Down the Frozen River

Tag: Atlantic Division

  • Bruins beat Avs for the first time at home in 21 years, 2-1 in OT

    Brad Marchand‘s 14th career game-winning overtime goal clinched a, 2-1, victory for the Boston Bruins over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.

    Following the game, the Bruins partied like it was *1998 (it was Boston’s first win on home ice against the Avalanche since March 30, 1998– a, 4-1, victory for the B’s).

    Jaroslav Halak (14-9-4 record, 2.44 goals against average, .921 save percentage in 29 games played) made 35 saves on 36 shots against for a .921 SV% in the overtime win for the Bruins.

    Semyon Varlamov (13-13-8, 2.91 GAA, .906 SV% in 35 GP) stopped 33 out of 35 shots faced for a .906 SV% in the overtime loss for Colorado.

    The Bruins improve to 31-17-8 (70 points) on the season and move ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Avalanche fell to 22-22-11 (55 points) and remain 6th in the Central Division (tied in points with the Chicago Blackhawks, but ahead in the standings thanks to having a game in-hand on Chicago).

    Boston leads Montreal by one point in the standings for the final divisional spot in the Atlantic. Colorado is four points out of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.

    Prior to Sunday’s matinee, the Bruins hosted the Los Angeles Kings for a Saturday afternoon matchup. Boston defeated the Kings, 5-4, in overtime thanks to an overtime game-winning power play goal from Patrice Bergeron (20) at 2:34 of the overtime period.

    Bergeron was honored prior to the game with gifts– including the traditional “Silver Stick”– and a ceremony for having played in his 1,000th career regular season game on Tuesday against the New York Islanders.

    Charlie McAvoy, Danton Heinen, David Krejci and Marchand also had goals for the Bruins in the win, while Alex Iafallo, Anze Kopitar, Nate Thompson and Oscar Fantanberg notched goals for Los Angeles.

    Tuukka Rask (17-8-4 , 2.36 GAA, .922 SV% in 30 GP) made 25 saves on 29 shots against in the win for Boston.

    Entering Sunday, Bruce Cassidy made minor adjustments to his lineup, inserting Trent Frederic on the fourth line, centering Jake DeBrusk and Joakim Nordstrom, while scratching David Backes.

    Sean Kuraly, Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner were reunited on the third line.

    Marchand, Bergeron and Heinen were kept together on the first line with Peter Cehlarik lining up alongside Krejci and David Pastrnak.

    Steven Kampfer (healthy scratch, on conditioning loan to the Providence Bruins, AHL) and Matt Grzelcyk (lower body) joined Backes out of the lineup on Sunday.

    Almost midway through the opening frame, Heinen got a stick up high on Erik Johnson and received a two-minute minor penalty at 9:54. The Avalanche didn’t convert on the ensuing power play.

    Almost five minutes later, Gabriel Landeskog tripped Heinen and presented Boston with their first power play opportunity of the afternoon at 16:19 of the first period.

    While on the power play, Torey Krug hooked Matt Calvert in effort to disrupt a shorthanded chance by Colorado. Krug was assessed an infraction and went to the box at 17:27, leaving both teams even strength at 4-on-4 for about 52 seconds before the Avs had an abbreviated power play.

    Late in the first period, Nathan MacKinnon (29) roofed a shot over Halak’s glove from close range to give Colorado the first lead of the night, 1-0, at 19:27.

    Landeskog (28) and J.T. Compher (11) collected the assist’s on MacKinnon’s goal as the Avalanche took the, 1-0, lead into the first intermission.

    After one period, Colorado led in shots on goal (12-7), takeaways (5-3), giveaways (6-4) and hits (10-9), while Boston led in blocked shots (5-4). Both teams were 50-50 in face-off win percentage, while the Avs were 0/2 on the power play and the B’s were 0/1.

    John Moore (3) tied the game, 1-1, as Bergeron acted as a screen in front of Varlamov at 3:40 of the second period. Moore fired a shot off the far post and in as McAvoy (13) and Marchand (44) picked up the assists and the Bruins tied the game.

    MacKinnon was penalized for holding at 6:18 of the second period and was followed to the penalty box almost 30 seconds later by Carl Soderberg after Soderberg interfered with McAvoy at 7:45.

    Boston had 34 seconds of a two-skater power play advantage before, but couldn’t convert on either opportunity.

    Moore sent an odd puck bounce off the curved glass next to the Bruins bench and into the net behind Varlamov, but it was immediately waved off as “no goal” with 24.1 seconds remaining in the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the game was tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, but the Avalanche maintained the advantage in shots on goal, 24-22– despite being outshot by Boston, 15-12, in the second period alone.

    Entering the third period, Colorado led in takeaways (10-6), giveaways (7-5) and hits (19-16), while the B’s led in face-off win% (56-44). Both teams had 10 blocked shots aside as the Avs were 0/2 and the Bruins were 0/3 on the power play.

    A string of hooking penalties kicked things off in the third period with Kuraly hooking Samuel Girard at 7:16, followed by Krug hooking Matt Nieto at 9:53. Finally, Colorado’s Tyson Barrie hooked Bergeron at 10:08 of the third period.

    Neither team capitalized on the special teams play.

    Late in the final frame of regulation, Sheldon Dries was penalized for holding Krug at 17:45 and the Bruins went on the power play. Despite forging a couple shots at the net, Boston couldn’t buy a power play goal.

    As time expired on regulation, the Avalanche led in shots on goal, 34-31, and the score remained tied, 1-1.

    Boston led in blocked shots (18-12), hits (28-21) and face-off win% (53-47) after 60 minutes of play, while Colorado led in takeaways (13-8) and giveaways (11-10).

    No penalties were called in the overtime period, meaning the Avs finished 0/4 and the B’s finished 0/5 on the skater advantage Sunday afternoon.

    For the 5th time in the last seven games, Boston was heading for extra hockey.

    Cassidy started Kuraly, Moore and McAvoy in overtime. Marchand, Bergeron and Krug ended overtime.

    Just past the four-minute mark of the five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period, Marchand (21) unleashed a wrist shot from about the face-off circle to Varlamov’s left side and sent the puck off an Avalanche defender and into the twine.

    Bergeron (31) and Krug (34) notched the assists on Marchand’s game-winning goal at 4:03 of overtime.

    Marchand’s goal sealed the deal on a, 2-1, win for Boston, leaving the Bruins with a 6-6 record in overtime this season. Colorado fell to 1-10 in overtime.

    The Avalanche finished the day leading in shots on goal (36-35) and giveaways (11-10), while the B’s led in blocked shots (18-12), hits (29-21) and face-off win% (53-47).

    With the win, the Bruins are now 4-0-1 in the month of February and 7-0-0 in matinee games this season.

    Boston takes on the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday at TD Garden before heading out for a western road trip, starting next Friday (Feb. 15th) in Anaheim, swinging through Los Angeles on Feb. 16th, San Jose on Feb. 18th, Vegas on Feb. 20th and finally St. Louis on Feb. 23rd.

    The Bruins improved to 11-3-4 in their last 18 games. Cassidy is now one win shy of his 100th behind the bench for Boston.

  • Numbers Game: 2018-19 League Forecast Entering February

    Whether you’re looking for love or looking to win the Stanley Cup, February is an active month.

    Some teams are buying in on false promises that will ultimately end in heartbreak. Others are selling and living the single life.

    In either case, most teams will be suited for a stretch run– ’til death do [them] part (or they miss out on the playoffs altogether or are eliminated in the postseason).

    So let’s see if it’s a match between your team and finishing first in the divisional standings in this new forecast based on how the league standings were through January 31, 2019.

    Before you scroll down to the tinder box that is known as the comment section and go bumbling on how wrong these numbers will be, keep in mind there’s no guarantees with any forecast.

    It’s not always about the exact number of points expected on the season, but rather the general trends indicated or “educated” guesses that are shown.

    The focus might be on the spread or positioning in the standings more than any specifics. Context is key and nothing’s impossible until it’s mathematically impossible.

    Without further ado, it’s time to take a look at the potential dates available for this season.

    Projected Standings After Four Months

    Eastern Conference

    Atlantic Division

    1. p-Tampa Bay Lightning, 130 points (50 GP entering Feb. 1st)
    2. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 110 points (49 GP)
    3. x-Montreal Canadiens, 104 points (51 GP)
    4. wc1-Buffalo Sabres, 102 points (50 GP)
    5. wc2-Boston Bruins, 97 points (51 GP)
    6. Florida Panthers, 77 points (48 GP)
    7. Detroit Red Wings, 67 points (51 GP)
    8. Ottawa Senators, 66 points (50 GP)

    In the Atlantic Division the Tampa Bay Lightning are flirting with the President’s Trophy and a 130 point season. But can they take home the best looking person in school or will the Calgary Flames have anything to say about it and steal their date? (more on that later)

    The Toronto Maple Leafs are smitten with 2nd place in their division, but searching for the one to take them all the way (to the Cup). Is this the year that it finally happens?

    While the Boston Bruins have been coming up short in sealing the deal (they went 6-3-3 in January, which was a marginal improvement from 7-7-0 in December), the Montreal Canadiens have been eyeing the last divisional spot in the Atlantic.

    If the Buffalo Sabres can get over their recent dry spell, they’re sure to rebound well and land with the first wild card in the Eastern Conference– successfully reaching the postseason for the first time since 2011.

    At the bottom of the division, it’s more of the same– the exact same (standings-wise) from last month.

    Metropolitan Division

    1. y-New York Islanders, 113 points (49 GP)
    2. x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 99 points (50 GP)
    3. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 98 points (50 GP)
    4. Washington Capitals, 93 points (50 GP)
    5. Carolina Hurricanes, 89 points (50 GP)
    6. New York Rangers, 79 points (50 GP)
    7. Philadelphia Flyers, 73 points (51 GP)
    8. New Jersey Devils, 68 points (50 GP)

    Things are looking up for the New York Islanders as they continue to hookup with some top-notch strategy put forth by head coach, Barry Trotz. Robin Lehner has been stellar and everyone’s buying in on being accountable as a team.

    Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins are in a long-term committed relationship with making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but will this one bring another ring to it?

    “Don’t go breaking my heart//I wouldn’t if I [actually] tried,” said Sergei Bobrovsky as he let down Columbus Blue Jackets fans with subpar goaltending, despite somehow clinching the last playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.

    The Stanley Cup looks like it will be in another’s arms given the recent stretch of play from the Washington Capitals as the team goes through a breakup with the postseason for 2019.

    If things get steamy it’s only because the Carolina Hurricanes are storming and desperately making a charge to quench their postseason thirst.

    There’s not much to be said about the bottom three teams in this division either. Even if Carter Hart is stealing hearts in the City of Brotherly Love. Swipe left.

    Western Conference

    Central Division

    1. y-Winnipeg Jets, 116 points (51 GP)
    2. x-Nashville Predators, 96 points (52 GP)
    3. x-Dallas Stars, 86 points (50 GP)
    4. Minnesota Wild, 86 points (50 GP)
    5. Colorado Avalanche, 85 points (50 GP)
    6. St. Louis Blues, 77 points (49 GP)
    7. Chicago Blackhawks, 66 points (51 GP)

    The Winnipeg Jets are soaring on cloud nine with the Central Division title this season as the Nashville Predators have hit some bumps in the road throughout the season.

    It’s a rocky relationship for the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche in terms of playoff berths. The spread between the three teams in the latest forecast indicates it’s still anybody’s game and though the Stars are tagged as being above the cutoff line in this display, they aren’t safe and sound.

    The St. Louis Blues are creeping their way into a playoff spot in reality, but things could very well go back to the way it was before Jordan Binnington came along as the right man to be number one in Blues fans’ hearts.

    Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks might as well consciously uncouple with their expendable assets by the end of the month– if not before.

    Pacific Division

    1. z-Calgary Flames, 123 points (51 GP)
    2. x-Vegas Golden Knights, 108 points (52 GP)
    3. x-San Jose Sharks, 103 points (52 GP)
    4. wc1-Vancouver Canucks, 88 points (51 GP)
    5. wc2-Arizona Coyotes, 87 points (50 GP)
    6. Edmonton Oilers, 79 points (50 GP)
    7. Anaheim Ducks, 74 points (51 GP)
    8. Los Angeles Kings, 65 points (50 GP)

    Things are heating up in Calgary as the Flames have not just been good– they’re really good. Calgary continues to surge into a definite number one seed in not just the Pacific Division, but the Western Conference as a whole.

    What’s more impressive? The Flames are closing in on the Bolts in the President’s Trophy race. A few odd puck bounces going either way could really hamper what everyone thought Tampa’s all season long.

    Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights are feeling lucky as a rematch with the San Jose Sharks is looking more and more like it’s going to happen.

    It’s a wild race for the wild card berths in the Western Conference, which means that the Vancouver Canucks and Arizona Coyotes could end up on either side of the fence, depending on what kind of dance partner they’re interested in acquiring at the trade deadline.

    Is it time to buy, sell or continue to rebuild?

    For the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, it’s time to rekindle the spark in their lives.

  • Halak, Bruins let another one slip away, 4-3, in shootout

    The New York Rangers took home the, 4-3, shootout victory on Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden after allowing three unanswered goals in the second period.

    New York mounted a comeback in the third period to tie the game, 3-3, then after an entertaining, high-action, three-on-three overtime period was not enough, the Rangers put it away in seven rounds of a shootout.

    Alexandar Georgiev (7-9-0 record, 3.24 goals against average, .897 save percentage in 18 games played) made 27 saves on 30 shots faced for a .900 SV% in the shootout win as the Rangers improved to 9-1-0 in their last 10 regular season battles with Boston.

    Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (13-9-4, 2.50 GAA, .918 SV% in 28 GP) recorded 36 saves on 39 shots against for a .923 SV% in the shootout loss and fell to 18-8-1 in his career against the Rangers.

    Boston fell to 19-2-1 when leading after two periods this season and is now 2-0-1 so far in February.

    The B’s fell to 29-17-8 (66 points) on the season, but improved to 3rd place in the Atlantic Division standings, while the Rangers improved to 23-22-8 (54 points), but remain in 7th place in the Metropolitan Division.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, juggled his lines– reinserting Danton Heinen on the fourth line in place of David Backes, but later jumbling every forward line except for the Sean Kuraly–Noel Acciari–Chris Wagner trio.

    By the end of the night, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Heinen made up the first line with Peter Cehlarik, David Krejci and David Pastrnak filling out the top-six forwards.

    Joakim Nordstrom, Trent Frederic and Jake DeBrusk were relegated to fourth line duties with Nordstrom coming up strong in breaking up some crucial plays in overtime.

    Cassidy kept his same defensive pairings from Tuesday, with John Moore, Backes and Steven Kampfer serving as the B’s healthy scratches on Wednesday.

    Given it was the second night of back-to-back games, Halak got the start in goal over Tuukka Rask, who picked up the, 3-1, win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

    Bergeron tripped up Rangers forward, Mika Zibanejad at 1:11 of the first period and handed New York their first power play opportunity of the night early in the action.

    The Rangers did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage and followed up with a penalty of their own– Marc Staal for cross-checking Kuraly– at 13:39.

    Boston did not succeed in their first skater advantage opportunity of the night.

    Moments later, Zibanejad (22) let go of a snipe-shot from the point that had eyes and beat Halak to give New York the lead, 1-0.

    Mats Zuccarello (21) recorded the only assist on Zibanejad’s goal at 17:45.

    Will less than a minute remaining in the opening frame, Kuraly bumped into Boo Nieves while both players weren’t looking at each other and drew the ire of Jimmy Vesey at 19:08.

    Vesey was dealt a cross-checking minor against Wagner, while Kuraly received a roughing minor against Nieves. Both penalties were handed out with 51 seconds remaining until the first intermission and would yield 4-on-4 action into the second period.

    After one period of play, the Rangers led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 12-9.

    Boston maintained the advantage in blocked shots (5-4) and takeaways (6-3), while New York led in giveaways (5-4), hits (15-10) and face-off win percentage (55-46).

    Both clubs were 0/1 on the power play entering the 2nd period.

    Kevan Miller cross-checked Vladislav Namestnikov at 2:16 of the second period, but the Rangers didn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Cassidy restructured his lines almost midway through the middle frame and it provided instant results.

    On a face-off in the offensive zone, Marchand worked the puck back to Matt Grzelcyk for the shot towards the goal that was tipped by Heinen (7) for his first goal in his first game back since being a healthy scratch for the last few games.

    Grzelcyk (13) and Marchand (41) tallied the assists on Heinen’s goal at 10:37 of the second period and the game was tied, 1-1.

    Just 72 seconds later, Pastrnak (31) redirected a pass from Krejci behind Georgiev to give the Bruins their first lead of the night, 2-1, at 11:49 of the middle frame.

    Krejci (31) and Miller (5) were tabbed with the primary and secondary assists, respectively.

    Less than 30 seconds later, Bergeron took his second trip to the penalty box– this time for slashing Zuccarello– at 12:12.

    Shortly after New York’s power play expired, Tony DeAngelo was guilty of tripping Bergeron at 14:22, resulting in a power play for Boston.

    Less than a minute into the skater advantage, Bergeron (19) tipped a shot from Torey Krug past the right leg of the Rangers goaltender as Georgiev attempted to make a butterfly save.

    Krug (31) and Marchand (42) had the assists on Bergeron’s power play goal at 15:11 of the second period and the B’s led, 3-1.

    Late in the period, Brandon Carlo and Zuccarello got tangled up with each other and received matching roughing minors at 16:34.

    Entering the dressing room after 40 minutes of action, Boston led, 3-1, on the scoreboard, but trailed New York, 22-20, in shots on goal. The Bruins did, however, lead in second period shots on goal alone– with a slight advantage– 11-10.

    The Bruins led in blocked shots (7-6), while the Rangers led in just about everything else, including takeaways (10-9), giveaways (12-6) and hits (30-16) entering the final frame of regulation.

    Both teams went 50-50 in face-off win% after two periods and the Rangers were 0/3 on the power play entering the third period. Boston was 1/2 on the skater advantage.

    Kevin Hayes (12) made it a one-goal game at 9:24 of the third period.

    Pavel Buchnevich received a pass up the middle and threw a shot on goal that Vesey chased down the rebound for in order to send the puck to Hayes for the goal.

    Vesey (14) and Buchnevich (8) had the assists and the Rangers trailed, 3-2.

    Charlie McAvoy took a horrendous boarding penalty at 12:05 of the third period. It was horrendous, because it ultimately proved costly.

    Filip Chytil (10) pocketed a rebound that Halak failed to control after Buchnevich fired the initial shot.

    Buchnevich (9) and DeAngelo (10) had the assists on Chytil’s power play goal for New York at 12:42 and the Rangers tied the game, 3-3.

    Through 60 minutes of regulation, both teams were still tied, 3-3, on the scoreboard, despite the Rangers leading in shots on goal (33-29), blocked shots (10-9), giveaways (20-11) and hits (41-25).

    Boston, in the meantime, escaped regulation with the lead in takeaways (13-11) and face-off win% (53-47).

    The Rangers finished the night 1/4 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1/2 as no penalties were called in the five-minute, three-on-three overtime period.

    Cassidy started Pastrnak, Krejci and Krug in overtime for the Bruins as both teams got off to a frantic pace, leading to chance after chance and save after save.

    Eventually, both teams attempted their fair share of trick shots and odd banks off of pads, sticks and whatever they could find to try to will the puck into the twine.

    But, Georgiev and Halak stood tall, leading to a shootout after five minutes of overtime was not enough.

    As an aside, the Rangers had six shots on goal in overtime, compared to Boston’s one shot on net (officially).

    New York finished the night leading in shots on goal (39-30), blocked shots (12-10), giveaways (21-11) and hits (42-26), while the Bruins led in face-off win% (55-45).

    In the shootout, David Quinn elected to have his home team Rangers shoot first on Halak, but Zuccarello was denied by the outer post.

    Cassidy sent out Cehlarik as his first shooter, but Georgiev made the save.

    Kevin Shattenkirk was denied by Halak, as Pastrnak failed to muster a shot off his stick in the second round of the shootout.

    Zibanejad deked and roofed the puck to give New York the, 1-0, advantage in the third round of the shootout, but was matched by Marchand’s nifty dangle-turned-five hole squib-shot to even it, 1-1, after three rounds.

    Hayes was turned aside by Halak and McAvoy had the puck poke checked away by the Rangers netminder in the fourth round.

    Chytil rang the post and DeBrusk’s shot was saved by Georgiev in the fifth round.

    Vesey nailed the crossbar and Heinen was stopped in the sixth round.

    Finally, DeAngelo mustered enough stick work on the puck to get Halak to commit to a sprawling position, as DeAngelo then elevated the puck for what became the game-winning shootout goal in the seventh round after Krejci fired his shot wide.

    New York improved to 6-2 in shootouts on the season, while Boston fell to 1-2 past overtime this season.

    The Rangers had won, 4-3, officially on the scoreboard after the shootout and stole the extra point past regulation.

    Call it Adam McQuaid‘s revenge or whatever, but Wednesday night’s game was the 54th game of the regular season for Boston.

    The Bruins venture back home for a three-game homestand at TD Garden starting Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET with a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings.

    Boston will honor Bergeron prior to puck drop for participating in his 1,000th career regular season NHL game on Tuesday.

    Sunday afternoon, the B’s take on the Colorado Avalanche, then wrap things up at home with a tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks next Tuesday.

    Cassidy’s crew swings through the three teams in California, the Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues on a roadtrip from Feb. 15th through the 23rd.

  • DTFR Podcast #144- (The Other) Auston City Limits

    DTFR Podcast #144- (The Other) Auston City Limits

    Auston Matthews signed an extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. What does this mean for the Leafs? Alex Stalock, Jordan Martinook and Pheonix Copley all signed extensions with their clubs, as Tuukka Rask became the winningest goaltender in Boston Bruins history, Alex Ovechkin became the highest scoring Russian-born NHL player and Paul Maurice reached 1,500 games behind the bench as a head coach.

    The DTFR Duo also reviewed all 31 NHL teams as buyers and/or sellers at the 2019 trade deadline.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Bergeron nets two in his 1,000th game, B’s win, 3-1

    Patrice Bergeron opened the game’s scoring while crashing the net on a rebound and closed the game’s scoring with an empty net goal, while Peter Cehlarik took home the game-winning goal in the Boston Bruins’, 3-1, victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

    It was the 53rd game of the 2018-19 regular season for the Bruins and the 1,000th regular season game in Bergeron’s career.

    An alternate captain for the Bruins playing in his 15th NHL season, Bergeron became the 53rd player in NHL history to score a goal in his 1,000th game and the 3rd to do so in a Boston uniform (joining Johnny Bucyk on Dec. 10, 1970 and Jean Ratelle on March 23, 1977).

    The 33-year-old two-way center joined Brent Burns, Jason Pominville, Tomas Plekanec and Thomas Vanek as the only players to score in their 1,000th career regular season game so far this season.

    Bergeron also became the 6th player in league history to score multiple goals in his 1,000th game.

    Tuukka Rask (16-8-4 record, 2.30 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 29 games played) made 28 saves on 29 shots against for the .966 SV% in the win for Boston– his 254th of his career.

    In his last 11 starts, Rask is now 8-1-2 with a 1.42 GAA and .945 SV%. Boston is 9-3-3 in their last 15 games as a result.

    Robin Lehner (16-8-4, 2.02 GAA, .932 SV% in 29 GP) turned aside 24 out of 26 shots faced for a .923 SV% in the loss for New York.

    The Islanders’ eight-game point streak came to an end as a result of the loss in regulation to Boston on Tuesday.

    The Bruins improved to 29-17-7 (65 points) on the season and remained in 4th place in the Atlantic Division, while the Islanders fell to 30-16-6 (66 points), but stayed in command of the Metropolitan Division.

    Boston also improved to 19-4-5 when scoring first this season and 2-0-0 in the month of February.

    Bergeron and Rask were each honored with their own standing ovations during stoppages in the first period for reaching their own milestones (Bergeron, 1,000 games and Rask, 253 wins as a Bruins goaltender– a new franchise record, set on Sunday in Washington in a, 1-0, shutout against the Capitals).

    Bruce Cassidy made no changes to the B’s lineup among his forwards, but switched up his defensive pairings– placing Zdeno Chara with Brandon Carlo, Torey Krug with Kevan Miller and Matt Grzelcyk alongside Charlie McAvoy.

    For the second straight game, John Moore, Danton Heinen and Steven Kampfer were all healthy scratches for Boston.

    Just 18 seconds into the action on Tuesday, David Backes sent the puck over the glass and out of the rink for an automatic delay of game penalty.

    The Isles did not convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    Almost midway through the first period, Brock Nelson hooked Carlo and the Bruins went on the power play for their first time in the game at 9:43.

    Boston did not capitalize on their first skater advantage of the night, nor did they find a way to crack the code all night on the power play, as the B’s went 0/3 on the night after Ryan Pulock‘s slashing minor at 11:51 and Scott Mayfield‘s cross-checking infraction at 15:04.

    Entering the first intermission, the game was still tied, 0-0, while the Bruins led in shots on goal, 10-7, and in face-off win percentage (67-33). New York led in blocked shots (7-3) and takeaways (4-3) after 20 minutes of play.

    Both teams had four giveaways each and nine hits aside, while the Islanders went 0/1 on the power play and the Bruins were 0/3.

    Early in the 2nd period, Brad Marchand entered the attacking zone on a two-on-one with David Pastrnak heading to the net.

    Marchand flipped a pass over to the 22-year-old Boston winger for the one-timer, but Lehner made the initial save. He also gave up a rebound.

    While crashing the net, Bergeron (17) found the loose puck and buried it in the twine to give the B’s the lead, 1-0, at 2:32 of the second period.

    Pastrnak (33) and Marchand (39) notched the assists as Marchand quickly skated after the puck and collected it for Bergeron’s mantle at home, having scored in his 1,000th game.

    As a result of the goal, Pastrnak had been involved either directly by scoring or indirectly by assisting on eight straight goals for the Bruins, but fell shy of the team record of nine straight goals later in the game.

    Anders Lee drew a string of a couple of penalties against Boston, first when Carlo tripped up Lee at 10:08, then again when Chris Wagner slashed the Islanders forward at 15:45 of the second period.

    Almost a minute into the power play while Wagner was in the box, Jordan Eberle (12) squeaked a shot past Rask on the short side from about the goal line at 16:40 to tie the game, 1-1.

    Mathew Barzal (32) and Nelson (16) had the assists on Eberle’s power play goal.

    Both teams entered the dressing room for the 2nd intermission tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, but Boston led in shots on goal, 19-18, despite being outshot by New York, 11-9, in the middle frame alone.

    The Isles led in takeaways (8-5), as well as giveaways (8-5), through two periods, while the B’s led in face-off win% (54-46). Both teams had 12 blocked shots and 17 hits each through 40 minutes of action.

    Entering the third period, New York was 1/3 on the power play, while Boston remained 0/3.

    Cal Clutterbuck thought he gave the Islanders their first lead of the night at 4:52 of the third period with snipe past Rask, however, Cassidy used his coach’s challenge wisely and sent the play to review.

    After review, it was determined the Devon Toews and Clutterbuck connected on the play while offside, meaning the call on the ice was overturned and the Islanders hadn’t actually scored. No goal.

    A couple minutes later, Cehlarik (3) followed up on a rebound and banked the puck off Lehner and in the net as the New York goaltender dove across the crease in desperation after turning aside the initial shot.

    Miller (4) had the only assist on Cehlarik’s goal at 6:34 of the third period and the Bruins led, 2-1.

    Past the midpoint of the final frame of regulation, Grzelcyk was charged with two minor penalties against Eberle– one for slashing and another for tripping– resulting in a rare four-minute power play for the Isles.

    Rask and his penalty killers stood tall, limiting New York to just three shots on goal through the first half of the extended power play opportunity and successfully killing off Grzelcyk’s minors.

    Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz, pulled his goaltender with about 1:15 left in regulation for an extra attacker to try to tie the game, 2-2, but it just wasn’t written in the cards on an otherwise beautifully scripted night for Boston sports fans (the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots were honored for their, 13-3, win in Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams and participated in a ceremonial puck drop prior to Tuesday night’s action).

    Marchand sent a pass to Pastrnak as No. 88 broke free of the New York defenders and entered the attacking zone with an empty 4-by-6 frame in front of him and the chance to put the game away.

    Instead, Pastrnak unselfishly looked behind himself and dropped the puck back to an approaching Bergeron (18) for his second goal of the game and the empty net goal that secured the, 3-1, victory for Boston at 19:05 of the third period.

    Pastrnak (34) and Marchand (40) were tabbed with the assists on the goal.

    With his second assist of the night, Marchand reached the 40-assist plateau for the third consecutive season as the usual scoring suspect for Boston has reshaped his game into scoring goals and being a playmaker.

    At the final horn, the Bruins won, 3-1, and led in blocked shots (17-15) and hits (25-23) after 60 minutes of action. The Islanders led in shots on goal (29-27) and giveaways (15-9), while both teams were 50-50 in face-off win%.

    New York finished the night 1/5 on the power play, while the B’s went 0/3.

    In his last six games, Bergeron has 4-3–7 totals with 21 shots on goal and a plus-two rating. He ranks 5th in games played in franchise history behind Ray Bourque (1,518 games played in a Bruins sweater), Bucyk (1,436), current General Manager Don Sweeney (1,052) and Wayne Cashman (1,027).

    Current teammate and captain, Chara is 6th in franchise history with 927 games played on the Boston blue line.

    Bergeron is just the 5th player to reach 1,000 games played with the franchise and 12th player this season to reach the milestone. He has 307 goals and 473 assists (780 points) in that span.

    Among the four major North American men’s professional leagues, only Tom Brady of the Patriots has played in more seasons in New England than Bergeron.

    Brady’s 19 seasons tops the list among all four organizations with Bergeron (15) 2nd, Boston Red Sox player Dustin Pedroia 3rd (13) and Boston Celtics star Marcus Smart (5) rounding out the list.

    Boston travels to Madison Square Garden for an 8 p.m. ET puck drop against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night before returning home for a 1:00 p.m. ET matinee matchup with the Los Angeles Kings and another afternoon battle with the Colorado Avalanche (3 p.m. ET) on Sunday in back-to-back games on back-to-back days.

    The Bruins wrap up their short three-game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks next Tuesday night at TD Garden.

    Bergeron will be honored with a pregame ceremony prior to the game on Saturday against Los Angeles.

  • Rask breaks “Tiny” record in 1-0 shutout versus Caps

    Tuukka Rask is now the winningest goaltender in Boston Bruins franchise history as a result of Boston’s 1-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C.

    Rask eclipses Tiny Thompson‘s previous record of 252 career wins in a Bruins sweater with his 253rd victory as a Boston netminder with the shutout and improved to 2-11-5 in his career against the Capitals.

    David Krejci had the game’s only goal in the second period to help launch the B’s out of their 0-11-3 record in their last 14 games against the Caps entering Sunday, snapping one of the longest losing streaks to a team in the regular season (tied with Boston’s 14 consecutive wins against the Arizona Coyotes).

    The Bruins last beat the Capitals in the regular season on March 29, 2014 with a 4-2 victory and goals from Jarome Iginla (x2), Carl Soderberg and Patrice Bergeron.

    Arizona (then known as the Phoenix Coyotes) last beat Boston on October 9, 2010 in a 5-2 win in a game that was played in Prague, Czech Republic.

    Rask (15-8-4 record, 2.35 goals against average, .922 save percentage in 28 games played) turned aside all 24 shots he faced for his 43rd career shutout in the win.

    Capitals goaltender, Braden Holtby (18-13-3, 3.04 GAA, .907 SV% in 37 GP) made 38 saves on 39 shots against for a .974 SV% in the loss and fell to 16-3-0 in his career against the Bruins.

    Boston improved to 28-17-7 (63 points) on the season and moved up to 3rd place in the Atlantic Division standings, while Washington fell to 28-18-6 (62 points) and dropped to 3rd in the Metropolitan Division– tied in points for 2nd with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but trailing in the regulation-plus-overtime wins tiebreaker (PIT, 27, WSH, 25).

    The Caps defeated the Bruins in their season series, 2-1-0, as both teams played their final regular season matchup on Sunday. The B’s are 1-0-0 to begin February after finishing 6-3-3 in the month of January.

    Bruce Cassidy made some adjustments to his lineup stemming from Thursday night’s overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, replacing Danton Heinen with Joakim Nordstrom to the left side of Trent Frederic and David Backes, while re-inserting Noel Acciari back into the lineup with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner.

    As a result, Heinen joined Steven Kampfer and John Moore (replaced by Matt Grzelcyk in Sunday afternoon’s lineup) as the B’s healthy scratches.

    Cassidy also juggled his defensive pairings to keep Zdeno Chara with Charlie McAvoy, but place Torey Krug alongside Brandon Carlo with Grzelcyk rounding out the third pairing with Kevan Miller.

    Washington’s Dmitrij Jaskin kicked things off on the scoresheet with the game’s first minor penalty– an infraction for hooking Krejci– at 5:30 of the first period.

    Boston failed to record a shot on goal on their first power play opportunity of the afternoon, but the Capitals followed up killing off Jaskin’s minor with another infraction just seven seconds later as Evgeny Kuznetsov was penalized for slashing McAvoy at 7:37.

    The Bruins got some shots on goal on the power play, but did not score.

    Shortly after time expired on Boston’s second power play of the afternoon, Bergeron– taking part in his 999th career regular season game on Sunday– was penalized for holding Kuznetsov at 9:52 and the Capitals went on the skater advantage for the first time in the game.

    The Caps did not convert on their special teams play.

    Both teams entered the dressing room for the first intermission tied, 0-0, on the scoreboard and in blocked shots (3-3), as well as hits (8-8).

    Meanwhile, Boston held the advantage in shots on goal (15-6) and face-off win percentage (65-35) after one period, while Washington led in takeaways (6-3) and giveaways (7-1).

    The Capitals were 0/1 and the Bruins were 0/2 on the power play prior to the start of the 2nd period.

    Almost midway through the second frame, Miller cross-checked Andre Burakovsky and cut a rut to the penalty box for the ensuing Washington power play, but the Caps didn’t convert on Miller’s minor at 8:24 of the second period.

    Almost 20 seconds after killing off the penalty, the Bruins capitalized on the vulnerable minute after special teams play with some spectacular puck movement from David Pastrnak to Krug, then over to Krejci (11) for the one-timer goal as Holtby was forced to play catch up in the crease.

    Krejci’s goal was assisted by Krug (30) and Pastrnak (32) at 10:43 of the second period and gave the Bruins the lead, 1-0, on the game’s only goal.

    The goal came while Cassidy was switching up his line combinations mid-game with Pastrnak taking a few shifts on the ice alongside Krejci and DeBrusk before returning to the right side of Brad Marchand and Bergeron.

    Heading into the second intermission, the Bruins were 17-4-5 when scoring first this season– including a 1-2-3 span in the last six consecutive games in which they’ve scored the game’s first goal– and 18-2-0 when leading after 40 minutes of play.

    One more strong indication of Boston’s play on Sunday afternoon prior to the third period?

    The B’s led in shots on goal (30-13) after two periods (including 15-7 in the second period alone), as well as blocked shots (8-7), takeaways (9-8) and face-off win% (55-45).

    Washington led in giveaways (11-6) and hits (28-17) heading into the third period, while both teams went 0/2 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.

    McAvoy hooked T.J. Oshie at 12:30 of the third period, but the ensuing power play for Washington was short-lived.

    Oshie hooked Chara at 13:06, forcing 4-on-4 action for over a minute before the Bruins would have an abbreviated power play chance.

    Despite an onslaught of shots on goal, Rask stood tall facing immense pressure from a Capitals team that is star-studded with offensive depth in its lineup.

    With 1:27 remaining in regulation, Todd Reirden pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but Washington couldn’t pull off a comeback as the Boston defense tightened its game.

    To everyone’s surprise, neither Reirden nor Cassidy used their timeout after the Bruins iced the puck with 14.1 seconds remaining in the game.

    At the final horn, the B’s had defeated the Caps, 1-0, and snapped their 14-game losing streak against Washington in their last 14 regular season meetings.

    Boston finished the day leading in shots on goal (39-24), blocked shots (15-9) and face-off win% (64-37), despite Washington dominating shots on goal in the third period alone (11-9).

    The Capitals finished the afternoon leading in giveaways (15-14) and hits (41-27), while both teams went 0/3 on the power play on Sunday.

    Rask secured his place in Bruins franchise history as the winningest goaltender in a Boston sweater with his 253rd career win, surpassing Cecil “Tiny” Thompson’s 252 wins with the B’s that he set 80 years ago as Boston improved to 19-2-0 this season when leading after two periods.

    The Bruins are also 18-4-5 when scoring first in a game this season, improving to 2-2-3 in doing so in their last seven games.

    Pending a lineup change, Bergeron is set to take part in his 1,000th career regular season game as Boston heads home to take on the New York Islanders on Tuesday at TD Garden, prior to traveling to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

    The B’s return home after Wednesday night’s nationally televised game for a three-game homestand starting next Saturday (Feb. 9th) against the Los Angeles Kings, facing the Colorado Avalanche next Sunday (Feb. 10th) and concluding against the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic rematch on Feb. 12th.

  • Flyers extend win streak to six games, beat Bruins, 3-2 in OT

    Travis Sanheim ended things in overtime with his fifth goal of the season as the Philadelphia Flyers cruised to their sixth win in-a-row over the Boston Bruins, 3-2, on Thursday night at TD Garden.

    Carter Hart (8-5-0 record, 2.48 goals against average, .922 save percentage in 14 games played) made 23 saves on 25 shots against (.920 SV%) in the overtime win for the Flyers and became the 10th different goalie in National Hockey League history to record a personal win streak of at least five games before his 21st birthday.

    Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (14-8-4, 2.45 GAA, .920 SV% in 27 GP) turned aside 38 out of 41 shots against for a .927 SV% in the overtime loss and remains tied with Tiny Thompson for the most wins by a goaltender in Boston’s franchise history (252 wins).

    The Bruins fell to 27-17-7 (61 points) on the season, but improved to 3rd place in the Atlantic Division.

    Boston is tied with the Montreal Canadiens in points (61) and regulation-plus-overtime wins (26), but leads the Canadiens in standings as a result of having attained a greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs (Boston went 2-1-1 in the season series against Montreal, thereby yielding the Bruins five points in the standings to Montreal’s four points in the standings in games against each other).

    If that doesn’t make sense, hopefully things will be clearer after both teams play their next game (the Canadiens play on Saturday, B’s play on Sunday).

    Philadelphia improved to 22-23-6 (50 points) on the season and remain 7th in the Metropolitan Division standings. In addition, the Flyers extended their current win streak to six games.

    Boston finished the month of January with a 6-3-3 record (15 points out of a possible 28 points, .538 points percentage).

    While David Backes (900 career games) and Brandon Carlo (200 career games) both reached milestones Thursday night, Bruce Cassidy celebrated the return of Joakim Nordstrom to the lineup for the first time since the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

    Nordstrom missed the last 11 games with a non-displaced fractured fibula he sustained against the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 1st, but he didn’t miss a shift outdoors in true hockey player fashion.

    Rask was also back in action after missing one game due to a concussion sustained on Jan. 19th against the New York Rangers. As a result, Zane McIntyre was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) prior to puck drop against the Flyers.

    John Moore was inserted back into the lineup in place of Matt Grzelcyk, having been a healthy scratch for the last few games.

    Joining Grzelcyk in the press box on Thursday were Noel Acciari (out of the lineup due to Nordstrom’s return) and Steven Kampfer (the de facto depth defender since being re-acquired by the Bruins in the Adam McQuaid trade in October).

    Nordstrom suited up to the left of Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner on the fourth line, while Cassidy juggled his defensive pairings, placing Torey Krug alongside Kevan Miller to round out the top-four blue liners with Zdeno Chara paired with Charlie McAvoy.

    Moore slid in as the left shot defender on the third pairing with Carlo to his right side.

    Cassidy did not make any adjustments to his first three forward lines.

    Almost two minutes into the game, Claude Giroux got his stick between the legs of David Pastrnak and brought the young Boston winger down to the ice.

    Giroux was assessed a minor penalty for tripping at 1:47 of the first period and the B’s went on the power play for the first– and only– time of the night.

    As the seconds ticked away on the ensuing skater advantage, Boston sustained a level of pressure on the special teams that had been seen in Tuesday night’s, 4-3, shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets– it was only a matter of time before the Bruins would strike.

    Brad Marchand worked the puck back to the point to Krug, whereby the Boston defender sent a pass across the slot to Pastrnak (29) for the one-timer past Hart while falling to one knee, giving the B’s the, 1-0, lead.

    Krug (29) and Marchand (38) recorded the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on Pastrnak’s goal at 3:05.

    In the final minute of the opening frame, Giroux (15) tied things up, 1-1, on a breakaway goal that he fired past Rask’s glove-side. Jakub Voracek (30) was tabbed with the only assist on the goal at 19:16 of the first period.

    Entering the first intermission, both teams were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, with the Bruins leading in shots on goal, 10-8.

    Both teams were also tied in blocked shots (4-4), takeaways (4-4) and face-off win percentage (50-50), while the Flyers led in giveaways (4-2) and hits (7-4) after 20 minutes of play. Boston was 1/1 on the power play, while Philadelphia had yet to see any action on the skater advantage.

    Pastrnak (30) gave Boston the lead, 2-1, for the second time of the night at 5:11 of the second period when the young Bruins winger redirected a shot past Hart that originally came off Patrice Bergeron’s blade from the face-off dot to the Flyers netminder’s right side.

    Bergeron (28) and Chara (4) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as the 22-year-old Pastrnak became the first Bruin to reach the 30-goal plateau in a season before the month of February since Cam Neely did so in the 1993-94 season (Neely had 36-11–47 totals in 31 games played entering February 1994).

    With his second goal of the game, Pastrnak surpassed Neely, Bobby Orr and Barry Pederson for sole possession of first place in franchise history for having three consecutive seasons of at least 30 goals prior to turning 23.

    Entering the second intermission, Boston led, 2-1, on the scoreboard, despite trailing the Flyers, 25-17, in shots on goal. Philadelphia outshot the B’s, 17-7, in the middle frame alone.

    The Bruins led in blocked shots (14-9) after 40 minutes of play, while the Flyers went into the dressing room after two periods with the lead in takeaways (9-6), hits (13-10) and face-off win% (52-49). Both teams had eight giveaways each and the B’s were still 1/1 on the power play.

    As a matter of fact, Boston would finish the night 1/1 on the power play, while Oskar Lindblom would be the one to notch Philadelphia’s first power play goal of the night on their only power play opportunity in the third period (more on that in a minute).

    Early in the final frame of regulation, Scott Laughton had a clean break with Moore and Carlo trailing.

    Moore tied up Laughton with his stick, hooking the Flyers forward and preventing a scoring chance, yielding a penalty shot for the Philadelphia forward.

    Laughton’s penalty shot was denied by Rask with a blocker save, leaving the Flyers forward 0-for-2 in his career on penalty shots.

    Kuraly was penalized for holding the stick of Sean Couturier at 8:46 of the third period, sending Philadelphia on their first power play of the night.

    With 10 seconds remaining on the power play, the Flyers net front presence led to a redirection that squeaked past Rask at 10:36 to tie the game, 2-2, thanks to Lindblom’s 7th goal of the season.

    Voracek (31) and Sanheim (12) had the assists Lindblom’s power play goal.

    With the score knotted at two goals apiece, the Bruins and Flyers were headed for overtime at the final horn of regulation. Philadelphia held the advantage in shots on goal (36-25) through 60 minutes of the Thursday’s effort.

    Less than a minute into overtime, Marchand tripped up Travis Konecny 57 seconds into the 3-on-3 action.

    Philadelphia head coach, Scott Gordon, followed the stoppage in play for the delayed call against Boston by using his team’s timeout to draw up a soon to be game-winning game plan.

    Just like their first power play goal of the game, with one second remaining on the skater advantage, Sanheim (5) fired a wrist shot past the Bruins goaltender as his own defender (Miller) and Flyers forward, Wayne Simmonds, screened Rask’s view of the puck.

    Couturier (22) and Konecny (16) had the assists on Sanheim’s game-winning power play goal at 2:56 of the overtime period, snatching the, 3-2, victory for Philadelphia on the road.

    Philly finished the game leading in shots on goal (41-25)– including the 5-0 shots on goal advantage in overtime– as well as hits (18-13) and face-off win% (63-37).

    Meanwhile, Boston finished the night leading in blocked shots (20-18) and giveaways (13-10).

    The Flyers finished the night 2/2 on the power play, while the B’s went 1/1.

    Despite scoring the game’s first goal in their last six games, the Bruins are 1-2-3 in that span– including their current three-game losing skid.

    Boston is now 4-6 in overtime (1-1 in shootouts) this season, while the Flyers improved to 2-6 (2-0 in shootouts) past the 60-minute mark this season.

    Boston travels to Washington, D.C. for a Sunday matinee matchup with the Capitals this weekend before heading back home to host the New York Islanders on Tuesday. The B’s travel to Madison Square Garden for a Wednesday night battle with the New York Rangers before hosting the Los Angeles Kings next Saturday (Feb. 9th) afternoon.

  • DTFR Podcast #143- Overage Fees

    DTFR Podcast #143- Overage Fees

    The Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins swapped familiar assets, while the Toronto Maple Leafs added a defender in a deal with the Los Angeles Kings. Red Kelly’s number is going to be retired (again– this time by the Detroit Red Wings) and we now know the opponents in the 2020 Winter Classic and 2020 Stadium Series games.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Connor nets two goals, winning shootout goal, in Jets, 4-3, win over B’s

    Kyle Connor scored two goals in the third period to give the Winnipeg Jets their first lead of the night before Patrice Bergeron added his second goal of the game, but the Boston Bruins were defeated, 4-3, in a shootout on Tuesday after Connor converted on the only goal in the best-of-three round shootout post regulation-plus-overtime.

    In simple terms, the Bruins lost on home ice in their first game back from the All-Star break.

    Winnipeg accrued the victory in their second night of back-to-back games, having lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3, on Monday in the City of Brotherly Love.

    Connor Hellebuyck (22-14-7 record, 2.85 goals against average, .880 save percentage in 38 games played) made 36 saves on 39 shots against for a .923 SV% in the shootout win for the Jets, while Jaroslav Halak (13-9-3, 2.49 GAA, .918 SV% in 27 GP) made 24 saves on 27 shots against for an .889 SV% in the shootout loss for Boston.

    The B’s fell to 27-17-6 (60 points) on the season and remain in 4th place in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Central Division leading Jets improved to 32-16-2 (66 points) so far this season.

    As a result of the loss, Boston is now 17-4-4 when scoring first this season and 18-1-1 when leading after two periods. Winnipeg improved to 5-13-0 when trailing after 40 minutes of action.

    Prior to Tuesday night’s matchup, Boston placed Tuukka Rask on the injured reserve– retroactive to January 19th– and indicated their starting goaltender would at least miss the matchup with Winnipeg.

    The Bruins recalled Trent Frederic, Peter Cehlarik and Zane McIntyre (on emergency basis) from their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, and assigned Ryan Donato and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson to the P-Bruins on Monday.

    Cehlarik resumed play alongside David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, while Frederic (10-7–17 totals in 37 games with Providence this season) would make his NHL debut as the third line center– replacing Forsbacka Karlsson and lining up with Danton Heinen on his left and childhood idol, David Backes, to his right.

    Other than that, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, kept the lines the same with Joakim Nordstrom (non-displaced fibula fracture) and Rask (concussion) as the only skaters out of the lineup due to injury and John Moore and Steven Kampfer as Boston’s healthy scratches.

    Mason Appleton was guilty of holding Noel Acciari at 5:30 of the first period and sent the Bruins on their first power play of the night.

    Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play, but generated some momentum with some substantial zone time.

    Moments later, Bergeron (15) opened the game’s scoring with his trademark bumper one-timer from between the hashmark and the face-off dot to Hellebuyck’s left side, giving the B’s a 1-0 lead at 9:49.

    Brad Marchand (35) and David Pastrnak (30) notched the assists on Bergeron’s goal.

    Nearly four minutes later, Brandon Carlo cross-checked Mathieu Perreault and presented Winnipeg with their first skater advantage of the night.

    Five seconds later, Josh Morrissey (6) tied the game with a power play goal on a blast from the point after Mark Scheifele won the ensuing offensive zone face-off to kick off the skater advantage.

    Scheifele (35) had the only assist on Morrisey’s goal at 13:53 of the first period and the Jets had tied the game, 1-1.

    Zdeno Chara slashed Scheifele less than a minute later to suppress an otherwise surefire high-quality scoring chance that likely would’ve led to a goal against, sending Winnipeg back on the power play at 14:33.

    Blake Wheeler tripped up Pastrnak shortly after the Bruins killed off Chara’s minor, resulting in a power play for Boston at 17:01 of the opening frame.

    While on the ensuing power play, the B’s kept on the attack, pressuring the Jets penalty killers with every chance they got– keeping the puck down in the offensive zone for the eventual one-timed blast from Pastrnak.

    Pastrnak (28) rocketed a shot past Hellebuyck to give the Bruins the lead, 2-1, on the power play at 18:33, with Marchand (36) and Torey Krug (28) tallying the primary and secondary assists.

    After 20 minutes of play, the Bruins were outshooting the Jets, 20-8.

    Winnipeg led in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (3-2), giveaways (4-2), hits (11-6) and face-off win percentage (52-48) entering the first intermission, however, as both teams went 1/2 on the power play.

    Boston would finish the night 1/3 on the power play after the Bruins couldn’t capitalize on Jacob Trouba‘s slashing minor at 6:50 of the second period, while the Jets did not see another second of power play time for the rest of the night.

    Late in the second period, tempers began to flare.

    First, Kevan Miller and Adam Lowry exchanged fisticuffs at 15:47 of the second period with both players receiving five-minute majors for fighting.

    Then, after Tyler Myers held Frederic in a chokehold after a stoppage in play, the rookie center for Boston making his NHL debut found the nearest skater in a road sweater to exchange pleasantries with and introduce himself to the league.

    Frederic picked a fight with Winnipeg’s Brandon Tanev at 16:16, landing some major right hooks and drawing the loudest applause of the night from the crowd.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins still led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 25-17 (despite trailing the Jets, 9-5, in shots on goal in the second period alone).

    Winnipeg held onto their advantage in blocked shots (12-8), giveaways (6-4), as well as hits (21-16), while the Bruins led in face-off win% (52-48).

    Both sides recorded six takeaways each through two periods.

    Early in the third period, Connor (20) snapped a shot under Halak’s glove while catching the B’s in the midst of a line change to tie the game, 2-2, at 4:27.

    Myers (10) and Ben Chiarot (5) notched the assists on Connor’s first goal. He followed up with his second goal of the night just 34 seconds later.

    For the first time in the game, Winnipeg led, 3-2, on Connor’s (21) goal from close range at 5:01 of the third period. Scheifele (36) and Wheeler (53) collected the assists as momentum swung defiantly in the Jets’ favor.

    Past the midpoint of the third frame, Marchand sent a pass into the low slot intended for Bergeron, but Connor got his stick on the pass.

    There was just one problem for the Winnipeg forward– he didn’t get enough of the puck.

    Instead, the rubber biscuit deflected off of his composite materials into the perfect placing for Bergeron (16) to recalculate and squib an elevated shot over Hellebuyck as the Jets goaltender made a last ditch effort to stop the puck.

    Marchand (37) and Pastrnak (31) had the assists on Bergeron’s goal as the Bruins tied the game, 3-3, at 11:39 of the final frame.

    Despite another shift in momentum, neither team was able to put the game away in regulation.

    Five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime wasn’t good enough either, as the Jets recorded two shots on goal in the overtime period, while the Bruins failed to challenge Hellebuyck past regulation.

    Through 65 minutes of play, the score remained, 3-3, with the Bruins leading in shots on goal (38-27), giveaways (9-7) and face-off win% (55-45). Meanwhile, Winnipeg led in blocked shots (21-15), takeaways (12-11) and hits (31-23).

    DeBrusk’s shot in the shootout was denied by Hellebuyck, but Connor’s backhand shot coming out of a nifty dangle was enough to get past Halak and give the Jets a, 1-0, advantage through one round of the shootout.

    Pastrnak almost slid the puck past the Winnipeg netminder, but Hellebuyck spread his legs just enough to rob Boston’s All-Star winger– keeping his team ahead of the B’s in the shootout with the chance to win it if Patrik Laine could hit the twine.

    Laine did not. Halak made the save.

    Boston had one last chance with Marchand entering the attacking zone for his shootout attempt. His backhand shot was turned aside and the Jets players on the road bench poured over the boards to celebrate with their goaltender.

    Winnipeg had won, 4-3, in a shootout.

    Boston takes on the Flyers at home this Thursday night at TD Garden before heading into February.

    And one more thing…

    David Pastrnak recorded two assists in his first career All-Star Game appearance last Saturday and was the Accuracy Shooting winner at the NHL All-Star Skills last Friday night in San Jose, hitting all five targets in 11.309 seconds.


  • Lundqvist passes Sawchuk in Rangers, 3-2, win over Bruins

    Mika Zibanejad scored two goals (including the game-winner) and Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves in the New York Rangers, 3-2, victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday night.

    Zibanejad became the second player in Rangers history to score the game-winning goal in three consecutive games, joining Rod Gilbert as the only players to do so in franchise history (Gilbert did so in 1966).

    Meanwhile, Lundqvist (15-12-7 record, 3.01 goals against average, .908 save percentage in 35 games played this season) turned aside 27 out of 29 shots faced for a .931 SV% in the win and surpassed Terry Sawchuk for 5th in the NHL’s all-time wins list by a goaltender with his 446th career victory.

    Tuukka Rask (14-8-3, 2.43 GAA, .919 SV% in 26 GP) made six saves on seven shots against (.857 SV%) before exiting the game with a concussion after a wicked collision with New York forward, Filip Chytil, as Chytil crashed the net on his game-tying goal in the first period.

    Charlie McAvoy bumped into the Rangers forward, sending him into Rask with a “Bobby Orr effect” manner as Chytil tried to hurdle out of the way and instead crashed into Rask’s head with the full-force of his body, knocking off Rask’s mask and leaving the Boston netminder stunned until he was helped off the ice.

    Jaroslav Halak (13-9-2, 2.47 GAA, .919 SV% in 26 GP) replaced Rask at 18:32 of the first period and made 11 saves on 13 shots faced for an .846 SV% in the loss for the Bruins.

    Boston is now 27-17-5 (59 points) this season and still 3rd in the Atlantic Division, while the Rangers improved to 21-20-7 (49 points) on the season– good enough to remain in 6th place in the Metropolitan Division, but tied in points with the Carolina Hurricanes for 5th (Carolina has one game in-hand).

    Bruce Cassidy inserted Noel Acciari back into the lineup, centering the third line with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner as his wings, while also re-inserting Matt Grzelcyk on the third defensive pairing and sitting John Moore.

    David Backes was downgraded to the fourth line with Danton Heinen at left win and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson as the center.

    Ryan Donato and Moore joined Steven Kampfer as the only healthy scratches. Joakim Nordstrom remained out of the lineup due to his non-displaced fibula fracture.

    Heinen (6) put the Bruins up, 1-0, at 17:28 in the first period.

    For the second consecutive game at home, Boston blew a 1-0 lead as Chytil (9) scored at 18:32 and Zibanejad (16) tallied his first goal of the night at 5:22 of the second period.

    Trailing, 2-1, into the third period, Brad Marchand (19) one-timed a redirection past Lundqvist to tie the game, 2-2, but the Rangers fought back and went ahead by a goal almost midway through the final frame of regulation for the final nail on the coffin on an otherwise disastrous night for the B’s with Rask diagnosed with a concussion.

    Zibanejad (17) tallied his second goal of the game while the Rangers were on the power play at 9:05 of the third period on a shot that wobbled past Halak as the Bruins goaltender was being screened by his own defender and a New York forward.

    Adam McQuaid was welcomed back to Boston for his first visit as a Ranger with a tribute video in the first period after McQuaid was traded to New York this fall after playing for the Bruins from 2009-18– winning the Stanley Cup in 2011.

    He also was the third man in on a fight with Wagner in the third period, though the official penalties read as two minutes for roughing for Wagner and two, two-minute roughing minors for McQuaid, yielding a Boston power play.

    The Rangers finished the night with the, 3-2, win, despite being outshot by the Bruins, 29-20.

    The B’s also led in giveaways (14-12) and face-off win percentage (64-36), while New York led in blocked shots (12-3) and hits (24-20). The Rangers went 1/3 on the night on the power play and Boston went 0/5 with the extra skater advantage.

    With the loss, the Bruins are now 17-5-3 when scoring first this season as they enter their bye week and All-Star break. David Pastrnak is the only representative from Boston traveling to participate in the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend festivities in San Jose.

    Boston returns to action on January 29th with a home game against the Winnipeg Jets before closing out the month January hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on the 31st.