Farewell To Former B's Captain/Future Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara & Thanks For All The Memories

 

    At age 45 (what up Tom Brady?) Zdeno Chara officially retired today after signing one of those goofy one-day contracts as a Bruin and as you would expect, that caused many wonderful moments from his 14 seasons in Boston to come flooding back. In many ways, the man that they call Big Zee is a singular figure not only in Bruins history but also in the NHL as well. He started off as a sideshow since he was the tallest player in league history (6-foot-9!) but through a relentless work effort and desire to be the best, he transformed himself into one of the top defensemen in the NHL (he won the Norris Trophy in 2009) and as great of a leader as you will ever find in sports. You can trace the Black and Gold's return to relevance with him signing here as a free agent: Boston made the playoffs in 11 of his 14 seasons (including 3 Stanley Cup Finals) and they won their lone Cup in the past 50 years in 2011 with him as the captain. 

    In a game built around playing through constant pain and nagging injuries, Chara's toughness and will to win are legendary. Not just because of his enormous size but Zdeno was one of the most fearsome fighters in the league. Additionally, he further cemented his place in Boston sports history by playing in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals vs. St. Louis with a broken jaw that was wired shut. Other than a hockey player, who else does that? The crazy part too is that as intense as he was on the ice, he is a super nice guy if you are not lining up against him. His charity work in this area was incredible while he also did his best to help his wife raise three kids (including twin boys) despite his incredibly demanding schedule. 

    He started his NHL career with the Islanders then he continued to progress in Ottawa before becoming a worldwide star and household name with the Bruins. In the last two seasons, he played for the Capitals and fittingly he closed out his brilliant run with one final campaign as an Islander. He is a no doubt first ballot Hockey Hall of Famer and it will be interesting to see where his post-playing days take him. Chara speaks seven (!) languages and after spending so much time and energy in hockey, it's hard to see him totally walking away from the game. You feel like he could become a great GM or part of a winning front office for an NHL club. Coaching also seems like a good fit although the time commitment for that is exhausting for somebody just coming off a 24-year career in the NHL and with a young family.

    You know that his number 33 will soon be raised to the rafters at TD Garden as well. He played the sixth most games in franchise history (1023) and finished third all-time in points (481) by a B's defenseman behind Hall of Famers Ray Bourque (1506) and Bobby Orr (888). In addition to the Norris Trophy, he also won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2011. He was named to NHL First All-Star Team three times along with four times on the NHL Second All-Star Team. He also competed in the NHL All-Star Game six times. In 200 career NHL playoff games, he had 18 goals and 52 assists with an NHL-best 14 Game Seven appearances. In his 14 seasons as a Bruin, he was first in games played (1023), plus-minus rating (+240), penalty minutes (1055) and time on ice per game (24:29). He finished with 148 goals and 333 assists in Boston. 

    We often say this when a great athlete retires but there truly will never be another Zdeno Chara for no matter how much longer we all live. His combination of a booming shot (for years the fastest slap shot in the NHL), ridiculous reach and shutdown defensive skills made him impossible to play against even for many of the game's top players. He is a winner and someone to admire even if you don't follow hockey or sports in general. Chara was always a true professional who did everything the right way and got the most out of his abilities. He also never made excuses and was classy in defeat. We wish him well in retirement and know that we will see him soon, possibly riding his bike around the city. 

On The Eve Of The NHL Trade Deadline, B's GM Don Sweeney Rescues Taylor Hall From Buffalo

 

    Thank God for the NHL Trade Deadline because I certainly did not want to write about a depressing 8-1 meltdown by the Bruins (21-12-6) tonight at the TD Garden against the Capitals (27-11-4) anymore than you wanted to read that drivel. Boston's top two goaltenders were out along with their four best defensemen, oh and they were playing their fifth game in seven days so honestly, what did you expect them to do vs. one of the best teams in the league? Nope, the real story came a few hours after that nightmare ended as Boston made two trades: first GM Don Sweeney flipped a third-round draft pick to Ottawa (13-25-4) for a defenseman named Mike Reilly (19 assists in 40 games this season) then he dealt winger Anders Bjork and a second-round pick to Buffalo (10-25-6) for left wing Taylor Hall and forward Curtis Lazar (5 goals, 4 assists in 33 games this season).

    Everybody knew that Hall-the former No. 1 pick by Edmonton in the 2010 Draft (one spot ahead of Boston who selected Tyler Seguin) two-time All Star and MVP in 2017-18 was going to be moved by tomorrow, the question was to which desperate team? This is a guy with all the talent in the world but the Bruins will be his fifth NHL club before he's turned 30 and his fourth (Devils, Coyotes, Sabres, Bruins) in the last two seasons alone. His first and only season in Buffalo was nothing short of a complete disaster since in 37 games he had two goals and 17 assists. How much is that a product of being stuck in a hopeless situation or is it more about him checking out mentally which would be a troubling sign?

    Whatever the case, this is a risk worth taking if you are the Bruins since how many more playoff berths will they have left with goaltender Tuukka Rask, left wing Brad Marchand and centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci among others? It feels like they are on borrowed time at this point so at least this bold move shows the players on the team that they are trying to go for it this season but at the same time not sacrificing much at all off of their current roster or mortgaging their future. Bjork had no real place here with two goals and three assists in 30 games this year so you probably won't even notice that he's gone. 

        Ultimately this comes down to Hall. Does he want to salvage his once very promising career and experience more of the playoffs (he has only appeared in 14 postseason games in his entire career) or keep burning bridges and becoming an NHL vagabond? Boston desperately needs secondary scoring and Krejci hasn't had a good winger to go with him in what feels like ages. It's silly to expect things to go smoothly right away but looking at the upcoming schedule, four of Boston's next seven games are against Buffalo including on Tuesday (7, NESN) at the Garden and six of their next 11 overall. How funny would it be to see Hall destroy the Sabres right away and the Black and Gold to go on a run sparked by him? That's probably wishful thinking but hell, I did not expect to have any hope after watching the B's get embarrassed on their home ice earlier this evening.

Boston Wins Its 5th Straight Game, 5-2 vs. Ottawa On An Otherwise Depressing Night at TD Garden

Hockey is an incredible sport that I will put up there with any other in the world in terms of entertainment value, life lessons that it teaches and team bonding that it naturally produces. With that said, since most of the violence has been rightfully erased from the NHL over the last decade, you almost forget that a game built on such breathtaking speed and agility sometimes can produce horrifying collisions. That's the grim backdrop for what otherwise should have been a very enjoyable night on Causeway Street as the B's (10-1-2) used a 3-0 third period to pick up a 5-2 victory against the Senators (3-8-1). Boston has the second best record in the Eastern Conference and the NHL while Ottawa is the worst team in both cases so the two points were a mere formality since the Bruins have now picked up five wins in a row.

Unfortunately, this game will most likely be remembered for one thing only: the scary scene in the first period after Senators rookie Scott Sabourin ran into David Backes and appeared to be knocked out in midair before he hit the ice face-first. Ugh, what a brutal event. He was down and motionless for what felt like an eternity as all of Ottawa and Boston's medical staff attended to him. The good news is that he gave the thumbs up to the crowd as he got wheeled off the ice on a stretcher and Ottawa's PR staff later reported on Twitter that he was alert and talking to the doctors before going to a hospital in Boston. Backes went to the dressing room for what we assumed was just to compose himself but it turned out that he left with an upper-body injury. He's suffered a sickening amount of concussions already in the league so I really hope that isn't the case once again, he'll be evaluated more tomorrow.

It seems secondary to even mention it at this point but there was a game after all and things did happen in it worth noting. The NHL's second star of the month in October-David Pastrnak-picked up right where he left off with a power-play goal just 1:17 into his first tilt in November. His NHL-best 13th goal of the season was also his seventh in the first period already this season and it extended his point streak to 11 games. It actually came off a set play that him and Torey Krug used last season vs. Calgary. Krug banked it off the end boards behind Senators goaltender Craig Anderson (27 saves, 2-5-0) and Pasta raced to it first before dekeing and jamming the puck over the line. Ottawa tied it at 12:04 of the first period when Anthony Duclair put in a one-timer from Logan Brown (who later left with an upper body injury of his own) and Mark Borowiecki.

With the top ranked power play in the NHL along with a penalty kill that isn't too shabby either (#9), Boston loves when games are decided by special teams and this was one of those routine events in today's whistle-happy league. The Bruins were caught with too many men on the ice early in the second period then Brad Marchand was called for two penalties (minor for hooking and double minor for spearing) on the same play. That meant they had to hold off the Senators for 55 seconds of a 5-on-3 then 5:05 of Marchand's temporary stupidity. Spoiler alert: they were able to do it. Granted, Ottawa has the worst power play in the NHL (#31) but it was still impressive nonetheless. Tuukka Rask (30 saves, 7-0-1) remains unbeaten in regulation for 2019-20.

The B's had taken a 2-1 lead earlier in the frame as Pastrnak chose to dish the puck to Patrice Bergeron (6 goals, 8 assists in his last 12 games) rather than take his own wide open shot. Bergeron's sixth goal of the season came at 1:51 and it was also assisted by Marchand (12-game point streak and 11-game assist streak, both career highs). The Senators might be awful and constantly rebuilding but at least they showed more effort than the Sharks for instance last Tuesday. Connor Brown tied it at 3:04 as he threw the puck in front and it bounced by Rask for his second goal of the season, assisted by Borowiecki and Dylan DeMelo (which sounds like the name of a bully at your local high school).

Riding an eight game point streak, I don't think that many Bruins fans were sweating despite the fact that their favorite team was knotted at two heading into the third period. The few doubters were quickly told to shut up for the evening as Boston scored three unanswered goals to clinch it. Danton Heinen started it off with a great individual effort to win the puck along the wall in the neutral zone and eventually find it again out front for his third goal of the season, unassisted at 5:43. Borowiecki took his third penalty of the contest and Marchand immediately made him pay with a one-timer from Pastrnak and Bergeron (his 500th NHL assist, only the 15th active player to reach that mark) at 6:50 for his eighth goal of the season. For good measure, Jake DeBrusk cranked in his best shot of the young season-a one-timer from Heinen at 16:16 for his second goal of the campaign.

Brett Ritchie and Joakim Nordstrom were both out with similar infections (were they hanging out in the Browns' staph infection riddled locker room from a few years ago?) so Peter Cehlarik was recalled from Providence. As usual, he showed no reason why he should featured regularly in the NHL (at least yet) so hopefully one or both of those guys can play in a few days when things should be much more difficult. Boston hosts Pittsburgh (8-5-1) on Monday (7, NESN)-the rare Monday Night Hockey-followed by their first meeting with Montreal (7-5-2) the following night (7:30, NBCSN) North of the border. I thought that Jaroslav Halak would get the start tonight (WRONG!) so I'll lick my wounds from that and guess that he will play against the Canadiens since Rask has a terrible history at the Bell Centre. Don't listen to me though as Jaro will probably start on Monday and Rask will get the start vs. Claude Julien's pukes. Regardless, it probably doesn't matter at the moment since the Black and Gold are absolutely on fire with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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The B's Are On The 2nd-Longest Point Streak In Team History (15-0-4) After A 3-2 Win vs. Ottawa

This isn't a complaint but simply a statement of fact: the Bruins (42-17-9) haven't lost a game in regulation for so long (Jan. 19 vs. Rangers) that their streaks and numbers are starting to pile up enough to give you a bit of an ice cream headache even while it remains winter outside in chilly New England. Boston closed out a spotless six-game homestand (6-0-0) for only the second time in franchise history (they also did that last season) with another last-minute victory, this time it was 3-2 vs. Ottawa (23-40-6) at TD Garden. David Krejci-who is having the definition of a career revival type of campaign-was the latest hero for the B's as he tipped in Danton Heinen's shot/pass with 44.7 seconds left in regulation.

Boston's aforementioned 19-game point streak is the second-longest in team history, now trailing only the 1940-41 team's ridiculous 23-game stretch (15-0-8-0). Furthermore, their 10-game home win streak is their longest since a 14-gamer from Oct. 25, 2008-Jan. 1, 2009 and their home point streak is up to 12 games (10-0-2) now which is their best since a 15-game span (13-0-2) from Oct. 31-Dec. 27, 2014. Do you need to lay down for a little while?

It's hard to have an instant classic game against the worst team in the NHL so the Bruins predictably slogged through the mud to get these two precious points against the hopeless Senators. Remember when Ottawa nearly made the Stanley Cup Final two years ago? Haha talk about falling off of a cliff since then. When you see the tilted shot attempts totals (63-35 in favor of the B's) you understand that they probably should have beat those bums by at least a couple goals but if you watched the Saturday night tilt, you could at least explain some of that away since the Bruins hit not one, not two but three posts/crossbars in the second period alone.

Speaking of the second, that's when notable things started to happen after the first period had nothing but four penalties in it. Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 10:11 with a power play goal. He roofed a shot by Craig Anderson (28 saves) into the top of the far corner of the net for his 28th goal of the season, assisted by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron. They are great wherever they play but Marchand and Bergeron are both riding six-game point streaks overall and 15-game point streaks at home. It took the pathetic Senators less than a minutes to tie it at one though as Jean-Gabriel Pageau (could you imagine a guy with a name like that playing on a non-Canadian club?) whipped a shot off the post and by Tuukka Rask (17 saves, 24-8-5). Brady Tkachuk-who went to BU for one season and is better known as Keith's son and Matthew's younger brother-had the lone assist on Pageau's third goal of the season.

To increase the dramatic effect of another comeback by the home team, Boston even let Ottawa lead for a few minutes in the third period. Wasn't that sweet of them? Tkachuk was able to pounce on a loose puck near the crease and put in a backhander (assisted by Chris Tierney) for his 16th goal of the season at 2:46. Tkachuk is basically an honorary Masshole (he grew up in Arizona but his dad is from Medford and also starred at BU before a great NHL career) but the Bruins got a tying goal from a true Masshole: Walpole's favorite son Chris Wagner. He redirected a shot by Krug (who tied Craig Janney for the most points-283-by a U.S.-born player in Bruins history) that almost stopped it was going so slowly but Anderson somehow couldn't react in time to make the save. Charlie McAvoy had the second assist on Wagner's 11th goal of the season; what a gem of a free agent that he's been, bravo B's GM Don Sweeney.

Just like Florida on Thursday, you knew that one way or another Boston wasn't losing this game once it was deadlocked late in the third. They waited until the last minute again but that only serves to make it sweeter (or more intoxicating on a Saturday night). It's tough to tell what Heinen's intention was on the play but truth be told, if Krejci had not have touched the puck, I believe that it still would have gone in anyway so what's the difference? Matt Grzelcyk had the second assist on Krejci's (6 goals, 10 assists in his last 12 games) 18th goal of the season. Rask has his own 19-game point streak (16-0-3) alive and well complete with a goals against average of 1.94 and a save percentage of .929 during this insane run (his last regulation loss was Dec. 23 at Carolina, he hasn't fully lost in 2019!).

As you would expect following such a long homestand, the B's will not see their own beds very often in the next few weeks. In fact, of their 14 remaining games in the regular season, only four of them will be on Causeway Street. Seven of the next eight games are on the road starting with an intriguing matchup in Pittsburgh (36-23-9) tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports). That's followed by a trip to Columbus (38-27-3) on Tuesday (7, NESN) and a flight to Winnipeg (40-23-4) for Thursday's showdown (8, NESN). Boston's next home game is a week from tonight (7, NESN), St. Patrick's Day eve, vs. the Blue Jackets. After that, Boston departs for another road trip (4 games). At this moment, we won't worry about that since these next four games over the next week are all against teams currently in playoff position.

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Behind Bergeron's Hat Trick, Bruins Double Up Senators 6-3 In Their 2018-19 Home Opener

It's not up for discussion: October is unquestionably the best time of the year when it comes to pro sports in America. In Boston, we're lucky enough that all four of our clubs (Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics) are all playoff teams these days at the very least and hopefully legitimate title contenders when it gets right down to it. With a weird Columbus Day afternoon start time, the B's (2-1-0) opened their home slate with an entertaining 6-3 victory over the rebuilding Senators (1-1-1) at TD Garden. Patrice Bergeron had a rough off-season complete with a lovely groin surgery which prohibited him from playing in any preseason games but that all seemed to matter little as he bagged his fourth career hat trick and also added an assist.

Boston's top forward line-the best in the NHL last season-is still together and that should continue to send fear throughout the league. David Pastrnak tied his career-high with four points (2 goals, 2 assists) while Brad Marchand followed up his four assist game in Buffalo on Thursday (a 4-0 Bruins win) with three assists. Combined, those three guys were +10 with five goals and six assists. Haha is that good? One of the main issues though for the Black and Gold in the playoffs last spring vs. Tampa Bay is that they became too reliant on that one line. For that reason, there was murmurs that perhaps head coach Bruce Cassidy would break up the band to start this campaign but for now, they aren't going anywhere else.

After last Wednesday's disastrous season-opener in Washington (a 7-0 beating), the B's righted the ship with a solid 60-minute effort against the supposedly up and coming Sabres and this was another step forward in the right direction. Other than the goofy preseason trip to China, Boston shouldn't have any complaints with its early season schedule as 10 of their 12 games in October are against non-playoff teams from last season. In other words, just clean up on the dregs of the NHL and they should be in a very good position to start the winter.

In terms of start to a home opener, the fans couldn't have asked for much more as Bergeron scored 30 seconds into regulation and then followed that up with a power-play goal at 17:12 of the first period for a quick 2-0 lead. Goal #1 was the result of a rare net drive by Pastrnak that allowed Bergy to follow up for an easy rebound, his second goal of the season was also assisted by McAvoy (who tied his career-high for assists and points (3)). The second goal was more suited for a highlight reel as Marchand flipped a nifty backhand pass to Bergeron for a one-timer into the corner of Ottawa's goal past Belmont Hill alum Mike Condon (24 saves). Pasta had the second assist on Boston's second power play goal of the young season.

After such a great first frame, the Senators predictably responded with a much better effort in the second. Ryan Dzingel potted a rebound of his own at 2:21 to cut it to 2-1 B's. His first goal of the season was assisted by Mark Stone and Zack Smith. Condon had a rough homecoming as he allowed a really weak goal to fellow Masshole Chris Wagner (a Walpole, MA native) that made it 3-1 Bruins at 7:08. McAvoy's shot from the point was meekly tipped by Wagner and somehow Condon's glove completely whiffed on the slow-motion shot. Sean Kuraly had the second assist on Wagner's first goal and first point as a Bruin. Tuukka Rask (28 saves) got pulled against the Capitals and Jaroslav Halak earned the shutout in Buffalo, so this was his first game action in five days. Ottawa's second goal was regrettable for the home team as Zdeno Chara served as a screen on Rask, leaving him with no chance to see Dzingel's shot at 12:13 that trimmed Boston's lead to 3-2 (assisted by Dylan DeMelo and Thomas Chabot).

The Bruins might have had a little trouble putting the pesky Senators away but at least they never let them tie it, let alone take a lead at any juncture. Bergeron completed his hat trick at 4:38 of the third period with a bit of luck fit for a king like him. His intended pass went off an Ottawa defenseman's skate and by Condon who was naturally going the other way. Marchand and McAvoy assisted on the goal which came with the requisite hat tossing from the appreciative crowd filled with plenty kids since it wasn't a school day. The last few minutes of regulation were a bit of a gong show as Pastrnak got on the board with a re-direct of Bergeron's backhand sauce at 16:31. Chara had the second assist on Pastrnak's second goal of the season. The ghost of Bobby Ryan stopped by for a goal at 17:03, his first of the season was assisted by DeMelo and Chris Tierney. Finally, Pasta put an exclamation point on a fun day with an empty-netter at 18:22. Marchand provided the lone assist on Pastrnak's fourth point of the game.

It should continue to be an enjoyable week for the Bruins as they get to spend plenty of time at home with their family and friends before they host Edmonton (0-1-0) on Thursday (7, NESN) and then Detroit (0-1-1) on Saturday night (7, NESN). Keep in mind that the Oilers will be traveling back from Sweden, for some reason they played one game over the weekend there (a 5-2 loss to New Jersey) and the Red Wings will be returning from a West Coast trip to California. No matter if it's Rask or Halak between the pipes, these are all teams that the Bruins should beat, especially when they are at the Garden.

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Everything Left to Play For In Game 82: B's Win & Lightning Lose in OT So Boston Can Be #1 Seed

In such an arduous regular season (82 games), it is always ironic when so much can still hinge on the finale. The Bruins (50-19-12) are happy to find themselves in that enviable position though as the eyes of the entire NHL will be on them tomorrow night since they host Florida (43-30-8) in the last game before the playoffs begin on Wednesday. Boston got off to a slow start but woke up with plenty of time left to beat hapless Ottawa (28-43-11) 5-2 this evening at TD Garden. Minutes later, things got much more interesting for the B's as Tampa Bay (54-23-5) lost 3-2 in overtime at Carolina (36-35-11) leaving the Lightning with only one more point than Boston. That means any type of win for the Black and Gold (in regulation, overtime or a shootout) will give them the Atlantic Division crown, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and perhaps most importantly, they would avoid Toronto (49-26-7) in the first round.

After the Bruins had lost their last three games in a row, it felt like they were destined to finish second in the Atlantic Division and thus meet the Maple Leafs in what would be a very difficult battle. Instead in keeping with the general magic of this campaign overall, they took care of their business while Tampa Bay simultaneously peed down their collective legs. Only Buffalo (25-45-12) finished with a worse record than Ottawa in 2017-18, making last season's improbable postseason run feel like it was a decade ago. Superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson (9 goals, 53 assists) could be gone this summer and if that's the case, talk about a franchise without a direction. All that Ottawa could do tonight was play spoiler and they did that well enough, for about 20 minutes of game action.

My man Ryan Dzingel staked the Senators to a 1-0 lead in the first period as he finished a passing sequence from Matt Duchene and BC's Colin White for his 22nd goal of the season at 12:31. That's really all that happened in the first frame as Ottawa outshot Boston 10-9 and the B's looked completely lifeless. Under former head coach Claude Julien, that might have extended for the next period or the rest of the tilt but Bruce Cassidy's guys have a way of almost always responding to adversity (even that which has been created solely by themselves).

The Bruins scored three unanswered goals in the second to take a commanding 3-1 lead. David Pastrnak tied it with a one-timer and power-play goal at 8:08, his 34th goal of the season (tying Brad Marchand for the team lead) was assisted by Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug. 51 seconds later, Tommy Wingels put Boston ahead as his shot hit the post and then Ottawa's third-string goaltender Daniel Taylor (30 saves) had the puck bounce into the net off his glove. Wingels' ninth goal of the season was unassisted. After Anton Khudobin (26 saves in his 16th win of the season) made an absurd save with a full split, rookie Danton Heinen's wicked snap shot gave Boston a 3-1 advantage at 17:01. Talk about scoring depth, his 16th goal of the season was assisted by Brian Gionta and Adam McQuaid.

Dzingel cut it to 3-2 at 7:07 of the third period with a nifty move, assisted again by White and another rookie-defenseman Christian Wolanin-who just turned pro out of the University of North Dakota. The fourth line for the Bruins has been really solid and dependable all year so it was fitting that they provided what basically amounted to the clinching goal. Noel Acciari was sent in on a breakaway by his fellow PC Friar Tim Schaller and he beat Taylor for his 10th goal of the season. Zdeno Chara had the secondary assist on the huge insurance tally at 18:09. Another guy-David Backes-that deserved a goal after all that he's been through this season had the honor of sending the Senators home for good with an empty-netter at 19:17. His 13th goal of the season was assisted by Heinen.

The Panthers were officially eliminated from playoff contention earlier on Saturday so I doubt that their minds will be really too focused tomorrow night what with vacations to plan (although if you live in Florida, do you really need to get away?) and off-seasons to begin as soon as possible. Boston last earned the top seed in the East in 2013 when they captured that cursed Presidents' Trophy. No need to worry about that since Nashville (53-18-11) already wrapped it up days ago. More than just a label or a number, tomorrow's contest means so much because a win would allow the B's to open against the Devils (44-29-9), the second Wild Card (ie. the lowest seed) in the East. New Jersey has put together a very surprising season to reach the playoffs for the first time in six years but who would rather face Toronto than them? Outside of Taylor Hall who should be in the running for the Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP), who else do you fear? The Bruins won't need any additional motivation as they take on the Panthers in front of their home crowd one more time before Game 1 versus whomever on Thursday.

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Where Were You On Dec. 27, 2017? Aka The Night That Riley Nash Had the Game of His Life

As you were understandably paying more attention to (in no particular order) the holidays, the Patriots, the Celtics or your family, significant other and friends, the Bruins (20-10-5) have become one of the hottest (/best?) teams in the NHL. No worries if you are a little late to the Black and Gold party, they still have 47 games left in the regular season plus playoffs which looks pretty certain so there is plenty of time to get (back) on the bandwagon which should be filling up if we ever survive this upcoming deep freeze throughout New England. Anyways Boston met Ottawa (11-16-8) tonight at TD Garden for the time since last spring's first-round playoff series, won by Ottawa in six tightly-contested tilts (4 in OT where the Sens were 3-1). The B's had dropped six straight regular season games (0-4-2) vs. the Senators as well but you wouldn't know that by the 5-1 post-Christmas beating they dropped on them this evening.

Riley Nash (2 goals, 1 assist) recorded the fourth career two-goal game of his vaunted NHL life and he also tied his career-high in points which he last did on March 2, 2013 vs. Florida (1 goal, 2 assists). Tuukka Rask (25 saves, 12-8-3) continued his amazing in-season turnaround as he has earned his team valuable points in 10 games in a row (9-0-1). His goals against average during that stretch is 1.41 and his save percentage is a whopping .946. Who predicted this when he couldn't buy a win to save his life earlier this campaign? Boston is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games by the way, only Tampa Bay (26-7-2) has been better (9-1-0) lately. Two more good signs that this team is for real: their top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak combined for a grand total of zero points and likewise their power play produced nothing (0-for-2) yet they still pumped in five goals for their home fans (they are 13-5-3 at the Garden).

The Senators look nothing like the (lucky?) team that pushed the Penguins to seven games in the Eastern Conference Final last spring. They are 12 points out of a Wild Card spot in the East and 15 points behind Toronto (22-14-1)-who was leapfrogged by Boston (that still has 2 games in hand) this evening-so what are they waiting for? It's time to start figuring out who they want to keep and build around and which guys can get a decent return in a trade to a contending team. The Bruins got off to a fast start as they led 2-0 just 8:28 into the action: Kevan Miller jumped into the offensive zone for a juicy Craig Anderson (18 saves, 9-12-4) rebound for his first goal of the season (assisted by David Backes and Nash) and then rookie Danton Heinen continued his great stretch (3 goals, 6 assists in his last 9 games) with his 9th goal of the season after a sweet passing sequence by Ryan Spooner and Matt Grzelcyk.

Fredrik Claesson hit Noel Acciari with a dirty head shot (that I bet he'll hear from NHL player safety about in the near future) later in the first period but never fear because Tim Schaller came to the rescue of his former PC and current Bruins teammate. Schaller fought Claesson who was tagged with two majors (for fighting and a check to the head) and he also received a game misconduct. Schaller had no problem getting his second fighting major of the season and he also got a 10-minute misconduct along with a two-minute instigator penalty which was a bit of a head-scratcher. No worries though since Acciari surprisingly returned to Boston's bench to start the second period and ended up playing the rest of the game which was shocking since the hit looked like a textbook place to get a concussion. Maybe not.

Nash broke things open early in the second period as he got in on a breakaway (the 1st of his life?) and beat Anderson with what looked like a routine wrist shot that somehow eluded his glove hand for his third goal of the season, unassisted. Ottawa's only highlight of the proceedings came when Thomas Chabot banged in a one-timer at 3:49 of the second period to cut Boston's advantage to 3-1. Nash scored his second tally on a nice power move that showed off his sneaky decent hands. Anders Bjork had the lone assist on that one. Anderson was never pulled so he had the honor of giving up the last Bruins goal with 1:20 left in garbage time: Backes took a shot that deflected off the end boards and pushed it in the net, nice and easy for his fifth goal of the season. Grzelcyk and Heinen provided the helpers so each had multi-point performances which is swell.

For many reasons (mental and physical), tomorrow night's game in Washington (7:30, NESN) will be infinitely hard than this glorified exhibition. The Capitals (22-13-2) have won their last 11(!) games vs. the Bruins and Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy had already announced this afternoon that backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (8-2-2) will get the start vs. star netminder Braden Holtby after Washington started its backup Philipp Grubauer tonight in a 1-0 shootout loss at the Rangers (19-13-4). Both teams are in the second half of a back-to-back so neither should have much more energy than the other (Charlie McAvoy was the only Bruin to play over 20+ minutes vs. Ottawa but he's Captain America so who cares?), especially after the mandatory three-day break for Christmas. At some point, the B's are going to beat the Capitals again so why can't it be tomorrow night in our nation's capital? Basically everything is going right for the Bruins at the moment so that would be a nice albatross for them to get out of the way before the New Year.

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Bruins Painfully Bow Out of the 2017 NHL Playoffs With a 3-2 Overtime Loss to the Senators

With so many injuries piling up seemingly every day to important players, we knew that the Bruins were a fatally flawed team (not to go deeper into their uneven roster to begin with). A Stanley Cup seemed very unlikely this spring but it was still a major bummer to see them lose Game 6 of their first-round playoff series today at TD Garden, 3-2 in OT to Ottawa, so the Senators took the series 4-2 and advance to play the Rangers in the second round. You won't find a much tighter six games than that since every tilt was decided by one goal including four of them in overtime(s). Ottawa went 3-1 in the extra session(s) and Clarke MacArthur forever etched his name in Senators history by scoring the power play goal that ended this one at 6:30.

You can always play the what-if game but it makes you wonder how much of a difference defensemen Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo (not to mention Adam McQuaid who was hurt in Game 2) and center David Krejci who missed Games 1, 2 and 6 would have made when Ottawa cumulatively outscored Boston just 15-13 over these six games. Boston's lack of depth eventually caught up to them along with the fact that Ottawa's power play (5-for-23, 21.7%) was better than Boston's (3-for-16, 18.8%) in this series. Senators superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson is actually playing with two hair-line fractures in his foot (surprisingly revealed by head coach Guy Boucher after this win) but you'd hardly know it by the way he played with a series-best six assists.

For only the second time in the six games, Boston actually scored first (both by Drew Stafford) but in each instance, they ended up losing in overtime which is a real kick in the hockey pants. Stafford scored a power play goal of his own at 18:13 of the first period when he blasted a shot past Craig Anderson (28 saves). Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy assisted on Stafford's second goal of the postseason. Bobby Ryan, who was also a completely random force all series-long, tied it early in the second period with a power play goal at 3:26. He tipped in Derick Brassard's shot which was also assisted by Karlsson for Ryan's series-best fourth tally of the series.

Kyle Turris gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead less than five minutes later as he ripped the puck by Tuukka Rask (26 saves) after Stafford had failed to clear the puck out of Boston's defensive zone. It was Turris' first goal of the postseason and rookie Ryan Dzingel's first career NHL playoff point. Fittingly facing elimination, the B's played one of their best frames of the entire series in the third period. They outshot Ottawa 12-3 and tied it at 1:57 on Bergeron's putback of a juicy Anderson rebound. Bergy's second goal of the postseason was assisted by Marchand and Miller. With the way that the ice was tilted their way not to mention all the momentum behind them with their home fans going wild, the Bruins should have ended it right there in regulation. You never want to leave your fate up to overtime, especially in this unwanted situation.

David Pastrnak was called for the holding penalty that preceded MacArthur's game-winner and truthfully, it was the correct call. Rask made the initial save but MacArthur was nearby to blast in the rebound for the undoubtedly biggest goal of his life. If you need something to make you feel a tiny bit better as a Bruins fan, MacArthur's career was nearly ended by concussions so this is someone that is impossible to root against if you have any sort of heart. Ryan and Brassard had the assists on his second goal of the playoffs. Karlsson dominating is one predictable outcome but who would have expected Ryan (4 goals, 3 assists) and Brassard (2 goals, 6 assists) to offensively outplay Bergeron (2 goals, 2 assists) and Marchand (1 goal, 3 assists)?

There is plenty of time to worry about the future of this team with the NHL draft, expansion draft and free agency all looming this summer. Interim head coach Bruce Cassidy said after this contest that he "absolutely wants to be here moving forward, 100%," so I think that his extension will be announced any day now. With the way that he bounced back this season, I believe that captain Zdeno Chara will want to return next fall (and not retire) but other than that, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to moves and signings although I'm confident that Pastrnak will get a long-term deal here soon.

It was great to have some NHL playoff hockey back in our lives, let's hope that it's not another three years (or god forbid more) until the next postseason appearance for the B's. With all the talented young guys, led by Pastrnak and 19-year-old rookie defeneseman Charlie McAvoy, there is plenty to be excited about. They have a bigger infusion of quality newcomers than I can ever remember in the five years that I've been covering them (for what that's worth).

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Senators Blank the Bruins 1-0 in Game 4 to Take a Commanding 3-1 Series Lead

Game 4 was right up Ottawa's boring alley: low-scoring, mostly forgettable hockey but ultimately the Senators skated away with a huge 1-0 victory this evening at TD Garden. Ottawa takes a 3-1 lead in the first round series vs. Boston and they will have a chance to eliminate the Bruins on Friday (7:30, NESN) at Canadian Tire Centre. Senators goaltender Craig Anderson made 22 saves for his fourth career playoff shutout and third in an Ottawa uniform.

After a scoreless first period (Boston has yet to score a 1st period goal in the entire series) in which Ottawa outshot the home team 14-12, things started to get bogged down in the second frame which is just how the Senators prefer it. The B's actually had some great scoring chances in the first but Anderson came flying out of the crease to stop Brad Marchand before Ryan Spooner was later stuffed on his shot from the slot. Each team was limited to five shots in the second while the Senators outshot them 8-5 in the third.

The Bruins appeared to take a 1-0 lead at 10:49 of the second when rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy's shot from the point (possibly deflected by an Ottawa stick) went by Anderson. The issue was that rookie Noel Acciari was just barely offside something like 20 seconds before the goal. The Senators' evil genius head coach Guy Boucher used his challenge and after a long review, it was rightfully overturned much to the disappointment of Bruins fans. As I said, it was the right call (after the fact), but it's frustrating when it is called a goal on the ice and more importantly, the infraction had nothing to do with the goal which happened way later.

Ottawa had won both Games 2 and 3 by the same final scores: 4-3 in overtime. When Bobby Ryan scored his third goal of the series at 5:49 of the third period, you had a feeling that the B's were in trouble. Defenseman Erik Karlsson (of course) made the goal as his slap pass was intentionally wide of the goal right on Ryan's stick. Tuukka Rask (26 saves) and Zdeno Chara nearly combined to make the puck stop on the goal-line but Ryan overpowered them to push it across. Ryan (3 goals, 2 assists) and Karlsson (5 assists) have points in every game this series. Derick Brassard was credited with the second assist on the game-winning goal (Ryan's 2nd in a row), giving him a three-game point streak (2 goals, 3 assists).

Boston was 0-for-1 on the power play in Game 4, leaving them 2-for-11 in the series. Ottawa was 0-for-3 on the power play and they are 3-for-13 in these four games. Senators defenseman Cody Ceci led everyone in ice time (25:37) while McAvoy was second (25:03), Karlsson was third (24:51) and Zdeno Chara was fourth (24:09). The Bruins won Game 1 (2-1) but they have lost three straight contests heading into Friday's tilt in Canada's capital city. No pressure right? All the B's can do is worry about that one and figure out a way to bring this series back to Boston rather than having to pack up their stuff for the summer.

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B's Improbably Rally from A 3-Goal Deficit In Gm. 3 but Once Again Fall 4-3 in Overtime vs. Senators

Playing in their first home playoff game in three years, the Bruins were so excited that they barely showed up for the first period of Game 3 tonight at TD Garden. In fact, Boston dug themselves a 3-0 hole but managed to rally with three goals in the second period before losing 4-3 in overtime on Bobby Ryan's backbreaking power play goal. The series couldn't be tighter thus far as Ottawa leads 2-1 yet every game has been decided by one goal and the last two were won by them in an overtime. The importance of winning Game 3 was apparent coming in as historically when a series has been tied 1-1, the team that wins Game 3 has won that series 67.3% of the time.

Rookie defenseman Tommy Cross made his NHL playoff debut and had an assist while rookie right winger Noel Acciari scored a goal in his first ever NHL postseason action. The Senators would never be called an explosive offense by anybody but that's exactly how they looked early in the first when they scored a pair of goals just 25 seconds apart. First the sublime Erik Karlsson connected on a long-range flip to Mike Hoffman for a breakaway that the underrated left winger finished by Tuukka Rask (28 saves) at 7:15. Derick Brassard doubled Ottawa's lead with a shot from in close, assisted by Ryan and Viktor Stalberg.

The Garden crowd was jumping from the start, it being Patriots Day and a beautiful spring day on top of that, but the B's did little to garner that love for awhile. Hoffman gave the Senators a 3-0 lead at 3:42 of the second period when he blasted in a shot from the point on the power play, assisted by Chris Wideman and Brassard. Boston punched back with a pair of goals in quick succession (42 seconds apart). Acciari tipped in John-Michael Liles' floater at 6:05 (2nd assist to Riley Nash) and then David Backes scored his first playoff goal as a Bruin at 6:47 after Ryan fell down (and lost both of his gloves in the process), assisted by Liles and Cross. By that point, the "Anderson, Anderson" chants were in full effect and Craig Anderson (17 saves) did little to calm things down when David Pastrnak smoked a one-timer by him at 13:51 for the tying goal. McAvoy and Spooner assisted on Pastrnak's first career NHL playoff goal.

The tempo along with the back-and-forth nature of this game was great and the Bruins seemed to take control in the third as they finally outshot the Senators 9-7 in that frame (after Ottawa outshot them 21-10 through 2). Boston didn't have anything to show for it though as Anderson made a nice stop on Kevan Miller's screened shot and then Hoffman hit the post with a hat trick bid. 60 minutes still wasn't enough to decide things for these chillingly even Atlantic Division clubs. Nash turned out to be the goat as he was whistled for a roughing penalty in overtime (after taking a Marc Methot elbow to the face). Boston's penalty kill survived for more than half of the two-minute power play (1:05 to be exact) but Ryan was able to work a give-and-go with Kyle Turris on the doorstep of the Bruins' net begun by Karlsson at 5:43 that gave the Sens an enormous victory on the road.

I wouldn't dive into the hot take machine and call Wednesday's (7:30, NESN) Game 4 a must-win for the black and gold since that is the laziest cliche in sports but it is ever so close. You can basically guarantee that it will be tight regardless (most likely a 1-goal game) so why not make it easier on themselves by getting off to a good start and not playing like garbage for 25+ minutes? Ottawa clearly has figured out how to get results against them and they have to be starting to creep into Boston's heads with these last two heartbreakers. It would also help if the B's don't allow two power play goals or take needless penalties on one of its best shorthanded players in overtime. Yes the call on Nash was harsh but blaming refs is never my bag so I'm going to pass on that one. There is nothing left to do but knot this series back up and return to Ottawa tied 2-2 rather than the grim prospect of facing elimination on Friday.

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No Way the B's Want to Play the Sens Again After They Got Swept In the 4-Game Season Series

I think that a few things are nearly certain if the Senators (43-27-10) and Bruins (44-30-7) should meet in the first round of the NHL playoffs starting next week: 1) Boston will have their hands full after Ottawa recorded the first season sweep (4-0) of them in franchise history with a 2-1 shootout win at TD Garden tonight; 2) the games will be close and painfully boring given the neutral zone trap that the Senators love to employ ad nauseum. Ottawa clinched a playoff berth this evening and also jumped Boston to take over second-place in the Atlantic Division. The Senators are up a point on the Bruins and they have a game in hand; the B's can only earn second-place by beating Washington (54-18-8) in Saturday's (3, NBC) regular season finale while also having Ottawa go no better than 0-1-1 in their last two contests.

Toronto (39-26-15) lost 4-1 to Tampa Bay (40-30-10) meaning that the Leafs are stuck in the second Wild Card spot. Toronto has a game in hand on Boston as well but they trail by two points so a Bruins win on Saturday would seal their fate (a 1st round matchup with Washington barring a miracle by the Lightning or Islanders who are still barely alive). Brad Marchand was suspended for two games by the NHL this afternoon so this is the first matchup that he sat out. Boston also lost defenseman Torey Krug to an injury (he was spotted in a knee brace leaving the Garden) early in the first period and needless to say they could have used both of those fast and skilled guys against Ottawa.

The Senators have resembled a war movie in terms of injuries this season as defensemen Marc Methot and Erik Karlsson were both out tonight along with right wing Bobby Ryan. Boston's point-streak extended to seven games (6-0-1) but their win season-best win streak was snapped at six games. During that run, Boston had only trailed for a grand total of 36 seconds so it was a good sign when Drew Stafford wrapped around the net for a power play goal (5th game in a row that they've bagged at least 1) at 10:37 of the first period. Zdeno Chara (4-game point streak) had the lone assist on Stafford's eighth goal of the season (his 4th as a Bruin). Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson (28 saves) looked silly on that goal but true to form this season, the Bruins couldn't beat him after that-they've scored six total goals in the four losses to the Senators.

Former Canucks dirtbag turned Senators trade deadline pickup Alex Burrows scored the tying goal at 7:37 of the second period. Adam McQuaid coughed the puck up right to him and he was able to wire it in past a screened Tuukka Rask (25 saves). Making Ottawa play from behind is what you want to do but Boston has failed to do that collectively for hardly any time this season. When it's tied up or even worse, when the Senators are in front, it is exceedingly difficult to recover since you naturally get frustrated and mentally taken out of your game. After Boston outshot Ottawa 15-10 in a wide-open first period (when they should have scored more than 1 goal), the shots were even at seven in the second and then the Senators choked them out in a sleepy third (7-3). Boston woke up in overtime (the 1st time they'd ever gone to an extra session under Bruce Cassidy) but they couldn't end it there.

Boston fell to 2-3 in shootouts this season while Ottawa improved to 6-4. Stafford, Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak (who was stopped on a breakaway in the 2nd period) all were denied by Anderson. Rask allowed a goal to Kyle Turris (which turned out to be the game-winner) and stopped Derick Brassard. The Bruins will be trying to get home ice on Saturday not to mention avoid the death trap of having to face the Caps in the first round. Washington has already clinched the Presidents' Trophy (best record in the NHL) so that tilt shouldn't mean a damn thing to them. It's easy to picture Washington fielding a lineup of many AHL call-ups and their guys that are normally scratched with hopefully Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby among other stars resting. The B's can only worry about themselves as they have no time to sit any key players (especially with Marchand and probably Krug out) with plenty left to play for.

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Bruins Have Picked a Bad Time (mid-March) to Lose 3 Very Critical Games In a Row

Halfway through their most important week of the entire 2016-17 regular season, the Bruins (38-29-6) are in a funk. They dropped their third game in a row tonight, losing 3-2 to the Senators (40-24-8) at TD Garden. Not only did Ottawa improve to 3-0 vs. Boston this season (5 wins in a row dating back to last season) but they went up six points on the B's with a game in hand. The two teams meet one more time (April 6 here, their 2nd to last game of the regular season) but they could also collide in the first round of the playoffs if Ottawa stays in second in the Atlantic Division and Boston hangs onto third-place.

Playing in the second half of a back-to-back, the Bruins deserved at least a point after falling 4-2 in Toronto (33-23-15) last night. Boston outshot Ottawa 36-22 as Senators goaltender Craig Anderson rightfully earned the No. 1 star of the game with 34 saves in his 22nd win of the season. The Senators came in 0-2-2 in their last four contests but they never trailed this evening as Tom Pyatt deflected in Cody Ceci's shot (that then also went off Colin Miller) at 4:09 of the first period. Mike Hoffman had the second assist on Pyatt's eighth goal of the season.

David Krejci quickly answered for the Black and Gold with a power play tally at 8:57 of the first period. He was posted up near the blueline and crushed a one-timer from Ryan Spooner. Torey Krug set a new career-high in assists (41) with his helper on Krejci's 21st goal of the campaign. Ottawa's power play came through early in the second period as Kyle Turris banged in a one-timer from Erik Karlsson and Hoffman at 1:34. The Senators were 26-2-2 when leading after two periods while the Bruins were 3-21-3 when trailing after two periods so neither statistic was a good omen for the home team. Still, things looked up when Krug made a sweet move to score a Bruins power play goal 17 seconds into the third to tie it at two. It was an abbreviated 4-on-3 so he was able to take advantage of all that open ice for his seventh goal of the season.

It doesn't matter how you do it but getting no points in Toronto then no points tonight when you are tied in the third period both times is unacceptable. The Bruins blitzed the Senators in the first two frames (outshooting them 18-8 in the 2nd) but they trailed 2-1. Turris was the hero for Ottawa as he bagged his second goal and the game-winner of the tilt at 4:04 of the third. At the end of the second, Ottawa's forever overrated captain Dion Phaneuf was called for unsportsmanlike conduct which led to Krug's highlight-reel goal. Elisha Cuthbert's husband (damn him!) exacted his revenge in the third by providing the shot that Turris tipped past Tuukka Rask (19 saves). Chris Wideman had the second assist on Turris' 26th goal of the season.

The Garden crowd made it feel like a playoff atmosphere (you can tell how badly they want some playoff action in their hockey-loving lives) and you thought maybe the B's would tie it late with another power play goal when Senators goon Mark Borowiecki (who leads the NHL in penalty minutes) was called for holding Frank Vatrano or more like he gave him a Jake Roberts style DDT on the ice. However, Ottawa's No. 12 ranked penalty kill got the job done and Anderson continued to stand on his large head until the final buzzer sounded. In fact, Patrice Bergeron whistled a shot off Anderson's mask that barely rattled him, he was that dialed in.

The Bruins fell to 12-6-0 overall under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy and 7-2-0 at the Garden. There is still time to turn this around though with nine games left in the regular season and only two of those on the road (at Islanders and at Blackhawks). In other words, there is no excuse for them to not make the playoffs for the third year in a row-don't blame the messenger! Boston hosts Tampa Bay (34-29-9) on Thursday (7, NESN) in a must-win for both teams. The Lightning lost 5-3 at home tonight to the lowly Coyotes (27-37-9) so a regulation loss to the Bruins would likely be a fatal blow to their dwindling playoff hopes. As the Raiders late great/insane owner Al Davis famously used to say, "just win baby!"

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With Everything to Play For, Rask Sits Out (Illness) & B's Predictably Fall Flat on Their Face

Before the all-important game against the Senators (38-35-9) had even started this afternoon, you knew that something was up when the Bruins (42-31-9) called up goaltender Jeremy Smith from Providence on an emergency basis. Apparently Tuukka Rask was very sick and after taking a few shots during warm-ups, he simply couldn't continue. He left for the dressing room, never to be seen again today (and possibly much longer this off-season). If you can believe it, things only got worse from that ominous beginning as Ottawa blasted Boston 6-1 in the regular season finale at TD Garden.

This isn't to say that backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson (30 saves) is solely to blame for the loss. In fact, I don't think the outcome wouldn't have been any different with Rask in goal since Boston's terrible defense had to remind everyone once more just how hopeless they were for most of this campaign. Plus the B's finished under .500 at home this season (17-18-6; only other Eastern Conference teams to do that were Buffalo and Toronto). Still, if it was just an illness (bad sushi?) for Rask-the franchise goaltender-you can understand why he'll be hammered on the radio and TV for months if not years to come around here.

The Bruins actually scored first as David Pastrnak made it 1-0 at 5:04 (the second straight game that he'd opening the scoring) on a goal that looked offside but it was reviewed and held up for once. Brad Marchand and Max Talbot assisted on Pastrnak's 15th goal of the season as he got behind Ottawa's defense and then beat Andrew Hammond (39 saves) upstairs. Boston led 1-0 after the first period but they were outshot 17-10 so you knew that eventually the roof would cave in if they kept allowing that many quality chances.

Sure enough, the mighty Senators (who had nothing to play for but pride) hit the B's with a flurry of four goals in a span of 8:18 in the second period to put it way out of reach already. It was a microcosm of Boston's disappointing season as goon Chris Neil outhustled them to jam in the tying goal at 1:42, Nick Paul and Ryan Dzingel assisted on his fifth goal of the season. After that, Ottawa scored three virtually identical goals all on re-directed shots. Zach Smith tipped in Erik Karlsson's shot at 5:54 for his 24th goal of the season and Karlsson's NHL-leading 66th helper with Fredrik Claesson picking up the second assist. Less than three minutes later, Puempel re-directed a pass from Phil Varone with Buddy Robinson (are those real people?) for his second goal of the season. Mika Zibanejad put the final nail in Boston's coffin by tipping in a pass from Mike Hoffman at 10:00 for his 21st goal of the season. Bruins head coach Claude Julien took his timeout but by then, it was long over and you have to feel the same way about his storied tenure in Boston (remember he is the team's all-time winningest coach).

Other than rookie defenseman Colin Miller's fight with Mike Kostka, the Black and Gold showed barely a pulse or any semblance of heart in the third period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Smith both added empty-netters as Julien tried to coax a goal out of his power play unit but nothing worked in this miserable performance for his club. Ironically, Detroit (41-30-11) lost 3-2 at the Rangers (46-27-9) this afternoon which meant that a Bruins win would have gifted them third-place in the Atlantic Division. Instead the Red Wings clinched a playoff spot for the 25th straight season (extending their American pro sports record). Now the B's are down to their last hope: they need the Flyers (currently tied 1-1 at Pittsburgh in the second period) to lose today and also tomorrow night at the Islanders (45-26-9). If Philly is able to scratch together two points between those two tilts, they will get the second Wild Card in the Eastern Conference and the rough prize of the Capitals (55-17-8) in the first-round of the playoffs.

If Boston doesn't get that aforementioned miracle and they miss the postseason for the second year in a row, there is no chance that Julien keeps his job here again, right? Clearly, it is not all his fault that the front office made some terrible moves (trading for Jimmy Hayes, not having more NHL-ready defensemen, etc) and many of his players underperformed but he tapped dance past the firing line last summer and I don't think that he could make that magic happen again, especially so soon thereafter. This franchise has so many issues at the moment but unfortunately for Cladue, getting rid of him would be the easy first move for GM Don Sweeney.

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After Hanging 7 Goals On Ottawa, I'd Say That Boston is Officially Ready for the Winter Classic

For a Tuesday night game in late December, you couldn't have asked for much more entertainment (that is if you support the home team) than Boston's (20-12-4) insane 7-3 victory over Ottawa (18-13-6) at TD Garden. Jimmy Hayes scored his first career NHL hat trick while Patrice Bergeron and Matt Beleskey each added two goals apiece. What's more, near the end of the contest there were five (count them five!) legitimate fights. It was a taste of Old Time Bruins Hockey as the B's can now fully turn their attention to Friday's (1, NBC) much-anticipated Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium vs. Montreal (21-15-3).

The Senators were coming off a 3-1 win against the Bruins on Sunday night in Ottawa but they looked nothing like that club as Boston scored a season-high four power play goals (their most since 4 on Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Carolina). Improbably, the B's top-ranked power play continues to chug along (they are 30 for 102 on the season = 29.4%) while their usually strong penalty kill is finally starting to catch up (4-for-4 tonight) and they began the game 13th in the league. The two points were important since it allowed Boston to go up two on Ottawa (with a game in hand). The Bruins are also one point ahead of Detroit, one behind Montreal and two behind first-place Florida. The top six teams in the Atlantic Division are only separated by six points.

It was the exact same goaltender matchup from Sunday as once again Craig Anderson (30 saves) took on Tuukka Rask (29). I guess that Ottawa really didn't want to play backup Andrew Hammond at all since Anderson was hung out to dry and kept in for the entire beating. Hayes fittingly opened the scoring at 8:01 when a good bounce allowed him to tap the puck in from close range. Kevan Miller assisted on Hayes' sixth goal of the season. One of the few things more improbable than a Hayes goal was Senators tough guy Chris Neil tying it at one but that's what he did at 12:31. Rask left him a juicy rebound and he deposited it for his second goal of the season with assists to Shane Prince (Tayshaun's little brother?) and Max McCormick. Bergeron got his first goal of the contest (and first on the power play) at 16:25 when he put in a shot from the slot. Torey Krug (back after missing one game with an undisclosed injury) and Ryan Spooner had the assists on Bergeron's 13th goal of the season.

Unlike Hayes, Beleskey created many chances earlier this season but similarly couldn't find the back of the net with much regularity. Hopefully that'll change as well as he scored a power play tally at 1:21 from Brett Connolly (1st point in 12 games!) and Brad Marchand (who could be suspended after a low bridge hit in the first period). Beleskey's sixth goal of the season was followed by Mika Zibanejad who cut it to 3-2 late in the second (17:51). Neil and Prince assisted on Zibanejad's seventh goal of the season.

Bergeron's second power play goal came at 2:38 of the third period and it gave Boston another two-goal lead (4-2). Krug picked up his second helper while Seth Griffith (called up today with David Krejci on IR) got his first point of the season. Mike Hoffman's shot went off Dennis Seidenberg's skate which confused Rask and trimmed Boston's advantage to 4-3 at 4:22. Hoffman has 18 goals (who knew?) while Eric Karlsson (32 assists) leads the NHL in assists with Marc Methot getting credit for the other apple. Hayes finished a 2-on-1 with Max Talbot at 15:49 then 51 seconds later, Beleskey smoked a one-timer from Spooner. Loui Eriksson sneakily got assists on both of those as he became the third Bruin to reach 20 assists this season (joining Krejci who has 22 and Bergeron who has 21). The hat trick came with 0.2 seconds left in regulation aka garbage time (haha also on a power play) but Hayes will certainly take it. Frank Vatrano and Dennis Seidenberg assisted on the goal that set off a steady stream of hats (ironically the team had given away winter hats today) onto the ice.

Bruins-Canadiens doesn't need an introduction and in case you need a little review on their storied history, turn on NESN, NBCSN or the NHL Network for the next few days. Friday's game is always the showcase event for the league on New Year's Day and with the College Football Playoff the night before, I predict this edition gets its best rating yet (if you're into that kind of thing, which you're probably not). A little snow would be nice but with temperatures expected to be in the low 40s, it should be a virtually perfect atmosphere for the best rivalry in the NHL and one of the greatest in professional sports.

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Spooner (2 goals) & Rask Propel Bruins to Crucial 3-1 Road Win at Senators

In any sport, a sign of a good team is when they don't even play that well yet still manage to come away with a victory. Boston (34-22-10) experienced that tonight special phenomenon at Canadian Tire Centre as they beat Ottawa (30-24-11) 3-1. The Senators outshot the Bruins 40-22 (32-14 over the final two periods) but Boston was able to take advantage of two goals from Ryan Spooner (in his hometown no less) and 39 saves by Tuukka Rask (27-16-10).

The win was Boston's third in a row and they improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight games. After a dull and scoreless first period, Spooner got to work early in the second period. He ripped a goal from the slot on the power play at 1:02 that might have gone off the post and in (I thought I heard that sound but I might be losing it). Krug and Hamilton had the assists on Spooner's second goal of the season. Loui Eriksson scored his prettiest goal as a Bruin to make it 2-0 at 15:21. Hamilton got the assist but Eriksson did the hard part on his 17th goal of the season by avoiding a Senator then stickhandling around goaltender Craig Anderson (19 saves) to slot it in the net.

Milan Lucic made an awesome power drive to the net before dishing to Spooner who tapped the puck in for his second goal of the game at 16:53 of the second period. David Pastrnak supplied the other assist. It felt like that goal took all the energy out of the building. Much like the first period, little happened for a while but it finally picked up with one of the flukiest goals that you'll ever see. Patrick Wiercioch's shot went off the back wall right to rookie Matt Puempel who was able to score his first career NHL goal. Jean-Gabrie Pageau had the other assist at 8:30 of the third period.

These two points were so huge for the B's since now they are up seven points on the Senators although Ottawa has played one less game. Philadelphia lost 2-1 to Dallas so they have fallen nine points behind the Bruins so see ya later! I think that any day now that we'll be saying a similar taunt to the Senators.

It is undoubtedly a tough stretch for Boston with a showdown vs. Tampa Bay (42-20-6) on Thursday (7, NESN) at the Garden before a weekend trip to Pittsburgh (38-18-10) on Saturday (1, NESN) and Washington (36-21-10) on Sunday night (7:30, NBCSN). Ottawa had been the hottest team in the NHL (8-1-1 in their last 10 games) but they were still clearly the worst out of the four that Boston faces this week.

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Hey Bruins Fans, Are We Having Fun Yet?

If you feel as though every Bruins game is like the movie "Groundhogs Day," you are not alone my friend. Hockey is a simple game, especially when your team almost never can generate more than two goals of offense. Tuukka Rask (29 saves) is still a very good goaltender and Boston's (15-13-2) defense is generally solid enough but they won't make the playoffs even in the JV Eastern Conference with their disappearing act when it comes to scoring goals. Ottawa (12-12-5) is a mess, they came into Saturday afternoon at the Garden with a new head coach Dave Cameron (in his 2nd game) and 2-7-1 in their last 10 contests. Naturally, the Senators rallied twice and eventually beat Boston 3-2 in a shootout.

With Zdeno Chara back for his second game, David Krejci remains the only major Bruin sidelined by an injury (sorry Adam McQuaid). Nobody would argue his importance to the team but it's not like he's Sidney Crosby or Steven Stamkos, meaning that Boston shouldn't completely fall apart without him in the lineup. They have way too many veterans and guys that have produced in the NHL to score two goals or less in seven out of their last nine games. In many ways given their earlier injuries and constant struggles this season, it's a miracle that they are still above .500 and clinging to a one-point lead over Florida and Washington for the seventh spot in the East (I just puked writing that wretched sentence).

Boston took a 1-0 lead at 11:45 of the first period on about the most unlikely scenario: a shorthanded goal (their 3rd of the season) by rookie Craig Cunningham. It was also his first career goal and point in the NHL. Chara assisted on it and honestly, Robin Lehner (29 saves) should have saved the routine shot that somehow went through his five-hole. Props to Cunningham for using his speed-something foreign to most Bruins-to win the race to the loose puck.

When your whole team is scuffling, it seems like every mistake is magnified. Brad Marchand turned the puck over in the second period and the end result was a breakaway and tying goal for Mika Zibanejad. Rask got faked out of his skates by the Swede who was assisted by Mike Hoffman. The B's responded with a fight between Milan Lucic and something called Mark Borowiecki then another random goal-scorer: Loui Eriksson. Kevan Miller found Eriksson in front and for once, he finished a great chance for his fifth goal of the season. His Swedish homeboy Carl Soderberg had the other assist.

Ottawa got another lucky bounce in the third period on the power play as Kyle Turris' shot from the point deflected off Mark Stone's skate, Rask saved that but David Legwand was there to put in the rebound at 4:17 for his sixth goal of the season. Another reason that Boston can't score is that they have the fewest power plays in the league. They only earned one this afternoon to three for the Senators, not surprisingly it didn't amount to anything for the home team.

After a scoreless overtime, Zibanejad and Brad Marchand traded goals before Bobby Ryan ended it in the third round of the shootout with a nice deke of Rask. The Bruins are gone for another week: they are at Nashville (19-7-2) on Tuesday (8, NESN), in Minnesota (15-11-1) on Wednesday (8, NBCSN) and wrapping up in Winnipeg on Friday (8, NESN). All three of those teams are currently flat out better than them at this juncture so it promises to be a tense trio of games. The Bruins' next home game is a week from Sunday vs. Buffalo. They need to figure things out quickly or else there will be changes (I think?) so they don't fall out of the playoff picture, something that appeared unfathomable coming into this season of high expectations.

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Bruins Go Back Over .500 Thanks to 2 Goals from Matt Fraser In 4-2 Win Over Senators

The Bruins were dealt another injury at the strangest time: David Krejci took pregame warmups tonight at TD Garden vs. the Senators but couldn't play so Matt Fraser was in the lineup for the first time since October 18 at Buffalo (only his 2nd game in the last 10). Things worked out for Boston (7-6) though as they beat Ottawa (5-3-2) 4-2 behind the first career multi-point and also multi-goal game by Fraser.

Tuukka Rask also played well, making 29 saves as he improved to 5-4-0. He hasn't been himself for the first month of the season, far from the main reason why the B's have struggled but a key thing to note going forward. For the eighth time in their last nine games, the B's scored a first-period goal, this might explain why they've gone 5-2 in their last seven games (something that caught Rask off guard in the locker room afterwards).

Brad Marchand stayed hot with his third goal in the past two games, and fourth of the season (which sadly leads the team), at 18:54. Patrice Bergeron won the faceoff (not exactly breaking news since he leads the league in faceoff percentage) and pulled it back to Marchand. His shot wasn't that great but it still managed to trickle through Robin Lehner's (26 saves) pads.

As quickly as they grabbed the lead, Boston coughed it up as Dennis Seidenberg turned the puck over in his own end and the immortal Mark Stone went in alone and deked past Rask at 19:32. The Bruins should have been ahead after the first period after they outshot the Senators 10-5 but they weren't.

They took control in the second period thanks to Fraser's big game. Loui Eriksson caused a turnover and then Fraser was there for the rebound at 11:14. Carl Soderberg had the second assist on Fraser's first goal of the season. 1:28 later, Fraser did it again by picking a corner after assists from Soderberg and Zach Trotman. That was the third game in a row (Seth Griffith vs. Minnesota and Marchand at Buffalo) that a Bruin had two goals.

One of the only things about as unlikely as seeing Fraser score a pair of goals was Seidenberg putting one in but that's exactly what happened at 2:08 of the third period for a 4-1 B's advantage. A loose puck went back to him at the point and he fired it into the far side lower corner past Lehner. That was Seidenberg's first goal of the season as well leaving only Daniel Paille, Trotman, David Warsofsky and Joe Morrow as the only Bruins in tonight's contest without a goal this season. Obviously the three young defensemen have an excuse since they were just recently called up from Providence.

Ottawa made the final result slightly more respectable as Mika Zibanejad (a member of the current NHL All-Name team) potted a goal at 15:43 after a turnover by Milan Lucic. BU's Alex Chiasson had an assist while fellow Terrier Eric Gryba played in his 100th NHL game. Somewhere Jack Parker smiles.

This was the start of an important month for the Bruins since they play 12 games overall including nine at the Garden. What's more, most of them are against bottom feeding teams. Boston is home for the next week plus as they have three more games here starting with a matchup with Shawn Thornton and the Panthers (4-2-3) on Tuesday (7, NESN). After that, they host the Oilers on Thursday then the Devils on Monday. I hereby dub it reunion week with Andrew Ference on Edmonton along with Jaromir Jagr and Michael Ryder on New Jersey.

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Perfect Way to Head Into the Olympic Break: Bruins Embarass the Senators, 7-2

Only one team showed up to TD Garden this afternoon, or at least that's what you'd think if you saw the game or caught the final score. The Bruins (37-16-4) rolled over the Senators (26-22-11) 7-2 and it didn't even feel that close. Today was the final day of action for the NHL which now takes a break until February 26 because of the Sochi Olympics.

Chad Johnson (26 saves) won his fifth straight start to improve to 11-3-0. His emergence has been one of the more underrated subplots this season. For the first few months, he looked like a major liability (remember Niklas Svedberg got a start) but lately he's been excellent. Boston use to pick and choose his spots vs. the worst teams but these days, he's beaten good teams as well.

Obviously when you hang seven on an NHL team, the offense was the main story. The B's were relentless: scoring two goals in the first and second periods with three in the third. Zdeno Chara is already in Sochi (did you hear?) and Tuukka Rask got some rest but the other three Bruins headed to Russia had multiple points: Patrice Bergeron (2 goals, 1 assist), David Krejci (2 assists) and Loui Eriksson (2 assists). Jarome Iginla and Carl Soderberg also had a goal and assist while Reilly Smith added two assists. All that was missing for Boston was a goal by Matt Bartkowski (he doesn't have one yet this season).

It's hard to imagine the Senators playing much worse. They spotted the Bruins a 3-0 lead by the second period; Bobby Ryan cut it to 3-1 but Patrick Wiercioch's power play goal didn't come until it was 6-1 Boston in the third. The season series ended 2-2 with the Senators scoring eight goals in their two games at home but only two at TD Garden. The B's won both of their games at home by five goals (tied for the largest margin of victory by them this season).

There is only one more Bruins game in February: February 26 in Buffalo. Boston's next home game isn't until March 1 vs. Washington. Now excuse me while I go cry for weeks.

On a serious note: with all the issues surrounding Sochi, it feels like this will be the last time that the NHL allows its stars to compete in the Olympics. Therefore, you should pay extra close attention since this wonderful tournament could be the final one for all the big names. Go USA!

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Oh Hockey Gods, Please Make All the Injuries Stop with the Bruins

Beating the same team twice in two days is hard enough, now consider what happens when your squad is decimated by injuries. I'm not making excuses for the Bruins after they fell 4-3 to the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre but I think we can cut them some slack considering their insane amount of injuries. This afternoon, it was announced that Dennis Seidenberg will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL/MCL. Then tonight came word that Zdeno Chara was out and day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Ahhhhhh!

Ottawa (16-18-7) never trailed as they jumped ahead 1-0 and 2-1 on Boston (26-11-2) in the first period and 3-2 in the second period before Bobby Ryan scored the game-winner late in the third. Patrick Wiercioch had some puck luck (as they say) when Torey Krug blocked a shot but it caromed to Ottawa's defenseman who deposited it past Tuukka Rask at 7:04. Daniel Paille answered by undressing former Norris Trophy (what a joke) Erik Karlsson and squeezing it by Craig Anderson (29 saves) at 12:06. His fourth goal of the season was unassisted, showing how Paille truly did all the work and then some.

Cory Conacher scored on a street hockey (thanks Jack and Brick!) style tip in at 14:28. After Zach Smith finished a shorthanded 2-on-1 with Erik Condra 29 seconds into the second, that was it for Rask. Good old Chad Johnson came in and actually played well (for him). Jarome Iginla continued his hot streak with a goal from Milan Lucic and David Krejci at 13:51. Iginla's 12th goal of the season came via a tape-to-tape pass by Looch.

For me, the best highlight of the loss for the Bruins was David Warsofsky's first career NHL goal at 6:36 of the third period. It was a snipe, from Johnny Boychuk and Patrice Bergeron with plenty of meaning in terms of the game situation.

Krug's miserable performance (game low -3) was topped off by the biggest mistake of all: he slipped in Ottawa's zone which led to Ryan's breakaway. He beat Johnson with a backhander at 15:25.

The B's get a few days to heal, Carl Soderberg was also out with a concussion, before they host the woeful Islanders (11-21-7, 8th in Metropolitan Division) at TD Garden on New Year's Eve (7, NESN). Forget the biggest amateur night of the year, it is supposed to be freezing as well so stay inside, drink yourself into a near-coma and enjoy B's-Isles.

UPDATE 12/29: Nick Johnson, Zach Trotman and Warsofsky were all sent back to Providence. Haha they're actually playing for the Providence Bruins today, no rest for them.

UPDATE 12/30: The Bruins recalled defenseman Kevan Miller on an emergency basis.

UPDATE 12/31: Johnson was recalled on an emergency basis.

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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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