The DTFR Duo runs through some Tampa Bay Lightning franchise records, Conor McGregor reactions, hands out more awards, fixes the NHL and takes a look at how things are shaping up in the Pacific Division for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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The Boston Bruins (42-20-9, 93 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) return home to TD Garden on Saturday to face the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets (40-28-3, 83 points, 5th in the Metropolitan Division) in their second matchup of the season.
Columbus defeated Boston, 7-4, on Tuesday (March 12th) and will host the B’s at Nationwide Arena on April 2nd in their final regular season meeting between the two clubs.
Boone Jenner recorded his first career hat trick (and 100th career NHL goal) in the Blue Jackets’ win against the B’s as Columbus grabbed the 1-0-0 season series lead.
The Bruins went 0-3-0 on their most recent three-game road trip prior to returning to TD Garden where they have gone 10-0-0 in their last ten home games– outscoring opponents, 36-19, in that span.
Boston carries a long list of injuries into Saturday night’s matchup, but head coach, Bruce Cassidy, will be getting one important top-six forward back in his lineup as Jake DeBrusk will return from a lower body injury that kept him out of the last five games to his usual spot on the second line left wing alongside David Krejci.
Charlie Coyle will remain on Krejci’s right side.
Cassidy adjusted his bottom-six forward lines at morning skate, placing Paul Carey on the left side of Sean Kuraly with Chris Wagner on Kuraly’s right side.
Joakim Nordstorm, Noel Acciari and David Backes also took morning rushes together and will likely fill out the fourth line in Saturday night’s game against the Blue Jackets.
Zdeno Chara will remain paired with Charlie McAvoy on the blue line, while John Moore continues to hold Torey Krug’s usual spot on the second pairing with Brandon Carlo.
Krug remains out of the lineup with an upper body injury and was placed in concussion protocol, as announced by the Bruins after morning skate on Saturday.
Steven Kampfer and Connor Clifton will fill out the rest of the blue line as Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) should resume skating next week and Kevan Miller (upper body) is still a ways off.
Miller is “feeling better, but not ready to skate yet,” according to Cassidy.
Marcus Johansson should join Grzelcyk in his return to skating at practice next week, while David Pastrnak will participate in full practice on Monday and likely return to the lineup next Tuesday (March 19th) against the New York Islanders in Long Island.
Pending an official transaction prior to puck drop, Trent Frederic appears to be the only healthy scratch for Boston on Saturday.
In goal, Jaroslav Halak (18-10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 35 games played) will get the start for the Bruins against Columbus.
Tuukka Rask gets the night off after a, 4-3, loss in Winnipeg on Thursday.
Blue Jackets head coach, John Tortorella, is expected to start backup goaltender, Joonas Korpisalo (9-6-2, 2.97 GAA, .899 SV% in 23 GP) against Boston on Saturday after Sergei Bobrovsky (31-22-1, 2.71 GAA, .909 SV% in 54 GP) picked ups his 30th career shutout in Friday night’s, 3-0, win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Columbus did not have a morning skate in Boston on Saturday, so the starting goaltender against the Bruins cannot officially be confirmed until warmups.
After making his return to Boston with the New York Rangers earlier this season, Blue Jackets trade deadline acquisition and former Bruin, Adam McQuaid, will make his debut at TD Garden with the team that originally selected him (Columbus) 55th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft.
McQuaid has 3-3–6 totals in 44 games with the Blue Jackets and Rangers this season since being traded by the Bruins on Sept. 11, 2018.
Columbus has won three out of their last four games and is 4-4-0 in the month of March.
Boston is 4-3-0 so far this month.
We’re definitely starting to get close to the Stanley Cup Playoffs now! As of the completion of last night’s games, three teams (Detroit, New Jersey and Ottawa) have already been eliminated from postseason contention, and even more will surely join that list by next week’s featured matchup.
Of course, the only way to figure out which teams those are is by playing out the schedule. Here’s this week’s NHL offerings:
| NHL SCHEDULE: March 11-17 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| TIME (ALL TIMES EASTERN) | VISITOR | HOST | NATIONAL BROADCAST(S)/ Result |
| Monday, March 11 | |||
| 7 p.m. | Tampa Bay | Toronto | 6-2 |
| 7 p.m. | Columbus Blue Jackets | New York Islanders | 0-2 |
| 7 p.m. | Ottawa | Philadelphia | 2-3 |
| 8 p.m. | San Jose | Minnesota | 3-0 |
| 8:30 p.m. | Arizona | Chicago | 1-7 |
| 9 p.m. | Carolina | Colorado | 3-0 |
| 9 p.m. | New York Rangers | Edmonton Oilers | 2-3 (OT) |
| Tuesday, March 12 | |||
| 7 p.m. | Dallas | Buffalo | 2-0 |
| 7 p.m. | Washington | Pittsburgh | 3-5 |
| 7 p.m. | Boston | Columbus | 4-7 |
| 7:30 p.m. | Detroit | Montréal | 1-3 |
| 8 p.m. | Arizona | St. Louis | 3-1 |
| 8 p.m. | San Jose | Winnipeg | 5-4 |
| 9 p.m. | New Jersey | Calgary | 4-9 |
| 10 p.m. | Nashville | Anaheim | 2-3 |
| Wednesday, March 13 | |||
| 7 p.m. | Chicago | Toronto | 5-4 |
| 9:30 p.m. | New Jersey | Edmonton | 6-3 |
| 10 p.m. | New York Rangers | Vancouver Canucks | 1-4 |
| Thursday, March 14 | |||
| 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh | Buffalo | 5-0 |
| 7 p.m. | Montréal Canadiens | New York Islanders | 1-2 |
| 7 p.m. | Washington | Philadelphia | 5-2 |
| 7:30 p.m. | St. Louis | Ottawa | 0-2 |
| 7:30 p.m. | Tampa Bay | Detroit | 5-4 |
| 8 p.m. | Dallas | Minnesota | 4-1 |
| 8 p.m. | Boston | Winnipeg | 3-4 |
| 10 p.m. | Anaheim | Arizona | 1-6 |
| 10:30 p.m. | Nashville | Los Angeles | 3-1 |
| 10:30 p.m. | Florida | San Jose | 4-2 |
| Friday, March 15 | |||
| 7 p.m. | Philadelphia | Toronto | 6-7 |
| 7 p.m. | Carolina | Columbus | 0-3 |
| 8 p.m. | Vegas | Dallas | 2-1 |
| 9 p.m. | Anaheim | Colorado | 5-3 |
| 9 p.m. | New York Rangers | Calgary Flames | 1-5 |
| 10 p.m. | New Jersey | Vancouver | 3-2 (SO) |
| Saturday, March 16 | |||
| 1 p.m. | St. Louis | Pittsburgh | NHLN, TVAS |
| 1 p.m. | New York Islanders | Detroit Red Wings | |
| 4 p.m. | Florida | Los Angeles | |
| 7 p.m. | Calgary | Winnipeg | ESPN+ |
| 7 p.m. | Columbus | Boston | ESPN+ |
| 7 p.m. | Chicago | Montréal | CITY, TVAS |
| 7 p.m. | Toronto | Ottawa | CBC, SN1, TVAS2 |
| 7 p.m. | Washington | Tampa Bay | NHLN |
| 7 p.m. | Buffalo | Carolina | |
| 8 p.m. | New York Rangers | Minnesota Wild | |
| 10 p.m. | Edmonton Oilers | Arizona Coyotes | CBC, CITY, SN, SN1 |
| 10:30 p.m. | Nashville | San Jose | ESPN+ |
| Sunday, March 17 | |||
| 3 p.m. | New Jersey | Colorado | SN1 |
| 5 p.m. | St. Louis | Buffalo | NHLN |
| 6 p.m. | New York Islanders | Minnesota Wild | ESPN+ |
| 7 p.m. | Vancouver | Dallas | SN |
| 7:30 p.m. | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | NBCSN, TVAS |
| 9 p.m. | Florida | Anaheim | |
| 10 p.m. | Edmonton | Vegas | NBCSN |
Another fun week of NHL action, no?
After all, we’ve been treated to a little bit of rivalry action already when the Capitals visited Pittsburgh and the Red Wings headed to Montréal on Tuesday, not to mention Wednesday’s Original Six contest featuring Chicago at Toronto.
The hatred continued Thursday when the Caps headed to the City of Brotherly Love and will resume today with the Hawks in Montréal and the Battle of Ontario. Finally, the Battle of the Keystone State will clean up this week’s derby action tomorrow night.
We were also treated to more than a few playoff rematches from last season, though it must be asked if they’re all that exciting anymore since we’re so close to this year’s postseason.
It’s all about the Capitals and Penguins in that department this week, starting with their Tuesday night tilt in a rematch of the Eastern Semifinals. Washington then heads to Tampa tonight in a rematch of the Eastern Finals, while the Pens host Philly tomorrow in a rematch of the First Round.
Finally, this week’s homecoming king is none other than LW Antoine Roussel, who spent the first six seasons of his NHL career in Dallas before signing with the Canucks this offseason. He’ll play his first-ever road game at American Airlines Center tomorrow.
Players also making important returns this week include F Jacob de La Rose (he was a second-round pick by the Habs in 2013) and C Ryan O’Reilly (he spent three seasons with the Sabres before being traded to St. Louis this offseason).
However, we can throw all of this information out of the window, as I’m instead choosing to feature the tilt fellow DtFR writer Colby Kephart and I are taking this evening featuring his beloved Sabres taking on the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes.
The growing pains for the 30-31-9 Buffalo Sabres have been all too real this season, but the fact that they’re having them should mean the club is growing, right?
Of course, we all remember the Sabres’ unbelievable 10-game winning streak they experienced throughout almost the entire month of November.
However, that winning run is certainly in the rear-view mirror nowadays, as Buffalo is currently riding a six-game losing skid (0-5-1) and boasts a lowly 2-10-2 record in its last 14 outings. Making matters even worse, the Sabres’ attack has been shutout for three-straight games, clocking in at 192:40 since their last non-shootout goal.
As might be indicated by a shutout streak of that magnitude, offense has been the Sabres’ biggest struggle of late. That’s not to say the 3.79 goals or 35.07 shots they’re allowing on average since February 15 is OK (those stats respectively rank third and fourth-worst in the NHL in that time), but the Sabres’ 2.07 goals per game in the past month ranks second-worst in the league and simply must improve to something closer to their 2.71 season average if they want to end their campaign on a positive note.
In the Sabres’ defense, they have been without their captain, C Jack Eichel, while he’s been suspended for the last two games for an illegal hit to F Carl Soderberg‘s head. That being said, even his 7-4-11 production in his past 12 outings is still slightly off his expected pace. On the season, he’s managed 25-47-72 points in 65 games and looks to be on pace for his first season averaging more than a point per game.
With his return to the ice, Head Coach Phil Housley will have high expectations that his club’s top line and first power play unit should rediscover its groove. If that proves to be the case, F Jeff Skinner (36-22-58 on the season, 2-5-7 since February 15) and RW Jason Pominville (15-13-28 on the season, 2-3-5 in his last 14 appearances) should see their numbers get back on pace as well.
You’re hard pressed to find a hotter team in the NHL right now than the 38-26-7 Carolina Hurricanes, the Eastern Conference’s current first wild card.
Despite losing last night in Columbus 3-0, Carolina has rattled off an impressive 16-5-2 record in its past 23 outings and is drawing ever nearer to ending its nine-year playoff drought by qualifying for the postseason for the sixth time in Hurricanes history (14th if the Hartford Whalers’ eight Stanley Cup Playoff appearances are included).
While the Canes are certainly finding success in almost every facet of the game during this run, their most impressive strength, at least in my opinion, has been that of their defense. A point of emphasis even before Rod Brind’Amour took over head coaching responsibilities, Carolina has allowed an average of only 28.61 shots against per game since January 20, the second-best mark in the Eastern Conference and third-best in the league in that time.
Leading the defensive charge for the Hurricanes during this run has been none other than D Calvin de Haan (2.5 hits per game in his last 20 appearances) and D Jaccob Slavin (1.7 blocks per game and 21 takeaways since January 20).
Unfortunately, de Haan suffered an eye injury in Colorado on Monday and will likely remain out of the lineup this evening. Taking up de Haan’s role as the rough-‘n’-tough blueliner has been Slavin’s linemate, D Dougie Hamilton, who’s averaged two hits per game since January 20.
Of course, the person in PNC Arena most appreciative of that incredible defensive effort is always 17-8-2 G Curtis McElhinney, who’s all but ensured of this evening’s start since 18-13-3 G Petr Mrazek was in net last night in Ohio. McElhinney boasts a .914 save percentage and 2.52 GAA for the season, and that’s almost the exact form he’s shown for his past nine starts to add his last six wins (his GAA is a 2.54 for his last nine outings, two-hundredths of a goal worse than his season mark).
Especially after last night’s poor outing, it’s hard to pick against the Hurricanes this evening. Having already won their first two meetings with the Sabres this season, Carolina will have its sights set on completing the season sweep and staying ahead of Columbus and Montréal in the playoff race.
That being said, just because the Canes have won the last two meetings doesn’t mean they were easy victories. Both tilts ended with only one goal separating the winner and loser, including their last meeting on February 7 in Buffalo that required overtime.
Being the better rested team that is regaining its captain, the Sabres will surely show their teeth this evening, but Carolina should still escape with two points.
We’re less than a month away from the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, so let’s take a gander at how things should shape up for the Central Division.
The Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the first postseason berth this season, Quinn Hughes signed his entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, Shane Wright was granted exceptional status and the DTFR Duo presented the first few individual season awards.
*Zach Boychuk wasn’t actually on… …this time around, anyway.*
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The Columbus Blue Jackets dealt the Boston Bruins their first back-to-back losses since late December with a, 7-4, victory at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.
Boone Jenner had a hat trick for Columbus as Boston lost in back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 23rd (at Carolina) and Dec. 27th (versus New Jersey) after their 19-game point streak was snapped on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Sergei Bobrovsky (30-22-1 record, 2.76 goals against average, .906 save percentage in 53 games played) made 27 saves on 31 shots against for an .871 SV% in the win for the Blue Jackets.
Before being replaced in the second period, Tuukka Rask (24-9-5, 2.41 GAA, .918 SV% in 39 GP) stopped 19 out of 24 shots faced in the loss, while Jaroslav Halak (18-10-4, 2.33 GAA, .924 SV% in 35 GP) made nine saves on 10 shots against in relief of Rask for the B’s.
Boston fell to 42-19-9 (93 points) on the season, but remained in control of 2nd place in the Atlantic, while Columbus improved to 39-28-3 (81 points) and remained 5th in the Metropolitan, as well as in command of the 2nd wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins fell to 27-6-5 when scoring first in a game this season and 15-12-6 on the road.
Bruce Cassidy made a few adjustments to his lineup with Kevan Miller (upper body), David Pastrnak (left thumb), Jake DeBrusk (lower body), Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) all out due to injury.
With Lee Stempniak reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL), Trent Frederic was recalled on emergency basis.
Charlie Coyle moved up to David Krejci’s right wing with Peter Cehlarik at left wing on the second line, while Joakim Nordstrom slid down to the third line left wing with Frederic at center and David Backes on the right side in his usual role.
Since Grzelcyk was out due to injury, Steven Kampfer suited up alongside John Moore on the third defensive pairing.
Early into the action, Brandon Carlo was penalized for interference at 3:29 of the first period and gave the Blue Jackets their first power play of the night.
Nearly 30 seconds into the ensuing power play for Columbus, the Bruins caught the Blue Jackets on a turnover and charged down the ice on a shorthanded bid.
Brad Marchand tossed the puck over to Patrice Bergeron (26) for his 4th shorthanded goal of the season and 3rd SHG this week.
Boston grabbed the, 1-0, lead at 4:00 of the first period with Marchand (55) tallying the only assist on Bergeron’s goal.
Shortly after the B’s went ahead, Josh Anderson (23) showed off his speed and caught the Bruins in a line change. Anderson deked and scored on a breakaway with ease and tied the game, 1-1.
Zach Werenski (28) and Ryan Dzingel (26) had the assists on Anderson’s goal at 7:19.
Almost seven minutes later, Dzingel (23) scored his first goal as a Blue Jacket after following up on a rebound generated by Werenski (and the following second and third chances until Dzingel banked the puck off Rask and in)– making it, 2-1, Columbus.
Werenski (29) and Seth Jones (32) were credited with the assists on Dzingel’s goal at 14:18 of the first period.
Late in the period, Columbus committed a rash of penalties with Jenner sent to the box for tripping Bergeron at 17:34 and Nick Foligno closing his hand on the puck at 18:56, resulting in 39 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play for Boston.
It did not go well for the Bruins.
Shortly after emerging from the box, Jenner (13) crashed the slot on another breakaway by Anderson and pocketed the rebound to give the Blue Jackets a two-goal lead.
Anderson (15) had the only assist on Jenner’s first goal of the night t 19:54 of the first period and Columbus led, 3-1, heading into the first intermission.
It was the 13th shorthanded goal allowed by the Bruins this season.
The Blue Jackets dominated in shots on goal (13-4), blocked shots (4-1), giveaways (3-2) and face-off win percentage (70-30) entering the second period, while Boston led in hits (9-2).
Both teams had three takeaways each, while the Blue Jackets were 0/1 on the power play. The B’s were 0/2 on the skater advantage after 20 minutes of play.
Cassidy juggled his second and third lines to start the middle frame, but things started to slide almost halfway into the period.
Matt Duchene (29) scored on a backhand pass from Dzingel while sneaking into the slot after Columbus sustained pressure in the attacking zone to make it, 4-1, Blue Jackets.
Dzingel (27) and Anderson (16) had the assists at 7:09 of the second period.
Jenner (14) added his second goal of the night– and his 100th career NHL goal– a minute later with Riley Nash (8) and Foligno (14) receiving credit for the assists.
Columbus led, 5-1, at 8:09 of the second period and Cassidy had watched his crew let down his goaltender enough. It was time for a change, so he pulled Rask in favor of Halak.
Things started to click for the B’s as Marchand (29) answered on the scoreboard at 13:07 of the middle frame.
Charlie McAvoy (18) and Backes (11) notched the assists as Boston pulled to within three goals.
A mere 14 seconds after Marchand’s goal, McAvoy and Artemi Panarin got into a scrap and exchanged fisticuffs for the 1st time this season (and 2nd time in their careers) at 13:21.
As an aside, McAvoy’s last fight (and first of his career) also came against the Blue Jackets last season (against Pierre-Luc Dubois).
McAvoy also picked up an extra minor penalty for slashing, so Cassidy sent Danton Heinen to serve the penalty while the Bruins were shorthanded.
Boston had a little more fight in them– in part because of McAvoy’s actual fight– and sustained an attack as the period ticked by.
Chris Wagner (12) broke free from the Blue Jackets blue liners and slipped the puck past Bobrovsky on a breakaway at 15:36 of the second period.
Heinen (20) had the only assist as the “Mayor of Walpole” made it a two-goal game. Columbus’ lead was whittled down to, 5-3.
Late in the middle frame, Marchand (30) tabbed his second goal of the game off a face-off from point blank.
Bergeron (39) had the only assist and the Bruins trailed, 5-4, at 18:37 of the second period.
Marchand has reached the 30-goal plateau for the 4th consecutive season and has at least 85 points in his last three seasons.
Columbus also only had four skaters on the ice– after a stoppage in play that resulted in a face-off in their own zone– for the goal against.
They wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Heading into the second intermission, Columbus led, 5-4, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 28-17. The Blue Jackets also led in blocked shots (11-5), takeaways (6-4), giveaways (6-3) and face-off win% (70-30).
Boston led in hits (18-9) after 40 minutes of play, while both clubs were 0/2 on the power play entering the third period.
Kampfer cut a rut to the penalty box for slashing Anderson at 1:43 of the third period, but the Blue Jackets did not convert on the ensuing power play.
Panarin slashed Torey Krug at 10:08, but Boston didn’t capitalized on the skater advantage. Despite nearly completing a comeback in the second period– the Bruins failed to score in the final frame.
Heinen hooked David Savard at 10:49 of the third period and Columbus went back on the power play.
Late on the ensuing advantage, Werenski (10) wired a shot into the twine from the point past Halak after the Bruins nearly capitalized on a couple quality shorthanded chances.
Panarin (49) and Anderson (17) notched the assists on Werenski’s goal at 12:21 of the third period and the Blue Jackets led, 6-4.
With less than 90 seconds left in regulation, Cassidy pulled Halak for an extra attacker to no avail.
Jenner (15) completed his first career hat trick with a shot at the empty net from his own end at 19:13. Nash (9) and Werenski (30) had the assists and the Blue Jackets led, 7-4.
Columbus finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-31), blocked shots (13-8), giveaways (7-5) and face-off win% (64-36).
The Blue Jackets went 1/4 on the skater advantage.
Boston finished Tuesday night leading in hits (22-18) and went 0/3 on the power play.
The Bruins are currently 0-2-0 on their three-game road trip that wraps up Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets. Boston returns home to face the Blue Jackets on Saturday before hitting the road against next Tuesday (March 19th) against the New York Islanders.
After the B’s take on the Isles, they swing through New Jersey on March 21st, Florida on March 23rd and Tampa on March 25th.
The DTFR Duo honors Ted Lindsay, addresses a potential outdoor game hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes, talk John Tavares’ “welcome” back to Long Island, can’t figure out the Ottawa Senators coaching change circus and more.
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An incredible pass from Jake DeBrusk to David Krejci harpooned the Carolina Hurricanes’ chances of emerging victorious– clad in Hartford Whalers throwback sweaters– at TD Garden on Tuesday as the Boston Bruins won, 4-3, in overtime.
Jaroslav Halak (18-9-4 record, 2.31 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 33 games played) made 34 saves on 37 shots against for a .919 SV% in the overtime win for the Bruins.
Carolina goaltender, Curtis McElhinney (17-7-2, 2.31 GAA, .921 SV% in 26 GP) stopped 34 out of 38 shots faced for an .895 SV% in the overtime loss.
Sebastian Aho had two goals for the Hurricanes, while Justin Williams also had a goal for Carolina.
Chris Wagner, DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and Krejci had goals for the B’s.
Boston improved to 40-17-9 (89 points) and remained 2nd in the Atlantic Division standings, while the Hurricanes fell to 36-23-7 (79 points), but remained 3rd in the Metropolitan Division.
Carolina is tied in points with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but leads in regulation-plus-overtime wins (35-34 this season over Pittsburgh).
The Bruins have only dropped three games in regulation since the start of 2019 and have not lost in regulation since Jan. 19th. In fact, since Jan. 1st, the Bruins are 19-3-5 (Carolina is 20-6-2 in that same span).
The B’s are 4-0-0 on their current six-game homestand and 2-0-0 in the month of March. They’re also 8-0-0 in their last eight home games dating back to Feb. 5th.
Kevan Miller remains out of the lineup and is now week-to-week with an upper body injury, while David Pastrnak (left thumb) started skating with a stick in his hands at practice. Pastrnak is closer to a return, but still not yet available for the Bruins.
Sean Kuraly (concussion protocol), in the meantime, is progressing well and should take part in Wednesday’s practice before likely returning to action Thursday night against the Florida Panthers for Boston.
Those updates were provided by B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, prior to Tuesday night’s matchup with the Hurricanes.
Cassidy made no adjustments to his lineup from Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils as Miller (upper body), Pastrnak (left thumb) and Kuraly (concussion protocol) remained out of the lineup due to injury and Steven Kampfer was the only healthy scratch.
Things started to look like an old Adams Division rivalry matchup when Carolina forward Micheal Ferland laid out a massive hit on Bruins winger Marcus Johansson.
Johansson was leveled by the clean hit and nursing his shoulder as he struggled to get up and was helped off the ice by Boston’s athletic trainer, Don DelNegro, about three minutes into the game.
Less than a minute later, David Backes stood up for his fallen teammate and fought Ferland. Both received five-minute major penalties for fighting at 3:53 and Ferland actually left the game with an upper body injury as a result of the fight.
It was Backes’ 3rd fighting major in 54 games this season– including three fights in his last four games.
Things did not settle down after the fisticuffs, however, as both teams exchanged pleasantries during play and after the whistle throughout the remainder of the first period.
Calvin de Haan intentionally fired a shot off of Aho (28) in front of the goal, seeking a deflection and gave the Hurricanes the first lead of the night, 1-0.
Aho’s goal was assisted by de Haan (12) and Trevor van Riemsdyk (11) at 6:30 of the first period.
Having misread the numbers on the back of a Hurricanes sweater, John Moore took out his frustrations less than a minute later on Brock McGinn with a cross check that was penalized at 7:02.
Carolina went on their first power play of the night, but it was short lived after Williams hooked Brandon Carlo at 7:44 of the opening frame.
The soon-to-be abbreviated power play for Boston after Moore’s minor was set to expire didn’t come to fruition as Charlie McAvoy tripped up Warren Foegele during the 4-on-4 action at 8:27.
The Canes still couldn’t convert on the resulting skater advantage and didn’t take full advantage of Boston’s bench minor for too many men on the ice at 13:49.
After 20 minutes of play, the Hurricanes led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, while the Bruins led, 12-11, in shots on goal.
Entering the first intermission, Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3) and giveaways (6-5), while Carolina led in takeaways (6-4) and hits (13-8). Both teams were even in face-off win percentage (50-50), while the Hurricanes were 0/3 on the power play.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsClassic. pic.twitter.com/B2Mzxx7cEo
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) March 6, 2019
Aho (29) had a breakaway about 70 seconds into the second period and pulled Halak far enough out of the crease to expose his five-hole, thereby slipping the puck through the goaltender to give Carolina a two goal lead at 1:10 of the middle frame.
Nino Niederreiter (24) and Justin Faulk (18) tallied the assists on the goal as Aho picked up his eighth point in his last six games.
Prior to trailing, 2-0, on Tuesday, the last time the Bruins trailed by multiple goals in a game this season was on Jan. 16th.
Moments after the Canes scored, Bergeron tripped up Jaccob Slavin and was assessed a minor infraction at 3:50 of the second period.
Jordan Staal followed up with a slashing penalty of his own against Bergeron at 9:43 and the Bruins went on the power play for the first time of the night. They did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.
Boston did respond in the vulnerable minute after special teams play, however, as Carlo threw the puck on goal to generate a rebound while Wagner (10) collected the garbage in the low slot to but the B’s on the board and cut the lead in half, 2-1.
Carlo (6) had the only assist on the goal at 12:28 of the second period.
Wagner now has four goals in his last nine games for Boston.
Late in the period, Krejci moved the puck through the neutral zone and forced a rebound for DeBrusk (22) to bury behind McElhinney and tie the game, 2-2, at 18:12.
Krejci (41) had the only assist on DeBrusk’s goal.
Through two periods of play, the game was tied, 2-2, while the Bruins led in shots on goal (27-21). Boston also led in blocked shots (9-6), while Carolina led in giveaways (14-11), hits (21-13) and face-off win% (52-48).
Both teams had nine takeaways aside, while the Hurricanes were 0/4 on the power play and the Bruins were 0/1.
The Bruins were again penalized for too many men on the ice at 2:14 of the third period.
While shorthanded, Brad Marchand led a two-on-one with Bergeron, whereby Marchand sent a quick pass over to the 15-year NHL veteran for the one-timer goal from one knee.
Bergeron (23) had given Boston their first lead of the night, 3-2, at 2:45 of the third period while shorthanded. The goal was Boston’s fourth shorthanded goal this season (two for Bergeron and two for Marchand).
Marchand (50) had the only assist on the effort and reached the 50-assist plateau for the 2nd consecutive season.
As for Bergeron, the goal was his 794th career point with the Bruins, putting him in sole command of 6th all-time in Bruins franchise history in points ahead of Wayne Cashman (793 points with Boston).
Next on the list to reach for Bergeron is 5th place, Bobby Orr, who had 888 career points in the spoked-B.
Past the midpoint of the final frame of regulation, Williams (19) sent a shot from the face-off circle to left of Halak past the Bruins goaltender as Halak was deep in the crease and certainly not square enough to the shooter.
Jordan Martinook (6) and Brett Pesce (14) had the assists on Williams’ game-tying goal at 12:17.
At the end of regulation, the game remained tied, 3-3, with shots on goal even at 36-36.
Hurricanes head coach, Rod Brind’Amour sent out Teuvo Teravainen, Staal and Slavin to begin the overtime period, while Cassidy matched Carolina with Charlie oyle, Wagner and Moore.
Almost two minutes into the 3-on-3 overtime period, DeBrusk shook off a Canes defender, then worked a spin move pass over to Krejci as No. 46 in black-and-gold was crashing the slot– catching McElhinney in desperation.
Krejci (16) deked and pocketed the puck in the empty twine with McElhinney fully out of position to give Boston the overtime victory, 4-3.
DeBrusk (12) had the only assist on the goal at 1:46 of overtime.
At the final horn, the Bruins won the game and finished the night leading in shots on goal (38-37), blocked shots (14-9) and giveaways (16-15). Carolina led the night in hits (28-24) and face-off win% (52-49).
The Hurricanes finished the night 0/5 on the power play, while Boston went 0/1.
Boston improved to 8-6 on the season in overtime and Carolina fell to 4-5 in games that end before a shootout– but past regulation– this season.
The Hurricanes’ five-game winning streak was snapped and the club fell to 27-6-3 when scoring first this season as Boston overcame a two-goal deficit to win in overtime.
The Bruins improved to 13-2-4 when tied after two periods this season.
Boston continues their six-game homestand on Thursday against the Florida Panthers. Boston wraps up their homestand with a Saturday night matchup against the Ottawa Senators before traveling to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins Sunday night at PPG Paints Arena.
The B’s take on the Columbus Blue Jackets next Tuesday (March 12th) and Winnipeg Jets next Thursday (March 14th) before returning home to face Columbus on March 16th.
Brad Marchand scored the only goal, while Tuukka Rask picked up his 3rd shutout of the season, in the Boston Bruins’, 1-0, win on Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils.
Rask (22-8-5 record, 2.29 goals against average, .922 save percentage in 36 games played) made 20 saves en route to the shutout– the 44th shutout of his career– for the Bruins, while Mackenzie Blackwood (6-6-0, 2.25 GAA, .931 SV% in 15 GP) made 29 saves on 30 shots against for a .967 SV% in the loss for New Jersey.
Boston improved to 26-4-5 when scoring first this season and 25-1-3 when leading after two periods, while also improving to 3-0-0 on their current six-game homestand.
The Bruins have also earned at least a point in their last 16 games (12-0-4 record in that span), while Rask became the second goaltender in league history to post multiple point streaks of at least 17 decisions (Pete Peeters accomplished the feat with the Philadelphia Flyers over 27 games in 1979-80 and again with the Bruins in 21 games in 1982-83).
The B’s improved to 39-17-8 (87 points) on the season and remain in control of 2nd place in the Atlantic Division standings. Meanwhile, the Devils fell to 25-33-8 (58 points) and are still in the basement (8th place) of the Metropolitan Division.
Bruce Cassidy made one adjustment to his lineup from Thursday night to Saturday night with Sean Kuraly in concussion protocol.
Cassidy placed Peter Cehlarik on the third line left win alongside Charlie Coyle and David Backes, while moving Joakim Nordstrom to Kuraly’s spot on the fourth line with Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner.
Kuraly (concussion protocol) joined Kevan Miller (upper body) and David Pastrnak (left thumb) as the only Bruins injured and out of the lineup on Saturday, while Steven Kampfer remained Boston’s only healthy scratch.
Kenny Agostino bumped into Rask at 2:23 of the first period and was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for goaltender interference, yielding a power play for the Bruins.
It only took 14 seconds on the ensuing power play for Boston to strike.
Jake DeBrusk knocked a puck out of the air to Patrice Bergeron, who sent a pass along to Brad Marchand (27) for the blocker side wrist shot past Blackwood.
Bergeron (37) and DeBrusk (11) had the assists on the game’s only goal at 2:37 of the first period.
With his assist on the goal, Bergeron tied Wayne Cashman for 6th all-time in points (793) in Bruins franchise history.
Almost midway through the first period, while Marchand was on a breakaway, Damon Severson hooked the Bruins winger in a last-ditch effort that resulted in a penalty shot.
Marchand was denied by Blackwood and fell to four-for-seven in his career on penalty shots at 7:16 of the opening frame.
Late in the period, Brandon Carlo took a quick trip to the box for slashing Michael McLeod at 16:52, but the Devils did not convert on the resulting skater advantage.
After one period of play, Boston led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 13-10. The B’s also led in giveaways (4-2) and face-off win percentage (53-47), while New Jersey held the advantage in blocked shots (6-5), takeaways (6-4) and hits (12-8).
The Devils were 0/1 on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/1 heading into the second period.
The only event on the scoresheet in the middle frame was a penalty against Boston at 15:15 of the second period. Cehlarik was guilty of tripping recent new Devils acquisition, Connor Carrick, and served a two-minute minor in the penalty box.
Through 40 minutes of play, the B’s still led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 23-14. New Jersey maintained an advantage in blocked shots (9-8), takeaways (9-7) and hits (24-16), while the Bruins led in giveaways (9-5) and both teams were even in face-off win% (50-50).
The Devils were 0/2 on the skater advantage, while Boston was still 1/1 on the power play heading into the second intermission.
There were no penalties and no scoring in the third period, resulting in New Jersey pulling their goaltender with about 1:32 remaining in regulation, then using their timeout with 37.4 seconds left after a stoppage in play.
Time expired as the Bruins struggled to find an empty net goal and the Devils maintained pressure in the attacking zone in the closing seconds.
Boston had defeated New Jersey, 1-0, on a goal in the first three minutes of the game.
The Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal (30-20) and giveaways (14-5), while the Devils wrapped up Saturday night’s action with the lead in blocked shots (14-12), hits (30-22) and face-off win% (58-42).
The Bruins continue their six-game homestand on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes will be wearing their Hartford Whalers throwbacks. Boston takes on the Florida Panthers next Thursday (March 7th) and the Ottawa Senators next Saturday (March 9th) before hitting the road to Pittsburgh on March 10th.
After receiving 15 stitches after taking a puck to the mouth on Tuesday, Noel Acciari scored the eventual game-winning goal in the third period Thursday night, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, at TD Garden.
For the first time in league history, two teams met in the midst of a 14-game point streak. Tampa entered the night on a franchise record, 10-game, winning streak.
Tuukka Rask (21-8-5 record, 2.36 goals against average, .920 save percentage in 35 games played) made 20 saves on 21 shots against for a .952 SV% in the win.
Lightning goaltender, Louis Domingue (19-5-0, 2.92 GAA, .908 SV% in 24 GP) stopped 37 out of 41 shots faced for a .902 SV% in the loss.
The Bruins improved to 38-17-9 (85 points) on the season and remained in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division standings behind their Thursday night opponent, the Lightning, who fell to 49-12-4 (102 points) and remained in control of the Atlantic.
Boston improved to 25-4-5 when scoring first this season and 24-1-3 when leading after two periods. The B’s are 11-0-4 in their last 15 games and went without a loss in regulation in the month of February for just the 9th time in franchise history.
The last time Boston went without a regulation loss in one month’s time was in November 2011.
The Bruins finished February with an 11-0-2 record.
Kevan Miller (upper body) and David Pastrnak (left thumb) remained out of the lineup as Bruce Cassidy kept his lines the same from Tuesday night’s, 4-1, win over the San Jose Sharks.
Peter Cehlarik and Karson Kuhlman were recalled on emergency basis on Wednesday, but re-assigned back to the Providence Bruins (AHL) by puck drop Thursday night.
Steven Kampfer was the only healthy scratch for Boston with Miller and Pastrnak out due to injury.
Early in the first period, after taking a cross check into the frame of the net, David Backes dropped the gloves and went square dancing with Adam Erne.
It was Backes’ second fight in the last two games as both players were assessed five-minute major penalties for fighting at 2:54 of the opening frame.
Neither team could buy a goal or a penalty in the first period, as the Bruins and Lightning went back to their respective dressing rooms for the first intermission, tied, 0-0.
The B’s led Tampa in shots on goal (17-4), while the Bolts led Boston in blocked shots (8-2), takeaways (6-2), giveaways (4-3), hits (14-7) and face-off win percentage (58-42).
Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, was assessed a two-minute minor infraction for cross checking Tyler Johnson at 4:54 of the second period.
The Bolts did not convert on the ensuing power play.
Almost midway through the middle frame, Victor Hedman was sent to the penalty box for interference at 8:11.
While on the power play, Bruins winger, Jake DeBrusk (21) ripped a wrist shot off of Lightning defender, Anton Stralman, and through Domingue’s five-hole to score the game’s first goal and give Boston the lead, 1-0, at 8:43 of the second period.
Torey Krug (39) and Rask (2) were credited with the primary and secondary assists.
Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 32-9, in shots on goal.
That’s right, Boston only allowed nine shots against entering the second intermission against the best team in the NHL– and even outshot the Bolts, 15-5, in the second period alone.
Tampa led in blocked shots (14-11), takeaways (9-5), giveaways (9-6) and hits (24-15), while the Bruins led in face-off win% (52-48).
The Lightning were 0/1 on the power play, while the B’s went 1/1 on the skater advantage heading into the third period.
Almost midway through the final frame of regulation, Hedman took a skate to the sin bin for the second time of the night for tripping Acciari at 9:29.
In the vulnerable minute after the ensuing power play, Chris Wagner sent a shot off of Domingue’s pads, generating a rebound, whereby Acciari (3) buried the loose puck in on the far side of the twine.
Boston led, 2-0, at 11:47 of the third period thanks to Acciari’s goal.
Wagner (6) had the only assist, but the Bruins were not done scoring.
Less than a minute later, Patrice Bergeron (22) received a pass from Danton Heinen and let go of a shot from the bumper through the five-hole of the Lightning goaltender to put the B’s ahead, 3-0, on two goals in a span of 45 seconds.
Heinen (14) and Acciari (5) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s goal at 12:32 of the third period.
Prior to Bergeron’s goal, Domingue had stopped 36 out of 37 shots against.
Brad Marchand (26) completed Boston’s run of four unanswered goals– including three goals in a span of 1:28– with a breakaway goal at 13:15.
Heinen (15) and Krug (40) notched the assists as the Bruins led, 4-0.
Almost 40 seconds later, Anthony Cirelli (13) tipped in a shot from the point by Ondrej Palat after the Tampa forward kept the puck in the offensive zone for the Bolts.
Palat (20) had the only assist on Cirelli’s goal at 13:52, as the Lightning trailed, 4-1.
Almost a minute later, Hedman hooked Charlie Coyle and went to the box for the third time of the night at 14:30.
Boston’s ensuing power play was cut short when Charlie McAvoy hooked Cedric Paquette at 15:54, resulting in 37 seconds of 4-on-4 action before an abbreviated power play for the Bolts.
Late in the third, Matt Grzelcyk cross checked J.T. Miller and was assessed an infraction at 17:59.
Tampa did not score on the ensuing power play.
With about 90 seconds remaining in the game, Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was not successful as time expired in the action.
Boston completed the, 4-1, victory and snapped Tampa’s 10-game winning streak.
The Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal (41-21), while the Lightning led in blocked shots (16-12), giveaways (16-7) and hits (35-22).
Both teams went 50-50 in face-off win%, while the Bolts went 0/3 on the skater advantage. The B’s finished 1/3 on the power play Thursday night.
Heinen (two assists), Krug (two assists) and Acciari (one goal, one assist) each had two points in the effort, while Tampa fell to 6-3 on the second night of back-to-back games this season.
Boston meets with Tampa two more times in the regular season, including once more in Tampa on March 25th and for their final game of the regular season at TD Garden on April 6th.
The Bruins kick off the month of March with the continuation of their six-game homestand on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. Next Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes visit the B’s and will be wearing their Hartford Whalers throwbacks.
Boston takes on the Florida Panthers next Thursday (March 7th) and the Ottawa Senators that Saturday (March 9th) before hitting the road to Pittsburgh on March 10th.
Down the Frozen River 
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