Down the Frozen River

Tag: Charlie Coyle

  • Maple Leafs jump out to, 1-0, series lead in Boston

    Mitch Marner had a pair of goals in the Toronto Maple Leafs’, 4-1, victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Game 1 of their 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup on Thursday.

    Frederik Andersen (1-0-0 record, 1.00 goals against average, .974 save percentage in one game played this postseason) made 37 saves on 38 shots against in the win for Maple Leafs.

    Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (0-1-0, 3.05 GAA, .906 SV% in one GP this postseason) stopped 29 out of 32 shots faced in the loss.

    Toronto leads the series, 1-0, and is 1-0 this postseason, while Boston is 0-1.

    The two clubs are meeting in the playoffs for the 3rd time since 2013, Bruins prevailing in seven games in 2013 and 2018 over the Leafs.

    Boston re-assigned Anton Blidh, Trent Frederic, Jeremy Lauzon and Zach Senyshyn to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Sunday ahead of their 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup after utilizing the group of forwards to rest their veteran players for the series against the Leafs.

    Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) and John Moore (upper body) remain day-to-day, but continue to skate on their own after practice. Kevan Miller (lower body) remains unavailable and inactive.

    Bruce Cassidy revealed his lines for the B’s ahead of Thursday’s game, leaving Karson Kuhlman on the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, while moving Danton Heinen to the third line with Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle.

    Cassidy also kept Joakim Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner together on his fourth line, while scratching David Backes.

    On defense, with Miller and Moore out of the lineup, Cassidy inserted Connor Clifton on the right side of the third pair with Matt Grzelcyk.

    Steven Kampfer was the only defender that was a healthy scratch for the B’s.

    Midway through the opening frame, William Nylander caught Clifton with a high-stick and was assessed a two-minute minor penalty at 8:55 of the first period.

    Less than a minute into the ensuing power play, Boston worked the puck around the offensive zone as Brad Marchand connected with Patrice Bergeron (1) to give the Bruins the lead, 1-0, at 9:31 of the first period.

    Marchand (1) and Torey Krug (1) collected the assists on Bergeron’s power play goal as Marchand faked a shot and slid a pass across the ice to a wide-open Bergeron, forcing Andersen to play catch up.

    With the goal, the current longest-tenured alternate captain in the NHL (Bergeron) now has four goals and eight assists (12 points) in his last eight playoff games against Toronto.

    Late in the period, Marner (1) tied the game, 1-1, as the Maple Leafs pounced on an erratic face-off in the attacking zone, first tipping the puck off the near post, then banking it off a body in front of the Bruins net and into the twine.

    Jake Muzzin (1) and John Tavares (1) were credited with the primary and secondary assists, respectively, at 16:44.

    After 20 minutes of play, the score was tied, 1-1, with the Maple Leafs leading in shots on goal (10-8), as well as takeaways (7-5), giveaways (6-5), hits (17-14) and face-off win percentage (58-42).

    Boston led in blocked shots (4-2) and was 1/1 on the power play entering the first intermission. Toronto had yet to see any time on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

    Early in the middle frame, Kasperi Kapanen caught DeBrusk with a high-stick and took a trip to the penalty box with a minor penalty at 2:16 of the second period.

    The B’s failed to convert on the resulting skater advantage and allowed a shorthanded breakaway that nearly resulted in a goal for Marner.

    Instead, DeBrusk tripped Marner as the Leafs winger reached the crease and rewarded Marner with a penalty shot at 2:47.

    Marner (2) scored his second goal of the game– a shorthanded penalty shot goal– after getting Rask to commit to the poke check, pulling the puck around the Boston netminder and pocketing it into the mostly open twine.

    No. 16 in blue-and-white became just the 5th player in NHL history to score a shorthanded penalty shot goal in the playoffs and the first Toronto player to convert on the penalty shot since Mats Sundin did so against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 4 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Final on May 29, 1999.

    Late in the period, Nylander (1) scored off the paddle of Rask’s stick and through the Bruins goaltender’s five-hole after receiving a stretch pass from Nazem Kadri and breaking into the zone all alone.

    Kadri (1) and Patrick Marleau (1) notched the assists on Nylander’s goal and the Maple Leafs led, 3-1, at 18:25.

    Through two periods of play, Toronto led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and in blocked shots (8-7), takeaways (12-6), giveaways (9-5) and hits (25-21).

    Boston led in shots on goal (29-24– including a, 21-14, advantage in the second period alone) and face-off win% (52-48) entering the third period.

    The B’s were also 1/2 on the power play after 40 minutes of action.

    Midway through the final frame, Zdeno Chara was penalized for interference against Marleau to the displeasure of the Boston crowd– despite the obvious infraction– at 11:45 of the third period.

    Toronto did not convert on their only power play opportunity of the night.

    With 2:37 remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker. About a minute later, after a stoppage in play, Cassidy used his timeout to draw up a plan to score at least one goal and cut into Toronto’s two-goal lead.

    Things didn’t go as planned for the Bruins.

    After winning a face-off in the neutral zone, Boston bungled a pass that was quickly intercepted by Tavares (1) as the Leafs center went on to bury the puck in the empty goal frame, icing the win, 4-1, for Toronto at 18:41 of the third period.

    Tavares’ first postseason goal as a Maple Leaf was unassisted.

    At the final horn, Toronto took the, 1-0, series lead with a, 4-1, victory on road ice, despite finishing the night trailing in shots on goal, 38-33.

    The Maple Leafs finished Thursday night leading in blocked shots (14-11), giveaways (12-7) and hits (33-31), while both teams were 50-50 in face-off win%.

    Boston went 1/2 on the power play and Toronto went 0/1 on the skater advantage.

    In their four regular season meetings, the team that scored the game’s first goal went on to win all four games. On Thursday, the team that scored the game’s first goal lost.

    Welcome to the postseason. It’s a whole new [hockey] game.

    Game 2 is Saturday night at TD Garden with puck drop expected shortly after 8 p.m. ET. Viewers can tune into NBC, CBC or TVAS.

  • Bolts tie 1995-96 Red Wings, win, 6-3, in Boston

    The Tampa Bay Lightning tied an NHL record for the most wins in a season (62, set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings) with their, 6-3, victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon.

    Legendary Red Wings captain and former Lightning General Manager, Steve Yzerman can technically lay claim to being part of both seasons, as he was responsible for the makeup of Tampa’s roster before current Bolts GM Julien BriseBois took over prior to the start of the 2018-19 regular season (Yzerman stepped down citing a desire to spend more time with family).

    Edward Pasquale (2-1-0 record, 3.96 goals against average, .882 save percentage in three games played) made 30 saves on 33 shots against for a .909 SV% in the win for the Lightning.

    Tuukka Rask (27-13-5, 2.48 GAA, .912 SV% in 46 GP) stopped 16 out of 21 shots faced in the loss for the B’s.

    Boston fell to 49-24-9 (107 points) on the season, but already clinched 2nd place in the Atlantic Division prior to Saturday’s loss.

    Tampa improved to 62-16-4 (128 points) and finished 1st in the Atlantic Division (as well as the entire NHL, finishing with the 4th most points in league history).

    Bruce Cassidy rested some players on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild and did so once again against the Lightning on Saturday, sitting Brandon Carlo, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, Noel Acciari, Brad Marchand, while Chris Wagner (lower body), John Moore (upper body), Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) and Kevan Miller (lower body) missed Saturday’s action due to injury.

    Moore and Kuraly are likely to miss Game 1 of Boston’s First Round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but will otherwise be considered day-to-day.

    Miller is expected to participate in full practice on Monday.

    With all the scratches for Saturday, Anton Blidh and Jeremy Lauzon were recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) ahead of Saturday’s matinee.

    Cassidy kept Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and David Pastrnak as his top line with Marcus Johansson, Charlie Coyle— suiting up in his 500th career NHL game– and Zach Senyshyn rounding out his top-six forwards.

    Blidh skated on the left wing of the third line, centered by Trent Frederic with David Backes at right wing.

    Danton Heinen, Joakim Nordstrom and Karson Kuhlman filled out the fourth line for Boston.

    On defense, Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy returned as the first defensive pair after both defenders got the night off in Minnesota.

    Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton made up the second pair on the blue line and Lauzon suited up alongside Steven Kampfer.

    Prior to puck drop, the Bruins honored several of their players with end of season awards.

    DeBrusk was named the 2018-19 Eddie Shore Award winner, presented by the “Gallery Gods” for exceptional hustle and determination.

    Marchand was named the 2018-19 Elizabeth Dufresne Award winner, determined by the Boston Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for outstanding performance during home games.

    Chara won the 2018-19 John P. Bucyk Award, chosen by John Bucyk himself for the greatest off-ice charitable contributions during the season.

    Finally, Pastrnak (Third Star), Bergeron (Second Star) and Marchand (First Star) took home the end of season Bruins Three Stars (top performers at home games in 2018-19), chosen by 98.5 The Sports Hub– the flagship radio station of Boston Bruins radio broadcasts.

    In addition to the season awards, Rask was honored for breaking the Bruins franchise record for most wins by a goaltender on Feb. 3rd in Washington and presented with a painting. He has 265 career NHL wins in 495 career appearances (all with Boston).

    Krejci (20) opened the scoring at 14:38 of the first period after batting a loose puck out of the air and into the twine to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead.

    How did it happen?

    McAvoy tried to work a pass over to Krejci on a two-on-one, but Braydon Coburn denied the passing lane, yielding a rebound off his body back to McAvoy for the forward progression towards the goal, whereby Krejci swatted the puck out of the air and into the net behind Pasquale.

    Krejci’s goal was assisted by McAvoy (21) and Pastrnak (42). The goal also gave Boston their fifth 20-goal scorer this season (Pastrnak, 38, Marchand, 36, Bergeron, 32, DeBrusk, 27 and Krejci, 20).

    Late in the period, Heinen (11) sent a wrist shot past Pasquale while Kuhlman was screening the Lightning goaltender to make it, 2-0, Bruins at 19:40.

    Kampfer (3) recorded the only assist on the goal.

    Entering the first intermission, Boston led on the scoreboard, 2-0, and in shots on goal, 11-7. The B’s also led in blocked shots (6-4), takeaways (6-4) and hits (10-9), while the Bolts led in giveaways (4-3) and face-off win percentage (83-17).

    Neither team had yet to see any action on the skater advantage entering the second period.

    Early in the second period, Nordstrom slashed Steven Stamkos and sent the Lightning on the game’s first power play of the afternoon at 2:48.

    In the waning seconds of the power play, Erik Cernak (5) cut the lead in half, 2-1, with a power play goal at 4:41 of the second period.

    J.T. Miller (33) and Yanni Gourde (26) tallied the assists and Tampa started swinging momentum in their favor.

    Coburn later high-sticked Nordstrom at 12:44 and presented the Bruins with their first power play of the day, but things did not go well on the skater advantage.

    For the (league leading) 15th time this season, Boston allowed a shorthanded goal against after Stamkos (45) scooped up the puck and broke into the Lightning’s offensive zone on his own and beat Rask through the five-hole to tie the game, 2-2, at 12:52.

    Worse, the Bruins butchered an attempt to clear the puck out of their own zone moments later and Anthony Cirelli (19) let go of a shot from the face-off circle that deflected off of Heinen’s stick past the Boston netminder.

    Miller (34) and Coburn (19) had the assists on Cirelli’s goal at 16:59 and Tampa led, 3-2, for the first time of the afternoon.

    Boston challenged the call on the ice for goaltender interference, as Alex Killorn had briefly ventured into Rask’s crease, but the call on the ice was not overturned as Killorn did not inhibit Rask’s ability to make a save.

    Cassidy lost his timeout as a result of the failed challenge and the score remained, 3-2, for the Lightning.

    After Mathieu Joseph delivered a hit on Krejci late in the period, Pastrnak took exception to Joseph’s efforts and offered to exchange fisticuffs.

    Instead, Pastrnak received a two-minute minor for roughing at 17:47. Tampa did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Lightning led, 3-2, on the scoreboard and, 18-17, in shots on goal (including an, 11-6, advantage in the second period alone).

    Boston held onto the advantage in blocked shots (8-5) and takeaways (7-6), while Tampa led in giveaways (8-5), hits (22-18) and face-off win% (68-32) after two periods.

    The Bolts were 1/2 on the power play and the B’s were 0/1 heading into the third period.

    Less than a minute into the third period, Nikita Kucherov (41) wrong-footed Rask and scored on the backhand after breaking through Boston’s defense.

    Ryan McDonagh (37) had the only assist on Kucherov’s goal 53 seconds into the third period and the Lightning led, 4-2.

    With the goal, Kucherov tied, Alexander Mogilny for the most points in a season by a Russian born player (set in 1992-93). He would later add another point in the form of an assist to set the new record for the most points (128) by a Russian born player in a single season.

    Tyler Johnson tripped Clifton at 5:12 and the Bruins went on the power play for their second time of the afternoon. Tampa’s penalty kill matched Boston’s power play efforts and the B’s were not able to capitalize on the skater advantage.

    After Clifton delivered a clean hip-check on Joseph, Joseph retaliated and initiated a scrum in front of the benches about a minute later, resulting in matching minor penalties for cross-checking at 13:04 by Backes (against McDonagh) and Joseph (against Clifton).

    Cernak and Frederic each received a ten-minute misconduct and were sent to their respective dressing rooms early.

    While even strength at 4-on-4, Grzelcyk (3) sent a one-timer top-shelf past Pasquale to bring the Bruins to within one-goal at 14:03 of the third period.

    Pastrnak (43) and Krejci (53) recorded the assists and Boston trailed, 4-3.

    With the secondary assist on Grzelcyk’s goal, Krejci tied a career-high in points (73) set in 2008-09.

    Just 13 seconds after Grzelcyk pulled his team to within one, Coburn (4) floated a shot glove side from the blue line past Rask to make it, 5-3, Lightning at 14:16.

    Cirelli (20) and Girardi (12) tallied the assists on the goal.

    With 2:56 remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail.

    Johnson (29) collected the empty net goal for the Bolts at 18:34 and made it an insurmountable, 6-3, lead for the Lightning.

    Ondrej Palat (26) and Kucherov (87) had the assists on Johnson’s goal and Kucherov set the all-time record for points in a season by a Russian born player (41-87–128 totals).

    At the final horn, the President’s Trophy winning, Tampa Bay Lightning finished the 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, Boston Bruins, 6-3, at TD Garden.

    Boston finished the afternoon leading in shots on goal (33-22– including a, 16-4, advantage in the third period alone) and blocked shots (9-8), while Tampa ended the afternoon leading in takeaways (10-9), giveaways (14-8), hits (27-25) and face-off win% (64-36).

    The Bolts finished Saturday afternoon 1/3 on the power play and the B’s went 0/2.

    The Bruins fell to 34-7-5 when scoring first this season and 2-1-0 in the month of April, while only losing ten games in regulation since Jan. 1st.

  • Lightning at Bruins Preview: 4/6/2019

    The Boston Bruins (49-23-9, 107 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) close out their 2018-19 regular season on home ice at TD Garden against the Tampa Bay Lightning (61-16-4, 126 points, 1st in the Atlantic Division) Saturday afternoon.

    Boston is looking to even the season series (1-2-0) against the Lightning after losing, 3-2, in Tampa on Dec. 6th, winning, 4-1, in Boston on Feb. 28th and allowing three unanswered goals in the third period of March 25th’s, 5-4, loss at Amalie Arena.

    The Bolts are seeking to tie an NHL record set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a season (62), while the B’s are looking to finish the season with at least 50 wins in consecutive seasons since they did so from 1970-71 to 1973-74.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters prior to Saturday’s matinee meeting with Tampa that none of his players willingly wanted to come out of the lineup in Thursday night’s, 3-0, shutout of the Minnesota Wild or Saturday.

    Having already clinched home ice in the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Cassidy will role with Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and David Pastrnak on his first line, while Marcus Johansson, Charlie Coyle and Zach Senyshyn will fill out the rest of the top-six forwards.

    Anton Blidh and Jeremy Lauzon were recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) ahead of Saturday’s game and will suit up for Boston while some of the veterans get the afternoon off.

    Blidh will be the third line left wing with Trent Frederic at center and David Backes on the right wing and Lauzon will be paired with Steven Kampfer on the third defensive pairing.

    Danton Heinen, Joakim Nordstrom and Karson Kuhlman will comprise the fourth line against the Lightning.

    Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy return to the action after resting on Thursday. They will be the first defensive pairing, but likely not see much ice time, while Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton anchor the second pair on the blue line for Boston.

    Chris Wagner (lower body), Brandon Carlo (healthy scratch), John Moore (upper body), Patrice Bergeron (healthy scratch), Torey Krug (healthy scratch), Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand), Noel Acciari (healthy scratch), Brad Marchand (healthy scratch) and Kevan Miller (lower body) will all be out against the Bolts.

    Kuraly skated on his own at TD Garden on Saturday morning and Miller is expected to participate at full practice on Monday.

    Tuukka Rask (27-12-5 record, 2.42 goals against average, .915 save percentage in 45 games played) will get the final start of the regular season for Boston.

    Tampa head coach, Jon Cooper, is without the services of Louis Domingue (lower body, day-to-day) and Victor Hedman (upper body, day-to-day) against the Bruins.

    Edward Pasquale (1-1-0, 4.43 GAA, .870 SV% in two games played) will tend the net for the Lightning.

  • Halak leads Bruins to, 3-0, shutout over Wild

    Joakim Nordstrom scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second period en route to the Boston Bruins’, 3-0, shutout of the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

    Jaroslav Halak (22-11-4 record, 2.34 goals against average, .922 save percentage in 40 games played) made 26 saves on 26 shots against for his 5th shutout of the season (37th of his career) in the win for Boston.

    Meanwhile, Wild goaltender, Alex Stalock (6-7-3, 2.99 GAA, .896 SV% in 20 GP) stopped 32 out of 34 shots faced for a .941 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 49-23-9 (107 points) on the season and have already clinched 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. The Wild fell to 37-35-9 (83 points) and remain 6th in the Central Division– already eliminated from postseason contention.

    Boston improved to 20-15-6 on the road this season and 28-9-5 since Jan. 1st with the win.

    With two games left in the regular season entering Thursday and a First Round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to prepare for, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy rested Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Charlie McAvoy and sat them out of the lineup.

    Chris Wagner (lower body) also missed Thursday night’s action, while John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) remain week-to-week.

    Zach Senyshyn and Trent Frederic were recalled on emergency basis from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Wednesday.

    Senyshyn made his NHL debut for the B’s Thursday night and was placed on the second line right wing with Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle.

    Cassidy left Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak as his first line, but did not play them much.

    Meanwhile, Danton Heinen returned from an illness on Tuesday and took the ice on the third line left wing with Frederic down the middle and Karson Kuhlman on the right side.

    Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and David Backes remained the usual suspects on the fourth line.

    With Chara and McAvoy out of the lineup, Cassidy slid every defender on the depth chart up a pairing.

    Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo were the first pair, Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller were the second pair and Steven Kampfer suited up alongside Connor Clifton as the latter two defenders returned to the lineup after serving as healthy scratches on Tuesday in Columbus.

    There were no penalties and there was no scoring in the first period as Senyshyn became the 7th Bruin to make his NHL debut this season and Cassidy kicked off his 300th game as an NHL head coach.

    After one period, Minnesota held the advantage in shots on goal (9-8), blocked shots (5-4), takeaways (2-1), giveaways (3-0) and hits (7-4), while Boston led in face-off win percentage (53-47).

    Both clubs had yet to see time on the skater advantage entering the first intermission.

    The B’s had an injury scare 20 seconds into the 2nd period as Miller collided with Jordan Greenway and slid into the lower portion of the boards without being able to brace for impact. Miller left the game briefly to return later in the period, but did not return for the third period.

    Cassidy indicated Miller has a lower body injury, but should be good to go on Saturday.

    Midway through the period, Grzelcyk fired a shot that caromed off the end boards as Acciari worked the puck from the rebound to Nordstrom in front of the goal.

    Nordstrom (7) fired a shot past Stalock and the Bruins led, 1-0, at 8:21 of the second period.

    Acciari (8) and Grzelcyk (15) tallied the assists on the goal.

    Late in the period, Luke Kunin cross checked Clifton and was assessed a minor penalty at 14:54. Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 26-18, in shots on goal (including an, 18-9, advantage in the second period alone).

    The Wild led in blocked shots (13-4), takeaways (7-5), giveaways (4-1) and hits (13-8) after two periods, while Boston continued to lead in face-off win% (52-48).

    Minnesota had yet to see any time on the power play, but Boston was 0/1 entering the third period.

    Kunin exchanged pleasantries early in the third period with Carlo and the two received matching roughing minors at 1:58.

    Almost four minute later, Clifton was penalized for interference at 5:44 of the third period and the Wild went on the power play for their first time of the night.

    Minnesota failed to capitalized on their only skater advantage opportunity of the game.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, Brad Hunt picked up an interference minor and the B’s went back on the power play at 11:30. Boston’s power play was unsuccessful.

    Moments later, after DeBrusk brought the puck deep into the offensive zone, No. 74 in black and gold flipped the rubber biscuit through the slot on a backhand pass to Pastrnak (38) for the two-goal lead.

    DeBrusk (15) and Carlo (8) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s goal at 17:15 and the Bruins led, 2-0.

    With almost two minutes remaining in regulation, Bruce Boudreau pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker as the Wild tried to even things up in their final home game of the season.

    Things did not go as planned.

    Less than a minute after Pastrnak’s goal, Senyshyn (1) received a pass from Johansson and buried the puck on the empty net to make it an insurmountable three-goal lead at 17:51.

    Johansson (17) and Kampfer (2) were credited with the assists as the Bruins led, 3-0, in Kampfer’s 200th career NHL game.

    At the final horn, Boston won the game, 3-0, and finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-26) and face-off win% (54-46). Minnesota wrapped up their last home game of the 2018-19 season leading in blocked shots (15-14), giveaways (7-3) and hits (18-13).

    The B’s were 0/2 on the power play and the Wild finished Thursday night 0/1 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins finish the 2018-19 regular season at home on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Boston will host the Maple Leafs in the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Games 1 and 2 (5 and 7, if necessary).

  • Bruins at Wild Preview: 4/4/2019

    For the last time in the regular season, the Boston Bruins (48-23-9, 105 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) enter a matchup as the road team as they take on the Minnesota Wild (37-34-9, 83 points, 6th in the Central Division) at Xcel Energy Center Thursday night.

    The Bruins have lost nine games in regulation since Jan. 1st and are 19-15-6 on the road this season, coming off a, 6-2, victory in Columbus on Tuesday.

    Boston wraps up their three-game road trip (1-1-0) against the Wild before heading home for a Saturday afternoon matinee battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    The Bruins beat Minnesota, 4-0, on Jan. 8th at TD Garden earlier this season.

    Bruce Cassidy indicated to reporters that the B’s will rest Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy ahead of their First Round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    As such, Chara, Krejci, Marchand and McAvoy join Chris Wagner (lower body), Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) and John Moore (upper body) out of the lineup against Minnesota on Thursday.

    Trent Frederic and Zach Senyshyn were recalled on emergency basis on Wednesday with the expectation that both would be ready to go against the Wild.

    Senyshyn, in fact, will be making his NHL debut for the Bruins since being drafted 15th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. The 22-year-old winger has 14-10–24 totals in 62 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL).

    In addition to Frederic and Senyshyn being inserted into the lineup, Danton Heinen will return to action after missing Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jackets due to illness.

    Cassidy is expected to roll with Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak on his first line, with Marcus Johansson, Charlie Coyle and Senyshyn filling out his top-six forwards.

    Heinen, Frederic and Karson Kuhlman took part in the optional skate on the third line prior to Thursday night’s matchup with Joakim Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and David Backes as the usual trio on the fourth line.

    Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo will anchor the first defensive pairing with Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller filling out the second pair.

    Connor Clifton and Steven Kampfer return to the lineup on the third defensive pair after being healthy scratches with Chara and McAvoy resting.

    No Bruins player will have played in all 82 regular season games this season with Krejci out of the lineup on Thursday.

    Jaroslav Halak (21-11-4 record, 2.40 goals against average, .920 save percentage in 39 games played) will get the nod in the crease against the Wild, while Tuukka Rask gets the night off.

    Rask will not get to 30 wins this season– ending his streak of five consecutive seasons with 30-plus wins, a franchise record– for the first time since the lockout shortened, 48-game, 2012-13 season (Rask had 19 wins in 36 games played).

    He has 27 wins in 45 appearances this season.

    Coyle suits up for Boston Thursday night in his first visit Minnesota with his new team since being acquired by the Bruins on Feb. 20th.

    Originally drafted 28th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks, Coyle never played for the Sharks and was traded to the Wild with Devin Setoguchi and San Jose’s 2011 1st round pick (Zack Phillips) at the 2011 NHL Draft in exchange for Brent Burns and Minnesota’s 2012 2nd round pick (later traded to the Tampa Bay, then flipped to the Nashville Predators– Pontus Aberg).

    Coyle amassed 91-151–242 totals in 479 career games with the Wild.

    Ryan Donato and a conditional 2019 5th round pick were sent from Boston to Minnesota in exchange for Coyle back in February, which means Thursday night is also the first time Donato will go against his former club.

    The 22-year-old forward made his NHL debut on March 19, 2018 for the Bruins and scored his first career goal and recorded 1-2–3 totals in his first career game in a, 5-4, overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    Donato had 11 goals and seven assists (18 points) in 46 career games with Boston prior to being traded to the Wild.

    He has 4-12–16 totals in 20 games since the trade.

    Minnesota has sold out 228 consecutive regular season games at Xcel Energey Center and wraps up their 2018-19 season at home on Thursday.

    The Wild suffered a, 5-1, loss to the Winnipeg Jets at home on Tuesday and wrap up their season on the road against the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

    They are 14-6-3 all-time against the Bruins with a 6-2-3 record on home ice in that span.

    Alex Stalock (6-6-3, 3.05 GAA, .893 SV% in 19 GP) will get the start for the Wild, while Devan Dubnyk is expected to serve as Thursday’s backup goaltender.

    The Wild have already been eliminated from postseason contention and missed the playoffs for the first time in the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter Era.

    Parise and Suter signed matching 13-year, $98 million contracts with Minnesota on July 4, 2012.

  • Marchand reaches century mark in B’s, 6-2, win

    The Boston Bruins silenced the cannon at Nationwide Arena with a, 6-2, win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

    Tuukka Rask (27-12-5 record, 2.42 goals against average, .915 save percentage in 45 games played) made 32 saves on 34 shots against for a .915 SV% in the win for the Bruins.

    Blue Jackets goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky (36-24-1, 2.59 GAA, .913 SV% in 61 GP) stopped 19 out of 23 shots faced for a .913 SV% before being replaced by Joonas Korpiaslo (9-7-3, 3.00 GAA, .895 SV% in 26 GP) after allowing four unanswered goals.

    Korpisalo made three saves on five shots against for no decision in relief of Bobrovsky.

    Boston improved to 48-23-9 (105 points) on the season and clinched 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while Columbus fell to 45-31-4 (94 points) on the season and 5th in the Metropolitan Division.

    The Bruins also improved to 19-15-6 on the road this season.

    Bruce Cassidy made one adjustment to his lineup heading into Tuesday night’s action as Danton Heinen (illness) was not ready to go. Instead, Chris Wagner slid in on the third line right wing while Marcus Johansson remained on the left wing of Charlie Coyle.

    Connor Clifton joined Steven Kampfer as Boston’s only healthy scratches, while John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) remain week-to-week.

    Almost two minutes into the action, Jake DeBrusk (26) flung the puck off the top of the net– yes, the top of the net– and hit the rear crossbar before the puck bounced back towards Bobrovsky, off the Blue Jackets goaltender’s back and into the twine to give the Bruins the lead, 1-0.

    David Krejci (51) and Torey Krug (46) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 1:58 of the first period.

    With the primary assist on the goal, Krejci tied his career-high in assists (51) and points (70) set in the 2008-09 season. Krug also set a career-high in assists (46) with the secondary assist on the goal.

    Late in the period, Coyle generated a rebound off Bobrovsky that Johansson (13) buried to give Boston a two-goal lead. Coyle (22) and Wagner (7) tallied the assists on Johansson’s first goal as a Bruin to make it, 2-0, Boston at 17:27 of the first period.

    After one period, the B’s led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 11-8, in shots on goal. Boston also led in blocked shots (5-0) and face-off win percentage (52-48), while Columbus led in takeaways (1-0) and hits (9-6).

    Both teams had one giveaway each and neither team had seen any time on the skater advantage.

    Midway through the second period, Kevan Miller was penalized for boarding Oliver Bjorkstrand at 9:59.

    Columbus’ first power play of the night was shortlived as Alexander Wennberg tripped Zdeno Chara at 10:12 of the second period.

    Both teams spent the next 1:48 at 4-on-4 before the Bruins had a brief abbreviated power play. Neither team converted on the special teams action.

    Late in the middle frame, Brad Marchand (36) made it, 3-0, for the Bruins with an unassisted effort as he followed up and never relented on the play at 15:14.

    Just 46 seconds later, DeBrusk (27) added his second goal of the night on a breakaway at 16:00 of the second period.

    Karson Kuhlman (2) and Krejci (52) tallied the assists on DeBrusk’s goal, leaving Krejci with new career-highs in assists (52) and points (71).

    After DeBrusk made it, 4-0, for Boston, Blue Jackets head coach, John Tortorella, pulled Bobrovsky in place of Korpisalo.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 4-0, on the scoreboard and, 24-17, in shots on goal. The B’s also led in blocked shots (10-4), while Columbus led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (3-1), hits (16-13) and face-off win% (51-49).

    Both teams were 0/1 on the power play entering the third period.

    David Pastrnak (37) made it a five-goal lead for Boston 34 seconds into the third period after Patrice Bergeron sent him in the offensive zone with speed.

    Bergeron (47) and Marchand (64) had the assists on the goal and the Bruins led, 5-0. Marchand’s secondary assist was his 100th point of the season, making him the first Bruin since Joe Thornton to reach the 100-point mark (Thornton notched 100 points in 2002-03 for Boston).

    No. 63 for the black and gold also became the 10th player in franchise history to amass 100 points or more in a season.

    He followed up his historical marker with an interference penalty against former Bruin, Riley Nash, at 4:13 of the third period.

    Columbus capitalized on the power play when Bjorkstrand (22) unloaded a shot from the face-off circle to the left of Rask as Nick Foligno screened the Boston goaltender.

    Seth Jones (37) and Josh Anderson (20) notched the assists at 5:51 of the third period and the Bruins led, 5-1.

    Less than a minute later, Charlie McAvoy caught Anderson with a high-stick and drew some blood at 6:24, yielding a four-minute double-minor penalty.

    Boston killed off the first half of the double-minor with ease, but Matt Duchene (31) snagged a power play goal at 9:14 with a shot from close range as Rask dove across the crease behind the play.

    Artemi Panarin (57) and Cam Atkinson (28) had the assists on Duchene’s goal and the Bruins led, 5-2.

    About a minute later, Kuhlman (3) pounced on an odd puck bounce and answered back in a hurry after DeBrusk whiffed on a one-timer and pocketed the puck in the twine behind Korpisalo while the Columbus netminder was out of position.

    DeBrusk (14) and Krug (47) had the assists on Kuhlman’s goal at 10:28 of the third period and Boston led, 6-2.

    At the sound of the final horn, the Bruins had won, 6-2, and awaited the eventual Carolina Hurricanes’, 4-1, victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto to clinch home ice in the First Round matchup with the Leafs.

    Boston finished the night leading in blocked shots (17-5), while Columbus ended Tuesday night’s action with the advantage in shots on goal (34-28), giveaways (5-2), hits (22-17) and face-off win% (54-46).

    The Blue Jackets went 2/4 on the power play on the night, while the Bruins went 0/1.

    With the win, the B’s improved to 33-6-5 when scoring first this season and 30-3-3 when leading after two periods.

    The Bruins are now 1-1-0 on their three-game road trip.

    Boston visits the Minnesota Wild on Thursday in their last road game of the regular season before hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday to close out the regular season at home.

  • Bruins at Blue Jackets Preview: 4/2/2019

    As the Boston Bruins (47-23-9, 103 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) continue their three-game road trip (0-1-0) with a visit to Nationwide Arena on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets (45-30-4, 94 points, 4th in the Metropolitan Division), they will do so without the services of Danton Heinen in the lineup.

    Heinen is out Tuesday with an illness and will be replaced by Chris Wagner on the third line with Marcus Johnansson at left wing and Charlie Coyle at center.

    Boston enters Columbus 18-15-6 on the road this season– coming off a, 6-3, loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday– tied in the season series, 1-1-0, with the Blue Jackets after suffering a, 7-4, loss on March 12th last time in Columbus and winning, 2-1, in overtime at TD Garden on March 16th.

    The Bruins finished the month of March, 9-6-0, while the Blue Jackets– winners of their last five games– went 9-6-1 last month.

    Columbus returns home Tuesday night after a, 4-0, shutout victory– Sergei Bobrovsky‘s league-leading 9th shutout of the season– over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Sunday.

    The B’s have lost nine games in regulation since Jan. 1st and are looking to clinch home ice in their First Round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a win against Columbus and a loss for Toronto in any fashion against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday or an overtime/shootout loss to the Blue Jackets and the Maple Leafs lose in regulation on Tuesday.

    If Boston doesn’t clinch home ice on Tuesday, their next chance to do so would be Thursday night. More on that as it develops.

    With the exception of Wagner in for Heinen, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, isn’t expected to make any other lineup changes despite the current two-game losing streak Boston is on.

    Connor Clifton and Steven Kampfer remain healthy scratches, while John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (right hand fracture) are still out due to injury.

    Tuukka Rask (26-12-5 record, 2.43 goals against average, .914 save percentage in 44 games played) will get the start in the crease for Boston against Columbus.

    The Blue Jackets can clinch a playoff berth with a win Tuesday night in their final home game of the regular season and a Montreal Canadiens loss in regulation against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Columbus has the tiebreaker in regulation-plus-overtime wins over the Canadiens and Hurricanes with 44 ROWs to Carolina’s 41 and Montreal’s 40 this season.

    Former Bruin, Adam McQuaid (day-to-day), remains out of the lineup for the Blue Jackets since being injured on an interference penalty by Canadiens forward, Andrew Shaw, on March 28th.

    Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak, Eric Robinson, Adam Clendening, Andrew Peeke, Keith Kinkaid and Elvis Merzlikins are all expected to be scratches as well for Columbus against Boston.

    Blue Jackets head coach, John Tortorella, will go with Bobrovsky (36-23-1, 2.55 GAA, .914 SV% in 60 GP) in net as the two clubs close out their regular season series.

  • Mantha’s hat trick sinks Bruins, 6-3, in Detroit

    Anthony Mantha scored his first career hat trick in the midst of a five-point night on Sunday as the Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3, at Little Caesars Arena.

    Mantha became the first Red Wings player to record at least five points in a game against Boston since Steve Yzerman did so on Jan. 14, 1989. Yzerman had two goals and three assists that night.

    Taro Hirose, Filip Hronek and Dylan Larkin also had goals for Detroit, while Jake DeBrusk, Brad Marchand and David Backes scored for the Bruins.

    Red Wings goaltender, Jimmy Howard (22-20-5 record, 3.02 goals against average, .909 save percentage in 52 games played) made 31 saves on 34 shots against for a .912 SV% in the win.

    Meanwhile, B’s netminder, Jaroslav Halak (21-11-4, 2.40 GAA, .920 SV% in 39 GP) stopped 22 out of 27 shots faced (.815 SV%) in the loss.

    Boston fell to 47-23-9 (103 points) on the season, but remained in control of 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. Detroit improved to 31-38-10 (72 points) and crept over the Buffalo Sabres for 6th in the Atlantic (Detroit leads in regulation-plus-overtime wins, 28-26).

    The Red Wings finished the season series with the 2-1-1 advantage.

    Kevan Miller returned to the lineup after missing the last 16 games with an upper body injury and was paired on the third defensive pair with Matt Grzelcyk.

    Connor Clifton joined Steven Kampfer as the only healthy scratches, while Chris Wagner (undisclosed) did not take part in warmups and was replaced with Karson Kuhlman.

    Kuhlman was placed on the second line right wing with DeBrusk and David Krejci, while Marcus Johansson slid down to the third line left wing alongside Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen.

    Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) and John Moore (upper body) remain week-to-week while Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, juggles his lines.

    Six seconds into Sunday night, Torey Krug was penalized for roughing Dylan McIlrath. Detroit did not convert on the ensuing power play, but they did kickstart momentum in their favor.

    Midway through the first period, Mantha (20) fired a one-timer over Halak’s glove on the short side to give the Red Wings the lead, 1-0.

    Larkin (38) and Tyler Bertuzzi (23) had the assists on Mantha’s first goal of the night at 10:26 of the first period.

    A few minutes later, Andreas Athanasiou slashed Krejci and sent the Bruins on their first power play of the night at 13:38. It was unsuccessful and shortly followed by another Boston power play at 17:07 when Christoffer Ehn slashed Backes.

    Grzelcyk cut the B’s skater advantage short when he slashed Athanasiou at 19:04 and the two clubs had three seconds of 4-on-4 action before an abbreviated power play for the Red Wings began.

    As the seconds ticked away, it appeared as though the Bruins would be shorthanded to start the second period until Mantha (21) slapped another one-timer past Halak at 19:59 of the first period.

    Niklas Kronwall (22) and Bertuzzi (24) tallied the assists on Mantha’s power play goal and Detroit led, 2-0, entering the first intermission.

    After one period of play, the Red Wings led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 9-8, in shots on goal. Detroit also held the advantage in blocked shots (6-5), takeaways (2-1), giveaways (7-0) and hits (4-3), while Boston led in face-off win percentage (56-44).

    The Red Wings were 1/2 on the power play entering the second period and the Bruins were 0/2.

    Early in the middle frame, Charlie McAvoy sent Krejci up the ice with DeBrusk on a rush. Krejci sent a lead saucer pass to bring DeBrusk behind the Detroit defense and on his own towards the net, whereby DeBrusk (25) roofed a shot over Howard’s blocker to put the B’s on the scoreboard, 2-1.

    Krejci (49) and McAvoy (20) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 2:01 of the second period.

    McAvoy later sent the puck over the glass and out of play at 8:12 of the second period and received an automatic delay of game penalty.

    Nearing the end of the resulting penalty kill, Brandon Carlo worked the puck up to Marchand as the Bruins winger entered the zone on a two-on-one with Patrice Bergeron.

    Marchand slid the puck over to Bergeron, awaiting a return pass while Bergeron dragged the rubber biscuit around Mantha as the Red Wings forward dove in a desperate attempt to breakup a passing lane.

    Bergeron pulled the puck to his backhand and sent it across the slot for Marchand (35) to blast a one-timer past Howard as the Detroit goaltender slid across the crease.

    The goal was Marchand’s 26th career shorthanded goal and put Marchand in sole possession of the Bruins franchise record for most career shorthanded goals with the club (Rick Middleton is now 2nd with 25).

    Bergeron (46) and Carlo (7) notched the assists on Marchand’s shorthanded goal at 9:50 of the second period.

    About five minutes later, Luke Witkowski skated across the ice and railed Joakim Nordstrom with a huge hit along the boards.

    Noel Acciari took exception to the non-call as Witkowski charged an otherwise unsuspecting Nordstrom and exchanged fisticuffs with the Detroit skater.

    Both players were assessed five-minute majors for fighting, while Acciari picked up an extra minor penalty for instigating and an automatic ten-minute misconduct as a result at 14:24.

    Johansson served Acciari’s minor penalty while the Bruins were shorthanded, but Detroit’s ensuing power play wouldn’t last long as 20 seconds later, Athanasiou was called for interference at 14:44.

    Neither team converted on the ensuing 4-on-4 action and abbreviated skater advantage for Boston thereafter.

    With one minute remaining in the second period, Miller blasted a shot from the point that Backes (7) tipped behind Howard to give the Bruins their first lead of the night, 3-2.

    Miller (7) and Krejci (50) had the assists on Backes’ goal at 19:00 of the second period.

    Krejci reached the 50-assist plateau for the third time in his career (51 assists in 2008-09, 50 assists in 2013-14) with the secondary assist on the goal as Boston carried the, 3-2, lead into the second intermission.

    Both teams were tied in shots on goal, 17-17, and takeaways, 2-2, after 40 minutes of play, while the Bruins led in blocked shots (15-8), hits (9-8) and face-off win% (53-47). The Red Wings led in giveaways (14-2) through two periods.

    Detroit entered the third period 1/4 on the power play, while Boston was 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    DeBrusk was penalized for interference 69 seconds into the third period and sent the Red Wings on the power play. Eight seconds later, Detroit tied the game.

    Mantha (22) completed his first career hat trick on yet another one-timer– this time after Bertuzzi completed the pass through the low slot– and the Red Wings tied the game, 3-3, at 1:17 of the third period.

    Bertuzzi (25) and Athanasiou (21) recorded the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on the goal as the hats were cleaned up off the ice at Little Caesars Arena.

    On the ensuing face-off, Kronwall worked the puck up to Athanasiou through the neutral zone as Athanasiou sped into the attacking zone and dropped a pass back to Hirose (1) for the one-timer from the slot.

    Hirose notched his first career NHL goal and the Red Wings led, 4-3, at 1:25 of the third period.

    Athanasiou (22) and Kronwall (23) had the assists, but Detroit was not done scoring yet.

    Midway through the third, Hronek (5) fired a one-timer from the face-off dot to the right of Halak past the Bruins goaltender and into the twine to make it, 5-3, Red Wings.

    Mantha (22) notched his fourth point of the evening with the only assist on Hronek’s goal at 12:03 of the third period.

    About a minute later, Hirose cut a rut to the penalty box for slashing Coyle at 13:17, but Boston’s power play didn’t capitalize on the skater advantage.

    With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled Halak in favor of an extra attacker.

    At 19:02 of the third period, Larkin (32) put Detroit in command of the, 6-3, victory with an empty net goal that was assisted by Mantha (23) and Hronek (15).

    Upon the sound of the final horn, the Red Wings took home two points in a regulation win, despite trailing the Bruins in shots on goal (34-28), blocked shots (16-14) and face-off win% (52-48), but led in giveaways (16-4).

    Detroit finished Sunday night 2/5 on the skater advantage, while the B’s went 0/4 on the power play.

    Boston finishes the season swinging through Columbus on April 2nd, making a stop in Minnesota on April 4th and wrapping up the regular season on April 6th at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

  • Bruins at Red Wings Preview: 3/31/2019

    The Boston Bruins (47-22-9 record, 103 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) visit the Detroit Red Wings (30-38-10, 70 points, 7th in the Atlantic Division) at Little Caesars Arena for the final time this season on Sunday.

    Boston has points in 17 out of their last 19 meetings against Detroit, amassing a 15-2-2 record in that span. This season, however, the Bruins are 1-1-1 this season against the Red Wings– most recently suffering a, 4-2, loss at TD Garden on Dec. 1st.

    The B’s also lost, 3-2, in overtime at Detroit on Nov. 21st and downed the Red Wings, 8-2, on home ice on Oct. 13th this season.

    As the season shifts its focus to the month of April and the looming 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins look to wrap up the month of March with ten wins. They are 9-5-0 entering Sunday in March, while the Detroit is 7-6-1 this month.

    The Red Wings are coming off a, 4-0, shutout over the New Jersey Devils on Friday, while the Bruins are coming off a, 4-1, loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

    Bruce Cassidy is expected to make some lineup adjustments with Kevan Miller (upper body) returning to Cassidy’s blue line after missing the last 16 games and likely will suit up alongside his teammate, Matt Grzelcyk, on the third defensive pairing.

    As a result of Miller’s return, Connor Clifton will join Steven Kampfer as the only healthy scratches for the B’s on Sunday.

    Karson Kuhlman was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on emergency basis as Boston kicks off a three-game road trip before their final game of the regular season next Saturday at home as Chris Wagner was not on the ice for warmups in Detroit.

    With Wagner likely out of the action against the Red Wings, Kuhlman took rushes alongside Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, with Cassidy reuniting the Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak line as his top line.

    Marcus Johansson, Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen are expected to form the third line with Joakim Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and David Backes filling their usual roles on the fourth line.

    John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) remain week-to-week.

    After Tuukka Rask allowed three goals against in Saturday’s loss to the Panthers, Cassidy will start Jaroslav Halak (21-10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 38 games played) in Boston’s second game in as many nights.

    Red Wings head coach, Jeff Blashill, will be without the services of Luke Glendening (undisclosed) and Jonathan Bernier (upper body).

    As a result, Detroit recalled Dominic Turgeon and Kaden Fulcher from the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) with Turgeon, 23, likely to center the fourth line and Fulcher, 20, backing up Jimmy Howard (21-20-5, 3.02 GAA, .909 SV% in 51 GP) in net on Sunday.

    Turgeon has 6-13–19 totals in 69 games for the Griffins this season and was the 63rd overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Red Wings.

    Fulcher spent part of this season with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL) and amassed a 15-7-6 record, 3.00 GAA and .899 SV% in 28 games played prior to being reassigned to Grand Rapids. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Detroit in October 2017.

    With Glendening missing the action against Boston, the Red Wings will not have a single player play a full 82-game season for the first time since 1996-97 when Steve Yzerman led Detroit in games played with 81.

    Bernier was hurt in the second period on Friday and replaced by Howard prior to the start of the third period against New Jersey.

    Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings with 31-37–68 totals in 72 games played this season.

  • Pastrnak scores hat trick in Boston’s, 6-3, win over Rangers

    David Pastrnak had a five-point night (three goals, two assists) as he led the Boston Bruins to a, 6-3, victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday at TD Garden.

    Brad Marchand had three assists in the effort and Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy also had goals for Boston in the win.

    Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (21-10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 38 games played), made 20 saves on 23 shots faced for an .870 SV% in the winning effort, while New York’s Henrik Lundqvist (18-21-10, 3.05 GAA, .907 SV% in 50 GP) stopped 26 out of 32 shots faced for an .813 SV% in the loss.

    The B’s improved to 47-21-9 (103 points) on the season and remain in command of 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Rangers fell to 29-34-17 (71 points) and stuck in 7th place in the Metropolitan Division.

    Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) returned to the second line right wing after missing the last ten games and Torey Krug (concussion) returned to action alongside Brandon Carlo on the second defensive pair after missing the last six games.

    Meanwhile, Kevan Miller (upper body) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) were ruled out of the action on Wednesday by Bruce Cassidy, but likely to return to full contact practice on Friday.

    Cassidy also provided an update on John Moore (upper body) and indicated the defender would be out “week-to-week”, joining Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) on the longer prognosis for a return to the lineup.

    With Johansson and Krug back in the lineup, Karson Kuhlman was the only healthy scratch (and later reassigned to Providence (AHL) during the second intermission).

    Connor Clifton shifted down to the third defensive pairing with Steven Kampfer in place of the injured Moore.

    The Rangers had slight miscalculation with the number of skaters allowed on the ice at one time while their goaltender was still in the crease.

    As a result, Pavel Buchnevich served New York’s bench minor for too many on the ice at 2:29 of the first period.

    Boston went on the power play for the first time Wednesday evening and the first time with Krug back in the lineup on the power play unit.

    It only took the B’s 19 seconds on the ensuing power play to convert on the scoreboard.

    Marchand received a give-and-go from Bergeron and threw the puck over to Pastrnak (34) for the one-timer from one knee and Pastrnak’s first goal of the evening at 2:48 of the first period.

    Boston led, 1-0, thanks to Pastrnak’s power play goal, with the assists credited to Marchand (61) and Bergeron (45).

    Late in the opening frame, Zdeno Chara sent the puck over the glass and was automatically charged with a delay of game minor infraction at 14:51.

    Boston’s penalty killing unit almost killed off Chara’s minor, but was bitten late in New York’s first power play of the night as Mika Zibanejad (29) tied the game, 1-1.

    Ryan Strome (14) and Buchnevich (16) tallied the assists on Zibanejad’s first goal of the night at 16:29.

    After one period of play, the Bruins and Rangers were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, while Boston led in shots on goal (13-10) and blocked shots (5-4).

    New York led in takeaways (3-1), giveaways (4-3), hits (12-8) and face-off win percentage (74-26) heading into the dressing room for the first intermission.

    Both teams were 1/1 on the power play entering the second period.

    Jimmy Vesey tripped Pastrnak to kick things off in the middle frame at 1:46 of the second period. The Bruins did not convert on the resulting power play.

    Almost midway through the second period, after Cassidy adjusted his lines, David Krejci worked a backhand pass over to Pastrnak (35) for the one-timer in the low slot and the B’s took the lead once again, 2-1, at 9:15.

    Krejci (47) and Krug (43) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s second goal of the night as Pastrnak tied his career-high in goals.

    With an assist on the goal, Krug amassed his 284th career point (all with Boston), which is the most by an American-born player in Bruins franchise history.

    Moments later, Pastrnak hooked Kevin Shattenkirk at 13:12 and McAvoy followed suit hooking Shattenkirk almost a minute after Pastrnak was released from the penalty box at 15:58.

    The Rangers did not capitalize on either power play opportunity.

    Late in the period, Lias Andersson delivered a back-check to Bergeron along the boards in the corner of the B’s attacking zone where Bergeron’s career nearly came to an end on Oct. 27, 2007 thanks to then Philadelphia Flyers defender, Randy Jones, delivering a hit from behind that left Bergeron with a broken nose and a major concussion.

    History aside, Andersson left his feet as he backed into Bergeron’s face with an elbow and Bergeron did not take exception to the incident.

    The Bruins veteran and alternate captain immediately began to rough up Andersson as the two tangled to the ice, leaving Andersson with two roughing penalties and Bergeron with one minor for roughing– yielding a power play for Boston at 18:29.

    Though the skater advantage would carryover into third period, Boston did not score on the resulting power play while Andersson was in the box.

    After 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 22-16, in shots on goal.

    Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (8-5), while the Rangers maintained the lead in takeaways (5-4), giveaways (9-6), hits (19-16) and face-off win% (57-43).

    Each club was 1/3 on the power play entering the third period.

    DeBrusk (24) made it a two-goal game for the Bruins at 3:19 of the third period with his one-timer goal on a no-look pass from Pastrnak through the low slot while Lundqvist was behind the play.

    Pastrnak (40) and Krejci (48) tabbed the assists on DeBrusk’s goal.

    Almost two minutes later, Strome (16) answered back in a hurry.

    While Boston’s defense was outnumbered in the slot, Strome banked a shot off of Halak’s pad and through the five-hole to make it a one-goal game once again.

    Brett Howden (14) and Brady Skjei (17) had the assists as New York trailed, 3-2, at 5:43 of the third period.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, Strome was penalized for holding at 12:38.

    Less than a minute into the power play, Pastrnak (36) completed his 4th career regular season hat trick (and 3rd this season) as he blasted a shot past Lundqvist on the short side over his blocker.

    Krug (44) and Marchand (62) had the assists as hats fell upon the ice at TD Garden at 12:52.

    With his third goal of the game, Pastrnak established a new career-high in goals with 36 goals in 61 games played this season (he had 35 goals in 82 games last season).

    Moments later, New York was called for too many men for the second time of the night at 15:03.

    Vinni Lettieri served the bench minor for the Rangers, which quickly became a 5-on-3 power play for Boston after Brendan Smith high-sticked Charlie Coyle at 15:34.

    While on the two-skater advantage, Bergeron (32) redirected a shot from Pastrnak past Lundqvist to give the Bruins a three-goal lead at 16:23.

    Pastrnak (41) and Marchand (63) collected the assists on Bergeron’s power play goal and the Bruins led, 5-2, as Pastrnak picked up his 5th point of the night.

    The 22-year-old winger joined Barry Pederson (3x), Jason Allison (2x) and Bobby Orr (2x) as the only Bruins players with multiple five-point games in their careers (regular season or playoffs) before the age of 23.

    McAvoy (7) followed Bergeron’s goal with one of his own on a twine-seeking missile at 17:12 to give Boston a four-goal lead, 6-2.

    Chara (9) and Coyle (21) had the assists on McAvoy’s power play goal as the Bruins notched three goals on four shots in the span of their two-skater advantage.

    About a minute later, Andersson found himself tangled up again with a Bruins veteran– this time, David Backes— as the two players each received roughing minors.

    Backes earned an additional roughing penalty that was served by Johansson at 18:10 as the Rangers went on the power play for the last time on Wednesday.

    While on the skater advantage, New York generated a rebound off Halak and Zibanejad (30) buried the puck in the net with Halak in desperation to cut the lead to a deficit of three goals at 19:56.

    Vladislav Namestnikov (18) and Tony DeAngelo (25) notched the assists as the Rangers trailed, 6-3.

    At the final horn, Boston had beaten New York, 6-3, and finished the night leading in shots on goal (32-23) and hits (27-24).

    The Rangers finished Wednesday night’s action leading in giveaways (12-10) and face-off win% (52-48), while both teams had nine blocked shots apiece.

    New York went 2/4 on the power play and the Bruins went 4/6 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins host the Florida Panthers on Saturday before traveling to Detroit on Sunday to close out the month of March.

    Boston finishes the season swinging through Columbus on April 2nd, making a stop in Minnesota on April 4th and wrapping up the regular season on April 6th at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning.