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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Santa Bergeron (2 goals, 2 assists) Returns Right In Time to Save Christmas For The Bruins

I'm sure that I don't say this aloud often enough but games like today remind me why it's so fun to cover the Bruins and special players like future NHL Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron in particular. He had been out since November 16 with multiple injuries to his ribs and sternum but as usual, he delivered big-time in his return game with two goals and two assists as Boston (20-12-4) knocked off Nashville (22-13-2)-one of the NHL's true heavyweights-5-2 this afternoon at TD Garden. The B's have won three games in a row while the Preds go into Christmas break with a lump of coal in their skates after dropping their last four games.

The final score is misleading since this was a back-and-forth affair with Boston grabbing two leads then Nashville answered right back before the Bruins scored three consecutive goals to close out a dominant third period (outscoring the Predators 4-1 including an empty-netter). Jaroslav Halak (28 saves, 12-5-2) continued to play great as he's allowed a total of three goals in his last three starts combined all against playoff clubs (Montreal, Anaheim and Nashville) this past week. Boston's special teams continued to perform at a high level as well since the power play was 2-for-3 and the penalty kill was 2-for-2.

Bergy obviously opened the scoring at 15:10 of the first period when he took a pass from Charlie McAvoy, went from backhand to forehand and beat Pekka Rinne (27 saves, 14-8-1) for his 10th goal of the season. Brad Marchand had the second assist as Bergeron became the fourth Bruin this season to reach double-digit goals (David Pastrnak, Marchand and Jake DeBrusk). Boston improved to 13-4-0 at the Garden this season (2nd best home mark in the Eastern Conference behind Tampa Bay) and 13-4-0 when they score first. After McAvoy had a goal incorrectly wiped out for goalie interference on David Backes, Johansen tied it at one at 13:01 of the second period, an average shot that Halak normally stops with no issue. Craig Smith (not the fat guy that played basketball at BC) and Roman Josi had the assists on Johansen's sixth goal of the season.

After back-to-back stupid penalties by the Predators at the end of the second period (interference on Johansen and roughing on Mattias Ekholm) that nullified their own power play and gave Boston a 5-on-3 for 1:05 to start the third, the B's predictably made them pay. Nashville managed to kill the first penalty but before the second was over, Bergeron put the Black and Gold ahead 2-1 at 1:44. Danton Heinen (the new temporary right wing on the 1st line) and Pastrnak both whiffed on the puck but were still credited with assists as Bergeron was the guy to score on a similar forehand roof job like his first goal. Former Senators great Kyle Turris knotted things at two with a shot off the post and in at 9:17. His sixth goal of the season was assisted by Josi and Miikka Salomaki (most Finnish name ever?).

It was a great all-around performance by Boston's best players as Marchand's power play goal-that turned out to be the game-winner-made it 3-2 Bruins at 11:23. His 12th goal of the season was a one-timer that came from Pasta and Bergy. Marchy returned the favor to Pasta with an assist on his own one-timer via a 2-on-1 at 14:09 for a 4-2 Bruins advantage. Pastrnak's team-leading 23rd goal of the season was an interesting one since Marchand's pass was a bouncer so he barely got anything on the shot which probably helped it elude Rinne. I figured that Bergeron would get the requisite hat trick with an empty-net goal by hard-workin' Sean Kuraly instead did the honors at 18:01 for his second goal of the season, assisted by McAvoy and Halak (his 2nd of the season!).

Just one game-tomorrow at Carolina (5, NESN)-separates the B's from Christmas break (Dec. 24-26). By the time that they meet, the Hurricanes (14-14-5) could be under .500 as they host Pittsburgh (17-12-6) this evening. Four wins in a row and a .500 record on the road (currently 7-8-4) would be a pretty great way for the Bruins to get rewarded for their recent strong play. It feels like they usually win in Carolina and beat the Whalers I mean Hurricanes in general so I would expect a quality effort with Tuukka Rask (8-7-2) in between the pipes. Their next home game is on Thursday (7, NESN) vs. atrocious New Jersey (12-15-7) who for now reside in the basement of the Eastern Conference.

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This Season Nobody Struggles Against the Blue Jackets Like the Bruins Do

Hey guys, I've got great news: the Bruins don't have to play the Blue Jackets anymore this season (assuming they don't meet in the playoffs)! This sounds like a joke and in a way it is but Columbus (19-21-3) went 2-0-1 against Boston (24-16-6) in 2014-15, capped off by tonight's 3-1 win at TD Garden that ended the Bruins' season-best five-game win streak.

The Blue Jackets play hard and they are somewhat speedy but they are so depleted by injuries that it's hard to explain how they previously beat Boston 6-2 and the Bruins' only win was a 4-3 shootout victory in Columbus. I don't get it, haha that's my scorching hot take. The B's had been playing really well lately so they were probably due for a stinker. This was eerily similar to earlier losses this campaign where their offense disappeared and they just didn't seem that into it.

Columbus has the No. 2 power play in the league, by far their biggest strength, so it stands to reason that you should do anything to keep them away from the man-advantage. All-Star Ryan Johansen scored his team-leading 17th goal at 7:57 of the first period when he roofed the puck over Tuukka Rask's (28 saves) glove. Jack Johnson and Scott Hartnell had the assists. That extended Johansen's NHL-best point streak to an absurd 13 games (8 goals, 7 assists). He is one of three Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky and Nick Foligno) that will represent the home team at next weekend's All-Star Game in Columbus.

Boston's lone highlight of this forgettable game was Carl Soderberg's tying goal at 11:34. He one-timed a pass from Chris Kelly that was tipped over by Loui Eriksson for his 10th goal of the season. That gives Boston four guys with double-digit goal totals (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Eriksson). Speaking of Marchand, this was the first of the two games that he'll miss for slew-footing Rangers forward Derick Brassard. The B's didn't lose because of his absence but clearly putting Daniel Paille in his spot is never a positive thing for them.

I thought we were going to be treated to a dull overtime but Matt Calvert scored the game-winning goal at 16:57 of the third period. BC's Cam Atkinson took a shot that Rask couldn't corral and Calvert was on the doorstep to shovel it in. Brandon Dubinsky assisted on his fifth goal of the season. Calvert also added the empty-netter at 19:22 that put this two points away.

I hadn't even mentioned until now that Columbus had played at home last night and lost 2-1 to the Rangers. Oh and Boston was treated to backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney (34 saves) but they somehow could not make the most of those favorable factors. The Bruins hit the road for a back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday: at Dallas (8:30, NESN) then at Colorado (10:30, NESN). Neither team is currently in the playoff picture in the West and both feature former Bruins that they miss dearly: Tyler Seguin and Jarome Iginla respectively. Boston needs at least two out of those four possible points to feel OK heading into the break. Their next home game isn't for two weeks: January 31 vs. Los Angeles.

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Anything Goes On A Friday Night In Columbus

Being such a hopeless creature of habit, I will admit that I was completely thrown off by having the Bruins play on a Friday-something which happens about as often as Kim Kardashian covering up his gigantic ass. For two periods tonight at Nationwide Arena, Boston (13-8-0) was terrible as they fell behind host Columbus (6-11-2) 2-0.

Thankfully, the B's had just enough resiliency to rally in a bonkers third period and then eventually win 4-3 in a shootout. Nobody scored through six rounds so rookie Anton Khokhlachev ended it in the seventh with the lone goal in only his second career NHL game. It had all the makings of a trap game with Montreal and Pittsburgh waiting on the horizon not to mention Thanksgiving break.

Beginning tonight, Boston has three games in four days so head coach Claude Julien elected to sit Tuukka Rask in favor of rookie Niklas Svedberg (25 saves). The move was a no-brainer, even when Svedberg gave up a pair of soft goals in the first period. Ryan Johansen blocked Kevan Miller's shot in his own zone then skated on a partial breakaway before letting loose a shot that Svedberg got plenty of but couldn't keep from crossing the line at 9:52. Johansen's seventh goal of the season was unassisted.

Just 1:38 after Johansen's goal, the Blue Jackets went up 2-0 on Nick Foligno's deflection which actually went off his body. Jordan Leopold took the shot and Johansen had the second assist on Foligno's team-leading 10th goal of the season. Earlier in the frame, Patrice Bergeron's shot was swept off the goal line by a Columbus defenseman.

Svedberg's gaffes had nothing on Sergei Bobrovsky (38 saves) who breathed life into Boston by allowing one of the worst goals you'll ever see in the NHL. To the left of the faceoff dot, Dennis Seidenberg decided to put the puck on the net at 1:28 of the third period and somehow it went in despite not bouncing or doing anything wacky. Matt Bartkowski (who went to nearby Ohio State) and Chris Kelly received the joke assists.

That turned out to be the spark that the B's needed as they tied it at 9:33 on Matt Fraser's re-direct of Bartkowski's slap-pass. Fraser's third goal of the season (1st in 8 games) was also assisted by Bergeron who played it back to Bartkowski at the point. Before you could say full meltdown, the B's were up for the first time (3-2) 1:59 after Fraser's tally. Daniel Paille picked the perfect time to break his slump (1st goal in 37 games!) as he took advantage of the turnover created by Carl Soderberg.

Boston enjoyed that lead for a grand total of 1:15 since Jack Johnson (please read his tragic bankruptcy story) one-timed a pass from Johansen and Foligno. The Bruins quickly bounced back from that devastating goal as they outshot the Blue Jackets 7-1 in overtime. Bobrovsky made up for his poor play by owning overtime. The shootout went on for way too long with not enough goals but you can't argue with the final result.

Columbus is a train wreck so for that reason alone, Saturday (7, NESN) vs. Montreal figures to be way harder. Boston has suffered two humbling defeats (6-4 on Oct. 16 & 5-1 last Thursday) already this season in Montreal so they owe the Canadiens a beating at the Garden. It is a given that the atmosphere will be great, hopefully the game follows suit. Rask has to prove that he can beat Montreal and likewise, his teammates (looking at you Lucic) need to stay focused and not get caught up in the Canadiens' usual garbage.

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