After Two Losses on the Road, Boston Returns Home to Beat Pittsburgh 4-1 In a Playoff-Type Tilt

Up until tonight, it had been a rough week for the Bruins (28-9-12). First, they blew a 5-2 lead in Philadelphia (25-17-6) on Monday then fell to an unexplainable 0-7 in shootouts as Brad Marchand touched the puck but never got control of it on the fruitless last shot attempt. The next night in Columbus (24-16-8) they might not as well have shown up as they got blanked 3-0 by the Blue Jackets and even worse, Tuukka Rask (17-4-6) suffered a concussion from an errant elbow by a nobody that the B's never really responded to. This evening's satisfying 4-1 victory against the Penguins (29-13-5) at TD Garden doesn't erase those losses (or the fact that they placed Rask on IR this afternoon) but at least they gave the Black and Gold not to mention their fans something to feel good about. After all, the Pens entered with a four-game win streak and 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, making them one of the NHL's hottest teams.

What makes this result interesting is that this is essentially a taste of the playoffs for the B's since their next game is Sunday afternoon (12:30, NBC) in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are in Detroit (12-32-3) tomorrow night before the return bout with the Bruins but that hardly counts since the Red Wings are easily the worst team in the entire NHL. In their only other meeting this season which was over two months ago, the Bruins also came out on top with a wild 6-4 victory on Nov. 4 at the Garden. The extra physical play was probably just setting the stage for Sunday yet you couldn't help but think what fun it would be to see these teams meet again this spring in the postseason. The 2013 Eastern Conference Finals is the last time they meet in the playoffs so it's been far too long!

Things didn't exactly start out positively for Boston as Sidney Crosby (in his 2nd game back after missing 28 games following muscle core surgery) fired in a laser only 24 seconds into the contest. He returned with four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in Tuesday's 7-3 beating of the Wild (21-20-6) so in that sense, he picked right up where he left out with his seventh goal of the season. Dominik Simon and Jack Johnson (300th NHL point for the veteran defenseman, not the singer from your college days) had the assists on the first shot of the game for either club. Naturally, Boston turned to its third and fourth liners to put them ahead with a pair of goals later in the frame.

Karson Kuhlman is about the furthest thing that you'd find from Crosby-a generational talent-but the Bruins' scrappy rookie returned from missing 32 games of his own with a broken leg. In less than ten minutes of ice time (9:56), he managed to notch two assists (his 2nd multi-point game in the NHL and 1st time he had a pair of helpers) to help spark the offense. Sean Kuraly threw the puck at the net and Kuhlman's net drive did enough to distract Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (26 saves, 16-7-1) with the puck deflecting off a Pittsburgh defenseman. Charlie McAvoy had the secondary assist on Kuraly's fourth goal of the season at 10:03. A little over two minutes later, Par Lindholm tipped in Kuhlman's shot for his third goal of the season.

Things were simmering in the first with five combined penalties and they started to boil over in the second period namely for Torey Krug and Patric Hornqvist. Besides the fact that he stinks, the main reason that Brett Ritchie was placed on waivers yesterday by the B's (for assignment to Providence) is because he didn't step up in a physical way after the Rask injury. Krug is not exactly what you picture when you think of an enforcer but he more than held his own in his fight with Hornqvist late in the second. They were called for matching roughing penalties but that didn't stop them from settling things six seconds after they got out of the box from serving those infractions. With David Krejci out with an upper-body injury, Boston survived another injury scare as Joakim Nordstrom blocked a shot and glided on one leg to the bench in what seemed like serious pain (Patrice Bergeron helped him get to the bench). From there, he briefly sat down then got helped to the dressing room but miraculously he returned and barely missed any time, playing 12:06.

It shouldn't have taken this long to mention him but Jaroslav Halak (29 saves, 11-5-6) played his best game in awhile which was good timing since he'll probably get the other two starts before the All-Star break with Dan Vladar (recalled from Providence today with no NHL regular season experience) serving as his backup. Halak made many fine stops but none were better than the three (Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy thought there were four) saves late in the second when Pittsburgh somehow broke in on a 2-on-0 while they were shorthanded. Halak stoned Bryan Rust once then Northeastern's Zach Aston-Reese at least twice leading the Garden crowd to go crazy (in a good way of course).

Pittsburgh mostly dominated the third period but they had nothing to show for it thanks to Halak. Boston put it out of reach with Bergeron's sweet top-shelf shot at 3:19 from David Pastrnak. It was Bergeron's 20th goal of the season, the seventh year in a row that he's reached that mark and 11th time in his brilliant (and one day Hall of Fame career). Pasta's pass was beautiful too as he spun around by the boards and put the puck right on Bergy's stick without even seeing him there. The NHL's leading goal-scorer was in a giving mood as Pastrnak passed up an empty-netter in the final minute and instead gave it to Marchand who could use that positive reinforcement (especially after he had another puck issue-a shorthanded breakaway ending with him fumbling it away).

Scoreboard watching after the game, the Bruins got some help from the Wild who surprisingly beat the Lightning (28-15-4) 3-2 in regulation. That leaves Boston eight points ahead of Tampa Bay although the Lightning still have two games in hand. Toronto (25-16-7) is a little bit less of an immediate threat since they trail the Bruins by 11 points with only one game in hand on them. No doubt, the B's would love to sweep the season series with the Pens but it won't be easy to complete at PPG Paints Arena where Pittsburgh is 17-5-3 this season. For whatever reason, I feel like Boston's games there in recent years have usually been bonkers.

The Bruins return to the Garden on Tuesday (7, NESN) to host the Golden Knights (25-19-6) who fired their head coach Gerard Gallant yesterday in a move that few saw coming because the team still holds the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. From there, Pastrnak and Cassidy head to the All-Star Game (Rask is skipping it even if he's healthy by then) in St. Louis while everyone else-unless Bergeron or Marchand is an injury replacement for a guy from the Atlantic Division team-gets a legitimate break since the next game isn't until January 31 (8, NESN) at Winnipeg (25-18-4). If the B's can get points in those final two matchups, they'll put themselves in a great spot heading into the stretch drive-the last 31 games of the regular season.

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Christmas is on the Verge of Being Cancelled In A Few Days for the Bruins After Yet Another OT Loss

It is a few days before Christmas but the Bruins (21-7-8) must feel like they are living in the movie "Groundhog Day." After falling 4-3 tonight at TD Garden to the Predators (17-12-6) in overtime, they have now lost eight of their last nine games. What makes this skid even more frustrating is that so many of them have been decided by just a single goal. Boston entered the third period with a 2-1 lead but in the span of 35 seconds, goaltender Jaroslav Halak (25 saves, 8-3-4) made two fatal mistakes. The Bruins tied it with an extra skater on the ice with 1:05 left in regulation to bail him out but as usual, going into OT or a shootout didn't end well for the Black and Gold. Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis won it with 54.2 seconds left in the extra session, which at least spared us from another shootout (where they are 0-5) loss.

I technically watched the entire scoreless first period but I have to admit that I was very distracted by the Patriots' win over the Bills that clinched their 11th consecutive AFC (L)East title. For the third game in a row (all losses), Boston scored first as Par Lindholm (who had been a healthy scratch for the past 6 games) drove to the net for a rebound and was rewarded as the puck deflected in the net off of Nashville center Kyle Turris. Lindholm's second goal of the season snapped a 15-game scoreless stretch for him with assists to Brett Ritchie (who hadn't played the last 3 games) and Sean Kuraly at 7:30. Roman Josi tied it at one at 12:14 when his screened backhander found its way by Halak. Ryan Johansen had the lone assist on Josi's 12th goal of the season. Things seemed fine for the B's though as Patrice Bergeron put in a one-timer from his famous bumper position on the power play with 47.7 seconds left in the frame. David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand got the assists on Bergeron's 12th goal of the season.

The Bruins had been 12-0-2 this season when they led after two periods while the Preds were 3-9-3 when they trailed after two. If only things were that simple, right? Halak has been really good in 2019-20 and I believe that him and Tuukka Rask form the best 1-2 goaltender combination in the NHL. With that said, everyone has a rough game from time to time and surprisingly, his night unraveled in the third. First, Nashville was about to get a power play (it was a delayed penalty) when Filip Forsberg put a no-angle shot on Halak from the side of the net that somehow snuck in. The 13th goal of the season for Forsberg (tying him with BU's Nick Bonino for the team lead) featured assists from Johansen and Mattias Ekholm. If you thought that was bad (and it was), you hadn't seen anything yet as Halak topped it with a Cardinal sin for a goalie: getting caught way too far out of his net trying to play the puck. Ironically, he beat Josi to the loose puck but wasn't able to do anything with that advantage. Instead, he meekly cleared it right to him and the Swiss defenseman fired it into the vacated net before Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy could block it with his diving body.

Bergeron's clutch tying goal was just another chapter in a career full of such moments for the future Hall-of-Famer. He tipped in David Pastrnak's shot with Brad Marchand being credited with the secondary assist. Nashville's game-winning goal in overtime had to be the result of one final bad bounce for the home team as a clearing attempt behind their own net went off a ref and stayed there allowing Johansen to feed a wide open Turris out front for the one-timer. Turris had the other assist on Ellis' sixth goal of the season and his second career OT tally. You won't find two much worse teams in the NHL when it comes to overtime since they are both 2-4 with this latest result.

Let's hope that the old reverse lock is in effect for the Bruins on Monday (7, NESN) because on paper, it doesn't look too hot with the best team in the league-the Caps (26-6-5)-coming in here for one last game before a much-needed three-day Christmas break. Oh and did I mention that Washington has won 15 out of the last 16 times that they've met Boston, including twice already this season (3-2 in a shootout here on Nov. 16 and 3-2 last Wednesday in D.C.)? The Capitals have the best record, the most points (57), the highest goal-differential (+30) and they are the top road team in the NHL (16-3-1). Haha is that all? Honestly, almost nothing with the Bruins in the past week has made any sense so I think a blowout win against the Caps is a natural conclusion to this frustrating time. It doesn't matter how they get it, the B's desperately need a win, otherwise it's going to be a miserable few days stewing at home with their families and friends.

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Bruins Do Enough to Beat the Weary Maple Leafs, 4-2 In the Second Part of a Home-and-Home Set

In any sport, particularly ones with grueling travel schedules like the NHL there is a common phrase of "schedule loss" that refers to any time a confluence of factors can understandably trip you up. Tonight was just such an occasion for the Maple Leafs (5-4-2) against the Bruins (6-1-2) at TD Garden. Toronto was playing in the second part of a back-to-back as well (losing 4-3 in OT to Columbus on Monday at Scotiabank Arena) as its third game in four nights so Boston's 4-2 victory seemed like a forgone conclusion before the opening faceoff had even occurred.

I'll give the Leafs credit though, they made this way more competitive than you would expect it to be especially considering that backup goaltender Michael Hutchinson (35 saves; 0-2-1) got the rare start for them. Even though they lost 4-3 in overtime at Toronto on Saturday night and have needed seven games the past two springs to squeak by them in the first round of the playoffs, I am still confident in stating that the Bruins are simply a better all-around team than the top-heavy Maple Leafs. Two guys outside the first line scored for Boston in the first meeting and they matched that this evening with Brett Ritchie and Par Lindholm of all people scoring the game-winner and insurance marker in the third period.

It was a night of milestones for the Black and Gold: goaltender Tuukka Rask's (28 saves; 5-0-1) 500th NHL game, Bruce Cassidy's 200th game as Bruins head coach and David Pastrnak reached 300 NHL points. The first two numbers were very notable in their own right but Pastrnak is currently the hottest goal-scorer in the league so he deserves the most attention at the moment. He did not disappoint the home crowd with another highlight reel goal along with an assist. In the meantime, he became the fourth Bruin to reach 300 points in fewer than 350 games played, joining Barry Pederson, Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. Ever hear of them? The NHL's reigning First Star of the Week got his First Star of the Month campaign going by extending his point streak to seven games (10 goals, 7 assists) while also scoring a goal in four straight games (8 total goals) which ties his career-best goal streak.

Pasta actually had an earlier first period goal overturned after the play leading up to it was deemed to feature a naughty Bruins player in an offside position. No worries, that just gave him a few more minutes to think of a more creative goal as he took a pass from Brad Marchand (career-best 7 game assist streak), spun towards the net and flicked a shot with his stick between his legs. Hutchinson got a piece of the puck but it still slipped over the goal line at 17:15. Pastrnak's NHL-best 10th goal of the season was also assisted by Torey Krug (5 assists in his last 4 games) and it came on a power play.

As the contest went along, you figured that Toronto would start to lose their skating legs but it took until the third period for their fatigue to fully set in. They trailed 1-0 after the first period but the Leafs tied it at 4:23 of the second period as Kasperi Kapanen unleashed a rocket of a one-timer from Harvard's Alexander Kerfoot. Rask had no chance to stop it as Justin Holl had the secondary assist on the young Finn's third goal of the season. The teams continued to trade goals as Boston took a 2-1 lead 1:26 after that with Pastrnak switching roles with Marchand and becoming the feeder. David showed his underrated vision to quickly turn his body and hit Brad on the tape of his stick with a pass that Marchand quickly deposited top shelf via a wrist shot. Charlie McAvoy had the other helper on Marchand's fifth goal of the season. Brad's point streak has reached eight games with five goals and nine assists in that span.

Kerfoot struck again with his second goal in as many games against the Bruins to make it 2-2 at 12:54 of the second period. Another blown coverage allowed him to skate right down the middle on the power play and tee up a one-timer from Kapanen. William Nylander provided the second assist on Kerfoot's fourth goal of the season. After going to a shootout against Tampa Bay (4-3-1) last Thursday and overtime with Toronto on Saturday, Boston had no interest in playing beyond the allotted 60 minutes.

Ritchie scored in the season-opener against his former team-at Dallas (3-7-1)-on October 3 and hadn't been heard from much since then. David Krejci is on IR with an upper-body injury and Karson Kuhlman broke his leg blocking a shot on Saturday so he's expected to miss at least a month of action. This elevated Ritchie to the second line tonight. He had an assist against the Leafs on Saturday and he topped that with the goal that put the B's ahead for good, 3-2 at 6:35 of the third period. Jake DeBrusk's shot bounced off a Leafs defenseman and Ritchie was able to knock in the loose puck for his first goal at the Garden as a Bruin.

Sean Kuraly took a high-sticking penalty with under five minutes left in regulation that could have spelled doom with the Bruins nursing a slim 3-2 advantage. Luckily for his sake, Boston killed off the infraction and he made everyone forget about his mistake by jumping out of the penalty box into a 2-on-1 with Lindholm. Hutchinson stopped Kuraly's initial shot but the Swede followed it up with a backhander on the rebound for his first goal/point as a Bruin at 17:57. The Bruins had a few cracks at an empty-netter (which would have made those that took the over at 6.5 goals very happy) in the closing minutes but they couldn't help the degenerates cash those tickets.

With practice scheduled for Wednesday-Friday, the B's will have plenty of time to focus on their next opponent-the Blues (4-2-3)-who come here on Saturday night (7, NBCSN) for their first meeting with Boston since Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in June. Clearly a matchup in late October is nothing compared to the highest stakes in June but with that said, it promises to be a memorable event for the Bruins who are trying to turn the page on that unforgettable loss. The weekend is jam-picked for the Bruins since they go to New York on Sunday night (7, NESN) to play the lowly Rangers (2-4-1) who lost their fifth game in a row tonight. Couple that with the fact that Patriots (7-0)-Browns (2-4) kicks off at 4:25 on Sunday afternoon and you can understand that way fewer eyeballs around New England will be fixed on that Original Six tilt.

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