took a pass from David Krejci and made a pretty move to his backhand to work around Henrik Lundqvist (32 saves). Milan Lucic had the second assist.

Gaborik (24th of the season) made it 2-1 at 14:30 after a blocked shot bounced right to him and needless to say, he knew what to do with it.

Another Bruins defenseman scored, always a good sign, as Adam McQuaid (2nd of the season) and his regal mullet whipped a wrist shot from the point. Rich Peverley and Ference had the assists.

The third period was scoreless as both teams pressed for the game-winner. Ference was whistled for a game-misconduct at 1:50 in overtime as he charged into Ryan McDonagh when the Rangers defenseman had his back to him close to the boards. It was an ugly hit and Ference admitted as much after the game. McDonagh left with an injury but he's lucky it wasn't more serious; as for Ference, the B's already recalled Steven Kampfer so they clearly think that Ference (who has a conference call with the NHL tomorrow) will get suspended for at least a game.

Boston successfully killed the 4-on-3 power play for over three minutes but Gaborik had three chances to beat Rask and you can't allow that many to a guy with his type of skills. Tuukka made two unbelievable saves but he wasn't able to squeeze the second one, Gaborik stuck with it and was rewarded with a clutch goal. Rask was understandably frustrated and his old temper showed itself when he smashed his goalie stick against the goal afterwards.

The Bruins hit the road for another tough test against the other true contender in the Eastern Conference: the Philadelphia Flyers. They'll play at 3 p.m. tomorrow, meaning that nobody and I mean nobody in New England will be watching it live since that's when Patriots-Ravens kicks off. Oh well, I look forward to watching it later tomorrow night on DVR.

You have to think that the Flyers will show up this time after getting waxed 6-0 on December 17 at home against the Bruins. It's another possible playoff preview. Philly won't have any extra rest over Boston since they played the Devils this afternoon and won 4-1.

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Timmy Thomas (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap)

If you had told me this summer that Tim Thomas would be the NHL's best goalie for the first month of the season and Tuukka Rask would be sitting on the bench full-time, I would say you must be Thomas' wife or child to be so brainwashed.

Yet here we are. Thomas (10-1-0) has all of the wins so far for Boston this season and he completely stole one last night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.

The Bs (10-5-1) got up 3-1 but almost coughed it up as New York (10-8-1) blitzed them with 15 shots in the third period before falling short in a 3-2 loss.

For the game, the Rangers outshot the Bruins 36-20. The only reason Boston got two points from this one was Thomas, a lucky goal by Mark Recchi and a moment of brilliance from Tyler Seguin.

After a scoreless first period before a dead crowd, the game got interesting in the second period as Brandon Dubinsky gave New York a 1-0 lead at 7:10 with a power play goal from Ryan Callahan and Henrik Lundqvist (17 saves).

Less than four minutes later, Milan Lucic tied it up after a fine pass from linemate Nathan Horton. At 16:35, Seguin showed why he was the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft and why the 18-year-old will spend the whole season in Boston.

He stole the puck at his own blue line, whooshed into the zone and ripped a wrist shot top shelf. It was an unassisted thing of beauty.

Recchi scored 1:10 into the third period as his weak wrist shot somehow snuck past Lundqvist, who was positioned properly by the near post. Mark Stuart and Dennis Seidenberg assisted on what turned out to be the game-winner.

Marian Gaborik, who had a ton of chances all game, finally cashed one in at 5:26. Derek Stepan assisted Gaborik who was right in front of Thomas when he shot it.

This set up a frantic finish where the Rangers had a million more shots and the Bruins were on the ropes the whole time but ultimately hung on.

Boston comes home tonight to face old whipping boy Dennis Wideman and the crappy Florida Panthers. This is the Bruins' third game in four days so they'll have to dig deep to get two points at the TD Garden.

Cam Neely is rolling over in his grave

Oh man the Boston Bruins are hard to watch right now. Without Milan Lucic and Marc Savard, not to mention Phil Kessel (who's catching up on The Hills in Toronto), the B's simply cannot score goals. Their defense and goaltending is fine but the power play is anemic and the lack of any potent sniper is alarming.

Yesterday afternoon's cut and paste 1-0 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden was about as dull as they come. It marked the fourth time in the last 20 days that the B's have lost 1-0.

Once Marian Gaborik scored with 4:09 left in the second period (from Vaclav Prospal and Marc Staal) you had a feeling that New York (9-5-1) was going to pull this one out.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves for the shutout while Tim Thomas had 22 in the loss for the Bruins (6-6-1).

David Krejci, Michael Ryder, Marco Sturm and Zdeno Chara are just a few names of Bruins that need to start finding the net with their shots.

Boston travels to Detroit tomorrow night to face the Red Wings, who are off to a similarly blah start to the season.