Bruins' 2013-14 Regular Season Schedule Released

We can all laugh at the NHL's complete lack of good timing, dropping its biggest news in weeks on a Friday afternoon during a heatwave, but there is still something fun with regards to thinking about the Bruins this fall, winter and spring while our minds melt. Thankfully, with a full regular season (forget you lockout), the B's will have a much more interesting slate of 82 games. Plus, they're in a new division (Atlantic) which is the old Northeast plus the Red Wings (yay!), Panthers and Lightning (meh).

Every team in the NHL will meet every possible opponent with the fun starting for real on October 1 and the regular season ending on April 13. The playoffs begin on April 16 and there is a 2.5 week break from February 9-26 due to NHL players competing in the 2014 Olympics in Socchi, Russia. The B's won't be taking part in one of the six outdoor games planned by the NHL this season, more than ever. With an unbalanced Eastern Conference (16 teams) and Western Conference (14 teams), the Bruins will play five games against two teams in their division and four games against five teams in the division (30 games). Then they'll play three games each against the other eight teams in the East leaving 28 games against the West. Hope you got that without picking up an ice cream headache.

Boston's first regular season game is October 3 vs. Tampa Bay. The B's have to be content with their first three games at TD Garden as they host the Red Wings two nights later then the Avalanche on October 10. Assuming he's returned from shoulder surgery, former Bruin Nathan Horton and his new team-Columbus Blue Jackets host Boston for their first road game on October 12. Other highlights of October include the B's welcoming in the Red Wings on Columbus Day afternoon, San Jose comes to TD Garden on October 24 then a great two games in two nights stretch: at Pittsburgh on October 30 then hosting Anaheim on Halloween.

We don't have to wait long for Tyler Seguin's much ballyhooed return to Boston (local bars and clubs should be thrilled) as the Stars play the Bruins November 5 to kick off a five-game homestand (longest of the season) through November 14. The Maple Leafs will be looking ahead to November 9 at TD Garden for a while since it's their first meeting with the B's since their loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last spring. The return of former stars continues as Horton and Columbus play in Boston on November 14. Boston visits the Rangers on November 19 in the first matchup of the season since the B's knocked New York out in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Jarome Iginla gets his first crack at the Penguins in the Hub on November 25 as Pittsburgh returns to the place where they were swept in the Eastern Conference Finals. Drinking the night before Thanksgiving is always a great tradition and this year it should be even better with the Bruins playing in Detroit. In their usual afternoon game the day after Thanksgiving, the B's take on the Rangers.

The bad news is that we'll have to wait over two months for our first installment of Bruins-Canadiens (December 5 in Montreal) but that means they'll be backloaded which will be enjoyable enough. Speaking of Iggy, he gets to make his first return to Calgary on another team December 10 with the B's as part of a four-game road trip in Canada (December 8-14) which is the longest of the season. That holiday in Canada will be followed with another reunion as the B's head to Edmonton on December 12 to face former Bruin Andrew Ference. Boston wraps things up North of the border in Vancouver on December 14 where they can beat up some more on the Sedin sisters. The NHL is nice enough to gives everybody a break from December 24-26 (take that NBA!) so the Bruins' last game before Christmas is December 23 in Nashville then they return on December 27 vs. Ottawa. I hate New Year's Eve so I'm happy that I already have a built in excuse to beg off the sure to be lame plans and watch the Bruins play the Islanders that night at TD Garden.

The first game of 2014 for the B's will be January 2 vs. Predators. Bruins fans on the West Coast will be treated to what should be three great games in California: January 7 at Anaheim, January 9 at Los Angeles and January 11 at San Jose. Seguin is sure to welcome his old team with open arms in Dallas on January 16 aka Loui Eriksson's glorious return. The Bruins-Blackhawks renew their delicious new rivalry on January 19 in Chicago, sure to be a national broadcast since it's a Sunday afternoon. Boston faces a brutal back-to-back as they return home the next afternoon (MLK Day) to take on the Kings. Boston travels to Philadelphia on January 25, those are always entertaining games. The influx of clowns from Montreal will take place on January 30 with the Canadiens in town.

For all he did for the community, the B's and Boston should do something for Ference when he returns with the Oilers on February 1. With the break for the Olympics, the B's only play five games in the shortest month of the year. They host Ottawa on February 8 in the last game before then and return on February 26 in Buffalo.

It'll be another crazy March for the B's with 17 games (8 home, 9 away). The toughest ticket of the season at the Garden for the Bruins is sure to be March 27 vs. Chicago. For the Bruins, seven games in April ends on the 13th in New Jersey. With training camp beginning on September 11 (rough timing once again), we are not that far away from what should be another excellent season with the defending Eastern Conference champions.

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Hey Jarome Iginla, No Hard Feelings Right Buddy?

I am sure that you've already heard the news since it happened on Friday but I thought I'd wrap up the Bruins' moves from this weekend since many of us (myself included) were in a Fourth of July/long holiday weekend haze. The Bruins and right wing Jarome Iginla agreed to a one-year deal worth $6 million while Nathan Horton signed a seven-year deal in Columbus, Andrew Ference is off to Edmonton for four seasons, backup goaltender Anton Khudobin is now a Carolina Hurricane for at least the next season and Aaron Johnson signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Rangers.

We don't have to rehash all the drama with Iginla a few months ago but you have to admit that it is pretty funny that he ended up in Boston after getting swept by the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals in June. It's all about timing and despite the fact that he's slowing down (he turned 36 last week), he has a good chance to end up on Boston's top line with Milan Lucic and David Krejci now that Horton is officially gone.

Iginla's resume speaks for itself, there is a reason that he'll be in the Hockey Hall of Fame after he retires: he has the third most goals of active players (530) with 576 assists and he's +48 for his career which is great when you consider all the poor teams he played on in Calgary. He has 165 power play goals and 206 power play assists with 13 shorthanded goals and nine shorthanded assists.

The former Flames captain put up seven 30-goal seasons, two 40-goal seasons and two 50-goal seasons with a career-high 52 in 2001-02. Showing how well rounded he is, Iginla has six 30-assist seasons, two 40-assists seasons and two 50-assist seasons with a career-high 55 in 2006-07. He's never had 100 points in a season (who does anymore in the NHL?) but he's come close with 94, 96 and 98 in 2007-08.

You can't expect Iginla to still be the player he was in his prime since he showed signs of age between Calgary (9 goals, 13 assists in 31 games) and Pittsburgh (5 goals, 6 assists in 13 games) last season. Still, he missed four games in the regular season but he played in all 82 for five seasons in a row (2007-08 to 2011-12). It's also easy to forget since he had a goose egg (0 goals, 0 assists) in the Bruins' sweep of the Penguins but before that, he notched four goals and eight assists in 11 games. In 69 career NHL playoff games, he has posted 32 goals and 29 assists.

My guess is that with a full training camp, no worries around the trade deadline over if he'll get dealt and a regular season with the B's, he should be a nice fit at a very reasonable price and the fans will totally forget about all the old drama provided that he plays well. It'll be strange to see Horton and Ference in other jerseys next season. I'm happy that they both got long-term deals since they are good guys that gave everything they had to the Black and Gold. Losing Khudobin was a little surprising but I'm confident the Bruins can find a comparable backup for Tuukka Rask in 2013-14.

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Wrapping Up A Wonderful Season For The Bruins

The Bruins had their final interviews this afternoon at TD Garden as they packed their stuff and headed out for a shortened summer vacation. The most interesting part of this day is all the hidden injuries that are revealed to the media: the showstopper was from Patrice Bergeron who on top of all his other serious maladies suffered a punctured lung after Game 6 and was in the hospital until tonight. Zdeno Chara (hip flexor), Dennis Seidenberg (hamstring) and Jaromir Jagr (head and back) were the other key players with major injuries. Nathan Horton is set for surgery on his shoulder this offseason.

Boston GM Peter Chiarelli actually admitted that he told defenseman Andrew Ference and Jagr (free agents to be) that they won't be back in the Hub next season. You knew that Jagr was just a rental when they obtained him at the trade deadline and with Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton all pushing for minutes, Ference's time was up. Still, it is a real shame to say goodbye to the pro athlete in Boston that has embraced the city more than any other currently here. Of course that doesn't mean much if he can't play but Ference is everything you'd want in a veteran leader: tough, smart, great with the media and steps his game up when it matters the most. He played with the Bruins for seven years and won a Cup in 2011 as well as reaching the Stanley Cup Final this season. I will always be a Ference fan.

Signing Horton is a priority and obviously Bergeron is going to get a long-term extension to hopefully keep him with the Bruins for his entire career. Finally, Boston's main goal in the next few weeks is to sign Rask to a huge deal. He earned it with a great playoff run, proving that he is a franchise goaltender for them to build around.

UPDATE 6/29: Horton told Chiarelli that he's going to test free agency and won't sign a contract with the Bruins. Ugh.

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There Is No Way To Sugarcoat Losing The 5th Longest Game In Stanley Cup Finals History

It's been hours since Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals but honestly my brain is complete mush after witnessing the longest game of the postseason. I can't even imagine how the players feel after Chicago rallied for a 4-3 triple overtime win over Boston, the fifth longest contest in Finals history. The Blackhawks snapped the Bruins' five-game win streak by coming back from a pair of two-goal deficits (2-0 and 3-1) and getting all four goals by role players: capped off by Andrew Shaw's game-winner at 12:08.

Game 2 is thankfully an extra day away, Saturday (8 p.m., NBC) back at United Center. B's goaltender Tuukka Rask (career-high 59 saves) was superb but victimized by a pair of fluky goals: Johnny Oduya's goal at 12:14 in the third period went off Andrew Ference's skate and Shaw's goal was the result of the dreaded double deflection.

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford (51 saves) wasn't as busy as Rask but he held the fort while the B's controlled play in OT (outshooting Blackhawks 29-24). The problem for Boston in the extra sessions is that the best chances went to the last guys they'd want with the puck on their stick: Kaspars Daugavins, Shawn Thornton and Tyler Seguin among others. Of course, Crawford also earned the win by stoning David Krejci (2 assists) twice. Oh and Jaromir Jagr's tip of Zdeno Chara's shot from the point in the last seconds of double overtime went off the post but not in.

True to form, Boston's power play ended up being one of the main reasons they lost. You see the B's got the only two power plays in overtime (too many men on the ice for Chicago in the first overtime and end of the second overtime which ended in the third) but couldn't cash in either of them. The Bruins penalty kill deserved better as they held the Blackhawks to 0 for 3 on the power play including a two-man advantage for 1:17 in the second period.

The B's couldn't have asked for a better start as Milan Lucic scored a pair of goals to give Boston a 2-0 lead early in the second period. It was the fifth straight game that the Bruins had scored first. His first came after tic tac toe passing from Nathan Horton and Krejci, leading to Lucic's fourth goal of the playoffs at 13:11. The best line in the NHL (during the postseason) flexed its muscles again with Lucic causing a turnover in the neutral zone then Krejci dropping off a pass to him to shoot past Crawford 51 seconds into the second period.

Blackhawks rookie Brandon Saad answered at 3:08 with his first goal of the playoffs, from Marian Hossa. A turnover by the Bruins behind the net gave Hossa the puck and he found Saad who buried it past with top-shelf. Great shot.

All seemed to be right though for the Black and Gold as Patrice Bergeron made it 3-1 with a power play goal at 6:09 in the third period from Tyler Seguin and Lucic. Bergeron hammered a one-timer that pinged the inside of the post.

Bruins rookie defensemen Torey Krug didn't do much in the Penguins series but tonight was his first real bad game in the playoffs. His brutal giveaway in Boston's zone led to Chicago's second goal, by another nobody-Dave Bolland at 8:00 from Andrew Shaw. Krug's mistake left Rask out to dry with little chance to stop the odd man rush.

The B's had been 4-1 in OT and the Blackhawks were 3-1 but this was a friendly reminder that A) Chicago is mentally much tougher than Pittsburgh and B) anything can happen in overtime.

The result was depressing enough but the Bruins could be in for worse news tomorrow since Horton left in the first overtime with an upper body injury and never returned. It was bizarre since he wasn't hit, it just looked like his shoulder popped out of the socket or something. Yikes, I'd feel awful for him if he had to miss most of the Finals for the second time in three years. He's been excellent in the postseason and it would leave a huge hole on Boston's top line. I'll guess we'll worry about that later though (fingers crossed).

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Asking for the Penguins: So When Do The Eastern Conference Finals Start?

Who didn't think the Bruins would win Games 1 & 2 in Pittsburgh by an aggregate score of 9-1? Haha Boston followed up Saturday's 3-0 victory in Game 1 with an absurd 6-1 pasting of the Penguins in Game 2 tonight at CONSOL Energy Center. The B's took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals back with them to Boston for Games 3 and 4 at TD Garden.

I'm not just being a Black and Gold honk when I say that this one was over after the first 20 minutes. Boston blitzed Pittsburgh with four goals in the opening frame and the Penguins' revolving door of goaltenders nor turnstiles/parking cones on defense could do anything to stop them.

Other than the final score, this win will be remembered most for Brad Marchand's heroics. He scored on a breakaway 28 seconds into regulation after stealing Sidney Crosby's weak pass attempt and skating in on a breakaway. Pittsburgh's Brandon Sutter finally solved Tuukka Rask (26 saves) at 19:26 but Marchand answered by stomping on the Penguins' throats 25 seconds later. His snipe over Marc-Andre Fleury's glove made it 4-1, it was Marchand's fourth goal of the postseason from Patrice Bergeron and Jaromir Jagr.

Boston has completely exposed Pittsburgh's overrated defensemen, looking at you Kris Letang (-3 in Game 2), and left their pair of overmatched goaltenders-Tomas Vokoun and Fleury in a Zamboni puddle in the corner. Nathan Horton made it 2-0 Bruins at 14:37 after he tipped Torey Krug's shot from the point then followed up his own rebound. David Krejci scored his NHL-best (tied with Chicago's Patrick Sharp) eighth goal at 16:31 after some beautiful passing between Horton and Milan Lucic.

Krejci's goal prompted Vokoun to get pulled but Fleury also allowed three goals (albeit when the game was already out of hand) so how can you choose between those two bums at the moment?

We keep waiting for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis or Letang to do something positive but so far, they've combined for a grand total of zero points and they are collectively -19. Is this real life?

Bergeron wrapped it up 27 seconds into the third period after a sublime pass from Jagr. Johnny Boychuk assisted on Bergeron's fourth goal of the playoffs. Boychuk completed the barrage with his NHL-leading (for a defenseman) fifth goal at 18:36 from Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell.

At least the Penguins showed a heartbeat in Game 1, I can't say they did the same in Game 2. It was almost as if they packed it in once Marchand made it 4-1. The pressure of being the Eastern Conference favorites all season appears to have taken its toll on this mentally fragile squad. Many will be quick to compare the Penguins to the Canucks of 2011 but the difference there is that Vancouver won the first two games at home before falling apart in Boston and losing Game 7 on its home ice.

As the Bruins have showed countless times in the past decade alone, anything can happen in the NHL playoffs. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, they have really put themselves in a tough spot. We convinced ourselves that they would come out much better in Game 2 but it turned out that they played way worse than Game 1. Pittsburgh is light years ahead of the Rangers in terms of talent and pedigree but if they lose Game 3 on Wednesday (8 p.m., NBCSN), I'm confident the Penguins would similarly roll over and make this a short series.

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Hey Penguins: Don't Poke The Bear Or Something

Repeat after me Bruins fans: it's only one game, it's only one game, good. Boston beat Pittsburgh 3-0 tonight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Consol Energy Center. The B's basically did everything they could have hoped for and right away, they put all the pressure (as if it wasn't already) on the Penguins. Game 2 is Monday (8 p.m., NBCSN).

What we felt was Boston's only real advantage coming into the series turned out to be the truth in Game 1: Tuukka Rask (29 saves) recorded his first career playoff shutout while Tomas Vokoun (27 saves) wasn't good enough, leaving a few costly rebounds which the B's made the most of.

The Bruins top line of Milan Lucic (assist, +2), David Krejci (2 goals) and Nathan Horton (1 goal, 2 assists) was outstanding. Krejci added to his NHL-leading total (7 goals, 12 assists) further cementing his legacy as a truly clutch player whenever the postseason rolls around.

The difference between Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron was obvious already: Crosby is the best hockey player in the world but much like LeBron in the NBA he still takes the low-rent tactic of whining about everything 24/7. Meanwhile, Bergeron never fights but when the Penguins tried to be tough at the end of the second period he ended up brawling with Evgeni Malkin. That is a true leader, all Crosby could do was talk trash to Zdeno Chara with a referee safely between them.

Speaking of bush league, it only took Matt Cooke a little more than one period to show us that he'll never change. Shame on the pathetic Penguins fans and media that pretend he's reformed. It reminds me of Celtics honk media members saying that Rajon Rondo became a leader. Cooke took a run at Adam McQuaid and got a game misconduct for hitting from behind early in the second period. McQuaid was shaken up but soon returned to the ice after going to the dressing room.

Pittsburgh hit the post three times but Rask seemed to get in their heads as the game went on. Krejci gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 8:23 of the first period, assisted by Horton and Andrew Ference (first action since Game 5 vs. Maple Leafs). Ference started the play by driving to the net and Krejci's shot trickled through Vokoun's pads after the puck hit Paul Martin's skate and deflected.

Krejci made it 2-0 at 4:04 of the third period after his shot was blocked by Vokoun but popped high in the air around the crease. Like Daniel Paille in Game 3 vs. Rangers, Krejci's alertness and hustle paid off with his second goal-also assisted by Horton. Mr. Playoffs aka Horton iced it with a goal less than four minutes later from Lucic and Gregory Campbell. Once again, Vokoun's juicy rebound ended up in the back of his net.

An enjoyable aspect of this contest was the obvious disdain both clubs have for each other. Interestingly enough, this came after both enjoyed a week off. Crosby was pissed, probably cause he played terrible by his lofty standards (-2) and he took it out on poor Tyler Seguin in garbage time. Crosby chopped Seguin's legs with a slash, his second penalty of the night. I guess Cooke is really rubbing off on Sid the Kid.

This win means that Boston is 3-0 in Game 1s during the postseason. They also broke Pittsburgh's six-game win streak over them dating back to last season. Regardless, you can guarantee that the Penguins will play much better in Game 2. However, if the B's can somehow find themselves on top again well then Pittsburgh would certainly be reaching for the nearest panic button.

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Who Wants A Sweep? Not The Bruins Apparently Who Choke Away Game 4 Vs. Rangers In OT

The Bruins clearly saw the awful forecast this weekend in New England so they thought, "we can't do anything outside so why don't we play another game against the Rangers instead?" Boston had a glorious chance to send New York home for the summer but they blew a pair of leads (2-0, 3-2) en route to a 4-3 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Bruins still own a 3-1 lead in the series but this has been deceptively close since three of the four games have been decided by one goal with two in overtime.

Game 5 is Saturday (5:30 p.m., NBCSN) and it's only happening because of BC and Eastern Mass products Brian Boyle and Chris Kreider (who had the game-winner). Well that's not true, it also took a couple insanely improbable things to let New York climb back into this. Credit to the Rangers though as Boyle finally solved their power play drought (0 for 12 in the series before that) for the tying goal at 10:00 in the third period. Kreider celebrated his promotion to a better line (sorry Brad Richards) with a pretty tip-in from Rick Nash at 7:03 in overtime.

Just like Game 3, the B's took it to the Rangers from the start and New York played like they couldn't care less. Between swearing at the refs, John Tortorella kept busy during TV timeouts by updating his resume and creating a Linked In profile. Boston outshot New York 12-4 in the first period but they couldn't beat Henrik Lundqvist (37 saves). The Bruins struck twice on the power play in the second period to grab the 2-0 advantage. Nathan Horton slipped one past King Henrik at 4:39, his fifth of the playoffs, from David Krecji and Brad Marchand. Torey Krug scored his third goal in four games at 7:41 with a long range slap shot from Tyler Seguin and Horton.

Someone must have slipped booze in Tuukka Rask's (28 saves) water bottle since he made one of the worst mistakes I've ever seen by an NHL goaltender that totally changed the tenor of what was shaping up to be an easy win for the Black and Gold. 58 seconds after Krug's goal, Carl Hagelin innocently floated a backhander on Rask that caused him to trip over his own skates than attempt to flail his stick at the slowly moving puck. It didn't work, 2-1 Bruins.

Rask's flask was passed to Zdeno Chara in the Bruins dressing room between periods because then it was his turn to make an unbelievable mistake that never happens. Chara was going behind Boston's net when Derek Stepan stripped the puck from him then wrapped it around the goal and in before Rask could recover. It made Tuukka look bad too but I can't blame him nearly as much as Chara, what was that?

If those goals weren't strange enough, Tyler Seguin suddenly morphed into a guy with confidence that could finish around the net. He made it 3-2 at 8:06 from Dougie Hamilton and Chara, his first goal of the playoffs looked like it might clinch the series.

About that, Boston took its annual too many men on the ice penalty which led to Boyle's goal. As hopeless as New York's power play has been, you knew that eventually they would figure it out.

The shots were even 7-7 in overtime but it felt like the B's had better scoring chances and it was only a matter of time before they ended it. As Lee Corso would say, "not so fast my friend!" Boston fell to 3-1 in overtime this postseason while New York improved to 1-3. The Bruins are 1-3 in closeout games but unlike the Maple Leafs series, this time they gave themselves one more game of breathing room. Actually forget I said that, please end it on Saturday night!

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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.

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Bruins Completely Ruin Toronto's First Home Playoff Game In 9 Years, Winning Game 3 5-2

There is no better way to troll Canada than to have an American NHL team go up there and win an important game. In that way, Boston made the U.S. proud tonight as they won 5-2 in Toronto's Air Canada Centre in Game 3, giving the B's a 2-1 series lead.

The Bruins never trailed as they scored the first goal then jumped ahead 4-1 in the second period before letting Tuukka Rask (career-high 45 saves) close it out in the third period when the Maple Leafs bombarded them with shots on goal (18-6).

Speaking of Rask, Toronto goaltender James Reimer (33 saves) is no Rask. Boston's first goal set the tone for him as he allowed Adam McQuaid to score his first career playoff goal on a slap shot from just inside the blue line at 13:42 of the first period. Milan Lucic (3 assists) and David Krejci (1 goal, 2 assists) assisted on the goal that never should have happened. I don't know how Reimer didn't stop it, he wasn't really screened and it wasn't deflected.

Toronto's weak defense was the issue on Boston's second goal as Jaromir Jagr stripped Ryan O'Byrne behind Reimer's net then fed Rich Peverley for a one-timer at 5:57 of the second period. Boston's much-maligned third line cashed in its first goal (and points) of the series.

The Maple Leafs solved Rask with a power-play goal from Jake Gardiner at 13:45 of the second period after the B's failed to clear the puck out of the slot. The good news was that Boston responded like a top team should. Nathan Horton scored a goal in his third straight game, finishing off a one-timer from Lucic that ended up lodged on the camera inside the goal. Krejci had the second assist at 14:35, only 50 seconds after Gardiner's strike.

If that goal by the B's didn't take all the energy out of the building, the next one certainly did as Daniel Paille took the puck away from Phil Kessel on a power play and went in alone for a sweet backhander. That shorthanded goal gave Boston the 4-1 lead at 16:37 that they would never relinquish.

Kessel sort of atoned for his gaffe by scoring a power-play goal 47 seconds into the third period on a rebound. That's as close as the Maple Leafs would get though and Krejci sent the nice people of Toronto streaming for the exits with an empty-netter with 1:17 left in the game.

If Game 1 taught us anything, it's that we can't get too cocky even after a great victory by the Black and Gold. They need to show that they can put efforts like this together consistently, not sporadically. Game 4 on Wednesday (7 p.m., NESN) is a wonderful chance to really take control of this series and put Toronto on the brink of elimination.

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Maple Leafs Record Their 1st Playoff Win In 9 Years

The Maple Leafs looked like a completely different team tonight in Game 2 at TD Garden than the shell-shocked, overwhelmed squad that lost 4-1 to the Bruins in Game 1 on Wednesday. Toronto got what they came for-a road win-with a 4-2 victory over Boston. Game 3 shifts back to Toronto's Air Canada Centre starting on Monday (7 p.m., NESN).

This was the Maple Leafs' first playoff win since April 30, 2004 and they certainly earned it. Unlike in Game 1, they didn't score the game's first goal but that didn't matter since they hit the Bruins with a three-goal run spanning the second period and start of the third. James Reimer (39 saves) gave up some juicy rebounds all night but the Bruins were only able to capitalize on one of them. He was good enough to notch his first career playoff win.

Tuukka Rask (28 saves) actually played really well with some outstanding stops but there is only so much he can do when his leaky defense is giving up breakaways and not taking care of guys right on his doorstep. It wasn't the reason they lost the game but Boston certainly missed the services of Andrew Ference (suspended for Game 2 after his elbow of Mikhail Grabovski in Game 1). That changed all the defensive pairings, the excellent combo of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg was broken up in favor of Chara and Adam McQuaid; Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk; rookie Dougie Hamilton (playing in his first career NHL playoff game) and Wade Redden. As you'd expect, things didn't go that well. That's why I think Hamilton will be a healthy scratch again in Game 3 when Ference returns.

Speaking of suspensions, don't be shocked if Maple Leafs goon/ladies man Dion Phaneuf misses a game after he elbowed Daniel Paille in a very similar play to what earned Ference a seat on the ninth floor.

Nathan Horton scored a goal for the second straight game, at 1:56 of the second period to give Boston its only lead (1-0). Milan Lucic and David Krejci assisted as Horton drove to the net and was lucky enough to have the puck bounce off his skate (which he didn't mean to do) past Reimer.

Toronto is a Canadian hockey team (you learn something new every day) so just like the Canucks and Canadiens, they have to dive like their life depends on that. There must be something in the water up there. It turned out well in Game 2 since a flop earned a tripping call on Chara which led to Joffrey Lupul's goal at 5:18 of the second period. Lupul tipped a shot from the point and then fought for his rebound, assists went to Jake Gardiner and Carl Gunnarsson.

Lupul gave the Leafs the lead for good at 11:56 with a backhander from Matt Frattin and Phaneuf. For whatever reason, Toronto seemed to win most battles for the puck and they were rewarded time and again.

Things went so well for Toronto that even Phil Kessel managed to score a goal. Seidenberg and Boychuk were caught napping in the Leafs' zone and Nazem Kadri hit Kessel with a stretch pass for a breakaway. He beat Rask 53 seconds into the third period for a 3-1 advantage. Ryan Hamilton had the second assist.

At least the Bruins didn't give up as Boychuk was credited with a goal at 10:35 that appeared to bounce off Seguin (who had screened Reimer). The Bruins had a boatload of chances for the next few minutes but the Leafs hung on and James van Rimesdyk notched his second goal in as many games with a beautiful backhander at 16:53.

Shawn Thornton and Mark Fraser fought with 0.5 seconds left, showing you how nasty this series is starting to get. The Maple Leafs actually had nine more hits (44-35) than the Bruins so that must have been a point of emphasis after they were manhandled in Game 1.

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Do The Maple Leafs Know What They're Getting Into? Game 1 Tells Me That They Don't

Remember when we were very worried about the Bruins the last few weeks? All our troubles seemed to float away tonight at TD Garden in Game 1 as Boston stomped Toronto 4-1 and the final score doesn't even do it justice. The Bruins outshot the Maple Leafs 40-20 and completely dominated for about the last 58 minutes.

UNH product James van Riemsdyk actually gave the Leafs a 1-0 lead at 1:58 with a power-play tap-in after Tuukka Rask (19 saves) got stuck out of position at the side of the net. That prompted the B's to call on one of their best and most consistent players-Wade Redden-for the next two goals. Wait what? Haha that's right, the same scrub that was playing in the AHL earlier this season that they picked up off the scrap heap scored the tying goal at 16:20 and assisted on what turned out to be the deciding marker by Nathan Horton with 12 seconds left in the frame.

James Reimer (36 saves) looked shaky from the start and Redden's goal, assisted by Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille, trickled by him. Playing in his first playoff game since he got hurt in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, Horton tipped in Redden's shot from the point. David Krejci had the second assist.

Toronto tried to play physical but that was silly since they're not going to beat Boston at their own game, especially on their home ice no less. Krejci scored on a turnaround shot from the slot at 10:25 in the second period (from Milan Lucic) and Johnny Boychuk rounded out the scoring with a patented Johnny Rocket (copyright Jack Edwards) at 15:44 from Lucic and Krejci.

Things got more chippy in the third period as good old Leo Komarov was called for a 10-minute misconduct then goon Colton Orr (a former Bruin) was called for the same in garbage time. Chris Kelly and Komarov squared off after the final whistle, what better way to celebrate a Bruins ass kicking?

You have to think that Toronto can't play any worse on Saturday (7 p.m., NESN) in Game 2. They hadn't appeared in the postseason for nine years so perhaps this humbling experience got their feet wet in that regard. Whatever the case, the Bruins need to come out with the same intensity to pick up another vital win.

UPDATE 5/2: Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference was suspended for Game 2 after he elbowed Mikhail Grabovski in Game 1. Expect rookie Dougie Hamilton to get back on the ice (after being a healthy scratch) to take his place on Saturday night.

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If Only The Bruins Could Play The Hurricanes In The Playoffs Or At Least Every Week

That was exactly what the Bruins needed: after playing tight, low-scoring games almost all season, they exploded for a season-high six goals tonight in a 6-2 beatdown of the lowly Hurricanes at TD Garden. Boston (25-9-4) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second period so I'll forgive them for allowing two meaningless goals in the third to Carolina (16-20-2).

Ironically, Tuukka Rask (17-6-4) was the first star on a team with 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) because he was forced to make a season-high 40 saves. The Hurricanes showed their only signs of life in the very beginning as they outshot the Bruins 7-0 in the first few minutes. That meant nothing though as Rich Peverley (1 goal, 1 assist) followed up his own rebound that fittingly went off the glass, for his fifth goal of the season at 3:51 from Dennis Seidenberg (career-high 3 assists) and Andrew Ference (1 goal, 1 assist).

Brad Marchand (2 goals) stuffed in a rebound from Gregory Campbell (2 assists) and that was the end of Justin Peters' (4 shots, 2 goals) night at 7:58. Things didn't get much better for Dan Ellis (4 goals allowed) as Marchand potted his second goal (team-leading 16th of the season) at 17:20 after Jaromir Jagr went around the net and threw it in front.

You knew it was Boston's night when Ference deflected a shot in (his 3rd goal of the season) off his hand and Jordan Caron scored his first goal of the season in the second period for a commanding 5-0 lead that might as well have been 10-0.

Something named Patrick Dwyer and another anonymous bum called Drayson Bowman ruined Rask's shutout in the third period after some sloppy rebounds but the Bruins fans went home happy since Nathan Horton's goal (his 13th of the season) was the last one of the contest. He tipped in Dougie Hamilton's perfect pass that was right to his blade at 16:56.

It is a busy week (like always this season) for the Bruins with three games in four nights but their opponents aren't exactly a murderer's row: they go to New Jersey (15-14-10) on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network) then return to the Garden on Thursday (7 p.m., NESN) to play the Islanders (19-16-4).

No matter how those winnable games go, they can take heart in the fact that they play the Hurricanes again-on Saturday in Raleigh, NC. Since they scored five goals against them the first time they met in January, put me down for seven this weekend.

UPDATE 4/9: It appears that the Bruins have signed their Swedish man of mystery, winger Carl Soderberg to a multi-year deal. Still waiting for the team to actually make it official, can't just trust the slob beat writers.

UPDATE 4/11: Nevermind, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation blocked Soderberg's move to Boston. Thanks guys.

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Poor Senators, All They Can Do Is Lose To The Bruins By One Goal In Every Possible Way

A busy day for the Bruins was wrapped up in the best manner: they beat the Senators 3-2 at TD Garden. Boston (23-8-4) will have to change up its lines with Jaromir Jagr on the team now but in maybe their last game together, David Krejci (1 goal, 1 assist), Milan Lucic (2 assists) and Nathan Horton (game-winning goal) were dynamite.

Ottawa (19-11-6) has one more chance to beat the Bruins in the regular season, thus far they've lost all four meetings and making it more painful each one has been by a single goal (2 in regulation, 1 in OT, 1 in shootout). This was one of the more exciting games of the season since Boston had a season-high 50 shots on goal and Ottawa had 47 shots on goal. Haha the shots in the first period were 22-19 in favor of Boston which more resembles the final totals from some of their boring contests of late.

Anton Khudobin (45 saves) and Robin Lehner (47 saves) might be backup goaltenders but they were both superb in this one. Khudobin earned the back-to-back start after his shutout in Buffalo on Sunday night and even though he allowed a goal 2:48 into the first period, he still came out on top. Ottawa's Colin Greening had the opening score as Boston was caught running around in its own end.

Krejci answered 40 seconds later by tipping in Zdeno Chara's shot from the point for his ninth goal of the season. Lucic had the second assist. Tyler Seguin sent the Garden crowd into hysterics with a spectacular goal just 1:01 later after a give-and-go with his BFF Brad Marchand. It was Seguin's 12th goal of the season.

After a scoreless second period as things calmed down only in terms of goals, Ottawa's Andre Benoit tied it at 1:55 with a shot that initially didn't seem to go in as Khudobin dove wildly like Tim Thomas. On replay, it was clear that it hit the back of the bar in the goal and came out even faster so it was ruled a goal.

Horton delivered his 12th goal of the season (four straight games with a goal) thanks to a juicy rebound on Lucic's shot with Krejci credited with the second assist. Boston survived a 6-on-4 with 34 seconds left as Johnny Boychuk was called for interference.

The only negative news for the Black and Gold to come out of today was that Patrice Bergeron got elbowed in the second period and never returned. As can be expected in that type of situation, neither his teammates nor head coach Claude Julien wanted to elaborate on what happened to him which should set off plenty of hysteria since Bergeron has a history of concussions. Not to mention the fact that he's one of their most important players that does seemingly everything well.

Jagr will be in a Bruins uniform, wearing his customary No. 68 on Thursday (7 p.m., NESN) at the Garden as the B's host the Devils (15-12-9). An interesting subplot is if Khudobin will get his third start in a row or if Julien goes back to Tuukka Rask.

UPDATE 4/3: The only move the B's made today was trading for scrub defenseman Wade Redden from St. Louis in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick. It becomes a sixth-round pick if he plays a game in the playoffs but don't count on that. He is awful and nobody wanted him the last few years so even though he might be better than Aaron Johnson and Matt Bartkowski, why would they throw them into this race?

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli gave a vague update on Bergeron, saying that he has a "moderate concussion," whatever that means. This is his fourth career concussion (that we know about) so let's see how long this one keeps him out.

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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.

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Canadiens Outlast Bruins 6-5 In Wild Shootout Victory At TD Garden

A game like tonight, as entertaining as it was, is further proof of why I hope the Bruins don't meet the Canadiens in the playoffs this spring. Boston gets sucked into Montreal's weasel game and it takes them out of their normal style (physical, defensive, rolling four lines). The Canadiens won 6-5 in a shootout at TD Garden to take control of the Northeast Division (the teams both had 45 points before the game).

Boston (21-7-4) fell behind 2-0 before rallying for a 4-2 lead in the second period but Montreal (21-7-5) outscored them 3-1 in the third period, survived overtime and Brendan Gallagher netted the only goal in six rounds of the shootout. The B's finished 6-2-0 at home in March, the catch is that both losses were to the Canadiens.

Michael Ryder scored on a one-timer in the first period to give the Habs a 1-0 lead then P.K. Subban added one of his patented lasers that Tuukka Rask (23 saves) had no chance to stop early in the second period. Dougie Hamilton scored his fourth goal of the season, 32 seconds after Subban's tally. Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron had the assists. Brad Marchand (14th goal of season) tied it at two after great hustle, he followed his own rebound with Bergeron and Seguin providing the assists at 7:23. You knew the B's were rolling when Bergeron made it 4-2 thanks to a power-play goal at 17:01 from Rich Peverley and Torey Krug (called up today).

Ryder struck again, early in the third period, on another one-timer but Seguin appeared to wrap it up with a beautiful backhander at 11:50 from Marchand and Bergeron. Gallagher got the lucky bounces started for Montreal as he scored after no joke he shot it off Dennis Seidenberg's face then swept the rebound past Rask who was out of position. The Canadiens took advantage of a silly rule that needs to be changed as Andrei Markov was credited with a power play when there was only 8.2 seconds left in regulation. Aaron Johnson had mistakenly deflected the puck into the crowd in his own end. That was bad enough but the goal was deflected off Chara's stick past Rask.

Boston dominated in most facets: shots on goal (41-28), hits (33-21) and faceoff wins (44-26) but they couldn't find the game-winner in overtime and then all six shooters were stopped by Peter Budaj (14 saves). Carey Price (22 saves) started but got pulled after the second period, Budaj earned the win by only allowing one goal with nothing in overtime or even the shootout.

These teams meet one more time, on Saturday, April 6 in Montreal, before the playoffs begin. As it stands, Montreal leads the season series 2-1. For the first time in over a month, the exhausted B's get two days in a row without a game. Next, we'll see them in Philadelphia on Saturday (1:00 p.m., NESN) taking on the Flyers (13-17-2, 5th in Atlantic Division) who have been one of the NHL's biggest disappointments.

UPDATE 3/29: Torey Krug was sent back to Providence which means that Johnny Boychuk should be back in the lineup tomorrow against the Flyers.

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The Bruins' First Line Drops By For A Productive Visit

One of the more incredible aspects of the Bruins' excellent start to this season is that they have completely weathered Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton being ghosts in so many games. Saturday afternoon served as a reminder to how dangerous the B's (19-4-3) can be when those guys are engaged and playing their physical style. Boston rolled to an easy 4-1 win over Washington (11-15-1) at TD Garden.

There was something for every hockey fan as the B's scored pretty goals, beat up the hapless Capitals in three fights (Brad Marchand vs. Mike Ribeiro, Horton vs. Matt Hendricks and Adam McQuaid vs. Hendricks) and received stellar goaltending by Anton Khudobin (32 saves; 5-2-0). It was exactly the type of performance they needed to build up the first line's shaky confidence heading into a monster game tomorrow afternoon (12:30 p.m., NBC) in Pittsburgh.

Horton made it 1-0 at 14:12 of the first period on a one-timer from Lucic and Zdeno Chara. It was Horton's eighth goal of the season but first since February 28. Lucic set a career-high with three assists and he found David Krejci for another one-timer and goal just 3:03 after Horton's tally. Horton had the second assist on Krejci's seventh goal of the season.

Washington deserved to get blanked but the hockey gods allowed them one gift when Krejci banked one in off Johnny Boychuk's skate, past Khudobin at 1:24 of the second period. It was a pretty awful moment that was quickly forgotten when Andrew Ference picked up his first goal of the season less than seven minutes later. Horton created the goal with a pretty drop pass, Krejci had the other assist as his relay to Horton started the play.

Rich Peverley potted a backhander (his 4th goal of the season) on the power-play at 2:41 of the third period, an early St. Patrick's Day Eve miracle. Lucic and Krejci had the assists. Today's game was really chippy, these teams clearly don't like each other. Too bad that their next meeting-April 27 in DC-is the regular season finale and by then, both teams could have nothing to play for. That's assuming that Washington doesn't wake up in time to make a run at the playoffs.

For Bruins fans, it doesn't get much better than tomorrow's game (OK, being in Boston would be perfect) as the Bruins visit the Penguins (21-8-0, 1st in Atlantic Division). You might remember Pittsburgh from their 3-2 win over Boston on Tuesday at the Consol Energy Center, after the B's blew a 2-0 lead. The Penguins are the top team in the Eastern Conference and hottest team in the NHL with eight straight wins after today's 3-0 shutout of the Rangers. As long as Montreal doesn't win tonight in New Jersey, it will pit the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

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Bruins Beat Senators 2-1 In The Most Boring Overtime Game In NHL History

Even when they haven't played their best so far this season, the Bruins are still finding ways to get points and usually wins. After returning home from their longest road trip of the season, Boston (13-2-2) outlasted Ottawa (12-6-3) 2-1 in overtime tonight at TD Garden.

Patrice Bergeron's tip-in was the game-winner as he just deflected Dennis Seidenberg's shot enough to have it go through Senators rookie goaltender Robin Lehner (44 saves) and cross the goal-line.

The victory was Boston's fifth in a row and they snapped Ottawa's five-game win streak in the process as well. To say this game was dull would be the understatement of the year. The B's were credited with 46 shots on goal but honestly they had very few decent chances that my tired brain can remember. Meanwhile, Tuukka Rask (11-1-2) continued to make his case as one of the NHL's best goaltenders as he had a routine 30 saves.

For such an ugly contest, it is only fitting that all three goals were greasy as hockey players like to say. Nathan Horton (7th goal of the season) basically whiffed on a shot but it still beat Lehner at 5:48 in the second period. Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic had the assists. The Senators responded in the most impressive fashion possible: they broke Boston's 26 straight penalty kills streak. The immortal Jim O'Brien (not the former BC basketball coach) poked in a rebound at 14:38.

Lucic could have cost his team the game when he was called for closing his hand on the puck (a new rule) with 32 seconds left in regulation. Luckily, Boston killed that off and experienced further good fortune on Bergeron's seeing-eye shot.

The main reason that this game sucked was because Ottawa has lost almost all its best players to injuries so they have to resort to playing a particularly conservative style to survive. A boring game should be the furthest thing from our minds on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m., NESN) as the NHL's highest scoring team-the Tampa Bay Lightning (9-10-1, 3rd in Southeast Division) invade the Garden. Boston won 4-2 in Tampa Bay last Thursday. These teams always play exciting games against each other so Saturday should be no exception in the Lightning's first visit to Boston this season.

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Nathan Horton's Two Goals Propel The Bruins Past The Lightning, 4-2 In Tampa Bay

When the Bruins are clicking on all cylinders like they did tonight, it's tough to see many teams in the Eastern Conference (or the Western Conference) stopping them. They are so deep and even if certain guys or lines are struggling, they have a bunch of other players step up. Tampa Bay (8-7-1) saw it first-hand as they fell 4-2 to Boston (10-2-2) at Tampa Bay Times Forum.

These two teams would have met when the blizzard hit Boston two weeks ago (Saturday, February 9) but instead it was postponed until April 25. As the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals showed us, whenever they play it usually turns out to be a pretty entertaining style of hockey. Nathan Horton scored two goals for the first time in 13+ months while Patrice Bergeron (1 goal, 1 assist), Brad Marchand (1 goal, 1 assist) and Dougie Hamilton (2 assists) also recorded multiple points.

Boston scored a pair of goals in the first 3:50 of the game so it looked like they might blow the Lightning out of their own building. Horton collected a rebound on Hamilton's shot and scored his fifth goal of the season at 1:11. Bergeron made it 2-0 with his third of the season at 3:50 thanks to great work along the boards by Marchand.

It's a credit to Tampa Bay and their explosive offense that they didn't roll over by any means. MVP frontrunner Steven Stamkos potted his 11th goal of the season thanks to assists from Teddy Purcell and Marc-Andre Bergeron at 8:13 of the first period. Tuukka Rask (24 saves; 8-1-2) didn't have any time to react as Stamkos roofed it over him from directly in front of the goal.

Cory Conacher tied it for the Lightning at 9:00 of the second period from Purcell and Stamkos. Not bad for a kid that went to Canisius College, Conacher gets to play on a line with Stamkos and Purcell. After Anders Lindback (22 saves) made a stop, Tampa Bay countered and the rookie Conacher put one past Rask via a 2-on-1.

They might have blown a two-goal lead but it didn't take long for the B's to respond and build another one in its place. Marchand was the recipient of a lucky bounce after Tyler Seguin's shot was blocked right to him. Bergeron had the other assist on the game-winner at 13:58 of the second period. Horton added the insurance tally at 2:33 of the third period with a perfect tip of Zdeno Chara's slap pass. Hamilton had the second assist. Everyone was trying to set Horton up for the hat trick after that but he couldn't do it, he actually hit the post on two separate occasions after Lindback was pulled for the extra skater.

Boston's tour of the Sunshine State ends on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m., NESN) as they visit the Panthers (5-7-4, 4th in Southeast Division), who appear rather hopeless at the moment despite the fact that they made the playoffs last season.

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Bruins Steal A Point From The Rangers, Lose 4-3 In A Shootout

Last night was one of those rare occasions in sports when a loss really felt like a win. The Bruins (8-1-2) were down 3-0 against the Rangers (7-5-0) in the third period at TD Garden before they rallied for three goals in the final 11:16 to tie it and send it to overtime. Unfortunately, after a thrilling but scoreless OT it went to a shootout where they lost 4-3. Rick Nash and Ryan Callahan (who had the winner) scored for New York while only Brad Marchand tallied a shootout goal for Boston.

In this shortened season, points are at a premium so the one that the B's earned should feel like more than that. They had no business getting a positive result but they managed to somehow beat Henrik Lundqvist (37 saves) in quick succession after he had frustrated them all game long. Tuukka Rask (26 saves; 6-1-2) had his second bad start in a row at home but let's not overreact here.

The Rangers were efficient as they potted a goal in each frame. Carl Hagelin made it 1-0 at 10:37 of the first period after an NHL All-Star/Olympic assist from Rick Nash, Dan Girardi had the second assist. Nash was tripped up but he still managed to throw it to Hagelin who only had to tap it in past Rask. Derek Stepan increased New York's advantage to 2-0 at 8:17 of the second period after a careless turnover by Milan Lucic in the neutral zone. Rask didn't help himself by whiffing on a save he usually registers on Stepan's wrister.

When Anton Stralman scored his first goal of the season, at 2:07 of the third period, it's understandable that most Bruins fans thought it was over. It was the weakest goal that Rask had allowed all season as he let a slow shot from the point trickle through his leg pads.

Boston's wretched power play was 0 for 4 so fittingly, David Krejci broke Lundqvist's shutout attempt one second after a Rangers penalty had expired. Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point was tipped and Lucic had the other assist in the scramble before Krejci's fourth goal of the season at 8:44. With Rask pulled, the B's notched a pair of goals (something they hadn't done in 3.5 years) to tie it up. Traffic in front caused another juicy rebound and Nathan Horton ended up with his fourth goal of the season (assists to Lucic and Andrew Ference) at 18:29.

Brad Marchand took the roof off the Garden with the game-tying goal, his seventh of the season at 19:17. He tried to pass it but it deflected back to him before Lundqvist could react in time, Marchand had roofed it past him. Patrice Bergeron and Seidenberg had the assists.

The only Debbie Downer aspect of this thriller was that it wrapped up the season series between these teams (2-1 New York), really. Kudos to the NHL for getting this quality rivalry out of the way in the season's first 12 games (technically 11 after Saturday's matchup with Tampa Bay was postponed because of the blizzard). It would probably give us a heart attack if they played each other in the postseason but one thing's for sure: it would be an amazing series.

Ok I lied, there is one other depressing part: the Bruins won't be home again for another 2+ weeks. They are about to embark on their longest road trip of the season: five games. No doubt the team will also be missing Boston since they hit all the backwaters in the Eastern Conference: Buffalo, Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, Florida and Long Island. The B's make their second stop in Buffalo in less than a week on Friday (7 p.m., NESN). They beat the Sabres (5-8-1) 3-1 way back on Sunday night.

UPDATE 2/13: Jay Pandolfo cleared waivers so he's officially a Bruin now.

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Bruins Continue To Roll, Pick Up Their 1st Back-To-Back Wins In 2 Nights

Even when the Bruins aren't playing particularly well (up to their high standards at least) early on this season, they are still getting the results they want for the most part. Boston (5-0-1) rallied for a 2-1 six-round shootout win over the Devils (3-0-2) tonight at TD Garden. With the victory, Boston is off to its best start since 1970-71 with points in their first six contests.

The Bruins and Devils remain the only clubs in the Eastern Conference to have not suffered a loss in regulation. Tuukka Rask (25 saves) returned to Boston's goal after sitting out Monday night's 5-3 win at Carolina. New Jersey actually snapped Boston's 24-for-24 successful penalty kill streak as David Clarkson (3rd of the season) tipped in Marek Zidlicky's shot from the point at 8:30 of the second period. Patrik Elias had the second assist for the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Rewind to the first period when Shawn Thornton fought Krys Barch, other than that the B's lacked their normal energy and snarl. Regardless, they picked it up in the third period when it mattered most and Nathan Horton (3rd of the season) tied it with 4:05 left in regulation. It was all thanks to an exquisite rush from his linemates Milan Lucic and David Krejci. It's amazing what can happen (the trickle down effect if you will) when the top line is playing like this.

Boston went to overtime for the third time this season and while both teams had chances, the B's progressed to their second shootout (2-0). Tyler Seguin and Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the first round but then nobody else did in four additional rounds. Brad Marchand finally trickled one past Hedberg, through his five hole and Rask stopped Zidlicky to seal it.

The B's went 2-for-2 on their first back-to-back of the season (only 6 more), now they have tomorrow off before hosting Buffalo (2-3-1) on Thursday (7 p.m., NESN). It represents Boston's first meeting with a Northeast Division rival, they will also try to stay unbeaten at the Garden (4-0-0).

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