Bruins Pummel the Panthers 5-1 to Clinch Home Ice In At Least the First Round of the Playoffs

With the finish line of the regular season in plain sight, the Bruins (49-17-11) are starting to set their laser-like focus on the playoffs while also making sure to get the requisite points that they need to hopefully rest key guys at some juncture in the final week. Boston allowed the first goal of the game this afternoon at TD Garden against the desperate Panthers (39-30-8) but from there, the B's hit them with five straight goals (not to mention countless literal punches to the face) to come away with a satisfying 5-1 victory. With the win, the Black and Gold regained first-place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division from Tampa Bay (52-22-4) who had destroyed the Rangers (33-36-9) 7-3 last night. The B's also still own a game in hand against the Lightning plus they meet one more time on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) in the Sunshine State as Boston goes for the season sweep (right now they're 3-0 vs. TB).

The only negative part of the contest for Boston was that they somehow suffered two more injuries to important players: center Riley Nash left in the second period after taking a Torey Krug shot to the ear, he received stitches (ouch!) and didn't return. In the third period defenseman Brandon Carlo went down in a heap with the dreaded non-contact injury. He lunged at the puck with his right skate and his right leg/knee seemed to give out. Ugh, it just so happened to occur right by the corner with the paramedics stationed nearby so he was wheeled out on a stretcher.

Jamie McGinn gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 4:59 of the first period after jamming in the puck past Tuukka Rask (30 saves, 34-11-5; 10-0-1 in his last 11 starts). Milton native Keith Yandle (5-game point streak) and Vincent Trocheck had the assists on McGinn's 13th goal of the season. The Bruins responded with two goals later in the first period and three goals in the second to put this away early. Center David Krejci (3 assists) was the catalyst for the B's offense along with rookie winger Jake DeBrusk (2 goals, 1 assist) who returned after missing eight games with an upper-body injury to play on Krejci's line with fellow rookie Ryan Donato (goal, assist).

Nick Holden's 1st goal as a Bruin (4th of the season overall) tied it at 11:15 as he went to the net and Krejci whirled around to put the puck right on his stick for a sweet re-direct with DeBrusk picking up the second helper. An aggressive forecheck all day by the B's paid off with a couple goals: Panthers defenseman Alexander Petrovic lost the puck behind his own net and Donato was on it to feed DeBrusk for a nifty one-timer at 14:06. Krejci had the second assist on DeBrusk's 15th goal of the season.

It was another tough day at the Garden for James Reimer (15 saves, 5 goals allowed) as Donato made it 3-1 at 1:32 of the second period after Krejci caused a turnover and passed it to the rookie for his fourth goal in seven NHL games. Adam McQuaid fought Michael Haley after that goal but much like in the game itself, the Panthers were beaten in that matchup as well. Reimer allowed a pair of goals that he should have stopped as Patrice Bergeron banged in a rebound at 13:40 of the second (similar to McGinn's goal) for his 29th goal of the season, assisted by David Backes and David Pastrnak (200th NHL point). Good old Roberto Luongo came in after Reimer gave up another leaky tally as he couldn't squeeze Kevan Miller's shot and DeBrusk was on the spot to tap it in at 16:32. It was all Hockey East alums on the assists as Matt Grzelcyk provided the second helper.

Noel Acciari had surprisingly never been in an NHL bout so he got that out of the way in the third period vs. something named MacKenzie Weegar. The Bruins got out of the building fast since they have to play the Flyers (39-25-14) tomorrow afternoon (12:30, NBC) on Easter Sunday. Expect Anton Khudobin to get the start in goal for Boston, I'm not sure if Riley Nash will be back but I highly doubt that Carlo could be available anytime soon. Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy (who won NESN's 7th player award before today's tilt) have both inched closer to a return this week and by chance, the Providence Bruins are in Pennsylvania playing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms so perhaps Paul Postma or another Providence defenseman could be recalled. Head coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned Brian Gionta (who was a healthy scratch today) as somebody that could take Riley's place if he can't go against Philadelphia who currently lead the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference.

Boston only has two home games left, vs. Ottawa (27-39-11) next Saturday night (7, NESN) and against Florida on Sunday night (7:30, NESN)-the makeup game from the snowstorm in January that postponed the game until the last day of the regular season. The Bruins and Panthers had plenty of scrums today and that should be a theme as they also meet in Sunrise, FL on Thursday (7:30, NESN). Today's loss pushed Florida further out of the playoff race as they fell to three points behind New Jersey (40-28-9) for the second Wild Card in the East. Needless to say, the Panthers really needed at least a point today and not only did they fail to get that but they also were humiliated by a determined opponent.

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The B's Are Suddenly Unbeatable In OT As They Sweep Another Season Series, This Time Vs. Wings

Without Patrice Bergeron (broken foot), Charlie McAvoy (sprained MCL) and Tuukka Rask (lower-body injury), the Bruins (41-15-8) are understandably a little lacking right now at least in terms of top-notch talent. Don't misconstrue that for lack of compete level as they continue to find ways to get wins (4 in a row), tonight they outlasted Detroit (26-29-11) 6-5 in overtime at TD Garden (3 of their last 4 have gone to OT) thanks to yet another Brad Marchand (3rd career hat trick, 2 assists; tying a career-high for points in a contest) game-winner (his 2nd straight game and 11th regular season OT tally of his career). It helps that they have been at home for the past week plus, a better location to stabilize things amidst all these changes to the lineup seemingly every game.

Boston swept the four-game season series with Detroit for the first time since 2008-2009 and improved to 14-1-1 in their last 16 games against the Red Wings who are destined for another spring without the playoffs in the place formerly known as "Hockey Town." Besides the extra hockey that they've been kindly giving their fans during this homestand, the B's are also rewarding those that are in their seats before the first puck drop. This evening, they scored two goals in the first 52 seconds and by the time the Firewagon Hockey first period was over, there were already five total goals on the scoreboard.

Torey Krug had a memorable performance as well, setting a new career-high with four points (2 goals, 2 assists) so he began the barrage of pucks into the net only 37 seconds into regulation. His blast from the point-his 12th goal of the season-was assisted by Nick Holden (3 assists in 3 games as a Bruin) and Marchand. Poor Jared Coreau was making his first start of the season for Detroit and it wasn't a long one since he got pulled early in the second period after allowing four goals on 16 shots. Before you could say "Where are You Chris Osgood?", the Bruins had made it 2-0. Jake DeBrusk's attempted centering pass deflected in off a Red Wings defenseman for an unassisted goal (his 14th of the season) which gave him a four-game point streak.

I will give Detroit credit for one thing: they might be mediocre at best and headed nowhere but the NHL Draft this summer but they play harder than you would think (or at least that was the case tonight). Bruins killer Frans Nielsen hopped on a loose puck for a power play goal (his 14th of the season) at 2:16 of the first period from Henrik Zetterberg who I believe has been a Red Wing for 40 years. Anton Khudobin (30 saves, 15-4-4) wasn't even that bad but without McAvoy and by taking too many penalties, Boston's defense was a mess. Mike Green tied it up with another shot from close range (his 7th goal of the season) at 7:53 thanks to a nifty drop pass by Anthony Athanasiou with the other assist going to Anthony Mantha (2 goals, 2 assists). Boston answered with its first of two power play goals: Krug from Marchand and David Pastrnak (3 assists-a career-high, including the 100th of his career) at 13:48.

If you thought that things might perhaps slow down a bit in the second period, well you'd be wrong my friend. Marchand's power play goal at 3:27 chased Coreau for Maine alum Jimmy Howard (19 saves, 2 goals allowed). Krug and Pastrnak had the assists on a beautiful play that ended with a wicked one-timer from Marchand. Those three guys had a spectacular game together, it felt like they were in on every scoring play for the B's (which basically they were). The Red Wings could have easily rolled over at this point but Mantha cut it to a one-goal lead for the home team when he gathered a rebound and put in a backhander at 12:05 after Green's blast was deflected. Seconds earlier, Detroit's power play had expired. Tyler Bertuzzi had the second assist on Mantha's team-leading 22nd goal of the season. 1:13 after that, Marchand comically banked the puck off of Howard's leg right after he had missed the net with another shot. Pastrnak and Riley Nash had the helpers on the tally that gave Boston a 5-3 advantage. Mantha produced another goal after the Bruins' defense was nowhere to be seen at 15:50. Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin had the assists as Boston only led 5-4 after two bonkers periods.

Boston blew its second two-goal lead when Detroit struck right after a power play went by the wayside yet again. Martin Frk who has one of the most interesting last names in the universe tied it at 9:46 on his 11th goal of the season from Bertuzzi and Mantha. As recently as the start of last week, the B's were a woeful 2-6 in overtime. Now, 5-6 doesn't look too bad does it? On the other end of the spectrum, the Wings fell to 3-10 (!) in OT including two losses to these Bruins. Unlike the individual masterclass put on by Marchand to beat Montreal (25-30-11) on Saturday night, this overtime goal was much simpler as Riley Nash drove to the net and dished to Krug. His initial shot was stopped but Howard left a juicy rebound on a platter for Marchand who waited for a beat then finished things off with a top-shelf backhander.

The Bruins can't afford this many mistakes on Thursday (7, NESN) when the Flyers (34-21-11) come for a visit. Unlike the Canadiens or Red Wings, Philadelphia is actually a legit playoff team this season and as such, they need to be respected (6-2-2 in their last 10 games). Unfortunately for the Flyguys, they have to host the Penguins (38-25-4) in their usual blood war on Wednesday (Rivalry Night bitches!) before taking the short trip up the East Coast to Boston (plus they will have to fly through the snow storm). Assuming that we all survive another New England weather spectacular, that should be an entertaining tilt. Haha the B's haven't faced the Flyers since Super Bowl 52 so maybe they can exact some revenge on a Philly team for their football brothers (Patriots). Too soon?

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The Bruins Played Possum With The Canadiens, Tying It Up Late Then Beating Them In Overtime

It had been 23 years since the Bruins (40-15-8) swept the season series with the Canadiens (25-29-11) so Boston took care of some history with their better-late-than-never thrilling 2-1 overtime victory tonight at TD Garden. The B's finished 4-0 against Claude Julien's hapless Habs thanks to an overtime goal by Brad Marchand and 27 saves by Anton Khudobin (14-4-4). Montreal's goaltender Antti Niemi (48 saves, 4-6-3) deserved a better fate as he stood on his head for almost the entire contest before Jake DeBrusk tied it up with a power play goal at 17:15 of the third period.

One of the standard elements of this wonderful season for the Bruins has been numerous guys going down with injuries, only to have countless other teammates step up in their absence. Tuukka Rask was a late scratch with what B's head coach Bruce Cassidy termed a "very minor injury" so Khudobin was a last-minute starter. More worrisome was that rookie stud defenseman Charlie McAvoy skated a grand total of one shift (for 37 seconds) before calling it a night with a lower-body injury. The team has a scheduled day off on Sunday so we'll have to wait and see if he's out there for practice on Monday. Props to the remaining five defenseman for Boston who all played at least 20:04 (Brandon Carlo) and as much as 24:46 (Torey Krug since there were 6 Bruins power plays).

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead at 9:16 of the first period as Kevan Miller threw an outlet pass right to Brendan Gallagher aka Dollar Store Marchand and he buried a shot past Khudobin for his 23rd goal of the season. Khudobin certainly wasn't as busy as Niemi, Montreal outshot Boston 12-10 in the first but proceeded to get bombarded (40-16) over the final 42:06 of action. It was more of a quality over quantity type night for Khudobin who at one point late in the third period had to ditch his mask (to get a whistle) because two of the straps had snapped.

Boston has now won its last six games overall vs. Montreal and they huffed and puffed for most of this one to earn the two points. David Pastrnak hit the post early in the first when the Bruins had a 3-on-1. Boston trailed 1-0 after the first period and couldn't convert a 2-man advantage that they had for 44 seconds in the second period. Going into the third, the records did not favor the home team since they were 2-13-3 when trailing after two while Montreal was 17-1-1 when leading after two. Jonathan Drouin was called for delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass in his own end which finally broke his team's back. Nick Holden played a perfect slap pass to DeBrusk to tip in for his 13th goal of the season with Torey Krug picking up the second assist.

The Bruins continued to dominate in the extra frame as they outshot the Canadiens 4-0 as they never really let Montreal gain possession of the puck. Ironically, Marchand's goal came about with Cassidy shuffling some new players onto the ice. He showed all the power in his small frame by wheeling around the net to gain a good shooting angle where he fired a low shot by Niemi in traffic. Krug and Brian Gionta had the assists on Marchand's 25th goal of the season and his 10th career regular season overtime game-winner.

Boston went 3-0 this week at home without Patrice Bergeron (including 2 OT wins) and they'll try to go 3-0 next week as well with Detroit (26-28-10) coming here on Tuesday (7, NESN) followed by Philadelphia (34-20-11) on Thursday (7, NESN) and Chicago (28-29-8) wrapping things up on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). It's hard not to feel really good about this team, considering how many of these seemingly improbable wins they have pulled out in 2017-18. The moves that they made at the trade deadline have only solidified a group that has legitimate Cup aspirations. Time to start drinking the Black and Gold Kool-Aid folks, it's delicious.

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Winter Returns: The Bruins Hung a Snowman (8 Goals) On the Penguins In an Unexpected Blowout

You could watch every Bruins (39-15-8) game in 2017-18, hell probably in the entire NHL and I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't find a more exciting tilt than the one witnessed by all the lucky fans at TD Garden this evening. Pittsburgh's (36-25-4) Olli Maatta scored just 35 seconds into the contest but Boston scored five goals of their own in the first period which tied a season-high (1st period on Jan. 6 vs. Carolina) as they jumped out to a 5-3 lead after one. The B's cruised to an 8-4 win that featured a hat trick by David Krejci (the 4th of his NHL career), a fight of true giants (Zdeno Chara vs. 6-foot-7 Northeastern alum Jamie Oleksiak), three points for David Pastrnak (2 goals, assist), a pair of assists for Brian Gionta and a helper for Nick Holden in their Bruins debuts and another goal by Rick Nash.

Boston's power play was mired in an 0-for-18 slump (they hadn't scored in the past 6 games) and Pittsburgh entered with the top unit so naturally the Bruins potted a trio of tallies on the man-advantage while they held the Penguins' lethal power play silent (0-for-3). Pittsburgh's No. 1 goaltender Matt Murray (concussion) got hurt in practice the other day so right now, they have to rely on the less than imposing duo of UNH alum Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry. DeSmith allowed three goals on five shots in 5:27 so he understandably was pulled right away like he bombed a stand-up comedy routine at the Apollo. Jarry (28 saves, 5 goals allowed) didn't fare much better although truthfully, both guys in net at the same time likely wouldn't have made that much of a difference with the way that the Bruins were putting pressure on the visitors. Boston also improved to 7-0-1 in their last eight home games vs. Pittsburgh.

In three games together, Krejci and Rick Nash have already started to build some nice chemistry. Krejci got his memorable performance started by going to the net and tipping a pinpoint pass from Nash in at 1:45. Chara had the second assist on Krejci's 12th goal of the season. A New Hampshire native, DeSmith showed some nerves when Pastrnak's less than stellar shot fluttered past him and literally spun over the goal-line in slow motion at 2:53 for a 2-1 Bruins lead that they would never relinquish. Brad Marchand and Riley Nash had the assists on Pastrnak's 23rd goal of the season. Rick Nash got the power play party started with an easy tap-in from Torey Krug and Marchand at 5:27 for his 20th goal of the season.

Former Bruins great Phil Kessel scored a fluky goal from no-angle at 9:27 to get the Penguins back within a goal at 3-2 Bruins. Kessel's 27th goal of the season was assisted by Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin. Things continued at a haywire pace as David Backes sniped a shot top shelf at 12:49, his 11th goal of the season which was assisted by Gionta-BC's all-time leading scorer and the former Canadiens captain. Krug extended Boston's lead to 5-2 with a blast from distance at 16:07. Jarry must have been screened on Krug's 11th goal of the campaign, assisted by Pastrnak and Rick Nash. Earlier in the frame, Penguins center Riley Sheahan had scored a goal but it was called back when he obviously kicked it in. He exacted some revenge with 2.2 seconds left by blasting a shot past Tuukka Rask (22 saves; 26-11-4) for his ninth goal of the season, unassisted.

What normally could be a back-breaking goal to allow seemingly had no effect on the B's as Krejci registered a power-play goal of his own at 2:16 of the second period from Holden and Jake DeBrusk. It would be a beautiful thing if these teams met in the playoffs, we got a little taste of that this evening since they clearly still don't like each other. Charlie McAvoy took a hard hit from Hornqvist that left his nose and lip a bloody mess so later, Chara squared off with Oleksiak in what has to be one of the biggest fights (in terms of size of the combatants) in NHL history. Krejci bagged his hat trick by pouncing on a loose puck for another power-play strike at 14:33. Gionta and McAvoy had the assists as the ice was littered with a ton of Bruins hats. Pittsburgh's defense was non-existent as Pastrnak went to the net and scored Boston's final goal at 17:42 for a dream 8-3 lead. Chara and McAvoy had the assists on Pasta's second goal of the game. The third period was basically an open skate, with the only goal coming via a double deflection off two Bruins that started with Maata's harmless shot from the point.

Boston has enjoyed the first two games-both wins-of its six-game homestand and the good times should only continue on Saturday (5, NESN) as they host the long dead Canadiens (24-29-10). This Penguins massacre will be impossible to live up to but throwing a serious beating on Montreal never goes out of style, no matter the time or season. Tonight's win put the Bruins back in second-place in the Atlantic Division, ahead of idle Toronto (39-20-7) who has still played four more games than them. No doubt Rask will want to play better which shouldn't be too difficult of a task to complete since the Habs have scored the third fewest goals in the league (160). Bruins-Canadiens matchups are always fun, but especially on Saturday nights (forget the bizarre early start time) where people have all day to get ready (glug, glug).

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If the B's Make the Playoffs This Year, They Need to Avoid the Rangers For As Long As Possible

It is still way too far out to start making playoff plans but let me say this: if Boston (33-25-6) reaches the postseason for the first time in three years, they had better hope that they don't see the Rangers (41-21-2) anytime soon. New York polished off a three-game season sweep of Boston with a playoff-like 2-1 victory tonight at TD Garden. The Rangers have now won five straight games against the Bruins dating back to last season. At this time of the year, there is no solace when you leave points on the table and that's exactly what the B's did although at least they had a much better showing than their pair of 5-2 beatings in both 2016-17 tilts.

Rangers superstar Henrik Lundqvist (32 saves) celebrated his 35th birthday today and he proved to still be one of the best goaltenders in the world. Boston came out strong to start the contest, outshooting New York 9-3 in the first period, but it was shades of Claude Julien's teams the last few seasons as they couldn't convert any of those prime scoring chances. The rest of New York woke up in the second period and outshot Boston 11-8 but it was still 0-0 with both power plays shooting blanks (0-for-2).

Tuukka Rask (19 saves) wasn't nearly as busy as his counterpart until two unlikely Rangers beat him with sweet shots early in the third period. Pavel Buchnevich-fresh off the bus from Hartford (where he scored two goals including the game-winner for the Wolf Pack last night)-put the puck top-shelf by Rask at 5:10. Zdeno Chara for some reason let the young Russian skate to the slot where he unloaded a heavy shot. Nick Holden and the ghost of Rick Nash assisted on Buchnevich's seventh goal of the season (his 1st for NYR since Jan. 19). Oscar Lindberg made a sweet move around Brandon Carlo and then roofed the puck to the far side top corner at 9:35 for a sudden 2-0 Rangers lead. Matt Puempel and Brady Skjei (who for all I know could be background characters in an 80s romantic comedy) had the helpers on Lindberg's fifth goal of the season.

Under Julien, that would have been all she wrote for the B's but with Cassidy (who fell to 7-2-0 overall, 4-1-0 at home), their resilience is much more noticeable. While he was getting taken down by a New York defenseman, David Pastrnak managed with one hand to shovel the puck towards Lundqvist. Brad Marchand of course was right there on the doorstep to knock the puck in after a few Tinder-like swipes at 12:56. Colin Miller had the second assist on Marchand's team-leading 29th goal of the season. Marchand has 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in his last 14 games and that goal extended his point-streak to four games (4 goals, 4 assists). Pastrnak remained hot as well (am I right ladies?) with 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in his last 11 games.

Boston had all the momentum and plenty of time left to find a tying goal but a shaky at best goalie interference call on David Backes derailed things with 2:22 left in regulation. I really respect almost everything about Lundqvist except his propensity to flop like a professional soccer player (he is Swedish after all). If you watch many Rangers games, you'll notice that he's often in collisions or plays that he makes look worse than they really turn out to be. God bless NHL referees since it appears that they still haven't figured this out about the man they call the King (that's not named LeBron). New York did nothing on that power play but it mattered little since when Backes finally got out of the penalty box, the tilt was nearly over.

The B's saw their four-game winning streak at the Garden end this evening but they will have a great chance to start another one on Saturday night (7, NESN) as they host the wretched Devils (25-26-12). There is no excuse for the Bruins not to comfortably beat that terrible team that is going nowhere (except the NHL Draft lottery) fast. As we speak, New Jersey is only two points ahead of both Carolina (25-25-10) and Detroit (25-26-10) who are bringing up the rear in the Eastern Conference. In other words, they suck. If I was Cassidy, I would probably start backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (3-5-1) since anyone not named Malcolm Subban should be able to get a win vs. New Jersey.

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