Bruins Beat the Flames At Their Own Game, Outgunning Them 6-4 For Their Third Straight Win

Somehow the Flames (25-13-4) rolled into Boston as not only the top team in the Pacific Division but also the club with the most points in the Western Conference. With their better goaltender (David Rittich) scratched with an injury, Calgary had to rely on Mr. Unreliable in between the pipes-Mike Smith (12-9-1). Boston (23-14-4) took advantage of that lopsided matchup as they beat the Flames 6-4 at TD Garden in a very entertaining contest. Coupled with their thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in Buffalo (22-13-6) on Saturday night and Tuesday's awesome 4-2 Winter Classic win vs. Chicago (15-21-7) at Notre Dame Stadium, the B's have won three games in a row.

I believe that Jaroslav Halak (33 saves) deserves All-Star consideration this season and although the highlights from this back-and-forth affair probably won't help his cause, keep in mind that he did way more than Smith (21 saves) and actually made some big stops despite allowing four goals. David Pastrnak (goal, assist) rightfully earned his first All-Star bid and Patrice Bergeron (2 assists) is a nominee for the NHL's first-time "Last Man In" initiative. Why isn't Brad Marchand (2 goals) an All-Star? I'll hang up and listen. Former BC star Johnny Gaudreau (goal, assist) showed why he's considered one of the most dangerous forwards in the world while his fellow Eagle Noah Hanifin added two assists.

Boston improved to 14-5-0 at the Garden this season but they didn't make it easy on themselves as they allowed a shorthanded goal to Michael Frolik early in the first period. After Halak made multiple saves on PC's Mark Jankowski, Frolik flipped in a backhander for his ninth goal of the season at 7:46. The battle of the special teams (somewhere Bill Belichick drools) was on as John Moore tied it at 9:02 with a power-play goal. The BU brothers-Matt Grzelcyk and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson-each had an assist on Moore's second goal as a Bruin. Boston took a 2-1 lead at 14:19 of the first as Jake DeBrusk tipped in a shot from David Krejci. Ryan Donato had the second assist on DeBrusk's 12th goal of the season. For such a young guy that's not particularly imposing in size, he has already shown that he's great at getting deflections in front of the net.

Calgary appeared to have the refs on their side as Elias "Sports Bureau" Lindholm got credited for a goal after it looked like Halak had covered it up at 1:05 in the second period. Instead, it was called a goal on the ice and withstood a challenge by Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. Gaudreau and Hanifin had the assists on Lindholm's 20th goal of the season (how much does he love playing with Johnny Hockey and Sean Monahan?). Once again, the Flames' invisible defense let the Bruins answer back right away as Marchand tipped in Torey Krug's shot from the point just 36 seconds later. Bergeron had the second assist on Marchand's 14th goal of the season.

If you thought the final score would be 3-2, you were delusional. The Black and Gold were just getting warmed up as they bagged three more goals and the Flames added two of their own. Pasta scored a power-play goal off a beautiful set play with Krug: Torey slammed the puck off the end boards behind Calgary's goal and it took a hometown bounce right to David who weaved around Smith and scooped in a backhander for his team-leading 25th goal of the season-halfway to 50! Halak notched the other assist (his 3rd of the season!) which is notable since it's only one behind the franchise mark set by Eddie Johnston and Gerry Cheevers in the mid-70s. Gaudreau had many better chances but it figured that his tally came on a no-angle shot that he banked in off Halak's leg pad at 9:27. Johnny's team-leading 23rd goal of the season was assisted by Monahan and Hanifin which sounds like a douchey law firm in Southie. DeBrusk's backhander at 13:46 made it 5-3 with another assist credited to proud papa David Krejci (his wife gave birth to another child this morning). Mikael Backlund's backhander rounded out the scoring for Calgary at 16:27, his ninth goal of the season was assisted by captain Mark Giordano and Rasmus Andersson. Marchand bolstered his All-Star replacement resume with an empty-netter at 18:10, assisted by his linemates Pastrnak and Bergeron.

This was a great way to kick off Boston's four-game homestand as Buffalo (22-13-6) comes here on Saturday night (7, NESN). That is a huge matchup since the Bruins and Sabres are tied with 50 points apiece (Boston has more regulation plus overtime wins so they're in 3rd place while Buffalo is the top Wild Card) exactly halfway through the season. For you non-mathematicians, that means that the Bruins are on another 100-point pace for what it's worth. The B's are 2-1 against Buffalo this season and surprisingly, that will already close out their regular season series. Don't be surprised if they meet in the postseason either. After that, Minnesota (19-17-3) is here on Tuesday (7, NESN) and Washington (24-12-3) wraps things up on Thursday (7, NESN). Tuukka Rask (10-8-2) has won his last two starts-including in Buffalo last weekend-so I would expect him to get the nod again vs. their Atlantic Division foe. Also of note, David Backes' three-game suspension is officially over now so he'll be back in the lineup with I'm guessing either JFK or Colby Cave coming out.

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B's Basically Steal Two Points from the Hurricanes With an Improbable 2-1 Shootout Victory

For almost 60 minutes tonight at TD Garden, the Bruins (13-10-1) and Hurricanes (9-9-5) played just about the most boring NHL game that you've ever seen. Then Teuvo Teravainen kicked the puck into his own net with 32 seconds left in regulation, giving the Bruins a much-deserved tying goal (they had 80 total shot attempts!). From there, they battled through a scoreless overtime (Carolina survived a hooking penalty on Viktor Stalberg) and at the end of it all, the B's managed to escape with a 2-1 shootout win after goals by Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak.

Backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (1-3-0) earned the distinction of first Bruins goalie not named Tuukka Rask to earn a victory this season as he made 29 saves. The backups (Subban, McIntyre and him) had been 0-6-0 collectively before tonight. Haha is that bad? They might not have shown it for much of the contest but Boston still owns Carolina (7-0-3 in their last 10 games) including 5-0-2 in their last seven games here against the Hurricanes. One other note for the B's: this was the first time this season that they had rallied for two points after being down after two periods (they had been 0-8-1).

After losing at Philadelphia in a lengthy shootout on Tuesday (3-2), it figures that Boston had to decide things in their third shootout of this campaign. Carolina outshot Boston 12-10 in the first period but neither punchless offense could find the back of the net. Former BC star (and Norwood, MA native) Noah Hanifin once again had a good performance in his hometown as he gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 7:37 of the second period. His shot from the point found a hole through traffic with Jeff Skinner and Derek Ryan notching assists on Hanifin's second goal of the season (he has 2 goals, 2 assists and a shootout winner in his 4 NHL games here).

Boston was lifeless for most of the first two periods and the fans even booed them early in the third (totally within their right after paying for that garbage) when they were on a fruitless power-play. Eventually they flipped that proverbial switch with some serious pressure on Cam Ward (34 saves; 7-8-3). Carolina's No. 1 penalty kill unit in the league acquitted themselves well (4-for-4) so the Bruins ended up scoring their lone goal after they had pulled Khudobin for the extra attacker. Torey Krug took the shot from the point and David Backes created some chaos in front of the net which in turn forced Teravainen to freak out and kick the puck like a soccer player. Haha or something like that. Krug's second goal of the season extended his point-streak to three games (1 goal, 4 assists) while David Pastrnak (9 goals, 2 assists in his last 13 games) and David Krejci (3-game point streak with 1 goal and 2 assists) had the helpers.

The B's dominated in overtime as well, outshooting the Hurricanes 6-2 but they still couldn't find the ocean with their shots. Hat tip to Khudobin for stopping Skinner on two breakaway attempts (a 3-on-0 in the second period then a more usual vintage in the extra session). After Tuesday's shootout lasted nine tedious rounds (Boston was 1-for-9), it was nice that the home team decided things with only needing their first three shooters. Something called Jaccob Slavin scored for Carolina in the first round but Khudobin stepped up with stops on Hanifin and Skinner to mercifully end it. Surprisingly, only Brad Marchand failed to score of Boston's three shooters.

The Bruins know that they were lucky to walk away with two points after such a pathetic showing in so many ways. They are at Buffalo (9-9-5) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) as they get their first look at former BU star (and Chelmsford, MA native) Jack Eichel who made his season debut this week after missing tons of time with a severe ankle sprain. The Sabres are improving but that's another club the Bruins own. For the B's there are very few givens anymore left in the NHL so when they meet them, they need to find a way to get a win no matter what. Tuukka Rask has to sleep a little easier tonight knowing that hopefully he won't be run into the ground as Khudobin begins to prove once again that he's a capable backup on a decent team.

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In Essentially a Must-Win Scenario, the Bruins Fall 2-1 in a Shootout to the Hurricanes

With the 2015-16 regular season boiled down to three final home games that will ultimately decide their playoff fate (in or out), Boston (41-30-9) fittingly didn't get the job done on step one but they left themselves a bit of hope as they lost 2-1 to Carolina (35-29-16) in a shootout this evening at TD Garden. The fraudulent point "earned" by the B's ties them with Detroit (40-28-11) and Philadelphia (39-26-13). The problem is that the Red Wings have two games in hand and the Flyers have a game in hand on the Black and Gold. As luck would have it, Detroit hosts Philly tomorrow night (8, NBC Sports Network) as well.

Boston hadn't appeared on their home ice in nearly two weeks but somehow they still were the same group that simply hasn't been able to win here all season-long. Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin made it 1-0 at 18:54 in the first period when his shot from the point beat Tuukka Rask (27 saves). He wasn't screened and the shot wasn't tipped so that's a shot that Rask needs to stop 10 times out of 10. Justin Faulk and BC's Nathan Gerbe assisted on Slavin's second goal of the season (his first since Dec. 8, 2015). The Bruins outshot the Hurricanes 10-8 in the first and had two fruitless power plays. The highlight if you can call it that was a fight between Jimmy Hayes and Brad Malone early in the frame.

The Bruins dominated some more in the second (outshooting the Hurricanes 16-9) but three penalties (including 2 on Loui Eriksson) slowed them down a bit and they still lacked that finishing ability that has eluded them so much lately (other than the first 2 periods in St. Louis and last 2 periods in Chicago). Carolina gift-wrapped a goal to Boston as possibly the worst line change in NHL history led to a breakaway and sweet Peter Forsberg-esque move by Eriksson. Former Hurricane John-Michael Liles assisted on Eriksson's 29th goal of the season at 1:45 of the third period. Zdeno Chara saved the day when he cleared a Brett Pesce shot that trickled by Rask off the goalline.

Carolina had beaten Boston 3-2 in overtime at the Garden on March 10 but this time the B's carried play in the extra session. They outshot the Canes 3-1 but Cam Ward (35 saves) took a trip back in a time machine to about a decade ago and he was really good. He even made a nice diving glove save on Eriksson's rebound. After four scoreless rounds in the shootout, Torey Krug was stuffed and another BC guy (Norwood, MA native) Noah Hanifin ended it with a backhander past Rask. Don't ask me how Brad Marchand, David Krejci or Frank Vatrano weren't any of the five shooters selected by Bruins head coach Claude Julien.

The Bruins will no doubt be paying attention to the Red Wings-Flyers tilt tomorrow night before they host Detroit on Thursday (7, NESN). They'll be rooting for Philadelphia to win in regulation against the Red Wings and I'm pretty sure the B's will reach the postseason if they can beat Detroit and then Ottawa (36-35-9) on Saturday (12:30, NESN). However, as we've learned over and over again with this team, you can't count on any consistently positive results at home.

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Bruins Reach 1st-Place in Atlantic Division for 1st Time This Season, By Losing 3-2 in OT to Carolina

In the most Bruins of 2015-16 way possible, the team has finally reached first-place in the Atlantic Division for the first time all season yet that is little solace to them after they fell 3-2 in overtime tonight at TD Garden vs. Carolina (31-26-11). Something named Philip Di Giuseppe (which sounds like a side character from The Sopranos) had the game-winning goal at 1:30 for the Hurricanes. Boston still hasn't reached the .500 mark at home (15-16-5) but the point earned from their fourth straight overtime contest was enough to propel them ahead of idle Tampa Bay (83 points) and Florida (who beat Ottawa 6-2 to also reach 83 points). The problem is that the Lightning and Panthers both have two games in hand over Boston (38-23-8) but I guess that we'll worry about that later.

The Hurricanes never trailed as their terrible power play (ranked No. 23 in the NHL coming into this evening) made it 1-0 just 5:06 into the game. Elias Lindholm's shot from the point trickled past Tuukka Rask (25 saves) for his ninth goal of the season. Norwood MA native (and BC product) Noah Hanifin and Riley Nash had the assists after Patrice Bergeron had been called for high-sticking. Carolina led 1-0 despite being outshot 8-5 in the opening frame.

Boston tied it at 5:13 of the second period when Patrice Bergeron hit Loui Eriksson with a beautiful cross-ice pass, right on his tape. Eriksson didn't get much on the one-timer, in fact Cam Ward (30 saves) almost stopped it with his paddle, but it still went in the net. Torey Krug had the second assist on Erikkson's 25th goal of the season (also his 5th NHL season of 50+ points). Ryan Spooner had a breakaway for the B's but his backhander went wide; Carolina came back down the other end of the ice and scored as another BC guy (Nathan Gerbe) poked in a rebound at 8:34. Rask made the initial stop on Chris Terry with Nash picking up another helper on Gerbe's third goal of the season. Carolina was up (2-1) heading into the second intermission.

David Pastrnak did what maybe only he could do on the Bruins when he sniped a shot by Ward's short-side at 5:54 of the third period. David Krejci assisted on Pastrnak's 10th goal of the season with a nice stretch pass along the boards, culminating in a glimpse of Pasta's immense potential that we get to see from time to time. By winning in overtime at Florida on Monday (5-4 on Lee Stempniak's goal) and at Tampa Bay on Tuesday (1-0 on Brad Marchand's tally), it felt like the Bruins were due for a loss. Hanifin-who recently turned 19 and is going to be a superstar in the NHL-actually started the winning play by passing back to Ward (when do you ever see that in hockey?) before Hanifin found Jeff Skinner for a breakaway. Once again, Rask had the first shot covered but Di Giuseppe was there to jam in the rebound through Bergeron (who fell back into the net trying to block it).

The Bruins are back in action on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) as they host Johnny Boychuk and the Islanders (37-20-8). Boston has had plenty of success against New York these last few seasons but the Isles are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. New York is in its own divisional race, trying to get second-place in the Metropolitan Division behind Washington with the Rangers two points ahead of them (Islanders have two games in hand though). As B's head coach Claude Julien said after the overtime loss, he expects a better performance from his club on Saturday and so do I. For whatever reason, since the trade deadline Boston has played better against the contenders and slipped a bit against the pretenders (like Carolina, not the band).

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