The Bruins Played Possum With The Canadiens, Tying It Up Late Then Beating Them In Overtime

It had been 23 years since the Bruins (40-15-8) swept the season series with the Canadiens (25-29-11) so Boston took care of some history with their better-late-than-never thrilling 2-1 overtime victory tonight at TD Garden. The B's finished 4-0 against Claude Julien's hapless Habs thanks to an overtime goal by Brad Marchand and 27 saves by Anton Khudobin (14-4-4). Montreal's goaltender Antti Niemi (48 saves, 4-6-3) deserved a better fate as he stood on his head for almost the entire contest before Jake DeBrusk tied it up with a power play goal at 17:15 of the third period.

One of the standard elements of this wonderful season for the Bruins has been numerous guys going down with injuries, only to have countless other teammates step up in their absence. Tuukka Rask was a late scratch with what B's head coach Bruce Cassidy termed a "very minor injury" so Khudobin was a last-minute starter. More worrisome was that rookie stud defenseman Charlie McAvoy skated a grand total of one shift (for 37 seconds) before calling it a night with a lower-body injury. The team has a scheduled day off on Sunday so we'll have to wait and see if he's out there for practice on Monday. Props to the remaining five defenseman for Boston who all played at least 20:04 (Brandon Carlo) and as much as 24:46 (Torey Krug since there were 6 Bruins power plays).

The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead at 9:16 of the first period as Kevan Miller threw an outlet pass right to Brendan Gallagher aka Dollar Store Marchand and he buried a shot past Khudobin for his 23rd goal of the season. Khudobin certainly wasn't as busy as Niemi, Montreal outshot Boston 12-10 in the first but proceeded to get bombarded (40-16) over the final 42:06 of action. It was more of a quality over quantity type night for Khudobin who at one point late in the third period had to ditch his mask (to get a whistle) because two of the straps had snapped.

Boston has now won its last six games overall vs. Montreal and they huffed and puffed for most of this one to earn the two points. David Pastrnak hit the post early in the first when the Bruins had a 3-on-1. Boston trailed 1-0 after the first period and couldn't convert a 2-man advantage that they had for 44 seconds in the second period. Going into the third, the records did not favor the home team since they were 2-13-3 when trailing after two while Montreal was 17-1-1 when leading after two. Jonathan Drouin was called for delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass in his own end which finally broke his team's back. Nick Holden played a perfect slap pass to DeBrusk to tip in for his 13th goal of the season with Torey Krug picking up the second assist.

The Bruins continued to dominate in the extra frame as they outshot the Canadiens 4-0 as they never really let Montreal gain possession of the puck. Ironically, Marchand's goal came about with Cassidy shuffling some new players onto the ice. He showed all the power in his small frame by wheeling around the net to gain a good shooting angle where he fired a low shot by Niemi in traffic. Krug and Brian Gionta had the assists on Marchand's 25th goal of the season and his 10th career regular season overtime game-winner.

Boston went 3-0 this week at home without Patrice Bergeron (including 2 OT wins) and they'll try to go 3-0 next week as well with Detroit (26-28-10) coming here on Tuesday (7, NESN) followed by Philadelphia (34-20-11) on Thursday (7, NESN) and Chicago (28-29-8) wrapping things up on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). It's hard not to feel really good about this team, considering how many of these seemingly improbable wins they have pulled out in 2017-18. The moves that they made at the trade deadline have only solidified a group that has legitimate Cup aspirations. Time to start drinking the Black and Gold Kool-Aid folks, it's delicious.

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Winter Returns: The Bruins Hung a Snowman (8 Goals) On the Penguins In an Unexpected Blowout

You could watch every Bruins (39-15-8) game in 2017-18, hell probably in the entire NHL and I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't find a more exciting tilt than the one witnessed by all the lucky fans at TD Garden this evening. Pittsburgh's (36-25-4) Olli Maatta scored just 35 seconds into the contest but Boston scored five goals of their own in the first period which tied a season-high (1st period on Jan. 6 vs. Carolina) as they jumped out to a 5-3 lead after one. The B's cruised to an 8-4 win that featured a hat trick by David Krejci (the 4th of his NHL career), a fight of true giants (Zdeno Chara vs. 6-foot-7 Northeastern alum Jamie Oleksiak), three points for David Pastrnak (2 goals, assist), a pair of assists for Brian Gionta and a helper for Nick Holden in their Bruins debuts and another goal by Rick Nash.

Boston's power play was mired in an 0-for-18 slump (they hadn't scored in the past 6 games) and Pittsburgh entered with the top unit so naturally the Bruins potted a trio of tallies on the man-advantage while they held the Penguins' lethal power play silent (0-for-3). Pittsburgh's No. 1 goaltender Matt Murray (concussion) got hurt in practice the other day so right now, they have to rely on the less than imposing duo of UNH alum Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry. DeSmith allowed three goals on five shots in 5:27 so he understandably was pulled right away like he bombed a stand-up comedy routine at the Apollo. Jarry (28 saves, 5 goals allowed) didn't fare much better although truthfully, both guys in net at the same time likely wouldn't have made that much of a difference with the way that the Bruins were putting pressure on the visitors. Boston also improved to 7-0-1 in their last eight home games vs. Pittsburgh.

In three games together, Krejci and Rick Nash have already started to build some nice chemistry. Krejci got his memorable performance started by going to the net and tipping a pinpoint pass from Nash in at 1:45. Chara had the second assist on Krejci's 12th goal of the season. A New Hampshire native, DeSmith showed some nerves when Pastrnak's less than stellar shot fluttered past him and literally spun over the goal-line in slow motion at 2:53 for a 2-1 Bruins lead that they would never relinquish. Brad Marchand and Riley Nash had the assists on Pastrnak's 23rd goal of the season. Rick Nash got the power play party started with an easy tap-in from Torey Krug and Marchand at 5:27 for his 20th goal of the season.

Former Bruins great Phil Kessel scored a fluky goal from no-angle at 9:27 to get the Penguins back within a goal at 3-2 Bruins. Kessel's 27th goal of the season was assisted by Patric Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin. Things continued at a haywire pace as David Backes sniped a shot top shelf at 12:49, his 11th goal of the season which was assisted by Gionta-BC's all-time leading scorer and the former Canadiens captain. Krug extended Boston's lead to 5-2 with a blast from distance at 16:07. Jarry must have been screened on Krug's 11th goal of the campaign, assisted by Pastrnak and Rick Nash. Earlier in the frame, Penguins center Riley Sheahan had scored a goal but it was called back when he obviously kicked it in. He exacted some revenge with 2.2 seconds left by blasting a shot past Tuukka Rask (22 saves; 26-11-4) for his ninth goal of the season, unassisted.

What normally could be a back-breaking goal to allow seemingly had no effect on the B's as Krejci registered a power-play goal of his own at 2:16 of the second period from Holden and Jake DeBrusk. It would be a beautiful thing if these teams met in the playoffs, we got a little taste of that this evening since they clearly still don't like each other. Charlie McAvoy took a hard hit from Hornqvist that left his nose and lip a bloody mess so later, Chara squared off with Oleksiak in what has to be one of the biggest fights (in terms of size of the combatants) in NHL history. Krejci bagged his hat trick by pouncing on a loose puck for another power-play strike at 14:33. Gionta and McAvoy had the assists as the ice was littered with a ton of Bruins hats. Pittsburgh's defense was non-existent as Pastrnak went to the net and scored Boston's final goal at 17:42 for a dream 8-3 lead. Chara and McAvoy had the assists on Pasta's second goal of the game. The third period was basically an open skate, with the only goal coming via a double deflection off two Bruins that started with Maata's harmless shot from the point.

Boston has enjoyed the first two games-both wins-of its six-game homestand and the good times should only continue on Saturday (5, NESN) as they host the long dead Canadiens (24-29-10). This Penguins massacre will be impossible to live up to but throwing a serious beating on Montreal never goes out of style, no matter the time or season. Tonight's win put the Bruins back in second-place in the Atlantic Division, ahead of idle Toronto (39-20-7) who has still played four more games than them. No doubt Rask will want to play better which shouldn't be too difficult of a task to complete since the Habs have scored the third fewest goals in the league (160). Bruins-Canadiens matchups are always fun, but especially on Saturday nights (forget the bizarre early start time) where people have all day to get ready (glug, glug).

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Newest Bruins Help Boston Continue Their Point-Streak (9-0-5 in last 14) vs. Carolina With OT Win

Franchise center Patrice Bergeron is out indefinitely with a small fracture in his right foot and the Bruins (38-15-8) had dropped their last two games of a disappointing 2-3 road trip so they returned to the Hub with a growing sense of frustration and perhaps a small dose of doubt as they come down the stretch in the regular season. Boston was greeted by their longest homestand of the season (6 games) and despite spotting Carolina (27-25-11) an early 3-1 lead in the first period at TD Garden, they managed to rally for a much-needed 4-3 overtime victory thanks to Charlie McAvoy's game-winning goal at 1:08 (his 7th goal of the season, assisted by Riley Nash).

It was a great night for some of the new guys as well with Tommy Wingels bagging a goal and assist in his Bruins debut while Rick Nash also scored a goal (his 1st as a Bruin) in his first home game for the Black and Yellow. The two points coupled with Toronto's (39-20-6) overtime loss at Florida (28-25-6) brought Boston back within a point of second-place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs own 85 points and the B's have 84 points but Boston still has a whopping five games in hand over Toronto so that's something to bank on. The Bruins trail the Lightning (43-17-3) by five points with only two games in hand so that'll be much more of a challenge to ultimately overcome this spring.

The first period was about as good as it gets in a professional hockey game as the two teams combined for five goals including a pair on the power play (both for Carolina) and a tally with 2.9 seconds left in the frame. Brock McGinn gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 10:01 after he batted in a loose puck on the man advantage, Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk had the assists on his 11th goal of the season. It only took Rick Nash two games into his Bruins career to find the scoresheet (he hit a post in Buffalo in Sunday's forgettable 4-1 loss) with a memorable goal-his 800th career NHL point-that tied it at one. His new linemates David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk provided the helpers on his 19th goal of the season overall at 11:41. After a turnover, Krejci found Nash wide open and he wasn't going to miss from there with Scott Darling (28 saves, 10-16-7) between the pipes.

The Bruins couldn't stay out of the box as David Pastrnak was nabbed for a high-sticking double-minor (4 minutes) and Carolina made them pay as Teuvo Teravainen went top shelf on Tuukka Rask (29 saves, 25-11-4) for a 2-1 Hurricanes lead. Faulk and Victor Rask had the assists on Teravainen's 16th goal of the season. An ugly defensive breakdown led to Sebastian Aho being all alone so Carolina's top scorer doubled his team's lead at 19:04. Teravainen and Derek Ryan assisted on Aho's 22nd goal of the season. Boston got a big boost from Riley Nash's goal at 19:57 which was the result of great patience by him to wait out Darling for a backhander and a killer forecheck by Wingels that started the whole sequence. Torey Krug somehow received a secondary assist (maybe his dad was tonight's official scorer?) on Riley's 11th goal of the season.

As you would expect, things slowed down considerably in the second period. Wingels tied it up with a snipe of his own at 5:34. DeBrusk and McAvoy assisted on his eighth goal of the season, congrats to the former Worcester Sharks legend. Carolina outshot Boston 15-12 in the second period and each club put up eight shots on goal in the third period. McAvoy's goal was the only shot on goal for either team in overtime. You'd be hard-pressed to find two worse overtime teams in the league, coming into this tilt Boston was 2-6 in the extra session while Carolina was 2-7. Keep in mind that Boston's mini-losing streak was nothing compared to the annual second-half tailspin for the Canes who have now lost six games in a row. If I know the Hurricanes though, they'll probably go on a crazy run right at the end but come up like a point or two short of the second Wild Card spot in the East.

The Bruins needed these two points for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that mighty Pittsburgh (36-24-4) is up next on Thursday (7, NESN). As expected, the Penguins' midseason slump was just a mirage as they have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL for weeks (7-2-1 in their last 10 games after Tuesday's 3-2 loss to New Jersey). Boston-Pittsburgh is a playoff series that could very well become reality once again this spring and Thursday's matchup promises to provide a great atmosphere at the Garden (kudos to tonight's crowd that was much better than you'd expect for any game involving Carolina). The Penguins are still the defending two-time Stanley Cup champs so until further notice, they remain the team to beat in both the Eastern Conference and around the entire league. Haha please, I beg of you Hockey Gods, no Pittsburgh three-peat. It doesn't have to be the Bruins (although that would be hunky dory), just anyone but Sidney Crosby and the Pens.

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At 20-2-4 In The Last 26 Games: You Can't Stop the Bruins, You Can Only Hope to Contain Them

It's tough to guess how long this will last for but at this moment, it is time to embrace the fact that your Boston Bruins (35-12-8) are the best team in the NHL. What does this mean on Valentine's Day? Well nothing tangible but as they rack up all these wins (8-2-0 in their last 10 games) and own the best goal-differential in the league (+52), the expectations for what they can ultimately do this spring (which is all that really ever matters) likewise start to burst at the seams. Calgary (29-20-8) is a good team from the rugged Pacific Division that is fighting for every point that they can get just to sneak into the Western Conference playoffs. Boston spotted them an early 2-1 lead in the first period tonight at TD Garden but proceeded to reel off four straight goals en route to the somewhat misleading 5-2 victory.

Calgary's usual starting goaltender Mike Smith (23-16-6) got hurt in Sunday's 3-2 win against the Islanders (27-25-6) which meant that something named David Rittich (5-2-2) blessed us with his presence. I was hoping to see PC's own Jon Gillies (recently called up from the minors) between the pipes for the Flames but alas it wasn't meant to be. For awhile, this nameless character stood on his head (35 saves) as Boston scored first 28 seconds into the contest then tied it at two late in the second period. The Flames are the second-best road team in the league (16-7-5; behind the Bruins of course) but they predictably fell apart in the third period as the B's improved to 19-7-4 at the Garden.

Riley Nash and Patrice Bergeron both scored a pair of goals for the home team while David Backes (who moved up to the top line after David Pastrnak was temporarily demoted for his silly slashing penalty) had two assists. Nash gave the B's the 1-0 lead right off the bat by putting in a pass from Backes. Matt Grzelcyk had the second assist on Nash's ninth goal of the season. Grzelcyk returned the favor by coughing up the puck a few minutes later, leading to an easy tally for Calgary's Sam Bennett (his 8th of the season), assisted by Brown alum and Maine native Garnet Hathaway. It was a big night for local college hockey products since BC's Johnny Gaudreau gave the Flames their only lead of the entire game at 9:12 of the first period. Tuukka Rask (28 saves; 23-9-4) made two saves before Johnny Hockey was there to deposit a rebound for his 19th goal of the season (7-game point streak). Did you know that Gaudreau is the second-leading scorer in the league? I'd say that he's been a great pro thus far in his young professional career North of the border.

Nash tied his career-high with his 10th goal of the year at 16:20 of the second (he also had 10 for the Hurricanes in 2013-14). Tim Schaller and Charlie McAvoy assisted on the pretty goal for the Bruins who doubled up the Flames for shots on goal (16-8) in that frame. Bergeron is putting together the best season that he's ever had in his storied career so it was only fitting that he potted a power-play goal 1:15 into the third. Torey Krug had the stretch pass that sprung him on the breakaway that resulted in his 26th goal of 2017-18. A little over eight minutes later, he gave Boston a two-goal lead which basically equals curtains for the opponent. Bergeron tipped in a shot from Brad Marchand with Backes picking up the other helper. Zdeno Chara put the proverbial cherry on top of this delicious black and gold sundae with a 200-foot empty netter for his sixth goal of the season.

The Bruins' next home game isn't for two weeks (Feb. 27 vs. Carolina) so it was nice to see them head off on their long journey with another two points in their travel bags. Who knows, they could have a new player or two (pray that it's Rangers stud defenseman Ryan McDonagh) by the time that they get back to town since the NHL Trade Deadline is on February 26. Their upcoming five-game road trip doesn't begin until Saturday night (10, NESN) in Vancouver (22-28-6). From there, they work their way back from Western Canada with a President's Day matinee (4, NESN) in Calgary on Monday followed by a visit to Edmonton (23-28-4) the next night (9, NESN). They are in Toronto (34-19-5) on Saturday (7, NESN), February 24 and the road trip mercifully ends in Buffalo (17-30-10) on Sunday (5, NESN). Who needs to go to the West Coast or down South in the middle of the winter when you can go to all of these lovely places?

Tampa Bay (38-16-3) surprisingly lost 5-3 in Buffalo this evening which leaves Boston just one point behind the Lightning for the best record in the NHL with two games in hand. Vegas (37-15-4) still paces the Western Conference with Nashville (34-12-9) a point behind the Golden Knights for the best record in the West. Think about it: this is the lofty company that the Bruins currently keeps. The postseason remains off in the distance (still 2 months away) but this stuff has to be noted while we pass the time through the marathon that is known as an NHL regular season. The Celtics (40-18) rightfully got plenty of attention for the early part of their season as they were the best team in the Eastern Conference. Now that they have come back to Earth a bit-dropping to second in the East behind Toronto (40-16)-you can reasonably conclude that the B's actually present more of a threat in terms of championship contention this summer in their respective sport. This is something to keep in mind while you figure out which team to devote more of your precious attention to the rest of the way.

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Bruins Finally Solve the Maple Leafs, Thanks In No Small Part to Their Ageless Captain Zdeno Chara

Right now, there probably isn't a team in the NHL that the Bruins (31-11-8) should be fearful of. I say that with tonight's 4-1 win vs. Toronto (30-19-5) at TD Garden still within sight of their rear-view mirror. The B's had been winless in their last six games with the Leafs (0-5-1) including losses on back-to-back nights in November. That was then and this is now as the Bruins are a remarkable 16-1-4 in their previous 21 contests. What's more, Tuukka Rask (18-0-2) extended his own point streak to 20 games while he works his way up the franchise list (still the 4th best mark in team history) for goaltenders.

There was more historical context to this regular season meeting as Bruins captain Zdeno Chara played in his 1400th career NHL game. Tomorrow will most likely be all about Tom Brady (who picked up yet another NFL MVP award this evening) but the Black and Yellow 40-year-old has proven over and over that he still has plenty left in his super-sized frame. He was a game-high +2 vs. Toronto, skated a game-high 24:00, had an assist, five hits and he blocked two shots. What is the Slovakian translation for "are you not entertained?" I know that many Bruins fans (not to mention radio hosts, cough cough Felger) had begun to write him off years ago but what can you say now when he's still performing at such a high level-he should have been an All-Star last weekend in Tampa?

Boston had it's 18-game point streak (14-0-4) snapped on Tuesday in their 3-1 loss to Anaheim (25-18-10) but since then, they've immediately bounced back with a solid 3-1 victory against St. Louis (32-19-3) on Thursday followed by this strong performance versus the only club that can realistically catch them for second-place in the Atlantic Division. The two points means that they are five points ahead of Toronto with four games in hand. After allowing the first goal in eight straight games, the B's have begun to make things easier on themselves by striking first on Thursday and tonight. Patrice Bergeron hammered in a pass from Danton Heinen at 4:29 of the first period. That play started after a ferocious forecheck by the rookie led to a turnover by the Maple Leafs (they had 12 more than the Bruins in the entire tilt). Bergeron's goal was his team-leading 22nd of the season, Brad Marchand has 21 but one game remains on his suspension.

It was a great sight to see Charlie McAvoy back on the ice since he missed the last four games following a heart procedure. He was noticeably rusty as you would expect, never more so than when Mitch Marner's shot (that was going wide of the net) was deflected in by McAvoy's stick. Tuukka Rask (23 saves in his 21st win of the season) consoled him after the play and it was knotted at one after the first period. Boston used a pair of power play tallies in the second period to take control of things: David Pastrnak's shot slipped by Frederik Andersen (26 saves) at 9:22 and Torey Krug smoked a one-timer at 16:47 for the 3-1 Bruins lead. Pastrnak's goal was his 21st of the season, assisted by Krug and Heinen. Krug's eighth goal of the season featured helpers by Austin Czarnik (making his first appearance for Boston since Nov. 8) and David Krejci.

Boston outshot Toronto 30-24 and while the Leafs owned the third (10-6), the B's still potted the only goal in the final frame-an empty-netter by Tim Schaller that was assisted by Rask (!) and Chara. These are heady times for the Bruins since they have the second most points in the Eastern Conference (trailing only Tampa Bay) and fourth most in the NHL (Winnipeg and Vegas are also in front of them) which is sort of mind-blowing. Nobody wants to be the Washington Capitals-regular season heroes that turn into pumpkins every spring in the playoffs-and Boston is showing early signs of what should be a tough out in the postseason. Tonight felt like a game that you'd see in April or May, not early February and these teams will meet one more time in the regular season (Feb. 24 in Toronto) and perhaps again when it really counts. The B's have been great at the Garden (18-6-4) and also very good on the road (13-5-4) which should come in handy with a back-loaded second half schedule.

The Bruins visit two struggling teams in the East this week that currently sit outside the playoff picture: they are in Detroit (21-22-8) on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) followed by a back-to-back at the Rangers (25-21-5) the next night (8, NBC Sports). The next home game is a week from tonight (7, NESN) vs. wretched Buffalo (14-29-9). Since he's in such a groove and because the Red Wings are in the Atlantic Division, I'm betting that Rask will get the start in Motown and then Anton Khudobin appears on Broadway. As New England sports fans, we are insanely lucky these days: the Patriots could win their sixth Super Bowl tomorrow night, the Celtics are the best team in the Eastern Conference (and they seem like the only team in the East capable of pushing the Warriors in a potential NBA Finals) and the Bruins are the hottest team in the NHL. Go Pats!

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The Bruins Better Hope That They Don't Meet the Ducks In the Stanley Cup Final This Summer

They sadly dropped the Mighty part from their team name ages ago but whenever the Ducks (25-17-9) have met the Bruins (29-11-8) in recent years, they still resemble that youth hockey juggernaut from the Disney movies of our youth. Anaheim kicked off the second half of the regular season with a 3-1 win at TD Garden this evening that laid to rest Boston's remarkable 18-game point streak (14-0-4) which was tied for the second longest in franchise history. The Ducks swept the two-game season series with Boston, outscoring them 7-2 so I'd say that neither result was what you would call a fluke. In fact, the B's are winless in their last eight games against the Ducks (0-7-1) with their last victory coming on October 21, 2013 (3-2 in Boston).

In many ways, the Ducks are a throwback to a bygone era in the NHL: they play what everybody and their mother terms a "heavy game" meaning that they have many bigger players that like to be physical. Besides them the Kings (27-18-5) and Blues (31-18-3) are two other notable clubs to favor that style that used to be so ingrained into Boston's DNA. There is a reason that no team in NHL history has ever earned a point when they have allowed the first goal in eight straight games. That was the mountain that the Bruins built for themselves right off the bat as they allowed a pair of goals in a lifeless first period for the home team. Oddly enough, the B's had a power play 27 seconds into the contest (slashing on Ryan Kesler) but couldn't generate any shots on goal from it (their PP was 0-for-4 in the game). Anaheim's first goal was downright ugly as Anton Khudobin (24 saves) dropped a routine backhand flip into his glove which allowed the puck to bounce in the net off of Zdeno Chara's skate at 9:04. Jakob Silfverberg was credited with his 12th goal of the season (which had to be the easiest of his life), from Cam Fowler and Rickard Rakell. Adam Henrique (6-game point streak)-who has been a great pickup for the Ducks-made it 2-0 with a power play tally at 13:59, an absolute snipe (his 14th goal of the season) that was assisted by Rakell and Fowler once again.

After they were outshot 15-5 in the first period, Boston flipped a switch and outshot Anaheim 13-4 in the second but they simply couldn't find the back of the net as they missed some of their top-end talent. The same was true for much of the third period as John Gibson (25 saves) didn't allow any goals but left late in the frame (for the 2nd straight contest) with an injury. Backup goaltender Ryan Miller allowed a goal to birthday boy Ryan Spooner with 40.7 seconds left in regulation when Khudobin was off for an extra skater but Henrique sealed it with an empty-netter from deep in his own end. Spooner's goal was his eighth of the season, assisted by Torey Krug and David Pastrnak (6-game point streak). The point streak had to end at some point for the Black and Gold but they had nobody else to blame for such an uninspired start that ultimately cost them two points.

Brad Marchand was serving the second game of his five-game suspension, Charlie McAvoy remains out after his heart procedure (the good news was that he skated this afternoon for the first time since last week's surgery) and Noel Acciari (lower-body injury) is also sidelined. Boston lost two more guys during the game as Anders Bjork (upper-body injury) left early in the first after a slight cross-check by Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin to what I guess was a vulnerable spot in his back. Late in the third period, Ducks left wing Nick Ritchie caught David Backes up high with a shoulder right to the face that dazed Backes. It was a dirty hit that should be looked at closely by the NHL's Department of Player Safety. That set off a chain of events that included Zdeno Chara crushing Henrique with a borderline check in the neutral zone followed by Ryan Getzlaf slashing Chara in the legs. Both captains barked at each other as they went to their respective penalty boxes. For what it's worth, you rarely ever see Chara that fired up about anything. He was clearly upset with the officials for the no-call on Ritchie.

Coming directly off of the All-Star break, the Bruins are well-rested since only Marchand was a part of the festivities in Tampa Bay this past weekend. They'll need that extra reserve of energy as two more quality teams visit the Garden later this week: St. Louis is here on Thursday (7, NESN) before Toronto (28-18-5) stops by on Saturday night (7, NESN). The Maple Leafs game is especially important since they are really the only team that can realistically catch the B's in terms of second place in the Atlantic Division: Toronto is five points back with two more games played. Plus the Leafs swept the home-and-home with the Bruins way back in November. Tuukka Rask will make the start in both games which is always a good thing, Khudobin was noticeably rusty against Anaheim particularly in the early going.

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Rask (37 saves) Stands On His Head as the Bruins Extend Their Point Streak to 17 Games (13-0-4)

This point streak for the Bruins (28-10-8) which dates back to well before Christmas 2017 (a 5-3 loss to Washington on Dec. 14) is beginning to border on the absurd. It makes you wonder if they'll ever lose again in regulation. Haha clearly that's a bit of a lie but a Patriots like confidence has enveloped this club as they have cobbled together a 17-game point streak (13-0-4) thanks to their 3-2 survival type win tonight vs. New Jersey (24-15-8) at TD Garden. That is the third best mark in club history (16-0-1-0 in 1929-30, 15-0-2-0 in 1977-78 and 15-0-2-0 in 1982-83). With any type of point(s) on Thursday (7, NESN) at wretched Ottawa (15-22-9)-their last game before this weekend's All-Star break-Boston would tie its second best run (13-0-5-0 in 1968-69) ever. The gold standard is the comical 23-game streak in 1940-41 (15-0-8) which I know that I'll never forget for the rest of my life.

Through this lengthy stretch of fine play, the B's have often outworked and frankly dominated their overmatched opponents. That wasn't the case against the Devils who were blanked 4-0 at home on Monday vs. Detroit (19-20-8) but showed plenty of pride as they outshot the Bruins 39-24 overall. As you would expect with the final result, Boston's goaltender Tuukka Rask (37 saves in his 18th win of the season) was their best player as he extended his personal point streak to 17 games (15-0-2). New Jersey scored first which apparently means nothing to the Black and Gold since they have now allowed the first goal in six straight games while they became the first team in over eight years to earn at least a point in six contests in a row when they allow the first tally (Minnesota from Nov. 25-Dec. 5, 2009).

After a scoreless first period where New Jersey blitzed Boston with 11 more shots on goal (20-9), Manchester-By-The-Sea native and BC alum Miles Wood made it 1-0 Devils at 2:05 of the second with his 13th goal of the season. He tipped in a shot by rookie defenseman Will Butcher with the second assist going to No. 1 overall pick from last summer Nico Hischier. Riley Nash (7th goal of the season) tied it up less than five minutes later as only he can: his shot deflected off Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen and lost almost all its speed, allowing the puck to knuckle past Cory Schneider. The teams continued to trade goals as Damon Severson jumped up on a 3-on-2 and slammed in a sweet shot by Rask two minutes later. Marcus Johansson and Pavel Zacha assisted on Severson's seventh goal of the season. Patrice Bergeron knotted it at two with a power play goal at 12:53: his patented one-timer from the slot, his 20th goal of the season (joining linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak as the Bruins became the 1st team with a trio of 20-goal scorers), from Marchand and Torey Krug. Finally, Marchand scored a filthy goal with 32.8 seconds left in the frame as he fooled Schneider on a 2-on-1 and used his backhander to shovel it in for his 21st goal of the season, assisted by Pastrnak.

Star forward Taylor Hall is out with a hand injury and New Jersey is predictably fading (2-6-2 in last 10 games) after an unexpectedly great start to this campaign. Oh and the Metropolitan Division is insanely tight with eight points currently separating seven quality clubs. It didn't help matters that Schneider (17 saves, 3 goals allowed) left after the second with a lower-body injury, perhaps caused by Marchand basically undressing him before the Garden crowd and a TV audience around the world. Down 3-2 heading into the third and playing in the second part of a back-to-back, you would have expected the Devils to continue to fall apart but instead they outshot the B's 12-4. They just couldn't solve Rask who stopped Severson on a breakaway. Marchand nearly scored on a shorthanded bid but good old Ken Appleby (making his 2nd NHL appearance) was equal to the task. Marcus Johansson left after that play as Marchand caught him with an elbow right to the face, oops!

Bergeron missed an empty-netter in the final minute (his 1st mistake in weeks) which caused an icing call on Boston but it hardly mattered. Marchand appeared to score on the vacant net in the closing seconds but the refs correctly ruled that it hadn't crossed the line before time expired. Sorry degenerate gamblers that had the Bruins winning by two goals! It's been a spectacular first half for Boston and they can put a final bow on it with a win against the hopeless Senators on Thursday in Canada's capital. After that, the team will split for a few days with Marchand going to the All-Star festivities in Tampa Bay while the rest of his teammates travel around the globe for some well-earned rest and relaxation. They return to action next week on Tuesday vs. Anaheim (22-17-9) at the Garden, the start of a tough three-game homestand as they meet the Blues (29-18-3) next Thursday (7, NESN) and Maple Leafs (26-18-5) the night (7, NESN) before the Super Bowl-next Saturday.

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