Facing A Must-Win vs. Buffalo, Boston Comes Through (Barely) 4-3 in OT Thanks to Eriksson

While I will admit that the Sabres have been playing better lately, a loss against them at anytime is still unacceptable, especially when the Bruins are so desperate for points. That's what made Boston's (17-14-3) 4-3 overtime win against Buffalo (13-18-3) this evening at TD Garden so vital to the B's. I know I said it last week when they won at Minnesota but once again, this might have saved Boston's turbulent season.

Boston actually trailed 3-2 with under two minutes left in regulation before Dougie Hamilton (1st career 2-goal game; tied career-high with 3 points) tied it at 18:29 with a top shelf wrister. That set the stage for Loui Eriksson's second straight overtime game-winner (he also did that vs. Wild on Wednesday) at 2:14 of the extra session. Milan Lucic sprung him by chipping the puck ahead and Zdeno Chara started the play from Boston's end so he got the second assist.

There were two games left before Christmas break and both were at the Garden so the B's couldn't afford to drop another game. They improved to 3-0 vs. the Sabres this season (2-0 in OT) with the much-anticipated finale coming on St. Patrick's Day here in Boston, I'll bring the green beer.

The Bruins actually had a power play goal by Reilly Smith called off for the softest goaltender interference that you've ever seen on Eriksson. He barely touched Jhonas Enroth (33 saves) who still had time to recover anyway yet that's not how the refs saw it. No worries though as Hamilton beat Enroth on that same man-advantage. His sixth goal of the season came at 5:52 and it was assisted by Carl Soderberg and Eriksson.

All hell broke loose later in the first period when Matt Bartkowski absolutely annihilated BC's Brian Gionta with a shoulder right to his head. Gionta got knocked out (and left the game) and Bartkowski (playing in his 100th NHL game) ended up in his first NHL fight vs. Marcus Foligno (who ended up leaving with an injury as well). Bartkowski got a game-misconduct and he could be hearing from the league although who knows since he's never been fined or suspended and he's not a dirty player at all.

Former Bruins great Andrej Meszaros tied it at 6:06 of the second period, tapping in a pass from Chris Stewart (reportedly scouted by Boston for a possible trade) and Johan Larsson. It was his first goal as a Sabre and first since last March 30 with Boston vs. another former team (Philadelphia).

It felt like it wasn't the Bruins' night when Buffalo netted only their ninth power play goal of the season (!). Good old Rasmus Ristolainen's shot deflected off Torey Krug's skate past Tuukka Rask (25 saves). Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons (another fantastic name) were credit with the gift assists as Buffalo took the 2-1 lead.

Luckily Boston's fans only had a minute to stew (literally) as Chris Kelly tied it with an old school tip in that bounced off the ice and into the net. Chara and Hamilton assisted on Kelly's third goal of the season which also gave him a four-game point streak (1 goal, 3 assists).

To say I was conflicted by Buffalo's next goal doesn't even begin to explain it. Providence College graduate and Merrimack, NH native Tim Schaller scored his first career NHL goal and point on a wraparound at 1:27 of the third period. It was a beautiful moment with his parents in the stands and for a while, I thought it would stand up as the game-winner. Against any other team, I'd be going nuts for him.

Boston had some crazy zone time in the third period and outshot Buffalo 13-6 but it looked like a useless stat until Hamilton finally tied it up. Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith both had helpers on Hamilton's huge tally. For a team that struggles so much to score, it is bizarre how well that Boston has done in OT this season (5-1 in OT and 2-2 in shootouts). Likewise, the irony that Eriksson has won them two games in the past five days is hilarious since he's one of the easy targets for most people.

The Predators (21-8-2) are in Columbus tomorrow night before visiting Boston on Tuesday (7, NESN), the Sabres also came in on the second night of a back-to-back. Nashville won 3-2 in a shootout last Tuesday at home, the start of Boston's three-game road trip. They are one of the best teams in the NHL and Pekka Rinne is currently the top goaltender so needless to say the B's will have their hands full before they can enjoy a few much-needed days off.

Tweet

Anything Goes On A Friday Night In Columbus

Being such a hopeless creature of habit, I will admit that I was completely thrown off by having the Bruins play on a Friday-something which happens about as often as Kim Kardashian covering up his gigantic ass. For two periods tonight at Nationwide Arena, Boston (13-8-0) was terrible as they fell behind host Columbus (6-11-2) 2-0.

Thankfully, the B's had just enough resiliency to rally in a bonkers third period and then eventually win 4-3 in a shootout. Nobody scored through six rounds so rookie Anton Khokhlachev ended it in the seventh with the lone goal in only his second career NHL game. It had all the makings of a trap game with Montreal and Pittsburgh waiting on the horizon not to mention Thanksgiving break.

Beginning tonight, Boston has three games in four days so head coach Claude Julien elected to sit Tuukka Rask in favor of rookie Niklas Svedberg (25 saves). The move was a no-brainer, even when Svedberg gave up a pair of soft goals in the first period. Ryan Johansen blocked Kevan Miller's shot in his own zone then skated on a partial breakaway before letting loose a shot that Svedberg got plenty of but couldn't keep from crossing the line at 9:52. Johansen's seventh goal of the season was unassisted.

Just 1:38 after Johansen's goal, the Blue Jackets went up 2-0 on Nick Foligno's deflection which actually went off his body. Jordan Leopold took the shot and Johansen had the second assist on Foligno's team-leading 10th goal of the season. Earlier in the frame, Patrice Bergeron's shot was swept off the goal line by a Columbus defenseman.

Svedberg's gaffes had nothing on Sergei Bobrovsky (38 saves) who breathed life into Boston by allowing one of the worst goals you'll ever see in the NHL. To the left of the faceoff dot, Dennis Seidenberg decided to put the puck on the net at 1:28 of the third period and somehow it went in despite not bouncing or doing anything wacky. Matt Bartkowski (who went to nearby Ohio State) and Chris Kelly received the joke assists.

That turned out to be the spark that the B's needed as they tied it at 9:33 on Matt Fraser's re-direct of Bartkowski's slap-pass. Fraser's third goal of the season (1st in 8 games) was also assisted by Bergeron who played it back to Bartkowski at the point. Before you could say full meltdown, the B's were up for the first time (3-2) 1:59 after Fraser's tally. Daniel Paille picked the perfect time to break his slump (1st goal in 37 games!) as he took advantage of the turnover created by Carl Soderberg.

Boston enjoyed that lead for a grand total of 1:15 since Jack Johnson (please read his tragic bankruptcy story) one-timed a pass from Johansen and Foligno. The Bruins quickly bounced back from that devastating goal as they outshot the Blue Jackets 7-1 in overtime. Bobrovsky made up for his poor play by owning overtime. The shootout went on for way too long with not enough goals but you can't argue with the final result.

Columbus is a train wreck so for that reason alone, Saturday (7, NESN) vs. Montreal figures to be way harder. Boston has suffered two humbling defeats (6-4 on Oct. 16 & 5-1 last Thursday) already this season in Montreal so they owe the Canadiens a beating at the Garden. It is a given that the atmosphere will be great, hopefully the game follows suit. Rask has to prove that he can beat Montreal and likewise, his teammates (looking at you Lucic) need to stay focused and not get caught up in the Canadiens' usual garbage.

Tweet

Rask Gets His 1st Shutout of the Season as Bruins Blank Blues 2-0

With one of the best teams in the NHL visiting TD Garden to kick off a huge week, the Bruins picked a good time to play their preferred style of hockey. Boston (12-8-0) shut out St. Louis (12-5-1) 2-0 behind 33 saves by Tuukka Rask for his first shutout of the season (and 24th of his career). Every game seems to bring a different lineup and this was no different as Brad Marchand was scratched but David Krejci returned to action. Through it all, the B's have won six straight games at home.

St. Louis outshot Boston 33-17 which is a little more disparity than the Bruins would prefer but their penalty kill did go 2 for 2. Patrice Bergeron was the recipient of a gift in the first period as Ian Cole's clearing attempt went right to him. Even worse (for the Blues), Brian Elliott (15 saves) was out of position-behind the net-so all Bergy had to do was slot it in the empty cage for his fifth goal of the season. That gives him four goals and five assists in his past eight games.

Boston's other goal had some Cole on it as well since Torey Krug's shot from the point deflected off Cole's knee by Elliott. Matt Bartkowski and Loui Eriksson assisted on Krug's third goal of the season (first since Oct. 21; he missed 4 games). Zach Trotman was sent back to Providence earlier in the day and Adam McQuaid left in the second period after taking a shot off his hand so Bartkowski's role suddenly got that much more important. Since he returned on Saturday vs. Carolina (after 7 DNDs in a row), Bartkowski has looked like a different, more confident guy. Tonight, he was +2 with one hit and one takeaway in 20:52. He'll never be an All-Star or on a top defensive pairing (at least not here) but the B's needed him to be better and he's starting to turn the corner.

The Blues outshot the Bruins 15-3 in the third period but many of those chances were from the outside. Both teams took their timeouts late in the frame and despite a huge advantage in offensive zone time all game, St. Louis could never find the back of the net even when they took Elliott out with a couple minutes left.

Boston travels to Columbus (6-11-1) for the rare Friday night (7, NESN) NHL game. The Blue Jackets are a disaster: in last place in the Metropolitan Division and only one point ahead of the Sabres after getting smoked 5-0 tonight vs. Detroit. The next night (7, NESN), the B's host the Canadiens (14-5-1) and then on Monday (7, NESN) the Penguins (13-3-1) come to the Garden. The Bruins passed their first test and Friday is a good chance to tune up their road record (4-4-0) while giving Niklas Svedberg a start. It's all about Montreal and Pittsburgh, two great litmus tests for Boston before Thanksgiving.

UPDATE 11/19: McQuaid is out for 6-8 weeks after breaking his thumb last night. Poor guy, like last year when he was hurt, the B's have Kevan Miller who is a suitable McQuaid replacement.

Tweet

Happy Trails to a Great Bruin: Johnny Boychuk

Everyone knew that the Bruins had too many defensemen going into this campaign and worse, they were coming dangerously close to the salary cap so somebody had to go sometime soon. Unfortunately, that was finally sorted out this afternoon as veteran Johnny Boychuk was traded to the Islanders for a pair of second-round draft picks and a conditional third-round pick.

He'll never be an All-Star or on the Canadian national team but Boychuk is the type of guy that you love when he's on your favorite team. He's smart, tough, dependable and always seems to step up in the postseason (13 goals, 14 assists, +20 in 79 career games). He is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer so after five years in Boston, he's gone.

In the prime of his career at age 30, Boychuk is coming off the best season of his NHL life: 5 goals, 18 assists, +31 in 75 games. As always, the Islanders are rebuilding and looking for leaders, particularly on defense where they've employed numerous turnstiles for years. It's ironic that he landed there since the same two teams played last night in a preseason game and watching the Islanders' live stream from their website, their announcers mentioned Boychuk trade rumors repeatedly. I guess they knew something that we didn't.

Bigger picture for the B's, this means that shaky Matt Bartkowski has likely "earned" a spot for 2014-15. I think most fans wanted him off the team but clearly, Boychuk had more trade value to the Isles and could bring a better haul in return. Boychuk won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011 and he will always be remembered fondly in these parts for his huge hits and booming shot (Johnny Rocket!). In many ways, he was an ideal Bruin for this very successful era under Claude Julien.

UPDATE 10/7: The Bruins' roster was set for the opener with Matt Fraser, Bobby Robins and Ryan Spooner all making it while David Pastrnak will start in Providence with Jordan Caron. The biggest news is that David Krejci starts on IR with an undisclosed injury. Malcolm Subban and Brian Ferlin were recalled, Marc Savard went on long-term IR then Gregory Campbell and Anthony Campbell are on non-roster IR. Got all that?

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Re-Sign Matt Bartkowski for Another Season

In pro sports, it's all about where you play. Meaning that a mediocre player on a good team often gets exposed while nobody notices the same player on a bad or average team. I bring this convoluted thought up because the Bruins avoided arbitration today and signed defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a one-year deal worth $1.25 million.

We all know Bartkowski's strengths (moving the puck) and weaknesses (decision making) after a full season with Boston in 2013-14. In 64 games, he had zero goals, 18 assists and he was +22 with 30 penalty minutes and 91 shots on goal. In eight postseason games (he was a healthy scratch a few times), he had zero goals, one assist and was +2 with 10 penalty minutes and 12 shots on goal.

He'll never be a star but it's not hard to see Bartkowski having a long and respectable NHL career, he just turned 26 in June. He has decent size (6-foot-1, 196 pounds), he's durable and you know what you're getting from him. With Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid out with major injuries for much of last season, that gave Bartkowski an opportunity for consistent ice time with the B's and a ticket out of Providence.

With Seidenberg and McQuaid both expected back by training camp in September, Bartkowski could find himself back on the fringe of the roster. Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk, Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton, Seidenberg and McQuaid are all better than him. Still, much can change between now and the regular season starting in October: injuries, trades, playing poorly, etc.

There are many teams in the NHL that Bartkowski would be a top-4 defenseman for, the difference is that will hopefully never happen with the Bruins unless they are in a serious rebuilding mode. He provides quality depth and this contract is certainly affordable for them going forward.

UPDATE 7/16: If that Bartkowski news didn't get you fired up for this season, I know what will: the Bruins re-signed Jordan "I'm totally useless" Caron to a one-year deal worth $600,000. If I have to explain how dumb that decision is, stop reading this blog and log off forever, friend.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

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.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Totally Redeem Themselves With A Game 7 OT Win That We'll Never Forget

Even after a lifetime of watching sports, there are always games and moments that stick with you forever. Tonight, the Bruins added themselves to my short-list of epic comebacks as they rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third period at TD Garden then went on to beat the Maple Leafs 5-4 in overtime of Game 7. They advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals where they'll have home ice against the New York Rangers, their Original Six rival that they haven't met in the postseason since 1973.

No NHL team had ever lived to see another day after going down by three goals in the third period of Game 7 so it's only fitting that the B's would put themselves in that impossible situation yet still somehow find a way out. Patrice Bergeron was the hero for the B's, he scored the tying goal with 51 seconds left in regulation then the game-winner at 6:05. Boston actually scored the first goal (a key in Game 7s) at 5:39 of the first period as rookie defenseman Matt Bartkowski picked the perfect time to pot his first career goal. It was unassisted following a turnover along the wall by Maple Leafs defenseman Cody Franson.

Toronto answered right away when Franson tied it at 9:35 with a power play goal off a rebound. Franson put the Maple Leafs on his back, scoring the go-ahead goal at 5:48 of the second period with a blast from the point. The Maple Leafs appeared to put it away early in the third as Phil Kessel scored on another Tuukka Rask (24 saves) rebound at 2:09 then Nazem Kadri did the same at 5:29 after a 2-on-1. There can't be one Bruins fan that thought a team who had scored three goals total in almost three games could erupt for three in less than 10 minutes.

Nathan Horton got the momentum turning Boston's way when he scored on a wrist shot (his fourth goal of the series) at 9:18 from Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Toronto and James Reimer (30 saves) wanted to give the B's another goal but Boston didn't seem capable of putting another puck in the net. However with Rask pulled, Lucic (2nd goal of the series) trimmed it to 4-3 following a rebound (Reimer's old friend) on Chara's blast from the point. Bergeron had the second assist. The roof basically came off the Garden when Bergeron tied it, thanks in no small part to Chara's screen of Reimer. Rask was also on the bench for Bergeron's tying goal, the second time all season (Feb. 12 vs. Rangers) Boston scored twice with a goaltender pulled. Krejci and Jaromir Jagr assisted on Bergeron's second goal of the playoffs.

In overtime, it's all about getting the puck to the net. Usually, the deciding goal comes on a broken play, lucky bounce, etc. True to form, Bergeron's goal in overtime came following a loose puck and giveaway in front of Reimer. Bergeron put it over the Toronto goaltender who was out of position after a shot got blocked. The two biggest Bruins scapegoats for this series-Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand-showed up on that shift and they were credited with the most important assists of the seven games.

Game 1 vs. New York is Thursday (7:30 p.m., NBCSN) at TD Garden and Game 2 is Sunday afternoon (3 p.m., NBCSN) at TD Garden. The Rangers are coming off their own exhausting seven-game series, they rolled 5-0 against the Capitals tonight in DC (the first game won in the series by a road team). It doesn't get much better than Boston vs. New York (Red Sox vs. Yankees, Patriots vs. Giants), we already had a taste of it with Celtics-Knicks a few weeks ago. It's crazy that it has been so long since the Bruins and Rangers have met in the playoffs. Expect a low-scoring, very physical, long series dominated by the goaltenders. New York's Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the NHL and the Rangers can grind teams down with the best of them.

UPDATE 5/14: We still don't know the status of Dennis Seidenberg who only played two shifts last night before getting hurt. Today, Boston called up defenseman Torey Krug from Providence.

Adam McQuaid was nominated for the Masterson Trophy (given to overcoming injuries/adversity), Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Minnesota's Josh Harding were the other selections.

UPDATE 5/15: Patrice Bergeron was nominated for the Selky Award (defensive forward) which he won last season. Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Chicago's Jonathan Toews are the other impressive choices.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Still Can't Score Goals But They Find A Way To Beat The Sabres 2-0

For 52+ forgettable minutes, the Bruins and Sabres played one of the most boring games of this bizarre NHL season. Thankfully, David Krejci scored a goal then Nathan Horton added another shortly after that to give Boston (22-8-4) a 2-0 win over Buffalo (13-17-6) at First Niagara Center.

This was one of the more important wins of the season for the B's since they lost 3-1 to the Flyers yesterday afternoon. They couldn't afford to come away with no points against two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.

Bruins backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (7-3-0) showed his value, putting up 26 saves for his first shutout in Black and Gold. It was the second shutout of his career (17 NHL starts), the only other time was in 2010-11 with the Wild.

Krejci's goal came after he ventured into virtually unknown territory for him: he went right next to Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller's (29 saves) crease to slide in a rebound at 12:54. Krejci's eighth goal of the season was assisted by Horton and Matt Bartkowski (cool moment for him since it was his first NHL point).

Horton is on fire, well not really but you could say that during this rough season for the free agent to be: he scored a goal in the third straight game. Krejci was the main reason why Horton potted his 11th goal of the season at 15:44 since Krejci's sick pass was right on Horton's tape and all he had to do was redirect it past Miller. Milan Lucic had the second assist.

The clock is ticking with the NHL trade deadline a little more than two days away (Wednesday, 3 p.m.). In case you forgot, the Bruins have yet to do anything (unless you count missing out on Jarome Iginla). With that drama playing out off the ice, Boston returns to TD Garden to face the Senators (19-10-6) on Tuesday (7 p.m., NESN). Boston is 3-0 against Ottawa this season although that is a bit misleading since each game has been a one-goal win (in regulation, overtime and a shootout).

The Bruins were 9-6-2 in March and they play 14 more games in April before the real fun starts with the playoffs. They only have four more games left against Northeast Division (2 vs. Ottawa, 1 vs. Montreal & 1 vs. Buffalo) foes so those contests take on extra importance give how tight it has been.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

This Could Be A Big Year In Matt Bartkowski's Professional Hockey Career, No Really

If you truly remember anything about Matt Bartkowski's completely anonymous Bruins career (9 total games), you are a hopeless loser just like me.

He has to be the most forgettable player that has appeared in more than one game for the B's the past two seasons. Today, the defenseman signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Black and Gold.

He will make $660,000 in the NHL and $62,500 in Providence (AHL) where he has spent a majority of his time in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Bartkowski played in six games with the Bruins in 2010-11 but had a line of 0 goals, 0 assists, -1 and four penalty minutes.

He actually broke camp with the B's last fall but only appeared in three games (0 goals, 0 assists, -2) before being sent down to Providence for good. The stay-at-home defenseman had three goals, 19 assists and 38 penalty minutes in 50 games with the baby B's.

It goes without saying that it should be a big year in terms of development for Bartkowski. He's 24 and a former seventh-round pick of the Panthers in 2008. This will be his fifth season as a pro so that's generally when a prospect starts to pan out or he tops out in the AHL and ends up playing for most of his career there.

Boston's defensive corps is already pretty stacked but as we all know, those guys tend to go down with injuries the most since they block so many shots and are put in harm's way more than anybody else. Let's hope that Bartkowski (a Pittsburgh native) is able to take that next step and prove that he belongs in the NHL. Otherwise, he might not last in the organization much longer.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

News & Notes Heading Into Tonight's Bruins Game vs. the Maple Leafs at TD Garden

Tonight marks the first Northeast Division game of the season for the Boston Bruins (2-4-0) as the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-0-1) visit TD Garden for the first of six matchups between the teams.

The Leafs are off to a great start, including their comeback 3-2 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets last night at home. Former Bruins whipping boy Phil Kessel (7 goals, 5 assists) is playing some of the best hockey of his life; he leads the NHL in goals and points plus he looks more confident than he's ever been (always an issue).

Bruins center David Krejci is 50-50 to return this evening after missing the last three contests with a mysterious core injury. Defenseman Adam McQuaid (neck) has already been ruled out and he'll miss his third straight game. Steven Kampfer will make his 2011-12 debut as Matt Bartkowski has rightfully been returned to Providence after a lukewarm start.

Regardless if Krejci plays tonight or not, B's head coach Claude Julien has chosen to shake up the top three forward lines. Chris Kelly moves up to the first line where he'll center Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin. Nathan Horton drops to the second line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand; finally, Rich Peverley will go to the third line with Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron. The Fribble Crew-aka the fourth line-of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton remains intact.

With an NHL-low 11 goals (1.67 per game when you discount the shootout goal by Seguin), it was time for Claude to make some changes in hopes of injecting some energy into his lifeless and offensively-challenged team.

Tim Thomas is expected to start for Boston between the pipes while Toronto backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson gets his first action of the season. The B's catch a break there as Maple Leafs youngster James Reimer is one of the best up and coming goalies in the NHL.

UPDATE: Krejci is back, Caron sits in the press box (healthy scratch).

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Steven Kampfer Injures His Knee, MRI Results Await Today

Sad news out of the Bruins-Senators preseason game last night at TD Garden. Defenseman Steven Kampfer suffered a knee injury in the third period and didn't return. I was listening on the radio to the game (while I did a Fantasy NHL draft, haha I'm so cool!) but Dave Goucher and Bob Beers (the excellent B's radio guys) made it sound like it was rather serious.

Kampfer is getting an MRI today but it sounds like at least for now, Matt Bartkowski has won the battle for the seventh spot. It's obviously not the way anyone wants it to happen, through an injury, but that's how it goes in such a physically demanding sport.

From James Murphy's story on ESPNBoston.com
“He suffered a knee injury. Left knee and that’s basically all we have right now for specific details,” Julien said. "He’s going to have an MRI tomorrow so we’ll find out a little bit more on his condition.”

Will the injury to Kampfer decide the race for the seventh defenseman slot?

“I don’t know if it settles it,” Julien said. “We’ll find out tomorrow how severe it is and is he going to be two months or is he only going to be a few weeks? And if he is, then it can still be a battle going on there.”

Julien said he thought both Bartkowski and Kampfer played well Thursday night.

“They’re both pretty good,” Julien said. “Actually, I thought Kampfer was having a real good night skating and moving the puck and [Bartkowski] is still there. There’s some things that I think he has to continue to work on and he’s got good size. He’s a solid skater, but every once in a while he gets caught with maybe not moving the puck quick enough and those are just little things that he has to continue to work on.

"But having said that I like both their games.”

With any luck, it's nothing too serious and Kampfer can get back out there soon to continue his development as one of the Bruins' better puck movers and offensive-minded defenseman.

UPDATE: CSNE reports he sprained his knee in the collision and he's expected to miss 2-4 weeks. Looks like Bartkowski will be with the big club for at least the first few weeks of the 2011-12 season.
Follow @RichSlate


Tweet