Down the Frozen River

Tag: Charlie McAvoy

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Lightning strike three times in the third, beat B’s, 5-4

    A three-goal third period comeback punctuated the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday night at Amalie Arena after Tampa originally allowed three goals against in the second period.

    Steven Stamkos had a pair of goals and Anthony Cirelli had the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation, while Andrei Vasilevskiy (37-9-4 record, 2.36 goals against average, .927 save percentage in 50 games played) stopped 13 out of 17 shots faced (.765 SV%) in the win for the Lightning.

    Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (26-11-5, 2.42 GAA, .915 SV% in 43 GP) made 23 saves on 28 shots against (.821 SV%) in the loss.

    Boston fell to 46-21-9 (101 points) on the season, but remained in command of 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Tampa improved to 59-14-4 (122 points) on the season and in command of the entire league, having already clinched the President’s Trophy this season.

    The B’s fell to 28-2-3 when leading after two periods, 8-4-0 in the month of March and 18-14-6 on the road this season as a result of the loss– just their seventh in regulation since Jan. 1st.

    Kevan Miller (upper body), Marcus Johansson (lung contusion), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body), Torey Krug (concussion) and Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) all remained out of the lineup, despite Johansson being a game-time decision.

    As a result, Karson Kuhlman remained on the second line right wing alongside Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci since his emergency recall from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Saturday.

    Bruce Cassidy left the rest of his lineup the same as in Saturday night’s matchup against the Florida Panthers.

    Stamkos (40) tipped momentum in favor of the Lightning after blasting one of his patented one-timers past Rask at 6:42 of the first period to give Tampa the lead, 1-0.

    Ryan Callahan (10) and Mikhail Sergachev (21) tallied the assists on the goal.

    Less than a minute later, Tampa’s leading scorer, Nikita Kucherov hooked David Pastrnak and was assessed a minor penalty at 7:28.

    While on the power play, the Bruins tied the game with a power play goal from Brad Marchand (33) while Vasilevksiy dove in desperation thanks, in part, to a blind pass through traffic from Pastrnak to Marchand for the one-timer after Pastrnak received the puck from Patrice Bergeron.

    Pastrnak (38) and Bergeron (43) had the assists on Marchand’s goal at 8:32 of the first period and the B’s tied the game, 1-1.

    With his assist on the goal, Bergeron established a new career-high in points in a season with 74 points in 60 personal games played this season– surpassing his previous career-high of 73 points in 81 games in 2005-06.

    Bergeron’s new career-high in points, of course, comes at the youthful age of 33-years-old.

    Late in the opening frame, Stamkos (41) added his second goal of the game on a nearly identical one-timer from his usual spot on the ice to give Tampa the lead, 2-1.

    Victor Hedman (42) and Sergachev (22) notched the assists on Stamkos’ second goal at 14:58 of the first period.

    Shortly thereafter, Bruins defender, John Moore was crumpled by Adam Erne on a hit that left Moore favoring his left arm as he went down the tunnel to the visiting dressing room.

    He did not return to Monday night’s action and was ruled out by the Bruins communication staff early in the second period.

    J.T. Miller hooked Danton Heinen at 17:45 and Alex Killorn tripped Bergeron at 18:32, leaving Boston with an abbreviated 5-on-3 skater advantage for about 1:14 until a regular power play would resume.

    The B’s did not convert on either power play opportunity.

    Through one period, Tampa led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 9-4. The Bolts also led in blocked shots (5-4), takeaways (4-2) and hits (15-10), while the B’s managed an advantage in giveaways (2-1) and face-off win percentage (55-46).

    The Lightning did not see any time on the power play entering the first intermission, while the Bruins were 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    Kuhlman received a two-minute minor infraction for holding Sergachev at 5:05 of the second period, sending the Lightning on their first power play of the night.

    Tampa did not convert on the ensuing opportunity.

    Moments later, Charlie Coyle (12) tied the game, 2-2, after David Backes stole the puck in the offensive and fed Coyle with the puck on his stick.

    Coyle deked and scored on the backhand at 8:42 of the second period with Backes (13) yielding the only assist on the goal.

    Boston began to unwind over the course of the second and third period in discipline as Zdeno Chara hooked Kucherov at 9:46 of the middle frame, but the Bolts were powerless on the power play.

    Brandon Carlo (2) sniped a shot past Vasilevksiy’s glove side for his first goal in 44 games at 13:41 of the second period.

    Krejci (46) and DeBrusk (13) were credited with the assists as the Bruins led for the first time of the night, 3-2.

    About a minute later, Marchand (34) rocketed a one-timer wide of the goal that caromed off the glass and bounced off of Vasilevskiy’s skate and trickled into the net.

    Pastrnak (39) and Bergeron (44) had the assists on Marchand’s second goal of the night and the Bruins had scored three unanswered goals to lead, 4-2, at 14:32 of the second period.

    After 40 minutes of play, Boston led on the scoreboard, 4-2, but trailed Tampa in shots on goal, 19-12.

    The Lightning also led in blocked shots (9-6), takeaways (6-5), hits (24-15) and face-off win% (51-49), while the B’s led in giveaways (3-2).

    Tampa was 0/2 on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/3 on the skater advantage heading into the third period.

    The Lightning thundered their way back into the game with three unanswered goals of their own in the third period to overcome a two-goal deficit and beat the Bruins.

    Hedman (12) kicked things off with a goal at 5:36 of the third period to bring Tampa within one, 4-3, after he followed through on Stamkos’ shot that went wide and redirected off the end boards behind the net.

    Stamkos (51) and Miller (31) had the assists on Hedman’s goal and the Bolts set the tone for the final frame of regulation.

    The comeback was imminent.

    Pastrnak caught Ryan McDonagh with a high-stick and was assessed a four-minute double minor penalty at 6:45.

    Boston successfully managed to go unscathed during their extended penalty kill, but couldn’t muster anything past Vasilevskiy.

    Midway through the third period, Kucherov (38) pounced on an odd-skater advantage that fell flat for the Bruins and wristed a shot past Rask after Stamkos led the charge the other way.

    Stamkos (52) had the only assist on Kucherov’s goal at 13:50 and the game was tied, 4-4.

    Charlie McAvoy hooked Brayden Point at 17:02 and presented the Lightning with yet another power play.

    Though the B’s managed to kill the penalty off, they were trapped in the vulnerable minute thereafter and failed to clear the puck out of their own zone.

    Instead, Tampa kept the pressure on Boston and forced the puck to Cirelli (18) in the high-slot for the goal that gave the Bolts the lead, 5-4, at 19:07 of the third period.

    Mathieu Joseph (12) and McDonagh (33) had the assists on the game-winning goal with 52.2 seconds left in regulation.

    Cassidy used his timeout after Cirelli’s goal to try to draw up a plan, but his efforts were thwarted after Marchand picked up an interference penalty at 19:22.

    For the first time since Jan. 14th in Philadelphia against the Flyers, the Bruins had blown a two-goal lead to lose in regulation.

    At the final horn, Tampa had won, 5-4, and finished the night leading in shots on goal (28-17), blocked shots (11-10), hits (33-22) and face-off win% (54-46).

    The B’s led in giveaways (5-4) and went 1/3 on the power play, while the Lightning finished Monday night 0/6 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins return home– after going 3-1-0 on their four-game road trip– to face the New York Rangers on March 27th, then host the Florida Panthers on March 30th before traveling to Detroit on the 31st to close out the month.

    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 Lightning.

  • Team effort lifts Bruins over Islanders, 5-0

    Sean Kuraly scored two goals in the Boston Bruins’, 5-0, victory over the New York Islanders to kick off Boston’s four-game road trip on Tuesday night at NYCB Live.

    Tuukka Rask (25-10-5 record, 2.39 goals against average, .917 save percentage in 41 games played) made 13 saves on 13 shots against for his 4th shutout of the season in the win for Boston.

    Islanders goaltender, Robin Lehner (20-12-5, 2.27 GAA, .925 SV% in 39 GP) stopped 34 out of 39 shots faced for an .872 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 44-20-9 (97 points) on the season and remain 2nd in the Atlantic Division, while New York fell to 42-24-7 (91 points) and 2nd in the Metropolitan Division.

    The B’s are now 16-13-6 on the road this season and 8-0-0 in their last eight trips to New York against the Isles. In addition to dropping their last eight games on home ice to the Bruins, New York is 1-11-0 in their last 12 games and 2-11-1 in their last 14 games against Boston.

    Boston is also 29-6-5 when scoring first this season and 26-1-3 when leading after two periods.

    Bruce Cassidy provided several updates on his long list of injuries before Tuesday night’s action, revealing that Kevan Miller (upper body) would not travel with the team, while Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) would rejoin the lineup sometime on the road trip.

    Torey Krug (concussion) was feeling better and will travel with the team, but has not been cleared to return to action.

    David Pastrnak, in the meantime, was back in the lineup since having surgery on a tendon in his left thumb and was placed in his usual spot on the first line right wing with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

    As a result of Pastrnak’s return, Danton Heinen slid down to the third line left wing alongside Kuraly at center and Chris Wagner on the right side.

    Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and Charlie Coyle remained a trio on the second line and Joakim Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and David Backes were unchanged.

    On defense, Cassidy left belated birthday boy (who turned 42-years-old on Monday), Zdeno Chara, with Charlie McAvoy on the first defensive pair, while moving Connor Clifton up to the left side of Brandon Carlo on the second blue line pair.

    John Moore suited up alongside Steven Kampfer to round out the defense.

    Kuraly (7) kickstarted the action early on the road with his first goal in 23 games as he sent the puck past Lehner to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead at 1:12 of the first period.

    McAvoy (19) had the only assist on Kuraly’s first goal since Jan. 17th.

    Boston came out of the gates roaring and dominated the pace of play, outshooting New York, 14-2, after 20 minutes of action.

    The Islanders led in blocked shots (9-5), giveaways (6-3) and face-off win percentage (53-47) heading into the first intermission, while the Bruins led in takeaways (5-1) and hits (11-10).

    Both teams had yet to see any time on the skater advantage entering the second period.

    Four seconds into the middle frame, Chara squared off with Matt Martin and the two veteran NHLers exchanged fisticuffs. The 42-year-old captain of the B’s became the first player 42 or older to earn a fighting major since Mark Recchi (42 years, 285 days old) did so on Nov. 13, 2010 with the Bruins.

    Chara’s birthday was on Monday.

    After Cal Clutterbuck turned the puck over in his own defensive zone, Acciari (4) scooped up the rubber biscuit and sent it past Lehner’s left pad to give Boston a two-goal lead at 2:52 of the second period.

    Acciari’s goal was unassisted and made it, 2-0, Bruins.

    Almost midway through the middle frame, Pastrnak was penalized for high-sticking Adam Pelech— in Pelech’s 200th career NHL game– at 7:27.

    The Islanders did not convert on the ensuing power play and recorded one shot on goal.

    Late in the period, Kuraly (8) delivered again with his second goal of the game off a wraparound pass from Heinen.

    The Bruins led, 3-0, at 16:17 of the second period and Heinen (21) had the only assist on the goal.

    A little over a minute later, Pelech hooked Chara and received a minor infraction at 17:46. Boston did not score on the resulting power play opportunity.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 3-0, on the scoreboard and, 24-8, in shots on goal. Boston also held the advantage in takeaways (8-4) and face-off win% (53-48), while New York led in blocked shots (16-6), giveaways (17-7) and hits (20-18).

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

    Early in the final frame of regulation, Bergeron (28) received a pass from Nordstrom and sniped a shot into the twine to make it, 4-0, Boston.

    Nordstrom (4) and Moore (8) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s goal at 6:32 of the third period.

    Less than a couple minutes later, DeBrusk was guilty of hooking Islanders forward, Anthony Beauvillier, and cut a rut to the penalty box at 8:11.

    Upon leaving the box, DeBrusk capitalized on a flubbed play back to the point for New York and had a quick breakaway entering the attacking zone for Boston.

    DeBrusk (23) scored top shelf on Lehner’s glove side to give the B’s a five-goal lead, 5-0, at 10:20 of the third period on an unassisted effort.

    There were no more goals or penalties thereafter as the Bruins downed the Islanders, 5-0, at the final horn.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal, 39-13, as well as face-off win% (53-47). New York wrapped up the blowout loss with the advantage in blocked shots (20-9), giveaways (22-12) and hits (23-20).

    The Islanders went 0/2 on the power play on Tuesday, while the Bruins finished 0/1 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins swing through New Jersey on Thursday, Florida on Saturday and Tampa next Monday before returning home to face the New York Rangers on March 27th. Boston hosts the Florida Panthers on March 30th before traveling to Detroit on the 31st to close out the month.

    In their head-to-head season series, Cassidy’s crew swept Barry Trotz and his Islanders bunch, 3-0-0, in the regular season.

  • Blue Jackets at Bruins Preview: 3/16/2019

    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.

  • Jets soar over Bruins, 4-3

    After going on a 19-game point streak, the Boston Bruins have followed that up with a three-game (and counting) losing streak with their 4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Thursday.

    For the first time since Dec. 1 to Dec. 6, 2018, the Bruins have lost three straight games in regulation.

    Connor Hellebuyck (29-20-2, 3.01 goals against average, .909 save percentage in 53 games played) made 36 saves on 39 shots against for a .923 SV% in the win for the Jets.

    Boston goaltender, Tuukka Rask (24-10-5, 2.45 GAA, .916 SV% in 40 GP) stopped 20 out of 24 shots against for an .833 SV% in the loss.

    The B’s fell to 15-13-6 on the road this season and 4-3-0 in the month of March, while maintaining 2nd place in the Atlantic Division with a 42-20-9 record and 93 points on the season.

    The Jets improved to 41-25-4 (86 points) on the season and remain on top of the Central Division.

    Kevan Miller (upper body), David Pastrnak (left thumb), Jake DeBrusk (lower body), Marcus Johansson (lung contusion), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) and Torey Krug (upper body) were all out of the lineup for the Bruins due to injury.

    As a result, Paul Carey was called up from the Providence Bruins (AHL) and Connor Clifton was recalled to fill in on the third defensive pairing with Steven Kampfer.

    Carey took over Peter Cehlarik‘s spot on the second line left wing with David Krejci and Charlie Coyle as Cehlarik was reassigned to Providence.

    John Moore was bumped up a pairing on the blue line to that of the second defensive pair alongside Brandon Carlo, while Bruce Cassidy did just about all he could do with the roster he was presented due to a lot of injuries.

    Carey made his debut for the Bruins– his 5th different NHL team in six seasons– and wore No. 34 for Boston. He was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators back in January that sent defender, Cody Goloubef, to the Sens.

    Just over a minute into the action, Blake Wheeler (20) struck first for Winnipeg at 1:08 of the first period while batting the puck out of mid-air off a rebound generated by Patrik Laine.

    Laine (18) and Mark Scheifele (44) had the assists on Wheeler’s goal and the Jets grabbed the lead, 1-0.

    About two minutes later, Scheifele hooked Zdeno Chara and sent the Bruins on the power play for their first and only skater advantage of the night at 3:40 of the first period.

    Boston did not convert on the power play.

    Noel Acciari was penalized midway through the opening frame for holding Jacob Trouba at 10:30, resulting in Winnipeg’s first power play opportunity of the night.

    Less than a minute into the skater advantage, Scheifele (33) worked his way behind the B’s defense and received a pass from Laine on a two-on-one from close range to redirect the puck past Rask at 11:24.

    Winnipeg led, 2-0, thanks to Scheifele’s power play goal. Laine (19) and Wheeler (66) tallied the assists.

    Late in the first period, Charlie McAvoy (6) took a feed from Krejci and slid into the slot before unloading a wrist shot past Hellebuyck’s blocker side to put Boston on the scoreboard and cut the lead in half, 2-1.

    Krejci (42) had the only assist on McAvoy’s goal at 17:23.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Jets led in shots on goal (12-11), blocked shots (8-1), takeaways (1-0) and face-off win percentage (72-28).

    Boston held the advantage in giveaways (4-3) and hits (9-5) through the first 20 minutes of the action. Winnipeg was 1/1 on the power play, while the Bruins were 0/1.

    The Bruins surged in the second period, tying the game, 2-2, at exactly halfway through the middle frame.

    Joakim Nordstrom (6) put home the rebound for his first goal in 24 games after Acciari hacked away at the loose puck.

    Nordstrom’s goal tied the game, 2-2, and was assisted by Acciari (6) and Sean Kuraly (12) at 10:00 of the second period.

    Moments later, Brad Marchand slashed Tyler Myers at 13:41 and sent the Jets back on the power play. Boston’s penalty killing units successfully managed to disarm Winnipeg’s league-leading power play and escaped unharmed heading into the second intermission.

    Boston flat-out dominated the shooting department, 30-19, after 40 minutes of play (including a, 19-7, advantage in the second period alone) and led in giveaways (7-4), as well as hits (14-12).

    Winnipeg held onto the advantage in blocked shots (15-7), takeaways (5-1) and face-off win% (56-44) heading into the 3rd period.

    There were no more penalties called in the final frame of regulation, meaning Winnipeg’s power play finished the night 1/2 on the skater advantage, while Boston’s power play unit went 0/1.

    Trouba (6) powered his way to the net and buried the puck to give the Jets the lead, 3-2, at 7:38 of the third period. Scheifele (45) picked up the only assist on the goal and momentum swung heavily in Winnipeg’s favor.

    Moments later, the Bruins turned over the puck in their own zone– right in the slot– whereby Nikolaj Ehlers (18) capitalized on the chance and made it, 4-2, at 13:02 of the third period.

    Late in the final frame of regulation, Chara blasted a shot from the point that was tipped in by Coyle (11) for his first goal as a Bruin.

    Coyle’s goal pulled Boston to within one, 4-3, and was assisted by Chara (7) and Krejci (43), but it wasn’t enough at 17:04.

    Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker with almost 90 seconds left in regulation, but the Bruins couldn’t muster a miraculous comeback.

    Though they could stave off an empty net goal from the Jets, the B’s could not force overtime.

    At the sound of the final horn, Winnipeg had won, 4-3.

    The Jets finished the night leading in blocked shots (19-8) and face-off win% (57-44), while the Bruins left Winnipeg leading in shots on goal (39-24), giveaways (12-11) and hits (24-21).

    The Bruins finished 0-3-0 on their three-game road trip and return home to face the Blue Jackets on Saturday before hitting the road 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.

  • Jenner’s hat trick downs Bruins, 7-4, in Columbus

    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.


  • Penguins end Bruins’ point streak with 4-2 win

    The Pittsburgh Penguins’ special teams got the job done in their, 4-2, win over the Boston Bruins on Sunday night at PPG Paints Arena as the Pens scored a shorthanded goal and a power play goal en route to end Boston’s point-streak at 19 games.

    Jared McCann had two goals in the effort, while Nick Bjugstad and Jake Guentzel also scored for Pittsburgh. David Krejci and John Moore had the only goals for Boston.

    The Bruins suffered their first loss in regulation since Jan. 19th and are now 15-1-4 in their last 20 games.

    Matt Murray (23-11-3 record, 2.77 goals against average, .917 save percentage in 38 games played) made 39 saves on 41 shots against for a .951 SV% in the win for the Penguins.

    B’s goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (18-10-4, 2.34 GAA, .924 SV% in 34 GP) stopped 33 out of 36 shots faced for a .917 SV% in the loss.

    Boston fell to 42-18-9 (93 points) on the season, but remained in control of 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while Pittsburgh improved to 37-23-9 (83 points) on the season and surged into 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division.

    Pittsburgh won the season series against the B’s, 2-0-1. The Penguins have also won in their last five home games against Boston as the Bruins fell to 15-11-6 on the road this season and 4-1-0 in the month of March.

    Bruce Cassidy indicated that Jake DeBrusk (lower body) and Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) may be nearing returns to the lineup, while it is not likely Kevan Miller (upper body) and David Pastrnak (left thumb) will join the Bruins on their ongoing three-game road trip.

    Cassidy adjusted his forward lines, placing Peter Cehlarik at left wing on the second line with Krejci and Lee Stempniak, while bumping up Sean Kuraly to the third line with Charlie Coyle and David Backes.

    Joakim Nordstrom was demoted to the fourth line with Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner.

    Steven Kampfer remains the only healthy scratch in the Bruins lineup from night-to-night currently.

    Bjugstad (10) kicked things off early in the action after the Bruins turned the puck over in their own zone. Patric Hornqvist generated a rebound off Halak and Bjugstad pounced on the loose puck to give the Penguins the lead, 1-0, at 1:33 of the first period.

    Hornqvist (16) and Dominik Simon (18) tallied the assists on the goal as the Pittsburgh crowd came to life.

    Boston was penalized for too many men on the ice, leaving Cehlarik to serve the bench minor at 3:41.

    The Pens did not convert on their first power play chance of the night, nor did they score on their second skater advantage opportunity when Matt Grzelcyk hooked Bjugstad at 9:01 of the opening frame.

    Justin Schultz sent the puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game infraction at 13:07, resulting in Boston’s first power play of the evening. It did not go well.

    McCann (15) received a breakout pass and quickly worked his way behind the Bruins defenders and scored on Halak on a breakaway.

    Teddy Blueger (2) had the only assist on McCann’s shorthanded goal and the Penguins led, 2-0, at 13:54 of the first period.

    Moments later, Wagner went to the penalty box for tripping Marcus Pettersson at 15:19, but was quickly followed by Evgeni Malkin for tripping Charlie McAvoy at 16:12, resulting in 4-on-4 action for about 1:07.

    McCann appeared on the event sheet one last time before the first intermission for an inference penalty at 19:26, as the Penguins finished the first 20 minutes of play leading on the scoreboard, 2-0, and in shots on goal, 15-8.

    Pittsburgh also led in takeaways (1-0) and hits (12-7), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (7-4) and face-off win percentage (58-42). Both teams had five giveaways aside and were 0/3 on the power play prior to the start of the second period.

    Early in the second period, Hornqvist checked Grzelcyk along the boards, leaving the Bruins defender favoring his right arm as it awkwardly collided with the Penguins forward and the glass.

    Grzelcyk would not return to the action with an upper body injury.

    Former Bruin, Zach Trotman, slashed Acciari at 3:31 of the second period and presented Boston with a power play opportunity.

    Similar to how the Pens scored their first goal, the B’s got on the scoreboard and cut the lead in half after Heinen flung a puck off Murray over to Krejci (19) for the rebound and easy tally.

    Heinen (18) and Brad Marchand (54) picked up the assists on Krejci’s power play goal at 4:32 of the second period and Boston trailed, 2-1.

    Almost two minutes later, Patrice Bergeron sent the puck over the glass and received an automatic delay of game minor penalty at 6:43.

    Pittsburgh did not score on the ensuing power play, but it was only a matter of time as Boston would find out when Brandon Carlo tripped up Blueger at 16:10.

    Just 22 seconds into the resulting power play for the Penguins, Sidney Crosby caught the B’s on a shorthanded turnover and sent the puck to Guentzel (34) for a two-on-one power play goal at 16:32.

    Pittsburgh led, 3-1, as Crosby (57) and Pettersson (19) picked up assists on the goal.

    After 40 minutes of play, the Penguins led in shots on goal (23-22), takeaways (5-3), giveaways (8-4), hits (19-15) and face-off win% (51-49), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (13-12).

    The Pens were 1/5 on the power play after two periods and the B’s were 1/4 heading into the third period.

    Trotman trotted to the sin bin for the second time of the night at 4:33 of the third period for interference, but the Bruins couldn’t muster anything on the resulting skater advantage.

    Cassidy pulled his netminder with over 2:30 remaining in regulation to try to pull within one-goal, let alone score two quick goals to tie the game.

    Pittsburgh struggled to find the open net at first, yielding a slap shot from Moore (4) to find its way past Murray, bringing the game to within one at 18:59.

    Coyle (19) and Heinen (19) tabbed the assists on Moore’s goal as the Bruins trailed, 3-2. Coyle’s assist was his first point as a Bruin, but the celebration didn’t last long.

    Halak vacated the crease again for an extra attacker, but the Penguins were successful in finding the empty twine at 19:39, as McCann (16) pocketed his second goal of the night to make it 4-2, Pittsburgh.

    Guentzel (31) had the only assist on McCann’s empty netter.

    Despite losing, 4-2, Boston finished the night with more shots on goal, 41-37, and leading in face-off win% (53-47). Pittsburgh finished the night with the advantage in giveaways (15-10) and hits (28-20).

    Both teams had 16 blocked shots each and went 1/5 on the power play.

    The Bruins swing through Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Tuesday before finishing up their three-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Boston returns home to square off with the Blue Jackets again on March 16th.

  • Krejci tips Bruins past Senators, 3-2, in final minute

    For the second game in-a-row, the Boston Bruins came from behind in the third period and won with a game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation to extend their 2nd longest point-streak in franchise history to 19 games with a, 3-2, win over the Ottawa Senators.

    Brad Marchand, Chris Wagner and David Krejci had goals for the Bruins, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brady Tkachuk scored for the Senators.

    Tuukka Rask (24-8-5 record, 2.30 goals against average, .921 save percentage in 38 games played) made 17 saves on 19 shots against en route to the win for Boston on Saturday night at TD Garden.

    Rask is now 16-0-3 in his last 19 appearances, while the Bruins are 15-0-4 in their last 19 games.

    Ottawa goaltender, Craig Anderson (14-23-4, 3.53 GAA, .903 SV% in 43 GP) stopped 28 out of 31 shots faced for a .903 SV% in the loss and fell to 0-11-1 in his last 13 starts.

    Boston improved to 42-17-9 (93 points) on the season and maintained 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Senators fell to 23-40-6 (52 points) and remained last in the division.

    The Bruins improved to 4-0-0 in the month of March and finished their six-game homestand with a perfect, 6-0-0, record. Likewise, the B’s improved to 27-5-5 on the season when scoring first in a game and 21-3-5 overall since Jan. 1st.

    Kevan Miller (upper body), David Pastrnak (left thumb), Jake DeBrusk (lower body) and Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) remained out of the lineup due to injury, while Steven Kampfer was the only healthy scratch for Boston.

    The B’s recalled Lee Stempniak on emergency basis from the Providence Bruins (AHL) hours before the game on Saturday and Bruce Cassidy inserted the NHL veteran winger on the second line with David Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom.

    Peter Cehlarik took over for Nordstrom on the third line to start the game, though Cassidy adjusted his lines during the 60-minute effort, placing Danton Heinen alongside Krejci and sitting Stempniak in the closing minutes of regulation.

    Heinen opened the event sheet with a minor penalty for slashing at 4:32 of the first period. Ottawa’s ensuing power play was cut short when Zack Smith was penalized for high-sticking Brandon Carlo at 6:28.

    The resulting abbreviated skater advantage for Boston didn’t even see it’s full tenure as Charlie McAvoy tripped Brian Gibbons at 8:07 and gave the Sens another chance on the power play.

    In the final seconds of the opening frame, Anthony Duclair was called for holding and sent to the penalty box at 19:58 of the first period.

    Boston’s ensuing power play would carry over into the second period, while both teams entered the first intermission tied on the scoreboard, 0-0.

    The B’s led in shots on goal (12-6), takeaways (5-2) and face-off win percentage (59-41) after 20 minutes of play, while the Senators led in blocked shots (5-0), giveaways (4-2) and hits (10-6).

    Both teams were 0/2 on the power play entering the seconds period.

    Early in the middle frame, Grzelcyk was sent to the sin bin for high-sticking Ottawa winger, Bobby Ryan, at 2:27 of the second period.

    The Sens did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Magnus Paajarvi hooked Noel Acciari at 9:04 of the second period and the Bruins went on the power play for the third time of the night.

    Almost a minute into the power play, the B’s were dominating possession in the attacking zone, yielding a chance from Torey Krug over to Marchand, whereby Marchand (28) settled the puck and unloaded a shot past Anderson to make it, 1-0, Bruins at 10:11.

    Krug (41) and Patrice Bergeron (38) had the assists on Marchand’s power play goal. Boston recorded six shots on goal (including Marchand’s goal) on the power play.

    Less than a minute later, Pageau (3) capitalized on a defensive breakdown by the Bruins and snuck into the slot all by himself to receive a pass from Tkachuk and tie the game, 1-1, at 11:08.

    Tkachuk (20) had the only assist on the goal.

    Both teams entered the second intermission, tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, while the Bruins led in shots on goal (26-14– including a, 14-8, advantage in the second period alone).

    Ottawa held onto the advantage in blocked shots (9-5) and hits (17-10) after 40 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Boston controlled the game in takeaways (9-5) and face-off win% (58-42). Both teams had seven giveaways each.

    The Sens were 0/3 on the power play through two periods and the B’s were 1/3 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Almost three minutes into the third period, Boston bungled a chance to clear the puck out of their own zone, leading to a giveaway right to the tape of Tkachuk’s stick in front of Rask.

    Tkachuk (16) pounced on the chance and gave the Senators their first lead of the night, 2-1, at 2:46 of the third period.

    Chris Tierney (35) had the only assist on Tkachuk’s goal.

    Dylan DeMelo and Marchand received matching minor penalties at 6:54 and momentum drifted towards the Bruins’ way.

    Krug fired a shot from the point that Wagner (11) redirected past Anderson to tie the game, 2-2, at 8:47 of the third period. Krug (42) and McAvoy (17) had the assists on Wagner’s 5th goal in his last 11 games.

    In the final minute of regulation, Krejci (18) tipped a shot from Heinen into the twine to give the Bruins the lead, 3-2, and help secure the victory without needing overtime at 19:15.

    Krejci not has 8-11–19 totals in his last 17 games, while Heinen (17) and Grzelcyk (14) notched the assists.

    The final total in shots on goal read in favor of the Bruins, 31-19, as did giveaways (15-8, Boston) and face-off win% (51-49, Boston). Ottawa finished the night leading in blocked shots (13-8) and hits (25-22).

    The Sens went 0/3 on the power play, while the B’s finished 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    Boston has come from behind to win 13 times over the course of their 19-game point streak.

    Bruins defender, John Moore, participated in his 500th career NHL game and recorded a shot on goal in 14:41 time on ice.

    The Bruins travel to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday before swinging through Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Tuesday (March 12th) and Winnipeg on Thursday (March 14th) before returning home to face the Blue Jackets again on March 16th.

  • Krejci and DeBrusk’s chemistry shines in B’s, 4-3, OT win

    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.

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    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.