We Remain On Taylor Hall Watch & B's Signed RW Craig Smith To A 3-Yr Deal For $9.3 Million Dollars

 

    If the first two days of NHL free agency are any indication, it's going to be a very quiet off-season for the Bruins unless they make some legitimate trades. At least they did something notable today rather than just watching one of their best players (defenseman Torey Krug who got an extra large bag full of money in St. Louis) leave for way more money on a team that's just as good if not better than them. Unless you are a Predators fan, you are the rare person that plays fantasy hockey (you should, it's a blast!) or maybe you like college hockey, you are excused if you've never heard of Craig Smith before now. Boston fans will get familiar with him soon enough as the veteran right wing signed a three-year contract worth $9.3 million dollars.

    He was never a star in Nashville but when you look at his career stats-all nine seasons were with the Predators-you can start to understand why B's GM Don Sweeney targeted him once he hit the market. We all saw in the bubble how overly-reliant Boston had become on the power play leaving their 5-on-5 play to be described as rough at best. The 31-year-old Smith has scored 162 career goals in the NHL and 120 of them came when it was even strength and 42 of them were on the power play. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy doesn't have to decide his lineup anytime soon but you figure that Smith would fit well on the third line at right wing with Charlie Coyle at center and who knows at left wing (Anders Bjork?). 

    Smith has scored 20+ five times with a career-high of 25 in 2017-18. He's not just a goal-scorer either since he has also registered 168 career assists. He has notched 20+ assists four times including a career-high 28 in his rookie year (2011-12). His career plus/minus is plus-67 which is very solid with seven consecutive positive plus/minus seasons in a row including his best ever (plus-20) in 2017-18. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, he lived the life of a hometown hero as he played at the University of Wisconsin before getting drafted in the fourth round (98th overall) by Nashville in 2009. Under Sweeney, the Bruins have a great track record of finding the right college hockey alums who tend to be mature and dependable beyond their years (Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Coyle, Sean Kuraly, Matt Grzelcyk, etc.). 

    The Smith news dropped before noon today giving the B's plenty more time to make a bigger move, except they didn't. At Sweeney's press conference, he was asked about the two best free agents who still remain unsigned: defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and left wing Taylor Hall. Sweeney basically said that he hasn't talked to the former Blues' camp so he is not coming to the black and gold. However, Sweeney's Harvard businessman side came out in full force when he vaguely referred to Hall without saying his name but implying that they're working on it. Okay! I'm not saying that it's going to happen and honestly, Smith is a fine player but man these last few days have been mostly a wet fart for the Bruins. Oh and did I mention that Cap Friendly-the best NHL salary cap website-projects Boston to have $12.295 million dollars worth of cap space even after Smith's deal? Here's an idea Don, USE IT!

Christmas is on the Verge of Being Cancelled In A Few Days for the Bruins After Yet Another OT Loss

It is a few days before Christmas but the Bruins (21-7-8) must feel like they are living in the movie "Groundhog Day." After falling 4-3 tonight at TD Garden to the Predators (17-12-6) in overtime, they have now lost eight of their last nine games. What makes this skid even more frustrating is that so many of them have been decided by just a single goal. Boston entered the third period with a 2-1 lead but in the span of 35 seconds, goaltender Jaroslav Halak (25 saves, 8-3-4) made two fatal mistakes. The Bruins tied it with an extra skater on the ice with 1:05 left in regulation to bail him out but as usual, going into OT or a shootout didn't end well for the Black and Gold. Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis won it with 54.2 seconds left in the extra session, which at least spared us from another shootout (where they are 0-5) loss.

I technically watched the entire scoreless first period but I have to admit that I was very distracted by the Patriots' win over the Bills that clinched their 11th consecutive AFC (L)East title. For the third game in a row (all losses), Boston scored first as Par Lindholm (who had been a healthy scratch for the past 6 games) drove to the net for a rebound and was rewarded as the puck deflected in the net off of Nashville center Kyle Turris. Lindholm's second goal of the season snapped a 15-game scoreless stretch for him with assists to Brett Ritchie (who hadn't played the last 3 games) and Sean Kuraly at 7:30. Roman Josi tied it at one at 12:14 when his screened backhander found its way by Halak. Ryan Johansen had the lone assist on Josi's 12th goal of the season. Things seemed fine for the B's though as Patrice Bergeron put in a one-timer from his famous bumper position on the power play with 47.7 seconds left in the frame. David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand got the assists on Bergeron's 12th goal of the season.

The Bruins had been 12-0-2 this season when they led after two periods while the Preds were 3-9-3 when they trailed after two. If only things were that simple, right? Halak has been really good in 2019-20 and I believe that him and Tuukka Rask form the best 1-2 goaltender combination in the NHL. With that said, everyone has a rough game from time to time and surprisingly, his night unraveled in the third. First, Nashville was about to get a power play (it was a delayed penalty) when Filip Forsberg put a no-angle shot on Halak from the side of the net that somehow snuck in. The 13th goal of the season for Forsberg (tying him with BU's Nick Bonino for the team lead) featured assists from Johansen and Mattias Ekholm. If you thought that was bad (and it was), you hadn't seen anything yet as Halak topped it with a Cardinal sin for a goalie: getting caught way too far out of his net trying to play the puck. Ironically, he beat Josi to the loose puck but wasn't able to do anything with that advantage. Instead, he meekly cleared it right to him and the Swiss defenseman fired it into the vacated net before Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy could block it with his diving body.

Bergeron's clutch tying goal was just another chapter in a career full of such moments for the future Hall-of-Famer. He tipped in David Pastrnak's shot with Brad Marchand being credited with the secondary assist. Nashville's game-winning goal in overtime had to be the result of one final bad bounce for the home team as a clearing attempt behind their own net went off a ref and stayed there allowing Johansen to feed a wide open Turris out front for the one-timer. Turris had the other assist on Ellis' sixth goal of the season and his second career OT tally. You won't find two much worse teams in the NHL when it comes to overtime since they are both 2-4 with this latest result.

Let's hope that the old reverse lock is in effect for the Bruins on Monday (7, NESN) because on paper, it doesn't look too hot with the best team in the league-the Caps (26-6-5)-coming in here for one last game before a much-needed three-day Christmas break. Oh and did I mention that Washington has won 15 out of the last 16 times that they've met Boston, including twice already this season (3-2 in a shootout here on Nov. 16 and 3-2 last Wednesday in D.C.)? The Capitals have the best record, the most points (57), the highest goal-differential (+30) and they are the top road team in the NHL (16-3-1). Haha is that all? Honestly, almost nothing with the Bruins in the past week has made any sense so I think a blowout win against the Caps is a natural conclusion to this frustrating time. It doesn't matter how they get it, the B's desperately need a win, otherwise it's going to be a miserable few days stewing at home with their families and friends.

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Santa Bergeron (2 goals, 2 assists) Returns Right In Time to Save Christmas For The Bruins

I'm sure that I don't say this aloud often enough but games like today remind me why it's so fun to cover the Bruins and special players like future NHL Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron in particular. He had been out since November 16 with multiple injuries to his ribs and sternum but as usual, he delivered big-time in his return game with two goals and two assists as Boston (20-12-4) knocked off Nashville (22-13-2)-one of the NHL's true heavyweights-5-2 this afternoon at TD Garden. The B's have won three games in a row while the Preds go into Christmas break with a lump of coal in their skates after dropping their last four games.

The final score is misleading since this was a back-and-forth affair with Boston grabbing two leads then Nashville answered right back before the Bruins scored three consecutive goals to close out a dominant third period (outscoring the Predators 4-1 including an empty-netter). Jaroslav Halak (28 saves, 12-5-2) continued to play great as he's allowed a total of three goals in his last three starts combined all against playoff clubs (Montreal, Anaheim and Nashville) this past week. Boston's special teams continued to perform at a high level as well since the power play was 2-for-3 and the penalty kill was 2-for-2.

Bergy obviously opened the scoring at 15:10 of the first period when he took a pass from Charlie McAvoy, went from backhand to forehand and beat Pekka Rinne (27 saves, 14-8-1) for his 10th goal of the season. Brad Marchand had the second assist as Bergeron became the fourth Bruin this season to reach double-digit goals (David Pastrnak, Marchand and Jake DeBrusk). Boston improved to 13-4-0 at the Garden this season (2nd best home mark in the Eastern Conference behind Tampa Bay) and 13-4-0 when they score first. After McAvoy had a goal incorrectly wiped out for goalie interference on David Backes, Johansen tied it at one at 13:01 of the second period, an average shot that Halak normally stops with no issue. Craig Smith (not the fat guy that played basketball at BC) and Roman Josi had the assists on Johansen's sixth goal of the season.

After back-to-back stupid penalties by the Predators at the end of the second period (interference on Johansen and roughing on Mattias Ekholm) that nullified their own power play and gave Boston a 5-on-3 for 1:05 to start the third, the B's predictably made them pay. Nashville managed to kill the first penalty but before the second was over, Bergeron put the Black and Gold ahead 2-1 at 1:44. Danton Heinen (the new temporary right wing on the 1st line) and Pastrnak both whiffed on the puck but were still credited with assists as Bergeron was the guy to score on a similar forehand roof job like his first goal. Former Senators great Kyle Turris knotted things at two with a shot off the post and in at 9:17. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by Josi and Miikka Salomaki (most Finnish name ever?).

It was a great all-around performance by Boston's best players as Marchand's power play goal-that turned out to be the game-winner-made it 3-2 Bruins at 11:23. His 12th goal of the season was a one-timer that came from Pasta and Bergy. Marchy returned the favor to Pasta with an assist on his own one-timer via a 2-on-1 at 14:09 for a 4-2 Bruins advantage. Pastrnak's team-leading 23rd goal of the season was an interesting one since Marchand's pass was a bouncer so he barely got anything on the shot which probably helped it elude Rinne. I figured that Bergeron would get the requisite hat trick with an empty-net goal by hard-workin' Sean Kuraly instead did the honors at 18:01 for his second goal of the season, assisted by McAvoy and Halak (his 2nd of the season!).

Just one game-tomorrow at Carolina (5, NESN)-separates the B's from Christmas break (Dec. 24-26). By the time that they meet, the Hurricanes (14-14-5) could be under .500 as they host Pittsburgh (17-12-6) this evening. Four wins in a row and a .500 record on the road (currently 7-8-4) would be a pretty great way for the Bruins to get rewarded for their recent strong play. It feels like they usually win in Carolina and beat the Whalers I mean Hurricanes in general so I would expect a quality effort with Tuukka Rask (8-7-2) in between the pipes. Their next home game is on Thursday (7, NESN) vs. atrocious New Jersey (12-15-7) who for now reside in the basement of the Eastern Conference.

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The Future is Here for the Bruins In Their Exciting 2017-18 Season-Opening 4-3 Win vs. Nashville

Coming into the 2017-18 opener, the Bruins knew that they would have their hands full with the Western Conference champion Predators. That challenge only increased this morning as they discovered that Patrice Bergeron (lower-body injury) was out at least for this contest and David Backes (diverticulitis) could miss three or four weeks with some bizarre illness that I had to Google since I'd never heard of it. Who knows how long it can hold up for but at least in this tilt, Boston's rookies played collectively out of their minds in an exciting 4-3 victory at TD Garden.

Charlie McAvoy (1 goal, 1 assist) and Jake DeBrusk (1 goal, 1 assist) each recorded two points in their NHL regular season debuts (remember that McAvoy was called up for Boston's playoff series vs. Ottawa last April) while Anders Bjork notched an assist in his first career game. Tuukka Rask made 26 saves in the win and Nashville's power play had been 0-for-5 until they scored two late goals (by Scott Hartnell and Filip Forsberg) to make things a little sketchy for the home fans. The B's lost another forward in the proceedings as their fourth line winger Noel Acciari left in the second period after blocking a shot with his hand. That injury sounds somewhat serious too as head coach Bruce Cassidy didn't expect him to be available for Monday afternoon's meeting (1, NESN) with Colorado (1-0).

Boston's front office had to be psyched with the first goal of the season for their club as David Pastrnak potted a one-timer from McAvoy and David Krejci (3 assists; 17-5 on face-offs) at 8:37 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. The B's should have been in front after that frame but they allowed a back-breaking goal to Viktor Arvidsson with 11 seconds left in the first. Boston won the face-off in their own end but coughed up the puck as Ryan Johansen fed Arvidsson in the slot.

The second period was a beautiful glimpse into what the Bruins have to hope is a bright future for all these youngsters in black and gold as DeBrusk scored a pretty goal from Krejci and Bjork at 5:48 (complete with his dad crying in the stands) and McAvoy also sent his parents into hysterics with a one-timer at 15:43 from Krejci and DeBrusk. You wondered if Krejci would be able to keep up with two fast rookies and then he tied his career-high for assists in one game (something he'd done 8 times before).

Brad Marchand put the game out of reach, or at least so it seemed, with a rare short-handed empty-netter at 17:07 in the third period. Brandon Carlo had the lone assist on Marchand's 23rd career shorthanded goal (3rd most in team history). McAvoy had three penalties tonight which will be far from the norm and Kevan Miller got a delay of game penalty while Chara was called for slashing in garbage time. Hartnell chipped in a shot from close range at 18:12, assisted by Johansen and Arvidsson before Forsberg banked a shot off Rask at 19:25. Nashville had a few more chances at a possible tying goal after that but Rask and the Bruins held on. Pekka Rinne finished with 28 saves for Nashville.

It sounds odd to say this after game one of 82 (plus playoffs?) but the Bruins picked a good time to have a spaced out schedule in October. They already planned to have tomorrow off and then they'll have the weekend to ease back into practice before hosting the Avalanche on Columbus Day. Cassidy felt like Bergeron could possibly return for Monday but if he's not available, the Bruins will have to call another forward up from Providence to replace Acciari. I think the most likely name to watch for in that case would be Danton Heinen (Austin Czarnik is on IR) but we'll have to see how things shake out these next few days. Colorado was the worst team in the NHL last season but they kicked things off this evening by beating the Rangers 4-2 in New York so who knows what to expect from them?

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Rask Returns From 1-Game Absence as B's Pick Up Another Absolutely Critical 2 Points vs. Predators

After picking up a huge 2-1 road win in Brooklyn against the Islanders (35-28-12) on Saturday night, Boston (40-30-6) responded in another must-win situation this evening with a victory in regulation vs. Nashville (39-26-11), 4-1 at TD Garden. Tuukka Rask (24 saves, 34th win of the season) calmed our nerves for a game at least as he returned to stifle Nashville after he missed the Islanders matchup with a shady lower-body injury. Providence Bruin Zane McIntyre was called up on an emergency basis before this contest which set Twitter ablaze during the pregame warmups but it turns out it was only because backup goaltender Anton Khudobin was under the weather.

At roughly the same time, Toronto (36-24-15) beat Florida (33-32-11) 3-2 to stay a point ahead of Boston with a game in hand while the B's temporarily went up three points on the idle Lightning (37-29-9) and four points on the idle Islanders who each have a game in hand. A key to Boston picking up consecutive wins is that they grabbed an early 2-0 lead on Nashville (who were playing the 2nd half of a back-to-back on the road) in the first period. Patrice Bergeron (18th goal of the season) put in a rebound at 2:28 from Zdeno Chara (600th career NHL point) and Brad Marchand. Pekka Rinne (28 saves) has been a very good NHL goaltender for years so I'm sure that he'd love to have David Krejci's goal back. The somewhat weak shot went off Rinne's stick and through his five-hole at 13:52 for Krejci's 22nd goal of the season, assisted by David Pastrnak and Drew Stafford.

Nothing notable happened in the second period so we fast forward to the third where things got interesting when Craig Smith tipped in Roman Josi's shot from the point at 11:16. Ryan Ellis had the second assist on Smith's 10th goal of the season which ended Rask's shutout bid and put plenty of fear in the always nervous Garden crowd. That's when fellow Providence College alum Noel Acciari came through at the perfect time for his first NHL goal: the B's had a 3-on-1 and red-hot Riley Nash (who has 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 3 games) fed Acciari for an easy top shelf one-timer at 15:47. Noel got some valuable experience with Boston last season in his first professional year and this was his 24th game this season (he was injured on Jan. 2) so it was a beautiful moment to see the Johnston, RI native score such a memorable tally for his hometown team.

David Backes added an empty-netter (his 17th goal of the season) from Dominic Moore at 18:29 to officially put the Predators away. All that was left to do was watch Kevan Miller drop the gloves with Cody McLeod (2 of the toughest guys in the NHL) and a bunch of other penalties on both teams in garbage time. Overall, it was a fine effort for the Bruins and they'll need another just like it on Thursday (7:30, NBC Sports) vs. Dallas (31-34-11). The Stars have been one of the league's biggest disappointments this season so I'm sure that there is nothing that former Bruin Tyler Seguin and his pissed off teammates would want to do more than put a serious dent in Boston's playoff chances. Now is the time for the B's to put together a win-streak since after the Stars, they also face the Panthers on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). Neither of those teams will be in the playoffs so needless to say, the Bruins have way more on the line than they collectively do.

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Bruins Return Home With Nothing Left In the Tank, Lose 3-2 to the Predators

It is no use to complain about the rigors of an NHL schedule; there are countless tough stretches for every club and the Bruins (14-9-3) are currently going through that as they just returned from a Western Canada road trip (3 games in 4 days) and had to play Nashville (14-8-5) tonight at TD Garden. Boston made it more competitive than it probably deserved to be before falling 3-2, snapping their season-high eight-game point streak (6-0-2). Then again, the Predators outshot them 33-17 so perhaps Jonas Gustavsson (30 saves) should get most of the credit for keeping it close.

Boston actually led 1-0 in the first period and 2-1 in the second period but they couldn't sustain it and actually went over 34 minutes during the game between shots on goal (even-strength). It was a penalty-filled rare Monday night game with 10 penalties called on Boston and six on Nashville. There were also two fights as Brad Marchand grappled with Roman Josi and rookie Tyler Randell took on Eric Nystrom, both in the second period. Nashville power play went 2 for 7 while Boston's was 1 for 3, one of the key differences in the final result.

Fittingly for such a strange contest, it was a battle of backup goaltenders as Gustavsson took on UMass Lowell product Carter Hutton (15 saves). Kevan Miller gave the B's an early 1-0 lead at 4:13 of the first when his shot deflected in the Nashville goal off of Colton Sissons' skate. David Krejci and Matt Beleskey assisted on Miller's second goal of the season (1st since Oct. 14). Nashville took advantage of a 4-on-3 late in the frame as Josi scored his first of two goals, from scummy Mike Ribeiro and Shea Weber at 19:35.

Boston's power play answered midway through the second when Loui Eriksson tipped in a beautiful cross-ice pass from Ryan Spooner at 10:53. Patrice Bergeron assisted on Eriksson's 10th goal of the season (9th time in his career). Josi showed some more of his offensive skills on the power play 27 seconds later as he went to the net and beat Gustavsson to tie the game at two with his seventh goal of the season.

The Predators continued to dominate possession-wise in the third period so it was only a matter of time before they went ahead for good. The unlikely hero was Viktor Arvidsson who deked around Gustavsson and put the puck in the net, after Miller had fallen over retreating in his own zone. Arvidsson's third goal of the season was assisted by former Sabre Cody Hodgson and Weber (who has 3 goals & 5 assists in his last 4 games).

For Rivalry Night, Boston travels to Montreal (19-6-3) on Wednesday (7:30, NBCSN)-their last meeting before the Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium on New Year's Day. With Carey Price out again with a lower-body injury, Tuukka Rask and the B's are due to play well for once up North. After that, they return to the Garden to host Florida (13-10-4) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN).

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Bruins Give Their Fans The Best Possible Present Heading into Christmas Break: Hope

Believe it or not, we are almost halfway through the 2014-15 NHL regular season and if the playoffs started tomorrow (I know, I hate these too) the Bruins would be left out since they are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. However, Boston (18-14-3) has shown some much needed signs of life lately, capped off by tonight's 5-3 win over Nashville (22-9-2) at TD Garden.

The B's lost 3-2 in a shootout at Nashville last Tuesday so this had to feel especially good given that and the fact that the Predators are one of the better teams in the entire league. Boston heads into Christmas break with back-to-back wins thanks to an offensive explosion led by Patrice Bergeron (3 assists), Brad Marchand (2 goals) and Loui Eriksson (2 goals).

Boston played really well in the first two periods, despite blowing two different leads. Marchand roofed one past UMass-Lowell's Carter Hutton (20 saves) 2:01 into the contest. Bergeron assisted on Marchand's team-leading ninth goal of the season which also gave him the lead in helpers (18). A little over 5:30 later, BU's Colin Wilson beat Tuukka Rask (22 saves) with a backhander from James Neal and Mattias Ekholm for his eighth goal of the season.

Another sign of good things to come is that Boston scored a power play goal in back-to-back games for the first time in a month and a half. David Krejci did the honors at 9:43, a one-timer from Torey Krug and Milan Lucic that was also his first goal (4th overall) since he returned from his troublesome hip injury. Nashville took even less time to respond (1:48) as something called Calle Jarnkrok put a weak wrist shot by Rask that he needs to stop 10 times out of 10. Ekholm and Taylor Beck assisted on his fourth goal of the season.

On the surface, the second period sounds like a bore since Boston outshot Nashville 5-3 but the B's made the most of it as they scored not once but twice to take a 4-2 lead into the third. Eriksson finished off a sweet give and go with Matt Bartkowski and Chris Kelly at 5:53 for his eighth goal of the season (5th in his last 8 games). Marchand bagged his second goal at 10:51 after a pretty deflection by Bergeron right to him on the doorstep, Kevan Miller had the second assist via the original shot from the point.

The Predators had every reason to pack it in, playing on the second night of a back-to-back (both away) and third game in four nights but they showed how good they are by dominating for most of the third period. It felt like they had a man advantage the entire time, well after they killed off a four-minute power play for Boston (two minors on Neal who shortly thereafter earned a 10-minute misconduct). When Beck cut it to 4-3 at 6:48, you could feel the air go right out of the Garden. Almost every Bruins game lately has been decided by one goal so you knew it would be tight. For once, they held on though and Eriksson clinched it with an empty netter at 19:22. Merry Christmas indeed.

The entire NHL is off for the next three days (which I think is a great thing, sorry NBA) so Boston returns to action on Saturday (7, NESN) at Columbus (14-16-3). The Bruins' next home game isn't until next Monday (7, NESN) vs. Detroit (18-8-9). Boston won 4-3 in a shootout at Columbus on November 21. The Blue Jackets got smoked 5-1 by Nashville last night but they are one of the hottest teams (8-1-1 in their last 10) in the NHL. Plus like the Bruins, they are scrapping for every point that they can get after a nightmare start to their campaign.

Happy Holidays everyone!

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Bruins Open 2014 With 3-2 Overtime Win vs. Predators

As expected, Bruins-Predators wasn't exactly an instant classic (think Winter Classic without the outdoors and national audience) but at least Boston sent home their hearty fans with an overtime win as Brad Marchand scored 54 seconds into the extra frame at TD Garden to sweep the season series (2-0) with Nashville. It was a milestone moment for Niklas Svedberg (33 saves) who picked up his first NHL win, he's also the first Swede to ever play goaltender for the B's. Somewhere P.J. Axelsson smiles!

In case you haven't gotten out of your mom's basement all day (zing!), there is a blizzard hitting all of New England so I can excuse many fans for not showing up to the Garden. Still, you have to admit it was a pretty decent turnout for a Bruins-Predators game that was the 41st contest of the season (halfway through).

The first period was devoid of anything notable but former UVM star and Blackhawk Viktor Stalberg gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 18:04 after Svedberg left a juicy rebound in front, one of his only mistakes of the night. Johnny Boychuk tied it at 4:55 of the third period from Ryan Spooner and Carl Soderberg. It wasn't a patented Johnny Rocket per se but his second goal of the season did the trick as he filled the shooting lane and was there for Spooner's on the money sauce.

Jarome Iginla scored his 13th goal of the season at 12:29 and given the way the Preds struggle to score, you felt like that might be enough. I forget when it happened exactly earlier in the season but the tally was a carbon copy of an earlier goal by him: he flies to the net and tips in a crisp pass from Milan Lucic, with David Krejci providing the second assist.

Zdeno Chara has the fastest shot in the NHL-if you're into that kind of stuff-but Shea Weber is right there with him. He showed he can still bring it as he knotted things at two with 5:25 left in regulation. His bomb from the point was an example of what he'll likely be doing for Team Canada (hopefully not against the U.S. though) at the Sochi Olympics.

Marchand's goal game after a sweet dangle that he rarely ever successfully completes. It was his 10th goal of the season and it was assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Dougie Hamilton. Soderberg and Hamilton both returned from injuries tonight and Svedberg was sent back to Providence after the game but he certainly earned another look in the near future by the big club.

Maybe the snow will have temporarily stopped by the time the Bruins host the Jets (19-19-5) on Saturday (1, NESN). It's the final game for Boston of a three-game homestand which precedes a very difficult three-game road trip in California: Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose. Needless to say, Boston needs to beat Winnipeg to feel as confident as they can going into next week against three of the top teams in the Western Conference.

UPDATE 1/4: Bruins called up forward Justin Florek, if he plays today vs. Winnipeg it would be his NHL debut.

UPDATE 1/5: Florek was sent back to Providence.

UPDATE 1/6: Florek was recalled on an emergency basis and he'll join the team in Anaheim ahead of tomorrow night's game vs. the Ducks (10, NESN).

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Bruins Deliver Season's Beatings to the Predators

Heading into a much-needed three day break around the league, you couldn't ask for a better effort from the Bruins as they went to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena tonight and handed the Predators a 6-2 blowout loss. Like in Edmonton a few weeks ago, Boston (25-20-2) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period but Nashville (16-17-4) cut it to 3-2 in the third period. The B's made sure to put this away so they could truly enjoy their downtime this week.

Jarome Iginla had two goals for his 96th career two-goal game in the NHL (think about that) but Reilly Smith (1 goal, 2 assists), Carl Soderberg (1 goal, 2 assists) and Ryan Spooner (3 assists) stole the Hall of Famer's thunder (not that he minds) with three point games of their own. In total, 10 different Bruins found their name on the scoresheet and Tuukka Rask managed to stop 32 shots for another win.

There are bad starts and then there is Nashville allowing three goals in the first 10:47 of the opening period. Iginla tipped in Zdeno Chara's shot from the point at 1:16 for Iggy's ninth goal of the season. Milan Lucic had the second assist. Shortly after that, Adam McQuaid traded bombs with Eric Nystrom. I wouldn't recommend getting into a fight in your first game back from an injury but clearly McQuaid is going to do what he wants.

Boston's second goal was about as big a gift as they'll unwrap all season: Soderberg's dump in was completely bungled by goaltender Carter Hutton and Mark Fraser was there to record his first goal as a Bruin at 5:59. Spooner had the second assist. Smith kicked off an incredible night for Boston's power play (for once, that wasn't sarcasm) with a goal at 10:47 from Soderberg and Spooner. It wasn't the best angle but Smith was able to roof it by Marek Mazanec for his 12th of the season (tying Lucic's team lead).

Craig Smith ended Rask's shutout bid early, at 11:35 of the second period. His power play goal was the direct result of Rask's juicy rebound off Seth Jones' blast. Craig Smith's goal at 3:25 of the third period made you certainly wonder if the B's were going to fall apart. Thankfully, they didn't as Iginla redirected a pass out of the air at 5:01 from David Krejci and Torey Krug. 49 seconds later, Soderberg's one-timer from Spooner and Smith gave Boston a commanding 5-2 lead on his fifth goal of the season.

The star of tonight's episode of Behind the B-Brad Marchand-sent Nashville fans home with a garbage time tally at 15:54. His eighth goal of the season was also assisted by Smith. Boston is off until Friday (7, NESN) when they host Ottawa (15-17-7, 6th in Atlantic Division) at TD Garden. The next night, the same teams meet in Ottawa.

UPDATE 12/24: The Bruins assigned defenseman David Warsofsky and forward Nick Johnson back to Providence, which has to mean that Dougie Hamilton and more so Daniel Paille could return this weekend vs. Ottawa. In other Bruins news, Shawn Thornton's appeal of his 15-game suspension was upheld. Merry Christmas Eve!

UPDATE 12/27: The Bruins called up goaltender Niklas Svedberg for the first time in his career. It's a weird move because the last thing we knew, Tuukka Rask and Chad Johnson were healthy. Haha maybe one of them got hurt on Christmas with their family?

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No Carrie Underwood At TD Garden But The Bruins Still Provide Some Thrills

After losing its previous two games at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins were on the verge of three setbacks in a row when Nashville's Mike Fisher aka Mr. Carrie Underwood made it 3-2 with 3:32 left in regulation this afternoon.

Boston (34-17-2) stuck with it though as Milan Lucic (20th of the season) tied it with a power-play strike at 18:53 with the goalie pulled and the B's went on to win 3-2 in a shootout against the Predators (32-18-6).

Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron scored the only shootout goals, meaning that it was over in the third round. I usually complain that Saturday matinees are usually terrible for the B's but not today, this was a top-notch contest.

If the Bruins had lost, they would have been the victim of bad puck luck since for the most part, they controlled play from start to finish. Nashville took advantage of a few scoring chances and they leaned heavily on one of the NHL's top goaltenders, Pekka Rinne (38 saves).

This turned out to be one of the most meaningful wins of the regular season given Boston's recent struggles. Lucic was a beast all afternoon and in the shootout, Tim Thomas (19 saves; 23-10-0) was able to forget about Facebook rants for a minute and make two saves.

Nashville is a quality team, I'll predict that they'll win a series or two this spring in the Western Conference playoffs. They're short on goal-scoring but they play to that well with a defensive-minded system.

With the Bruins shorthanded, Bergeron (16th of the season) had given Boston a 1-0 lead at 16:00 of the first period. Brad Marchand made the play happen by chipping the puck ahead then finding Bergeron for a screened one-timer.

Shea Weber (11th of the season), who has the second hardest shot in the NHL behind Zdeno Chara, showed off his cannon by tying it at 7:32 of the second with a power-play slap shot. His defensive partner Ryan Suter had the lone assist on Weber's missle from the point.

NESN didn't bring its A game since their broadcast went out at the end of the first period and for most of the second period. I was left listening to the radio broadcast on the Sports Hub like some 90-year-old and checking Twitter like a fiend (even more than usual).

The third period was wild so thankfully I was able to see it with my own eyes, rather than just hear about it. Both teams scored two goals. Daniel Paille (9th of the season) kicked it off with a diving backhander at 2:55 from Shawn Thornton and Johnny Boychuk.

Patric Hornqvist (17th of the season) tied it at 9:33 from Sergei Kostitsyn and Rinne. It was against the run of play as the puck was in Nashville's end for a while but then they broke out and multiple Bruins defenders were left in the dust.

Fisher's goal was a result of his own rebound off the backboards. Thomas should have stopped that one since the weak backhander went under his pads.

The Bruins will look to carry over this great effort on Tuesday as they host the New York Rangers. Everyone remembers that their first meeting with the Rangers was a classic, won 3-2 by New York in a shootout on Jan. 21 so I have no doubt this one should be superb too. The teams play twice more after that, both at Madison Square Garden and they have to be the odds on favorites to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. They are clearly the top two teams in the East.

So whatever you're doing on Valentine's Day, at least make sure that you have the DVR set for what should be a beautiful hockey game between the Original 6 rivals.

UPDATE 2/12: After the game, Steven Kampfer was sent down to Providence. He's been a healthy scratch the last five games with Boston so this will give him more playing time.

UPDATE 2/13: The Bruins made the interesting choice to call up defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk this morning and not Kampfer. With the trade deadline two weeks from today, makes you wonder if Kampfer is going be be dealt soon. Boston also called up forward Josh Hennessey from Providence.

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