Bruins Put Together One of Their Better Wins of the Season: 4-2 Over Rangers

With only eight games left in the regular season, so much can change in a very short span of time. Boston (37-25-13) cruised to a 4-2 victory vs. Rangers (47-20-7) this afternoon at TD Garden thanks to two goals by Milan Lucic. New York came in as the top team in the entire league while Boston had lost six games in a row. Naturally, the B's scored three goals in the first period (for only the 2nd time this season) and led 3-0 after 1 (the 1st time that they've done that in 2014-15).

So while the final result was a foregone conclusion for at least half of the contest, the Bruins had a real scare 10 seconds into the second period as Tuukka Rask (14 saves) quickly left the ice. He went to the dressing room then never returned. Niklas Svedberg (16 saves) came in and late in the third period, Boston's goaltender coach and former NHL veteran Bob Essensa was suited up on the bench as the Bruins' backup.

To our relief, Bruins head coach Claude Julien after the game termed Rask's absence a "dehydration issue." Somewhere David Ortiz shakes his head, knowing the same helpless feeling. Furthermore, Rask was going to travel with the team to Carolina and he could play tomorrow vs. the Hurricanes (5, NESN).

Fortune was on Boston's side from the start (something I've rarely said this up and down season) as Lucic appeared to kick the puck in at 1:41. It was reviewed and surprisingly stood up as a goal, poor Henrik Lundqvist (26 saves)-who was playing in his first game since February 2. Patrice Bergeron (5-game point streak) and David Pastrnak assisted on Lucic's 16th goal of the season.

Lucic scored a more traditional (and legal) goal at 9:26, assisted by Torey Krug and Ryan Spooner. You knew that it was Boston's day when snakebitten Carl Soderberg finished a breakaway with a pretty backhander at 14:27. It was his 12th goal of the season, unassisted after former Bruin Matt Hunwick coughed it up along his own blueline.

Another sign that the Bruins would not lose occurred when Reilly Smith popped in a rebound at 5:53 of the second period for a 4-0 lead. His 13th goal of the season was also his first tally in over a month (Feb. 22 at Chicago) or since he signed that needless two-year extension (thanks Chiarelli). Loui Eriksson and Soderberg assisted on it.

New York avoided the shutout with a notable goal: Rick Nash tapped in a beautiful feed from BC's Chris Kreider. That was Nash's 40th goal of the season, the 2nd most in the NHL and the 3rd time he's done that in his career (1st since 2008-09 with Columbus). Derek Stepan started the play at center ice and was credited with the second assist. Hunwick added a garbage time goal(his 2nd of the season) with a shot from the point when there was just 23 seconds left in regulation.

It is a longshot but Boston has to hope for a Toronto (27-42-6) win tonight vs. Ottawa (37-25-11). As it stands at this moment, the Bruins are two points ahead of the Senators for eighth-place in the Eastern Conference but Ottawa has two games in hand. Andrew Hammond is out with an injury so Craig Andersson gets a rare start, hopefully he is rusty. If Boston finds themselves in the playoffs, they have to hope to draw the Rangers in the first round since today's win improved their record to 7-1-2 in the last 10 games between the Original Six rivals.

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Bruins Repeatedly Puke on Their Skates, Fall 2-1 in Shootout vs. Sabres-The NHL's Worst Team

Boston's (36-23-11) 2-1 shootout loss to Buffalo (20-43-7) on Tuesday at TD Garden is exactly the type of result that keeps a team one point out of the playoffs in a month. The Bruins are still in decent shape (up 3 points on Ottawa) for eighth-place in the Eastern Conference but when you play the worst club in the NHL at home (in their second leg of a back-to-back), you have to get two points.

What made matters worse for the B's is that they had 95 shots (45 on goal, 28 blocked and 22 missed the net) while holding the Sabres to only 47 (24 on goal, 10 blocked & 13 missed the net). Anders Lindback (3-11-2) picked up his first win for Buffalo and first as a starter this season (he had 2 in relief with Dallas), so at least we can say that Boston was part of NHL history in that respect. Tuukka Rask was out with "general soreness," haha really. It was the perfect time for Niklas Svedberg (7-5-1; 23 saves) to make his once-a-month start and he was fine since he could mostly nap during play-Buffalo had 10 shots through the first two periods.

It looked like it was going to be a St. Patrick's Day laugher when Loui Eriksson scored at 9:55 of the first period for an early 1-0 Bruins advantage. Adam McQuaid's shot went off the end boards and took a weird bounce right to Eriksson in front of the net. Other than empty-netters, Boston won't get an easier goal this season than Eriksson's 18th of the season. Carl Soderberg had the other assist, his first point in seven games while McQuaid snapped a 23-game scoreless streak. I won't mention that Soderberg hasn't scored a goal in exactly two months but oops, I just did!

Even though the B's must have set a season-high in shots and also zone time (good luck keeping track of that), you had a terrible feeling that Buffalo would somehow win when they could never extend their lead. The inevitable happened after they let the Sabres hang around: Buffalo tied it at 1:23 of the third period. Rasmus Ristolainen's power-play shot from the point went off Matt Bartkowski's skate and through Svedberg's five-hole because of course. Ristolainen's fifth goal of the season was assisted by BC's Brian Gionta and Johan Larsson.

Boston got more pressure in overtime, outshooting Buffalo 7-3, but when it went to a shootout you knew they wouldn't win. The Bruins beat the Lightning in a shootout last Thursday to snap a seven-game losing streak in them but they came in 3-7 overall this season while Buffalo improved to 8-5 in the novelty format. Tyler Ennis had the lone shootout goal as Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Torey Krug all failed to get the job done.

This completed a three-games-in-four-nights stretch for the B's with another beginning on Thursday (7:30, NESN) at Ottawa (34-24-11). Needless to say, that is the biggest contest of the season thus far. Then it's off to Florida (31-25-14) on Saturday night (7, NESN) followed by Tampa Bay (43-21-7) on Sunday night (5, NESN). Boston only has twelve games left in the regular season: the Senators and Panthers represent their remaining competition for the second Wild Card while the Lightning are a team they could see in the first round of the postseason (assuming that they make it).

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The Bruins Used Four Special Teams (2 SH & 2 PP) Goals to Beat the Red Wings 5-3

To beat a quality team like Detroit (36-17-11), especially in the second leg of a back-to-back, Boston (33-22-10) needed its vaunted depth to show up in a big way. Luckily for the B's it did as they beat the Red Wings 5-3 at TD Garden for their second win in as many afternoons (they rallied for a 3-2 overtime win vs. Flyers yesterday). A four-point weekend against two Eastern Conference foes should give them plenty of confidence with 17 games left in the regular season.

Perhaps most importantly, Niklas Svedberg (36 saves) started and he was pretty decent in picking up his first regulation and non-shutout win of the season. 10 Bruins had points and their special teams were money with two power-play goals and two shorthanded goals against the No. 1 power-play unit in the NHL. Daniel Paille was scratched for two games a few weeks ago but he has responded like the professional that he is with four goals in his last six games, including two today vs. Detroit.

With Red Wings backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson also getting the start, you had a feeling that it would be far from a 1-0 game. Brad Marchand continued his excellent weekend with his third goal in a row going back to yesterday's contest vs. Philadelphia. To change it up, this one was a shorthanded tally just 4:15 into the first period. Stephen Weiss turned the puck over in Boston's zone, Marchand went in on a breakaway and deked Gustavsson out of his hockey pants. His team-leading 22nd goal of the season was unassisted. Marchand has a four-game point-streak (5 goals, 1 assist) along with 10 points (7 goals, 3 assists) in the last 10 games.

University of Maine product Gustav Nyquist tied it at 7:01 with a wrist shot. His 22nd goal of the season was assisted by Kyle Quincey. Adam McQuaid had a game-high five blocks but he missed that out on that one and screened his own goalie in the process. No worries though, Boston answered with a power-play goal by David Pastrnak less than two minutes later for a 2-1 lead. His snipe from the left face-off circle was a bit of skill that you rarely if ever see from these B's. Pastrnak's eighth goal of the season was assisted by Milan Lucic and Reilly Smith.

Paille's pair of goals in the second period really opened things up for the home team. First, he had a breakaway and nothing went wrong for once. His fourth goal of the season was unassisted at 11:44 and it represented the first time in nearly two years (April 10, 2013 at NJ) that Boston scored two shorthanded goals in the same game. The Bruins are now tied with Toronto, Tampa Bay and Winnipeg for the third-most shorthanded goals in the league (7). After that highlight, Paille one-timed a pass from Max Talbot (game-high 7 hits) from in close for another goal at 18:39. Gregory Campbell had the second assist on Paille's seventh career two-goal game (1st since Dec. 14, 2011).

Jimmy Howard replaced Gustavsson (4 goals allowed, 19 saves) to start the third period and the blowout got interesting for a few seconds as Luke Glendening's routine shot found its way past Svedberg at 1:24. His ninth goal of the season was assisted by the magical Pavel Datsyuk. Boston's second power-play goal, this time from Loui Eriksson at 4:03 gave them back their three-goal cushion (5-2). Patrice Bergeron and Ryan Spooner (5-game point-streak) assisted on Eriksson's 16th goal of the season.

To conclude the special teams explosion, Detroit added their only power play goal of the affair. Newly acquired defenseman Marek Zidlicky scored his second goal in three games as a Red Wing. His shot from the point went top shelf on Svedberg; it was his sixth goal of the season with assists to Tomas Tatar and Datsyuk.

This good stretch (5-1-1 in their last 7 games) couldn't come at a better time for the Bruins with three of their next four games on the road: they are at Ottawa (29-23-11) on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) before hosting Tampa Bay (41-20-6) on Thursday (7, NESN). Then they have a back-to-back next weekend at Pittsburgh (38-18-9) on Saturday (1, NESN) followed by a game in Washington (36-21-10) the following night (7:30, NBCSN). With the Senators hosting the Flames tonight, Boston is currently seven points ahead of Ottawa which means that a win there could really bury them from the playoff discussion.

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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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A 5-3 Loss to the Stars Is Not How You Want to End a Homestand

It has not been a fun couple days for the Bruins after they lost 3-1 to the Canadiens on Sunday night then followed that up with a lackluster 5-3 defeat vs. the Stars tonight at TD Garden. Boston (28-19-7) has lost three of its last four games overall, which is not the feeling you want in your stomach as you head out on a five-game/two-week long road trip to Western Canada and the Midwest in the dead of winter.

The B's were the only team that hadn't allowed a shorthanded goal all season so naturally they gave up not one but two against the Stars (25-21-8). That is impossible to overcome, especially when your best players like Patrice Bergeron (-4) and Zdeno Chara (-3) both play as bad as they ever do and backup goaltender Niklas Svedberg (7 saves, 3 goals allowed) gets pulled after one ineffective period of action.

Things got off to a weird start as Antoine Roussel was called for a cross-checking major and game misconduct only 3:43 into the game after he checked Adam McQuaid in the throat. He has a phone hearing with the NHL on Thursday for that bush league move. Boston couldn't get anything going on the power play all night (0-for-4, 9:00) and Vernon Fiddler took advantage of a bad turnover to score on a shorthanded breakaway at 7:28. The unassisted goal was his seventh of the season.

David Krejci tied it 3:15 after that with an easy tap-in from David Pastrnak and Milan Lucic. It was Krejci's seventh goal of the season. The rest of the first period was The Jamie Benn Show as he blew by Boston's soft defense and roofed one past Svedberg from a tough angle at 14:38 then put in a rebound at 17:53 following a shot that might have gone off Ben Eaves' dong and to Benn. That gave Jamie Benn 18 goals on the season and a 3-1 lead.

Tuukka Rask (20 saves) came in to start the second period and it seemed to help as Bergeron scored on a shorthanded breakaway of his own 26 seconds into the frame. His team-leading 15th goal of the season (tied with Brad Marchand) was also assisted by Marchand. Dallas' defense is atrocious and Kari Lehtonen (41 saves) isn't great either so when Dougie Hamilton tied it at three at 6:42, you figured the Bruins would rally for a win. No problem, right? Hamilton's goal was his ninth of the season, assisted by Chris Kelly and Torey Krug.

Things just didn't shake out as we expected since Trevor Daley's shorthanded goal at 13:42, where he had the speed to get behind Boston's defense and knock in his own rebound, turned out to be the game-winning goal. It was the defenseman's 14th goal of the season and it was unassisted. There was plenty of time left but the Bruins could never find another equalizer.

Hamilton earned a four-minute major for high sticking on Ryan Garbutt (when Daley scored) after he drew blood but the B's power play couldn't sustain any pressure or generate many scoring threats. The third period was more of the same as Boston wasted a tripping call on Jason Spezza. Erik Cole ended it with a bizarre empty-net goal that looked to be headed nowhere near the goal only to curve right in. That summed up the night for both clubs.

The Bruins' next game is on Friday (10, NESN) in Vancouver (29-20-3). That is a winnable game since the Canucks have been scuffling lately as well (5-5-0 in their last 10 games). Monday (9, NESN) in Calgary (30-21-3) will be sneaky tough because they are one of the surprise teams in the league while Edmonton (15-31-9) on Wednesday (10, NESN) is the lone layup and must-win. Boston ends the trip it with the two most difficult games: at St. Louis (35-15-4) on Friday (8, NESN) and in Chicago (33-18-3) on Sunday (3, NBC). Boston won't be home again until two weeks from now vs. Vancouver. By that point, the trade deadline will be less than a week away (March 2). Gulp.

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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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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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Anything Goes On A Friday Night In Columbus

Being such a hopeless creature of habit, I will admit that I was completely thrown off by having the Bruins play on a Friday-something which happens about as often as Kim Kardashian covering up his gigantic ass. For two periods tonight at Nationwide Arena, Boston (13-8-0) was terrible as they fell behind host Columbus (6-11-2) 2-0.

Thankfully, the B's had just enough resiliency to rally in a bonkers third period and then eventually win 4-3 in a shootout. Nobody scored through six rounds so rookie Anton Khokhlachev ended it in the seventh with the lone goal in only his second career NHL game. It had all the makings of a trap game with Montreal and Pittsburgh waiting on the horizon not to mention Thanksgiving break.

Beginning tonight, Boston has three games in four days so head coach Claude Julien elected to sit Tuukka Rask in favor of rookie Niklas Svedberg (25 saves). The move was a no-brainer, even when Svedberg gave up a pair of soft goals in the first period. Ryan Johansen blocked Kevan Miller's shot in his own zone then skated on a partial breakaway before letting loose a shot that Svedberg got plenty of but couldn't keep from crossing the line at 9:52. Johansen's seventh goal of the season was unassisted.

Just 1:38 after Johansen's goal, the Blue Jackets went up 2-0 on Nick Foligno's deflection which actually went off his body. Jordan Leopold took the shot and Johansen had the second assist on Foligno's team-leading 10th goal of the season. Earlier in the frame, Patrice Bergeron's shot was swept off the goal line by a Columbus defenseman.

Svedberg's gaffes had nothing on Sergei Bobrovsky (38 saves) who breathed life into Boston by allowing one of the worst goals you'll ever see in the NHL. To the left of the faceoff dot, Dennis Seidenberg decided to put the puck on the net at 1:28 of the third period and somehow it went in despite not bouncing or doing anything wacky. Matt Bartkowski (who went to nearby Ohio State) and Chris Kelly received the joke assists.

That turned out to be the spark that the B's needed as they tied it at 9:33 on Matt Fraser's re-direct of Bartkowski's slap-pass. Fraser's third goal of the season (1st in 8 games) was also assisted by Bergeron who played it back to Bartkowski at the point. Before you could say full meltdown, the B's were up for the first time (3-2) 1:59 after Fraser's tally. Daniel Paille picked the perfect time to break his slump (1st goal in 37 games!) as he took advantage of the turnover created by Carl Soderberg.

Boston enjoyed that lead for a grand total of 1:15 since Jack Johnson (please read his tragic bankruptcy story) one-timed a pass from Johansen and Foligno. The Bruins quickly bounced back from that devastating goal as they outshot the Blue Jackets 7-1 in overtime. Bobrovsky made up for his poor play by owning overtime. The shootout went on for way too long with not enough goals but you can't argue with the final result.

Columbus is a train wreck so for that reason alone, Saturday (7, NESN) vs. Montreal figures to be way harder. Boston has suffered two humbling defeats (6-4 on Oct. 16 & 5-1 last Thursday) already this season in Montreal so they owe the Canadiens a beating at the Garden. It is a given that the atmosphere will be great, hopefully the game follows suit. Rask has to prove that he can beat Montreal and likewise, his teammates (looking at you Lucic) need to stay focused and not get caught up in the Canadiens' usual garbage.

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Losing to the Sabres is Simply Not an Option, Like Ever

Down 2-1 with less than five minutes left in regulation, the Bruins were on the verge of the unforgivable: losing to the Sabres (the worst team in the NHL). Thankfully, the universe was still in order as Boston (6-6) rallied to tie it on Brad Marchand's goal at 14:30 then he also won it at 1:20 of overtime at the First Niagara Center. Buffalo (2-8-1) remains winless at home this season while the Bruins picked up their third straight road victory.

This wasn't the 4-0 laugher on October 18 or what the other two meetings will probably turn out to be (Dec. 21 and March 17 both at TD Garden) but the B's will take two points however they can get them these days. With Torey Krug out (along with Zdeno Chara and Kevan Miller) and Matt Bartkowski a healthy scratch, no less than three Providence Bruins defensemen had to be in the lineup: Zach Trotman, David Warsofsky and Joe Morrow (making his NHL debut).

The Sabres are definitely the team you want to see in dire situations like the one currently facing the Bruins with all their injuries and uninspired play. Niklas Svedberg improved to 2-2 this season and ironically, both wins have come vs. Buffalo. Tonight, he only had to make 13 saves which is a complete joke but then you remember that Buffalo had 10 shots in an a 4-0 loss in Toronto on Tuesday.

Buffalo actually led not once but twice (I just puked in my mouth) as Drew Stafford's power play goal at 5:12 of the second period made it 1-0. Adam McQuaid tied it up at 11:36, from Carl Soderberg and Marchand, for his first goal of the season. Quaider certainly isn't known for his goal-scoring ability so it makes sense that the goal came on an easy wrist shot that took a deflection off a Sabre to elude Jhonas Enroth (34 saves).

Tyler Ennis' wrist shot beat Svedberg at 16:25 of the second period. Boston finally woke up in the third period, outshooting Buffalo 16-4 (37-15 for the game) and they were rewarded for their strong play. Marchand's first goal (only his second of the season) was flukey as Eriksson threw it at the net and it went in off Marchand's glove (unintentionally of course). It was reviewed and remained a goal which was the right call.

Of their next five games, Ottawa (5-2-2) looks like the only good team that the fortunate Bruins will have to face. The Senators come to TD Garden on Saturday night (7, NESN) for their first meeting of the season with their Atlantic Division foe.

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Bruins Lose 3-2 to Islanders But That's Overshadowed By Chara's Unknown Injury

All in all, it was a really terrible night for the Bruins. They lost 3-2 to the Islanders at TD Garden but that is the least of their worries since captain Zdeno Chara left in the first period and never returned.

After the game, Claude Julien wouldn't specify if it was an upper body or lower body injury but TSN's Aaron Ward (a former teammate of Chara) was the first to report it was his left knee and he was going to the hospital. Yikes! Ward later said Chara will be out 4-6 weeks with a knee ligament injury and they'll reevaluate it after that to see if he needs surgery.

This was supposed to be Johnny Boychuk's triumphant return to Boston for the first time. He was fine: +1 with one shot and two blocked shots in a team-high 23:18 but few would have predicted that he'd be overshadowed by another ex-Bruin-Chad Johnson. Boston's backup goaltender from last season got the surprise start and made 30 saves to earn his second win of the season. New York's starter Jaroslav Halak has been struggling a little so perhaps a goalie controversy is brewing on Long Island?

Boston (4-5-0) was chasing it all game, going down 1-0 and 3-1 before finally waking up in the third period. The fact that those final 20 minutes were their best of the season was inconsequential since their hapless second period (the worst of the season) buried them. Let's also give credit to New York (5-2-0), their early season success doesn't look like a fluke.

As good teams usually do, the Isles also got their fair share of breaks starting with Frans Nielsen's goal. The puck deflected off Dougie Hamilton's skate right to Nielsen for his first goal of the season at 6:21 of the first period. Bruins backup goaltender Niklas Svedberg (35 saves) had no chance to stop it.

Milan Lucic finally got a goal, it only took him nine games. He tipped in Seth Griffith's pass at 18:21 of the first period with David Krejci providing the second assist (and extending his point streak to five games).

One of the best American players that you never hear about for some reason-Kyle Okposo-made it 2-1 Islanders at 1:30 of the second period. John Tavares had the primary assist, giving him an NHL-high 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists). Okposo followed up his initial shot for the goal, his third of the season.

You knew it was New York's night when scrub Cal Clutterbuck (awesome name) extended their lead to 3-1 at 9:27 of the second period. He was wide open and Martin threw almost a no-look pass to him from behind the net for his first goal of the season.

After getting embarrassed in the second (outscored 2-0 and outshot 12-6), the Bruins showed some pride with a dominant third period. It felt like they were on a power play for basically the entire time with an unreal amount of zone time, unfortunately their finishing resembled the first few brutal games of this season when they couldn't score to save their lives.

It's scary to say it but Chris Kelly is playing the best hockey of at least his Bruins career so he has arguably been their best player in October. Haha I realize that probably explains why they are currently under .500. He also pushed his point streak to five games (tying a career-high) with a timely goal at 9:49 of the third period. Johnson's only juicy rebound (that cost him at least) of the night went right to Kelly who was on the doorstep to put it in. Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson had the assists as they've been Boston's most effective line as well.

Boston has practice tomorrow before they head to Toronto for Saturday night's game at the Air Canada Centre (7, NESN). The Bruins typically own the Maple Leafs (3-3-1) but needless to say, if they lose Chara for a significant amount of time, that could totally shell-shock them (as it seemed to in the 2nd period tonight). He has been remarkably durable in his Bruins career: this is his ninth season with Boston and the most games he's ever missed is five. Ugh, let's hope for the best and that somehow it's not as bad as it sounds.

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I Hereby Propose That the Sabres Change Their Name to the Buckets of Crap Until Further Notice

In sports, just like in life, things often change pretty quickly. That's why it can be comforting to know that some things remain frozen in time seemingly forever. It hasn't always been like this but for the last few seasons, the Sabres have been an absolute disgrace to the great game of hockey and the NHL.

Only six games into 2014-15, it looks like Buffalo (1-5-0) is still the worst team in the league. Boston (3-4-0) came into the First Niagara Center tonight desperate for two points and so they put up a season-high in goals (3 from defensemen) while Niklas Svedberg (32 saves) recorded his first NHL shutout in his sixth start.

The B's finished 2-1 on their tough three-game road trip to Detroit, Montreal and Buffalo. It's hard to take much away from a matchup with a club that belongs in the AHL or maybe the ECHL but Boston must have regained some confidence which they'll need against real teams.

This was never in doubt as the Bruins scored twice in the first period and twice in the second so the third felt like a lifeless preseason contest. Dougie Hamilton opened the scoring at 9:56 of the first period. His wrist shot from the point (with a screen provided by Reilly Smith) was his first goal of the season and Patrice Bergeron assisted on it.

Less than four minutes later, captain Zdeno Chara put in his first goal of the season on a one-timer from Brad Marchand and Hamilton. Once again, Smith helped with a screen of Buffalo's hapless goaltender Jhonas Enroth (32 saves).

Before the goals commenced, Kevan Miller fought Nicolas Deslauriers in a true heavyweight battle. Boston's young defenseman suffered an upper-body injury (shoulder?) which caused him to miss the rest of the game. If he is out for any length of time, the B's do have Matt Bartkowski (he's been a healthy scratch the last few games) who is waiting for another opportunity to screw up.

At 11:40, Torey Krug kept the good times rolling for the Bruins, and their many fans in attendance, when his soft shot from the point found its way through traffic and into the net. His first goal of the season was arrested by David Krejci.

Boston's last goal fittingly was the prettiest of the night and one of their best of the season as Carl Soderberg finished a passing sequence between linemates Chris Kelly and Loui Eriksson at 14:48. It was Soderberg's second goal of the season and I don't normally give out fantasy hockey advice, but if Soderberg is available in your league, go get him!

The B's return to TD Garden to face two teams that are off to really good starts this season. San Jose (4-0-1) and Joe Thornton will be here on Tuesday (7, NESN) followed by the Islanders (4-1-0) on Thursday (7, NESN). Just like the Bruins needed to get away from home last week to develop more chemistry with the younger guys and new guys, now it is important that they start to raise their games and display more consistency in each game.

UPDATE 10/19: Since they haven been healthy scratches lately, the Bruins made the wise move to send Seth Griffith and Ryan Spooner to Providence where they'll get big minutes in every game.

UPDATE 10/20: Griffith was recalled from Providence while Miller is out indefinitely with a dislocated right shoulder.

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So When Is It Too Early to Start Worrying About the Bruins This Season? (I'm Asking For a Friend)

In the past two very successful seasons, the Bruins never lost three games in a row in regulation (the last time was March 10-15, 2012). Four games into the 2014-15 regular season, they've already "accomplished" that Panthers-esque feat. Gulp. David Krejci returned to action on Monday afternoon vs. the Avalanche but it didn't seem to make much of a difference as Boston (1-3-0) lost 2-1 to Colorado (1-2-0) at TD Garden. Certified Bruins killer Daniel Briere scored the game-winning goal with 0.5 seconds left in regulation in the usual Columbus Day home matinee.

You never see a buzzer-beater like that in hockey so it figures it would happen to the B's right now. Backup goaltender Niklas Svedberg (28 saves) made his season debut for the B's and it was a mostly positive performance despite the weak goal he allowed. Earlier on the same shift as Briere's goal, he had stopped reigning Rookie of the Year Nathan MacKinnon on the doorstep.

The Bruins stuck with their average of one goal per game (never more than 2) and believe it or not, that's still better than the Avalanche. Colorado hadn't scored a goal coming into today (getting outscored 8-0 in 2 ugly losses) so obviously Jamie McGinn got the honors of drawing first blood for a team that's expected to return to the playoffs and possibly win a round or two next spring. His shot snuck through Svedberg at 3:28 of the second period, assisted by Tyson Barrie and Matt Duchene. Needless to say, Tuukka Rask would have stopped it while he polished his Vezina Trophy.

Boston's lone goal was potted by Loui Eriksson, who else, on the power play no less at 7:50 of the second period. Reilly Smith threw the puck at the net and it deflected off Carl Soderberg's body in front before he passed it to Eriksson who backhanded it by Reto Berra (27 saves) for his first goal of the season. It was Boston's second power play goal of the season.

There really wasn't much else to this one other than Adam McQuaid's fight with Cody McLeod later in the second period. It has to be a good sign for McQuaid's health that he was willing to drop the gloves with a fellow heavyweight albeit a ginger.

The best news for the B's is that they won't return to the Garden for more than a week (next Tuesday vs. San Jose) so they get some good bonding time this week in Detroit (Wednesday), Montreal (Thursday) and Buffalo (Saturday). You can laugh but that probably means something with the new guys/young players on the team.

They owe the Red Wings a loss after last Thursday's no-show in the Motor City. Bruins-Canadiens games need no introduction or further hype (it's also Montreal's home opener) while Buffalo continues to be one of the worst teams in the league that the B's typically treat like the Pats against the Bills.

UPDATE 10/14: After hanging out with the club during the preseason, the Bruins signed veteran forward Simon Gagne to a one-year, one-way deal worth $600,000. Bobby Robins (subject to clear waivers) and Jordan Caron were sent down to Providence.

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The Bruins' Revolving Door of Backup Goaltenders Continues to Spin

For the third season in a row, Bruins star goaltender Tuukka Rask will have a new backup sitting behind him. Following in the skates of Anton Khudobin (who had a nice season with Carolina in 2013-14) and Chad Johnson who was really good in his one season for Boston (17-4-3, 2 shutouts, 2.10 GAA and .925 save percentage in 27 games), enter Swedish youngster Niklas Svedberg.

It is his time since he's only 24 and Boston signed him to a one-year, one-way deal worth $600,000 this afternoon. Johnson is an unrestricted free agent and he made the exact same amount as Svedberg just agreed to. You can bet that someone will overpay Johnson and who knows, he might even get to start at some point depending on where he ends up. Svedberg was signed as a free agent on May 29, 2012.

Svedberg's lone start last season with Boston was a 3-2 overtime win vs. Nashville when he made 33 saves. In Providence, he was 25-15-4 with 2.63 goals against average and .910 save percentage in 45 games. He split time with Malcolm Subban who undoubtedly will now be the guy for the Providence Bruins. It's time to see what Svedberg can do in the NHL since he's maxed out in the AHL: 66-27-6 in 102 games. In 2012-13, he was a breakout star for the Providence Bruins as they lost in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs (the 1st of 2 years in a row they'd do that).

The Bruins have plenty of needs: wingers that can score and mobile defensemen being at the top of the list but goaltending is the one area where (barring some major injury) they are in great shape with Rask, Svedberg and Subban in Providence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Who Didn't Predict that Reilly Smith Would Lead the Bruins in Goals?

The Duck Boats aren't even being gassed up yet but you have to admit that the Bruins are playing really well at the end of 2013. They went into Christmas break by rolling 6-2 at Nashville on Monday then they came back tonight to paste Ottawa 5-0 at TD Garden. There are many reasons that Boston (26-10-2) is rolling, let's start with the obvious: Tuukka Rask (33 saves) is the best goaltender in the NHL, their power play is finally lethal (No. 5 in the league, goals in three straight games), they are unbeatable at home (8 wins in a row and 13-0-2 in their last 15) and Reilly Smith (team-leading 14 goals) has been incredible.

Did I miss anything? The Senators' (15-18-7) upset of Montreal in the first round of the playoffs last spring seems like a distant memory, same with their crazy regular season last year despite numerous injuries. Now with a full lineup, what are they? I don't know if it's good news or not that they get the Bruins again, tomorrow night (7, NESN) at Canadian Tire Centre. I haven't heard anybody talking about Paul MacLean being an incredible coach this season, funny how that works.

The ironic part about this blowout is that the B's actually started slow, getting outshot 15-5 in the first period and looking pretty listless. That turned around in the second when Jarome Iginla scored a power play goal at 16:29 from Milan Lucic and Torey Krug. However, Iginla's 11th goal of the season was the only goal of the frame though as Boston took a 1-0 lead into the third.

Oh right, the third. It had to be the best period of the season thus far for the Bruins who completely ran over the helpless Senators. David Krejci used some of his usual magic to be in the right place for a carom off the end boards 38 seconds into the third. His eighth goal of the season was assisted by Matt Bartkowski and Adam McQuaid.

Boston really pounded Ottawa in the last 10 minutes as Smith scored his pair of goals (7th game in a row that a Bruin has done that) 7:06 apart, his 13th and 14th of the season, then Marchand sent the crowd into a frenzy with a shorthanded tally with 27 seconds left. We want all the goals! His ninth of the season gave him a multiple-point night, he had an assist on one of Smith's goals and Patrice Bergeron notched helpers on both.

Everything could feel different in 24 hours if the Senators knock off the Atlantic Division leading Bruins but would you bet on Ottawa at the moment? It looks like Niklas Svedberg will make his NHL debut because he was called up from Providence today and served as Rask's backup. Finally, Dennis Seidenberg might have suffered a serious injury late in garbage time. Fingers crossed that it doesn't turn out to be as serious as it appeared. Bruins head coach Claude Julien already ruled the German out from tomorrow's contest.

UPDATE 12/28: David Warsofsky and Nick Johnson were recalled from Providence since Seidenberg and Carl Soderberg (who seemed to suffer a concussion last night) stayed back in Boston.

UPDATE 12/28: Devastating news for the Bruins as Seidenberg will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL and MCL. You can't overstate the importance of their second best defenseman who always pairs with Zdeno Chara for a true shutdown line in the playoffs. Zach Trotman was called up from Providence and Svedberg went back to Providence (don't ask me why they brought him up?).

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So Long Tim Thomas, It's Tuukka Time Now. PS Thanks For The Stanley Cup In 2011

We all knew that Tim Thomas' career with the Boston Bruins was probably done anyway but today, we can officially close the door on that crazy era. Thomas was dealt to the New York Islanders for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2014 or 2015. The condition is that he plays this season or next season with the Isles (which is unlikely), otherwise this is just a simple salary dump that helps them get to the salary cap floor.

A Michigan native who played collegiately at Vermont, Thomas was a two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goalie played in 378 regular-season games-all with the B's. He was 196-121-45 with a 2.48 goals-against average and 31 shutouts and ranks fourth on Boston's career wins list and third in shutouts. He also has a 29-21 mark in the playoffs with a 2.07 GAA and six shutouts. Thomas won the Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Talk about an anti-climatic ending to one of the best goaltenders in Bruins history. Of course it had to be this way though, Thomas left the B's with no choice after he decided last summer to take this season off. Yeah ok, see you later. Good luck with the bunker. There lies the rub with Thomas: it's hard to separate the bat-shit insane ending with the glorious middle. I'm not going to predict or tell people how to feel in a few years but I wouldn't be surprised if in say 10 or 20 years, he can come back to Boston and get his number rightfully retired in the Garden rafters. The works. However, that wound is still fresh and people are sick of his bullshit so don't count on the Bruins doing that anytime soon.

More importantly for Tuukka Rask, this has to give him some more confidence (on top of how well he's been playing in 2013) since now he really can forget about Thomas and doesn't have to worry about him coming back WWE or boxing style. This is Rask's team and his time, he's waited the last few seasons to be the man again and he seems to be taking full advantage. He'll never be Thomas but in many ways, that's a good thing. All goalies are strange in their own special ways but Rask appears to blend in with his teammates much better than Thomas ever did.

The good news for the B's long term is that their goaltending situation both in the NHL and the minors appears to be just fine. A restricted free agent after this season, Rask is playing for a new long-term deal which seems to be a given. Anton Khudobin could be a decent backup then they have Niklas Svedberg at Providence (where he was an AHL All-Star this season) plus Malcolm Subban (a draft pick last summer) further down the pipeline. We will always love Thomas for what he did with the Bruins but it's only natural that we move on and shower that love and attention on Rask.

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