The Bruins Cooled Off The Stars-One of the Hottest Teams In the NHL-With a 4-3 Win at the Garden

After not looking anything like the best team in the NHL in their past two outings (blowout 9-3 loss at Vancouver then a 5-2 defeat vs. Calgary), the Bruins (40-13-12) put on a very entertaining performance for their home crowd at TD Garden and came away with a 4-3 victory against the Stars (37-21-6) in the process. Dallas entered the contest in second-place in the Central Division with an eight-game road point-streak to boot (6-0-2). They were also 10-2-2 in their past 14 road games so this was a quality two points for the B's who vaulted seven points ahead of Tampa Bay (40-19-5)-who lost their fourth game in a row, falling 5-2 to Chicago (28-28-8)-for first-place in the Atlantic Division.

Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak each put up two points (goal and assist) but the real talking points for the Bruins since they were much more unexpected had to be David Krejci's first fight since the 2010-11 season (the Cup year, that long ago) and Nick Ritchie had two points (goal and assist) himself in his second game as a Bruin. Ondrej Kase's debut for Boston wasn't too notable (minus-1 in 15:16) as he started out on the second line with Krejci and Ritchie before shifting around. Jaroslav Halak (17-6-6) improved to 6-0 in his past six starts with 31 saves. This could have been a less nervy finish as the Black and Gold had to sweat out the final few moments as they couldn't cash in a bunch of empty-net opportunities and the Stars got a weird bounce off Zdeno Chara's skate which cut it to 4-3 Bruins with 2:24 left in regulation. The B's held on though and put to bed any thoughts of an extended losing streak at least for the time being.

The first period was devoid of much action until near the end of the frame as both clubs converted on power play chances. Dallas defenseman John Klingberg's shot deflected off Chara's stick at 17:38 for a 1-0 Dallas lead. Joe Pavelski had the lone assist on Klingberg's fifth goal of the season (that was changed to what would have been Jamie Benn's 300th career goal, only to revert back to Klingberg). Charlie Coyle tied it with a play that would make any professional baseball player proud: Stars goaltender Ben Bishop (24 saves, 21-14-4) made a save on Torey Krug but Coyle hit the puck out of mid-air with his stick once then a second time for the tying tally. Coyle's 16th goal of the season was also assisted by Marchand.

Knotted at one apiece after the first period, Boston took control with a pair of goals 1:17 apart late in the second period. Stars defenseman Andrej Sekera and B's winger Chris Wagner both hit the post earlier in the second. Krejci (18 penalty minutes on the season entering tonight) threw down with another normally mild-mannered guy-Joe Pavelski (24 penalty minutes before this) and for two guys that never drop the gloves, it was an excellent bout. Krejci got the best of Pavelski as evidenced by his bloody knuckles that had to be repaired in the Bruins dressing room. That obviously fired his teammates up as they scored 2:20 after it. Marchand potted his 26th goal of the season at 14:44 on a sweet feed from Charlie McAvoy. Pasta had the other assist as Bishop was left down and out with no chance to stop Brad's top-shelf bullet. Ritchie's shot from distance might have been tipped by someone or something but ultimately it went down as an unassisted goal for him (his 9th of the season and 1st as a Bruin) at 16:01.

Dallas cut it to 3-2 early in the final period as Denis Gurianov tipped in Esa Lindell's shot at 1:18. Jason Dickinson notched the other helper on Gurianov's 19th goal of the season. Boston answered right back as Pastrnak's finished an on-the-tape pass by Ritchie at 3:53 for his NHL-best 46th (!!!) goal of the season. Jeremy Lauzon picked up his first assist of the season as well on what turned out to be Pasta's game-winning goal. Marchand tried to score an empty-netter but it was blocked and other Bruins skated in mud as they tried to end the game. The Stars were undeterred as Miro Heiskanen forced a save by Halak, only to see the puck find a way to get past Halak. Heiskanen's eighth goal of the season was assisted by Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin (remember him, ladies of the greater Boston area?). The Bruins swept the two-game season series vs. the Stars after beating them 2-1 in the season opener on Oct. 3. To give you a clue how long ago that was, Boston's two goal-scorers that night are no longer on the team as Brett Ritchie is in Providence and Danton Heinen was traded to Anaheim. The Bruins are 7-0-2 in their last nine games vs. the Stars, something to keep in mind when they meet this June in the Stanley Cup Final.

After practice tomorrow at Warrior Ice Arena, the Bruins will hit the road for three games in Long Island and Florida. Wagner left tonight's game with an upper-body injury so the team will know more about his status for the road trip after he shows up tomorrow in Brighton. They are at the Islanders (35-20-8) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) followed by the Lightning on Tuesday (7:30, NBCSN) and Panthers (33-25-6) on Thursday (7, NESN)-which is always a majority Bruins crowd. New York is the top Wild Card in the Eastern Conference but they have lost their last two games in overtime. The Lightning are playing some of their worst hockey of the season and captain Steven Stamkos is out with an injury while the Panthers are four points behind the Blue Jackets (31-20-14) for the second Wild Card. With all that said, those are three tough opponents and at least two of them will probably make the playoffs this spring so get used to seeing them some more.

Tweet

Whatever Happened to Tyler Seguin? Oh That's Right, Now He's a Perennial All-Star in Dallas

It didn't take a genius to know back on that fateful July 4th (in 2013) when the Bruins traded Tyler Seguin to the Stars, that he would soon become one of the best offensive players in the NHL. No doubt the change of scenery was a good thing since Seguin will never be the main story in a town dominated by the Cowboys and Mavericks (when they're at least somewhat relevant). The Bruins (24-10-8) now only get to see their former No. 2 overall pick in 2010 once or twice a season but somehow, he seems to usually find a way to make B's fans wish that things could have worked out better here for him. In an afternoon matinee at TD Garden on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Dallas (25-17-3) skated off to the rest of their six-game Eastern Conference road trip with a 3-2 overtime victory thanks to the eye-popping talent of Seguin who (of course!) bagged the highlight-reel game-winning goal.

Seguin's tally was obviously a punch to the collective nuts for the Bruins but before that, there were plenty of reasons to be content with this result from their perspective. Boston rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second period and earned a point for the 13th game in a row (9-0-4). Remember that they had come into today's tilt as the hottest team in the NHL: 8-0-2 in their past 10 games. With the overtime victory, the Stars jumped over Minnesota (24-17-5) for the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. They are a good team with a decent shot to make the playoffs in the always loaded West especially with head coach Ken Hitchcock behind the bench, bringing stability since he's one of the NHL's all-time winningest coaches.

With three more games left this week (Wednesday vs. Montreal, Thursday at Islanders and Saturday in Montreal), this was an Anton Khudobin (9-2-4) joint for the Bruins. He made 29 saves which was fine but Dallas backup goaltender Kari Lehtonen (30 saves) edged him in his first start in exactly a month (a 5-2 loss at New Jersey on Dec. 15). Lehtonen's most recent win was on Dec. 13 (at Islanders). Dallas' usual goaltender Ben Bishop (former University of Maine standout) had made 11 straight starts which seems like a death wish approved by Canadiens head coach Claude Julien but I digress.

Boston is awful in overtime this season (1-6) while Dallas improved to 3-2 in the extra session. The Garden always lacks noise in afternoon starts (sorry kiddos) but still the team is 3-2-1 in them so far in 2017-18. Finally, the B's are 3-2-2 in game 1s (when they have 3 games in 4 days) and they allowed the first goal in consecutive contests for the first time in nearly a month (Dec. 13, 14 & 16).

After a scoreless 1st period, the Stars woke up before the Bruins as they bagged two goals less than five minutes apart. Stephen Johns sniped in a shot at 3:49 for his 5th goal of the season, assisted by Remi Elie and Brett Ritchie. Haha I swear those are all real people and not assumed names made up by the FBI. Former Canadiens bust Alexander Radulov doubled Dallas' lead at 8:15 after Jamie Benn shot the puck via the face-off then the burly Russian was there to pop in the rebound with a backhander for his 17th goal of the season.

Boston's power play was 0 for 4 on the day so they were no help whatsoever. Zdeno Chara got his team back into it though with a patented blast at 16:28 of the 2nd period, cutting it to 2-1 Stars. Charlie McAvoy & Riley Nash assisted on the Captain's fourth goal of the season. Happily this time around, he didn't send anyone to the hospital when they were hit by one of his wayward shot attempts.

Dallas was 20-1-1 when leading after two this season while Boston was 1-9-2 when trailing after two so the home team obviously had their work cut out for them. Ryan Spooner of all people tied it up at 11:21 when his shot in traffic deflected in off a Stars defenseman's skate. Spooner's fifth goal of the season was assisted by David Krejci and Matt Grzelcyk. I thought that the puck had gone off of Jake DeBrusk's body but the ruling never changed, sorry rookie.

Seguin's goal was pretty brilliant as Dallas had an extra skater on the ice during a delayed penalty call. He skated around multiple Bruins who all futilely dropped to the ice to block his shot before he snuck it between Khudobin's stacked pads. His team-leading 22nd goal of the season was assisted by John Klingberg (who paces the league with 35 assists) and his buddy Benn.

Boston beat Montreal (18-20-5) 4-3 in a thrilling shootout that probably few but the true Bruins hardcores actually saw on Saturday night since it was on at the same exact time as the Patriots' blowout of the Titans. With two more games against the Habs this week, the Black and Gold have a real opportunity to bury their biggest rival for good well before the spring is even here. With the back-to-backs, I'm confident that Tuukka Rask will see Montreal again before Khudobin starts against the Isles (22-18-4). After that who knows if Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy would want Rask to play the same club three times in eight days? That's clearly above my pay grade, haha I'm just a lowly blogger that's lucky to be out of my mother's basement.

Tweet

Tyler Seguin Foreva

For the way that the breakup went down and how he's thrived since then in Dallas, Tyler Seguin will always be that special ex you inevitably think about from time to time. It's doubtful given Boston's system that he would be the MVP candidate here that he's been with the Stars but then again, with that much talent you have to think that he would have figured it out at some point with the Bruins. Giving up on him after two years in the NHL was a big risk that didn't pay off for Boston. Of course, this is all a moot point since he's long gone and former GM Peter Chiarelli who pulled the trigger on that fateful deal is now in Edmonton.

Bruins fans got their yearly reminder of what they are missing as Seguin scored a hat trick (7th of his career, 6th with Dallas) as the Stars (10-3-0) beat the Bruins (6-4-1) 5-3 tonight at TD Garden. Boston's seven-game point streak (6-0-1) and four-game win streak was snapped as they continue to play hideous hockey (1-4-1) at home. They have the third worst home record in the NHL, tied with Colorado and only better than Calgary (1-5-0) and Columbus (0-5-0). Similarly, goaltender Tuukka Rask (3-4-1) continues to be a puddle here. Seguin (8 goals, 12 assists) is now tied with his linemate Jamie Benn (10 goals, 10 assists) for the NHL points lead. Backup goaltender Kari Lehtonen (4-1-0) made 36 saves as Boston outshot Dallas 39-19.

The game began on a grim note as Boston center Chris Kelly broke his femur on a fluke play (3 seconds into his first shift of the night) when his skate got stuck in the ice and his leg got twisted awkwardly. He went straight to Mass General Hospital and will have surgery tomorrow, he's expected to miss six-to-eight months which likely signals the end of his Bruins career (he's a free agent next summer). He's been bashed for years since his contract from Chiarelli was way too much money but he's been a solid player and a really good leader. His veteran presence will be missed by the B's along with all the little things that he does (kill penalties, win faceoffs, block shots, etc.).

Seguin opened the scoring at 5:46 with a sick shot through helpless Kevan Miller's legs. Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn assisted on Seguin's sixth goal of the season (also his 300th career NHL point). Bruins rookie defenseman Colin Miller recorded his own milestone with his first career NHL goal at 7:14. A blast from the point, assisted by Torey Krug and Jimmy Hayes. Boston's top-ranked power play gave them their only lead late in the first period. Loui Eriksson (part of the Seguin deal on July 4, 2013) put in a rebound at 19:35. Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron assisted on his third goal of the season. You wish that Boston had gotten way more in that trade but at least now, we can agree that Eriksson is a dependable contributer.

Brad Marchand (the NHL's first star of the week) was stopped on a shorthanded breakaway early in the second then Dallas cashed in on a subsequent power play. Seguin scored on a one-timer from John Klingberg and Jamie Benn at 4:37, six seconds after the hooking call on Brett Connolly. The Stars took the lead at 17:18 on rookie defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka's first career NHL goal. His shot from the point through traffic beat Rask, assisted by Valeri Nichushkin and Jordie Benn.

Seguin finished the hat trick at 1:18 on another power play. Krug put the puck over the glass in his own end and 12 seconds later, his former teammate buried another one-timer from the slot. Spezza and Klingberg had the assists. The Stars put it out of reach at 9:13 with their third power play goal (most allowed by Boston since Jan. 4, 2014 vs. Anaheim). Defenseman Alex Goligoski skated in unimpeded for a backhander top-shelf on Rask. Mattias Janmark and Colton Sceviour had the helpers on his first goal of the season.

For window dressing, Eriksson added his second goal in garbage time. Ryan Spooner hit him with a pretty cross-ice feed at 17:45 that cut it to 5-3 Dallas. The Bruins pulled Rask for the extra skater and used their timeout but it didn't matter. They hadn't played since Saturday and they lost to a team that was at Toronto last night (and lost). Ugh. Things won't get any easier for the B's as they are away for three games in four nights later this week: at Washington (8-3-0) on Thursday (7, NESN), at Montreal (11-2-1) on Saturday (7, NESN) and at the Islanders (7-3-3) on Sunday (5, NESN). It's hard to imagine that Boston's spotless road record (5-0-0) will survive that gauntlet of a road trip through the Eastern Conference's iron.

Tweet

For One Night Only: The Seguin Trade Doesn't Look So Bad as Bruins beat Stars 3-1 in Dallas

The Bruins and Stars only meet twice this season but Boston (25-16-6) has to be happy with Round 1's result: a much-needed 3-1 road win at American Airlines Arena tonight in Dallas (21-18-7). The B's have now won six of their last seven games and this was a vintage victory for them in terms of dictating their style (timely scoring that's spread out, good defense, strong special teams and great goaltending).

This was one of Tuukka Rask's best games of the season as he put up 36 saves and was helped by the fact that Dallas hit the post at least three times (including once by Seguin who had a game-high 9 shots on goal). Ironically, the one goal he gave up was complete trash. Vernon Fiddler-playing in his 700th NHL game-beat him with a weak backhander that took a slight deflection at 6:46 in the second period. The Jasons (Spezza and Demers) assisted on the only Stars goal.

Former Star Loui Eriksson tied it at 14:17 after one of the prettier sequences of the season for the Bruins. Chris Kelly passed to Carl Soderberg who spun around and hit Eriksson who was wide open coming down the slot. That play actually started behind Boston's net after forcing a turnover. Eriksson beat Kari Lehtonen (24 saves) for his 11th goal of the season. Boston built off that momentum as Gregory Campbell knocked in an ugly but effective goal at 18:27. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by Craig Cunningham and Dougie Hamilton.

Boston took way too many penalties, but luckily their penalty kill was superb (holding Dallas to 0 for 6). Hamilton got the insurance goal that the Bruins needed at 7:41 in the third period. His career-high eighth goal of the season was assisted by another former Star-Reilly Smith.

Tomorrow night (10, NESN) at Colorado (19-18-10) is Boston's final game before the All-Star break. The Avalanche are another flawed Western Conference team that they should beat. It'll be another mini-reunion too with Jarome Iginla and Mark Stuart. Since he's not going to the All-Star Game (only Patrice Bergeron will represent the B's), I think that Rask will get another start. Boston also should benefit from a rejuvenated Brad Marchand who was suspended for the past two games.

Tweet

Chad Johnson Propels the B's to 1 of Their Best Road Wins of the Season, Wait What?

I'll be honest, I didn't think Chad Johnson had performances like tonight-32 saves-in him. Granted, neither did Boston's (30-15-2) front office or head coach Claude Julien since his last start was way back on December 19. Regardless, he was great this evening as the Bruins won 4-2 at Dallas' (21-19-7) American Airlines Center.

Boston's top line showed up as well after taking the last four games off (with no points in any of them). David Krejci scored the first goal and Milan Lucic netted the third goal. In addition, Brad Marchand continued to heat up with another goal and Patrice Bergeron clinched it with an empty-netter.

Since they won, we can laugh about it a little more but the B's got absolutely hosed out of a goal by Gregory Campbell early in the first period. A Stars defensemen tried to clear it but the puck went off Campbell's skate and in. I didn't think he had time to react and do that but after watching a replay, the refs reversed the call of goal and said he kicked it.

Krejci scored his 10th goal of the season with four seconds left in the second. Lucic had the lone assist after winning a puck battle in the corner and passing it to Krejci who snapped it by Kari Lehtonen (37 saves). That was Krejci's first goal in six games.

Boston's struggling penalty kill had successfully survived the first four chances they gave Dallas but Erik Cole knotted it at one 1:18 into the third on a man advantage. It came on a nothing play as Tyler Seguin blindly threw the puck on Johnson but Cole was there to re-direct it before it got to him.

Two minutes later, Marchand put the Bruins back ahead for good after some old fashioned hustle. His first shot was stopped but he got to the rebound first and poked it in. Bergeron assisted on Marchand's 12th goal of the season.

Lucic gave Boston a rare two-goal lead with a tip-in of Krejci's wrist shot from the point on the power play. Torey Krug had the second assist on Lucic's 13th goal of the season at 15:46.

Jamie Benn padded his stats and created a few scary moments for Boston with a garbage goal at 18:49. Bergeron's empty-netter at 19:44 surely calmed nerves around New England. It was his 12th goal of the season.

Boston is off for two days before their must-see game on Sunday (12:30, NBC) at Chicago (30-8-11, 1st in Central Division). Tuukka Rask will be rested and ready to go as the teams square off for the first time since the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. I can't think of a better way to pass the time before Patriots-Broncos, can you?

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins' 2013-14 Regular Season Schedule Released

We can all laugh at the NHL's complete lack of good timing, dropping its biggest news in weeks on a Friday afternoon during a heatwave, but there is still something fun with regards to thinking about the Bruins this fall, winter and spring while our minds melt. Thankfully, with a full regular season (forget you lockout), the B's will have a much more interesting slate of 82 games. Plus, they're in a new division (Atlantic) which is the old Northeast plus the Red Wings (yay!), Panthers and Lightning (meh).

Every team in the NHL will meet every possible opponent with the fun starting for real on October 1 and the regular season ending on April 13. The playoffs begin on April 16 and there is a 2.5 week break from February 9-26 due to NHL players competing in the 2014 Olympics in Socchi, Russia. The B's won't be taking part in one of the six outdoor games planned by the NHL this season, more than ever. With an unbalanced Eastern Conference (16 teams) and Western Conference (14 teams), the Bruins will play five games against two teams in their division and four games against five teams in the division (30 games). Then they'll play three games each against the other eight teams in the East leaving 28 games against the West. Hope you got that without picking up an ice cream headache.

Boston's first regular season game is October 3 vs. Tampa Bay. The B's have to be content with their first three games at TD Garden as they host the Red Wings two nights later then the Avalanche on October 10. Assuming he's returned from shoulder surgery, former Bruin Nathan Horton and his new team-Columbus Blue Jackets host Boston for their first road game on October 12. Other highlights of October include the B's welcoming in the Red Wings on Columbus Day afternoon, San Jose comes to TD Garden on October 24 then a great two games in two nights stretch: at Pittsburgh on October 30 then hosting Anaheim on Halloween.

We don't have to wait long for Tyler Seguin's much ballyhooed return to Boston (local bars and clubs should be thrilled) as the Stars play the Bruins November 5 to kick off a five-game homestand (longest of the season) through November 14. The Maple Leafs will be looking ahead to November 9 at TD Garden for a while since it's their first meeting with the B's since their loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last spring. The return of former stars continues as Horton and Columbus play in Boston on November 14. Boston visits the Rangers on November 19 in the first matchup of the season since the B's knocked New York out in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Jarome Iginla gets his first crack at the Penguins in the Hub on November 25 as Pittsburgh returns to the place where they were swept in the Eastern Conference Finals. Drinking the night before Thanksgiving is always a great tradition and this year it should be even better with the Bruins playing in Detroit. In their usual afternoon game the day after Thanksgiving, the B's take on the Rangers.

The bad news is that we'll have to wait over two months for our first installment of Bruins-Canadiens (December 5 in Montreal) but that means they'll be backloaded which will be enjoyable enough. Speaking of Iggy, he gets to make his first return to Calgary on another team December 10 with the B's as part of a four-game road trip in Canada (December 8-14) which is the longest of the season. That holiday in Canada will be followed with another reunion as the B's head to Edmonton on December 12 to face former Bruin Andrew Ference. Boston wraps things up North of the border in Vancouver on December 14 where they can beat up some more on the Sedin sisters. The NHL is nice enough to gives everybody a break from December 24-26 (take that NBA!) so the Bruins' last game before Christmas is December 23 in Nashville then they return on December 27 vs. Ottawa. I hate New Year's Eve so I'm happy that I already have a built in excuse to beg off the sure to be lame plans and watch the Bruins play the Islanders that night at TD Garden.

The first game of 2014 for the B's will be January 2 vs. Predators. Bruins fans on the West Coast will be treated to what should be three great games in California: January 7 at Anaheim, January 9 at Los Angeles and January 11 at San Jose. Seguin is sure to welcome his old team with open arms in Dallas on January 16 aka Loui Eriksson's glorious return. The Bruins-Blackhawks renew their delicious new rivalry on January 19 in Chicago, sure to be a national broadcast since it's a Sunday afternoon. Boston faces a brutal back-to-back as they return home the next afternoon (MLK Day) to take on the Kings. Boston travels to Philadelphia on January 25, those are always entertaining games. The influx of clowns from Montreal will take place on January 30 with the Canadiens in town.

For all he did for the community, the B's and Boston should do something for Ference when he returns with the Oilers on February 1. With the break for the Olympics, the B's only play five games in the shortest month of the year. They host Ottawa on February 8 in the last game before then and return on February 26 in Buffalo.

It'll be another crazy March for the B's with 17 games (8 home, 9 away). The toughest ticket of the season at the Garden for the Bruins is sure to be March 27 vs. Chicago. For the Bruins, seven games in April ends on the 13th in New Jersey. With training camp beginning on September 11 (rough timing once again), we are not that far away from what should be another excellent season with the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Tyler Seguin's Run In Boston Comes To An Unexpected End On The Fourth Of July

Odds are that the Bruins very notable trade with the Stars today caught you by surprise since it's the Fourth of July so hopefully you were beating this merciless heat at a pool, beach or on a boat. For once, I wasn't on Twitter so the news that Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley and prospect Ryan Button (great name) were dealt to Dallas for winger Loui Eriksson and prospects Reilly Smith, Matt Fraser and Joe Morrow first came to me the old fashioned way-via texts from a couple hockey loving buddies.

After digesting this move for a couple hours and swimming multiple times in the Atlantic Ocean, I have come to a couple conclusions: 1) Boston had to be really sick of Seguin's shit to give away the No. 2 overall pick in 2010 after only three seasons; 2) Eriksson is an underrated player that should shine with the B's in Seguin's spot on the second line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand; 3) don't ask me about the prospects since I can only keep up with so much, check back if they make the NHL.

We had all heard rumors of Seguin's hard partying ways and even though he's only 21, the Bruins were clearly fed up with it and something had to change. Why else would they publicly acknowledge as much last week at the NHL Draft? From the start, Seguin was never a good fit in terms of playing style. He's totally a finesse guy that hates to go in the corners and battle for the puck (a Bruins staple) plus he constantly gets knocked down and relies on one stupid move that rarely works to get by defensemen. Of course he's also wildly talented and has probably only reached a tenth of his potential (relatively speaking) in the NHL.

Seguin led the Bruins in points in 2011-12 (29 goals, 38 assists) so it's hard to explain how the same player (uninjured) was held to 16 goals and 16 assists this season (in 48 games) but even worse only one goal and seven assists in 22 postseason games. It got so bad that he was put on the third line and basically wasn't heard from again save for a couple pretty assists. Peverley had a nice season in 2011-12 (11 goals, 31 assists, +20) and he helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011 with four goals and eight assists but he was beyond useless this past season: six goals and 12 assists in the regular season then two goals and no assists in the postseason. See ya later, with a cap hit of $3.25 million through 2014-15 (another awful contract by the B's), Boston can find somebody much cheaper to do similar work.

Ultimately you can't judge a player by a single moment, game or season but I can only guess that Boston predicted the future of Seguin with the Bruins wouldn't improve enough to justify his overpriced contract (salary-cap hit of $5.75 million through 2018-19 season) that they handed out way too soon. Perhaps playing for the Stars, with much less of a spotlight and pressure will do wonders for his on-ice production. Worst case, he continues to be a mess in terms of having a productive lifestyle, doesn't take his job seriously and this past postseason was a precursor of things to come except Dallas won't be in the playoffs!

In terms of Eriksson, I'll admit I know about him mostly from fantasy hockey since the Stars last made the playoffs in 2008 and they are never on national TV. He'll turn 28 on July 16 but he's already played seven seasons in the NHL amassing 150 goals, 207 assists, 82 points in the power play (36 goals, 46 assists), 11 shorthanded points (7 goals, 4 assists) and a plus/minus of +31. He's scored 26+ goals in four seasons with a career-high of 36 in 2008-09. He also racked up 71+ points three years in a row (2009-10 to 2011-12). He only put up 12 goals and 17 assists in 2013 but I can't blame him since playing for a bad team for so long takes the life out of you plus they traded away most of Dallas' best players like Jaromir Jagr and Brandon Morrow. I know he's not physical but you have to be impressed that Eriksson has only missed three games in the past five seasons (all in 2010-11).

It's doubtful that Boston will pick No. 2 again for a long time which of course is a good thing. Still, only time will tell if they simply whiffed on Seguin (assuming he falters with the Stars) or didn't give him enough experience in the Black and Gold to get comfortable and become the star (no pun intended) that we thought he would be.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Daniel Paille: Stanley Cup Finals Hero

One aspect that makes the NHL playoffs so uniquely excellent is that random guys step up in nearly every game. Take for instance Game 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals at the United Center. Boston rallied for a 2-1 overtime victory over Chicago thanks to Daniel Paille's first career OT winner (in regular season or playoffs). The Bruins evened the series at one and head back to Boston for Game 3 on Monday (8 p.m., NBCSN).

For many reasons, the B's definitely gained confidence since they were able to withstand an incredible amount of pressure by the Blackhawks in the first period (outshooting Boston 19-4) and only trailed 1-0. From that point on, Boston started to play their game and their constant hits on Chicago (50-34) started to take their toll.

They are still miles away (3 wins) from another Stanley Cup but if the Bruins do beat the Blackhawks four times, I can basically guarantee that Tuukka Rask (33 saves) will earn the Conn Smythe trophy (playoff MVP). He has been brilliant all postseason and he improved to 4-0 in starts after he allowed four plus goals in the previous game.

Boston has the only winning record on the road in the playoffs (6-3) and this one snapped Chicago's six-game win streak at home. Patrick Sharp gave the Blackhawks a well-deserved 1-0 lead at 11:22 of the first period after a crazy sequence of saves by Rask. His ninth goal of the playoffs (tied for NHL lead with David Krejci) was the only time in the first two games that Chicago has led Boston. Technically, the Bruins never led in Game 2, the same way the Blackhawks were never ahead in Game 1. Bizarre.

Nobody has been a bigger dog this postseason for the B's than Chris Kelly but tonight he took a time machine back to 2011 when he had five goals and eight assists in Boston's Cup run. He was paired with Daniel Paille and Tyler Seguin during this game and would you believe me if I told you that they were the best line on either team? Seriously. After Paille's steal and wraparound attempt, Kelly followed up for the rebound which turned into his first goal of the postseason at 14:58.

After Wednesday's soul-crushing 4-3 loss in triple overtime, I can't imagine many Bruins fans were thinking positive thoughts when Game 2 went to overtime but they calmed our nerves by winning a franchise-best fifth overtime game of the 2013 playoffs.

Poor Jaromir Jagr can't buy a goal no matter what he does, he rang the post early in overtime with a laser of a wrist shot. Paille's goal, his third of the playoffs, was a beauty at 13:48. Adam McQuaid kept the puck in Chicago's zone, Tyler Seguin found Paille and the underrated left wing sniped it off the post but past Corey Crawford (26 saves) and in the net.

For a while it wasn't pretty as it looked like Chicago was going to run Boston out of the United Center but when it came time to wake up, the Bruins showed they are right in this series.

I wish it was Monday night already, the atmosphere at the Garden should be nothing short of incredible. These are two great teams and I expect the rest of the series to be this competitive (albeit not all ending in OT). The B's have a chance to really take control with the next two games at home but it would be silly to underestimate the Blackhawks.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Who Wants A Sweep? Not The Bruins Apparently Who Choke Away Game 4 Vs. Rangers In OT

The Bruins clearly saw the awful forecast this weekend in New England so they thought, "we can't do anything outside so why don't we play another game against the Rangers instead?" Boston had a glorious chance to send New York home for the summer but they blew a pair of leads (2-0, 3-2) en route to a 4-3 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Bruins still own a 3-1 lead in the series but this has been deceptively close since three of the four games have been decided by one goal with two in overtime.

Game 5 is Saturday (5:30 p.m., NBCSN) and it's only happening because of BC and Eastern Mass products Brian Boyle and Chris Kreider (who had the game-winner). Well that's not true, it also took a couple insanely improbable things to let New York climb back into this. Credit to the Rangers though as Boyle finally solved their power play drought (0 for 12 in the series before that) for the tying goal at 10:00 in the third period. Kreider celebrated his promotion to a better line (sorry Brad Richards) with a pretty tip-in from Rick Nash at 7:03 in overtime.

Just like Game 3, the B's took it to the Rangers from the start and New York played like they couldn't care less. Between swearing at the refs, John Tortorella kept busy during TV timeouts by updating his resume and creating a Linked In profile. Boston outshot New York 12-4 in the first period but they couldn't beat Henrik Lundqvist (37 saves). The Bruins struck twice on the power play in the second period to grab the 2-0 advantage. Nathan Horton slipped one past King Henrik at 4:39, his fifth of the playoffs, from David Krecji and Brad Marchand. Torey Krug scored his third goal in four games at 7:41 with a long range slap shot from Tyler Seguin and Horton.

Someone must have slipped booze in Tuukka Rask's (28 saves) water bottle since he made one of the worst mistakes I've ever seen by an NHL goaltender that totally changed the tenor of what was shaping up to be an easy win for the Black and Gold. 58 seconds after Krug's goal, Carl Hagelin innocently floated a backhander on Rask that caused him to trip over his own skates than attempt to flail his stick at the slowly moving puck. It didn't work, 2-1 Bruins.

Rask's flask was passed to Zdeno Chara in the Bruins dressing room between periods because then it was his turn to make an unbelievable mistake that never happens. Chara was going behind Boston's net when Derek Stepan stripped the puck from him then wrapped it around the goal and in before Rask could recover. It made Tuukka look bad too but I can't blame him nearly as much as Chara, what was that?

If those goals weren't strange enough, Tyler Seguin suddenly morphed into a guy with confidence that could finish around the net. He made it 3-2 at 8:06 from Dougie Hamilton and Chara, his first goal of the playoffs looked like it might clinch the series.

About that, Boston took its annual too many men on the ice penalty which led to Boyle's goal. As hopeless as New York's power play has been, you knew that eventually they would figure it out.

The shots were even 7-7 in overtime but it felt like the B's had better scoring chances and it was only a matter of time before they ended it. As Lee Corso would say, "not so fast my friend!" Boston fell to 3-1 in overtime this postseason while New York improved to 1-3. The Bruins are 1-3 in closeout games but unlike the Maple Leafs series, this time they gave themselves one more game of breathing room. Actually forget I said that, please end it on Saturday night!

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Breaking News: Penguins Are The Team To Beat In The Eastern Conference

The Bruins are in one of their infamous goal droughts again and this time it has really hurt them. Boston (26-12-5) is winless in its last four games (0-3-1) after falling 3-2 to Pittsburgh (34-10-0) this afternoon at TD Garden. The Penguins clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference while the Bruins continued their longest winless streak of the season. Boston has scored two goals in each of its last three games and they haven't scored more than two in their last four games, do you sense a pattern here?

Carl Soderberg made his NHL debut and Milan Lucic was a healthy scratch for the first time this season but he'll probably be back in the lineup tomorrow since Nathan Horton hurt his hand/wrist during a fight with Jarome Iginla in the first period. The B's have allowed two power play goals in each of the last three games, another sign that the NHL's top penalty kill unit isn't up to snuff at the moment.

Tomas Vokoun (38 saves) got the start while Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and James Neal were all out with various injuries. That coupled with the fact that Boston is right there with Montreal meant this loss was particularly rough. This is a game they should have won, starting with the fact that they outshot the Penguins every period with a final total of 40-24. Those numbers weren't padded either since the B's had way more quality scoring chances.

After Adam McQuaid and Tanner Glass fought, Brad Marchand (17th goal of the season) gave Boston a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 10:18. Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask (21 saves; 17-9-5) had the assists as Marchand got a step on Pittsburgh's defense then took a shot that trickled past Vokoun.

Jussi Jokinen tied it at 5:10 of the second period with assists from Matt Niskanen and Glass. He jumped all over a loose puck right in front of Rask and roofed it with a diving backhander for a pretty goal.

Pittsburgh put it away with a pair of power play goals in the third period. Iginla's slap shot went through Rask's five hole at 4:43 then Kris Letang beat him at 8:29 with a shot that was a little closer and in a prime shooting spot. Make no mistake though, from that distance Rask has to stop Iginla's shot that was screened but not tipped.

Tyler Seguin scored his 16th game of the season with three seconds left in regulation, Chara had the lone assist on the garbage time tally. If it had come a few minutes earlier, it would have at least made things more interesting. The Penguins swept the season series with the B's (3-0-0) proving that the Eastern Conference will go through them and the CONSOL Energy Center.

Now the B's have to hope the Canadiens lose to the Capitals tonight so Montreal remains only two points ahead of Boston. Otherwise, they'll have even more work cut out for them. First things first, they need to clean up their own game and that starts with beating the crap out of the Panthers (13-25-6) tomorrow afternoon (12:30 p.m., NESN). I think that Anton Khudobin will get the start then again maybe Claude Julien picks Rask so that he can get back on track (he's 0-3-0 in his last three starts). The Bruins need a blowout win in the worst way.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Lose To A Shitbag Team-Hurricanes-But Gain A Swede That Could Help Them

When you lose to a team that came in with seven straight losses, miss out on clinching a playoff spot and most importantly, don't retake possession of first place in the Northeast Division, it has been a rough night. Boston (26-11-4) had everything in their hands but they couldn't get the job done as they lost 3-2 at Carolina's (17-22-2) PNC Arena.

While the B's were faltering against one of the Eastern Conference's worst teams, the Canadiens were getting curbstomped by the Maple Leafs. Montreal ended up losing 5-1 which means that if Boston had won, they would have jumped one point ahead of the Habs.

I guess it wasn't to be; the only thing that should give B's fans a sliver of hope after this punch to the balls is that they were able to sign Swedish forward Carl Soderberg to a three-year deal. He's expected to play on Wednesday and he'll be eligible for the playoffs as soon as he suits up for the Bruins. It is beyond stupid to pin our hopes on a guy that's never played in the NHL, joining a new team right before the postseason but at least he is obviously skilled and he could potentially give Boston more scoring punch which would help balance out their faltering lines.

Milan Lucic scored his first goal in 10 games (his sixth of the season) at 6:07 of the first period from Matt Bartkowski and Jaromir Jagr. Looch tipped Bartkowski's shot from the point past Hurricanes goaltender Justin Peters (28 saves). Boston hadn't recorded a fighting major since March 27 so it was nice to see the Bruins drop the gloves three times in the first period: Shawn Thornton vs. Kevin Westgarth, Zdeno Chara vs. Jay Harrison and Gregory Campbell vs. Nicolas Blanchard.

The Hurricanes spoiled the fun provided by the fisticuffs since Jeff Skinner scored a backbreaking power play goal with 36 seconds left in the first period. He banked it in off Tuukka Rask's (34 saves) pads with assists to Alexander Semin and Justin Faulk.

Jiri Tlusty sneaked one past Rask at 14:04 of the second period from Jordan Staal and Tim Gleason. Boston pushed back as Tyler Seguin tied it at two with his 15th goal of the season, from Andrew Ference at 17:57. A bad line change by Carolina and heady chip by Ference led to Seguin skating in on a breakaway. Let's face it, there's nobody else on the Bruins that we'd rather see in that situation.

Joltin' Joe Corvo provided the game-winning goal against his former employer, Carolina scored its second power play goal at 9:36 in the third period. Corvo one-timed a pass from Marc-Andre Bergeron that Rask would normally stop. Tlusty added an empty-netter with 29 seconds left. Make no mistake about it, given the circumstances I think this was Boston's worst loss of the season.

The Bruins are back at TD Garden for a busy week of four games in seven days-all in Boston. They begin by hosting Ottawa (21-14-6, 4th in Northeast Division) on Monday (7 p.m., NESN). Boston is 4-0 against the Senators this season (all 1-goal games) so they'll go for the season sweep on Monday. Keep in mind that all numbers pointed to them beating the Hurricanes tonight. You never know what'll happen when two of your best players (Patrice Bergeron & Brad Marchand) are out.

Boston still has a chance to catch Montreal since five of their last seven games are at home while the Canadiens play four road games in their last seven contests to close out the regular season.

UPDATE 4/17: Jordan Caron was sent to Providence while Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand return to action for the B's tonight vs. Buffalo.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

The Bruins Really Need Bergeron & Marchand On The Ice Or Else They Won't Go Anywhere

Not that they wanted to offer them up but the Bruins had plenty of excuses for playing poorly tonight at TD Garden. They lost 2-1 to the Islanders in their third game in four nights. Thankfully, it was their last back-to-back game (they were in New Jersey last night) of the season. Making things that much more difficult, they are playing now without two of their top offensive players-Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand-who are both out with "mild" concussions.

New York (21-16-4) is going to be in the playoffs this season, you have to get used to that weird sight. The Islanders picked up a point in their sixth straight game as they are building some real momentum towards their first playoff berth in six years.

The immortal Josh Bailey scored both goals for the Islanders while Tyler Seguin notched the only tally for the B's. Evgeni Nabokov (30 saves; 20-11-4) was better than Tuukka Rask (34 saves; 17-7-4) which is not something I expected to ever write in my blogging lifetime.

It looked like the teams were going to skate into their dressing rooms scoreless after the first period but Bailey had other plans. He sniped a shot over Rask's glove, his eighth goal of the season, from the underrated Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo at 19:39.

The equivalent of a solar eclipse happened for the B's and yet they still lost. Seguin's goal (his 14th of the season) was on the power play, meaning that Boston has power play goals in consecutive games for only the second time this season (Feb. 15 & 17). He roofed one past Nabokov after he had loads of time and space, Gregory Campbell and Jaromir Jagr-haha that dynamic duo-had the assists at 3:41 of the second period.

Bailey's game-winner was pure luck since his not very hard shot somehow trickled through Rask's pads and just over the line at 13:12 of the second period. Frans Nielsen and Streit provided the assists, it was Bailey's fifth multi-goal game of his storied career.

By virtue of this loss and Montreal's 5-1 thrashing of the Sabres, the B's got to enjoy first-place in the Northeast Division for a little less than 24 hours. The Canadiens go back ahead by a point with each team having eight games left.

Boston's next game on Saturday (7 p.m., NESN) is a gift since they play the coldest team in the NHL: the Carolina Hurricanes who have lost seven games in a row. You might remember Carolina from their pathetic 6-2 beating at the hands of the B's on Monday. It doesn't have to be that one-sided but the Bruins could really use another easy two points like that.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Poor Senators, All They Can Do Is Lose To The Bruins By One Goal In Every Possible Way

A busy day for the Bruins was wrapped up in the best manner: they beat the Senators 3-2 at TD Garden. Boston (23-8-4) will have to change up its lines with Jaromir Jagr on the team now but in maybe their last game together, David Krejci (1 goal, 1 assist), Milan Lucic (2 assists) and Nathan Horton (game-winning goal) were dynamite.

Ottawa (19-11-6) has one more chance to beat the Bruins in the regular season, thus far they've lost all four meetings and making it more painful each one has been by a single goal (2 in regulation, 1 in OT, 1 in shootout). This was one of the more exciting games of the season since Boston had a season-high 50 shots on goal and Ottawa had 47 shots on goal. Haha the shots in the first period were 22-19 in favor of Boston which more resembles the final totals from some of their boring contests of late.

Anton Khudobin (45 saves) and Robin Lehner (47 saves) might be backup goaltenders but they were both superb in this one. Khudobin earned the back-to-back start after his shutout in Buffalo on Sunday night and even though he allowed a goal 2:48 into the first period, he still came out on top. Ottawa's Colin Greening had the opening score as Boston was caught running around in its own end.

Krejci answered 40 seconds later by tipping in Zdeno Chara's shot from the point for his ninth goal of the season. Lucic had the second assist. Tyler Seguin sent the Garden crowd into hysterics with a spectacular goal just 1:01 later after a give-and-go with his BFF Brad Marchand. It was Seguin's 12th goal of the season.

After a scoreless second period as things calmed down only in terms of goals, Ottawa's Andre Benoit tied it at 1:55 with a shot that initially didn't seem to go in as Khudobin dove wildly like Tim Thomas. On replay, it was clear that it hit the back of the bar in the goal and came out even faster so it was ruled a goal.

Horton delivered his 12th goal of the season (four straight games with a goal) thanks to a juicy rebound on Lucic's shot with Krejci credited with the second assist. Boston survived a 6-on-4 with 34 seconds left as Johnny Boychuk was called for interference.

The only negative news for the Black and Gold to come out of today was that Patrice Bergeron got elbowed in the second period and never returned. As can be expected in that type of situation, neither his teammates nor head coach Claude Julien wanted to elaborate on what happened to him which should set off plenty of hysteria since Bergeron has a history of concussions. Not to mention the fact that he's one of their most important players that does seemingly everything well.

Jagr will be in a Bruins uniform, wearing his customary No. 68 on Thursday (7 p.m., NESN) at the Garden as the B's host the Devils (15-12-9). An interesting subplot is if Khudobin will get his third start in a row or if Julien goes back to Tuukka Rask.

UPDATE 4/3: The only move the B's made today was trading for scrub defenseman Wade Redden from St. Louis in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick. It becomes a sixth-round pick if he plays a game in the playoffs but don't count on that. He is awful and nobody wanted him the last few years so even though he might be better than Aaron Johnson and Matt Bartkowski, why would they throw them into this race?

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli gave a vague update on Bergeron, saying that he has a "moderate concussion," whatever that means. This is his fourth career concussion (that we know about) so let's see how long this one keeps him out.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Canadiens Outlast Bruins 6-5 In Wild Shootout Victory At TD Garden

A game like tonight, as entertaining as it was, is further proof of why I hope the Bruins don't meet the Canadiens in the playoffs this spring. Boston gets sucked into Montreal's weasel game and it takes them out of their normal style (physical, defensive, rolling four lines). The Canadiens won 6-5 in a shootout at TD Garden to take control of the Northeast Division (the teams both had 45 points before the game).

Boston (21-7-4) fell behind 2-0 before rallying for a 4-2 lead in the second period but Montreal (21-7-5) outscored them 3-1 in the third period, survived overtime and Brendan Gallagher netted the only goal in six rounds of the shootout. The B's finished 6-2-0 at home in March, the catch is that both losses were to the Canadiens.

Michael Ryder scored on a one-timer in the first period to give the Habs a 1-0 lead then P.K. Subban added one of his patented lasers that Tuukka Rask (23 saves) had no chance to stop early in the second period. Dougie Hamilton scored his fourth goal of the season, 32 seconds after Subban's tally. Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron had the assists. Brad Marchand (14th goal of season) tied it at two after great hustle, he followed his own rebound with Bergeron and Seguin providing the assists at 7:23. You knew the B's were rolling when Bergeron made it 4-2 thanks to a power-play goal at 17:01 from Rich Peverley and Torey Krug (called up today).

Ryder struck again, early in the third period, on another one-timer but Seguin appeared to wrap it up with a beautiful backhander at 11:50 from Marchand and Bergeron. Gallagher got the lucky bounces started for Montreal as he scored after no joke he shot it off Dennis Seidenberg's face then swept the rebound past Rask who was out of position. The Canadiens took advantage of a silly rule that needs to be changed as Andrei Markov was credited with a power play when there was only 8.2 seconds left in regulation. Aaron Johnson had mistakenly deflected the puck into the crowd in his own end. That was bad enough but the goal was deflected off Chara's stick past Rask.

Boston dominated in most facets: shots on goal (41-28), hits (33-21) and faceoff wins (44-26) but they couldn't find the game-winner in overtime and then all six shooters were stopped by Peter Budaj (14 saves). Carey Price (22 saves) started but got pulled after the second period, Budaj earned the win by only allowing one goal with nothing in overtime or even the shootout.

These teams meet one more time, on Saturday, April 6 in Montreal, before the playoffs begin. As it stands, Montreal leads the season series 2-1. For the first time in over a month, the exhausted B's get two days in a row without a game. Next, we'll see them in Philadelphia on Saturday (1:00 p.m., NESN) taking on the Flyers (13-17-2, 5th in Atlantic Division) who have been one of the NHL's biggest disappointments.

UPDATE 3/29: Torey Krug was sent back to Providence which means that Johnny Boychuk should be back in the lineup tomorrow against the Flyers.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Welp, The Penguins Are Certainly The Class Of The Eastern Conference (At This Moment)

For whatever reason, the Bruins have been very competitive in their first two games against the Penguins this season (both this past week) but they have yet to figure out how to get two points. On Tuesday, they blew a 2-0 lead at CONSOL Energy Center and lost 3-2, today at the same tough venue they fell 2-1.

Pittsburgh (22-8-0) has won nine games in a row, they've beaten Boston (19-5-3) both times without the incomparable Evgeni Malkin and this afternoon, backup goaltender Tomas Vokoun (31 saves) beat Tuukka Rask (16 saves; 14-3-3). On Tuesday, B's backup goaltender Anton Khudobin took the loss.

The Penguins never trailed as Sidney Crosby (13th goal of the season) connected on a one-timer at 12:06 of the first period from Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis had the second assist. Tyler Seguin (10th goal of the season) had the Bruins' lone goal after Johnny Boychuk's shot from the point deflected off a Penguin right to Seguin at 16:38. Patrice Bergeron had the second assist.

Three guys from Beanpot schools teamed up for Pittsburgh's game-winner as Joe Vitale (Northeastern; 1st goal of the season) dove for a beautiful diving shot over Rask, Craig Adams (Harvard) and Brooks Orpik (Boston College) had the assists at 19:28. It's hard to totally blame Rask on Vitale's goal since the initial shot had deflected off Andrew Ference but it wasn't the hardest shot (speed wise) and Rask fumbled it right to Vitale.

It was a tight game the rest of the way that had a playoff-type feel. The NHL would be in for a real treat if these teams met in the playoffs this spring, ratings would be excellent. They'll play once more, finally in Boston, on Friday, April 19.

Of more concern for the Bruins is the health of David Krejci. He took a Boychuk slap shot right off his knee cap late in the third period and had to be helped off the ice and into the dressing room. Losing him for a significant period of time would be tough, especially with Chris Kelly (their third line center) also out indefinitely with a broken leg.

This kicked off a four-game road trip for Boston, up next they hit Canada for three games beginning with Tuesday (8 p.m., NESN) in Winnipeg (15-11-2, 1st in Southeast Division). The Bruins have topped the Jets in their first two games this season (2-1 in a shootout and 3-2) but Winnipeg has been playing very well lately (6-3-1 in their last 10). At Ottawa and Toronto won't be easy either since they are both still in the top six of the Eastern Conference. The B's won't be back at TD Garden until next Monday against the Maple Leafs.

UPDATE 3/18: Looks like Krejci isn't too hurt, he's day-to-day although the B's called up Ryan Spooner from Providence for tomorrow's game against the Jets.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Puke On Their Skates In 3rd Period, Cough Up 2-0 Lead To Penguins

Playing in the second night of a back-to-back on the road against the NHL's hottest team-the Pittsburgh Penguins-proved to be too much for the Bruins tonight at the Consol Energy Center. Boston (17-4-3) actually led 2-0 in the first period but the Penguins (19-8-0) rallied for a pair of goals in the third period before Brandon Sutter won it with the game-winner at 17:57. Pittsburgh captured its sixth game in a row but on the bright side at least the B's didn't have to go to overtime or another shootout again.

Zdeno Chara's power play goal (his 5th goal of the season) at 4:45, from Dennis Seidenberg and Rich Peverley, was a bomb from the point followed by Tyler Seguin's goal (his 9th of the season) which gave the Bruins a shocking 2-0 lead at 13:30. Seguin's was the result of tic-tac-toe passing between his linemates Brad Marchand (who won the puck along the end boards) and Patrice Bergeron. He roofed it by Marc-Andre Fleury (14 saves).

Anton Khudobin (4-2-0) got the start and he deserved a better result since he made 31 saves. After they scored their goals, Boston went into a deep slumber the likes of which their team logo is best known for. Khudobin kept them afloat for as long as he could that is until two crappy turnovers and one sublime finish proved to be a deadly combination.

Chris Kunitz got Pittsburgh on the board with his 18th goal of the season at 13:42, a laser of a one-timer over Khudobin's shoulder that was assisted by Kris Letang and Deryk Engelland. Sutter was the unlikely hero thanks to the gifts from Boston's leaky defensemen who couldn't help but hand him the puck in prime locations. He tied it at 14:33 from James Neal and Beau Bennett. His game-winner was fittingly unassisted although it would have been Dennis Seidenberg's best assist of the season if only they were on the same team.

Now officially halfway through this lockout-shortened season, Boston survived this three games in four days (2-1-0) segment and for their troubles they get to return to TD Garden to begin another three games in four days stretch. The worst team in the NHL-the Florida Panthers (7-14-6)-visit on Thursday night (7 p.m., NESN) in a game that the B's need to have before they start playing other legitimate NHL teams later in the week.

UPDATE 3/13: Chris Kelly is out indefinitely with a broken left tibia, suffered Monday in Ottawa. Ugh, this is the first major injury for the Bruins this season so get used to seeing Jay Pandolfo in the lineup every game for a while.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Sweep Aside Flyers, 3-0, With Relative Ease

At the TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, we were treated to a pair of hockey teams that are going in opposite directions. Boston (16-3-3) beat Philadelphia (11-14-1) 3-0 as Tuukka Rask (12-2-3) made 23 saves for his 13th career shutout and second this season. He hadn't beaten the Flyers since the 2010 playoffs and we all remember how that ended so I'm sure it felt good to get this personal footnote out of the way. Truthfully, he really wasn't tested at all. It had to be one of the easiest NHL shutouts in his career.

Since Philly had dreams of a Stanley Cup run (however misguided those were), you have to think that something big is coming down the pike soon if they keep this crappy play up. They lost their third straight game and it's not out of the realm of possibility that they'll either fire head coach Peter Laviolette or trade one of their underachieving big names (Hartnell or Briere come to mind).

If you boiled it down, this game basically had two exciting parts. Granted one of those was when the B's poured in all three of their goals in 2:18 during the second period. The other instance was when Shawn Thornton fought Zac Rinaldo and dropped him I might add.

Tyler Seguin continued to heat up as he scored his eighth goal of the season, on the power play no less, from Milan Lucic and David Krejci at 11:53. Lucic used his backhand to throw it across the crease and Seguin ripped a one-timer before Ilya Bryzgalov (25 saves) had much of a chance to react. Chris Kelly got out of his slump with his second goal of the season, thanks to Jordan Caron's assist from the side of the goal (in his first game with the B's this season) at 13:28. Rich Peverley had the second assist as Boston's third line cashed in a goal they desperately needed. When Daniel Paille scored 43 seconds later, the rout was on. All but the first line had goals for the B's, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton had the assists on Paille's fourth goal of the season-a sweet backhander after he got behind Philly's lazy defense.

These teams play twice more, the next one is March 30 in Philadelphia so it's not hard to picture the Flyers that take the ice that night looking much different. Boston needed this win since the upcoming week is brutal: five games in seven days including a pair of back-to-backs. Woof. Up next, they'll be at Ottawa (13-8-4, 3rd in Northeast Division) on Monday night (7:30 p.m., NESN). The Bruins beat the Senators 2-1 in overtime (on Patrice Bergeron's winner) February 28 at the Garden.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Maybe Someday The Maple Leafs Will Figure Out How To Beat The Bruins Again

I can't imagine what it feels like to be a Maple Leafs fan these days knowing that the Bruins still completely own them. Boston (15-3-3) had lost two in a row while Toronto (15-10-0) had won three straight coming into tonight but none of that seemed to matter since the B's skated home from the TD Garden with a simple 4-2 win. Boston has won eight consecutive games against Toronto-the longest win streak ever for the B's against their Original 6 rival.

Patrice Bergeron (1 goal, 2 assists), Tyler Seguin (2 goals, 1 assist) and Brad Marchand (2 assists) continued to carry the Bruins' offense. They have put up 14 goals and 23 assists in the last nine games, I doubt there is any other line in the NHL that can say that. The ironic part is that they are designated as the second line but clearly they've been Boston's best now for at least a season and a half.

Backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (4-1-0) continued to be a steady option when Tuukka Rask needs a breather, he made 25 saves for the win. Toronto had played at home against Ottawa last night so they didn't have as much energy as usual (I guess) and their No. 1 goaltender-James Reimer-got the night off. Ben Scrivens made 21 saves but fell to 6-7-0.

Adam McQuaid and Mark Fraser fought 3:23 into the contest as the Leafs tried to exert their will against the Bruins. It was a good fight but that's not the approach I would take against the B's, especially in Boston. If I didn't know any better, I would conclude that the B's were toying with the poor Leafs as they scored a goal in the final two minutes of each period. Bergeron opened the scoring (his 6th of the season) at 19:07 of the first when Seguin drove to the net which made Scrivens leave a juicy rebound. Marchand had the second assist.

After a bad giveaway by David Krejci, who hesitated with a chance to shoot, Nazem Kadri cashed in his 11th goal of the season at 2:32 of the second period from Clarke MacArthur and Carl Gunnarsson. Toronto took advantage of a 2-on-1, Khudobin had no chance to stop it. Seguin and the B's responded with a doppleganger tally as he finished a 2-on-1 (his 6th goal of the season) with Marchand. Bergeron had the second assist at 11:09. Krejci's goal (his 6th of the season) turned out to be the game-winner at 18:03. Andrew Ference and Milan Lucic had the assists as Krejci battled in front of the net and was rewarded with a rebound.

The Leafs didn't entirely fold as Jay McClement tipped in a shot from Mikhail Grabovski with 5:08 left in regulation but Seguin padded his stats with an empty-netter. Toronto will have two more chances later in March to beat the Bruins, otherwise it might never happen. Haha I'm only sort of kidding, they must have zero confidence against the B's.

Speaking of headcases, the Flyers (11-13-1) are due for a visit on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m., NESN). It'll be the first Bruins game against Philadelphia this season and even though it's a matinee (which are often dull), you can bet those teams will make it interesting.

UPDATE 3/8: The Bruins recalled forward Jordan Caron from Providence (for the first time this season) and Chris Bourque cleared waivers so he'll play tonight in Providence.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Canadiens Rally For A 4-3 Win In Boston

Games like tonight are why hockey fans enjoying fighting in the NHL and don't want to see the most brutal aspect of the sport be taken out. Montreal (14-4-4) scored a vital road win with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory at TD Garden vs. Boston (14-3-2). The Bruins' six-game win streak is over and in the process the Canadiens take over sole possession of the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference. The good news is that Boston has three games in hand and they only trail Montreal by two points.

A pair of fights in the second period with threats of more will be the main talking point coming out of this intense regular season meeting. Zdeno Chara got whistled for a misconduct on Alexei Emelin. Big Z unloaded on Emelin since the latter had taken a run at Tyler Seguin in the neutral zone by the benches. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they allowed the final two goals by Montreal while Chara was out for a combined 17 penalty minutes in the late second and third period.

Just as everybody predicted, Peter Budaj (31 saves) outdueled Boston's Tuukka Rask (22 saves), wait what? This had to have served as some sort of revenge for Montreal after Boston won there by 2-1 on Feb. 6; they play twice more in the regular season. Tomas Plekanec opened the scoring for Montreal with a power play goal (3rd game in a row Boston has allowed a PP goal) at 9:57 of the first period. Former Bruin Michael Ryder and also P.K. Subban had the assists on Plekanec's shot which appeared to Rask. Tyler Seguin answered with a pretty one-timer goal off a clean breakout by Boston, Patrice Bergeron (1 goal, 2 assist) and Brad Marchand (3 assists) provided the helpers. This all happened in 1:06 of game clock.

The immortal David Desharnais put up two goals although the first one was the hockey equivalent of an own goal in soccer. He banked it in off Johnny Boychuk's stick. Usually Boston dominates in the third period but tonight that became the second period. Bergeron tied it thanks to a 2-on-1 with Seguin, Marchand was credited with the second assist. Bruins rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton scored his second goal of the season to give the B's a 3-2 advantage. Marchand and Bergeron both put up assists on the play but truthfully Hamilton did most of the heavy lifting as he batted a pouncing puck past Budaj from a sharp angle.

After Boston took their only lead of the game, that's when things started to go downhill. Milan Lucic fought his old nemesis Brandon Prust (3 total fights between those guys in their careers) then Chara went by the unwritten rule for the B's to protect their own by taking out Emelin. The Canadiens are having a great start to the season and it continued as Max Pacioretty tied it up with a screened shot from the point. Desharnais scored his second goal by simply crashing the net.

The best cure for Boston will be to beat the Capitals (8-11-1, 4th in Southeast Division) on Tuesday night (7 p.m., NESN) in DC. They haven't played them yet this season but the Bruins should be very motivated to get back to their winning ways while also keeping the team that knocked them out of last spring's playoffs in misery. I only bring it up not as an excuse but a notable fact this concluded a three-games in four days stretch for the B's. They also had games on back-to-back days.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Continue To Find Ways To Win

The Bruins continue to be the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, they beat the Lightning 3-2 this afternoon at TD Garden for their sixth straight win. Boston (14-2-2) is 6-1-1 at home thanks to Brad Marchand's team-leading 11th goal of the season which came with 2:16 left in regulation. The B's spotted Tampa Bay (9-11-1) a 2-0 lead in the first period but rallied for the final three goals.

Backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (20 saves) improved to 3-1-1 as he outdueled Tampa Bay's backup goaltender Mathieu Garon (24 saves). Steven Stamkos, who leads the NHL in points, was present but not accounted for when he beat Khudobin 5:32 into the game on a one-timer from Teddy Purcell and Marc-Andre Bergeron. That power play goal for the Lightning was followed by another by former Harvard standout Alex Killorn who made it 2-0 with a nifty backhander at 8:38 from Purcell and Martin St. Louis.

It's nearly impossible to rattle the B's as they worked their way back into it with goals from Tyler Seguin (4th of the season) & Rich Peverley (3rd of the season) just 1:17 apart early in the second period. Seguin's was on the power play from Dougie Hamilton and David Krejci, a one-timer from the left side similar to Stamkos' rocket. Peverley's goal was also in the same general area and it ended in the same result, Adam McQuaid and Daniel Paille had the assists.

Boston is 9-1 in one-goal games and they've outscored opponents 20-8 in the third period for a reason, that seems to be when they play their best-in the most clutch, intense situations. The B's took advantage of a four-minute power play with Patrice Bergeron finding Marchand on a 2-on-1 for the game-winner (Marchand's 4th of the season, tied for the NHL lead). The Bruins are 2-0 against the Lightning this season with one more game in the regular season: Boston's home finale on April 25, a makeup game from the blizzard.

The stakes couldn't be much higher tomorrow night (7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network) as the Montreal Canadiens (13-4-3 heading into tonight's game vs. Pittsburgh) come to the Garden. First place in the Northeast Division and Eastern Conference will be on the line as the Original 6 blood rivals get together. Boston won 2-1 in Montreal on February 6 in the teams' first meeting this season.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate