There Was No Way That the Bruins Were Losing On Military Appreciation Night at TD Garden

When you normally play 82 games in a regular season, many of them can understandably start to blend into one another. That's not the case though on Military Appreciation Night, one of the best events that the Bruins (6-4-3) put on every season at TD Garden. Tonight they hosted the Wild (5-6-2) and put on a show for all the brave servicemen and women along with their loving families that deserved every bit of the 5-3 victory for the Black and Gold. Minnesota scored first before Boston rattled off four in a row then hung on until an empty-netter clinched it. Brad Marchand (upper-body) was the latest Bruin to be temporarily sidelined and he's not making the trip to NYC on Wednesday (8, NBC Sports Network) to face the Rangers (7-7-2) so no Times Square shenanigans for him.

When you have such a patchwork lineup, hell it feels like half of the Providence Bruins are currently here, you take regulation wins whenever you can get them. Tuukka Rask (24 saves) had arguably the play of the game when he stopped Mikael Granlund's penalty shot in the third period with Boston clinging to a 4-2 lead. Devan Dubnyk (20 saves, 4 goals allowed) wasn't anything close to the same guy from last season who blanked the B's both times that these clubs met. He was pulled after two periods by Angry Dad I mean Wild head coach Bruce Bouderau and replaced by Alex Stalock (9 saves).

Nino Niederreiter gave Minnesota a 1-0 advantage just 4:53 into the contest when the Bruins chose not to cover him for an easy putback on a rebound. His second goal of the season was assisted by that tireless American hero Ryan Suter (who skated a game-high 28:02) and Jared Spurgeon. Boston responded with two goals in the first period, both of the extra fluky variety. Jake DeBrusk tried to find Frank Vatrano with a pass from behind the net but it bounced in the net off of Suter's skate at 10:23. Zdeno Chara (team-high 25:48) and Jordan Szwarz (1st NHL assist) had the helpers on DeBrusk's third goal of the season. Later, Vatrano simple shot on goal from the blue line went off the post then Dubnyk's leg and in at 12:42. It was Vatrano's first tally of this campaign and first in 25 regular season games (he had 1 in the playoffs last season) with more assists to Szwarz and Chara. Matt Beleskey even made a contribution as he fought something called Luke Kunin shortly after Vatrano's go-ahead goal, good times!

At his post-game press conference, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy called the second period their best of the season as they outshot Minnesota 15-4 and potted two more goals to go up by three. Sean Kuraly put in a rebound from Danton Heinen and Tim Schaller at 5:34 for his second goal of the season. Boston's first line (which is basically all they have at the moment) finally got in on the action as Torey Krug (4-game point streak) one-timed a pass from David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron at 7:43 for his third goal of the season.

The B's have trouble putting games away (see the overtime loss to Buffalo a few weeks ago) and they certainly made their fans sweat on an unseasonably warm night as Pasta's brutal giveaway led to a one-timer by Granlund from Matt Dumba at 1:33. Eric Staal got a shorthanded breakaway after Pasta was stuck up ice on the power play and he beat Rask to cut it to 4-3 Bruins at 15:56. Cassidy took his timeout with 2:40 left and Stalock was pulled for an extra skater. Schaller caused a turnover and won a race for the loose puck, leading to the empty-net goal (his 3rd goal of the season) at 19:03 and his first multi-point performance in the NHL.

The Rangers and Bruins usually have entertaining battles and since it's Rivalry Night, you know that they'll pull out all the stops. Just kidding, hopefully it's a half-decent product in primetime. New York had gotten off to an awful start but they've reeled off four wins in a row to potentially save their season. It'll be only Boston's fifth game on the road where they have begun 2017-18 a little wobbly (1-2-1) while New York is 5-4-2 at Madison Square Garden-the world's most overrated arena.

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David Pastrnak is Here to Save Us All from Another Season of Bruins Mediocrity

All night at TD Garden, the Bruins (15-10-1) couldn't shake the Panthers (12-11-3). Three different times Boston scored to take a temporary one-goal lead but each time Florida answered with a tying goal. Luckily for the B's and their fans, they employ David Pastrnak who you may have heard has morphed into one of the best goal-scorers in the NHL (see: his overtime goal that gave Boston a thrilling 4-3 win). Pasta had scored earlier in the contest to make it 2-1 and he potted the game-winner at 1:23 of overtime that will undoubtedly be in every highlight reel for awhile (not just hockey).

It was a big two points for the Bruins since the Panthers entered in a bit of a tailspin (after surprisingly firing head coach Gerard Gallant last weekend and replacing him with GM Tom Rowe). Moreover, with Roberto Luongo (9-8-1) in between the pipes for Florida, Boston had to take advantage of the same bozo from the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals vs. Vancouver. In 38 career games against the Bruins, Luongo fell to 15-17-1. Florida won the Atlantic Division last season but Boston still owns them (10-1-0 in their last 11 games in Boston and 15-2-1 in their last 18 games overall) dating back several years now.

After missing six games with a lower-body injury Bruins captain Zdeno Chara returned with a team-high 23:31 time on ice. There was plenty of action in the first period even though it looked like it would end 0-0. Former BC star Michael Matheson had a shorthanded bid stopped by Tuukka Rask (27 saves; 14-4-1). On the other end, Luongo robbed Ryan Spooner (the subject of trade rumors since he hasn't played well so far this season) with a ridiculous glove save. David Backes' one-timer from the doorstep hit Luongo in the chest and rookie Anton Blidh nearly nabbed his first NHL goal when he redirected Adam McQuaid's slap pass just wide. PC's Tim Schaller gave the B's a 1-0 lead at 18:32 (with his 4th goal of the season) when he one-timed a pass from David Krejci (who was stationed behind Florida's net).

The ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr tied it at 9:44 with a one-timer of his own. Florida's great young franchise defenseman Aaron Ekblad fed it to Jagr for his fifth goal of the season (and 754th all-time, 3rd most in NHL history). Pastrnak helped Boston regain a 2-1 lead at 16:37 with help from a slick feed by linemate Brad Marchand. Patrice Bergeron had the other assist on Pastrnak's 14th goal of the season (3rd most in the NHL). It was only a one-goal advantage but the team records were in Boston's favor after two periods: they were 11-0-0 when leading after two and Florida was 1-7-2 when trailing after two.

Obviously, that one-sided sample will change for the B's at some point and it appeared to be this evening as Alexander Barkov tied it at 7:54 of the third period. Patrice Bergeron turned the puck over in his own zone (something which hardly ever happens) and former teammate Reilly Smith was there to pass it to Barkov for an absolute snipe on Rask. Boston responded a little over five minutes later as Backes tipped in Spooner's shot from the half-wall for his seventh goal of the season. Luongo had just reached his bench when Jason Demers scored one last tally that knotted things at three. Matheson and Vincent Trocheck assisted on Demers' fourth goal of the season which came at 18:31 after a fortuitous bounce off the end boards came right to him and he was able to sneak it by Rask from a tough angle.

Pastrnak's goal in overtime as mentioned above was pure filth, some fine Bruins porn if you will. Krejci held the puck and waited for his fellow Czech to go out of the zone then come back in with speed so when he got the puck he was able to work it around Matheson and then Luongo who went down to the ice a bit early. Pastrnak was able to lift the puck with a forehand shot over Luongo as the Garden crowd exploded. Rookie Brandon Carlo had the second assist on Pastrnak's unforgettable strike (which tied his total goal output from last season).

This was the start of another busy week as Boston is at Washington (14-7-3) on Wednesday (8, NBC Sports) before they host Colorado (9-13-1) on Thursday (7, NESN) and Toronto (10-9-5) on Saturday night (7, NESN). The Capitals are still one of the top teams in the NHL and they always seem to give Boston a tough game, no surprise. The Bruins have won three games in a row and they extended their season-long point streak to five games (4-0-1). The Avalanche are currently in last-place in the Western Conference and the Maple Leafs as always are near the bottom in the East so those are two prime matchups for the B's to continue to bolster their home record (7-5-0). So far, this edition of the Bruins is playing moderately better on home ice, one of their main shortcomings that bit them in the ass last season.

Left wing Matt Beleskey is expected to miss the next six weeks after he hurt his right knee in Saturday's 2-1 win at Buffalo. He had gotten off to a crappy start (2 goals, 3 assists in 24 games) but Boston has very little depth at that particular position so it could be a sneaky important loss for the Black and Gold.

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Bruins Skate to Just About the Easiest 4-1 Win that You've Ever Seen, Apparently Against the Jets

I'm told that Saturday night there were two NHL teams competing at TD Garden but from what I saw there was only one. Boston (11-7-0) beat Winnipeg (9-9-2) 4-1 which doesn't even do it justice since the Jets managed only 12 shots on goal (!) for the entire contest. That was the fewest that the B's had allowed since Nov. 24, 2001 (Toronto) and the fewest that an opponent had here since way back on Jan. 12, 1981 (Minnesota). We'll forgive Tuukka Rask (11 saves, 11-2-0) for not getting a shutout since he probably fell asleep in the crease multiple times. Boston picked up its third straight win at home which seems like way more than that if you remember how wretched they were at the Garden last season.

Boston outshot Winnipeg 14-4 in the first period and even had a two-man advantage for 33 seconds but the Jets escaped with a scoreless frame. They weren't so lucky in the second period as the Bruins blitzed them with three goals. Matt Beleskey scored on a one-timer (his 2nd goal of the season) from Joe Morrow and Dominic Moore at 2:01. Brad Marchand notched his sixth goal of the season at 11:37 after captain Zdeno Chara hit him with a perfect stretch pass off the boards. Marchand lost the puck for a split-second as he went from forehand to his backhand around former Bruin Michael Hutchinson (34 saves) but he was able to recover in time to sweep it in the corner of the net. The B's put it out of reach with Patrice Bergeron's power play goal at 17:00. The one-timer was Bergeron's third goal of the season (snapping a 6-game scoreless stretch) and it came on another 5-on-3 advantage, assisted by David Krejci and Chara.

The Jets hardly ever showed any life, as evidenced by the fact that they didn't record their 10th shot on goal until there was less than nine minutes left in regulation. They were somehow fooled again by another stretch pass as Torey Krug found Tim Schaller at 1:41 of the third period for a 4-0 lead. Schaller's third goal of the season was also assisted by Austin Czarnik. If Rask could have recorded another shutout, he would have been tied with Minnesota's Devan Dubnyk for the NHL lead. Instead, he'll have to settle for tied with Montreal's Carey Price for the most wins in the league. Your boy Adam Lowry displayed a sliver of pride for Winnipeg as he banged in a loose puck at 17:20. Rookie phenom Patrik Laine and Toby Enstrom each assisted on Lowry's fifth goal of the season.

The B's got back over .500 at home this season (4-3-0) and they'll hope to keep that rolling as they host the Blues (10-6-3) on Tuesday (7, NESN), the Flames (7-11-1) on Friday (7:30, NESN) and the Lightning (12-6-1) in next Sunday's matinee (1, NESN). Keep in mind between passing out in food coma glee on Thanksgiving night that the Bruins will be in Ottawa (10-7-1) that evening (7:30, NESN) to entertain us all. What says Happy Thanksgiving more than a game against the Senators? The meetings with St. Louis are always rare but usually solid (since they play very similar styles) plus this will be the first time that former Blues captain David Backes plays against his old team so that'll be interesting.

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Did You Really Think That the Bruins Would Lose at TD Garden During Military Appreciation Night?

I think that we all could get used to this. For the second game in a row, Boston (8-6) notched an easy two points at home. This evening was Military Appreciation Night at TD Garden-always one of the best events of the entire season-so it was great to see the Bruins play well in front of so many deserving veterans and their wonderful families. Columbus (6-4-2) actually scored first but the B's rattled off the next five goals (including 4 in the first period in a span of 4:01) to roll to a 5-2 win.

Coming off a tough 3-2 loss at Montreal (12-1-1) on Tuesday, I'm going to pretend that nothing else notable happened that night in a certain presidential election, Tuukka Rask (15 saves, 8-1-0) was back in goal and life was good for the Black and Gold. The same couldn't be said for poor Sergei Bobrovsky (5 saves) who gave up four goals before he was pulled just 12:48 into the proceedings. The Blue Jackets surprisingly boast the top-ranked power play in the NHL and No. 2 penalty kill unit so the Bruins were happy to keep it mostly to a 5-on-5 contest with only three penalties called on the home team all game.

Alexander Wennberg stole the puck along the boards in Boston's end and fed Nick Foligno for Columbus' opening tally at 2:29. Foligno's goal was his fifth of the season and Wennberg is now the NHL leader with 13 assists (who knew?). Torey Krug finally broke his dry spell with his first goal of the season at 8:47 which tied things at one. His shot from the point deflected off Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray and it was assisted by the Davids (Krejci and Backes). 1:08 after that, Matt Beleskey also got off the goal-scoring schneid as his linemate Austin Czarnik capitalized on a Columbus turnover and fed him for a slap shot that Bobrovsky could only get a piece of.

The rookie Czarnik's speed was on full display as he scored his second NHL goal at 12:24. Beleskey had chipped it in the zone to Riley Nash who hit Czarnik for a 2-on-1 one-timer that he buried. 24 seconds after that, PC's Tim Schaller roofed a sweet backhander from in close (that had to be reviewed since it hit the camera in the net and popped out) which ended Bobrovsky's night for good. Dominic Moore (who was 13-3 on faceoffs as well) assisted on Schaller's second goal as a Bruin.

Backes made it 5-1 in favor of the B's in the second period at 11:51. His one-timer (his 3rd goal of the season) was assisted by Krejci and Ryan Spooner. The last Blue Jackets goal was something straight out of the soccer world as Colin Miller managed to stickhandle the puck right past Rask and into his own net at 8:40 of the third period. Undoubtedly, Sam Gagner was credited with the easiest goal (his 4th of the season) of his life.

Stop me if you've heard this before but the Bruins are headed back out on the road, a three-game road trip to be exact. This means that 11 of their first 17 games will be away from home. The good news is that in this limited sample size so far, they still look like a decent road team (5-3-0) while their next two contests this weekend are against the worst squads in the Western Conference: Arizona and Colorado are both 5-7-0. They are at the Coyotes on Saturday night (8, NESN) and then the Avalanche on Sunday night (7, NESN) before going to Minnesota (7-4-1) next Thursday (8, NESN). Their next home game isn't until Saturday, November 19 (7, NESN) vs. Winnipeg (6-7-1).

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Between Tough Games (Rangers & Canadiens), B's Take Care of Business Against the Depleted Sabres

Coming off a dispiriting 5-2 loss to the Rangers (10-3-0) on Saturday, the Bruins (7-5-0) needed an easy win tonight and that's exactly what they got as they disposed of the shorthanded Sabres (5-5-2) 4-0 at TD Garden. With the Canadiens (10-1-1) looming tomorrow night, I'm not quite sure why he started but Tuukka Rask (7-1-0) made 32 mostly routine saves for his second shutout of the season and 32nd of his NHL career (moving him ahead of Tim Thomas for 3rd place in franchise history). Meanwhile head coach Claude Julien continued to extend his franchise record by grabbing his 400th win as Bruins head coach.

There were a couple very promising developments for the B's besides the two points: their power play which had been wretched all season (3-for-38) but this evening they went 3-for-8. Also, David Krejci and Riley Nash scored their first goals of the season, Matt Beleskey had an assist (his 1st point of the season) and a fight while David Pastrnak (1 goal, 1 assist) continued to score at an amazing clip (12 points in 10 games). Minus probably their three best players-BU's Jack Eichel, Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian-Buffalo was not nearly at full strength.

Dominic Moore somehow completely missed the net when he was wide open for a few seconds right in front of it so the game was scoreless after one period. The action thankfully picked up in the second period as the Bruins crafted possibly their best frame of this young season. They blitzed Buffalo with three goals in a less than 10-minute span. Brad Marchand's shot squeaked by Robin Lehner (38 saves) at 5:44 for his fifth goal of the season (4-game point streak), assisted by Pastrnak and Beleskey. Coming off hip surgery over the summer, Krejci has predictably started off slowly so it was nice to see him hammer in a one-timer from Torey Krug and Ryan Spooner at 10:12 for another power-play goal (Boston was 5-on-3 for 2:34). For a second it looked like Beleskey finally got a goal of his own but Nash's centering pass actually bounced in off a Sabres skate, that made it 3-0 Bruins at 14:41.

After being a healthy scratch last Thursday at Tampa Bay, Beleskey has responded with two good performances in a row capped off by his best game thus far (clearly not saying much). You can never question his toughness or desire to win as he stood up for Marchand after the latter was cross-checked into Buffalo's net. Beleskey dropped the gloves for a short scrap with some guy named Derek Grant. Less than a minute later, Pastrnak put it on ice (terrible pun totally intended) by putting in a juicy rebound on the doorstep. It was his team-leading eighth goal of the season (he's scored a goal in 4 straight games) with rookie Austin Czarnik picking up his first career NHL assist and John-Michael Liles notching his third helper of the season.

The Canadiens have been playing like the best team in the NHL, except from their bizarre 10-0 loss to Columbus (5-3-2) on Friday, and we all know how much the B's typically struggle against their most heated rival. It feels like Boston bungled things by having Rask start tonight since he's dealing with an injury (hamstring, groin?) that has already caused him to miss multiple games this campaign. Would they dare stick rookie Zane McIntyre in goal for only his second NHL start at the Bell Centre? Either way, it's probably a moot point since the Bruins seemingly never play well up there. If you need an escape from the relentless presidential election coverage tomorrow, check out B's-Habs starting at 7:30 p.m. on NESN. No matter your political beliefs, hating on the loathsome Canadiens will never go out of style.

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Is It Too Late For the Bruins to Boycott and/or Skip All Their Home Games This Season?

Typically, I am very stubborn so I hate to admit defeat by not coming up with at least a half-ass explanation for almost everything that occurs in life. However, at this point in the 2015-16 regular season, I can only throw up my hands when it comes to the Bruins and say that I have absolutely no idea how a team that is so great on the road (20-7-3) can simultaneously be truly awful at home (12-15-3) after tonight's 6-4 loss to Columbus (24-29-7).

Boston was coming off a 4-2 road trip (its longest of the campaign) and its most impressive victory (7-3 in Dallas on Saturday night) so naturally they returned to TD Garden and laid another in a long line of rotten eggs. After beating the Blue Jackets 3-2 in a shootout here on January 23 and 2-1 in overtime last Tuesday in Columbus, the B's failed to get the all-important season sweep over one of the worst teams in the NHL. The Bruins never led as they were always chasing the game and they wasted a perfectly good performance by their offense (2 goals apiece for Matt Beleskey and Loui Eriksson) and a dominant night at the faceoff dot (44-25).

He didn't have a ton of help on defense but it was a rough game for Jonas Gustavsson (29 saves, 5 goals allowed). Boone Jenner's tip-in from BC's Cam Atkinson and Ryan Murray opened the scoring at 10:52 of the first period. It was the first of two power play goals for Columbus (who had been 1 for their last 16). Conversely, Boston's power play was 0 for 2, another reason why they didn't pick up any points. Eriksson scored his first tally 15 seconds after Jenner's initial score to make it 1-1. He deflected Torey Krug's shot and David Pastrnak had the second assist on Loui's 22nd goal of the season.

Columbus jumped on Boston to start the second period as Jenner sniped one past Gustavsson just 21 seconds into the frame. Seth Jones and Brandon Dubinsky assisted on his 21st goal of the season. Beleskey knotted it at two only 2:36 after that as he deflected in Joe Morrow's shot with Jimmy Hayes notching the second assist. William Karlsson (8th goal of the season, unassisted) blasted in a turnaround shot at 10:17 to put Columbus up for good at 3-2. Then Scott Hartnell deflected in Murray's shot for the other man-advantage goal at 17:21. Alexander Wennberg also assisted on Hartnell's 19th goal of the season. With so many pro scouts in attendance this evening, you'd have to think that a quality veteran like Hartnell would be in high demand (relatively speaking) with the trade deadline now a week away.

Beleskey made it interesting for a while in the third as he worked tirelessly to tip in another shot (from Kevan Miller) that trimmed Columbus' lead to 4-3 at 2:52. Morrow registered his second assist (for the second game in a row). Joonas Korpisalo (26 saves) made enough stops and former Blackhawk Brandon Saad added the insurance goal that the Blue Jackets needed at 14:29. His 22nd goal of the season was assisted by Hartnell and Wennberg. It came on a strange play as Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg went down to block the shot, only to lose his stick which Hartnell "accidentally" shot at Gustavsson. It was reviewed but similar to Columbus' fruitless challenge on Eriksson's first goal, it still stood up.

Eriksson is certainly doing everything he can to make sure his value is at its peak for next Monday: his second goal made it 5-4 Columbus at 17:03. The shot through traffic had eyes with helpers from David Krejci (team-leading 34th assist) and Pastrnak. Good old Dalton Prout lives for games in Boston apparently since Columbus' scrub defenseman scored his second goal of the season via an empty-netter (both of his goals have been here). Normally, home ice in hockey doesn't mean quite as much as homefield/homecourt advantage in baseball, basketball and football but the B's have made sure no logic applies to them this season.

That said, it'll be a difficult rest of the week as they are off tomorrow before they host Pittsburgh (30-20-8) on Wednesday (7:30, NBCSN), go to Carolina (27-23-10) on Friday (7, NESN) then another national TV game on Sunday (6:30, NBCSN) vs. Tampa Bay (33-22-4), who they are currently tied with in the Atlantic Division (although the Lightning have played one less game). You know that the Bruins will play great against the Hurricanes so I guess we should only worry about the Penguins (2 points behind Boston in Eastern Conference, in 2 less games) and the Lightning, two clubs who figure to be battling for playoff position with the Black and Gold the rest of the way.

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In the First Half Finale Before the All-Star Break, Bruins Fall Flat Against Ducks, 6-2

In their third and final chance of the regular season, the Bruins (26-18-5) finally solved the Flyers last night in Philadelphia (3-2 win). This evening, Boston returned home to face Anaheim (22-18-7) who had been off and hanging around here since Saturday night. You can guess what happened next since the B's were simply out of gas while the Ducks improved to 10-3-1 since Christmas break with a 6-2 victory.

The final score made it seem much worse than it actually was since Anaheim scored an empty-netter and added another garbage time goal with 32 seconds left in regulation. Still, it was yet another chance that Boston had to reach the .500 mark at TD Garden (11-13-2) but they failed to do so once again. Jonas Gustavsson (14 saves) made the start for Boston, however he was pulled after the first period and transported to Mass General Hospital for further observation with an undisclosed illness. Hopefully it's not the heart condition that marred his earlier NHL career. Tuukka Rask (19 saves) played the final two periods and took the loss.

The B's actually struck first, just 40 seconds into the contest as Zach Trotman scored his first goal of the season. His blast from the point was assisted by David Krejci and former Duck Matt Beleskey. Anaheim tied it less than eight minutes later as Corey Perry was the beneficiary of a giveaway by Trotman behind his own net. David Perron stole the puck and fed Perry for his 20th goal of the season at 7:54. After Patrice Bergeron was called for tripping, the Ducks took a 2-1 lead on Shea Theodore's power play goal at 14:27. His wrist shot through traffic was assisted by Perry and Sami Vatanen.

The second period was what won it for Anaheim as they outscored Boston 2-0 to take a commanding 4-1 advantage into the third. Perron (acquired from Pittsburgh on January 15 in the Carl Hagelin trade) backhanded in a rebound at 11:06. Chris Stewart and Ryan Getzlaf assisted on Perron's sixth goal of the season. The Ducks put it out of reach with a late tally as Kevin Bieksa wired one in from just inside the blue line. Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler assisted on his second goal of the season.

Boston showed some signs of life early in the final frame as Zdeno Chara wristed a shot past Frederik Andersen (32 saves) at 2:04. Ryan Spooner and Beleskey assisted on the captain's seventh goal of the season. It really could have gotten interesting if the B's had potted another but Torey Krug's shot hit the crossbar and they couldn't convert a power play (they were 0 for 4 on the night). Kesler scored the empty-netter and Santorelli poked a loose puck in to round out the scoring.

Bergeron will be going to Nashville this weekend for the All-Star Game but the rest of the team figure to scatter around the globe since their next game isn't until a week from tonight vs. Toronto (17-21-9) at the Garden (7, NESN). Boston has 33 games left and believe it or not, they currently sit in third in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Granted, they are only a point ahead of both the Lightning and Islanders (who have both played fewer games). Other than Washington at the top and Buffalo, Toronto and Columbus at the bottom, the rest of the East is very muddled. That should make for an exciting trade deadline and last few months before the playoffs start in April.

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Canadiens Embarrass Bruins 5-1 at Gillette Stadium In The 2016 Winter Classic

It is one thing for a much-hyped event not to live up to expectations but it's another for the home team to completely fall on its face in the biggest game of the regular season in front of a worldwide audience on NBC. Today, Gillette Stadium was the setting for one of the lowest moments in recent Bruins (20-13-4) history as they fell 5-1 to the Canadiens in the 2016 Winter Classic. It wasn't even that competitive as Montreal (22-15-3) jumped ahead 1-0 just 1:14 into the game, led 3-0 after two periods and cruised to an easy victory in this bitter rivalry that has had 733 regular season meetings (most in NHL history).

With the two points, the Habs leapfrogged idle Florida back into first-place in the Atlantic Division. It marked the fourth time in the last few weeks that the B's have had a chance to take over the top-spot, only to lose. The easy excuse for the Bruins was that they were missing two of their best players-Brad Marchand (serving the first game of his 3-game suspension) and David Krejci (on IR with upper-body injury). Conversely, Montreal welcomed back Brendan Gallagher who had missed the past 17 games with two broken fingers. He returned with a goal and assist as he provided an immediate spark to what had been a sputtering team without him. Of course, injuries happen to every team and Marchand's reckless play was his own fault so it's hard to feel much sympathy for Boston's current plight.

I doubt anyone on the Canadiens enjoyed this triumph more than Holliston, MA native Mike Condon (27 saves) who had Tom Brady printed on his special mask for the Winter Classic. Even cooler than that, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (the mask also said "Do Your Job") and Brady both signed it since they were temporary neighbors for Montreal's goaltender this week. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (25 saves) did not have quite as enjoyable an afternoon since his teammates were lifeless and there was little that he could do by himself to prevent most of the five goals. Late in the game, he took a shot to the throat but valiantly stayed in.

David Desharnais was scoreless in his past seven contests so naturally he opened the scoring when he batted the puck out of mid-air. It was his eighth goal of the season, assisted by Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin. Considering that Boston was outshot 14-3 in the first period, they were lucky to only be down 1-0 after 20 minutes. Another nobody tallied a goal for Montreal as Paul Byron dove to put in a rebound at 2:00 of the second. Lynnfield MA native Brian Flynn and Mark Barberio assisted on Byron's sixth goal of the season. A cross-checking penalty on Kevan Miller knocked Dale Weise (upper-body injury) out of the game but the Canadiens power play couldn't capitalize. Boston appeared to cut it to 2-1 at 8:20 when Jimmy Hayes put in what would have been a power play goal following Zdeno Chara's initial shot. The referees blew the whistle when they thought that Condon had the puck covered (he didn't) so Bruins head coach Claude Julien (rocking a Belichick style Bruins hoodie) couldn't challenge it.

Rask made a nice stop on Gallagher but minutes later, Montreal's pesky right wing knocked in Max Pacioretty's aerial pass at 17:20 for a commanding 3-0 lead. It was a sublime piece of skill that basically put away the game for the Canadiens with more than an entire period left. Tomas Plekanec had the second assist on Gallagher's 10th goal of the season. With Boston's shorthanded attack, there was no way that they were scoring three or more goals following that. Since he was the only Bruin with a positive +/- today, it was fitting that Matt Beleskey bagged their only goal. He tipped in Adam McQuaid's shot from the point at 3:56 of the third period. Ryan Spooner had the second assist on Beleskey's eighth goal of the season which gave Boston (and the crowd) some brief life for almost five whole minutes of game action.

Pacioretty shut down the B's with a beautiful one-timer off a saucer pass from Gallagher at 8:49 of the third. Plekanec picked up his second assist on Pacioretty's team-leading 16th goal of the season. Hayes and Lars Eller tried to brawl in garbage time but it wasn't really a fight so they were just called for roughing. 10 seconds later, Byron knocked in another rebound from P.K. Subban and Nathan Beaulieu. Truth be told, Montreal deserved to win by (at least) four goals while Boston should have lost by about 10 goals for the pitiful effort they put up in front of a sell-out crowd (67,246).

Boston's next game isn't until Tuesday (7, NESN) when they host Washington (28-7-2)-the top team in the Eastern Conference. Needless to say, that's a huge tilt especially because the Bruins head out on a five-game road trip (Devils, Senators, Rangers, Flyers and Sabres). Then again, this is the same team that remains under .500 at home (9-10-2) while they are 11-3-2 on the road. It is going to be a rough few days trying to digest this bitter loss, mostly because they figure to hear about it non-stop until Tuesday. Keep in mind though, that they are still only three points behind Montreal with three games in hand and two points behind Florida (21-12-4).

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After Hanging 7 Goals On Ottawa, I'd Say That Boston is Officially Ready for the Winter Classic

For a Tuesday night game in late December, you couldn't have asked for much more entertainment (that is if you support the home team) than Boston's (20-12-4) insane 7-3 victory over Ottawa (18-13-6) at TD Garden. Jimmy Hayes scored his first career NHL hat trick while Patrice Bergeron and Matt Beleskey each added two goals apiece. What's more, near the end of the contest there were five (count them five!) legitimate fights. It was a taste of Old Time Bruins Hockey as the B's can now fully turn their attention to Friday's (1, NBC) much-anticipated Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium vs. Montreal (21-15-3).

The Senators were coming off a 3-1 win against the Bruins on Sunday night in Ottawa but they looked nothing like that club as Boston scored a season-high four power play goals (their most since 4 on Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Carolina). Improbably, the B's top-ranked power play continues to chug along (they are 30 for 102 on the season = 29.4%) while their usually strong penalty kill is finally starting to catch up (4-for-4 tonight) and they began the game 13th in the league. The two points were important since it allowed Boston to go up two on Ottawa (with a game in hand). The Bruins are also one point ahead of Detroit, one behind Montreal and two behind first-place Florida. The top six teams in the Atlantic Division are only separated by six points.

It was the exact same goaltender matchup from Sunday as once again Craig Anderson (30 saves) took on Tuukka Rask (29). I guess that Ottawa really didn't want to play backup Andrew Hammond at all since Anderson was hung out to dry and kept in for the entire beating. Hayes fittingly opened the scoring at 8:01 when a good bounce allowed him to tap the puck in from close range. Kevan Miller assisted on Hayes' sixth goal of the season. One of the few things more improbable than a Hayes goal was Senators tough guy Chris Neil tying it at one but that's what he did at 12:31. Rask left him a juicy rebound and he deposited it for his second goal of the season with assists to Shane Prince (Tayshaun's little brother?) and Max McCormick. Bergeron got his first goal of the contest (and first on the power play) at 16:25 when he put in a shot from the slot. Torey Krug (back after missing one game with an undisclosed injury) and Ryan Spooner had the assists on Bergeron's 13th goal of the season.

Unlike Hayes, Beleskey created many chances earlier this season but similarly couldn't find the back of the net with much regularity. Hopefully that'll change as well as he scored a power play tally at 1:21 from Brett Connolly (1st point in 12 games!) and Brad Marchand (who could be suspended after a low bridge hit in the first period). Beleskey's sixth goal of the season was followed by Mika Zibanejad who cut it to 3-2 late in the second (17:51). Neil and Prince assisted on Zibanejad's seventh goal of the season.

Bergeron's second power play goal came at 2:38 of the third period and it gave Boston another two-goal lead (4-2). Krug picked up his second helper while Seth Griffith (called up today with David Krejci on IR) got his first point of the season. Mike Hoffman's shot went off Dennis Seidenberg's skate which confused Rask and trimmed Boston's advantage to 4-3 at 4:22. Hoffman has 18 goals (who knew?) while Eric Karlsson (32 assists) leads the NHL in assists with Marc Methot getting credit for the other apple. Hayes finished a 2-on-1 with Max Talbot at 15:49 then 51 seconds later, Beleskey smoked a one-timer from Spooner. Loui Eriksson sneakily got assists on both of those as he became the third Bruin to reach 20 assists this season (joining Krejci who has 22 and Bergeron who has 21). The hat trick came with 0.2 seconds left in regulation aka garbage time (haha also on a power play) but Hayes will certainly take it. Frank Vatrano and Dennis Seidenberg assisted on the goal that set off a steady stream of hats (ironically the team had given away winter hats today) onto the ice.

Bruins-Canadiens doesn't need an introduction and in case you need a little review on their storied history, turn on NESN, NBCSN or the NHL Network for the next few days. Friday's game is always the showcase event for the league on New Year's Day and with the College Football Playoff the night before, I predict this edition gets its best rating yet (if you're into that kind of thing, which you're probably not). A little snow would be nice but with temperatures expected to be in the low 40s, it should be a virtually perfect atmosphere for the best rivalry in the NHL and one of the greatest in professional sports.

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It Is Jack Eichel's World, We're All Just Living In It

In case you didn't know, blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of any type of hockey game is very bad. What about one of the worst teams in the NHL closing out said contest with five unanswered goals you say? The Bruins (19-11-4) were up 3-1 on the Sabres (15-16-4) tonight at TD Garden, with dreams of jumping into first-place in the Atlantic Division as Montreal lost 3-1 in Washington but then the home team completely fell apart in a stunning 6-3 loss. Buffalo's last two goals were empty-netters but you get the picture. North Chelmsford MA native and BU alum (can you say that after 1 year on campus?) Jack Eichel had a decent pro debut in Boston: two goals and two assists.

Coming back from the Christmas break, the Bruins were in control most of the way that is after Evander Kane put in a rebound at 5:13 of the second period to make it 1-0 Sabres. The enigmatic Kane's eighth goal of the season was assisted by Tyler Ennis and Eichel. Jonas Gustavsson (23 saves) got the start against former Bruin Chad Johnson (30 saves) and for a while, it looked like he'd pick up his seventh win of the season, no sweat. Matt Beleskey answered 36 seconds later, tipping in Kevan Miller's shot for his fifth goal of the season. Loui Eriksson had the second helper on Beleskey's tally. Patrice Bergeron gave Boston its first lead at 2-1 when he beat Johnson five-hole (more like 10-hole on that one) at 7:05 of the second. Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara assisted on Bergeron's 12th goal of the season.

David Krejci's beautiful individual effort-he batted his third shot in a row out of mid-air-extended the Bruins' lead to 3-1 at 6:59 of the third period and all seemed well in the Hub. Eriksson picked up his second assist of the night on Krejci's 10th goal of the season. Krejci became the fourth Bruin to reach double-figures in goals this campaign: Marchand (15), Eriksson (13) and Bergeron. Ryan Spooner is the next closest to that mark with eight goals.

All hell started to break loose in the final 10 minutes of regulation as Ryan O'Reilly cut it to 3-2 at 10:21. A rebound off the end-boards caromed right to him and he deposited the puck for his 13th goal of the season. Mike Weber and Cody Franson had the assists on the pricey free agent's innocuous goal. Fate was on Buffalo's side (has that ever been said before?) when Eichel's shot went in the net off of a Bruin skate just 39 seconds later. Jake McCabe had the lone assist on Eichel's 10th goal of the season.

Good old Jamie McGinn had what turned out to be the game-winner at 14:24, a backhander from O'Reilly and Zach Bogosian that was his eighth goal of the season. The No. 1 star of the night-Eichel-and No. 3-O'Reilly boosted their point totals with the empty-netters and the Sabres were on their merry way (sorry about that).

With the loss, Boston also dropped below .500 at the Garden (8-9-2). The good news for them is that they are right back at it tomorrow night (5, NESN) in Ottawa (17-12-6). The Bruins are 11-2-2 on the road and Tuukka Rask will be in net. Haha plus Max Talbot returns from his two-game suspension, game-changer! The Senators have been off since Wednesday and a win tomorrow against the B's would pull them into a tie. From the Things Can Always Be Worse Department: Montreal has lost six games in a row and they remain one point ahead of Boston (who has 3 games 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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Bruins Win Their Season-High Fifth Game In a Row, Rallying For 4-3 Win Over Rangers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Bruins Finally Win Back-to-Back Games at TD Garden This Season

It only took almost a month and a half into the 2015-16 regular season but the Bruins (10-8-1) finally picked up back-to-back wins on their home ice (4-6-1). Tonight, they held off Toronto (7-10-4) 2-0 at TD Garden, on the shoulders of 22 timely saves for Tuukka Rask (2nd shutout of the season; 28th of his career) and a clutch goal by captain Zdeno Chara.

Laugh if you will but the Maple Leafs appear to be much improved under new head coach Mike Babcock, they were 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. Even though they had played a shootout in Carolina last night, they competed hard this evening and it translated to a playoff-like atmosphere.

Boston outshot Toronto 37-22 but in terms of quality scoring chances, it was much closer than that. In fact, Toronto center Shawn Matthias had a breakaway in the first period and another in the second period that were both stopped by Rask. Boston's NHL-worst penalty kill only had to kill off one penalty (and they did successfully): roughing on Brad Marchand in the first period. Likewise, the Bruins' top-ranked power-play only had one opportunity-in the third period after a high-sticking penalty on Nazem Kadri-but they couldn't convert on it.

Right wing Michael Grabner of the Maple Leafs had a shot deflect off the crossbar in the second period and birthday boy Jimmy Hayes' shot that stuffed on the goal-line by former Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick and Reimer was reviewed but remained no goal early in the third period. It looked like these teams were headed to overtime but Chara prevented that when he was given way too much time and space at 16:17 of the third. He cranked a low slap shot through traffic that went between Reimer's leg pads. Zach Trotman and Matt Beleskey assisted on Chara's third goal of the season.

Reimer was pulled for an extra attacker but the Maple Leafs couldn't find the tying goal. Marchand clinched it with an empty-netter at 19:53 from Loui Eriksson (4-game point streak) and Patrice Bergeron (7-game point streak). Rask has to love seeing the Maple Leafs since tonight's victory improved his all-time record vs. Toronto to 12-3-1.

These same clubs meet again on Monday (7:30, NESN) in Toronto. Boston then travels to Detroit (10-8-2) on Wednesday (7:30, NESN), the night before Thanksgiving. Their next home game is on Black Friday afternoon against the Rangers (15-3-2)-arguably the best team in the league at this moment.

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Loui Eriksson's Third Career Hat Trick (1st With Boston) Leads Bruins to A 4-2 Win Over Wild

In his third year in Boston and most importantly, with a clean bill of health, Loui Eriksson has been the Bruins' most consistent player so far this season. Tonight, he was rewarded with his third career hat trick (1st for the Bruins) as the B's (9-8-1) beat the Wild (10-5-3) 4-2 at TD Garden. Boston is 2-2 on its longest homestand of the season with the finale on Saturday night (7, NESN) vs. Toronto (6-9-4). This victory improved their wretched home record to 3-6-1.

Jonas Gustavsson (4-1-0) made his first start as a Bruin at the Garden and it was a good one since he had 24 saves to earn the third star of the game. Given how bad Tuukka Rask has been and the fact that Gustavsson hadn't played in nearly two weeks (11/7 at Montreal was his last outing) created an easy decision for Bruins head coach Claude Julien. I have no doubt that Rask will be back in between the pipes on Saturday but Gustavsson should be in action again on Monday when Boston travels to Toronto.

The Bruins still have the worst penalty kill in the NHL but it took a step forward tonight. They killed a Minnesota power play that started less than a minute into the game and went 3-for-3 for the duration of the contest. Brad Marchand made it 1-0 Boston at 5:30 when he wrapped around the net and beat Devan Dubnyk (34 saves) after Brett Connolly's shot from the slot had missed the net. It was Marchand's seventh goal of the season.

Boston showed some toughness (something which has been rare for them this season) as Matt Beleskey fought Brett Bulmer four seconds after Marchand's goal. Apparently it was a spur of the moment thing because Bulmer is a nobody who was just playing in his second NHL game of the year. Ryan Spooner had a great chance on a 2-on-1 late in the frame but his shot hit the crossbar.

The Bruins had a two-man advantage for 1:16 but they weren't able to convert as Dubnyk made a couple great saves. Jason Zucker tied it at 5:12 of the second period after Gustavsson gave him a juicy rebound. Mikko Koivu and Nino Niederreiter assisted on Zucker's sixth goal of the season. Rookie Frank Vatrano got crushed along the boards by Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser, he went to the dressing room and never returned because of he suffered a concussion (no word on the severity).

Loui's hat trick was the first for a Bruin since David Krejci's in 2014 (March 4, 2014 vs. Tim Thomas and Florida) and the fastest since Brad Boyes in 2006 (March 18 vs. Carolina). The Swede got it started when his centering pass to Connolly at 7:37 went off a Wild skate and in the net. Krejci and McQuaid assisted on Eriksson's seventh goal of the season. For a guy that's not particularly big or strong, Eriksson does a nice job of going to the net and using his hands to score many goals. He struck on the power play (Boston's PP remains No. 1 in the NHL) in that fashion at 11:21, assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug.

The Wild were playing in the final game of a four-game road trip without their star Zach Parise but they showed some heart by cutting it to 3-2 at 13:37 of the second. Jordan Schroeder tipped Ryan Suter's wrist shot from the point with the other assist going to Ryan Carter. One crazy note on Suter: he leads the NHL in ice time and he played 32:36 (32 shifts!) tonight. He must be a cyborg, that's not human.

Eriksson finished the hat trick at 4:14 of the third period with a one-timer from Krejci and Beleskey. Ironically, he and Tyler Seguin have the same amount of hat tricks at the Garden in 2015-16. For two teams that rarely see each other, there was some nastiness particularly at the end when Colin Miller got a game misconduct after a large scrum. After the final whistle, Zucker had to be helped off following a seemingly innocent tap by Beleskey behind his knee. I have no idea if he typically embellishes stuff but you would have thought that he broke his leg or something, very strange scene.

Not that it should matter since the Maple Leafs are still one of the worst teams in the league but Toronto is at Carolina (6-10-2) tomorrow night before coming to Boston. I've said it before and it hasn't happened thus far but this little stretch here before Thanksgiving is a perfect time for the B's to put a win streak together. We shall see, the first part is to win back-to-back games at home-a simple task which they haven't successfully completed yet this season.

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Bruins Notch First Home Win of the Season In Resounding Fashion, 6-0 vs. Coyotes

There are times in every professional sports regular season where one team has a distinct advantage in terms of rest and travel against their opponent. The key is to use those to your advantage and make the most out of them since everyone faces an impossible schedule at some point. Arizona (5-4-1) is an up-and-coming young team that is off to a surprisingly decent start to the 2015-16. However, they limped into TD Garden tonight at the tail-end (no pun intended) of a five-game road trip with their third game in four nights. Boston (4-3-1) had been off since Friday so you can guess the result: a 6-0 Bruins victory that was competitive for almost two periods before the Coyotes completely folded.

The win was extra meaningful for the B's for a couple notable reasons: first of all, they finally got their first win at home out of the way after starting 0-3-1 here. Additionally, Tuukka Rask (2-3-1; 24 saves) picked up his first shutout of the season and 27th of his career. David Krejci (2 goals) extended his NHL points lead and also built upon his point-streak to eight games, the most for a Bruin since 1992-93 (when Joe Juneau and Dmitri Kvartalnov went 14 games with a point to start the year).

Boston continued to get help from some unlikely sources: five different players had goals and 11 notched points. Jimmy Hayes led the way with three points (1 goal, 2 assists) while Loui Eriksson (2 assists), Matt Beleskey (2 assists) and Brad Marchand (1 goal, 1 assists) all had multiple points. Krejci started the fun with a beautiful goal at 17:22 of the first period. He skated in with Connolly on a 2-on-1 and you expected him to pass it but at the last second he instead chose to roof it over Mike Smith's (21 saves) shoulder. Eriksson and Krug assisted on his six goal of the season.

Hayes doubled Boston's lead at 6:51 of the second period when he knocked in a rebound. Beleskey and Ryan Spooner assisted on the Dorchester native's third goal of the season. You felt like the Bruins had this one in their skate bag when Joe Morrow of all people walked over the blue line and beat Smith with a beautiful shot. It was only his second career NHL goal, assisted by Beleskey at 17:29.

Connolly scored a goal for the third straight game at 10:22, a pea to the far corner on Smith's blocker side. Marchand and Bergeron assisted on his third goal of the season. Bozos John Scott (how the hell is he still in the NHL?) and Steve Downie had seen enough so they both got game-misconducts with 8:48 left in regulation. Boston's top-ranked power-play was able to cash in for its first power-play goal of the night (they were 1-for-4) as Brad Marchand put one by Smith who didn't seem to even know where it was headed. Colin Miller and Hayes assisted on Marchand's second goal of the season. Krejci fittingly put the bow on top with a garbage time tally with 38 seconds left in this laugher. Smith was still in there for some reason while Hayes and Eriksson padded their stats with another helper.

The B's get another break as they don't play again until Friday (7:30, NESN) in Florida (4-3-1). They are at Tampa Bay (5-3-2) the next night (7, NESN) on Halloween against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. That Florida trip used to be an automatic six points but not so much anymore since the Panthers are a legit playoff contender now too. Jaromir Jagr left Florida's game tonight with a lower-body injury so let's hope the league's oldest player is healthy enough to return by then against one of his countless former teams.

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The Bruins Are Off to Their Worst Start Since 2005-06, So There Is That

Another game and another humbling defeat by the Bruins. All we can hope is that this isn't an omen for how things are going to go for the bulk of the 2015-16 season. Montreal (2-0) came to TD Garden on Saturday night and topped the B's (0-2) 4-2 in a contest that truthfully wasn't that close since Boston scored with 31 seconds left to make the final score appear a little less grotesque. Boston has started 0-2 just 13 times in their 91 years of existence, most recently in 2005-06. 0-3 is certainly a distinct possibility since the defending Eastern Conference champs-the Lightning (2-0)-pay them a visit on Monday afternoon (1, NESN).

First things first, the best rivalry in hockey has become very one-sided over the last few years. Montreal has won seven games in a row in Boston (dating back to Jan. 12, 2012) and six overall in the series that has seen the most meetings (730) of any NHL matchup. Tonight was more of the same as the Canadiens used their spectacular team speed and skill to draw six power-plays. They only cashed in on one of them (the first) but for whatever reason, the B's under head coach Claude Julien never seem to have an answer for this style for the most part. Boston's plodding and lack of creativity never looks as bad as it does when they face the Habs, every time it sticks out like a sore thumb.

It didn't take long for Montreal to jump ahead as they drew a bogus illegal check to the head penalty on Matt Beleskey at 1:14 then 11 seconds later, David Desharnais had an easy tap-in from Andrei Markov and Alex Galchenyuk. Boston should have had at least a goal or two later in the first as Torey Krug hit the post, Carey Price (20 saves) robbed David Pastrnak not once but twice on the doorstep and Brad Marchand hit the crossbar.

Lars Eller scored a pair of goals early in the second period, sandwiched around what should have been a goal by Joe Morrow that cut it to 2-1. Instead, the Canadiens basically clinched it by going up 3-0. With Boston's lack of goal-scoring against Price-the Vezina Trophy winner-that is an insurmountable lead in most instances. Morrow's goal was off a rebound but it was ruled no goal since Patrice Bergeron slightly bumped Price (because he was pushed by a Canadien). Julien used the new coach's challenge but still lost (thereby forgoing the timeout) even though it appeared to be an easy correction.

A bounce finally went the Bruins' way as Matt Beleskey's centering pass went off a Montreal skate past Price at 14:26 of the second to make it 3-1. The first goal of his Boston career was assisted by David Krejci and Pastrnak. Mild-mannered Ryan Spooner received a boarding and game misconduct penalty for a hit from behind at 3:30 of the third. Boston was able to kill a two-man advantage for Montreal that lasted 1:05. Dale Weiss hit the post but more importantly to Boston's season, Marchand jumped into his elbow (this is how it happened) and ended up very woozy (he went right to the dressing room and never returned). Tomas Plekanec scored an empty-net goal for his 500th career NHL point and Bergeron scored a power play goal in garbage time after Torrey Mitchell got a match penalty.

Julien made two lineup changes coming into this contest with Max Talbot and Colin Miller (playing in his first NHL game) taking the place of Joonas Kemppainen and Zach Trotman. Talbot's only stat was one hit in 12:18 of ice time so it's hard to quantify any contributions he might have made. Miller had a shot on goal and blocked a shot in 16:13. Claude was happy with his performance so I see no reason why he would be switched out on Monday, why not take Matt Irwin (-2) out and replace him with Trotman? I know that messes up the whole left shot/right shot thing but at this point, do the B's really have to worry about secondary stuff like that? How about the best players play while the scrubs take a seat or better yet, go to Providence or get waived.

Call me crazy but at some point, things will click for the Bruins this season and they will look like the playoff contender that most thought they could be, right? We knew it would be bumpy with Zdeno Chara (still no need to rush him back) and Dennis Seidenberg but these first two games have been downright ugly. Julien is probably coaching for his job and you'd like to see him get a fair shake with a legitimate defensive corps, not this slop. Nobody looks good when your team has this many holes already, Tuukka Rask (34 saves) says hello. One of their major downfalls last season, Boston lacked a real identity and they sure don't have a positive one so far this young season.

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