Down the Frozen River

Tag: Buffalo Sabres

  • Rask reaches 300 in, 4-1, win over Islanders

    Rask reaches 300 in, 4-1, win over Islanders

    Tuukka Rask is the first Boston Bruins goaltender in franchise history to reach 300 wins with the franchise thanks to Brad Marchand’s pair of goals in Boston’s, 4-1, win over the New York Islanders at TD Garden on Thursday.

    Craig Smith and Taylor Hall each had a goal for the Bruins in the action as Hall notched his first with Boston early in the third period in just his second game with the B’s since being traded by the Buffalo Sabres ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.

    Newcomer, Mike Reilly, had an assist in the 60-minute effort, as well, marking his first point with the Bruins in his second game since being acquired from the Ottawa Senators on April 11th.

    Travis Zajac had the only goal for the Islanders in what was his fourth game with the club since New York acquired him and teammate Kyle Palmieri from the New Jersey Devils on April 7th.

    Rask (9-4-2, 2.32 goals-against average, .910 save percentage in 16 games played) made 22 saves on 23 shots against for a .957 save percentage in the win for Boston.

    It was also his first start since March 25th, when he left the game after one period against New York due to an injury.

    Isles netminder, Semyon Varlamov (16-9-3, 2.24 goals-against average, .922 save percentage in 29 games played) stopped 41 out of 44 shots faced for a .932 save percentage in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 23-12-6 (52 points) on the season and remained in command of 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while the Islanders fell to 27-12-4 (58 points) overall and stuck in 2nd place in the division.

    The B’s also improved to 1-3-2 against New York this season.

    Boston was without the services of Ondrej Kase (upper body), John Moore (hip), Brandon Carlo (upper body), Trent Frederic (non-COVID protocol related illness), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body), Kevan Miller (undisclosed) and Jaroslav Halak (COVID protocol) on Thursday.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes among his forwards, but with Miller out to do something unrelated to his recent knee injury, Jakub Zboril and Steven Kampfer were re-inserted in the lineup, while Miller and Jarred Tinordi came out.

    Jeremy Lauzon and Charlie McAvoy retained their status on the first defensive pairing, while Reilly and Connor Clifton filled out the top-four defender roles.

    Zboril and Kampfer were given third pairing minutes.

    Jeremy Swayman served as Rask’s backup on Thursday and will get the start against the Islanders on Friday, Cassidy informed reporters after Boston’s, 4-1, win Thursday night.

    Meanwhile, Frederic, Zach Senyshyn, Carlo, Moore, Kase, Jack Ahcan, Callum Booth, Anton Blidh, Karson Kuhlman, Tinordi and Miller were all on the long list of healthy scratches, taxi squad members and/or players out due to injury for the Bruins on Thursday.

    Dan Vladar was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Wednesday with Rask returning to health.

    Boston got off to a quick start thanks to Patrice Bergeron’s shot that deflected off of Marchand’s back and appeared to hit the crossbar before play continued.

    After a quick stoppage, it was determined, in fact, that the puck had crossed the goal line, rendering Marchand (20) with a goal and the Bruins with a, 1-0, lead at 1:59 of the first period.

    Bergeron (20) and Reilly (20) tallied the assists on the goal.

    The goal marked Marchand’s eighth consecutive season with at least 20 goals and 10 out of the last 11 seasons that Marchand has reached the 20-goal plateau. He is just the fourth Bruin in franchise history to record 10 or more 20-goal seasons with the club.

    Moments later, Scott Mayfield cross checked David Pastrnak and was sent to the penalty box as a result at 5:07, presenting Boston with their first power play of the game in the process.

    The Bruins, however, were not able to convert on the resulting skater advantage.

    Almost midway through the opening frame, Josh Bailey tripped Zboril and presented the B’s with another power play at 8:59, but New York’s penalty kill stood tall and killed off Bailey’s minor.

    Shortly thereafter, Charlie Coyle tripped Brock Nelson and cut a rut to the sin bin at 13:45.

    The Islanders weren’t on the power play for long as Nelson caught Reilly with a high stick and drew blood, yielding a four-minute double minor infraction at 14:49.

    The two teams had 56 seconds of 4-on-4 action before the Bruins had an extended power play.

    Late in the power play, Boston’s second unit got to work generating shot attempt after shot attempt until Smith (10) rocketed a one-timer from the bumper past Varlamov low on the blocker side to give the Bruins a two-goal lead.

    David Krejci (22) and McAvoy (19) had the assists on Smith’s power-play goal and Boston led, 2-0, at 17:55 of the first period.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Bruins led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 23-7, in shots on goal.

    The B’s also led in faceoff win percentage (55-45), while the Islanders held the advantage in blocked shots (8-2) and hits (10-9). Both teams had two takeaways and three giveaways aside after one period.

    New York was 0/1 and Boston was 1/4 on the power play entering the middle frame.

    Zajac (8) cut Boston’s lead in half when Marchand turned the puck over in his own zone, leading Zajac to score on the short side while the Islanders forward stood wide open due to a lack of defensive coverage.

    Mathew Barzal (25) and Jordan Eberle (14) notched the assists on Zajac’s goal and the Isles trailed Boston, 2-1, at 2:56 of the second period.

    Almost midway through the middle period, Krejci hooked Nick Leddy and presented the Islanders with another power play at 9:54, but New York couldn’t capitalize on the resulting skater advantage.

    Late in the period Boston got another crack at the power play thanks to Cal Clutterbuck’s high sticking minor at 15:25, but the B’s didn’t convert on the advantage.

    Through 40 minutes of action on Thursday, Boston led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 35-18, in shots on goal, including a, 12-11, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Bruins held the advantage in takeaways (6-5), while the Islanders led in blocked shots (17-6), giveaways (9-7), hits (17-15) and faceoff win% (51-49) after two periods.

    New York was 0/2 and Boston was 1/5 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Hall (3) kicked off the third period with a breakaway goal sent through Varlamov’s five-hole to give Boston a, 3-1, lead, while Pastrnak (17) had the only assist on Hall’s first goal as a Bruin at 1:52 of the third period.

    With 2:32 remaining in regulation, Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz, pulled Varlamov for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail as Pastrnak kept the rubber biscuit in the attacking zone and battled in a scrum to retain possession before working the puck to Marchand (21) for an empty net goal.

    Pastrnak (18) had the only assist on Marchand’s second goal of the game at 18:24.

    Less than a minute later, Zboril took a holding penalty at 18:41, but the Islanders couldn’t convert on the skater advantage as the power play came to an end with the sound of the final horn.

    Boston had won, 4-1, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 45-23, including a, 10-5, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Islanders finished the night leading in blocked shots (19-7), giveaways (13-11) and hits (34-23).

    Both teams finished even in faceoff win%, 50-50, while New York went 0/3 on the skater advantage and Boston finished the night 1/5 on the power play.

    Rask– in his 552nd career game, all with Boston– tied Pekka Rinne for the fifth fastest goaltender in NHL history to reach the 300-win plateau, behind Jacques Plante (521 games), Andy Moog (543), Marc-Andre Fleury (547) and Martin Brodeur (548).

    The Bruins improved to 15-4-3 (7-0-2) when scoring the game’s first goal, 12-0-2 (6-0-1 at home) when leading after the first period and 14-0-2 (9-0-2 at home) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Islanders dropped to 9-11-2 (3-9-2 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 4-6-2 (1-6-2 on the road) when trailing after one period and 3-10-1 (3-8-1 on the road) when trailing after two periods this season.

    Boston faces New York again on Friday before closing out their five-game homestand (2-1-0) against the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon.

  • Coyle & DeBrusk lift B’s over Sabres in shootout, 3-2

    Coyle & DeBrusk lift B’s over Sabres in shootout, 3-2

    Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk had the only shootout goals as the Boston Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, at TD Garden on Tuesday night.

    Jeremy Swayman (3-1-0, 2.21 goals-against average, .926 save percentage in four games played) made 21 saves on 23 shots faced in the win for Boston.

    Buffalo goaltender, Linus Ullmark (9-6-3, 2.63 goals-against average, .917 save percentage in 20 games played) made three saves on three shots against prior to exiting the game early in the first period due to an undisclosed injury.

    Dustin Tokarski (0-4-2, 3.55 goals-against average, .905 save percentage in six games played) replaced Ullmark and stopped 29 out of 31 shots faced in the shootout loss for the Sabres.

    The Bruins improved to 22-12-6 (50 points) on the season and remained in 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while the Sabres fell to 10-26-6 (26 points) overall and stuck in last place in the division.

    The B’s are now 3-0-0 against Buffalo this season.

    Boston was without Ondrej Kase (upper body), Tuukka Rask (upper body), John Moore (hip), Brandon Carlo (upper body), Trent Frederic (non-COVID protocol related illness), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) and Jaroslav Halak (COVID protocol) on Tuesday.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, informer reporters after morning skate that Rask practiced with the team on Tuesday morning and is expected to return on Thursday against the New York Islanders.

    Meanwhile, Frederic skated on Tuesday and could be available on Thursday.

    Charlie McAvoy and new acquisition, Curtis Lazar, were game-time decisions and in the lineup on Tuesday night against Buffalo.

    Kevan Miller also returned to action after missing Sunday’s, 8-1, loss to the Washington Capitals.

    After Sunday’s loss, Bruins General Manager, Don Sweeney, traded a 2022 3rd round pick to the Ottawa Senators for defender, Mike Reilly. Hours later, the Bruins dealt Anders Bjork and a 2021 2nd round pick to Buffalo for Taylor Hall and Lazar.

    All three new Bruins members were in the lineup against the Sabres on Tuesday, as Cassidy reunited his regular first line centered by Patrice Bergeron and flanked by Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on the wings.

    Hall suited up on the second line left wing with David Krejci at center and Craig Smith on the right wing in his 700th career NHL game.

    Coyle centered the third line with Nick Ritchie on his left and DeBrusk on his right, while Lazar was slotted into the fourth line center role with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner on his wings.

    On defense, McAvoy was paired with Jeremy Lauzon on the first defensive pairing, while Reilly suited up alongside Miller.

    Jarred Tinordi took part in his 100th career NHL game alongside Connor Clifton on the third pairing.

    Boston’s long list of healthy scratches, taxi squad members and injured players included Frederic, Zach Senyshyn, Carlo, Moore, Kase, Rask, Halak, Steven Kampfer, Grzelcyk, Jack Ahcan, Jakub Zboril, Callum Booth, Anton Blidh and Karson Kuhlman.

    B’s newcomers Reilly, Lazar and Hall will wear No.’s 6, 20 and 71 respectively.

    Former Bruin defender, Colin Miller (4) blasted a one-timer from the point with Bjork screening Swayman– beating the Boston netminder and hitting the twine in the process to make it a, 1-0, game at 1:52 of the first period for the Sabres.

    Dylan Cozens (4) and Bjork (4) recorded the assists on Miller’s goal as Buffalo jumped out with the first lead of the night.

    About five minutes into the action, however, Tokarski replaced Ullmark after Ullmark made a save on a shot from the point by Reilly then appeared to be in discomfort while getting up.

    Midway through the first period, Krejci (3) pocketed a rebound on a shot by Lauzon from the point to tie things up, 1-1, at 13:20.

    Lauzon (5) and Smith (15) tallied the assists on Krejci’s goal as the Bruins surged in momentum, but not for long.

    Ritchie boarded Rasmus Dahlin at 14:32 and presented Buffalo with the night’s first power play.

    Shortly after making the kill on Ritchie’s minor, DeBrusk cut a rut to the penalty box for hooking Sam Reinhart at 16:51.

    The Sabres earned an abbreviated 5-on-3 advantage when Lazar caught former teammate, Tage Thompson, with a high stick at 18:23 for his first penalty of the season in just his 34th game of the 2020-21 56-game regular season.

    Buffalo did not convert on the advantage, however.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, despite the Bruins outshooting the Sabres, 11-5, in shots on goal.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (6-4), takeaways (3-2) and hits (7-6), while Buffalo led in giveaways (4-3).

    Both teams were 50-50 in faceoff win percentage, while the Sabres were 0/3 on the power play and the Bruins had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Ritchie dropped the gloves with Matt Irwin at 2:46 of the second period in what was Boston’s 11th fight of the season and first since Wagner fought Brenden Dillon on April 11th against Washington.

    Smith (9) sent a loose puck past Tokarski’s stick side off of a botched pass that was broken up by a Sabres defender at 5:29 of the second period and the Bruins took their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    The goal was unassisted, though Hall had entered the zone and intended a pass for Krejci through the slot, but Smith was in the right place at the right time after Buffalo had inadvertently knocked the rubber biscuit to his blade.

    Moments later, Miller fought Thompson in the second scrap of the night after Miller caught Rasmus Asplund with a bit of a high hit in Boston’s defensive zone.

    Miller and Thompson received fighting majors in what was the 12th fight of the season for the B’s at 9:14 of the second period.

    Late in the period, Irwin was called for holding, but Boston couldn’t muster anything on the power play at 16:29.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Bruins led the Sabres, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 24-12, in shots on goal, including a, 13-7, advantage in the second period alone.

    The B’s held the advantage in blocked shots (11-9) and faceoff win% (53-48), while Buffalo led in giveaways (9-6) and hits (18-16).

    Both teams had seven takeaways, while the Sabres remained 0/3 and the Bruins were 0/1 on the power play entering the second intermission.

    Dahlin (4) tied the game midway through the third period with a shot from the point that took a wacky bounce off the ice in front of Swayman and might have deflected off of the Bruins netminder’s blocker into the twine.

    Henri Jokiharju (4) and Jeff Skinner (4) had the assists on Dahlin’s goal and the game was tied, 2-2, at 11:53 of the third period.

    There were no more goals scored, nor any penalties called in the final frame of regulation as the two sides needed overtime, at least, to determine a winner.

    With the scoreboard reading, 2-2, the Bruins led the Sabres in shots on goal, 31-22, despite Buffalo outshooting Boston, 10-7, in the third period alone.

    The Sabres led in takeaways (11-10), giveaways (14-9) and hits (27-25) entering overtime, while the B’s led in faceoff win% (54-46).

    Both teams had 16 blocked shots each, while Buffalo remained 0/3 and Boston remained 0/1 on the power play.

    Sabres interim head coach, Dom Granato, elected to start Casey Mittelstadt, Skinner and Dahlin in the overtime period, while Cassidy countered with Bergeron, Marchand and McAvoy to begin the 3-on-3 action.

    Cozens thought he had scored a last minute overtime goal, but the ref waved it off immediately and a quick review confirmed that the Sabres forward had batted the puck out of mid-air with a high stick over the crossbar.

    The game went on with end-to-end action, but neither team could score as Hall made a last second defensive effort to breakup a play for Buffalo and was tripped by Mittelstadt in the process.

    Though Mittelstadt was charged with a minor infraction at 5:00 of the overtime period, Boston would not get another power play in the action as the game was headed to a shootout with the score still tied, 2-2.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal, 34-23, including a, 3-1, advantage in overtime alone.

    Meanwhile, the Sabres wrapped up Tuesday night’s game action leading in giveaways (14-9) and hits (27-26) as both teams had 16 blocked shots aside.

    Buffalo finished 0/3 on the skater advantage and Boston went 0/1.

    Granato elected to send Victor Olofsson out to lead the shootout, but Olofsson was denied by Swayman with a glove save.

    Coyle countered with a shot off of Tokarski’s stick paddle and through the Sabres goaltender’s five-hole to give Boston a, 1-0, advantage in the best-of-three shootout.

    Thompson skated in to take the second shot for Buffalo, but was turned aside with another routine glove save for Swayman.

    DeBrusk skated down the ice with a chance to win it for Boston and lobbed a shot top-shelf over Tokarski’s blocker to give the Bruins the, 2-0, advantage in the shootout and secure the, 3-2, win for the B’s on the final scoreboard.

    Boston improved to 4-2 in shootouts and 7-6 past regulation this season, while Buffalo fell to 3-3 in shootouts and 3-7 past 60 minutes.

    The Bruins also improved to 8-8-3 (5-6-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 6-4-2 (3-3-2 at home) when tied after the first period and 13-0-2 (8-0-2 at home) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Sabres dropped to 5-6-4 (3-5-1 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 4-8-2 (2-4-1 on the road) when tied after the first period and 1-22-1 (0-10-0 on the road) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Bruins take on the New York Islanders on Thursday and Friday before wrapping up their five-game homestand (1-1-0) against the Washington Capitals on Sunday (April 18th).

  • Analysis: Almost 11 years later, Taylor Hall is finally a Bruin

    The Boston Bruins traded forward, Anders Bjork, and a 2021 2nd round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for forwards, Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar, late Sunday night/early Monday morning.

    By the time TSN fired up their “TradeCentre” coverage, the Bruins and Sabres officially announced the deal.

    Boston General Manager, Don Sweeney, emphasized the need to “add some juice” to the B’s lineup across both of his moves before Monday’s deadline.

    Buffalo General Manger, Kevyn Adams, noted that he’s long-liked Bjork’s game and was tied up by Hall’s no-movement clause, which limited possible trade destinations.

    Both Hall and Bjork were on pace for about three goals each this season at the time of the trade. Both players are looking to recapture former glories (Hall and his 2017-18 Hart Memorial Trophy winning regular season MVP performance, Bjork and his prolific scoring prowess in his junior year at Notre Dame in 2016-17).

    In the end, however, the Bruins may have finally landed their missing piece to play alongside David Krejci on their second line, while the Sabres are prime for a resurgence by actually giving their youth (and Bjork) more playing time to develop.

    And then there’s Lazar, who is the icing on the cake for Boston’s re-energized fourth line and not just at risk of being a rental, though Hall has indicated an interest in signing an extension with the Bruins if he can prove himself worthy.

    All three players may suit up in their first game with their new teams against one another.

    That’s right, the Bruins host the Sabres on Tuesday night– pitting Hall against Bjork in a head-to-head matchup, while Lazar (lower body) is a game-time decision.

    Hall, 29, had 2-17–19 totals in 37 games with Buffalo at the time of the trade and has 220-362–582 totals in 664 career NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes and Sabres.

    He had career-highs in goals (39), assists (54) and points (93) in 76 games en route to winning the Hart Trophy with the Devils in 2017-18, and was originally drafted 1st overall by Edmonton in 2010.

    Hall is the first player since Jaromir Jagr in 2013, to suit up for the Bruins as a 1st overall draft pick and almost became a Bruin back in that 2010 Draft, as Boston had the 2nd overall pick that year (drafting Tyler Seguin after the Oilers in the process).

    The 6-foot-1, 206-pound native of Calgary, Alberta has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 14 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 2-4–6 totals in nine games with Arizona most recently in the 2020 postseason.

    Buffalo retained 50% of Hall’s salary in the transaction, which means his cap hit with the Bruins is set at $4.000 million and he is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

    Lazar, 26, had 5-4–9 totals and zero penalty minutes in 33 games with the Sabres at the time of the trade and has 25-45–70 totals in 317 career NHL games with the Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames and Sabres since making his league debut in 2014-15, with Ottawa.

    The 6-foot, 193-pound center was originally drafted by the Senators in the 1st round (17th overall) in 2013, and set career-highs in goals (6), assists (14) and points (20) in 76 games with the Sens in 2015-16.

    Lazar brings stability to Boston’s fourth line with Sean Kuraly able to play center or wing and Chris Wagner likely fighting for a spot down the stretch with Anton Blidh, who’s been a welcome surprise in finding a consistent game since being drafted by the Bruins in the 6th round (180th overall) in 2013.

    Though a lower body had him listed as “week-to-week” according to the Sabres at the time of the trade, Lazar may be ready to go with Boston on Tuesday night and make an immediate impact on a young lineup that’s faced numerous injuries of their own this season.

    Lazar has no points in seven career Stanley Cup Playoff games, including one game most recently with Calgary in the 2017 postseason and is a native of Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

    He’s signed through the 2021-22 season at an $800,000 cap hit.

    Bjork, 24, had 2-3–5 totals in 30 games with Boston at the time of the trade and has 16-23–39 totals in 138 career games (all with the Bruins) since making his NHL debut in the 2017-18 season.

    The 6-foot, 197-pound native of Mequon, Wisconsin set career-highs in goals (9), assists (10) and points (19) in 58 games with the B’s last season and can provide a much-needed spark in more playing time with the Sabres.

    He was originally drafted by Boston in the 5th round (146th overall) in 2014.

    His puck possession skills are unmatched among his peers, though his puck luck has been a bit of a detractor at times, especially more so this season than when shoulder injuries kept him out of the lineup in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

    Bjork has one assist in 10 career Stanley Cup Playoff games (all in 2020) and was a minus-three in that span.

    Adams, in the meantime, can utilize the 2021 2nd round pick on a prospect or flip it for something better as he continues to make adjustments to his roster in the offseason with the Seattle Kraken expansion draft in mind.

  • Capitals rout Bruins, 8-1, B’s make trades after game

    Capitals rout Bruins, 8-1, B’s make trades after game

    The Washington Capitals handed the Boston Bruins an, 8-1, loss at TD Garden in what was Boston’s worst loss of the season on Sunday.

    Three Caps forwards each had a pair of goals in the win, while Vitek Vanecek (17-7-3, 2.60 goals-against average, .913 save percentage in 29 games played) made 34 saves on 35 shots against for Washington.

    Boston goaltender, Dan Vladar (3-2-0, 3.40 goals-against average, .886 save percentage in five games played) stopped 25 out of 33 shots faced in the loss.

    The Bruins fell to 21-12-6 (48 points) on the season and remained in 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while the Capitals improved to 27-11-4 (58 points) overall and remained in control of the division.

    The B’s are now 3-1-2 against Washington this season and were without the services of Ondrej Kase (upper body), Tuukka Rask (upper body), John Moore (hip), Brandon Carlo (upper body), Charlie McAvoy (upper body), Trent Frederic (non-COVID related illness), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body), Kevan Miller (precautionary reasons) and Jaroslav Halak (COVID protocol) on Sunday.

    Bruce Cassidy made no adjustments to his forward lines, but had to jumbled his defensive pairings out of necessity with over half of his regular blue liners out of the lineup due to injury.

    Jeremy Lauzon was paired with Connor Clifton, while Jakub Zboril and Steven Kampfer remained together on the second pairing.

    Meanwhile, Jarred Tinordi entered the lineup on the third pairing with Jack Ahcan.

    Anders Bjork, Frederic, Zach Senyshyn, Carlo, Moore, Kase, Rask, Halak, Grzelcyk, Callum Booth, McAvoy and Miller made up Boston’s long list of healthy scratches, taxi squad members and players out of the lineup due to injury on Sunday.

    Four seconds after puck drop, Chris Wagner and Brenden Dillon dropped their gloves and exchanged fisticuffs, yielding fighting majors in what was Boston’s 10th fight of the season and first since Nick Ritchie fought Garnet Hathaway in the B’s, 4-2, win in Washington on April 8th.

    23 seconds later, Evgeny Kuznetsov slashed Ritchie and presented the Bruins with the game’s first power play 27 seconds into the first period.

    Those were about the only positives of the night for Boston.

    Washington’s penalty kill dismantled Kuznetsov’s minor and the Capitals got their first taste of a skater advantage at 5:49, when Sean Kuraly interfered with John Carlson away from the puck.

    Late on the ensuing power play, T.J. Oshie (13) one-timed a shot from the bumper past Vladar on the short side for his ninth power-play goal of the season.

    Nicklas Backstrom (28) and Kuznetsov (14) tallied the assists on Oshie’s goal and the Capitals jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 7:33 of the first period.

    16 seconds later, Lars Eller (6) chased a Washington chip shot clearing attempt, blew past Boston’s defense and beat Vladar over the glove on the short side to give the Capitals a two-goal lead at 7:49.

    Carl Hagelin (7) and Hathaway (10) tallied the assists on Eller’s first goal of the game.

    Less than two minutes later, Conor Sheary (9) scored on a fast break that led to a de facto 2-on-1 in the attacking zone while Kampfer was out of position encroaching on Lauzon’s responsibilities in the defensive zone for Boston.

    Dmitry Orlov (6) and Daniel Sprong (6) were credited with the assists on Sheary’s first goal of the night and the Capitals led, 3-0, at 9:42 of the first period.

    Washington notched three goals in a span of 2:09 as the offensive onslaught was only just beginning for the rest of the night.

    Sprong slashed Lauzon at 13:34, but the Bruins could not capitalize on the resulting power play.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Caps led, 3-0, on the scoreboard and, 9-7, in shots on goal.

    Washington also held the advantage in blocked shots (3-1) and takeaways (4-0), while Boston led in giveaways (4-3), hits (7-3) and faceoff win percentage (53-47) after 20 minutes of action on Sunday.

    The Caps were 1/1 and the B’s were 0/2 on the power play entering the middle frame.

    Craig Smith held Sheary and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result to kickoff the second period with another power play for Washington at 2:57.

    Once again, late in ensuing the skater advantage, the Capitals tallied another power-play goal as Sheary (10) scored his second goal of the night on a rebound that the University of Massachusetts product buried top-shelf while the Bruins netminder outstretched his limbs in all directions.

    Tom Wilson (15) and Jakub Vrana (14) had the assists as the Capitals extended their lead, 4-0, at 4:41 of the second period.

    Less than a minute later, Justin Schultz was sent to the sin bin for hooking David Pastrnak at 5:34, but Boston’s power play was powerless.

    Midway through the middle period, Pastrnak hooked Sheary and presented the Caps with another power play at 13:26, but for the first time of the night, Boston’s penalty kill did not allow a power-play goal against.

    Washington scored in the vulnerable minute after special teams play, however, as Nic Dowd received a gift thanks to David Krejci’s attacking zone faceoff win going through the uprights as neither Bruins defender got a stick on the puck.

    Hagelin setup Dowd (8) for a floater over Vladar’s glove side on a breakout off of the B’s turnover.

    Washington led, 5-0, while Hagelin (8) had the only assist on Dowd’s goal at 16:03.

    30 seconds later, Lauzon caught Wilson with a high-stick at 16:33.

    Late in the resulting power play (stop if you’ve heard this one before), Wilson (10) redirected a shot pass behind the Bruins goaltender to give the Caps another power-play goal and a, 6-0, lead on the scoreboard.

    Alex Ovechkin (16) and Schultz (19) tallied the assists on Wilson’s goal at 18:24 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of play, Washington led, 6-0, on the scoreboard, despite Boston outshooting the Capitals, 16-14, in the second period alone. The two clubs each had 23 total shots on goal after two periods.

    The Bruins held the advantage in hits (15-9) and faceoff win% (60-40), while the Caps led in blocked shots (6-4) and takeaways (10-4).

    Both teams had four giveaways aside as Washington was 3/4 on the power play and the B’s were 0/3 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

    Backstrom hooked Charlie Coyle and the Bruins went on the power play at 2:01 of the third period.

    About a minute into the ensuing skater advantage, Smith (8) wrapped a rebound around Vanecek and into the net to put Boston on the scoreboard with a power-play goal.

    Jake DeBrusk (5) and Coyle (9) had the assists on Smith’s goal as the Bruins trailed, 6-1, at 3:00 of the third period.

    Moments later, Coyle slashed Eller and was sent to the box at 7:49.

    Washington did not score on the resulting power play.

    Oshie (14) added his second goal of the night on a home run that he tipped in– batting the puck out of the air– over Vladar’s glove side shoulder to make it, 7-1, Washington at 10:13.

    Backstrom (29) had the only assist on the goal.

    A few minutes later, Eller (7) pocketed his second goal of the night, while Oshie (19) recorded his third point of the game with the primary assist. Dillon (13) was credited with the secondary assist as the Caps led, 8-1, at 13:14.

    Washington’s eighth goal marked the most goals allowed by Boston this season, surpassing that of their, 7-2, loss on Long Island against the New York Islanders on Feb. 25th.

    Late in the period, Kampfer hooked Sheary, but the Capitals didn’t score on the resulting power play at 18:32.

    At the final horn, Washington had sealed the deal on an, 8-1, victory, despite finishing the night trailing in shots on goal, 35-33, including a, 12-10, advantage for Boston in the third period alone.

    The B’s finished Sunday night’s action leading in hits (25-13) and faceoff win% (54-46), while the Caps headed out of town with the advantage in blocked shots (9-5) and giveaways (9-5).

    Washington finished the night 3/6 on the power play, while Boston went 1/4 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins fell to 7-8-3 (4-6-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 5-8-2 (3-3-0 at home) when trailing after the first period and 4-7-1 (3-5-0 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

    Meanwhile, the Capitals improved to 18-5-2 (10-3-1 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 12-3-3 (7-1-2 on the road) when leading after the first period and 21-2-0 (12-1-0 on the road) when leading after two periods in 2020-21.

    Boston continues their five-game homestand (0-1-0) with a matchup against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday before taking on the New York Islanders on Thursday and Friday prior to facing Washington again next Sunday (April 18th).

    In the meantime, the 2021 trade deadline is Monday at 3 p.m. ET and the Bruins have already made a pair of moves after their, 8-1, loss to the Capitals on Sunday.

    The Bruins acquired defender, Mike Reilly, from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2022 3rd round pick and have reportedly traded Bjork and a 2nd round pick to the Sabres for forwards, Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar.

    More information to come here on Down the Frozen River as trades are announced on Monday.

  • Analysis: Montour bolsters Panthers depth on defense

    The Florida Panthers acquired defender, Brandon Montour, from the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday in exchange for a 2021 3rd round pick.

    After Bill Zito cleared Brett Connolly’s cap hit from the books in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, the Panthers General Manager went to work on solidifying his defense in the wake of Aaron Ekblad’s season-ending injury.

    It’s not that Florida is done adding by any means, but they’ll have to continue to get crafty in saving cap space in order to finagle any larger moves.

    Montour at least gives them some comfort in the event of a further tattered lineup potentially interfering with what’s shaping up to be their best chance at a deep playoff run in a generation.

    Meanwhile, Sabres General Manager, Kevyn Adams, kicked off what’s expected to be a bit of a fire sale for the organization by Monday’s trade deadline.

    Montour, 27, had 5-9–14 totals in 38 games with Buffalo this season at the time of the trade on Saturday. He was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2nd round (55th overall) of the 2014 Draft and made his league debut with Anaheim in the 2016-17 season.

    He set career highs in goals (9), assists (23) and points (32) in 80 games with the Ducks in 2017-18, and has 29-76–105 totals in 281 career NHL games with Anaheim and Buffalo.

    The 6-foot, 194-pound native of Brantford, Ontario has eight points in 21 career Stanley Cup Playoff games (all with Anaheim) and spent parts of his first three seasons with the Ducks until he was traded to the Sabres in the 2018-19 season, where he spent parts of the last three seasons until being traded to the Panthers on Saturday.

    Montour carries a $3.850 million cap hit and is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

    For Buffalo, the 2021 3rd round pick will come in handy either in July at the draft or as part of a package for a bigger and better trade acquisition before then.

    Adams now must shift his attention to pieces of his roster like Taylor Hall– a pending-unrestricted free agent with a manageable $8.000 million cap hit that the Sabres could retain 50% of in a deal and try to maximize the hell out of his 2010 1st overall pick value.

    Oh and Hall’s a 2017-18 Hart Memorial Trophy winner, despite his 2-17–19 totals in 37 games with Buffalo this season.

    The Sabres are terrible all around. That’s not his fault.

    But asking for top-notch material in exchange for Hall’s talents based on this season alone is a hard bargain to market for Adams.

    Meanwhile, Rasmus Ristolainen is soldiering on in the upstate New York tundra that is Buffalo these days.

  • Sanheim, Flyers, down Bruins, 3-2, in OT

    Sanheim, Flyers, down Bruins, 3-2, in OT

    Travis Sanheim scored the game winning goal in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins for the first time this season, 3-2, on Monday night at TD Garden.

    Brian Elliott (10-5-1, 2.92 goals-against average, .890 save percentage in 20 games played) made 27 saves on 29 shots faced in the win for Philadelphia.

    Boston goaltender, Dan Vladar (3-1-0, 2.25 goals-against average, .922 save percentage in four games played) made 29 saves on 32 shots against in the overtime loss.

    The B’s fell to 19-10-6 (44 points) on the season and remained in command of 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while Philly improved to 18-14-5 (41 points)– stuck in 5th in the same division.

    The Bruins are now 5-0-1 against the Flyers this season.

    The Bruins were without the services of Ondrej Kase (upper body), Kevan Miller (knee), Tuukka Rask (upper body), John Moore (hip), Brandon Carlo (upper body) and Jaroslav Halak (COVID protocol) on Monday.

    Halak was placed in the league’s COVID protocol due to a positive test as revealed by Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, in a media Zoom prior to Monday night’s game against the Flyers.

    Meanwhile, Jake DeBrusk returned to the lineup for the first time since he was placed in COVID protocol on March 19th after Boston’s, 4-1, win in Buffalo on March 18th.

    He told reporters via Zoom ahead of Monday night’s action that he had some symptoms, but “nothing too major” in addition to losing his taste and smell.

    Cassidy made a few adjustments to his bottom-six forwards and defense, slotting DeBrusk in on the third line left wing with Charlie Coyle at center and Zach Senyshyn at right wing, while Sean Kuraly centered the fourth line, flanked by Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman.

    Matt Grzelcyk remained paired with Charlie McAvoy on the first pairing, while Jakub Zboril suited up with Steven Kampfer and Jeremy Lauzon was partnered with Connor Clifton on the blue line.

    Anders Bjork, Chris Wagner, Carlo, Moore, Kase, Rask, Halak, Anton Blidh, Jarred Tinordi and Miller made up Boston’s list of healthy scratches, taxi squad members and players that were already out due to injury against Philadelphia on Monday.

    Earlier that day, Jeremy Swayman was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL), while Jack Studnicka and Callum Booth were reassigned to Providence.

    Swayman suited up as Vladar’s backup goaltender Monday night while Rask and Halak were both unavailable.

    Midway through the opening frame, Travis Konecny (8) was in the right place at the right time while crashing the net to pound on a loose puck that had been deflected, taken a few wacky bounces and rebounded to Konecny for the game’s first goal.

    Claude Giroux (19) and Ivan Provorov (13) tallied the assists on Konecny’s goal and the Flyers led, 1-0, at 10:15 of the first period.

    Late in the first period, Zboril and Coyle forced a turnover in the attacking zone, whereby No. 13 in black and gold sent a quick pass across the high slot to Kuhlman (2) for the wrist shot over Elliott’s glove– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Coyle (6) had the only assist on Kuhlman’s goal at 17:33.

    About a couple of minutes later, Shayne Gostisbehere tripped up McAvoy and was sent to the penalty box with a minor infraction at 19:18.

    Boston’s power play would spill over into the middle frame as the Bruins weren’t able to convert on the skater advantage as the horn sounded for the first intermission.

    Though the score was tied, 1-1, the Flyers led in shots on goal, 10-7, after one period of play.

    Philadelphia also led in blocked shots (4-2), while Boston led in giveaways (4-2), hits (13-7) and faceoff win percentage (53-47). Both teams had one takeaway each after 20 minutes.

    The B’s were 0/1 on the power play, while the Flyers had yet to see any time on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

    Patrice Bergeron (12) redirected a shot pass past Elliott from the slot to give Boston their first lead of the night, 2-1, with a power-play goal 46 seconds into the second period.

    David Pastrnak (15) and Grzelcyk (10) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s goal, which helped the Bruins captain surpass Rick Middleton for the fourth most points in franchise history.

    Bergeron has 364-535–899 totals in 1,124 career games (all with Boston), while Middleton had 402-496–898 totals with Boston from 1976-88. No. 37 in black in gold is now one point away from his 900th career point and would be the fourth Bruin in franchise history to reach at least 900 points with the club.

    Phil Esposito (1,012 points) sits third in Boston’s all time scoring list with the club ahead of Bergeron, while Ray Bourque (1,506) and Johnny Bucyk (1,339) rank first and second overall, respectively.

    Less than two minutes later, Lauzon was penalized for holding and cut a rut to the sin bin at 2:44, but Philly’s resulting power play was powerless despite Nolan Patrick’s efforts at drawing a penalty.

    The Flyers got another chance on the skater advantage when Pastrnak hooked Nicolas Aube-Kubel at 5:46 of the second period.

    Once again, however, Philadelphia failed to capitalize on the power play.

    Midway through the middle frame, Justin Braun hooked Coyle and presented the B’s with another power play at 13:20, but Boston was not successful on their second skater advantage of the night.

    Through 40 minutes of action on Monday, the Bruins led, 2-1, on the scoreboard, despite trailing, 23-18, in shots on goal, including, 13-11, in the second period alone.

    Philadelphia held the advantage in blocked shots (7-6), while Boston led in takeaways (4-1), giveaways (7-3), hits (18-17) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    The Flyers were 0/2 on the power play, while the B’s were 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Lauzon was sent to the penalty box with a holding minor at 5:21 of the third period and the Flyers went to work on the power play.

    About a minute later, Sean Couturier (11) tied the game on a shot from the faceoff dot that snuck through net front traffic and found its way over Vladar’s glove into the twine.

    Provorov (14) and Kevin Hayes (14) tallied the assists on Couturier’s power-play goal as Philadelphia evened things up, 2-2, at 6:56.

    At the horn, the Bruins and Flyers were tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard and, 28-28, in shots on goal, despite Boston outshooting Philadelphia, 10-5, in the third period alone.

    Heading into overtime, the Bruins led in blocked shots (11-9), giveaways (8-7), hits (30-25) and faceoff win% (55-45), while both teams had five takeaways aside.

    As there were no penalties called in the extra frame, Philly finished 1/3 on the skater advantage, while Boston went 1/2 on the power play on Monday.

    Flyers head coach, Alain Vigneault, started Couturier, Konecny and Provorov in overtime, while Cassidy countered with Bergeron, Brad Marchand and McAvoy.

    After a few quick line changes and end-to-end action, Sanheim blocked a shot from the point and scooped up the loose puck– generating speed and breaking past Bergeron while the B’s captain cut a rut in the ice and fell.

    Sanheim (2) walked in all alone and scored on an unassisted effort, giving Philadelphia the, 3-2, victory at 3:08 of the overtime period.

    At the final horn, the Flyers had won and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 32-29, including a, 4-1, advantage in overtime alone, despite trailing Boston in blocked shots (12-10), giveaways (8-7), hits (30-26) and faceoff win% (56-44).

    The Bruins fell to 3-4 in overtime this season (6-6 past regulation), while the Flyers improved to 5-2 in overtime and 6-7 overall after 60 minutes.

    Boston also dropped to 7-7-3 (4-5-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal in 2020-21, while Philadelphia improved to 12-4-3 (6-2-1 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal this season.

    The B’s are now 5-4-2 (2-3-2 at home) when tied after the first period and 11-0-2 (7-0-2 at home) when leading after two periods this season.

    Philly, in the meantime, is now 5-3-2 (4-2-1 on the road) when tied after one period and 4-12-1 (3-6-1 on the road) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Bruins wrapped up their seven-game homestand (3-2-2) and will begin a three-game road trip in Philadelphia on Tuesday before swinging through Washington, D.C. on Thursday and Philadelphia again on Saturday. Boston returns home next Sunday to host the Capitals to kick off a five-game homestand on April 11th.

  • Smith tops Bruins comeback, 3-2, against Sabres

    Smith tops Bruins comeback, 3-2, against Sabres

    The Boston Bruins extended the Buffalo Sabres’ current losing streak to 17 games after Craig Smith capped a, 3-2, comeback with his game-winning goal in the third period Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.

    Dan Vladar (2-0-0, 1.51 goals-against average, .952 save percentage in two games played) turned aside 25 out of 27 shots against for a .926 save percentage in the win for the Bruins.

    Sabres goaltender, Linus Ullmark (5-5-2, 2.49 goals-against average, .918 save percentage in 13 games played), returned from injury and made 33 saves on 36 shots faced for a .917 save percentage in the loss.

    Boston improved to 17-8-5 (39 points) on the season and remained in command of 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while Buffalo fell to 6-23-4 (16 points) and stuck in last place in the division.

    The B’s improved to 2-0-0 against the Sabres this season and 8-3-2 at home in 2020-21.

    The Bruins were without the services of Ondrej Kase (upper body), Kevan Miller (knee), Brandon Carlo (upper body), John Moore (hip), Tuukka Rask (upper body), Karson Kuhlman (undisclosed), Sean Kuraly (COVID protocol), Jake DeBrusk (COVID protocol) and Brad Marchand (COVID protocol) on Saturday afternoon.

    Kase missed his 28th game this season due to an injury that he sustained on Jan. 16th in New Jersey. Though he is skating before practice, there is no timetable for his return.

    Miller and Carlo have been skating as well.

    Moore underwent a hip arthroscopy and labral repair on March 22nd in New York City and will miss the rest of the season as recovery time is expected to be five to six months.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, ruled Rask out for the weekend due to a lingering injury that was re-aggravated in Thursday night’s, 4-3, overtime loss to the New York Islanders.

    With Kuhlman awaiting results of an MRI after blocking a shot in the third period against the Islanders on Thursday night and Marchand entering COVID protocol, Zach Senyshyn returned to action for Boston for the first time since missing the last five games with an upper body injury.

    Trent Frederic suited up on the first line with Bruins captain, Patrice Bergeron, at center and David Pastrnak on right wing.

    Cassidy left his second line intact while Senyshyn was inserted on the right side of the third line with Anders Bjork at left wing and Charlie Coyle sporting an “A” at center in light of Marchand’s absence.

    Greg McKegg slid over to the left side of the fourth line while Jack Studnicka centered the line and Chris Wagner remained at right wing.

    On defense, Cassidy made one change, replacing Jarred Tinordi with Jeremy Lauzon on the third pairing alongside Steven Kampfer.

    Lauzon made his return to the lineup for the first time since being injured in the 2021 NHL Outdoors matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers at Lake Tahoe on Feb. 21st. He missed 13 games between his 34-second shift outdoors and Saturday afternoon.

    Jaroslav Halak served as Vladar’s backup on Saturday and is expected to get the start on Sunday against New Jersey.

    Boston’s long list of healthy scratches, injured players, COVID protocol and taxi squad members on Saturday afternoon included Carlo, Moore, Kase, Rask, Kuraly, Marchand, DeBrusk, Tinordi, Miller, Jack Ahcan and Kuhlman.

    Callum Booth was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) from Boston’s taxi squad on Saturday.

    Connor Clifton opened the game’s action with an elbowing infraction against Sabres forward, Jeff Skinner, at 1:16 of the first period.

    Less than a minute into the ensuing power play, Buffalo capitalized on a giveaway when Vladar misplayed the puck and sent a pass right to Sam Reinhart’s tape from the trapezoid.

    Reinhart (12) cut to the front of the empty net while Vladar chased the play and scored a power-play goal to give the Sabres a, 1-0, lead at 2:01 of the first period.

    Reinhart’s goal was unassisted.

    About a couple minutes later, Brandon Montour tripped Senyshyn and presented the Bruins with their first power play of the afternoon.

    Boston did not convert on the resulting skater advantage, however.

    Late in the period, Casey Mittelstadt hooked Pastrnak at 14:59 and Pastrnak tripped Dylan Cozens at 18:54, but neither team was successful on the resulting special teams action.

    Entering the first intermission, the Sabres led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trailing Boston in shots on goal, 13-10.

    The B’s led in blocked shots (4-2), takeaways (4-1), giveaways (4-2), hits (8-6) and faceoff win percentage (63-38).

    Buffalo was 1/2 and Boston was 0/2 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Coyle caught Skinner with a high stick midway through the second period and presented the Sabres with a power play at 7:15, but Buffalo couldn’t score on the resulting advantage.

    Moments later, Matt Grzelcyk (2) skated along the blue line in the attacking zone and fired a wrist shot from the high slot– beating Ullmark on the glove side, while Coyle screened the Sabres netminder in front of the crease.

    Pastrnak (13) and Bergeron (16) tallied the assists on Grzelcyk’s goal as the Bruins tied the game, 1-1, at 11:41 of the second period.

    With the secondary assist on the goal, Bergeron pulled to within three points of tying Rick Middleton for the fourth most in a B’s uniform in franchise history. Bergeron currently has 895 career points with Boston, while Middleton had 898.

    The game wasn’t tied for long before Kyle Okposo (2) pocketed a rebound into the twine for his second goal of the season in as many games against the Bruins this season.

    Henri Jokiharju (2) and Rasmus Dahlin (11) had the assists on Okposo’s goal as the Sabres pulled ahead, 2-1, at 14:12.

    Less than a minute later, Jean-Sebastien Dea caught Coyle with a high stick and was sent to the penalty box with a minor infraction at 15:00 of the second period.

    Boston failed to convert on the ensuing power play opportunity.

    Through 40 minutes of action at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon, the Sabres led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 24-21, in shots on goal, including a, 14-8, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Bruins led in takeaways (5-2), giveaways (8-3), hits (16-10) and faceoff win% (55-45), while both teams had seven blocked shots aside.

    Buffalo was 1/3 on the power play, while Boston was 0/3 on the skater advantage entering the second intermission.

    Early in the third period, Nick Ritchie (9) pocketed a loose puck from the doorstep behind Ullmark after Charlie McAvoy impressed the fans in attendance with an incredible display of skill– skating around the attacking zone prior to setting up Ritchie for the goal.

    McAvoy (17) and Grzelcyk (9) notched the assists on Ritchie’s goal as the Bruins tied the game, 2-2, at 5:22 of the final frame.

    Moments later, Montour hooked Smith and was sent to the sin bin at 9:38, but the B’s couldn’t muster anything on the resulting power play.

    Late in the period, Smith (6) buried a short pass from David Krejci in the low slot over Ullmark’s glove side to give Boston their first lead of the night, 3-2.

    Krejci (17) and Ritchie (8) tallied the assists on Smith’s goal at 16:10 of the third period as the Bruins completed the comeback and held onto the victory at the final horn after Rasmus Ristolainen picked up a goaltender interference minor at 19:35.

    Sabres interim head coach, Dom Granato, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker with 1:43 remaining, used his timeout after a stoppage with 40 seconds left and pulled his netminder again to even things up 5-on-5 while Ristolainen was in the box in the dying seconds, but Buffalo was no match for Boston in the end.

    The Bruins had won, 3-2, and finished the afternoon leading in shots on goal, 36-27, incluidng a, 15-3, advantage in the third period alone.

    Buffalo finished the game leading in blocked shots (11-9), while Boston wrapped up the afternoon leading in hits (23-15) and faceoff win% (57-44).

    Both teams finished with eight giveaways each, while the Sabres went 1/3 on the skater advantage and the B’s finished 0/5 on the power play.

    Vladar became the eighth goaltender in franchise history to win each of his first two career appearances with the Bruins, joining Rask (2007-08), Tim Thomas (2002-03), Blaine Lacher (1994-95), Mike Moffat (1981-82), John Adams (1972-73), Andre Gill (1967-68) and Frank Brimsek (1938-39) in doing so.

    Buffalo, meanwhile, suffered their 17th consecutive loss, which tied the second-most consecutive losses in National Hockey League history, joining the 1974-75 Washington Capitals and 1992-93 San Jose Sharks in trailing the 2003-04 Pittsburgh Penguins for the most consecutive losses in a row (18) in NHL history.

    The Sabres face the Philadelphia Flyers at home on Monday, March 29th and look to avoid tying the 2003-04 Penguins for the most consecutive losses.

    Cassidy told reporters after the game that Bruins assistant coach Kevin Dean was not behind the bench on Saturday due to coming in close contact with someone that tested positive for COVID-19.

    Dean will not be joining his colleagues behind the bench on Sunday, as well.

    Boston improved to 5-5-2 (2-3-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal this season, while Buffalo fell to 4-4-2 (3-4-1 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal this season in the process.

    The B’s also improved to 3-5-2 (1-1-0 at home) when trailing after the first period and 3-4-1 (2-2-0 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Sabres dropped to 2-3-2 (2-3-1 on the road) when leading after one period and 4-1-2 (3-1-1 on the road) when leading after two periods in 2020-21.

    The Bruins welcome the New Jersey Devils on Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET puck drop) before closing out the month of March against the Devils on Tuesday. Boston begins April with a pair of home games against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    Boston is 1-0-1 in their current seven-game homestand.

  • B’s return to action in, 4-3, overtime loss to Isles

    B’s return to action in, 4-3, overtime loss to Isles

    For the first time in a week, the Boston Bruins played a regular season game after COVID protocols postponed two games and shut down their facilities until Wednesday.

    Thursday night in front of roughly 2,100 fans in TD Garden, the Bruins lost, 4-3, to the New York Islanders in overtime.

    Anthony Beauvillier scored the game-winning goal 21 seconds into the extra frame, while Semyon Varlamov (14-6-3, 2.20 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 23 games played) made 29 saves on 32 shots against in the win for the Islanders.

    Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (8-4-2, 2.41 goals-against average, .907 save percentage in 15 games played) made six saves on six shots faced before leaving the game after the first period due to an upper body injury.

    Jaroslav Halak (7-4-3, 2.25 goals-against average, .915 save percentage in 14 games played) stopped 17 out of 21 shots faced in the overtime loss in relief of Rask.

    Boston fell to 16-8-5 (37 points) overall and remained in 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while New York improved to 22-8-4 (48 points) and remained in command of the division lead.

    The B’s also dropped to 0-3-2 against the Isles this season.

    After Sean Kuraly was placed in COVID protocol prior to last Thursday’s game on March 18th in Buffalo, four more Bruins forwards joined the league’s COVID list prior to Wednesday night’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena.

    Kuraly and Jake DeBrusk remained in COVID protocol entering Thursday night’s matchup with the Islanders, while David Pastrnak, David Krejci and Craig Smith were cleared from COVID protocol and did not miss Thursday night’s action against New York.

    Rask returned after missing the last six games due to an injury, but left the game after the first period, while Jarred Tinordi also returned to Boston’s lineup after missing one game due to an upper body injury sustained on March 16th in Pittsburgh.

    Trent Frederic didn’t miss a beat, despite uncertainty entering Wednesday night’s practice.

    Meanwhile, Boston was without the services of Ondrej Kase (upper body), Kevan Miller (knee), Jeremy Lauzon (hand), Brandon Carlo (upper body), Zach Senyshyn (upper body) and John Moore (undisclosed) on Thursday.

    Urho Vaakanainen, Oskar Steen and Jeremy Swayman were reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Thursday, while Callum Booth was recalled to Boston’s taxi squad.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, rolled out Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Pastrnak as his usual first line with Nick Ritchie, Krejci and Smith rounding out his top-six forwards.

    Anders Bjork, Charlie Coyle and Karson Kuhlman comprised of the third line, while Frederic suited up on the left side of Greg McKegg on the fourth line with Chris Wagner at right wing.

    On defense, Matt Grzelcyk was suited up with Charlie McAvoy on the first pairing, while Jakub Zboril and Connor Clifton rounded out the top-four defenders.

    Tinordi was back in his usual role on the left side of the third pairing with Steven Kampfer as his partner.

    Senyshyn, Jack Studnicka, Carlo, Moore, Kase, Kuraly, Jack Ahcan, Lauzon, Booth, DeBrusk, Dan Vladar and Miller were all members of Boston’s list of healthy scratches, injured and/or taxi squad members.

    Early in the first period, Mathew Barzal took a stick to the face and drew blood, leading the on-ice officials to think that Grzelcyk caught the Islanders forward with his stick.

    Boston braced for a four-minute penalty kill, but in accordance with the new rule to review whether or not a high stick was indeed a high stick or just an errant stick from a teammate, replay determined that Jordan Eberle had accidentally caught Barzal with his stick, thus rendering no penalty on the Bruins defender.

    In short, Eberle hit his own teammate in the face with his stick.

    Midway through the opening frame, Kuhlman (1) fired a shot from the faceoff dot to the right of the New York netminder over Varlamov’s glove on the far side to give Boston the first lead of the night, 1-0, at 11:42 of the first period.

    McAvoy (15) and Bjork (3) tallied the assists on Kuhlman’s goal– his first of the season, as well as his first in 397 days.

    Moments later, Casey Cizikas tripped Clifton and presented Boston with the first power play of the night at 15:37 of the opening frame.

    Just as the power play was about to expire, Kampfer (1) blasted a shot from outside the dot over Varlamov’s blocker side to give the Bruins a two-goal lead.

    McAvoy (16) and Krejci (16) tallied the assists on Kampfer’s power-play goal as the B’s led, 2-0, at 17:35. It was also his first goal in 732 days.

    Less than a minute later, Boston went back on the skater advantage when Michael Dal Colle tripped McAvoy at 18:13.

    This time, however, New York’s penalty kill managed to kill Dal Colle’s minor infraction without any mishaps.

    Entering the first intermission, the Bruins led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 10-6, in shots on goal.

    Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (4-2) and faceoff win percentage (63-38), while the Islanders led in takeaways (3-1) and giveaways (4-3).

    Both teams had nine hits aside after 20 minutes of action.

    New York had yet to see any time on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/2 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s tweeted that Rask would not return to the game with an upper body injury and Halak made his entrance to kick things off for the middle period.

    Scott Mayfield caught Bergeron with a high stick and drew blood– yielding a double minor infraction at 3:12 of the second period, but Boston was not able to convert on their extended power play opportunity.

    Instead, shortly after his release from the penalty box, Mayfield contributed the primary assist on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s (11) rebound goal to cut the Bruins’ lead in half, 2-1, at 7:21 of the second period.

    Mayfield (7) and Leo Komarov (3) notched the assists on Pageau’s sixth point in five games against Boston this season.

    Pageau finished Thursday’s game with a goal and two assists on the night, extending his totals to 5-3–8 in five games against the Bruins in 2020-21 so far.

    Through 40 minutes of play at TD Garden on Thursday, the Bruins maintained a, 2-1, lead on the scoreboard, as well as a, 23-18, advantage in shots on goal, including a, 13-12, advantage in the second period alone.

    New York led in blocked shots (7-6) and hits (21-16), while Boston led in takeaways (4-3) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    Both teams had five giveaways each through two periods.

    The Islanders had yet to see any action on the skater advantage, while the Bruins slumped to 1/4 on the power play.

    Early in the final frame, Josh Bailey (5) worked a give-and-go to his advantage for a blocker side goal while entering the slot to tie the game, 2-2, at 4:33 of the third period.

    Brock Nelson (7) and Nick Leddy (21) had the assists as the Isles took momentum and ran.

    Marchand provided the Islanders with their first power play of the night eight minutes into the final frame of regulation for holding against Adam Pelech.

    The Islanders did not convert on their only skater advantage of the night, however.

    Late in the period, Oliver Wahlstrom (9) pounced on a puck that bounced off of Halak and Krejci to an open spot on the doorstep– giving New York their first lead of the night, 3-2, at 17:04.

    Pageau (11) and Beauvillier (5) tallied the assists on Wahlstrom’s go-ahead goal, but the Bruins tied things back up less than a minute later when Bjork (2) sent a one-timer past Varlamov at 17:58.

    Coyle won a battle down low and wrapped behind the net before connecting on the pass to his Bruins teammate.

    Bjork’s goal knotted things up, 4-4, on the scoreboard, while Coyle (4) and Wagner (2) tallied the assists.

    Heading into the overtime period, the Bruins and Islanders were tied, 4-4, on the scoreboard, despite Boston holding a, 32-25, advantage in shots on goal, including a, 9-7, advantage in the third period alone.

    New York led in blocked shots (13-9), takeaways (6-4) and hits (29-25), while the B’s led in faceoff win% (57-44).

    Both teams had seven giveaways each, while the Isles finished 0/1 and the Bruins went 1/4 on the night on the power play as no penalties were called in overtime.

    Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz, elected to start Pageau, Beauvillier and Leddy– his biggest performers of the night in overtime, while Cassidy countered with Coyle, Bjork and Grzelcyk– equally his brightest stars on a night featuring rare depth scoring from the bottom six for Boston.

    Just 21 seconds into overtime, however, the Bruins were no match for the Islanders’ talent.

    Leddy fired a shot, Halak made the initial save, but he surrendered a rebound in the crease and was slow to spot the loose puck before Beauvillier (5) crashed the net and cashed in on the game-winning goal.

    Leddy (22) and Pageau (12) had the assists as the Islanders won, 4-3, in overtime in front of Boston’s first home game with fans in attendance since the pandemic began last year.

    New York finished the night with the win, despite Boston finishing the night with the final advantage in shots on goal, 32-27.

    The Islanders wrapped up Thursday night leading in blocked shots (13-9) and hits (29-25), while the Bruins led in faceoff win% (56-44).

    Both teams finished the game with seven giveaways each as the B’s dropped to 3-3 in overtime this season (5-5 past regulation overall).

    New York improved to 2-3 in overtime and 4-4 past 60 minutes overall in 2020-21.

    The Bruins dropped to 12-3-3 (6-0-2 at home) when scoring the game’s first goal, while the Isles improved to 8-7-2 (3-6-2 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal this season.

    Boston also fell to 9-0-2 (5-0-1 at home) when leading after the first period and 10-0-1 (6-0-1 at home) when leading after two periods this season.

    New York, meanwhile, improved to 4-3-2 (1-3-2 on the road) when trailing after one period and 3-6-1 (3-5-1 on the road) when losing through two periods this season.

    Additionally, for the first time this season, the B’s lost a game when leading by two or more goals at any time in the action, falling to 9-0-1 in that department as a result.

    The Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon in Boston before welcoming the New Jersey Devils on Sunday and next Tuesday to close out the month of March before hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins in a pair of games to kick off April.

  • Preview: Game No. 29– Islanders @ Bruins

    Preview: Game No. 29– Islanders @ Bruins

    For the first time in a week, the Boston Bruins are set to play another game. This time, the B’s will be kicking off the second-half of their 2020-21 56-game regular season schedule against the New York Islanders at TD Garden on Thursday night.

    Boston defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1, at KeyBank Center last Thursday (March 18th) without forward, Sean Kuraly, in the lineup as he had been placed in the league’s COVID protocol earlier that afternoon– jeopardizing that night’s action, when combined with the fact that the Sabres also had a positive test among their coaching staff– but nevertheless, the game went on as scheduled.

    Until after the game.

    Four more Bruins skaters were placed in COVID protocol, including Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, David Pastrnak and Craig Smith, which forced the postponement of last Saturday’s scheduled matchup with the Sabres in Buffalo and Tuesday’s scheduled home game against the Islanders.

    Boston’s facilities were shutdown until Wednesday, when the team held practice for the first time since March 18th’s game action at 7 o’clock in the evening at Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton.

    Everyone except for DeBrusk and Kuraly came off of the National Hockey League’s COVID protocol list prior to practice on Wednesday night.

    Meanwhile, back in Buffalo last Thursday, Greg McKegg scored his first goal as a Bruin, DeBrusk added his third goal of the season, Smith notched his fifth and Pastrnak tallied his 14th goal of the year.

    Krejci had three assists, surpassing 700 career points (all with Boston) in the process– becoming just the eighth player to do so in a Bruins uniform.

    In 935 career NHL games, Krejci has 208-494–702 totals and trails Wayne Cashman (793 points) for the seventh-most points in a B’s jersey.

    Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves on 24 shots against for a .958 save percentage in the win for Boston last Thursday, while Carter Hutton stopped 33 out of 37 shots faced for an .892 save percentage in Buffalo’s loss.

    Now back to the present.

    Entering Thursday night, the Bruins are 0-3-1 against the Islanders this season, with the most recent loss coming in a shootout, 2-1, on March 9th at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

    New York is riding back-to-back wins against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 20th at home and March 22nd in Philadelphia as they enter Boston for the first time this season.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, provided a pregame update to reporters via Zoom and informed them that he expects Tuukka Rask to return to the lineup and get the start against the Isles on Thursday, while Jarred Tinordi and Trent Frederic will be game-time decisions.

    Boston will be without Ondrej Kase, Kevan Miller, Jeremy Lauzon, Brandon Carlo, John Moore and Zach Senyshyn, though Carlo, Lauzon, Miller and Senyshyn are skating.

    Moore underwent surgery on an undisclosed injury and is out longer-term, while Kase has no set timetable for when he’ll be back since sustaining an upper body injury in the second game of the season back on Jan. 16th in New Jersey.

    Cassidy, meanwhile, is coaching in his 400th NHL game on Thursday night (177-74-38 overall in 289 games with Boston).

    The Bruins (16-8-4, 36 points) are 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division as they embark on the second-half of their season, while New York leads the division with a 21-8-4 record (46 points).

    The B’s are 7-3-1 on home ice this season and 5-3-2 in their last ten games, while the Isles enter TD Garden 8-7-2 on the road in 2020-21, as well as 8-2-0 in their last ten games.

    Boston is 92-57-21-6 in 176 regular season meetings against the Islanders all time with 590 goals for and 501 goals against in that span.

    New York is 18-20-2-4 in 44 games at TD Garden since the building was opened in 1995, outscoring the Bruins in that span, 134-113.

    Brad Marchand leads the Bruins in scoring with 12-22–34 totals in 28 games played, while Pastrnak leads the team in goals scored (14), but trails Marchand for the second-most points with 14-12–26 totals in 21 games played this season.

    Bruins captain, Patrice Bergeron, rounds out the top-three scorers with 25 points in 28 games and is four points away from tying Rick Middleton for the fourth most points with Boston in franchise history.

    Bergeron has 362-532–894 totals in 1,117 career games with the Bruins, while Middleton had 898 points in 881 games with Boston from 1976-88.

    Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders in scoring with 9-16–25 totals in 33 games this season, while Anders Lee and Brock Nelson are tied for the team lead in goals with 12.

    Lee’s recent injury has limited him to 27 games and ruled him out for the rest of the season, while Nelson has attained 12-6-18 totals in 33 games.

    Isles defender, Nick Leddy, is second on the team in scoring with 1-20–21 totals in 33 games, while Jordan Eberle and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each have 20 points for the third-most points on New York’s roster.

    Eberle’s recorded 20 points in 33 games, while Pageau has 20 points in 32 games, including 4-1–5 totals in four games against Boston this season.

    Rask (8-4-2, 2.46 goals-against average, .906 save percentage in 14 games played) is expected to get his first start since missing the last six games for Boston due to an undisclosed injury.

    He is one win away from reaching the 300-win plateau and would be the first Bruins goaltender in franchise history to reach that mark.

    Semyon Varlamov (13-6-3, 2.17 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 22 games played) is likely to get the start in net for the Islanders on Thursday.

    The Bruins kick off a seven-game homestand on Thursday, which is tied for the longest home stretch in team history (Jan. 2-16, 2006).

    For the first time since the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began last year, fans will be in attendance at TD Garden as the building is limited to 12% seating capacity.

    Roughly 2,100 fans will be at a Bruins home game for the first time since March 7, 2020, instead of the usual sellout crowd of 17,850 since the building’s most recent renovations and development of The Hub on Causeway.

    Expected lineups

    Boston Bruins

    63 Brad Marchand (A) 37 Patrice Bergeron (C) 88 David Pastrnak

    21 Nick Ritchie 46 David Krejci (A) 12 Craig Smith

    10 Anders Bjork 13 Charlie Coyle 83 Karson Kuhlman

    11 Trent Frederic 18 Greg McKegg 14 Chris Wagner

    48 Matt Grzlecyk 73 Charlie McAvoy

    67 Jakub Zboril 75 Connor Clifton

    84 Jarred Tinordi 44 Steven Kampfer

    40 Tuukka Rask

    41 Jaroslav Halak

    Healthy scratches, injured and taxi squad members (officially TBA, below is only a prediction based on last game)

    Zach Senyshyn (upper body), Jack Studnicka, Brandon Carlo (upper body), John Moore (undisclosed), Ondrej Kase (upper body), Sean Kuraly (COVID protocol), Jack Ahcan, Jeremy Lauzon (fractured left hand), Callum Booth, Jake DeBrusk (COVID protocol), Dan Vladar, Kevan Miller (right knee)

    New York Islanders

    7 Jordan Eberle 47 Leo Komarov 13 Mathew Barzal

    28 Michael Dal Colle 29 Brock Nelson (A) 12 Josh Bailey (A)

    18 Anthony Beauvillier 44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau 26 Oliver Wahlstrom

    17 Matt Martin 53 Casey Cizikas 15 Cal Clutterbuck (A)

    3 Adam Pelech 6 Ryan Pulock

    2 Nick Leddy 4 Andy Greene

    34 Thomas Hickey 24 Scott Mayfield

    40 Semyon Varlamov

    30 Ilya Sorokin

    Healthy scratches, injured and taxi squad members (officially TBA, below is only a prediction based on last game)

    Anders Lee (knee), TBA

    Goaltending stats entering Thursday

    Boston Bruins

    40 Tuukka Rask 8-4-2 in 14 GP, 2.46 GAA, .906 SV%, 0 SO

    41 Jaroslav Halak 7-4-2 in 13 GP, 2.06 GAA, .921 SV%, 2 SO

    70 Callum Booth 0-0-0 in 0 GP, 0.00 GAA, .000 SV%, 0 SO

    80 Dan Vladar 1-0-0 in 1 GP, 1.00 GAA, .971 SV%, 0 SO

    New York Islanders

    30 Ilya Sorokin 8-2-1 in 11 GP, 1.97 GAA, .922 SV%, 2 SO

    35 Cory Schneider 0-0-0 in 0 GP, 0.00 GAA, .000 SV%, 0 SO

    40 Semyon Varlamov 13-6-3 in 22 GP, 2.17 GAA, .923 SV%, 3 SO

  • Preview: Game No. 28– Bruins @ Sabres

    Preview: Game No. 28– Bruins @ Sabres

    For the first time this season, the Boston Bruins pay a visit to KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres for Hockey Fights Cancer Night in Buffalo.

    Last season, Boston went 3-0-0 against Buffalo in the pandemic shortened 2019-20 regular season, winning all three of their matchups, 3-2, on Nov. 21st in Boston, 3-0, on Dec. 27th in Buffalo and, 3-2, on Dec. 29th in Boston.

    After Thursday night’s matchup, the two clubs will meet seven more times in 2020-21, including their next meeting on Saturday.

    A couple of previous matchups against the Sabres were postponed to later dates in the season due to a plethora of Buffalo players in COVID protocol last month.

    A coaching staff member for Buffalo and a Boston skater (Sean Kuraly) were placed in COVID protocol Thursday morning, resulting in both pregame skates being cancelled, but the game remains on schedule through contact tracing, etc.

    The Sabres return home after a, 3-2, loss to the Devils in New Jersey and without their now former head coach, Ralph Krueger, who was fired on Wednesday.

    Interim head coach Dom Granato was promoted from his position as an assistant coach in Buffalo, where he was hired in that role in 2019. He will be making his National Hockey League head coaching debut on Thursday.

    Granato previously served as the head coach of the Columbus Chill (ECHL, 1997-99), head coach of the Peoria Rivermen (ECHL, 1999-2000), head coach of the Worcester IceCats (AHL, 2000-05), an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues (2005-06), head coach of the Chicago Wolves (AHL, parts of two seasons, 2008-09 and 2009-10), head coach of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (2013-16), assistant coach with the Wisconsin Badgers (NCAA, 2016), assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks (2016-19).

    Buffalo, of course, is without their captain, Jack Eichel, due to injury.

    Boston, meanwhile, is suffering from a plethora of injuries, rendering Tuukka Rask unavailable for the last five games, which meant that Dan Vladar got his first career NHL start on Tuesday after Jaroslav Halak was handed a, 4-1, loss in Pittsburgh on Monday.

    Vladar made 34 saves on 35 shots to backstop the Bruins to a, 2-1, victory against the Penguins in his regular season debut in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, is likely to tweak his lineup depending on player availability, as well as whether or not Rask will be good to go after missing six games this season due to an undisclosed injury.

    Rask did travel with the team as part of their four-game road trip (1-1-0).

    Boston will be without Ondrej Kase, Kevan Miller and Jeremy Lauzon, at least, as Kase has no timetable for a return, Miller is skating back in Boston and Lauzon is approaching one month since sustaining a fractured left hand, which takes four-to-six weeks recovery time.

    Brandon Carlo, John Moore and Zach Senyshyn will also be out of the lineup for Boston, while Jarred Tinordi is likely to miss Thursday night’s game in Buffalo as well after sustaining an upper body injury on a hit from Pittsburgh’s Brandon Tanev that resulted in a boarding major, as well as a game misconduct and a five-minute power play for Boston.

    Thursday marks the halfway point for the Bruins, who are 15-8-4 overall (34 points) and currently 4th place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while the Sabres begin the second half of their season with a 6-18-4 record (16 points, last in the division).

    Boston is 3-2 in overtime and 2-2 in shootouts (5-4 past regulation) this season, while Buffalo is 0-2 in overtime and 2-2 in shootouts (2-4 past regulation) thus far in 2020-21.

    Boston is also 8-5-3 in 16 games on the road this season, including a 4-4-2 record in their last ten games, while Buffalo is 2-10-2 on home ice and 0-9-1 in their last ten games.

    The B’s are 142-113-29-12 in 296 all-time regular season matchups against Buffalo with 949 goals for and 926 goals against in that span.

    The Bruins are also 29-25-1-7 in 62 regular season games at KeyBank Center, though the Sabres have outscored Boston, 175-157, in that span.

    Brad Marchand leads the Bruins in scoring with 12-21–33 totals in 27 games, while Patrice Bergeron is second with 25 points in 27 games and David Pastrnak is third with 24 points in 20 games, while leading his teammates in goals scored (13).

    Marchand has a team-leading plus-nine rating in 27 games, while Chris Wagner is a minus-eight in 23 games this season.

    Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson lead the Sabres in scoring with 19 points in 26 and 28 games, repsectively. Eichel (18 in 21 games) ranks third in scoring, while Reinhart leads the roster in goals scored with 11.

    Jake McCabe is a plus-two in 13 games, while Rasmus Dahlin is a minus-27 in 28 games thus far.

    If Rask gets the start for Boston, he is one win away from his 300th career NHL win, which would also make him the first goaltender in a Bruins uniform to reach the 300-win plateau.

    David Krejci is one point away from his 700th career point and currently eighth all-time in scoring in a Bruins uniform with 699 career points.

    Wayne Cashman (793 points) is seventh in all-time scoring with Boston.

    Bruins captain, Patrice Bergeron (894 points) is four points away from tying Rick Middleton (898) for the fourth most points in a Boston uniform in franchise history.

    The Bruins wrap up their four-game road trip with a Saturday matinee (1 p.m. ET puck drop) in Buffalo before returning home on March 23rd against the New York Islanders in what will be Boston’s first game at TD Garden to feature fans since the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic began last year.

    TD Garden will be limited to a 12% seating capacity.

    Expected lineups

    Boston Bruins

    63 Brad Marchand (A) 37 Patrice Bergeron (C) 88 David Pastrnak

    74 Jake DeBrusk 46 David Krejci (A) 12 Craig Smith

    21 Nick Ritchie 13 Charlie Coyle 62 Oskar Steen

    11 Trent Frederic 18 Greg McKegg 83 Karson Kuhlman

    48 Matt Grzelcyk 73 Charlie McAvoy

    67 Jakub Zboril 75 Connor Clifton

    54 Jack Ahcan 44 Steven Kampfer

    41 Jaroslav Halak

    80 Dan Vladar

    Healthy scratches, injured and taxi squad members (officially TBA, below is only a prediction based on last game)

    Jeremy Swayman, Anders Bjork, Chris Wagner, Greg McKegg, Zach Senyshyn (upper body), Brandon Carlo (upper body), John Moore (lower body), Ondrej Kase (upper body), Tuukka Rask (lower body), Sean Kuraly (COVID protocol), Jeremy Lauzon (fractured left hand), Urho Vaakanainen, Jarred Tinordi (upper body), Kevan Miller (right knee)

    Buffalo Sabres

    13 Tobias Rieder 12 Eric Staal 23 Sam Reinhart

    4 Taylor Hall 15 Riley Sheahan 72 Tage Thompson

    53 Jeff Skinner 27 Curtis Lazar 37 Casey Mittelstadt

    68 Victor Olofsson 20 Cody Eakin 21 Kyle Okposo

    78 Jacob Bryson 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

    44 Matt Irwin 62 Brandon Montour

    26 Rasmus Dahlin 33 Colin Miller

    40 Carter Hutton

    34 Jonas Johansson

    Healthy scratches, injured and taxi squad members (officially TBA, below is only a prediction based on last game)

    Jack Eichel, Henri Jokiharju, Dylan Cozens

    Goaltending stats entering Thursday

    Boston Bruins

    1 Jeremy Swayman 0-0-0 in 0 GP, 0.00 GAA, .000 SV%, 0 SO

    40 Tuukka Rask 8-4-2 in 14 GP, 2.46 GAA, .906 SV%, 0 SO

    41 Jaroslav Halak 6-4-2 in 12 GP, 2.15 GAA, .918 SV%, 2 SO

    80 Dan Vladar 1-0-0 in 1 GP, 1.00 GAA, .971 SV%, 0 SO

    Buffalo Sabres

    31 Dustin Tokarski 0-0-0 in 0 GP, 0.00 GAA, .000 SV%, 0 SO

    34 Jonas Johansson 0-5-1 in 7 GP, 3.79 GAA, .884 SV%, 0 SO

    35 Linus Ullmark 5-4-2 in 12 GP, 2.43 GAA, .919 SV%, 0 SO

    40 Carter Hutton 1-9-1 in 11 GP, 3.43 GAA, .884 SV%, 0 SO