B's Lose 3-1 to Caps in Regular Season Finale, Await Either Washington or Ottawa in 1st Round

If the Capitals (55-18-8) don't finally win their first-ever Stanley Cup this summer, they might never get it done. That mildly hot take is a tad sarcastic but come on, does Washington have any real weaknesses? In a game that meant absolutely nothing to the Caps but plenty to the Bruins (44-31-7), Washington still managed to cruise to an easy as pie 3-1 win this afternoon at TD Garden. Boston dropped its last two regular season games so they lost any control over whether they'll finish in third-place in the Atlantic Division or as the second Wild Card (and a certain death penalty vs. Washington). All they can hope is that Toronto (39-26-15) earns no more than two total points in their final two games: vs. Pittsburgh (50-19-11) later tonight and then they host reeling Columbus (49-24-8) to wrap things up tomorrow night.

The B's also suffered what could be another significant injury to their defense as Brandon Carlo (upper-body injury) left in the first period and never returned after a hit by Alex Ovechkin then awkward fall to the ice. Boston has termed defenseman Torey Krug "day-to-day" after he left Thursday's shootout loss to the Senators (44-27-10) but from all accounts, that is being generous since he has a significant right knee injury. Anton Khudobin (21 saves) played for the first two periods before departing because "he didn't feel well." Haha was he hanging out with all the Red Sox that are currently knocked out by the bird flu? BU's Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson made his NHL debut today since PC's Noel Acciari is also out with an upper-body injury. JFK centered the third line for Boston but did barely anything (1 blocked shot, 1-1 on faceoffs in just 8:25 of ice time) of note.

Washington is so skilled and loaded at seemingly every position (keep in mind that defenseman John Carlson and goaltender Braden Holtby both sat out) that many of their goals resemble something you do more frequently in a video game than actually experience in real life. Marcus Johansson (24th goal of the season) scored on a basic give-and-go with Justin Williams as they split Boston's tattered defense at 15:39 for a 1-0 Caps lead. Johansson has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in his last nine games.

The second period had some nastiness as Colin Miller's legs took out Tom Wilson's legs which caused Jay Beagle to take a run at Miller. It was a cheap play that could have resulted in a serious injury since Miller was in a vulnerable position (laying on the ice against the boards) and I wouldn't be shocked if Wilson has a hearing with the league about it. Speaking of which, this was Marchand's second game of his suspension so he is free to play starting in Game 1 of the playoffs next week. Washington has swept Boston the last three seasons (7-0-2) and outscored them 30-11 in the process. The only time that the B's were able to beat backup Philipp Grubauer (21 saves) is when Colin Miller put the puck in a millisecond before Drew Stafford crashed into the net (knocking it off its moorings). The goal was reviewed but stood up, Miller's sixth goal of the season assisted by Stafford.

The tie was short-lived (for 56 seconds) as former BU star Kevin Shattenkirk one-timed a pass from Niklas Backstrom (who leads the NHL in helpers) and Ovechkin at 16:09. Shattenkirk added another goal at 17:31 but it was overturned after Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy used his coach's challenge for goalie interference. It hardly mattered to the Capitals though as they made it 3-1 at 19:10 when Williams completed a pretty passing sequence around multiple helpless Bruins with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nate Schmidt. Tuukka Rask (8 saves) started the third period and that's about all we'll ever say about that forgettable frame. Now all we can do is wait until possibly tomorrow night (the last day of the regular season) for all the scenarios to unfold. The B's have no shot if they face the Caps but a matchup with the Senators is infinitely more winnable despite the fact that Ottawa also swept Boston during this campaign.

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Loui Eriksson of All People Might Have Just Saved Boston's Season With OT Goal at Minnesota

To say that the Bruins and their fans were frustrated with their recent slide (losing 6 out of 7) might be the understatement of the year. Facing the second night of a back-to-back on the road, something which has crushed them all season (0-5), the Bruins (16-13-3) went to overtime for the third straight game but in this instance they pulled out a 3-2 win at Xcel Energy Center vs. the Wild (16-12-2). Loui Eriksson did the honors of the overtime game-winner, the seventh of his career and undoubtedly the biggest for him as a Bruin.

If the B's turn things around and make something of this campaign, there is no question that tonight will be a game we look back on fondly. Boston honestly had no business winning it as Minnesota outshot them 37-25 for the game including 20-5 in the second period. Niklas Svedberg (35 saves) was phenomenal, he kept the Bruins in it the whole way and was able to steal that extra point that eluded them in shootout losses to Ottawa and Nashville.

David Krejci's return to the lineup obviously helped Boston as everyone was slotted back into their rightful spot. It was a busy first period as Carl Soderberg opened the scoring with his first goal since November 10. Soderberg's sixth goal of the season came after a rebound and pretty one-handed pass by Eriksson. Chris Kelly had the second assist for the Bruins.

27 seconds later, Minnesota's fourth line cashed in a good chance by Kyle Brodziak who had stickhandled by a couple Bruins then ripped a shot top shelf on Svedberg. Boston was able to benefit from a lucky bounce (for once) as Patrice Bergeron's seemingly harmless long shot bounced off the ice and in the net around Niklas Backstrom (22 saves) at 17:55. It was Bergeron's sixth goal of the season and it was assisted by Brad Marchand and Zach Trotman. Other than empty-netters, Bergy won't tally an easier (or stranger) goal in 2014-15.

The invisible force field that automatically covers Boston's opponent's net right after they score two goals was in full effect tonight. So it was inevitable when former Sabres great Jason Pominville tied it at two with 8:21 left in regulation. If Bergeron's goal was a fluke (and it was), then this effort was a complete gift because hey, it's the holiday season. Trotman's clearing attempt deflected off Pominville and into the net.

Thankfully, the B's didn't let that ruin their night as they came out strong in overtime (outshooting the Wild 4-0) and were rewarded at 1:30 with Eriksson's sixth goal of the season. Soderberg and Zdeno Chara had the assists as the former put it on a platter for his fellow Swede and linemate to tap in.

With the win, Boston moved up from 10th in the Eastern Conference to seventh. Yes, it's really tight that between them, the Panthers, Rangers and Capitals. The Bruins' three-game road trip concludes on Friday (8, NESN) in Winnipeg (16-10-6). Haha does it get any better than a Friday night during the winter in Winnipeg? Seriously though, the Jets are playing well (6-1-3 in their last 10) but the B's need another two points in the worst possible way.

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Bruins Blow 2-Goal Lead In 3rd, Fall 4-3 to Wild

Boston allowed the first goal on Tuesday night at TD Garden to Minnesota but after that the B's rattled off three in a row to take a commanding 3-1 leading after two periods. Unfortunately for them, hockey games still consist of three periods and their third was a disaster. The Wild (5-3-0) scored three straight goals to take a 4-3 road win.

This was an unforgivable loss for the Bruins for a couple reasons: 1) Minnesota had played last night in New York (5-4 loss to Rangers); 2) Boston last competed on Saturday (if you can call it that vs. the hapless Maple Leafs); 3) two-goal leads for them, even without Zdeno Chara, should mean lights out.

Nino Niederreiter (great name) made it 1-0 just 4:51 into the contest as he one-timed a pass from Bruins killer Thomas Vanek. In 56 career games vs. Boston, Vanek now has 30 goals and 33 assists. Has Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli ever thought about signing him?

The only real bright spot for the B's was the improving play of Seth Griffith (2 goals, 1 assist). He tied it at 18:23 with his second goal of the season, redirecting David Krejci's sharp pass right by the net. Zach Trotman had the other assist for his first NHL point.

Griffith bagged his first multi-goal game with another redirection at 5:23 of the second period. This one was even sweeter than the first as he connected with Gregory Campbell's pass and then dove in the air after it went in the net, similar to Bobby Orr in the most famous play in Bruins history.

Milan Lucic's power play goal, yet another redirect, at 16:59 gave Boston that 3-1 advantage. Torey Krug and Griffith had the assists on Lucic's second goal of the season.

Boston completely shut down in the third period, they couldn't win any puck battles and were chasing it all frame as they were outshot 18-7 and outscored 3-0.

In most circumstances, we love Captain America Zach Parise but not tonight as he cut it to 3-2 at 4:21 with a redirection from Mikael Granlund and Jared Spurgeon. Only 2:13 after that, Minnesota had tied it up as Justin Fontaine put in a rebound from Ryan Carter and that scumbag Matt Cooke (yes he's still in the NHL and not behind bars).

The B's didn't deserve any good bounces so it was poetic that the game-winner was a shot by Marco Scandella (who?) from the point that went off Krejci's skate and in the net at 14:07. Boston had plenty of pressure after that but they couldn't beat Niklas Backstrom (25 saves) who improved to 5-0-1 all-time against the Bruins.

For the second time in five days, the Bruins have the honor of a cupcake matchup with the reeling Sabres (2-8) in Buffalo on Thursday (7, NESN). The Sabres were blanked 4-0 by the Maple Leafs tonight and Boston won 4-0 at First Niagara Center last Saturday. As far as we know, Buffalo is still an NHL (why, I couldn't tell you) so this meeting comes at the right time for a B's club still searching for consistency as they close out the first month of the season.

UPDATE 10/29: As if they needed another injury on defense, Krug broke a finger last night so he's out two to four weeks. Joe Morrow and David Warsofsky were recalled from Providence with thoughts of sitting Matt Bartkowski who is off to a predictably terrible start.

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Patrice Bergeron Named NHL's Second Star Of The Week

As everybody who reads this blog knows, the Bruins (14-3-2) are off to a great start in this lockout shortened reason. A big reason why has been center Patrice Bergeron (5 goals, 13 assists) who not only leads the team in points but also plus/minus at +15 (also the NHL's highest mark). For his great week, this afternoon he was named the NHL's second star of the week behind Montreal left wing Max Pacioretty and ahead of Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom.

Last week, Bergeron had two goals and four assists as Boston went 3-1-0 and rode a six-game winning streak until losing last night to the Canadiens. He had points in each game including two assists in the Bruins' 4-1 win over the Islanders on Tuesday, the overtime game-winning goal against Ottawa (2-1 Bruins) on Thursday and a goal and two assists in Boston's 4-3 loss to Montreal last night.

This is the same guy that won his first Selke award last season (for the NHL's best defensive player) so as you'd expect, he is still winning a majority of his faceoffs and playing that outstanding two-way game that we've grown to identify and appreciate. He is also centering Boston's best forward line by far: him, Brad Marchand (6 goals, 11 assists) and Tyler Seguin (5 goals, 10 assists) are Boston's top three scorers-David Krejci is tied with Seguin-and they've been consistently excellent in pretty much every game so far this season.

Bergeron and the B's are back in action tomorrow night (7 p.m., NESN) when they visit the Washington Capitals (8-11-1) at the Verizon Center in DC.

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Oh Jacques Lemaire, you old sailor you

For the first time in the 2008-2009 season, the Boston Bruins have lost two games in a row.

The Minnesota Wild (20-16-3) came to the Garden last night and executed their boring, defensive brand of hockey to perfection in a 1-0 shutout of the B's (29-7-4).

Minnesota got all the offense it would need in the second period as Marek Zidlicky scored a power-play goal from Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Krys Kolanos.

Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom made 28 saves in his fifth shutout of the season. His record improved to 19-12-2 and I feel like an idiot for sitting him on my fantasy team but I figured the Bruins would play well after the Sabres loss over the weekend. Not so much.

More than anything, I feel bad for my buddy that had to sit through this awful game. Sure coach Jacques Lemaire has proven that his trapping system can win in the NHL (just ask the Devils) but that's not to say it hasn't set the game back 20 years in the process.

Boston outshot Minnesota 28-24 but it was no matter. Bruins goalie Manny Fernandez had 23 saves in the loss.

The B's will look to get back to the win column as they host the struggling Ottawa Senators tomorrow night.