The Bruins Began Their 2023-24 Regular Season Campaign With A 3-1 Victory Vs. The Blackhawks

 

    It seems like only yesterday that the Bruins were choking away a 3-1 series lead and losing another excruciating Game 7 on their home ice, this time to the Panthers in the first round of the playoffs last spring. You cannot blame Boston's fans for having even more PTSD after the Bruins made the best regular season in NHL history nothing but a useless footnote. With that said, it is time to move on with our lives and focus on a new season for the Black and Gold. Additionally, with how terrible the Red Sox and Patriots are these days, we need the B's and the Celtics to be the title contenders that we believe them to be. Tonight, the B's hosted the Blackhawks (1-1-0) at TD Garden and they turned in a solid performance that resulted in a satisfying 3-1 win for the home team. 

    The league schedule makers did the Bruins a favor since Chicago had played last night (an unexpected 4-2 triumph in Pittsburgh). The Blackhawks received an early boost by their young phenom and the No. 1 overall pick center Connor Bedard who scored his first career goal at 5:37 of the first period with a nifty wraparound. Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (20 saves) was a little slow to react and the baby-faced 18-year-old Canadian corralled a rebound and quickly twisted around the cage to net what will be the first of likely hundreds of goals in the NHL. Former Bruins Taylor Hall-who later left with an upper body injury following a check from B's defenseman Brandon Carlo-and Ryan Donato (the pride of Harvard) provided the assists on Bedard's historic tally. Chicago's lone lead was brief though as Boston tied it up less than six minutes later. Left wing Trent Frederic deftly tipped in Carlo's shot from the point at 11:22. Rookie center Matthew Poitras picked up the second assist, the first career point for a 19-year-old who burst onto the scene at Boston's training camp and earned himself a surprise spot in the opening lineup. 

    It was knotted at 1-1 after the first period but the Bruins slowly started to take over against the understandably tired Blackhawks in the second period. They took a 2-1 lead midway through the frame that served as an early dose of Bruins porn for their always thirsty fans. Old friend and left wing Milan Lucic made his triumphant return to the Garden with a nice backhand assist to right wing David Pastrnak who ripped a low shot past Chicago's backup goalie something named Arvid Soderblom (30 saves) at 13:09. After scoring a career-high 61 goals last season, it is unlikely that Pastrnak will reach that lofty height this time around but as long as he can bag 40+ goals, the Bruins will take it. Boston led 2-1 heading into the third and you had a feeling that Chicago was gassed out. 
    Each club was 0-for-3 on the power play so the B's had to wait until the Blackhawks pulled Soderblom for an extra skater to finally put this one to bed. In his first official contest as captain Bruins left wing Brad Marchand won a puck battle along the wall and unselfishly gave up the puck to Pastrnak for an easy empty-net goal at 19:04. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy registered the second assist on David's second goal of the night. Overall, it was a fun game for the B's who saw two of their recent draft picks make their NHL debuts: center John Beecher and right wing Jakub Lauko who teamed up with Lucic on the very effective fourth line.

    Boston will practice for a few days before their next matchup-on Saturday night (7, NESN)- Nashville (0-1-0) pays them a visit. Following that matchup with another Western Conference club, the B's are off to California (San Jose, LA then Anaheim) and a return date with Chicago as their first road trip of this season is four games long. We are a few weeks away from Halloween so the weather is still pretty decent in New England and unless you are a hardcore fan, it is hard to focus on the Bruins this early. However, winter will be here soon enough and the Pats could be the worst team in the NFL so local sports fans need a team to put our unrealistic hopes on. Hello Bruins (and Celtics)! Longtime Bruins centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are now retired plus there is a decent amount of new faces on this roster. Last season was a forceful reminder that the regular season in hockey is mostly useless other than qualifying for the playoffs. Regardless, the NHL postseason does not start for a long time so we need entertainment until then and this likeable group should fill that void very well indeed.

The Bruins Inked Forward Trent Frederic To A Two-Year Extension With A $1.05 Million Cap Hit

 

    It was a very under-the-radar signing that was sadly buried on a summer Friday afternoon but yesterday, the Bruins signed one of their few promising young forwards to a two-year contract extension. 23-year-old Trent Frederic's new deal will cost the team an annual cap hit of just $1.05 million dollars. That is a relative bargain for a guy that is a former first-round draft pick (29th overall in 2016) who made an immediate impact in his first full NHL season (2021) before tailing off near the end of the regular season and being a healthy scratch for all 11 playoff games against the Capitals and Islanders. While it's hard to explain how he didn't appear in a single postseason contest against two big and tough teams like Washington and New York, I am sure that Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy sat Frederic for a specific reason(s). 

In 42 games last season with the black and gold, Frederic had four goals and an assist along with 65 penalty minutes. As you can guess from those modest offensive numbers, he probably will never be on Boston's top line but nevertheless, he can definitely play a key role as many of the Bruins older veteran forwards eventually start to phase out from the club. Freddy isn't afraid of anyone in the NHL: the picture above shows him chirping with Devils defenseman P.K. Subban while he also famously went after Caps superstar Alex Ovechkin. The key for Frederic like many other young players in the league that play with a physical edge is to not cross the line too often. He had a tendency to take some dumb penalties when other teams started to take notice of him and go after the University of Wisconsin product both physically and verbally. 

    The NHL is not nearly as physical as it once was and likewise, the Bruins who were always known for their toughness these days have very few guys that you would consider legitimate tough guys. Trent could be different and a bit of a throwback (that B's fans already have started to fall in love with) because he has the stick skills of a first-round draft pick but the grinding style of a third or fourth-line forward that's a fringe player in the league. I'm certainly not anointing him the next Cam Neely or anything but there is no reason why his ceiling couldn't be something like a Milan Lucic: a big (6-foot-2, 230 pounds), left shot forward that is not afraid to drop the gloves or go to the net to knock in loose pucks. He seems very likable and a good teammate so with some more seasoning at the highest level, hopefully he continues to take the next steps to embrace a much bigger role on the Bruins. 

The Bruins Finally Discovered First-Hand What A Joy It Is To Play Against The Sabres This Season

 

    The Sabres (6-19-4) are really lucky that there isn't a relegation system in the NHL because they are the worst team in the league by a wide margin this season. Tonight at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo head coach Don Granato's (brother of Tony and Cammi) debut, the Bruins (16-8-4) easily dispatched them 4-1 in their first of eight meetings in 2021. It was the 13th straight loss for the Sabres, a once proud franchise that has become a laughing stock in recent years and a place where good hockey players go to die. Boston won its second game in a row for the first time in over a month (February 12), so you can bet that they are psyched to be playing these bums at just the right time. 

    This morning, it looked like this game might not even happen today since a Bruins player (later revealed to be center Sean Kuraly) entered Covid-19 protocols and the morning skate was promptly cancelled. Not to be outdone, Buffalo didn't have a morning skate either since a member of their hockey staff had entered Covid protocols as well. On a lighter note, it's always a good day when you get to say Greg McKegg's wonderful name and wouldn't you know, he was in the lineup this evening for Kuraly and he tipped in a shot from the point by defenseman Matt Grzelcyk for the first goal of his illustrious Bruins career (2 games and counting!) at 2:56 of the first period. 

    Buffalo's lone highlight of the whole game was early in the second period when right wing Kyle Okposo tied it at one with a shorthanded goal. His shot deflected off Grzelcyk's stick, causing the puck to elude B's goaltender Jaroslav Halak's (23 saves, 7-4-2) glove. PC's Jacob Bryson had the lone assist-the first of his NHL career-on Okposo's first goal of the season. No problem as Boston responded with two goals later in the frame to regain control. First, left wing Jake DeBrusk made the most of some power play time to bat a rebound out of the air and past Sabres goaltender Carter Hutton (33 saves, 1-10-1). Right wing David Pastrnak and center David Krejci (who reached 700 points on the play, only the 8th player in Bruins history to do that) provided the assists on DeBrusk's third goal of the season at 9:15. The real backbreaker for the home team was the next goal as right wing Craig Smith put in a low shot from the slot that Hutton should have stopped. Smith's fifth goal of the season came at 18:36 and it gave the B's a 3-1 lead with Krejci and defenseman Connor Clifton recording the assists.

    Pasta added another power play goal at 4:44 of the third period. His team-leading 14th goal of the season was a rocket of a one-timer from Krejci and left wing Brad Marchand. The shot was hit so perfectly that it went into the net then bounced out. Even in an easy victory like this, the Black and Gold can't seem to avoid injuries right now as left wing Trent Frederic blocked a shot in the first period and didn't return due to a lower-body injury. Head coach Bruce Cassidy said that X-Rays were negative on that so he shouldn't miss much if any time. This evening also marked the NHL debut of undrafted (out of St. Cloud State) free agent defenseman Jack Ahcan. From what I can tell, he's a dollar store version of Torey Krug (remember him?): 5-foot-8, 178 pounds, left shot. In 17:55 of ice time, he had three shots on goal, blocked two shots and had a hit. Who knows what will become of him in the NHL but the Bruins GM Don Sweeney definitely has a very specific type of defenseman (Krug, Grzelcyk, Ahcan, etc) that he is obsessed with. 

    These same clubs meet on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) and I honestly hope that Cassidy gives his temporary backup goalie Dan Vladar his second career NHL start. Think about it, he'll never have a better spot to follow up his amazing debut on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Even if Tuukka Rask is ready to return, I would hold him out for another game since why would you waste him against this checked out opponent? Ditto for Halak, let him rest up after a very busy stretch for him. Give the rookie another chance to show what he can do/increase his potential trade value down the line.

UPDATE 3/19/21: Four more Bruins (David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Craig Smith and Jake DeBrusk) went into the league's Covid-19 protocols today so tomorrow's rematch in Buffalo and Tuesday's game vs. the Islanders have both been postponed. Ugh, we still can't have nice things in 2021. 

As We All Predicted, Rookie Dan Vladar Was Fantastic In His First NHL Start For The Bruins

 

    After a rough stretch, the Bruins (15-8-4) were in desperate need of an energy boost. They got it tonight at PPG Paints Arena as they beat Pittsburgh (18-10-1) 2-1 behind 34 saves (including a show-stopping paddle save on a stunned Colton Sceviour) from rookie goaltender Dan Vladar in his first career NHL start. How improbable was this result? Well, the Penguins had won six games in a row along with their last seven consecutive contests at home against Boston. A third-round pick in 2015 (75th overall), Vladar's only other NHL appearance was mop-up duty in one loss last postseason against the Lightning. He's tall (6-foot-5) and could use a trip to the North End (185 pounds?) but the lanky 23-year-old Czech made it all work against one of the league's top teams. 

    This matchup on the second night of a back-to-back set felt like a playoff game for many reasons, beginning with the final score. Once again the B's scored first as superstar right wing David Pastrnak finished a breakaway with a nifty backhander through Penguins goaltender (and UNH alum/NH native) Casey DeSmith's five-hole. Pasta's team-high 13th goal of the season came just 3:20 into the first period and it was assisted by left wing Brad Marchand whose pass sprung him and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk picked up the second helper. Penguins left wing and one of my all-time favorite PC alums Brandon Tanev answered at 15:22 of the first period when he put in a rebound from the doorstep. BU center Evan Rodrigues and right wing Kasperi Kapanen had the assists on Tanev's seventh goal of the season.

    Boston defenseman Jarred Tinordi was in the middle of everything as a big hit on Penguins star Evgeni Malkin in the first period ended his night early. Later, he was on the other end of a monster collision with Tanev in the second period that resulted in Tinordi leaving with an upper-body injury and Tanev was wrongly assessed a boarding call and game misconduct penalty. The domino effect of this was that B's defenseman Charlie McAvoy ended up playing more than half of the game (30:16) which is insane in the regular season but what else could Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy do? The Black and Gold can't afford another injury to a defenseman so let's hope that Tinordi is alright. They are already missing Kevan Miller (of course), Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon and John Moore to various injuries so a journeyman that they just got off of waivers a few weeks ago is actually very important for the time being. 

    Another rookie for Boston came through with the game-winning goal as left wing Trent Frederic's floating wrist shot through major traffic found its way past DeSmith at 7:07 of the third period. Frederic's fourth goal of the season was assisted by defenseman Jakub Zboril and center Patrice Bergeron. With the victory, Boston improved to 3-1 against Pittsburgh this season and they pulled back within three points of them for third-place in the East Division (the Pens have still played 2 more games than them). The Bruins couldn't pick a better time to play the Sabres (6-18-4)-who are by far the worst team in the entire league. The B's are in Buffalo on Thursday (7, NESN) and Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) to take on a sorry excuse for an NHL team that has lost 12 straight games. It sounds like goaltender Tuukka Rask could return for one of those games but there's a little less of a rush now knowing that Vladar more than earned another start at some point this season.

Bruins Blow Out The Capitals 5-1 After Another Dirty Hit By Wilson Sends Carlo To The Hospital

 

    Hockey is a violent sport (or at least it used to be) so there are going to be big hits, fights and nasty plays. That's a given but it also goes by an unspoken code of conduct that helps decide what is over the line and thus must be answered for (usually by dropping the gloves). Tonight at the TD Garden, the Bruins (13-5-3 overall, 6-1-1 home) destroyed the Capitals (13-6-4 overall, 6-3-2 away) 5-1 but probably all that anyone will remember is the latest ugly incident involving Washington's goon Tom Wilson. He took a run at Boston's defenseman Brandon Carlo and knocked his head into the glass in a very hard manner. The end result was that Carlo went to the hospital in an ambulance and yet somehow Wilson didn't get called for a single penalty. Thankfully, the B's made him pay later as he fought their newest defenseman Jarred Tinordi in the second period then rookie left wing Trent Frederic sparred with him in the third period. 

    Wilson has been suspended four times by the NHL so honestly I hope that the league gives him a very serious punishment for that totally unnecessary play that could result in a serious injury to Carlo or whomever is on the other end of it. Enough is enough, this guy is an embarrassment to the league. Ok, moving on from that asshat. After Wednesday's 2-1 shootout loss, the B's improved to 2-0-2 vs. the Capitals this season-only halfway through their eight scheduled meetings they've notched six out of a possible eight points. Bruins left wing Brad Marchand got it started with a backhander at 14:21 of the first period that made it 1-0 in favor of the home team. Center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Charlie McAvoy had the assists on Marchand's team-high 11th goal of the season. 

    The second period is when Boston really started to pull away from Washington by scoring three more unanswered goals in the frame. Frederic re-directed a sweet pass by McAvoy at 6:43. Right wing Craig Smith added the secondary assist on Frederic's third goal of the season. Boston's top forward line combined for a beautiful tally that made it 3-0 at 9:01: center Patrice Bergeron had basically the entire net to shoot at as right wing David Pastrnak's feed went by Marchand and to Bergy who slammed it in for his ninth goal of the season. That barrage concluded with another re-direct-this time it was defenseman Matt Grzelcyk finding Marchand at the side of Washington's net to tap it in.

    Ritchie one-timed a sweet pass from Krejci and right wing Craig Smith at 1:05 for his eighth goal of the season. The tally came a few seconds before Frederic fought Wilson and it was the only marker allowed by backup goaltender Ilya Samsonov (6 saves) who came on in relief of rookie starter Vitek Vanecek (14 saves, 10-5-3) late in the second period. The only thing that prevented B's goaltender Jaroslav Halak (31 saves, 5-2-1) from earning the shutout was a goal by Caps right wing Jakub Vrana at 13:36. The snipe was his eighth goal of the season and it was assisted by center Nicklas Backstrom (700th NHL point) and right wing T.J. Oshie. 

    Boston returns to practice tomorrow at Warrior Ice Arena before hosting the free-falling Devils (7-10-2) on Sunday night (5, NESN). New Jersey has lost their last four games in a row and they are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games. I know that they have given the Bruins trouble in earlier meetings this season but the B's should be able to handle them this time around. Center Charlie Coyle surprisingly returned this evening after missing only one game due to the health and safety protocols (maybe he had a false positive?) and if Carlo misses time, I'd expect to see John Moore back in the lineup while he is out. Fingers crossed that Carlo is OK and also that Wilson gets a serious suspension from the NHL, otherwise what are we even doing here? 

UPDATE 3/6/21: Today was a good day as Carlo returned home from the hospital and Wilson was suspended for seven games by the NHL Department of Player Safety. 

After Back-To-Back Stinkers, The B's Looked Like Themselves Again In A 4-1 Win Vs. The Rangers

 

    For the first time since the very start of this season when the Bruins (12-5-2) struggled out of the gate, they faced some real adversity this week after getting embarrassed 7-2 against the Islanders (10-6-4) on Thursday followed by an equally depressing 6-2 loss to the Rangers (7-9-3) on Friday. All told, they had lost four out of their last five games (excluding the beating they threw on the Flyers at Lake Tahoe) but unlike the Celtics who recently suffered through an ugly 0-3 road trip, the B's made sure to show some pride this afternoon as they beat the Rangers 4-1 back at Madison Square Garden. The result and the style of the game was much more befitting of who Boston is rather than the frauds that got pushed around a few days ago by a decent team and then a rebuilding club.

    Three of the goals for the Bruins came during even-strength play (the other was an empty-netter) and also promising was the fact that none of them were scored by Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron or David Pastrnak-their fantastic top line. Center Charlie Coyle has been invisible for most of 2021 but he found the back of the net twice today so hopefully that gets him going. They also got another goal from rookie left wing Trent Frederic who has been a pleasant surprise all season long and star defenseman Charlie McAvoy continued his big year with more production in the form of a goal. Goaltender Tuukka Rask (20 saves, 8-3-1) got the start against New York after getting shelled the other night but this time things were much different thanks to a strong overall defensive effort by the entire team. 

    B's head coach Bruce Cassidy tweaked what he could to infuse some new energy into the lineup as he chose to sit down struggling veteran forwards Anders Bjork and Chris Wagner along with veteran defenseman John Moore in favor of forwards Karson Kuhlman and Greg McKegg (making his Bruins debut) and defenseman Steven Kampfer (playing in his 1st game this season). Those three guys that played today for the B's are all fringe NHLers so I don't think that Bjork, Wagner or to a lesser extent Moore have to worry about losing their jobs permanently but it's the usual reminder of how to change the mojo of a hockey team in the midst of a small slump. 

    Getting a lead right away always helps and Boston jumped ahead with a pair of goals in the opening frame. With the teams skating 4-on-4, Coyle fired a shot past Rangers goaltender Alexander Georgiev (31 saves, 3-3-2) at 6:41. Pasta and McAvoy recorded the assists on Coyle's fourth goal of the season. Georgiev suffered a cut a few minutes earlier that required medical attention so he was gone for the rest of the first period with backup goalie Igor Shesterkin taking over until the second period began. That means that the Russian was in the net when the Bruins went up 2-0 at 18:14. Frederic tipped in a shot by defenseman Connor Clifton with rookie center Jack Studnicka picking up the second assist on Frederic's second career NHL goal. 

    The B's are always looking for a little more offense from McAvoy who has all the skills to be a top defenseman in the NHL so it's nice to see him looking for his shot. His goal in the second period which gave Boston a commanding 3-0 lead came on a booming one-timer from Pastrnak and Marchand. McAvoy's third goal of the season was at 10:20 and with Artemi Panarin still out of action dealing with the Russian mob, New York was unlikely to see their pop gun attack rally from three goals down. The Rangers' only goal came in the third period as my St. John's Prep and Harvard homeboy Colin Blackwell took the abundant space that the Bruins gave him and he wired a top shelf shot by Rask. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by rookie left wing Alexis Lafreniere and rookie defenseman K'Andre Miller. Coyle put it to bed with an empty-net goal at 18:05 from center Sean Kuraly. 

    If it feels like the Black and Gold have barely played at TD Garden this season, you are on the right track since they've only been there for six games (5-1-0) while today was their 13th road game of this campaign. Turning the page on an up-and-down February, the B's are off tomorrow before they practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday. Their next three games are all here starting with a two-game set against former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and the Capitals (12-5-4) beginning on Wednesday (7, NESN) and concluding on Friday (7, NESN). Washington has won its last three games in a row to vault into first-place in the East Division. They are two points ahead of the Bruins but Boston has two games in hand so that could change in a few days. Next week ends for the Bruins with the Devils (7-8-2) at the Garden on Sunday (5, NESN). Boston split two games in DC a month ago and they are 1-1-1 against New Jersey this season so accumulating many points in these next three games won't be easy.

The Bruins Are Our Only Hope & Thankfully, They Are Just The Team To Carry That Unfair Burden

 

    As I just wrote on the post below this, the Celtics are suddenly going nowhere fast this season, the Patriots don't have much hope unless they can unearth a legitimate quarterback in free agency, the draft or via trade and the Red Sox are sure to be awful once again just like last year which no one watched and/or will remember. That leaves the Bruins (11-3-2) to shoulder the weight of expectations for Boston sports teams right now while all the other ones sputter at best. The good news is that at least in the regular season (get back to me when they are ready to win another Cup), they are not only going to win a bunch of games but they are also going to have fun doing it: see the above picture filled with fantastic 90s outfits that they all wore this afternoon to the rink. Tonight at Lake Tahoe (yes that one), they pummeled the poor Flyers (8-4-3) 7-3 in the NHL's latest outdoor game. It wasn't even that close as B's superstar David Pastrnak potted a hat trick as Boston improved to 5-0 against Philly this season with three more meetings left to go with their East division punching bag.  

    With no fans in this spectacular setting, except a few randoms in boats and kayaks floating nearby, the Bruins had to manufacture their own excitement and boy did they ever particularly in the second period where they took a 2-2 tie and turned it into a 6-2 blowout. Pasta understandably will get most of the attention but plenty of other Bruins did good things too: left wing Nick Ritchie had a goal and an assist, left wing Brad Marchand and right wing Craig Smith along with defensemen John Moore and Connor Clifton each had two assists, left wing Trent Frederic scored his first NHL goal and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen recorded his first NHL assist/point. 

    As you can imagine, Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (16 saves, 7-2-1) was barely required to do anything while the Flyers goaltending duo of Carter Hart (17 saves, 6 goals allowed before he was pulled) and Brian Elliott (11 saves, 1 goal allowed) still can't figure out a way to beat Boston this season. Perhaps the most promising aspect of this victory for the Black and Gold was that they only scored one power play goal meaning that six of them came 5-on-5. It was also a hell of a night for Boston University hockey since they had three guys (Charlie McAvoy and Charlie Coyle on Boston; Joel Farabee on Philadelphia) all score goals in this event that the entire hockey world was watching on national TV during an otherwise sleepy Sunday night sports-wise. Somewhere former Terriers head coach Jack Parker was surely smiling while he thought about how much this will help recruiting efforts for future teams on Comm. Ave. 

    Pasta scored 34 seconds into the game because of course he did and from there, Philadelphia briefly led 2-1 (haha for 39 seconds!) before McAvoy tied it up at two heading into the first intermission. Boston could no wrong in the second period as Pastrnak, Coyle, Frederic and Ritchie (on the PP) all tallied goals with the final three coming in a span of 1:39. It might have been the thin mountain air but the Flyers' collective heads were no doubt spinning by that point. UNH's James van Riemsdyk (goal, 2 assists) would be in the Hockey Hall of Fame if he only played the Bruins, the guy always seems to show up against them. All that was left to do in the third period was for Pasta to get his 10th career NHL hat trick. He also paces the B's with nine goals in only nine games. 

    With a long flight home late tonight, Boston will return for a few days and then they will go back to New York for the weekend just like they did two weeks ago. That sounds like a cruel joke, with the only difference being that they play at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday (7, NESN) vs. the Islanders (8-6-3)-who have won both meetings in 2021-before a two-game set at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers (6-7-3) on Friday (7, NESN) and Sunday afternoon (12, NBC). With no practice tomorrow, they can catch up on their sleep and become reacclimated to the Eastern Time Zone before getting back to work. They should also savor all the sweet pictures and memories that they created these last few days in Lake Tahoe; if they do win that elusive Cup this summer, you can bet that this bonding trip will be prominently featured in the DVD celebrating the championship season and often cited in numerous stories as a key moment.

UPDATE 2/24/21: More bad news for Boston's defensive corps as Jeremy Lauzon broke his left hand on Sunday, he had surgery today and he's expected to miss at least the next four weeks. 

The Bruins Won Their Fifth Straight Game (All On The Road) With A 1-0 Shutout Of The Rangers

 

    It's becoming routine this season that the Bruins (10-1-2) can usually adapt to any style of game and then almost always end up on top by the end of the contest. Tonight at Madison Square Garden, they blanked the Rangers (4-6-3) 1-0 to sweep their two-game set with their new East Division rival. Boston is 9-0-1 in its last 10 games and they have won their last five games in a row (all on the road). Goaltender Jaroslav Halak (21 saves, 4-0-1) notched the first shutout of the season for the B's and the 51st of his long NHL career. Left wing Nick Ritchie scored the lone goal of the tilt and these clubs are already starting to hate each other as they had a pair of spirited fights in the second period. 

    Boston's penalty kill unit also deserves plenty of praise since they went a perfect 6-for-6. After a scoreless first period, things heated up in the second quarter with the Bruins outshooting the Rangers 18-6. Ritchie ended the deadlock with a weird goal: his initial backhander was stopped by New York's goaltender Igor Shesterkin (3-4-1, 29 saves) but somehow his forehand followup squeezed into the net at 9:27. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by center David Krejci and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon. One second after the ensuing face-off, Bruins winger Trent Frederic dropped the gloves with Rangers left wing Brendan Lemieux. A few minutes later, Lauzon took on Rangers right wing Pavel Buchnevich who is not a goon by trade. 

    New York's best player Artemi Panarin was out with an undisclosed injury so clearly his teammates missed his excellent offensive ability. It looks like it will be another forgettable season for the Rangers since they continue to be anchored near the basement of the East Division. As a team, they don't score many goals but then again, they don't allow many either. This loss dropped them to 3-4-3 in their last 10 games with a 3-4-2 record on home ice. Two nights after Tuukka Rask (6-1-1) was forced to make a bunch of quality saves, Halak was not nearly as busy plus he did not face the same type of shots from New York. 

    The B's are now 6-1-2 on the road in 2021 and they travel to Uniondale, NY tomorrow night (7, NESN) to take on the Islanders (5-4-3) in their first back-to-back outing of the season. Boston will try to avenge it's only regulation loss: a lifeless 1-0 shutout of their own to the Isles back on Martin Luther King Day at Nassau Coliseum. As per usual, the Isles struggle to score but their defense and goaltending keep them in most games. They are also very physical so thus not an ideal opponent to see in the second half of a back-to-back after a chippy affair. Rask is a lock to be in between the pipes after he got the night off. The Bruins will look to build on their lead over second-place Philadephia (8-3-2) in the division. 

B's Rallied From Another 3-0 Deficit But This Time They Handed The Caps Their 1st Regulation Loss

 

    No lead is apparently safe when you are playing the Bruins (6-1-2) this season. The Capitals (6-1-3) managed to hold off Boston 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night after blowing a 3-0 lead but they weren't so lucky in the second leg of their series at Capital One Arena this evening. Once again, Washington built a 3-0 lead in the second period and the B's came back to tie it in the third period but the plot changed dramatically as they scored twice more in regulation for a bonkers 5-3 victory. Boston's superstar right wing David Pastrnak scored his first two goals of the season, defenseman Brandon Carlo potted the first game-winning tally of his NHL career and the Bruins improved to 5-0-1 in their last six contests while taking three out of a possible four points against one of the NHL's top clubs and their new East Division rivals. 

    Things did not look so hot for the Black and Gold in the first period as the Caps had a goal wiped out for offsides but then they exploded for a pair of goals just 11 seconds apart. Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara made it 1-0 for the home team with a blast from the point. His second goal of the season (and 8th in his career vs. Boston) was assisted by Brown's Garnet Hathaway and center Nic Dowd at 13:26. Shortly after that, something called Daniel Sprong doubled Washington's lead with his second goal of the season. Left wing Jakub Vrana and defenseman Nick Jensen both added assists on Sprong's second goal of the season. 

Boston's power play (0-for-4) could never get going in this game and when they couldn't score on a 5-on-3 for 58 seconds in the second period, you felt like that could have been a fatal mistake. Capitals defenseman John Carlson's bardown snipe turned out to be the thing that finally woke up the Bruins. His fourth goal of the season was assisted by Vrana at 8:35. In his second game of the season, Pasta showed why he tied Caps legend Alex Ovechkin for the most goals scored in the league in 2019-2020. His first goal came at 12:37 when left wing Brad Marchand found him in the slot for a one-timer that he shot by goaltender Vitek Vanecek (28 saves, 5-1-2).  B's defenseman Brandon Carlo had the second assist on the classic Pasta goal.

    Trailing 3-1 going in to the third period, Boston wasted no time making it interesting as Pastrnak cut it to a 3-2 Capitals lead at 6:08. Somehow when he came around the side of the net, he had tons of time and space so good on him for firing a low shot that Vanecek couldn't stop. Rookie defenseman Jakub Zobril and defenseman Charlie McAvoy had the assists on Pasta's second goal of the season/night. That was nothing as the Bruins scored three more unanswered goals to wrap it up. Another rookie defenseman Jeremy Lauzon showed off his (mostly unknown) offensive skills by driving to the net then throwing a backhand pass across the crease to right wing Craig Smith who blasted a one-timer in for a sweet tying goal at 13:07. Left wing Nick Ritchie had the secondary assist on Smith's third goal of the season. At that point, the B's were flying so it was no surprise when they went ahead (albeit thanks to an unlikely guy) on Carlo's roofed one-timer from center Sean Kuraly and right wing Chris Wagner at 17:23. Carlo has never been known for his offensive skills but in his fifth season in the NHL, he is growing more comfortable by the day on that end of the ice. Marchand sealed the best win of the young season for the Bruins with an empty-net goal at 18:34. Center David Krejci had the lone assist on Marchy's team-leading sixth goal of this campaign. 

    You'll notice that I didn't mention Boston's goaltender Jaroslav Halak (23 saves, 3-0-1) until now. After he was bombarded with shots in the first period (15-8), his teammates started to put the clamps down on the home team for the last two frames (outshooting the Caps 25-11). He improved to 3-0-0 in his last three starts and he has only allowed a combined five goals in that time. Rookie winger Trent Frederic made his presence felt in the third period as he fought Washington's Tom Wilson-one of the toughest guys in the league. After the game, multiple Bruins players and head coach Bruce Cassidy all mentioned that moment as being a big part of the win as it understandably fired up the club. The B's stay on the road as they traveled to Philadelphia (7-2-1) to play the Flyers-the top team in the East Division-on Wednesday (8, NBCSN) followed by another meeting on Friday (7, NESN). The Bruins just swept a two-game set vs. Philly at the Garden last weekend but the Flyers have won four games in a row since then so expect a better showing by them.

Bruins Sweep The Flyers Behind A 6-1 Blowout, Easily Their Best Performance Of The Early Season

 

    Who said that the Bruins (3-1-1) had any offensive struggles whatsoever? Those seem like a distant memory as Boston dispatched Philadelphia (3-2-1) for the second straight game, this time much more decisively to the tune of a 6-1 laugher tonight at TD Garden. After scoring three combined goals in their first three contests, the B's scored four in Thursday's 5-4 shootout victory vs. Philly then topped that with a six-pack of goals this evening led by the incomparable center Patrice Bergeron (2 power play goals, assist) and left wing Brad Marchand (2 goals-1 PPG, assist). Goaltender Jaroslav Halak (1-0-1) got the start for the Bruins but he didn't have to do much of anything beyond staying awake since the Flyers only landed 17 total shots on him. 

  B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was out with a lower-body injury but the usually reliable Connor Clifton (plus-1, 4 hits, blocked shot in 18:12) filled in well for him in his season debut. As usual, Bergy and Marchy earned the majority of the headlines with plenty of highlights of their own but there were some notable achievements by other Bruins as well: rookie forward Trent Frederic (plus-2, 3 shots on goal, 2 hits and takeaway in 14:31) and rookie defenseman Jakub Zboril (2 shots on goal, hit and blocked shot in 19:41) each earned their first NHL points/assists while winger Craig Smith (assist, plus-2, 2 shots on goal in 15:00) scored his first goal for the Spoked B. BU's Charlie Coyle found the back of the net for the second straight game, helping Boston win two games in a row for the first time in 2021. 

    Rather than being down by two goals heading into the third period (like they did on Thursday), the B's took a new and much easier approach as they scored first and then closed things out with five unanswered goals. Bergeron got the fun started with a power play goal (his 2nd goal of the season) at 8:09 of the first period. Winger Nick Ritchie (2 assists) and center David Krejci had the helpers as Boston created plenty of traffic in front of Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (20 saves, 2-2-1) which allowed Bergy to brush a tough-angle backhander by him. Up 1-0 after the first period, the only real adversity that the Bruins faced all night-if you can even call it that-was when BC's Kevin Hayes tipped in a shot by right wing Jakub Voracek 1:14 into the second period for his third goal of the season. Just 1:16 after that, Smith nabbed his first tally in the Black and Gold thanks to a sweet spin-around pass from Coyle that left him with a wide open net to shoot at. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon had the second assist on Smith's goal, his first point of the season. Coyle was repaid for his great feed with an equally beautiful look from Frederic. The pride of Weymouth tipped it in for a 3-1 advantage at 17:50 of the second period with Smith notching the other helper. 

    After a few days in Boston where they probably couldn't do much of anything besides play hockey (because of the pandemic and freezing temperatures) and sit alone in their hotel rooms, I'm sure that Philadelphia was understandably ready to get home by the time that the third period came around. Truthfully, they played like a club that was halfway on the bus to the airport for much of that extended garbage time. Marchand made sure of it as he potted his pair of goals 3:46 apart in the frame. First he was the recipient of a ferocious forecheck by Bergeron that led to an easy tap-in at 4:13 for his second goal of the season. The top line's latest right wing-Jake DeBrusk-got the second assist. The wheels completely fell off at that point for the Flyers as they continued to take penalties and the Bruins were more than happy to pay for them. Marchand ripped in a wrist shot at 7:59 for a power-play goal, assisted by Ritchie and Zboril. Bergeron fittingly wrapped it up with a very similar goal to his first one except this time-at 13:33, assisted by Marchand and Charlie McAvoy-it came on the man advantage. 

    As you probably guessed, Boston earned a day off from practice tomorrow so they'll be back to work on Monday morning at Warrior Ice Arena for their first practice ahead of two games at home vs. Pittsburgh (3-2-0). The B's host the Penguins on Tuesday (7, NESN) and Thursday (7, NESN), their first two matchups of the season with superstar Sidney Crosby and his team who are temporarily in the same division (East) as the Bruins. After losing their first two games of the year vs. Philly, the Penguins have rattled off three straight wins. They still score plenty of goals (18) but they also allow even more (21) so expect some high-scoring tilts when these sneaky rivals meet once again in Boston.

The Bruins Return from Their Long Break, Go Toe-to-Toe With The Jets But Lose 4-3 In a Shootout

The Bruins (27-17-6) hadn't played a game in over a week and David Pastrnak was the only member of the team that went to the All-Star Game in San Jose last weekend so the team was understandably energized in their first game back tonight at TD Garden. Winnipeg (32-16-2)-the No. 2 team in the Western Conference-had lost 3-1 in Philadelphia (21-23-6) on Monday but they bounced back with a 4-3 shootout win against the B's. It hasn't been long or deep enough to be termed a tailspin but Boston is in a slight funk (1-2-2 in their last 5 games).

20-year-old Trent Frederic, Boston's first-round pick from 2016 (29th overall), made his NHL debut and it was a memorable one as he destroyed Brandon Tanev in a second period fight thus endearing himself to Bruins fans even if he never does a thing for the rest of his career (slight exaggeration but not really). Boston's first line was still dominant and they scored all three goals but it wasn't enough as the Jets rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits before surviving a third-period tying goal and overtime to come out with the two points. UMass-Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck (36 saves, 22-14-1) showed why he's thought of as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL while young left wing Kyle Connor scored two goals for Winnipeg plus he bagged the only goal in the shootout.

Tuukka Rask is on IR (concussion) but it sounds like he could return later this week. They need him too since Jaroslav Halak (24 saves, 13-8-3) lost for the fourth straight game that he's appeared in (including the relief outing for Rask after he got hurt vs. Rangers). It didn't take long for Patrice Bergeron (2 goals) to make his presence felt as he one-timed a pass from Brad Marchand (3 assists; 5-game point streak) and David Pastrnak for a 1-0 Bruins lead at 9:49 of the first period. Hellebuyck had stopped a similar shot initially but he had no chance on Bergeron's 15th goal of the season. The teams traded power play goals later in the frame as Josh Morrissey blasted a shot through traffic at 13:53 to make it 1-1. The criminally underrated Mark Scheifele had the lone assist on Morrissey's sixth goal of the season. The B's went into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead though thanks to Pastrnak's one-timer from Marchand and Torey Krug. Pasta's team-leading 28th goal of the season wasn't that different than the snipes that helped him win the shooting accuracy contest at the All-Star Game.

It took a little while for Winnipeg to find their legs (they were outshot 20-8 in the first period) but they woke up in the second period thanks to a pair of bouts: Kevan Miller vs. Adam Lowry and Frederic vs. Tanev. The Jets outshot the Bruins 9-5 in the second and that shift in momentum carried over to the third thanks to Connor. He scored a pair of goals 34 seconds apart, a swift kick to the groin of the Black and Gold who had three chances to pick him in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft but they passed each time, ugh. First he split the Bruins defense and finished a breakaway with a snap shot past Halak at 4:27. His 20th goal of the season was assisted by former Sabre Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot. Next, he found himself alone and front where he was able to roof a shot in from Scheifele and old friend Blake Wheeler (who is 2nd in the NHL with 53 assists!).

Bergeron saved the day as usual with another goal, this time at 11:39 which tied it at three. Marchand and Pastrnak had the assists on his one-timer that he didn't get much wood on but it still somehow went in. Boston had been 4-5 in overtime while Winnipeg was 6-1 but neither team generated too many great chances. In the shootout for Boston, Jake DeBrusk (picked ahead of Connor), Pastrnak (Hellebuyck made a beautiful stop with the toe of his skate) and Marchand were all unable to find the back of the net. Connor went first for the Jets, scored and that's all that they needed.

The B's get a chance at revenge on Thursday (7, NESN) as they host the Flyers (21-23-6) who beat them 4-3 on Jan. 16 in the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia is still way behind Pittsburgh (26-17-6)-10 points to be exact-for the second Wild Card spot but they have won five games in a row after Tuesday's 1-0 victory at Madison Square Garden vs. Rangers (21-21-7). Hopefully, Rask is cleared to play and picks up where he left off. Halak isn't getting the job done right now and as we've seen for years, the team has less than zero confidence in Zane McIntyre (who was just called up from Providence on an emergency basis) to do anything at the NHL level.

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