Down 4-3 Going Into the 3rd Period, the B's Rally For a Thrilling 7-4 Game 7 Win vs. the Leafs

Survive and advance, that's all that matters in the NHL playoffs. In a first-round series that featured more twists and turns than a road in San Francisco, the Bruins outlasted the Maple Leafs 7-4 in Game 7 tonight at TD Garden. Toronto scored first (the team scoring 1st had been 5-1) and actually led 4-3 going into the third period (teams leading after 2 had been 3-0 in the series) but they couldn't hang on as Boston followed up probably its worst frame of the season with undoubtedly the best, outscoring the stunned Leafs 4-0 to advance to the second round vs. top-seeded Tampa Bay. Game 1 is Saturday afternoon at 3 pm on NBC from Tampa Bay.

This was the only Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs this year and it certainly lived up to the sizable hype. The first period was bonkers as it featured five goals and non-stop highlight reel plays. Patrick Marleau gave Toronto a 1-0 lead just 2:05 into regulation as he tipped in a Jake Gardiner shot for a power play goal. William Nylander had the second assist on Marleau's third goal of the series. Countless times in this airtight series, the Leafs had scored right after the B's had lit the lamp. This time, Boston turned the tables on them as Jake DeBrusk scored a power play goal at 4:47. He tipped in a shot/pass by David Pastrnak for his fourth goal of the series with David Krejci notching the second assist.

An ugly turnover by Torey Krug in his own end led to another goal by Marleau at 6:12 of the first. Mitch Marner extended his point-streak to six games with the lone assist on the tally. Rookie Danton Heinen subbed in for veteran Tommy Wingels in Game 7 and Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy's instinctual move paid off immediately as Heinen tied things at two at 9:10 of the first. Krejci and Rick Nash had the assists on Heinen's first career playoff goal. Patrice Bergeron gave Boston its first lead of the night at 19:23 of the first after Kevan Miller smartly shot the puck intentionally wide of the net for Bergy to tap it in. His first goal of the series was also assisted by David Backes.

Both Tuukka Rask (20 saves) and Frederik Andersen (29 saves) got off to rough starts in this do-or-die tilt but only Boston's goaltender was able to recover in time. It also helped that Boston's defense wasn't the complete sieve that Toronto's was for much of the series (particularly at the Garden). The Leafs tied it at three as Travis Dermott's shot through traffic found its way into the net for his first career NHL playoff goal at 2:07 of the second period. The ghost of Roman Polak (who was a stiff to begin with) and Nylander had the assists on another goal that Rask really didn't have much of a chance to stop. Things really weren't going Boston's way as they squandered a power play opportunity and even worse, Kasperi Kapanen skated in on a breakaway (after Brad Marchand fell down) before beating Rask for a shorthanded goal (his 1st of the series) and 4-3 advantage at 6:05.

With their season on the line and on the verge of blowing a 3-1 lead in the series, the B's showed their mettle and winning mentality with a third period for the history books. Torey Krug tied it at four with a blast from the point, his second goal of the series was assisted by Miller and Bergeron. Boston never looked back from there as DeBrusk put his team ahead for good with an unforgettable speed rush up the right side. He got his shot off before Jake Gardiner crushed him but I'm sure he didn't care one bit as the Bruins were up 5-4 at 5:25 of the third period. Krejci recorded his third assist on what has to be the biggest goal of DeBrusk's young life. Pasta had started off the series so brilliantly so it was poetic that he also ended it (basically) with another sick goal. Boston's top line had been held scoreless for Games 5 and 6 but they all came to play in Game 7. Pasta's fifth goal of the series, from Bergeron and Marchand came at 11:39 as it gave the Bruins a 6-4 lead. Marchand's empty-netter with 50.9 seconds left in the contest allowed Bruins fans around New England, the United States and the world to finally exhale. On the other side, the Leafs continued to be some of the biggest big game losers in the NHL-year after year and decade after decade (their last Stanley Cup came in 1967).

As crazy as it sounds, I'm actually more confident for the Bruins heading into this meeting with the Lightning since they simply match up better with their other Atlantic Division rival (Boston went 3-1 vs TB in the regular season) that reached the playoffs in 2017-18. Game 2 is on Monday (7, NBCSN) with Games 3 and 4 coming back to Boston on Wednesday (7, NBCSN) and Friday (7, NBCSN). This was Boston's first playoff series win since 2014 and you'll remember that in that campaign, they fell in seven games to Montreal in the second round despite having won the meaningless Presidents Trophy. Pittsburgh vs. Washington is the other Eastern Conference series with Las Vegas-San Jose and Winnipeg-Nashville in the Western Conference. At least on paper, all of those series have the potential to be classics.

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Is This The Start of the Inevitable Collapse for the B's While They Are Missing So Many Good Players?

Every team in professional sports has injuries so using those as an excuse too often falls on deaf ears. However, right now the fact remains for the Bruins (6-6-4) that when they are missing David Krejci, David Backes, Adam McQuaid and Ryan Spooner, they are forced to rely way too much on guys that should be getting seasoning in Providence rather than facing the daily rigors of the NHL. Boston began the week with a misleading 5-3 win vs. Minnesota on Monday but since then they've dropped three in a row. Tonight at TD Garden, they fell 4-1 to the Maple Leafs (12-7-0) after Toronto stunned them with a 2-1 overtime win last night at Air Canada Centre.

With budding superstar (and American hero) Auston Matthews out for both meetings with an injury and facing the immortal Curtis McElhinney (38 saves) in net this evening for the Leafs, this was a game that the Bruins had to have and despite outshooting Toronto 39-25, they lacked any sort of finishing ability. Tuukka Rask (21 saves) fell to 3-6-2 as yet again he was not able to play like a true No. 1 goaltender that can carry his team or teammates when they are down. I still think that Rask can be a very good goalie but it doesn't help when Brandon Carlo turns the puck over right to Mitch Marner at 8:52 for an easy goal, his 2nd of the season.

James van Riemsdyk enjoyed his time against the B's since he had a pair of goals on Friday and he made it 2-0 tonight with a power-play goal at 14:16 of the first period. He tipped in Nazem Kadri's shot for his ninth goal of the season with Morgan Rielly picking up the second assist. The Black and Gold world might be collapsing (sorry for the stupid hyperbole) around them but at least Frank Vatrano has somewhat remembered how to do his one skill that got him here: score goals. He tipped in a shot from Torey Krug (7-game point streak) and Kevan Miller at 15:18 of the first for his second goal of the campaign.

Toronto led 2-1 after the first and Matt Martin laid a massive hit on rookie Anders Bjork early in the second frame at center ice. Both guys were shaken up but they each remained in the game, because hockey. Matt Beleskey might be nothing more than a fourth line plug these days but at least he stands up for his teammates: he fought Martin a few minutes later since who else would in this Swiss cheese lineup? With the Leafs up 2-1 after 40 minutes, Boston needed to conjure up something notable to avoid grabbing only one point out of a possible four this weekend against their Atlantic Division foe. Instead, their power play was blanked on four occasions overall and the Leafs put it out of reach with Rielly's goal at 6:52 that of course deflected off Carlo's stick. JVR and Marner picked up their second points on Rielly's third goal of the season.

To say that goal was deflating would be an understatement since right before it, Boston had a two-man advantage for 1:07 that they shamelessly flushed down the toilet. Head coach Bruce Cassidy used his timeout right after the second penalty was whistled but there would be no proper response by his club. Grandpa Marleau broke Boston's hearts with the overtime tally and he put this slopfest to bed with an empty-net goal with 1:47 left in regulation. His eighth goal of the season was assisted by Zach Hyman (fun name!) and Leo Komarov.

Dating back to last season, Toronto improved to 6-0 vs. Boston meaning that the B's have two more chances left to avoid another ugly fate: a season sweep at the hands of one of their sneaky biggest rivals these days. Hey no worries though, the Bruins won't return to the Garden until Black Friday (1, NESN) when they host the Penguins (9-7-2) in their annual day after Thanksgiving matinee. Between Now and Then (cheesy 90s movie reference, just call me Bill Simmons) they leave on the dreaded California trip and then they go to New Jersey (10-4-2)-the Eastern Conference's biggest surprise-the night before Thanksgiving (7, NESN).

Did I mention that the B's are 1-3-2 on the road thus far? Anaheim (7-6-3) on Wednesday is probably their best chance at a win on the road trip since the Ducks are super banged up just like them. At LA (11-3-2) the next night (10:30, NESN) is no picnic since the Kings are one of the NHL's best at the moment (who could forget their last second 2-1 overtime win here back on Oct. 28?) and finally, the Sharks (8-6-0) on Saturday night (10:30, NESN) will be looking for revenge after they lost here 2-1 on October 26.

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The Bruins Still Can't Put Together Consistently Good Efforts at Home This Season

At a certain point after watching a team win a game then lose the next one almost every time in the same season, you start to think that maybe said team isn't particularly good. Rather than focusing on what they could or should be, maybe you have to conclude that as currently constructed, that's who they are. Enter your 2015-16 Boston Bruins. Coming off a nice win over the Red Wings on Saturday, the B's (8-8-1) were their own worst enemy in a 5-4 loss to the Sharks (10-8-0) tonight at TD Garden.

It was 2-2 after the first period and Boston even led 3-2 early in the second before they allowed three straight goals by San Jose (including 2 on the power play) to take control. Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins and their fans some hope in the third with Boston's second power-play goal of the game (his 7th goal of the season) cut it to 5-4 at 6:28 but they couldn't complete the comeback against Martin Jones (25 saves) who was a Bruin for five days over the summer before being traded to the Sharks.

Boston's top-ranked power-play can't mask the fact that their penalty kill is atrocious (No. 30 in the NHL). San Jose's power play was No. 28 entering this contest but you wouldn't know it by the way that they took advantage of the Bruins' stupid mistakes and sloppy all-around play. Tuukka Rask (23 saves) still can't figure things out at the Garden this season and the Sharks jumped ahead 42 seconds into the game. Joe Pavelski put in a rebound from Melker Karlsson and Thornton for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

The Bruins tied it less than nine minutes later as Tyler Randell tipped in Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point at 9:20 for his third goal of the season. Boston's first power-play was successful as Brad Marchand banked a backhander off one of Jones' leg pads at 11:50. Marchand's sixth goal of the season was assisted by Zdeno Chara and Brett Connolly. My man Joonas Donskoi had Paul Martin's harmless shot from the sideboards bounce off him and in at 15:18 to tie it at two apiece.

The B's had one last lead, 3-2 at 1:53 of the second period thanks to Loui Eriksson's one-timer (his sixth goal of the season) from David Krejci and Seidenberg. Karlsson's one-timer at 5:56 (his 2nd goal of the season) from Thornton and Pavelski tied it at three then San Jose's power-play took advantage of a too many men on the ice penalty on Boston and tripping on Ryan Spooner. Patrick Marleau notched his 999th career NHL point with a power-play tally at 8:56 when he knocked in a rebound for his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns. The wheels started to fall off for Boston when Thornton (who's not exactly known for his shooting ability) hammered in a one-timer at 9:21 from Pavelski and Burns for his third goal of the season.

There are two more chances for the Black and Gold to get things straightened out on home ice this week where they are 2-6-1 this season. They host the Wild (10-4-3) on Thursday (7, NESN) and Maple Leafs (6-9-4) on Saturday (7, NESN). Minnesota is a good team but with star center Zach Parise out with a knee injury, they predictably aren't the same. Toronto is still a dumpster fire so there is no excuse to ever lose to that clownshow franchise.

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Bruins Steal Two Points vs. Sharks Thanks to Krejci's Game-Winner With 0.8 Seconds Left

After the bush league crap pulled by John Scott last night, it was refreshing to enjoy a hockey game for hockey reasons, in October no less. The Bruins pulled out an improbable win as David Krejci scored with 0.8 seconds left in regulation for a 2-1 victory over the Sharks at TD Garden. San Jose (8-1-1) entered without a loss in regulation and plenty of rest while Boston (7-2-0) had played the night before and had to fly back (albeit a short trip) to face the NHL's top team.

Tuukka Rask (38 saves) beat his Finnish homeboy Antti Niemi (15 saves) as truthfully San Jose dominated most of the game but that doesn't matter since the B's earned the two points at the end. It didn't feel like there would be enough time left but Adam McQuaid put a shot on net that Krejci beautifully redirected for his second goal of the season. Milan Lucic had the other assist on Krejci's buzzer-beater (who knew those existed in hockey?).

San Jose came out flying in the first period, outshooting Boston 16-3 but Rask held the fort as they say. The Bruins actually got on the board first too which was shocking. Jarome Iginla potted his first as a Bruin (one night after it looked like he did that but it was wiped away by Lucic's tip in). Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg assisted at 18:48 as Iginla somehow snuck it by Niemi from no angle.

There is a reason the Sharks entered as the NHL's highest-scoring team, Patrick Marleau tied it up just 18 seconds into the third period after Rask let up a rebound to him. Marc-Edourard Vlasic had the assist on San Jose's lone goal.

Selfishly, I was happy that the Bruins and Sharks didn't go into overtime because I wanted to watch the World Series but there is no way I could have predicted that excellent ending. It helps take a bit of the sting away from the Red Sox' 4-2 loss in Game 2. The B's are off tomorrow but they host the Devils (1-5-4) on Saturday (7, NESN) in another game that goes up against the World Series (Game 3 starts at 8:07 on Fox). The Devils are off to a terrible start but former Bruins Michael Ryder and Jaromir Jagr are putting up points so it'll be fun to see them back at the Garden.

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Local Guy Overshadows Joe Thornton's Return To Boston In 4-2 San Jose Win

Well the Boston Bruins are still looking for their first win streak in the 2011-12 season.

Tonight, former No. 1 pick and franchise center Joe Thornton returned with the San Jose Sharks and they beat the Bruins 4-2 at TD Garden.

It wasn't April or May but Thornton mostly disappeared like he's been known to do in the playoffs. Sure he assisted on Joe Pavelski's (4th of the season) goal 1:12 into the game but after that, Jumbo Joe was barely heard from save for a nice highlight package on the Jumbotron (no pun intended) from his days with the spoked B.

This game marked the sixth time in a row that the Bruins have allowed the first goal. They also fell to 2-4 at home and they never led in this one despite a valiant rally in the third period.

The real hero for the Sharks (3-3-0) was Essex, MA native and Boston College alum Benn Ferriero (1st of the season) who netted the game-winning goal at 8:48 of the third period.

In a very weird way, I felt like a proud parent when Ferriero's hustle to a rebound resulted in a diving goal. He was the only pro athlete from the coverage area of the newspaper I used to work for (the Gloucester Daily Times) and that motivated me enough to sponsor his page on hockeyreference.com (look it up) last spring. So while I never enjoy seeing the B's (3-5-0) lose, on this night it didn't feel quite as bad.

You wouldn't know that San Jose was the team that played back-to-back nights on the road. They had more jump than Boston from the start and that resulted in a 1-0 lead after the first which increased to 2-0 at 8:54 of the second when Logan Couture (1st of the season) scored on a nifty pass from Martin Havlat, Ryane Clowe had the second assist.

I don't usually recommend any athletes on Twitter but you have to follow Couture (@logancouture39), he's one of the funniest and most honest pro athletes I can think of.

Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves for the second straight game, this time against Jim Vandermeer, and as usual it served as a wake-up call to his teammates and the crowd.

The B's tied it up with a flurry of goals in 29 seconds early in the third. First Milan Lucic (2nd of the season) scored a classic Looch goal by stealing Antti Niemi's (37 saves) pass behind his own net then wheeling around and beating multiple defensemen and Niemi to shovel it in. Chris Kelly and Patrice Bergeron assisted on that goal.

Tyler Seguin started and finished the next one as he blocked a clearance attempt by a San Jose defenseman then started a 2-on-1 with Lucic. Seguin (3rd of the season) was the recipient of the final pass and he roofed it past Niemi who had no time to react. Kelly had the second assist.

As my friend said after the game, "Lucic and Seguin are going to make sweet music together this season." I couldn't say it any better myself, they appear to be a great match and I hope to see them on the same line for years to come.

Patrick Marleau (1st of the season) added an empty-netter with five seconds left. Boston wasted a serviceable but not great performance by goaltender Tim Thomas (26 saves).

I think I've found the clue to solving the Bruins' woes so far this season: It's all about scoring more than two goals. When they've scored 3+ they are 3-0 while they are 0-5 when they have scored two (twice), one (twice) or none(0-1). It's no secret that head coach Claude Julien's system makes Boston way more strong when playing with a lead since between Thomas and their defensive ability, it's hard to come back on them. Conversely, with their up and down scoring, it's much tougher to play from behind as we have already seen time and again.

The good news is that it should not be hard for the Bruins to focus on their final two games in October: a home and home series with Montreal. The team that everybody loves to hate comes to Boston on Thursday while the B's travel to the Bell Centre on Saturday. All would quickly be forgiven if the Bruins can beat the reeling Habs (1-4-2) twice in three nights.

UPDATE 10/23: Jordan Caron has been sent down to Providence where he'll get much more ice time. He didn't played bad for the Bruins to start this season but I guess they prefer Benoit Pouliot over him at the moment. Keep your head up Jordan!

UPDATE 10/24: Caron returned to B's practice today so he just went down to Providence for one game while Boston had a lengthy break (four days) between games. Expect him to be with the Bruins on Thursday as they host the Canadiens, although he'll most likely be in the press box as a healthy scratch.

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Revisiting one of the worst trades in sports history

With all the success the Boston Bruins have experienced this season, its easy to forget (especially for recent bandwagon jumpers) how much former GM Mike O'Connell screwed the B's on November 30, 2005.

The former No. 1 overall pick and face of the franchise, center Joe Thornton, was traded to the San Jose Sharks for essentially some sticks and a bag of pucks: Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart.

Boston wasn't going anywhere with Thornton but that wasn't his fault since his supporting cast was usually terrible to mediocre at best. Since he's switched coasts, he's won an MVP trophy but still hasn't found much success in the playoffs.

With all these storylines floating around and hopefully O'Connell getting a break from flipping burgers last night to watch, the Sharks-the top team in the Western Conference-came to Boston last night to skate at the TD Banknorth Garden.

San Jose (37-7-7) scored four unanswered goals in the third to take a convincing 5-2 win over Boston (39-9-7).

A pass-first offensive player, Thornton scored a goal in the third period barrage. it wasn't exactly a thing of beauty as it deflected off his skate (but he didn't kick it) into the net.

Things looked good for the B's in the first when Milan Lucic potted a pair of goals (from Marc Savard and Dennis Wideman and Petteri Nokelainen respectively), sandwiched around a power-play goal from Sharks defenseman Rob Blake (Marc Edouard-Vlasic and Ryane Clowe assisted).

Neither team could find the net in the second period as each has top-notch goaltenders. San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov improved to 28-6-6 with 28 saves while Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (24-6-5) made 26 saves in the loss.

Patrick Marleau started the Sharks' run in the third, tying it at two with helpers from Christian Ehrhoff and Clowe.

Milan Michalek put San Jose up 3-2 from Dan Boyle and Clowe. Thornton's strike put it in the win column at 4-2 and finally, former BU star Mike Grier scored an empty-netter for the 5-2 final.

It was a disappointing result and to make matters worse, the walking wounded continue to pile up for the Bruins. Michael Ryder had surgery to fix his orbital bone and he's expected to miss 3-4 weeks. During last night's contest, Nokelainen was poke in the eye with an errant stick and was forced to leave the game while Chuck Kobasew wrenched his knee.

Boston will hit the road to face New Jersey on Friday night; many people would probably be surprised to know that the Devils are currently No. 2 in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the more hyped Capitals.