After His Retirement, I Say Farewell to the Greatest Tight End Who Ever Lived-Gronk

Realistically, we all knew that this day and announcement were coming soon but it doesn't make it any easier to write down: last night on Instagram, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement after nine truly unbelievable seasons in the NFL-all in Foxborough. This is often said about athletes when they retire but in this case, it's an absolute fact: there will never be another Gronk both in terms of the Pats and in the NFL in general.

A freak of nature (6-foot-6, 245 pounds), he won three Super Bowls with New England since he was drafted in the second round (42nd overall!) in 2010 out of the University of Arizona. Along the way, the human Golden Retriever managed to be the most likable star pro athlete that I can ever remember. The fact that he was able to do this for a franchise that basically extracts personality and anything remotely interesting from its players and coaches as soon as they come aboard makes it all the more incredible. The countless painful surgeries to his back, arms and legs (not to mention multiple concussions) had understandably taken their toll on Gronkowski who still put up insane statistics in his career: 521 catches, 7861 yards and 79 touchdowns. As the years went on, the Pats did their best to limit his touches during the regular season to keep him fresh for the playoffs and it made a difference: in 16 career postseason games, he put up 81 catches, 1163 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was named to five Pro Bowls & most importantly was a four-time first team All-Pro (the highest individual honor in the sport).

Taking my Patriots honkdom out of the equation, I think it's pretty simple what made Rob the greatest tight end that we've ever seen: unlike most modern tight ends (think Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten or Travis Kelce), he didn't mind pitching in as a hellacious blocker (think of him throwing poor Sergio Brown out of the club). In fact, coupled with being an unstoppable receiver, he was also the best blocking tight end as well. Like any long and meaningful relationship, Gronk's once-in-a-lifetime run with the Patriots had its ups and downs. Things got a bit wonky the last few years as he held out for a little more money (New England famously underpays even its best players) yet when it came time to play, there he was helping them take home the franchise's sixth Super Bowl title in February vs. the Rams with the biggest catch of the game.

What's refreshing about this whole situation is that Gronk is going out on his own terms. I'm sure I wasn't the only person who always winced when he took a million huge hits in every game (being well aware of his brutal injury history). He turns 30 on May 14 and at this point, what else did he really have to prove in football? He'll be a Patriots Hall of Famer and a first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer so it doesn't get any better than that. Unlike most players, he's also set himself up for a great life after his NFL career ended: he famously has saved most of the money that he's earned as a Patriot and there will be an endless amount of things he can do in his newfound free time. Gronk isn't nearly as dumb as he seems and he has a great sense of humor so it's easy to picture him starring in a reality show about his wild life (with or without his goofy brothers) perhaps going to the WWE or maybe starring in a host of crappy action movies.

He actually seems like he's settled down a bit the last few years (RIP to the Gronk Bus and hanging out with gross porn stars) since he started dating a former Patriots cheerleader (haha storybook romance right?). It's hard to imagine how much pain that he's battled through for much of his life so this mature decision to walk away while his body and mind are still ok is the correct one. He owes nothing to the game, the Patriots or their endlessly loyal fans around the world. If this is the beginning of the end of New England's amazing dynasty, all we can say is thank you to Rob Gronkowski for all the fun memories that we'll cherish for the rest of our lives.

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The Bruins Enjoyed Their Brief Stay At Home As They Beat the Blue Jackets 2-1 In Overtime

No matter where you go on a trip, it's always a nice feeling to come home where you feel most comfortable and familiar with your surroundings. In that respect, pro athletes are just like us as they typically play much better in their own backyard. The Bruins (43-20-9) were gone all last week on a painful road trip that ended with three losses and no wins. Injuries throughout their lineup was becoming a major issue but at least for one night, that was forgotten as they outlasted the Blue Jackets (40-28-4) 2-1 in overtime this evening at TD Garden. Yes, those were the same clubs that played to a crazy 7-4 Columbus victory in Ohio on Tuesday. What else can I say, hockey is weird.

Jake DeBrusk returned after missing the past five games with a lower-body injury and with the most famous Irishman in the world in the house-Conor McGregor-Brad Marchand scored the game-winning goal then celebrated with the MMA star's hilarious signature strut. Boston extended their home win streak to 11 games and their home point streak is up to 13 games (11-0-2) which is their longest since a 15-game stretch (13-0-2) from Oct. 31-Dec. 27, 2014. With home ice in the playoffs in mind (there are only 10 games left in the regular season for the B's), it was a particularly important two points since Toronto (43-24-5) got walloped 6-2 at Ottawa (25-41-6) earlier tonight. That puts Boston four points ahead of the Maple Leafs who also have 10 games remaining.

Boston improved to 9-6 in overtime this season while Columbus fell to 8-3 in the extra session. The pity point was valuable to the Blue Jackets though since they are in a serious fight with Carolina (39-25-7) for the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference with Montreal (37-28-7) only three points behind Columbus. It wasn't an instant classic performance which is probably to be expected with the patchwork Bruins lineup and the fact that the Jackets were playing in their second game of a back-to-back. The B's scored first and never trailed as Patrice Bergeron (6th Bruin to reach 800 career points) swept in a backhander for a power play goal at 5:51 of the first period. His 27th goal of the season was assisted by Marchand and David Krejci. Bergy (10 goals, 13 assists) and Marchy (11 goals, 19 assists) amazingly each have 16-game point streaks still going at the Garden. Krejci is having a fantastic season as well, he's the only Bruin to play in all 72 games in 2018-19 while he has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in his last six games and 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists) in his last 16 games.

Columbus fittingly scored on their best chance of the contest when Matt Duchene sped around John Moore and roofed a shot over Jaroslav Halak's (24 saves, 19th win of the season) glove at 16:52 of the first period. The former Senator's (and Avalanche) 30th goal of the season was assisted by Markus Nutivaara and David "Don't Call Me Marc" Savard. Towards the end of their 19-game point streak, Boston played a few of these low-scoring tight contests so they are used to the small margins for error. While regulation wasn't the most exciting 60 minutes of hockey, overtime was much more action-packed as both teams had glorious scoring chances (Boston outshot Columbus 4-3 in OT and 33-25 for the game). You'll have a hard time finding two more clutch teammates in the NHL than Bergeron or Marchand. Bergeron sauced a backhand no-look pass to Marchand who one-timed in his 15th career overtime goal (increasing his Bruins record) at 3:30. His 31st goal of the season was also Bergeron's 40th assist (4th time in his career he's reached that mark). Finally, Marchand has the most OT tallies (11) since the NHL instituted 3-on-3 in 2015-16.

After an off-day on St. Patrick's Day, the B's will practice on Monday before heading to Long Island where they take on the Islanders (41-23-7) on Tuesday (7, NESN). That's the beginning of a four-game road trip that also includes visits to New Jersey (27-36-9) on Thursday (7, NESN), Florida (32-27-12) on Saturday night (7, NESN) and mighty Tampa Bay (55-13-4) a week from Monday (7:30, NESN). Boston has been great at home (28-7-3) all year and they have the second-best record to prove it, trailing only the Lightning (30-6-2) who are having a regular season for the ages. The B's are only two games over .500 (15-13-6) on the road this season so that's an area that needs to be tightened up before the playoffs start in a few weeks.

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The B's Are On The 2nd-Longest Point Streak In Team History (15-0-4) After A 3-2 Win vs. Ottawa

This isn't a complaint but simply a statement of fact: the Bruins (42-17-9) haven't lost a game in regulation for so long (Jan. 19 vs. Rangers) that their streaks and numbers are starting to pile up enough to give you a bit of an ice cream headache even while it remains winter outside in chilly New England. Boston closed out a spotless six-game homestand (6-0-0) for only the second time in franchise history (they also did that last season) with another last-minute victory, this time it was 3-2 vs. Ottawa (23-40-6) at TD Garden. David Krejci-who is having the definition of a career revival type of campaign-was the latest hero for the B's as he tipped in Danton Heinen's shot/pass with 44.7 seconds left in regulation.

Boston's aforementioned 19-game point streak is the second-longest in team history, now trailing only the 1940-41 team's ridiculous 23-game stretch (15-0-8-0). Furthermore, their 10-game home win streak is their longest since a 14-gamer from Oct. 25, 2008-Jan. 1, 2009 and their home point streak is up to 12 games (10-0-2) now which is their best since a 15-game span (13-0-2) from Oct. 31-Dec. 27, 2014. Do you need to lay down for a little while?

It's hard to have an instant classic game against the worst team in the NHL so the Bruins predictably slogged through the mud to get these two precious points against the hopeless Senators. Remember when Ottawa nearly made the Stanley Cup Final two years ago? Haha talk about falling off of a cliff since then. When you see the tilted shot attempts totals (63-35 in favor of the B's) you understand that they probably should have beat those bums by at least a couple goals but if you watched the Saturday night tilt, you could at least explain some of that away since the Bruins hit not one, not two but three posts/crossbars in the second period alone.

Speaking of the second, that's when notable things started to happen after the first period had nothing but four penalties in it. Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 10:11 with a power play goal. He roofed a shot by Craig Anderson (28 saves) into the top of the far corner of the net for his 28th goal of the season, assisted by Torey Krug and Patrice Bergeron. They are great wherever they play but Marchand and Bergeron are both riding six-game point streaks overall and 15-game point streaks at home. It took the pathetic Senators less than a minutes to tie it at one though as Jean-Gabriel Pageau (could you imagine a guy with a name like that playing on a non-Canadian club?) whipped a shot off the post and by Tuukka Rask (17 saves, 24-8-5). Brady Tkachuk-who went to BU for one season and is better known as Keith's son and Matthew's younger brother-had the lone assist on Pageau's third goal of the season.

To increase the dramatic effect of another comeback by the home team, Boston even let Ottawa lead for a few minutes in the third period. Wasn't that sweet of them? Tkachuk was able to pounce on a loose puck near the crease and put in a backhander (assisted by Chris Tierney) for his 16th goal of the season at 2:46. Tkachuk is basically an honorary Masshole (he grew up in Arizona but his dad is from Medford and also starred at BU before a great NHL career) but the Bruins got a tying goal from a true Masshole: Walpole's favorite son Chris Wagner. He redirected a shot by Krug (who tied Craig Janney for the most points-283-by a U.S.-born player in Bruins history) that almost stopped it was going so slowly but Anderson somehow couldn't react in time to make the save. Charlie McAvoy had the second assist on Wagner's 11th goal of the season; what a gem of a free agent that he's been, bravo B's GM Don Sweeney.

Just like Florida on Thursday, you knew that one way or another Boston wasn't losing this game once it was deadlocked late in the third. They waited until the last minute again but that only serves to make it sweeter (or more intoxicating on a Saturday night). It's tough to tell what Heinen's intention was on the play but truth be told, if Krejci had not have touched the puck, I believe that it still would have gone in anyway so what's the difference? Matt Grzelcyk had the second assist on Krejci's (6 goals, 10 assists in his last 12 games) 18th goal of the season. Rask has his own 19-game point streak (16-0-3) alive and well complete with a goals against average of 1.94 and a save percentage of .929 during this insane run (his last regulation loss was Dec. 23 at Carolina, he hasn't fully lost in 2019!).

As you would expect following such a long homestand, the B's will not see their own beds very often in the next few weeks. In fact, of their 14 remaining games in the regular season, only four of them will be on Causeway Street. Seven of the next eight games are on the road starting with an intriguing matchup in Pittsburgh (36-23-9) tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports). That's followed by a trip to Columbus (38-27-3) on Tuesday (7, NESN) and a flight to Winnipeg (40-23-4) for Thursday's showdown (8, NESN). Boston's next home game is a week from tonight (7, NESN), St. Patrick's Day eve, vs. the Blue Jackets. After that, Boston departs for another road trip (4 games). At this moment, we won't worry about that since these next four games over the next week are all against teams currently in playoff position.

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What an Exciting & Enjoyable (Regular) Season That This Has Turned Out to Be for Your Bruins

Help, it's only early March and I'm starting to run out of ways to praise the 2018-19 Bruins. Tonight at TD Garden, for the second game in a row, they spotted their opponent (Florida) a 2-0 lead but nobody will remember that is they rallied for a bonkers 4-3 win that extended their point-streak to 18 games (14-0-4) tied with last season's identical run for the second-longest mark in franchise history (23 in 1940-41). What was particularly nuts about these two points is that the B's (41-17-9) tied it with 36.5 seconds left in regulation on Matt Grzelcyk's bardown blast and Patrice Bergeron was the hero for the millionth time as he scored the game-winning goal with 6.7 seconds left on poor Roberto Luongo (24 saves). Who needs overtime anyway?

Obviously relying on comebacks like this won't be sustainable in the postseason but with guys like David Pastrnak (thumb surgery), Jake DeBrusk (lower-body injury) and Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) currently sidelined with injuries, you take the victories however you can stack them up. Tuukka Rask (22 saves, 23-8-5) had his worst performance in a long time and yet he still managed to extend his own point-streak to 18 games (15-0-3). During that stretch, he has a goals against average of 1.93 and a .931 save percentage. Hi Tuukka haters, how are you all doing? (Crickets).

Fittingly for such a bottom of the barrel franchise, tonight's loss clinched another playoff-less season (for the 20th time in 25 seasons of existence) for the Panthers (28-27-12) not that anyone will likely notice or more importantly care one bit. After a scoreless first period, Florida's No. 3 power play in the NHL flexed its muscles with a pair of goals. First captain Aleksander Barkov (who I just found out tonight is Finnish, wouldn't you think that he's Russian?) tipped in Milton MA native Keith Yandle's wrister for his 29th goal of the season. Jonathan Huberdeau had the second assist on the game's opening goal at 2:48 of the second period. Things got worse for the Bruins and their penalty kill unit as Huberdeau batted a puck out of the air for another power play tally at 6:27. Barkov and Yandle (playing in his NHL-best 782nd consecutive game) had the helpers on Huberdeau's 19th goal of the season. Rask flailed at the slow motion shot with his glove and he got a piece of it but couldn't corral it completely.

Boston responded midway through that frame as David Krejci worked a pretty give-and-go with Danton Heinen for his 17th goal of the season at 10:29. David Backes had the second assist on Krejci's tight angle shot that he still managed to roof over a prone Luongo. At 39, you have to think that this could Luongo's last season in the NHL and when he finally retires, the Bruins and their fans will be sad to see that day since they have owned him for almost eight years now and counting. Bergeron tied it with a shorthanded goal for the second game in a row. Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand had the assists on his 24th goal of the season at 8:50 of the third period. It was a wrist shot from some distance but somehow Luongo couldn't stop it.

Huberdeau wouldn't let his team fold though at least at that point as he spun around to fire a shot past Zdeno Chara and Rask at 10:55. Evgeni Dadonov and Aaron Ekblad had the assists on that shot that seemed to catch Rask by surprise. Boston waited until the last minute to really build the suspense: it started with David Krejci drawing a tripping penalty on Mike Hoffman and eventually Rask came to the bench for an extra skater. Grzelcyk's goal came with one second left on the power play with Marchand and McAvoy registering the assists on his second goal of the season and undoubtedly the biggest of his brief Bruins career. I had complete confidence that the Black and Gold would find a way to win it in overtime but good old Luongo made sure that they wouldn't need to go beyond regulation. Marchand won a puck battle in the corner and fed Bergeron in the slot for his latest highlight reel unforgettable goal. Like any Bruins fan, I'm thankful every day that I get to watch those two fantastic hockey players on my favorite team.

This dream of a six-game homestand (5-0-0) comes to an end on Saturday night (7, NESN) as the Bruins have the honor of hosting the NHL's worst team-the Senators (23-39-6). Anything can happen in this league but I'd be shocked if the B's let up and this incredible points streak ends against that AHL-level club. Sean Kuraly returned this evening after missing the past two games with a concussion and head coach Bruce Cassidy said that DeBrusk could possibly play on Saturday since his latest injury didn't seem too serious. Most importantly, this result pushed Boston four points ahead of Toronto (41-21-5) while both teams have exactly 15 games remaining in the regular season with no head-to-head matchups left. It looks almost like a lock (barring a huge closing run by Montreal and/or an epic collapse by the Leafs) that it will be Boston vs. Toronto for the second year in a row in Round 1 of the playoffs.

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B's Rally From Down 2-0 To Beat Another Quality Opponent (Canes) & Extend Point Streak to 17

If you haven't bought in on the Bruins (40-17-9) during this amazing run, I don't know what else that you are waiting to see from them. Not only are they beating plenty of good teams but they are doing it in many different ways, take tonight for example: a spirited 4-3 comeback win by the B's in overtime vs. the Hurricanes (36-23-7) at TD Garden thanks to David Krejci's beautiful forehand-to-backhand game-winning goal that was the end result of a great forecheck then pass from Jake DeBrusk. Boston has a 17-game point streak (13-0-4) which is tied for the third-longest in franchise history (23 in 1940-41, 18 in 1968-69 & last season plus four 17-game streaks).

Carolina came in as the other hottest team in the league: they had won five straight games and they were 8-2-0 in their last 10 games to take over third-place in the Metropolitan Division. Most impressively, the Hurricanes were 21-6-1 in their last 28 games and those 43 points in 2019 were the most in the NHL. It was a battle of backup goalies which was a bit misleading since Jaroslav Halak (34 saves, 18-9-4) extended his own point-streak to seven games (5-0-2) and Curtis McElhinney (34 saves, 17-7-2) is having the best season of his forgettable career. Boston improved to 8-6 in overtime this season while Carolina fell to 4-5 in the extra session. It also avenged the 5-3 Bruins loss in Raleigh, NC on the night before Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, this concluded the season series and probably the only way they will meet again this spring is in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Sporting those gorgeous green Whalers jerseys vs. Boston for the second time during this campaign, the Hurricanes looked every bit the role of a true contender as they scored first and later took a 2-0 lead early in the second period. That was preceded by what could be a costly injury for the Bruins: Micheal Ferland lit up Marcus Johansson with a huge hit that sent Boston's new winger to the hospital with an upper-body injury. David Backes has become Boston's defacto fighter and he dropped the gloves (for the third time in four games) vs. Ferland. Sebastian Aho is only 21-years-old but he's quickly turning into a star while also morphing into a Bruins killer. He deflected in Calvin de Haan's shot from the point at 6:30 of the first period. UNH alum Trevor van Riemsdyk (James' younger brother) had the second assist on Aho's 28th goal of the season. He made it 2-0 at 1:10 of the second when he somehow slipped loose on a breakaway and finished a filthy backhander through Halak's five-hole. Nino Niederreiter and Justin Faulk had the helpers on Aho's second goal of the night.

That seemed to finally wake up the B's and as we all predicted, Chris Wagner was the guy to turn the momentum with a goal. First he deflected Brandon Carlo's (game-high 26:19 time on ice and 9 shots on goal) shot from the point then he battled for the rebound and was able to put it in for his 10th goal of the season at 12:28 of the second period. DeBrusk can't stop scoring goals himself (8 in the last 10 games) and he tied it at two at 18:12 of the second. Krejci (4 goals, 10 assists in his last 10 games) started the play with a rush down the left wing, his shot forced a save by McElhinney and DeBrusk was able to chip the rebound top-shelf for his 22nd goal of the season.

Boston grabbed its first lead of the contest at 2:45 of the third period as Patrice Bergeron (6 goals, 10 assists in his last 14 games) blasted in a beautiful shorthanded one-timer from his BFF Brad Marchand (8 goals, 12 assists in his last 14 games) for his 23rd goal of the season. The Hurricanes didn't go away though-a sign of a good team-as they tied it at three at 12:17 on captain Justin Williams' (19th goal of the season) one-timed shot that deflected in, assisted by Jordan Martinook and Brett Pesce. Not too much happened in overtime besides the goal: Halak made a nice falling save on Justin Faulk and then DeBrusk forced a turnover by Faulk behind his own net and he was able to shake loose enough to whip a pass across the crease to Krejci who weaved around a diving McElhinney.

Every game is important down the stretch but it's a little tougher for Bruins fans to get quite as excited about their next two games: Thursday (7, NESN) vs. going nowhere Florida (28-26-12) and the homestand's conclusion on Saturday night (7, NESN) vs. hopeless Ottawa (23-38-6). The Black and Gold appear to be pretty locked in for either the No. 2 seed or No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division with Toronto (41-21-4) only three points behind them while Montreal (36-24-7) is 10 points behind their chief rivals. As we saw last postseason vs. the Maple Leafs, home ice turned out to be the difference so Boston hopes to follow that same script should they face Toronto in a much-anticipated rematch.

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Even When They Sleepwalk Through Much of a Game Now, The B's Still Manage To Post a Shutout

You know that we have it pretty good these days when all we can do (at least when it comes to the Bruins) is complain about the lack of beauty in a win. Haha yes tonight's 1-0 shutout of the pseudo-AHL Devils (25-33-8) at the Garden was far from an instant classic but if the Celtics have taught us anything during their thus far very disappointing season, you have to enjoy the wins no matter how they come. Boston (39-17-9) has the third most points in the NHL thanks to a ridiculous 16-game point streak (12-0-4). Along those lines, goaltender Tuukka Rask (14-0-3) has been similarly brilliant since his last regulation loss-the day before Christmas Eve at Carolina.

It only made perfect sense that after a pair of truly thrilling regular season games vs. San Jose (38-19-8) and Tampa Bay (50-12-4) earlier in the week-both 4-1 victories for the Black and Gold-that they would lack that same infectious spirit they had showed against the iron of the league when the rudderless Devils came to town. Nevermind that New Jersey had played the night before or that leading scorer Kyle Palmieri was sidelined with a lower-body injury, this was going to be two points for the home team almost no matter what happened. It helped that Boston stepped on their throat right away as Brad Marchand scored a power-play goal 2:37 into the first period. His 27th goal of the season was assisted by Patrice Bergeron (now tied with Wayne Cashman for 6th place on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with 793 points) and Jake DeBrusk. Marchand has 19 points (8 goals, 11 assists) in his past 13 games, Bergeron has 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in his last 13 and DeBrusk has 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) in his last nine games.

You would have thought it would be a blowout as Marchand got hooked by defenseman Damon Severson on a breakaway and earned a penalty shot less than five minutes later but New Jersey rookie goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (29 saves, 6-6-0) made the save. Marchand fell to 4-for-7 (which is still a pretty solid conversion rate) on penalty shots in the league. Rask probably hasn't recorded many easier shutouts in his life: he was only forced to make 20 saves and only a few of them were reasonably tough for his third shutout of the season and 44th of his career. Boston's penalty kill went 2-for-2 and New Jersey only managed 10 total over the final two periods so you can see how there was very little to talk about other than the result and a couple of interesting statistics.

Bruins fans (or hockey fans in general) should get a much more compelling product on Tuesday (7, NESN) as the Hurricanes (36-23-6) come to the Garden. Carolina has also been on an insane run as they have reached third-place in the Metropolitan Division, only three points behind both the Islanders (37-20-7) and Capitals (37-21-7). They have won their last five games in a row after a 4-3 overtime victory in Florida (28-25-11) earlier this evening. Speaking of the Panthers, they will be here on Thursday (7, NESN) followed by the hapless Senators (22-38-5) on Saturday night (7, NESN) who are the worst team in the NHL and just fired their head coach/bad horror movie villain Guy Boucher. Right now, everything is coming up Bruins and I have to say that I absolutely love it.

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Cue the Hype Machine as the B's Dominate the NHL's Best Team (TB) From Start to Finish, 4-1

Let's get these qualifiers out of the way first: yes, Tampa Bay (49-12-4) was playing on the second night of back-to-back on the road and backup goaltender Louis Domingue (who was 19-4-0 coming in) got the start but whatever. These are the most important facts (at least as far as Bruins fans are concerned): for the first time in NHL history, two clubs entered with 14-game point streaks (12-0-2 for Tampa Bay and 10-0-4 for Boston) but only one continued as Boston (38-17-9) rolled 4-1 against the Lightning tonight at TD Garden. The B's improved to 14-3-0 in their last 17 home games against the Lightning.

It's only one game so it doesn't erase last spring's one-sided second round playoff series (4-1) won too easily by Tampa Bay. However, it makes up for the 3-2 loss by the B's in Tampa on Dec. 6 and with two more meetings in the regular season, it should give the Black and Gold confidence that they can play with that super team. Domingue (37 saves) actually played out of his mind for most of the game and he was the only reason that his gassed teammates were able to hang around until Boston exploded for a trio of goals in just 1:28 in the second half of the third period. Goaltender Tuukka Rask (20 saves, 21-8-5) continued to play some of the best hockey of his life: he has a goals against average of 1.92 and save percentage of .931 during his 16-game point streak (13-0-3).

Tampa Bay's numbers both individually and as a team are pretty ridiculous this far into a campaign: they have 13 more points than the next closest team in the NHL (Calgary) along with the No. 1 power play unit and the No. 1 penalty kill unit. Right wing Nikita Kucherov (30 goals, 74 assists) is the front-runner for the Hart Trophy (MVP) and he leads the league in points while even Domingue had won his last 11 games (longest streak in Lightning history). They had won a franchise-best 10 games in a row before tonight's loss.

After a scoreless first period-highlighted by another David Backes bout and Mathieu Joseph ringing a shot off the post-where Boston outshot them 17-4, the B's went ahead for good thanks to a power play goal by red-hot Jake DeBrusk (7 goals in his last 8 games). Torey Krug (1 goal, 10 assists in his last 11 games) and Rask had the assists on DeBrusk's 21st goal of the season but in truth, it was mostly all thanks to Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman. DeBrusk intended to pass the puck to Brad Marchand next to the Tampa Bay net but Stralman deflected it right into his own goal. Oopsie! Still, Boston had 23 more shots on goal through two periods (32-9) but only led by one goal (1-0) which was troubling to say the least.

The Lightning's best offensive push of the game was right away to start the third period as Kucherov's line acted like they were on a power play when they really weren't and completely hemmed Boston in its own defensive zone. They didn't come away with any goals though but Domingue stood on his head, robbing Joakim Nordstrom and Danton Heinen with incredible saves. Sean Kuraly got sandwiched between a pair of Lightning on a rough hit by Braydon Coburn that sent Boston's fourth-line winger to be evaluated for a concussion. Speaking of the fourth line, Noel Acciari lost two teeth on Tuesday after getting hit in the face with an errant puck but he didn't miss a game. The hockey gods rewarded him with a huge goal at 11:47 that made it 2-0 Bruins. He followed up a shot by linemate Chris Wagner for his third goal of the season. That's when the floodgates finally opened on Domingue as Patrice Bergeron scored on an uncovered wrister from the slot 45 seconds later (his 22nd of the season, assisted by Heinen and Acciari) and Marchand put the bow on it with a goal via a breakaway where the puck actually rolled off his stick before he completed his move. No worries, his 26th goal of the season was assisted by Heinen and Krug at 13:15.

Tampa Bay finally got on the scoreboard at 13:52 as Anthony Cirelli tipped in a shot from the point by Ondrej Palat. His 13th goal of the season saved the Lightning from the embarrassment of getting blanked but that's about all it was good for. This officially closes the month for the B's and what a February it turned out to be: they finished 11-0-2, their first month without a regulation loss since November 2011 (12-0-2). The good times shouldn't end anytime soon either since they have four games left on this homestand and three are against teams currently out of the playoff picture. The mostly nameless Devils (25-31-8) are here on Saturday night (7, NESN) in Marcus Johansson's first meeting with his last employer. The crowds at the Garden have been particularly loud for the last few games and with only 18 games left in the regular season, playoff hockey is right around the corner.

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