Bruins Head Into the All-Star Break Feeling Much Better After Rallying to Beat the Penguins 4-3

In a sign of dare I say gradual progress, the Bruins (25-21-6) proved that Tuesday's night fantastic overtime win vs. Detroit (20-20-9) was more than a fluke. Tonight, they topped those two points with a rock solid 4-3 victory over the defending champs from Pittsburgh (30-13-5) at TD Garden. What made this particular result even more impressive (besides the fact that the Penguins destroyed them 5-1 on Sunday and had also beaten them earlier in the season) was that Boston spotted them a 2-0 lead in the first period.

The Bruins had lost their physical identity over the last few forgettable seasons but at least in the second period this evening, their emotional side came out against the Penguins (in a good way). They outscored Pittsburgh 3-0 in the second and both teams scored a goal in the third as Boston won consecutive games for the first time in 2017 (Dec. 29-31, 2016 was the last instance) and back-to-back home games for the first time since Nov. 27-Dec. 5 when they won three in a row.

Brandon Carlo had a night to forget for the Bruins: he kicked in Justin Schultz's centering pass for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead at 7:37, picked up a cross-checking penalty that led to Phil Kessel's power play goal (2-0 Penguins lead) and then left in the third period with an undisclosed injury. Woof. Schultz's goal was his eighth of the season and Kessel's was his 15th of the season. Sidney Crosby (ever heard of him?) and Schultz had the helpers on Phil's one-timer that for some reason, Tuukka Rask (19 saves) was way out of position for.

Brad Marchand continued to dominate life (and avoid suspensions as he was fined the maximum $10,000 by the NHL's Department of Player Safety for slew-footing Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall) as he scored another pair of goals (giving him four in the last two games). His shorthanded goal at 1:38 of the second period cut it to 2-1 Pittsburgh and tied him for the league lead with three shorthanded goals this season. It also marked his sixth 20-goal season in the NHL. Patrice Bergeron and Kevan Miller assisted on that one then he tied it at 6:27 by putting in a rebound from David Pastrnak and Carlo.

You knew that it was Boston's night (not really but go with it) when Riley Nash tipped in a shot by Torey Krug at 10:25 of the second for a 3-2 Bruins lead. Nash's third goal of the season was also assisted by Dominic Moore. After that things got a little bonkers as Kessel and David Backes nearly got into a fight then Colin Miller destroyed UMass-Lowell's Scott Wilson in a memorable bout a few minutes later. Since Wilson initiated his own beating, he got a minor penalty which was served by Jake Guentzel. Boston was up 3-2 after two periods and had 1:13 left on the power play in the third which came in handy when Bergy roofed a loose puck past Matt Murray (33 saves). Pasta and Ryan Spooner assisted on Bergeron's 11th goal of the season.

Pittsburgh is certainly a force to be reckoned with, granted they didn't have All-Star Evgeni Malkin (lower-body injury) in the lineup for the first time in 2016-17, so it was no surprise that they refused to fold and instead made it a one-goal game at 10:35 when Patric Hornqvist knocked in a pass from Chris Kunitz for his 12th goal of the season. Boston survived two late penalties (delay of game on Matt Beleskey and tripping on Pastrnak) to earn the much-needed two points. Along with Calgary, the Bruins have played the most games in the NHL so as much as any team, they have to be thrilled to be getting a few days off to rest. Rask, Marchand and their significant others will no doubt enjoy their paid vacations in Los Angeles while everyone else figures to kick back and relax.

Boston returns to action on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) at Tampa Bay (22-22-6) before visiting Washington (33-10-6) on Wednesday (8, NBC Sports). Remember, this is the same club that's 13-9-6 on the road and just got back to .500 at home (12-12-0) with this win. Their next home game isn't until a week from Saturday (7, NESN) vs. the team that appears to be their biggest threat for third-place in the Atlantic Division-Toronto (23-15-9). With only 30 games left in the regular season, it should be an interesting ride for the B's if nothing else.

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No Carrie Underwood At TD Garden But The Bruins Still Provide Some Thrills

After losing its previous two games at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins were on the verge of three setbacks in a row when Nashville's Mike Fisher aka Mr. Carrie Underwood made it 3-2 with 3:32 left in regulation this afternoon.

Boston (34-17-2) stuck with it though as Milan Lucic (20th of the season) tied it with a power-play strike at 18:53 with the goalie pulled and the B's went on to win 3-2 in a shootout against the Predators (32-18-6).

Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron scored the only shootout goals, meaning that it was over in the third round. I usually complain that Saturday matinees are usually terrible for the B's but not today, this was a top-notch contest.

If the Bruins had lost, they would have been the victim of bad puck luck since for the most part, they controlled play from start to finish. Nashville took advantage of a few scoring chances and they leaned heavily on one of the NHL's top goaltenders, Pekka Rinne (38 saves).

This turned out to be one of the most meaningful wins of the regular season given Boston's recent struggles. Lucic was a beast all afternoon and in the shootout, Tim Thomas (19 saves; 23-10-0) was able to forget about Facebook rants for a minute and make two saves.

Nashville is a quality team, I'll predict that they'll win a series or two this spring in the Western Conference playoffs. They're short on goal-scoring but they play to that well with a defensive-minded system.

With the Bruins shorthanded, Bergeron (16th of the season) had given Boston a 1-0 lead at 16:00 of the first period. Brad Marchand made the play happen by chipping the puck ahead then finding Bergeron for a screened one-timer.

Shea Weber (11th of the season), who has the second hardest shot in the NHL behind Zdeno Chara, showed off his cannon by tying it at 7:32 of the second with a power-play slap shot. His defensive partner Ryan Suter had the lone assist on Weber's missle from the point.

NESN didn't bring its A game since their broadcast went out at the end of the first period and for most of the second period. I was left listening to the radio broadcast on the Sports Hub like some 90-year-old and checking Twitter like a fiend (even more than usual).

The third period was wild so thankfully I was able to see it with my own eyes, rather than just hear about it. Both teams scored two goals. Daniel Paille (9th of the season) kicked it off with a diving backhander at 2:55 from Shawn Thornton and Johnny Boychuk.

Patric Hornqvist (17th of the season) tied it at 9:33 from Sergei Kostitsyn and Rinne. It was against the run of play as the puck was in Nashville's end for a while but then they broke out and multiple Bruins defenders were left in the dust.

Fisher's goal was a result of his own rebound off the backboards. Thomas should have stopped that one since the weak backhander went under his pads.

The Bruins will look to carry over this great effort on Tuesday as they host the New York Rangers. Everyone remembers that their first meeting with the Rangers was a classic, won 3-2 by New York in a shootout on Jan. 21 so I have no doubt this one should be superb too. The teams play twice more after that, both at Madison Square Garden and they have to be the odds on favorites to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. They are clearly the top two teams in the East.

So whatever you're doing on Valentine's Day, at least make sure that you have the DVR set for what should be a beautiful hockey game between the Original 6 rivals.

UPDATE 2/12: After the game, Steven Kampfer was sent down to Providence. He's been a healthy scratch the last five games with Boston so this will give him more playing time.

UPDATE 2/13: The Bruins made the interesting choice to call up defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk this morning and not Kampfer. With the trade deadline two weeks from today, makes you wonder if Kampfer is going be be dealt soon. Boston also called up forward Josh Hennessey from Providence.

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