The Bruins Fittingly End Their Frustrating Regular Season Series (3-3-2) With One Last OT Loss To NJ

 

        Hopefully after a long playoff run this spring/summer, the Bruins' (31-14-7 overall, 15-8-4 away) struggles with the lowly Devils (18-28-7 overall, 7-18-3 home) in the 2021 regular season will be all but forgotten. However, at the moment it's tough to rationalize how one of the better teams in the league had so many problems with one of the worst clubs from the opening games in January to the final week in May. It still makes no sense whatsoever but at least the madness ended tonight at the Prudential Center as NJ won their home finale 4-3 in overtime against Boston. Left wing Pavel Zacha scored his second goal of the game at 2:42 in the extra session leading to B's goaltender Jaroslav Halak (17 saves,  9-6-5) destroying his poor stick against the net then by the Bruins' bench as well for good measure.

    Halak's last start was on April 3 so you can completely understand his frustration. He might not get another start before the postseason and would anybody be surprised if rookie Jeremy Swayman (6-2-0) has taken his job as Tuukka Rask's (14-4-2) backup? Of course, it shouldn't have come to that as the Bruins led 2-1 after two periods on the second night of a back-to-back and 3-2 midway through the third period. When they had playoff seeding to play for and New Jersey had nothing except pride or playing spoiler to motivate them, this needed to end with two more points for the visitors and their fifth straight victory. I guess the only good news to come out of this is that B's head coach Bruce Cassidy can simply get rid of all the Bruins-Devils highlights from this season and move on to other more pressing duties facing his team. 

    It was a great performance by Zacha who began the scoring with a wicked one-timer on the power play for his 14th goal of the season. Child center Jack Hughes and center Nico Hischier had the assists at 8:42 of the first period which turned out to be the only goal of the first frame. The Bruins outshot the Devils 15-9 in the first period but they turned up the heat even more in the second period where they blitzed them 12-4 and more importantly, outscored them 2-0. B's captain Patrice Bergeron tied it with a power play tally of his own at 4:36. He turned around and fired the puck past New Jersey goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (33 saves, 13-16-4). Bergy's 21st goal of the season was assisted by right wing David Pastrnak and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. Boston took its first lead on a fluky play as Grzelcyk tried to put the puck on net with left wing Taylor Hall crashing the cage against one of his former clubs. The puck actually ended up deflecting off of him and into the net, not exactly a top highlight reel play but nevertheless still very effective. Hall's eighth goal of the season was also assisted by center David Krejci at 14:02. 

    Halak did not have any puck luck on his side in this loss either since NJ's tying goal in the third period came off a deflection in front of him that led to an easy tap in for center Jesper Boqvist at 9:10. Defensemen Damon Severson and rookie Marian Studenic picked up the assists on the fourth goal of the season for Boqvist. The black and gold regained the lead thanks to a sweet feed from Pastrnak to an onrushing center Sean Kuraly who knocked it in at 10:42 for the 3-2 Bruins advantage. Defenseman Mike Reilly had the secondary helper on Kuraly's fourth goal of the season. A missed poke check by Reilly proved to be fatal mistake a few minutes later as rookie right wing Yegor Sharangovich was able to skate past him and fire a heavy wrist shot past Halak at 12:41. Rookie defenseman Kevin Bahl provided the second assist on Sharangovich's 16th goal of the season. 

    In overtime, the Bruins were about to be shorthanded but the Devils kept the puck and hemmed them into their defensive zone. Eventually, Boston collapsed under the pressure as Zacha simply drove to the net and roofed a backhander at 2:42. Hughes and defenseman Will Butcher had the assists on the game-winning goal. Boston got the pity point from the overtime defeat and coupled with another gift result from Buffalo (15-32-7)-in the form of a 4-3 shootout victory over the Islanders (31-16-6)-they were able to stay a point ahead of New York for third-place in the East Division. Pittsburgh (35-16-3) rolled 7-3 over the Flyers (23-23-7) so the Penguins are four points clear of the B's atop the East Division. Idle Washington (33-14-5) is two points behind Pittsburgh but two points ahead of Boston in second-place in the East Division. 

    There are only four games left in the regular season for the Bruins (3 at home) and up next, they get to have a two-game set at the TD Garden against the Rangers (26-21-6 overall, 12-11-3 away) who have been eliminated from playoff contention already. Boston hosts the Rangers on Thursday (7, NESN) and Saturday afternoon (3, NESN) and once again, they will be fortunate enough to miss New York's best player-star forward Artemi Panarin who is recovering from being ragdolled to the ice by Capitals goon Tom Wilson last night. The Bruins are 4-2 against the blueshirts this season so a win in either matchup will clinch the season series in their favor.

UPDATE 5/5/21: I forgot to mention last night that Bruins center Charlie Coyle left with an undisclosed injury after one shift in the third period and never returned so we'll have to see if he's ready to go tomorrow. 

For The Fifth Straight Season (Since Bruce Cassidy Took Over), The Bruins Are Going To The Playoffs

 

    With the NHL regular season ending next week, at this time it's not hard to figure out which teams are fighting for spots in the playoffs while the rest are counting down the days until they can get away from hockey for at least a little while. Tonight, the Bruins (31-14-6 overall, 15-8-3 away) were lucky enough to find themselves in the front end of a back-to-back against one of those already checked out kind of teams. The host Devils (17-28-7 overall, 6-18-3 home) barely put up any resistance as they lost 3-0 to the B's. Boston outshot New Jersey 42-20 and goaltender Tuukka Rask (20 saves, 14-4-2) barely broke a sweat in his second shutout of the season and the 52nd (!!!) of his NHL career. Most importantly, with five games left on their schedule, the black and gold officially clinched a playoff spot for the fifth consecutive year. 

    The visitors dominated in the first period as the Bruins outshot the Devils 17-4 but had nothing to show for it. New Jersey's goaltender Scott Wedgewood (39 saves, 3-7-3) was one of the only guys on his team that bothered putting forth any sort of effort this evening. Boston stuck with it though and got a pair of goals in the second period to essentially put it out of reach. Left wing Nick Ritchie scored off a one-timer from defenseman Jakub Zboril and center Sean Kuraly that made it 1-0 at 9:08. It was Ritchie's 14th goal of the season which tied a career-high, I'm guessing he'll top that in the next week. Captain Patrice Bergeron doubled the Bruins' lead after a beautiful backhand feed from left wing Brad Marchand (who was behind the net) that led to the center's 20th goal of the season at 17:54. It is the eighth straight season that Bergy has reached 20+ goals and the 12th time in his career that he's done that. Not to sound too much like a homer but he's gotta be a Hall of Famer someday, right? 

    In the third period, BU's A.J. Greer (who was making his Devils debut) dangerously hit Zboril from behind a few feet away from the boards which led to Quinnipiac's Connor Clifton (Zboril's defensive partner) dropping the gloves with Greer. Thankfully, Zboril ended up being fine but it was nice to see such an immediate and strong response from a Bruin to his teammate taking an uncalled for cheap shot. Speaking of the Terriers, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk rounded out the scoring for Boston with a shot from the point that bounced off the ice (Mighty Ducks knuckle puck style!) then off New Jersey defenseman Ryan Murray's leg and into the net. Grzelcyk's career-high fifth goal was assisted by Marchand and Bergeron at 17:17. 

    This game could not have turned out much better for the B's since they took care of their own business plus they also got some unexpected help from the Sabres (14-32-7) of all teams who actually beat the Islanders (31-16-5) 4-2. That moved Boston one point ahead of New York and into third-place in the East Division. The Bruins only trail first-place Washington (33-14-5) and second-place Pittsburgh (34-16-3) by three points each with a game in hand on the Caps and two on the Pens. The B's get another possible gift of two points tomorrow night (7, NESN) back in Newark as they close out the season series with the Devils. Rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman (6-2-0) gets the start and defenseman Brandon Carlo will return from injury (again) so there will be some interesting things to watch in what should be another easy Bruins victory.

UPDATE 5/4/21: Jaroslav Halak will start tonight for the Bruins, not Swayman. Carlo & Mike Reilly are in for defensemen Kevan Miller & Zboril while Trent Frederic replaces Karson Kulhman at forward. 

2.5 Months Later, The Bruins Finally Beat The Devils Once Again-In A Shootout Of Course

 

It only took five tries but the Bruins (18-9-5) rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits (3-1 and 4-2) to beat the Devils (13-16-5) 5-4 in a shootout this evening at the TD Garden. After losing 1-0 to New Jersey on Sunday night at the Garden, the offenses each exploded tonight as the Devils' was clicking early and Boston's only answer to that was a pair of clutch third period goals by its BU defensemen. There were plenty of scoring chances in overtime but nobody could end it so it went to a shootout where center Charlie Coyle & right David Pastrnak both scored for the B's while goaltender Jaroslav Halak (31 saves, 8-5-3) got better as the game went along, not allowing a goal after late in the second period. Boston improved to 2-3-1 against New Jersey with two more meetings left to go in the regular season. 

    Before the game started, the Bruins got a boost as both left wing Brad Marchand (Covid-19) and defenseman Brandon Carlo (concussion) were each able to return to action after they missed some time recently. Other than the late goals though, it was a game to forget for Boston's defense which turned the puck over a couple times in its in own zone that directly resulted in goals for the Devils. That began right away as Jeremy Lauzon's bad pass went into center Patrice Bergeron's skates and led to New Jersey defenseman P.K. Subban knocking the puck to left wing Miles Wood who fired it in. It was the BC product's 11th goal of the season (he's scored 3 times against Boston in 2021) and it came at 1:28 of the first period.

    New Jersey goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (44 saves, 9-9-2) earned a shutout on Sunday but he returned to Earth in a hurry after his recent success against the Bruins. Left wing Nick Ritchie's wrist shot through traffic beat him at 5:55 of the first period for a 1-1 tie. Ritchie's 10th goal of the season was assisted by center David Krejci and right wing Craig Smith. Illustrating how much trouble they'd had with the Devils, that was the first even strength goal of the season (16+ periods at that point) for Boston against them. The B's got caught flat-footed when center Michael McLeod blew past them for a breakaway then he tucked a backhander into the net at 9:34 of the first period. Right wing Jesper Boqvist and defenseman Ryan Murray had the assists on McLeod's fifth goal of the season. 

    The Devils started the second period on a high note as well when center Travis Zajac tipped in left wing Jesper Bratt's shot for the 200th goal of his Devils (the only team he's ever played for) career. Murray provided the secondary assist on Zajac's fifth goal of the season. Marchand tapped into some frustration by body slamming Bratt a few minutes later then cutting it to 3-2 Devils at 15:48 of the second period. He ripped a wrist shot out of Blackwood's reach for his 13th goal of the season (also his 1st in 9 games but who's counting?). Bergy and Krejci had the assists on his momentum swing of a tally or so we thought that it was at the time. Following a face-off win by Bergeron in his own defensive zone, Lauzon's pass went to New Jersey's right wing Kyle Palmieri who put in his eighth goal of the season (5th against Boston!) at 17:06 of the second period.

    The Black and Gold really couldn't afford another loss to the Devils two days later so it was reassuring to see their great young defenseman Charlie McAvoy step up to put in a juicy rebound at 10:22 of the third period that trimmed New Jersey's lead to 4-3. Smith and Marchand had the assists on McAvoy's fourth goal of the season. A few minutes later at 16:00, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk's wrist shot seemed to catch Mackenzie up high by surprise. Just like Ritchie's goal-except in reverse order-Smith and Krejci notched the helpers on the Charlestown native's third goal of the season. 

    I guess that the only way that the Bruins can beat the Devils this year is in a shootout (which is so weird!) since they are 2-0 in those but 0-3-1 in regulation and overtime combined. Halak went a perfect 2-for-2 in the shootout, stopping center Pavel Zacha and Palmieri's attempts. One of the hottest teams in the NHL-the Penguins (23-11-2)-come to the Garden on Thursday (7, NESN) and Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) for another two-game set which is all that the B's and Pens have had against each other this wacky season: one in Boston then one in Pittsburgh now another here before one last brief series in Pittsburgh at the end of April. Boston is 3-1 vs. Pittsburgh in 2021 but the Penguins have won four games in a row coming into this and they are 7-2-1 in their last 10. Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy hopes to get goaltender Tuukka Rask into the lineup later this week but we'll have to see how his creaky back is feeling.

B's Had Two Possible Goals Ruled No Goal In The Final Minutes As NJ Once Again Blanked Them 1-0

 

    Well I've certainly had my fill of 1-0 losses by the Bruins (17-9-5) to the Devils (13-16-4) at the TD Garden this season, how about yourself? After losing by that same exact score three weeks ago, Boston suffered a similar fate tonight as they put 40 shots on New Jersey goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (1st shutout of the season, 9-9-1) but none of them could get by him. If that wasn't bad enough, the B's also saw not one but two possible tying goals waved off for various reasons in the final minutes of the game. Therefore, you can understand why I think that this was the most frustrating loss of the season for the Bruins. This isn't the Islanders (22-9-4)-a quality opponent that has a complete hex on them, NJ stinks when they play almost anyone else but you. In fact, they improved to 4-0-1 vs. Boston this season, which is unfathomable, with the only loss coming in a shootout in the season opener two and a half months ago.  

    I could complain about the Black and Gold missing a bunch of important players due to Covid-19 or injuries but that's a pointless exercise given how hard both of those things have hit basically every NHL club at some point already in 2021. Furthermore, with all the testing and protocols in place, I think there's nobody but the guys themselves (Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly) to blame for a positive test. Whatever caused those, it's likely their own fault for choosing to be in sketchy situations. I understand pandemic fatigue-we are all feeling that these days-but you have to do better than being unavailable when your team is floundering and needs you the most. 

    Rant over, the game's lone goal transpired in the first period as New Jersey defenseman Ty Smith threw the puck on net and it deflected off right wing Kyle Palmieri's leg/knee for his seventh goal of the season. Left wing Jesper Bratt provided the secondary assist on the game-winning tally at 16:37. Boston is really struggling to score right now so you can understand why their defense and goalies have kept them in many games that they probably should have lost by multiple goals. Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak (28 saves, 7-5-3) was almost perfect as well but that wasn't good enough in this tight tilt. 

    In the closing moments of the third period with Boston scrambling to get the tying goal, it looked like they had somehow gotten it when captain Patrice Bergeron put in a shot that was immediately reviewed for goaltender interference since center David Krejci appeared to bump Blackwood while they were both digging for a loose puck. Ultimately, it was called no goal after a long review of it. Blackwood's best save of the game was his last one as he absolutely robbed the Bruins by kicking out a deflected puck that was almost over the goal line. From our limited views of it on NESN, there really were no definitive look where you could tell if the puck was ever so slightly over the goal line before he knocked it away with the toe of his skate. 

Boston returns to practice on Monday before another meeting with the Devils on Tuesday (7, NESN) right back at the Garden. They have to find a way to get two points or we might all lose our minds assuming that you haven't already done that. New Jersey is 10-15-3 against the rest of the NHL this season which tells me that they are a terrible team vs. everyone else. This shouldn't be all that complicated (even without some of their best players who remain sidelined), just get it done B's and put these two awful shutout losses behind you for good.

I Don't Know Why But The Devils Have Owned The B's So Far This Season (3-0-1) After Today's Win

 

    I've already talked extensively this season about how the Bruins (13-6-3) own the Flyers (12-7-3) for whatever reason (4-0!) while the Islanders (15-6-4) similarly have some sort of spell over the B's. As you can tell from all three of those records, they are all good teams therefore at least you can fall back on that fact and there's no shame in losing to them even if the series is one-sided at least for the moment. Conversely, the Devils (8-11-2) blanked the Bruins 1-0 tonight at the TD Garden to improve to 3-0-1 against them in 2021. Nobody could argue that New Jersey is anything more than a bottom-feeder in the East Division, in the Eastern Conference and in the NHL but I guess that when they see the Black and Gold none of that seems to really matter. Boston fired 40 shots on the Devils' backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood (2-3-1) but he stopped all of them for his second shutout of the season. 

    The Bruins outshot New Jersey in every period particularly in the third when they had three times as many (18-6) but that couldn't matter less since the Devils found the only goal of the game late in the final frame. Right wing Kyle Palmieri crashed the net then deflected a shot by center Pavel Zacha from in close at 15:23. Defenseman PK Subban added the second assist on Palmieri's fourth goal of the season. Boston's offense went 0-for-2 on the power play and despite right wing David Pastrnak's career-high 10 shots on goal, they failed to find a way to beat a journeyman goalie. Just like a starting pitcher that loses a pitcher's duel 1-0 (or by a similar low score) in MLB, you had to feel bad for B's goaltender Tuukka Rask (24 saves, 8-4-2) who made one mistake the whole night. Needless so say, it's hard to win when your teammates can't get a single goal for you vs. what should be an overmatched opponent. 

    Next week is another one filled with opponents from New York: the Bruins go to Nassau Coliseum to face the Islanders on Tuesday (7, NESN) followed by a two-game home set vs. the Rangers (10-10-3) on Thursday (7, NESN) and Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). The Isles have won five games in a row to take over first-place in the East Division, they are also 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Boston is 4-5-1 in their last 10 games with a 7-4-2 road record while the Islanders are 10-0-2 on Long Island. Today's loss dropped them to 6-2-1 at the Garden while the Rangers are 5-4-1 on the road. The B's are 0-3 against the Isles in 2021-oddly all in Uniondale, NY-so they are due for a win there. They are 3-1 against the Rangers so hopefully that roll continues.

After Not Playing A Game This Week, The Bruins Were Noticeably Rusty In A 3-2 Loss To The Devils

 

    The Bruins (10-3-2) have been lucky that they have yet to face a real Covid-19 outbreak among their team so far in this cursed season. However, like everyone else in the NHL, they still have been affected by it since so many other teams-like the Devils (6-3-2)-have caused many games to be postponed already. This is the reality of playing hockey in the middle of a pandemic so there is no need to complain about it since in one way or another, every team and player has to deal with it. For the second time in 2021, the B's had an unexpected break from games since their last contest was Saturday's 4-2 loss at the Islanders (8-5-3). Since then, Boston has practiced and waited around until tonight when they finally took the ice again at TD Garden (only their fifth home game of this campaign). Unfortunately, this was all a big set up for saying that the Black and Gold were noticeably rusty in a 3-2 loss to New Jersey. It was the first home loss for the Bruins this season and also the first time that they've dropped back-to-back tilts in regulation.

    I hesitate to call the Devils a good team but in three meetings with the Bruins this year, they have lost in a shootout, beat them in overtime and then this evening's victory so they are giving them some problems for sure. Head coach Bruce Cassidy made the bold move to put superstar David Pastrnak on the second line with his fellow Czech David Krejci at center and Nick Ritchie at left wing. Unfortunately, we barely got to see if that new line had any chemistry as Krejci left in the second period with a lower-body injury and never returned. We knew that Boston's trend earlier this season of rallying from multi-goal deficits was not going to last and the bubble has seemed to have predictably burst on that. After a sleepy and scoreless first period, New Jersey right wing Kyle Palmieri scored his first two goals of the season at 1:34 and 10:39. Center Jack Hughes had a sweet feed on the first goal while defenseman Damon Severson and left wing Jesper Bratt assisted on Palmieri's second tally which came while the Devils were shorthanded. 

    Both of Boston's goals came on the power play as left wing Jake DeBrusk stole a clearing attempt by Palmieri in front of his own goalie MacKenzie Blackwood (25 saves, 4-0-1) and he put a snap shot in the top shelf for his first goal of the season at 12:36 of the second period. The Bruins trailed 2-1 for only a few minutes as center Pavel Zacha finished off a pretty passing sequence with a quick wrist shot by B's goaltender Jaroslav Halak (23 saves, 4-1-1) at 15:37 of the second period. Left wing Andreas Johnsson and defenseman Will Butcher provided the helpers on Zacha's fourth goal of the season. 

    The Bruins left it really late for their latest failed comeback attempt as Pasta's shot deflected in with Halak pulled at 18:54. His sixth goal of the season initially looked like it was tipped in by defenseman Charlie McAvoy in front but it turns out that a Devils defenseman was the last one to touch it. Besides McAvoy, Ritchie had the other assist. Pastrnak even got a chance to tie it in the final seconds of regulation but his slap shot from in tight was blocked by Devils defenseman PK Subban, otherwise it very well could have gone in the net.

    There is no practice for the B's tomorrow as they head out for Lake Tahoe-not for a break but to play the Flyers (8-3-3) on Sunday afternoon (2, NBC) in the NHL's latest goofy spot for an outdoor game. The start time was actually moved up an hour tonight since the forecast calls for 45 degrees and bright sun. Haha can't wait for that terrible California fake ice! Boston is 4-0 against Philadelphia this season so obviously they are due to lose to the Flyers at some point. Regardless, hopefully it is a successful event for the league which can always use new fans to watch its mostly regional (Canada and cold places in the U.S.) product. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (6-2-1) will get the start as he tries to stop their modest two-game losing streak before it gets too serious. 

The Bruins Waste A Great Opportunity to Get Four Easy Points As They Lose 2-1 In OT At New Jersey

 

    In a shortened season like this one that just began in the NHL, you have to clean up against the inferior opponents that you see on your schedule (like the Celtics have been doing). Unfortunately, the Bruins (1-0-1) didn't seem to get that memo yet as they fell 2-1 in overtime this afternoon against the Devils (1-0-1) at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. It marked the first win for Lindy Ruff (who has been in the NHL for around 80 years) as New Jersey's head coach. Unlike Thursday's season-opener when Boston blew two different leads but saved themselves with a rare shootout victory, this was a game where they simply got outplayed by what is guaranteed to be a bottom-feeder in the Eastern Conference in 2021. Rookie center Yegor Sharangovich scored the game-winning goal with 1.7 seconds left in overtime, his first NHL coming as a result of a fatal defensive breakdown by the B's that this time wasn't stopped by goaltender Jaroslav Halak (29 saves).

    Without David Pastrnak, the Bruins' offense has predictably sputtered. In fact, they still haven't scored an even-strength goal so far this season since today's lone tally came via a shorthanded goal (the 18th of his brilliant career) by captain Patrice Bergeron. It didn't help when winger Ondrej Kase left in the first period with an upper-body injury (concussion?) and never returned, causing head coach Bruce Cassidy to shuffle his already struggling forward lines. Devils goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (27 saves) is decent enough but it's not like Boston really tested him too much in either of these meetings. Don't worry, the NHL's version of Ambien (Bruins vs. Devils) will happen six more times this season! Haha if you're looking to fall asleep fast, just turn on these boring as watching paint dry games.

    New Jersey had their first lead of the season as BC's Miles Wood (who fought Kevan Miller to start the game after he ran into Tuukka Rask twice on Thursday) scored for the second straight game. He tipped in rookie defenseman Ty Smith's shot from the point with the second assist going to promising young center/child star lookalike Jack Hughes. Trailing 1-0 deep into the second period, the B's turned to a familiar duo for another memorable shorthanded goal: left wing Brad Marchand fended off Palmieri in Boston's zone then skated in with Bergy before passing it to his best friend who wasted no time letting a low and hard shot past Blackwood. You knew this one couldn't be decided in regulation once again and another shootout looked likely until Sharangovich found the puck on his stick with a step on B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. His snap shot went under Halak's pads and quite honestly, he didn't have much of a chance to stop it. In the third period, Halak had stopped Palmieri on a breakaway so what more do you want from him? 

    Winger Anders Bjork got his one-game audition on Boston's top line and it didn't go well, shocker. He had no shots on goal, no hits, no blocked shots and no takeaways in 10:58 of ice time. That is hard to do especially since most of that was with Bergeron and Marchand on the ice with him. I doubt that Kase will be available on Monday (5, NESN) when the Bruins travel to face the Islanders (1-1) at Nassau Coliseum with a special Martin Luther King Day start time. Rookie winger Jack Studnicka should be back in the lineup after he was a healthy scratch this afternoon following his chance on the top line on Thursday. Rask will get the start but goaltending is the least of Boston's worries at the moment. New York is a very stingy defensive team (much like them), so it'll be tough to get their offense untracked without the help of their strong special teams.

Bruins Return Home to Blank the Devils 3-0 In Their 2019-20 Regular Season Home Opener

There is no such thing as a homecoming game in the NHL, that's more of a high school or college football term (where the home team presumably takes on a cupcake opponent that they can blow out in front of their adoring alums) but if such a thing existed in hockey, the Devils (0-3-2) would be one of the most fitting choices these days. Boston (4-1-0) went 3-1-0 to start this campaign on a very difficult West Coast road trip to Dallas, Arizona, Las Vegas and Colorado before coming back to the newly redesigned TD Garden. Things couldn't have gone much better for the home team on the ice for the first real contest since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final vs. St. Louis in June. How did that one end again? I forget.

The Bruins scored twice in the first period and added a power play goal in the second which is about what you would expect against New Jersey-who is still one of the true bottomfeeders not just in the East but in the entire league. B's goaltender Tuukka Rask (3-0) made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season and the 46th of his NHL career. He made his presence felt the most in the second period when the Devils actually controlled play and outshot the Bruins 15-9. Coming off of their first loss of the season (4-2 against the Avs on Thursday), the Black and Gold predictably got back on track in front of their extra lubed up Saturday night crowd.

It only took Boston 3:33 to take a lead that turned out to be too much for Dirty Jersey to overcome. Brad Marchand wheeled around with the puck near the blue line and fired a shot on net that actually deflected in off a Devils defenseman before Patrice Bergeron could tip it. Marchand's team-leading fourth goal of the season (4-game point-streak with 4 goals & 3 assists) was assisted by David Pastrnak who has a team-high four helpers. Marblehead native and BC alum Cory Schneider (0-2-0; 29 saves) was basically on his own as the Bruins' reunited fourth line had another strong performance. Playing in his second game of the season, Joakim Nordstrom was able to put in a loose puck in front at 11:22. His first goal of the year was assisted by his linemates Chris Wagner (aka the Mayor of Walpole) and Sean Kuraly.

Marchand nearly made it 3-0 later in the first with what would have been a highlight reel tally for the ages. With his team shorthanded, he blocked a shot in his own zone then skated in on a breakaway but his shot was stopped by Schneider. For the contest, New Jersey's pathetic power play was 0-for-4 which is bad but nothing compared to their neutered season output (0-for-15, yuck!). I get that they have a bunch of scrubs around them but how has that happened to a team with offensive talents like Taylor Hall (former MVP), rookie Jack Hughes (June's No. 1 overall draft pick) and P.K. Subban? It's mystifying but then again, who really notices in North Jersey besides director Kevin Smith and maybe Bruce Springsteen?

The best chance for the Devils to score came early in the second period as Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo coughed up the puck right in front of his own net and Hughes was able to pounce on it but his shot hit the post. Too bad, it would have been neat to see his first NHL point/goal of what should be a long and fruitful career (he's only 18 years old!) for one of the most exciting American prospects in decades. The Bruins penalty kill got better as the game went along and of course-as any hockey coach will tell you-the goaltender can be the best penalty killer when he is locked in like Rask already is this fall (he's only allowed 4 goals in his 1st 3 starts).

Boston's power play is working out the kinks but after going 0-for-2 on their first two chances tonight, they cashed in on the third thanks to Patrice Bergeron. It was a similar tally to Nordstrom's as he battled in traffic in front of New Jersey's net and was rewarded when the puck popped out to him on his backhand. Jake DeBrusk and Marchand had the assists on Bergy's first goal of the season. Other than Canton's own Kevin Rooney (a proud NCAA champion at PC) missing a check on DeBrusk along Boston's bench then suffering the indignity of Jake pushing his skates over the side as well, that's about the only other notable thing to transpire for the rest of the rather routine defeat.

There are two games left on this homestand for the B's: their usual Columbus Day matinee (1, NESN) has them facing the Ducks (4-1-0) before the Lightning (2-2-1) come here on Thursday (7, NESN) for what should be a great early season showdown between's last season's top two teams in the Eastern Conference (haha in the regular season before Tampa had an epic choke job in Round 1 vs. Columbus). Any thoughts of a Stanley Cup hangover for the Bruins has already been put to bed and also importantly, they are racking up the points which is a good thing when you look at how hard the rest of October looks like for them: home and home with Toronto, St. Louis and San Jose are all looming ahead.

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Even When They Sleepwalk Through Much of a Game Now, The B's Still Manage To Post a Shutout

You know that we have it pretty good these days when all we can do (at least when it comes to the Bruins) is complain about the lack of beauty in a win. Haha yes tonight's 1-0 shutout of the pseudo-AHL Devils (25-33-8) at the Garden was far from an instant classic but if the Celtics have taught us anything during their thus far very disappointing season, you have to enjoy the wins no matter how they come. Boston (39-17-9) has the third most points in the NHL thanks to a ridiculous 16-game point streak (12-0-4). Along those lines, goaltender Tuukka Rask (14-0-3) has been similarly brilliant since his last regulation loss-the day before Christmas Eve at Carolina.

It only made perfect sense that after a pair of truly thrilling regular season games vs. San Jose (38-19-8) and Tampa Bay (50-12-4) earlier in the week-both 4-1 victories for the Black and Gold-that they would lack that same infectious spirit they had showed against the iron of the league when the rudderless Devils came to town. Nevermind that New Jersey had played the night before or that leading scorer Kyle Palmieri was sidelined with a lower-body injury, this was going to be two points for the home team almost no matter what happened. It helped that Boston stepped on their throat right away as Brad Marchand scored a power-play goal 2:37 into the first period. His 27th goal of the season was assisted by Patrice Bergeron (now tied with Wayne Cashman for 6th place on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with 793 points) and Jake DeBrusk. Marchand has 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) in his past 13 games, Bergeron has 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in his last 13 and DeBrusk has 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) in his last nine games.

You would have thought it would be a blowout as Marchand got hooked by defenseman Damon Severson on a breakaway and earned a penalty shot less than five minutes later but New Jersey rookie goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29 saves, 6-6-0) made the save. Marchand fell to 4-for-7 (which is still a pretty solid conversion rate) on penalty shots in the league. Rask probably hasn't recorded many easier shutouts in his life: he was only forced to make 20 saves and only a few of them were reasonably tough for his third shutout of the season and 44th of his career. Boston's penalty kill went 2-for-2 and New Jersey only managed 10 total over the final two periods so you can see how there was very little to talk about other than the result and a couple of interesting statistics.

Bruins fans (or hockey fans in general) should get a much more compelling product on Tuesday (7, NESN) as the Hurricanes (36-23-6) come to the Garden. Carolina has also been on an insane run as they have reached third-place in the Metropolitan Division, only three points behind both the Islanders (37-20-7) and Capitals (37-21-7). They have won their last five games in a row after a 4-3 overtime victory in Florida (28-25-11) earlier this evening. Speaking of the Panthers, they will be here on Thursday (7, NESN) followed by the hapless Senators (22-38-5) on Saturday night (7, NESN) who are the worst team in the NHL and just fired their head coach/bad horror movie villain Guy Boucher. Right now, everything is coming up Bruins and I have to say that I absolutely love it.

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Bruins Return From Christmas Break & Lay An Egg Vs. One of the Worst Teams in the NHL (Devils)

Games like tonight are part of the reason why it's so impossibly hard to bet on professional sports for a living (don't worry mom, I'm not talking about myself!). The Bruins (20-14-4) couldn't have been in a much more favorable position-on paper-as they hosted the wretched Devils (13-16-7) at TD Garden where they were 13-4-0. At 3-12-3 on the road, New Jersey was starting its third-string rookie goaltender (MacKenzie Blackwood) and their best player (Taylor Hall) was out with a lower-body injury. Naturally with all those factors seemingly piling up against them, the Devils never trailed as they rolled to a 5-2 victory, their first here since October 26, 2013.

Three of Boston's best players-Zdeno Chara, Kevan Miller and Jake DeBrusk-all returned to action after extended absences due to various injuries. That changed the lines a bit and while they were understandably a little rusty, they didn't give the team the boost of energy that you would expect. It wasn't Jaroslav Halak (28 saves, 12-6-2) best start of the season but his defense also let him down time and again either with breakdowns, turnovers and/or bad penalties. New Jersey basically was up 1-0 at the opening faceoff as defenseman Damon Severson jumped up into the rush and sniped in a goal just 25 seconds into the contest. Andy Greene and Travis Zajac assisted on his fifth goal of the season. The all-important puck luck was on New Jersey's side as well as evidenced by Kyle Palmieri's power-play goal that went off of Brandon Carlo then Halak and in for a 2-0 Devils lead at 15:25 of the first period. Will Butcher and BC's Brian Boyle provided the assists on reported trade target Palmieri's team-leading 19th goal of the season.

New Jersey outshot Boston 12-10 in the first period but the B's woke up in the second as they outshot them 19-9. Chris Wagner cut it to 2-1 as he one-timed a sweet pass from John Moore at 15:07. Danton Heinen had the secondary assist on Wagner's fourth goal of the season. The B's only trailed 2-1 after two periods and they had 1:49 left on a power play so it felt like they would tie it early in the third. Not so much as New Jersey killed off that penalty and shortly thereafter, Blake Coleman was sent in on a breakaway and beat Halak with a great move and backhander. His 10th goal of the season was unassisted and it completely took the life out of Boston's ill-fated comeback attempt (they are now 0-11-1 when trailing after 2 periods). Ryan Donato got cross-checked in the face with no call and Nico Hischier took advantage on the other end as he finished a breakaway of his own at 12:43. BC's Miles Wood and Stefan Noesen assisted on the former No. 1 pick's 10th goal of the season.

The Bruins finally got a lucky bounce to go their way but it was too late when DeBrusk's centering pass ricocheted off Patrice Bergeron's skate for his 12th goal of the season at 17:05. Coleman added the ultra-rare empty-netter/power-play strike at 19:12, assisted by Hischier and Greene. I can't remember too many Grade-A chances but it's tough to argue about his workload as Blackwood made 40 saves in his first NHL win. The result obviously meant a whole lot to the Devils who came into the evening tied with Los Angeles (14-20-3) for the fewest points in the league.

This was the last home game of 2018 for the Bruins and their final road game of the year will be on Saturday night (7, NESN) in Buffalo (21-12-5). The Sabres fell 4-1 in St. Louis (15-16-4) tonight, meaning that loss by the Black and Gold should sting a little more. If they had simply taken care of the hopeless Devils, they would only trail Buffalo by one point for third-place in the Atlantic Division. Instead, even a Bruins win on Saturday will still leave them behind the Sabres by a point. Blah, Halak had won his previous three starts before this loss and Tuukka Rask was awful in Sunday's 5-3 loss at Carolina (15-16-5) so I won't pretend to know who head coach Bruce Cassidy will pick to start that super important tilt in Buffalo. Keep in mind that Boston's next game after that isn't until Tuesday afternoon (1, NBC) but it is the Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium vs. Chicago (14-20-6) so that's something. The next Bruins home contest is next Thursday (7, NESN) vs. Calgary (23-12-3)-one of the NHL's biggest surprises and the leader of the Pacific Division.

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Rask (37 saves) Stands On His Head as the Bruins Extend Their Point Streak to 17 Games (13-0-4)

This point streak for the Bruins (28-10-8) which dates back to well before Christmas 2017 (a 5-3 loss to Washington on Dec. 14) is beginning to border on the absurd. It makes you wonder if they'll ever lose again in regulation. Haha clearly that's a bit of a lie but a Patriots like confidence has enveloped this club as they have cobbled together a 17-game point streak (13-0-4) thanks to their 3-2 survival type win tonight vs. New Jersey (24-15-8) at TD Garden. That is the third best mark in club history (16-0-1-0 in 1929-30, 15-0-2-0 in 1977-78 and 15-0-2-0 in 1982-83). With any type of point(s) on Thursday (7, NESN) at wretched Ottawa (15-22-9)-their last game before this weekend's All-Star break-Boston would tie its second best run (13-0-5-0 in 1968-69) ever. The gold standard is the comical 23-game streak in 1940-41 (15-0-8) which I know that I'll never forget for the rest of my life.

Through this lengthy stretch of fine play, the B's have often outworked and frankly dominated their overmatched opponents. That wasn't the case against the Devils who were blanked 4-0 at home on Monday vs. Detroit (19-20-8) but showed plenty of pride as they outshot the Bruins 39-24 overall. As you would expect with the final result, Boston's goaltender Tuukka Rask (37 saves in his 18th win of the season) was their best player as he extended his personal point streak to 17 games (15-0-2). New Jersey scored first which apparently means nothing to the Black and Gold since they have now allowed the first goal in six straight games while they became the first team in over eight years to earn at least a point in six contests in a row when they allow the first tally (Minnesota from Nov. 25-Dec. 5, 2009).

After a scoreless first period where New Jersey blitzed Boston with 11 more shots on goal (20-9), Manchester-By-The-Sea native and BC alum Miles Wood made it 1-0 Devils at 2:05 of the second with his 13th goal of the season. He tipped in a shot by rookie defenseman Will Butcher with the second assist going to No. 1 overall pick from last summer Nico Hischier. Riley Nash (7th goal of the season) tied it up less than five minutes later as only he can: his shot deflected off Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen and lost almost all its speed, allowing the puck to knuckle past Cory Schneider. The teams continued to trade goals as Damon Severson jumped up on a 3-on-2 and slammed in a sweet shot by Rask two minutes later. Marcus Johansson and Pavel Zacha assisted on Severson's seventh goal of the season. Patrice Bergeron knotted it at two with a power play goal at 12:53: his patented one-timer from the slot, his 20th goal of the season (joining linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak as the Bruins became the 1st team with a trio of 20-goal scorers), from Marchand and Torey Krug. Finally, Marchand scored a filthy goal with 32.8 seconds left in the frame as he fooled Schneider on a 2-on-1 and used his backhander to shovel it in for his 21st goal of the season, assisted by Pastrnak.

Star forward Taylor Hall is out with a hand injury and New Jersey is predictably fading (2-6-2 in last 10 games) after an unexpectedly great start to this campaign. Oh and the Metropolitan Division is insanely tight with eight points currently separating seven quality clubs. It didn't help matters that Schneider (17 saves, 3 goals allowed) left after the second with a lower-body injury, perhaps caused by Marchand basically undressing him before the Garden crowd and a TV audience around the world. Down 3-2 heading into the third and playing in the second part of a back-to-back, you would have expected the Devils to continue to fall apart but instead they outshot the B's 12-4. They just couldn't solve Rask who stopped Severson on a breakaway. Marchand nearly scored on a shorthanded bid but good old Ken Appleby (making his 2nd NHL appearance) was equal to the task. Marcus Johansson left after that play as Marchand caught him with an elbow right to the face, oops!

Bergeron missed an empty-netter in the final minute (his 1st mistake in weeks) which caused an icing call on Boston but it hardly mattered. Marchand appeared to score on the vacant net in the closing seconds but the refs correctly ruled that it hadn't crossed the line before time expired. Sorry degenerate gamblers that had the Bruins winning by two goals! It's been a spectacular first half for Boston and they can put a final bow on it with a win against the hopeless Senators on Thursday in Canada's capital. After that, the team will split for a few days with Marchand going to the All-Star festivities in Tampa Bay while the rest of his teammates travel around the globe for some well-earned rest and relaxation. They return to action next week on Tuesday vs. Anaheim (22-17-9) at the Garden, the start of a tough three-game homestand as they meet the Blues (29-18-3) next Thursday (7, NESN) and Maple Leafs (26-18-5) the night (7, NESN) before the Super Bowl-next Saturday.

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B's Beat Devils 3-2 In Stafford's Debut For Boston

I have never been to that arctic hell hole known as Winnipeg but I can only assume that getting out of there for good has to be one of the best moments of your life. At least that's what new Bruins (34-25-6) right wing Drew Stafford would have you believe after he was named the first star of the game in his debut for Boston, a 3-2 win over New Jersey (25-27-12) tonight at TD Garden. Playing on the third line with Frank Vatrano and Ryan Spooner (Claude Julien's haters), Stafford had an assist, he was +1, a game-high seven shots on goal and four hits in a very productive 14:07 of ice time.

A Weekend at Bernie's style corpse would be an improvement over Jimmy Hayes (2 goals, 3 assists in 49 games this season!) so needless to say that Stafford is already a huge addition if only for the simple reason that it relegated Hayes to the ninth floor as a healthy scratch. Obviously Stafford won't be that good in every game, few teams are more pathetic than the Devils, but this was a promising start for the former Sabre. Also relevant to the B's besides the two points is that backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (15 saves) continued to not be a liability anymore (a drastic change from earlier this season) as he won his third straight start.

Boston improved to 8-2-0 under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy and I'm almost certain (and too lazy to check it) that they haven't had a better 10-game segment in 2016-17. You have to feel bad for Marblehead native and BC alum Cory Schneider (37 saves), besides a few years in Vancouver (where he was never the unquestioned No. 1 goaltender), he's been on a bunch of terrible teams. We think he's one of the best at his position in the NHL but it's hard to really assess when he has yet to compete in a single playoff game as a Devil. For as long as he's been in Dirty Jersey, the once-proud franchise has struggled to score goals which last time I checked is still relevant in terms of winning in hockey.

After a scoreless first period that should have been followed by partial refunds to all the fans in attendance (Boston outshot New Jersey 16-5), there was a flurry by that minimalist standard with three goals in the second frame. Torey Krug gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 7:06 when he hammered in a loose puck for a power play goal. David Pastrnak (5-game point-streak) and Patrice Bergeron had the assists on Krug's sixth goal of the season. The B's appeared to take a 2-0 lead shortly after that as Taylor Hall was in the penalty box for another tripping call. The funny thing is that Hall's penalty had negated a possible goal for his own team but then Stafford's power play goal was overturned for a shaky goaltender interference ruling. Schneider never seemed to control the puck and it was called a goal on the ice but after a lengthy review, the refs said no goal.

A few minutes later New Jersey tied it at one as big and slow Devante Smith-Pelly somehow got on a breakaway and beat Khudobin at 11:48. BC's Steve Santini and Kyle Palmieri had the helpers on Smith-Pelly's fourth goal of the season. The black and gold went ahead 2-1 at 18:25 of the second period as rookie Brandon Carlo got a lucky bounce. His weak backhander was tipped in by New Jersey defenseman Nick Lappin. Bergeron and David Backes assisted on Carlo's sixth goal of the season.

Down 2-1 going into the third period, the Devils didn't go away though as Palmieri tied it after a 2-on-1 with Hall following a blocked shot on Carlo. It was his twentieth goal of the season, giving the American back-to-back 20-goal campaigns which converted to New Jersey terms is like a 30-goal season with most other half-decent clubs. The B's responded quickly in their own right as Vatrano caused a turnover behind Schneider's net then passed to Stafford who fed Spooner for a pretty tap-in. Spooner's 11th goal of the season stood as the game-winner as the Devils never really threatened while the Bruins missed a pair of empty-netters.

When it comes to the jumbled Eastern Conference playoff picture, there won't be many bigger games down the stretch than Monday (7, NESN) as Boston travels to Ottawa (35-22-6). The Senators held off the Blue Jackets (40-17-6) 3-2 tonight so they will come in two points in front of the Bruins with two games in hand. Needless to say, a win by the B's (who are 17-11-6 on the road) would be huge while a Sens victory especially in regulation would be a blow to Boston's hopes of finishing above third in the Atlantic Division. Tuukka Rask (30-15-4) will be well-rested so it should be a good one, a little Monday Night Puck.

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Unlike Last Season, Bruins Decide to Actually Win Their Home Opener 2-1 vs. Devils

The Bruins (3-1-0) continued their promising start to the 2016-17 season as they beat the Devils (1-2-1) 2-1 tonight at TD Garden in their home opener. While the teams that they've beaten so far are not exactly Cup contenders (Blue Jackets, Jets and Devils), anything is better than their horrid 0-3 start last year (all blowout home games). Patrice Bergeron played his first contest of this campaign (after nursing a minor lower-body injury) so of course he scored the game-winning goal with 1:15 left in regulation. His best friend forever Brad Marchand assisted on Bergy's patented one-timer from the slot with David Pastrnak picking up the second helper.

Marchand (3 goals, 6 assists) currently leads the NHL in points while both he and Pastrnak are riding four-game point streaks. It was a good night for Boston's stars as Tuukka Rask made 28 saves. If you missed the first two periods, believe me you won't need to see the highlights of it since there literally weren't any to speak of. All the action fittingly came in the third as Kyle Palmieri put New Jersey ahead at 4:14 with a power-play goal from Damon Severson and Jacob Josefson. The shot apparently was meant to be a pass and even more tricky, it took a slight deflection off of rookie Brandon Carlo's skate for Palmieri's second goal of the season.

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey apparently wasn't a fluke as Marchand is playing like one of the best players in the NHL. He beat Devils goaltender Cory Schneider (34 saves) with a wicked snap-shot top shelf, blocker side at 9:47 that tied it at one. John-Michael Liles and Colin Miller had the assists on Marchand's tally which quite honestly, was all due to his brilliance. With tonight's win, the Bruins now have an all-time record of 47-23-20-1 in home openers.

Boston hosts Montreal (3-0-1) on Saturday night (7, NESN) in what should be a much more entertaining tilt than tonight's mostly forgettable game. It is new Bruins like David Backes Dominic Moore and Carlo's first taste of the Boston-Montreal rivalry and you know that the Garden crowd will be very into it even if it is only late October. Carey Price (27 saves) made his first appearance of the season in the Canadiens' 5-2 victory against the Coyotes (1-2-0) so you can bet that he'll be between the pipes and opposed by Rask. The B's have allowed the first goal in each game this season which makes 3-1-0 all that more impressive. Needless to say, that bizarre trend won't last much longer.

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So Maybe Ryan Spooner Should Have Been In Boston All Season

Facing a must-win game in late February, who didn't predict that Niklas Svedberg, David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner would be three of Boston's (30-22-9) most important players? Spooner picked the perfect time to finally get his first career NHL goal as he brought home a 3-2 overtime win tonight at the Prudential Center vs. New Jersey (25-27-10). Tuukka Rask was sick so Svedberg stepped in for his first start in over two weeks (Feb. 10 vs. Dallas) and responded with 29 saves. All Pastrnak did was pick up a goal and an assist as the youngest player in the league gets more comfortable every time he steps on the ice.

The Bruins swept the three-game season series with the Devils and outscored them 10-4 in the process. More importantly, Boston is now four points ahead of Florida and six points on top of Philadelphia for eighth-place in the Eastern Conference. True to form with this entire season, the B's didn't make it easy on themselves as they squandered a 2-0 lead in the third period before eventually waking up in overtime (not before Svedberg made some big saves to keep it tied).

Anything can happen on a Friday night in Newark, NJ-believe me, I know-so obviously Daniel Paille scored a goal for the second straight game to open things up. New Jersey defenseman Andy Greene turned the puck over right to Loui Eriksson in a prime spot; he shuttled it over to a wide open Paille who slammed a one-timer past Marblehead, MA native Cory Schneider (31 saves) at 8:39. It was Paille's third goal of the season so look out Alex Ovechkin!

Chris Kelly and Reilly Smith were credited with assists on Pastrnak's goal at 1:40 of the third period but truthfully, it was all thanks to the rookie. His initial shot was stopped by Schneider but he drove to the net to collect the rebound and beat the former BC star the second time around with his seventh goal of the season. Considering that Svedberg had shut them out earlier this season (3-0 on Jan. 8 in Boston), 2-0 seemed like enough offense against the Devils who just traded 43-year-old Jaromir Jagr-their best offensive player-to the Panthers on Thursday.

To quote the great Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend." New Jersey cut it to 2-1 at 5:57 on Travis Zajac's power-play goal (his 9th tally of the season). The puck found him uncovered at the side of the net and he blasted it by Svedberg, with assists to Adam Henrique and Jacob Josefson. That goal really sparked the Devils as they completely took over and tied it a little over two minutes later. Dougie Hamilton's chip didn't get out of Boston's offensive zone so former Canadien Mike Cammalleri skated in and drew Svedberg out of the net before dropping the puck back for Jordin Tootoo to touch into the open cage. Adam Larsson had the second assist on Tootoo's sixth goal of the season.

The last thing that Boston needed was a shootout so they happily improved to 7-3 in the extra session. The winning sequence came on a 4-on-2 with Pastrnak and Torey Krug providing the assists to Spooner who roofed a pretty shot over Schneider. For a guy that has struggled mightily to find the net, that had to feel amazing not to mention the fact of its team and personal significance.

The B's have a nice opportunity to grab another two points tomorrow (5:30, NESN) back at the Garden vs. lowly Arizona (20-35-7). It sounds like Rask might be available but honestly, I would give Svedberg the start again. Why not, right? Boston only has 21 games left in the regular season so when they see an awful team like the Coyotes, they simply have to take advantage of that.

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Bruins Blank Lifeless Devils 3-0, Behind Lucic (2 goals) & Svedberg (14-save shutout)

Unless you are related to Niklas Svedberg or Milan Lucic, odds are that you won't remember tonight's Bruins-Devils tilt. Regardless, Boston (21-15-6) did what they had to do to pick up two more extremely valuable points with a 3-0 win over New Jersey (15-21-7). The Bruins outshot the Devils 43-14 so if it wasn't for the heroics of BC's Cory Schneider (40 saves), Boston would have won by five or six goals.

The B's improved to 5-2-3 in their last 10 games, they have points in their last six games (3-0-3) and they won back-to-back games for the first time in two weeks. It's hard to believe that there are worse teams in the NHL than the Devils but they have clearly tuned out their stupid three head coaches system. Basically, all that's left for them to do in the second half of the season is to ship away various veterans (Jagr, Ryder, etc.) to contenders and hope that next season gets better.

Lucic gave Boston a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 18:50 of the first period. His seventh goal of the season was assisted by David Krejci and Torey Krug. He blasted a shot from the slot through a bunch of bodies. Earlier in the frame, the Bruins had a two-man advantage for 1:08 but they weren't able to cash in. No worries, when you play New Jersey eventually they will give you something tasty.

The Devils had three shots on goal in the first period, three. Haha they increased that by 33% with four in the second period but the B's took a 2-0 lead on Carl Soderberg's unassisted tally at 8:31. Chris Kelly's forecheck caused a turnover and Soderberg was out in front to finish it Brad Marchand style-top shelf.

Even in forgettable contests like this, you never know what you'll see. Case in point: Jordan Caron dropped the gloves shortly after Soderberg's goal with Jordin Tootoo of all people. It wasn't a classic, mostly of the clutch and grab variety, but you have to give Caron credit (for once), he apparently is doing anything he can to hang around this time.

The last goal came via an empty-netter by Lucic with 12 seconds left in regulation. Lucic went back and forth with Bergeron but the big guy was able to pot his second of the game with the other assist going to Kelly.

Boston is back in action on Saturday (1, NESN) in Philadelphia (16-18-7). That is another must-win for the Bruins because the Flyers aren't going anywhere either, they need to make the most out of this short lull in their schedule.

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Bruins Close Out Perfect Homestand (4-0) with 5th Straight Win, 4-2 vs. Devils

Not that I was too worried about it but the Bruins are officially themselves again. Boston (10-6-0) dispatched New Jersey (6-7-2) 4-2 at TD Garden on Monday for their fifth straight win. The Bruins closed out their four-game homestand (4-0) with a much tougher schedule on the horizon namely a back-to-back in Toronto on Wednesday (8, NBCSN) and in Montreal on Thursday (7:30, NESN).

Ironically enough, the B's improved to 6-1 since Zdeno Chara went down with an injury-an indication of their weak opponents along with them finding their proverbial groove at the same time. The Devils scored the fastest goal vs. the Bruins this season as Travis Zajac finished a pass from Mike Cammalleri 1:26 into the contest after a turnover by Dougie Hamilton. It was the fifth time in the last six games that the Bruins have allowed the first goal not that it's seemed to matter at all.

In the eight games this season where Boston has allowed the first goal, they have tied it at one in seven of them including this evening. Carl Soderberg scored a power-play goal at 10:21 as he tipped in Reilly Smith's pass with the second assist to Patrice Bergeron (4-game point streak). Soderberg's fifth goal of the season tied him with Brad Marchand for the team lead.

A sloppy turnover by the Devils gave the Bruins a gift-wrapped 2-1 advantage at 17:16. Bergeron was there to slam in his third goal of the season by former BC star and Marblehead native Cory Schneider (19 saves). Former Bruins great Jaromir Jagr did something he rarely did in Boston two seasons ago-score a pretty goal or any goals for that matter. His turnaround shot beat Tuukka Rask (26 saves) low and to the far side at 13:00 of the second period for Jagr's third goal of the season and 708th all-time (tying him with Mike Gartner for 6th in NHL history).

Boston put it away with a quick pair of goals late in the second period (1:20 apart, their 9th and 10th of the season in the final two minutes of a frame). Rookie Seth Griffith scored unquestionably the prettiest goal of the season (his fourth of the season) for the B's and one of the best in the NHL. Words don't really do it justice but he had his back to Schneider but he managed to hit a shot between his legs which went through Schneider's pads. Incredible and just a taste of what Griffith can do at the ripe old age of 21. Other than Tyler Seguin (and I'm not saying he could be Seguin), when is the last time Boston had a forward with those type of eye-popping skills? Like Bergeron, his tally was unassisted.

Smith added the final strike at 19:21 as he one-timed a pass from Bergeron (3 points) by Schneider. New Jersey outshot Boston 14-3 in the third period but that was somewhat misleading since they didn't translate to many real scoring opportunities.

The Maple Leafs (8-5-2) have won their last two games but the Bruins typically own them. Conversely, the Canadiens (10-4-1) have won their last two after a poor stretch but they dominate Boston particularly at the Bell Centre. I would expect Niklas Svedberg to make his first start in November on Wednesday before Rask returns to the net on Thursday in Montreal where he has been terrible.

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Bruins Capture Their 2nd Presidents' Trophy

By virtue of their 4-1 win over the hapless Sabres on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden, the Bruins (54-18-9) earned the Presidents' Trophy (best record in the NHL) for only the second time in team history. Neither the game against Buffalo (21-51-9) nor tomorrow's regular season finale in New Jersey (likely Martin Brodeur's last game) are relevant since the B's won't see either in the postseason.

Their focus shifts to Detroit (38-28-15) who they will meet in the first round of the playoffs, probably starting on Thursday in Boston. They couldn't have picked a tougher eighth seed since the Red Wings were 3-1 against the B's in the regular season and outscored them 15-7.

The only real news to come out of Saturday's game for the B's is that it appeared Daniel Paille suffered his third concussion of the season. Ugh, poor guy. That would be a sneaky big loss since everyone knows how valuable Boston's fourth line can be especially come playoff time when few teams can match their abilities. Plus, it also means that worthless Jordan Caron would be in the lineup and nobody wants that.

Boston will be not only the favorite in the Eastern Conference but in the NHL as a whole heading into the postseason. Anything can happen but they are in very good shape to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row and third time in the last five years. Cross our fingers that they get through the game with the Devils unscathed. There is no reason to test their depth any further when it matters most.

UPDATE 4/13: Game 1 is Friday at TD Garden (7:30), Game 2 is Sunday afternoon (3, yes Easter Sunday) in Boston then Game 3 is Tuesday (7:30) in Detroit and Game 4 is Thursday (8) in the Motor City.

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Bruins Win Their 10th Straight Game, 4-2 at Devils

It is official, the Bruins are on a bigger roll (in the regular season) than I can ever recall in my lifetime and yes I know this is the third time they've won 10 in a row under Claude Julien. Tonight, Boston (47-17-5) picked up the 10th straight win, 4-2 at Prudential Arena vs. New Jersey (29-27-13). Thanks to their longest win streak since November 2011, the B's are five points ahead of Pittsburgh for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Boston has outscored opponents 41-15 during this particularly dominant run and they are tied with St. Louis for the best goal-differential (+74) in the NHL and they've allowed the second fewest goals (149) in the league with the second most points overall (2 behind the Blues). Their next win will put them over 100 points on the season.

Playing in the second night of a back-to-back, Boston looked fine as they outshot the Devils 15-5 in the first period. The Panthers had something tangible to show for it as well when Patrice Bergeron slipped a backhander past Grandpa Martin Brodeur at 14:33. Bergeron's 20th goal of the season was assisted by Reilly Smith and Andrej Meszaros.

Sensing his team needed any type of spark, Ryane Clowe chose to drop the gloves with Milan Lucic which isn't something you see every day. The Devils responded with the tying goal by Patrick Elias 29 seconds into the second period. That was on a 5-on-3 man advantage for the hosts. Boston responded with a shorthanded goal (his NHL best 5th) by Brad Marchand 54 seconds after Elias, from Bergeron and Zdeno Chara. Just 59 seconds after Boston celebrated that, they were going crazy again as Jarome Iginla beat Brodeur for his team-leading 26th goal of the season from David Krejci and Torey Krug.

As usual, Boston put it away when Chris Kelly finished a pretty one-timer from Carl Soderberg at 7:11 in the third. Kelly's eighth goal of the season was also assisted by Loui Eriksson. The Bruins have done an excellent job of stepping on teams' throats and making their leads virtually insurmountable.

The Bruins defense let Travis Zajac have too much time and space so naturally he fired one past Chad Johnson (22 saves; 15-3-1 overall) at 9:13 that cut it to 4-2 but that's all she wrote.

With this insanely packed March (17 games) and coming off an emotional win, it has to be a good thing that Boston gets the next two days off before they travel to Colorado (44-20-5) to play the Avalanche on Friday (9, NESN) in an ultra rare Friday Night Ice matchup (I just made that up myself!).

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Bruins Run Out of Gas, Fall 4-3 to Devils in Role Reversal from Thursday

The way it played out, Boston choking away a game tonight vs. New Jersey seemed like some sort of cosmic retribution for them stealing two points from San Jose on Thursday. Make no mistake, the Sharks are excellent and the Devils suck but both teams are still in the NHL so on any given night yada yada. The Bruins (7-3-0) should have hung on but the Devils (2-5-4) were able to score two power play goals 23 seconds apart in the third period en route to a gut punch of a 4-3 win at dejected TD Garden.

Two factors: it is October and 2) the way they won with 0.8 seconds left vs. San Jose made this a little easier to take than the normal anal probe. Boston actually came out in the first period like a refreshed team that wasn't playing its third game in four nights (for the first time this season). They pumped three goals behind Martin Brodeur (25 saves) who is just a shell of what he used to be even a few years ago let alone a decade. It's tough to pin this on Tuukka Rask (28 saves) since all four of New Jersey's goals came on the power play including the tying goal which was a 6-on-3.

Power play specialist Torey Krug fluttered a wrist shot past Brodeur 7:52 into the contest, his fourth of the season from Jarome Iginla and David Krejci. The fun times continued as Iginla scored his second in as many games 1:27 later off a Devils skate. Dougie Hamilton and Rask both assisted on that fluky goal. Adam Henrique answered at 11:24 after Rask kicked a rebound right to him. Granted, his defensemen didn't do their job to clear the puck out of the zone. It was all good though (or at least we thought) as Lucic barreled down the left wing and snapped one past Brodeur for his sixth point (3 goals, 3 assists) in his last four games. It was also his team-leading sixth goal of the season from Krejci and Iginla.

Rask is human so you can't expect him to only give up one or two goals every night. The backhander that Damian Brunner snuck by him had to be the softest that the animated Finn has allowed in his nine starts. Not only was it weak but the timing was rough since New Jersey climbed back in at 3-2 with 28 seconds left in the second period.

Boston's meltdown started when Krug was rightfully called for a four-minute penalty (high sticking that drew blood). Before that was halfway through, Patrice Bergeron of all people accidentally flung the puck in the crowd in Boston's own end. Yikes, Zdeno Chara had done that earlier which led to Brunner's goal. New Jersey pulled Brodeur and quickly cashed in. Marek Zidlicky's shot from the point got by Rask who was completely screened by Steve Bernier at 18:52. Before the Bruins had a chance to recover, they were out of position and Rask was fishing the puck out of the net after Andy Greene's one-timer at 19:15. Goodnight everyone and drive home safely!

The B's are nice enough to let us really focus on the Patriots and Red Sox tomorrow then Red Sox on Monday before they return on Wednesday (8, NBCSN) in Pittsburgh (7-3-0). That'll be the first meeting of the Bruins and Penguins since Boston swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Gee, that'll be an entertaining game. NBCSN must be drooling for their rivalry night, it's a little better than Bruins-Sabres from last week.

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I Guess You Could Say He Has The Moves Like Jagr (Shows Self Out)

Other than the goal being about as ugly as they get, I don't think you could script a better debut for Jaromir Jagr in a Bruins uniform. His "goal" which was really a pass that mistakenly went off his skate was the difference as Boston beat New Jersey 1-0 tonight at TD Garden. Good bounces like that seem to happen when you have 680 career goals in the NHL.

The third straight win for the Bruins (24-8-4) kept them within one point of Montreal, who beat Winnipeg 4-1 this evening, and it was all thanks to Jagr and Tuukka Rask (40 saves; 16-5-4) who notched his third shutout of the season and 14th of his career. Not bad for a guy that was the backup the last two games as Anton Khudobin earned back-to-back wins.

The Devils (15-13-9) are falling apart down the stretch (0-3-2 in their last 5 games) and scoring is clearly an issue for them without Ilya Kovalchuk in the lineup. Martin Brodeur (25 saves) did enough to win but his fellow product of the 1990 NHL draft class (Jagr) made sure to get off on the right foot with Bruins fans who were ready to love him from the start.

Zdeno Chara started the play by finding Brad Marchand who drove down the left wing before throwing it to Jagr who had driven to the net. His stick didn't get down in time but it still went in at 1:20 of the second period and most importantly, withstood a review since it wasn't a kicking motion. Jagr's first goal as a Bruin gave him the lead on his new team (15th of the season) while Marchand picked up his 16th assist and Chara reached double-digits with his 10th assist.

Jagr skated on the second line with Marchand and Tyler Seguin at center since Patrice Bergeron missed his first game with a concussion. Kaspars Daugavins also played his first game as a Bruin but I'm guessing that people won't be looking for his jersey in the Pro Shop quite as much as Jagr's. He was on the third line with Rich Peverley and Jay Pandolfo.

Montreal has beaten Boston the last two times they've met, both at the Garden, to take a 2-1 series lead. The Bruins have one more chance before the playoffs start to get them back and regain control of the Northeast Divison. Saturday night's (7 p.m., NESN) game at the Bell Centre should be a great atmosphere with two of the best teams not only in the Eastern Conference but the NHL as a whole (not that we'd know though since they have played teams from the other conference).

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