Down the Frozen River

Tag: Chris Wagner

Lightning strike B’s, 3-2, in Tampa

Anthony Cirelli’s shorthanded goal in the third period was enough to hold off a potential comeback from the Boston Bruins Thursday night as the Tampa Bay Lightning went on to win, 3-2, at Amalie Arena.

Louis Domingue (12-4-0, 3.07 goals against average, .903 save percentage in 14 games played) made 33 saves on 35 shots against for a .943 SV% in the win for the Bolts, while Tuukka Rask (6-6-2, 2.62 GAA, .914 SV% in 14 GP) stopped 27 out of 30 shots faced for a .900 SV% in the loss.

The Bruins have now lost four out of their last five games and have fallen to 14-10-4 (32 points) on the season– sliding to 5th place in the Atlantic Division and the 2nd wild card in the Eastern Conference as a result of the Montreal Canadiens’ win over the Ottawa Senators Thursday night.

Tampa improved to 22-7-1 (45 points) on the season and remained 1st in the Atlantic with the win.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, Charlie McAvoy was activated from the injured reserve and set to partake in pregame warmups. Kevan Miller was placed on the injured reserve having sustained a throat injury on Nov. 26th in Toronto.

The Bruins claimed Gemel Smith off waivers from the Dallas Stars on Thursday. Smith, 24, had two goals and one assist (three points) in 14 games for Dallas this season.

As a result of their roster moves, Connor Clifton was assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) after appearing in nine games for Boston– including his NHL debut– this season.

Boston also announced five of their prospects that will be attending preliminary World Junior camps for their respective countries next week, including D Daniel Bukac and F Jakob Lauko for Czech Republic, G Kyle Keyser for Team USA, F Pavel Shen for Russia and F Jack Studnicka for Team Canada.

The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship is being held in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia and begins later this month with round robin group play.

Bruce Cassidy shook up the lines with McAvoy returning from an upper body injury (concussion) after missing the last 20 games. The 20-year-old defender was paired with John Moore on the bottom defensive pair with Matt Grzelcyk playing alongside Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug partnered with Steven Kampfer (back in the lineup since being a healthy scratch for the last two games).

Jeremy Lauzon joined Smith and Chris Wagner as Boston’s healthy scratches, while Zdeno Chara (lower body, left MCL), Patrice Bergeron (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) and Miller (throat) remain out of the lineup.

Among the forwards, Cassidy left the first line of Brad Marchand, Colby Cave and David Pastrnak intact, while placing Joakim Nordstrom to the left of David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk on the second line.

Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson was back in the lineup– centering the third line with Ryan Donato to his left and Noel Acciari to his right– and Danton Heinen was demoted to the fourth line with Sean Kuraly and David Backes with Wagner scratched.

Pastrnak (20) recorded the game’s first goal at 2:04 of the first period on a rebound given up by Domingue after Cave initially recorded a shot on goal. Pastrnak collected the puck with Domingue out of position and buried the loose puck in the twine to reach the 20-goal plateau for the third consecutive season.

Cave (2) had the only assist on the goal and the Bruins led, 1-0.

Only Jaromir Jagr needed fewer than 28 games to reach 20 goals in a season among all Czech born NHLers in history.

After surviving an early onslaught from the B’s, the Lightning tied the game late in the opening frame with Brayden Point (21) firing a wicked wrist shot past Rask on a backhand pass from Nikita Kucherov.

McAvoy mishandled the puck, leaving Tyler Johnson in position to swipe at the rubber biscuit a couple of times before flinging a pass to Kucherov for the backhand drop pass to Point for the tying goal, 1-1.

Kucherov (31) and Johnson (9) had the assists on Point’s goal at 14:59.

Point now has 12 goals and seven assists (19 points) in his last 12 games.

Moments later, McAvoy was charged with the first penalty of the game for hooking Point at 18:50 while the Lightning forward was in the attacking zone. Tampa did not convert on the ensuing power play that would carry over into the second period.

Entering the first intermission, the game was tied, 1-1, and the Bolts were outshooting the Bruins, 15-11. Tampa also led in takeaways (5-3), while Boston led in blocked shots (10-4) and face-off win percentage (56-44). Both teams had two giveaways each and 12 hits aside.

The Lightning were 0/1 on the power play after one period.

Victor Hedman tripped up Donato almost midway through the second period and sent the Bruins on their first power play of the night– 7:04 into the middle frame.

Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play.

Neither team was able to break the tie as things went on in the second period and by the second intermission, the Bruins were outshooting the Lightning, 23-21. Boston led Tampa in shots, 12-6, in the second period alone.

The Bolts led in giveaways (9-4) and in hits (25-18) after two periods and the B’s maintained an advantage in blocked shots (11-10), takeaways (10-8) and face-off win% (52-48).

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

Early in the final frame of regulation, Mathieu Joseph (9) picked up the puck on an unforced turnover, waltzed past Carlo and tucked the puck underneath Rask to give the Lightning their first lead of the night, 2-1.

Alex Killorn (10) and Dan Girardi (6) had the primary and secondary assists on Joseph’s goal at 2:40 of the third period.

About a minute later, Domingue sent the puck over the glass and was charged with a delay of game minor at 3:49.

While on the penalty kill, Steven Stamkos broke up a play by Backes as the grizzled Bruins veteran tried to work the puck back to Marchand, which led to Anthony Cirelli (5) scooping up the loose puck and skating right by Pastrnak and Marchand as the Boston forwards helplessly trailed behind.

Cirelli avoided a poke check from Rask with just enough of a deke to slip the biscuit past the Bruins netminder and into the goal at 4:03 of the third period. Cirelli’s short handed tally was unassisted and gave Tampa a two-goal lead, 3-1.

With a little under two minutes remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker.

Krejci (3) fired a slap shot from the point at 18:15 (assisted by Pastrnak (12) and Backes (3)– the three David’s united!) and scored his first goal in 19 games to pull the Bruins within one, but it wasn’t enough.

As the final horn sounded, the Bruins suffered their third straight loss as the Lightning won their fifth game in-a-row. Tampa struck down Boston, 3-2, on the scoreboard, despite being outshot, 35-30.

The Bolts finished the game with the advantage in giveaways (10-6) and hits (33-22), while the Bruins led in face-off win% (56-44). Both teams had 16 blocked shots each and the Lightning were 0/1 on the power play, while the B’s were 0/2.

Tampa improved to 6-2-0 when tied after one period and Boston fell to 3-3-3 when tied after 20 minutes.

Boston travels home to host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday before traveling to Ottawa to face the Senators on Sunday. The Bruins then host the Arizona Coyotes next Tuesday before a two-day break and a one-game road trip to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins next Friday.

December 6, 2018
Panthers pounce on Bruins, 5-0

Aleksander Barkov had three assists and Mike Hoffman had two goals in the Florida Panthers sunset cruise over the Boston Bruins in Sunrise, Florida on Tuesday night. The Panthers won, 5-0, thanks to Roberto Luongo‘s 33 save shutout– good enough for his 77th career shutout in 1,011 NHL games played.

Luongo (5-3-0, 2.71 goals against average, .914 save percentage in ten games played), stopped 33 shots against for a 1.000 SV% in the win, while Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (8-4-2, 2.55 GAA, .932 SV% in 16 GP) made 39 saves on 44 shots against (.886 SV%) in the loss.

Boston fell to 14-9-4 (32 points) on the season, but remained in 4th place in the Atlantic Division standings, while the Panthers jumped up to 7th place with a 11-10-5 record and 27 points on the season. Florida has a game in-hand on the Ottawa Senators and trails the Detroit Red Wings for 6th place by one point.

The B’s are one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens in the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and may soon be in danger of falling further in the standings with Montreal having the chance to surpass Boston on Thursday night with a Bruins loss in regulation in Tampa and a Canadiens win any fashion in Ottawa.

Torey Krug was in the lineup for Boston, despite taking a maintenance day on Monday, though his minus-three rating in Tuesday night’s action may say otherwise.

Bruce Cassidy provided an update on Charlie McAvoy, indicating the young defender will be back in the lineup soon, but not expected to play on this two-game road trip in the Sunshine State. McAvoy returned to full-contact practice this week.

Cassidy made no lineup changes, despite the poor efforts in three out of the last four games now.

Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Steven Kampfer were the healthy scratches for the Bruins on Tuesday, while Zdeno Chara (lower body, left MCL), Patrice Bergeron (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion), McAvoy (concussion) and Kevan Miller (throat) remain injured.

Joakim Nordstrom hooked Dryden Hunt late in the first period at 15:34 and gave the Panthers their first power play of the night, but the Bruins were able to kill off Nordstrom’s minor and save themselves from one of the many chances Florida’s deadly power play would have on the night.

Mark Pysyk interfered with David Krejci at 17:41 of the first period and put Boston on the power play for the first time in the game, but the Bruins were unable to convert on any of their skater advantages on the night. Boston failed to record a shot on goal on the power play while Pysyk was in the box.

After one period, the score was still tied, 0-0, with Florida outshooting Boston, 13-7. The Panthers also led in giveaways, 8-6, after 20 minutes of play, while the Bruins led in blocked shots (4-3), takeaways (1-0) and face-off win percentage (52-48). Hits were even, 10-10, and both teams were 0/1 on the power play.

With both teams coming out of the dressing room after playing on sloppy ice and lacking effort at establishing some sort of pace, the Bruins continued to struggle to establish a zone time presence and got outrun numerous times in the second period as the Panthers came back ready to play.

Seriously.

First Colton Sceviour banked a shot off of the back of Halak’s leg, leading to a loose puck in the crease for Mike Hoffman (13) to just tap it in and give the Panthers the 1-0 lead. Scevious (4) and Jonathan Huberdeau (23) had the assists on Hoffman’s goal at 4:21 of the second period.

Jared McCann took a trip to the penalty box shortly after his teammate gave Florida the lead. McCann’s infraction was for hooking Bruins blue liner, John Moore, at 5:30.

Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play.

Almost midway in the second period, Michael Matheson (2) went 200-feet down the frozen river from one end of the ice to the other and scored an unassisted goal past Halak’s blocker side at 7:13 of the middle frame. Florida led, 2-0.

The Bruins were 0-7 when trailing by two goals entering Tuesday and they left BB&T Center 0-8 at the final horn.

Michael Haley caught Halak with a high-stick at 14:04, but the B’s power play was short-lived– 16 seconds, in fact– as David Pastrnak was penalized for holding at 14:20.

While in the midst of the 4-on-4 action, Huberdeau (7) fired one of his accurate wrist shots into the back of the twine at 15:14 of the second period. Keith Yandle (20) and Aleksander Barkov (14) were tabbed with the assists and the Panthers led, 3-0.

Hunt was charged with interference at 17:51, but Pastrnak received a matching minor penalty for embellishment, yielding no skater advantage for the Bruins.

Jake DeBrusk cut a rut to the sin bin at 19:00 of the second period for slashing Sceviour and the Panthers went on a rare 4-on-3 power play.

With seconds remaining on the clock before the second intermission, Hoffman (14) emulated Matheson’s goal, but with the help of Barkov (15) and Yandle (21) to give Florida a four-goal lead at 19:56.

As a result of Hoffman’s second goal of the game, the Panthers have now scored at least one power play goal in 16 out of the last 17 games.

Through 40 minutes of play, the Panthers led the Bruins, 4-0, on the scoreboard and, 33-23, in shots on goal. Florida also dominated in blocked shots (8-4) and takeaways (6-4), while Boston led in giveaways (15-10) and face-off win% (60-40). Hits were even, 18-18.

Florida was 1/3 on the power play and the B’s were 0/3 after two periods.

Nick Bjugstad was called for holding Sean Kuraly at 5:20 of the third period and the Bruins went to the power play for the fourth and final time of the night. They did not score on the ensuing advantage.

Moore went to the penalty box for hooking former Bruin, Frank Vatrano, at 9:10 of the third period and Chris Wagner shortly followed to the sin bin at 10:49 for tripping Bjugstad.

Connor Clifton launched himself into a high hit on Bjugstad with about eight minutes remaining in regulation. Bjugstad took his time getting up and had to go through concussion protocol, but Clifton was not penalized on the play.

The rookie Bruins defender filling in while blue line regulars like Chara, McAvoy and Miller are out of the lineup received an earful for the remainder of the game from unhappy Panthers players, but wasn’t challenged to fight.

Instead, while on the power play as a result of Brandon Carlo cross-checking Vatrano at 13:02 of the third period, the Panthers collected another power play goal thanks to the relentless effort of Evgenii Dadonov (13) collecting the garbage in the low slot.

Barkov (16) had the only assist on Dadonov’s goal at 14:26 and the Panthers sealed their Tuesday night victory with a 5-0 lead.

At the final horn, Florida finished the night outshooting Boston, 44-33, and leading in blocked shots (16-8). The Bruins led in giveaways (19-15), hits (26-22) and face-off win% (56-44)– two of the three don’t equal scoring prowess.

Giving the puck away is problematic and usually teams that lead in hits lacked puck control to begin with, which was evident in the lack of sustained attacking zone time from Cassidy’s crew.

Florida finished the night 2/6 on the power play and Boston went 0/4.

The Bruins head to Amalie Arena for a Thursday night matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning before returning home Saturday to face the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Boston has a quick turnaround back to the road on Sunday with a game in Ottawa against the Senators, before coming back home for next Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes.

In fact, including Thursday night’s game in Tampa, Boston alternates between road and home games for the next seven games until their short two-game home-stand from December 20-22.

The Bruins face five opponents in the next seven games from the Atlantic Division in addition to the Pittsburgh Penguins (Eastern Conference rival) and Coyotes (inter-conference action).

December 5, 2018
Red Wings top Bruins, 4-2, at TD Garden

For the first time since October 4, 2013, the Detroit Red Wings have a victory in regulation at TD Garden, having beaten the Boston Bruins, 4-2, on Saturday.

Frans Nielsen scored the game-winning goal on a tip-in midway through the third period and Gustav Nyquist added the insurance empty net goal late in the third to lift Detroit over Boston on the road.

Jimmy Howard (9-6-3, 2.66 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 19 games played) backstopped the Red Wings to victory, stopping 38 out of 40 shots faced for a .950 SV% in the win, while Bruins netminder, Tuukka Rask (6-5-2, 2.59 GAA, .915 SV% in 13 GP) turned aside 23 out of 26 shots against for a .917 SV% in the loss.

Boston remained in 4th place in the Atlantic Division, despite the loss, with a 14-8-4 record (32 points) on the season, while Detroit jumped to 6th place in the Atlantic with a 12-11-3 record and 27 points on the year.

Brandon Carlo returned to the lineup for the B’s on the blue line after missing the last nine games with an upper body injury. As a result, Bruce Cassidy made Steven Kampfer a healthy scratch, alongside Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (healthy scratch), Zdeno Chara (lower body, left MCL), Patrice Bergeron (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion), Charlie McAvoy (concussion) and Kevan Miller (throat) in the press box.

Cassidy kept the same lines from Thursday night’s overtime win against the New York Islanders, but adjusted his defensive pairs as such with John Moore alongside Matt Grzelcyk, Torey Krug with Carlo and Jeremy Lauzon on the bottom pair with Connor Clifton.

Colby Cave was penalized for boarding Detroit forward, Justin Abdelkader, 65 seconds into the game Saturday night and the Red Wings went on the power play.

Boston killed off the penalty with ease and swapped special team units from their penalty kill to the power play about 30 seconds after Cave returned to the ice as Abdelkader slashed Krug at 3:38 of the first period.

The Bruins did not convert on the ensuing power play.

Sean Kuraly tripped up Michael Rasmussen at 13:34, but the Red Wings were unable to take advantage of their skater advantage.

Shortly thereafter, Dennis Cholowski caught David Pastrnak with a high-stick at 16:30, sending the B’s back on the power play for the third time Saturday night, but while the Bruins couldn’t score on the Red Wings on the power play, they did strike in the vulnerable minute thereafter.

David Backes (2) retrieved the puck along the wall in the attacking zone and sent a backhand towards the goal whereby the puck deflected off of Cholowski and went past Howard to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 3.8 seconds remaining in the first period.

Moore (3) and Cave (1) had the assists on Backes’ goal at 19:56. Cave’s assist was his first career NHL point in just his 8th career NHL game (Cave appeared in three games last season and five so far this season).

Entering the first intermission, Boston led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and trailed Detroit, 13-11, in shots on goal. The Bruins, however, held the advantage in blocked shots (6-4) and giveaways (6-3), while the Red Wings led in takeaways (5-3), hits (9-5) and face-off win percentage (65-35).

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

Tyler Bertuzzi (9) tied things up, 1-1, at 5:45 of the second period on a deflection past Rask off of a shot from Rasmussen. The primary assist was credited to Rasmussen (4), while Mike Green (12) picked up the secondary assist.

Bertuzzi thought he had a pair of goals midway through the middle frame, Thomas Vanek had slid between Clifton and Rask just enough to clip Rask’s stick and prevent him from playing in the crease to disallow the goal– this was determined after Boston used their coach’s challenge, reversing the call on the ice.

With the game still tied, 1-1, tempers began to flare.

First, Cholowski slashed Chris Wagner at 12:47 of the second period. Then Luke Witkowski delivered a hit on David Krejci that didn’t sit well with Boston’s bench given it was the second consecutive game in which Krejci took a big– but clean– blow.

Joakim Nordstrom answered the call and promptly fought Witkowski in defense of his teammate at 15:08 of the middle period.

Shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose.

Brad Marchand delivered a hit on Nick Jensen along the boards in a clean manner that didn’t sit well with Detroit given Witkowski’s clean check on Krejci moments before. Nonetheless, Bertuzzi decided he’d give Marchand a piece of his mind and the two engaged in a battle of words and sticks with Bertuzzi delivering an uncalled cross-check.

Cave came over to respond to the third-man-in mentality of Bertuzzi and a small scrum ensued– right about the time Howard was vacating his net for a delayed call on Marchand.

Howard bumped into the scrum and swung his stick around to the observation of Rask at the other end of the ice in the crease, whereby– as everyone on the ice paired up along the benches– Rask came bursting with speed into the pile and tried to engage Howard in a fight, but the refs broke the two goaltenders up.

We almost had a goalie fight, ladies and gentlemen. Almost.

It would’ve been the first goaltender duel at TD Garden since Boston’s Tim Thomas and Montreal’s Carey Price went at it in February 2011.

In the end, Marchand received a slashing minor and Cave was served one as well. Howard got an infraction for roughing, Rask was penalized for leaving the crease, and Jacob de la Rose received two-minutes for slashing too.

Bertuzzi shortly followed up with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty of his own before Detroit ended up on the power play after all was said and done.

Dylan Larkin (10) capitalized on a scramble in front of Rask after the Bruins netminder made the initial stop. Noel Acciari failed to clear the puck and Nyquist kept it in the zone– flinging the rubber biscuit back to the slot for Larkin to pot the puck into the twine.

Abdelkader (4) and Nyquist (16) had the assists on Larkin’s power play goal at 17:36 of the second period and the Red Wings led, 2-1.

Before the second period ended, Green hooked Pastrnak and the Bruins would be on the power play at 18:42 and into the third period.

Heading into the dressing room after 40 minutes, Detroit led, 2-1, and was tied in shots on goal with Boston, 20-20. The Bruins outshot the Red Wings, 9-7, in the second period alone and held onto the advantage in giveaways (8-5).

The Red Wings led in blocked shots (11-9), takeaways (7-4), hits (17-16) and face-off win% (57-43). Detroit was 1/3 on the power play heading into the final frame and Boston was 0/5.

Danny DeKeyser caught Acciari with a high-stick at 4:45 of the third period and the Bruins went on the power play for the sixth time in the game.

This time, Boston converted on the ensuing skater advantage with Ryan Donato (2) flying in on a rush and firing the puck past Howard, high, short-side over the blocker into the twine.

Donato’s power play goal tied the game, 2-2, at 5:31 of the third period and was assisted by Pastrnak (11) and Krug (12).

Past the mid-point of the final frame, Nielsen (1) tipped in a shot from the point by DeKeyser and gave the Red Wings the lead back on what would become the game-winning goal at 11:53 of the third period.

DeKeyser (6) and Nyquist (17) had the assists on the goal and Detroit led, 3-2.

The goal was Nielsen’s first goal in 27 games– dating back to March 27, 2018.

Cassidy pulled Rask for an extra attacker with about two minutes remaining in regulation, but it wasn’t enough to muster any fighting chance of an effort in the Bruins crew that looked flat after a rousing second period that almost broke-out in a line-brawl.

Nyquist (4) flung a puck from about the red line into the empty net to give Detroit a two-goal lead and secure the 4-2 victory. DeKeyser (7) had the only assist on Nyquist’s goal at 19:33 of the third period.

At the final horn, the Red Wings sealed the deal on the win and beat the Bruins, 4-2, despite Boston outshooting Detroit, 40-27. Detroit finished the night leading in blocked shots (16-9), hits (22-21) and face-off win% (63-37), while the B’s led in giveaways (11-6).

The Wings finished the night 1/4 on the power play and Boston went 1/6.

These two Atlantic Division rivals meet once more this season on March 31, 2019 in Detroit with the Red Wings leading the season series, 2-1-0.

Boston travels to Florida for a two-game road trip, swinging through Sunrise, Florida for a matchup against the Panthers on Tuesday and Tampa, Florida on Thursday for a battle with the Lightning before returning home next Saturday to host the Toronto Maple Leafs.

December 2, 2018
Athanasiou’s two-goal night lifts Red Wings over the Bruins, 3-2, in OT

Detroit Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou scored the game-tying goal in the third period, then added his second goal of the night for the sudden death victory in overtime, 3-2, over the Boston Bruins Wednesday night at Little Caesars Arena.

Jimmy Howard (7-6-2, 2.60 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 15 games played) made 34 saves on 36 shots against for a .944 SV% in the win for Detroit, while Tuukka Rask (4-4-2, 2.79 GAA, .909 SV% in 10 GP) got the start for the Bruins and picked up the loss, despite making 24 saves on 27 shots faced for an .889 SV%.

The Red Wings improved to 10-9-2 (22 points) on the season and leapfrogged the Ottawa Senators for 6th place in the Atlantic Division standings. Boston fell to 11-6-4 (26 points), but improved to 4th place in the Atlantic by virtue of having one game in-hand over the Montreal Canadiens.

Wednesday night was the 300th meeting in Detroit between the two franchises, with the Bruins now holding an all-time record of 86-159-55 in Hockeytown, while the Red Wings are now 8-3-3 in their last 14 home games against Boston.

Detroit is also 9-2-0 in their last 11 games. Boston is 5-4-2 in their last 11 games as a result of the loss.

Patrice Bergeron missed his second straight game after being ruled out for at least four weeks with a sternoclavicular injury sustained in last Friday’s matchup on the road against the Dallas Stars. As a result, Colby Cave was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) ahead of Wednesday’s game in Detroit.

Bruce Cassidy made some minor adjustments to his lineup from Saturday’s game in Arizona against the Coyotes as Kevan Miller returned to action after missing the last 13 games with a hand injury.

Anders Bjork played alongside David Krejci and David Pastrnak on the first line, with Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom and Jake DeBrusk rounding out the top-six forwards.

Danton Heinen, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Noel Acciari were left intact on the third line with Chris Wagner playing to the left of Sean Kuraly on the fourth line and David Backes on the right wing.

Miller was paired with Matt Grzelcyk on the first defensive pair, while Torey Krug continued to play alongside Connor Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon was paired with Steven Kampfer.

Jakub Zboril was a healthy scratch and ultimately reassigned to Providence during the first intermission.

Among other scratches, Brandon Carlo (upper body), Cave (healthy scratch), John Moore (lower body), Zdeno Chara (lower body- left MCL), Bergeron (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) and Charlie McAvoy (concussion) all missed Wednesday night’s action as well.

Mike Green took the game’s only penalty at 13:22 of the first period for tripping Krejci.

The Bruins were not able to convert on the ensuing power play and the game remained tied, 0-0, all the way into the first intermission.

Both teams went to the dressing room with three giveaways each and Boston leading in shots on goal (12-4). Boston also held an advantage in blocked shots (3-2) and takeaways (3-1), while Detroit led in hits (12-6) and face-off win percentage (67-33). The Bruins were 0/1 on the power play in the game’s only skater advantage.

Forsbacka Karlsson (2) notched his second goal of his young NHL career after following up on a rebound that bounced off of Howard and a Detroit defender before Forsbacka Karlsson found the puck back on his stick and jammed it in at 4:08 of the second period.

Boston led, 1-0, but only for about five minutes until Nick Jensen fired a shot from the point that Tyler Bertuzzi (6) redirected through Rask’s five-hole to tie the game, 1-1, while Kampfer failed to tie-up the Red Wings forward (and goal scorer) in front of the goal.

Jensen (4) and Danny DeKeyser (3) had the assists on Bertuzzi’s goal at 9:48 of the second period.

After 40 minutes of play, the Bruins outshot Detroit, 25-13, in a, 1-1, tie. The Red Wings led in blocked shots (7-6), takeaways (4-3), giveaways (10-8), hits (21-12) and face-off win% (51-49) after two periods.

Early in the third period, Sean Kuraly threw the puck on goal as Chris Wagner (2) crashed the net and tabbed the garbage goal to give Boston a 2-1 lead at 6:45 of the third period. Kuraly (3) had the only assist on the goal.

Athanasiou (8) followed up with a quick equalizer at 8:59 after Gustav Nyquist fired a shot up high, glove side, that Rask couldn’t get a full handle on, generating a rebound for Athanasiou’s quick reaction and goal.

Nyquist (14) had the only assist and the game was tied, 2-2.

Through 60 minutes of play, regulation was not enough, despite the Bruins leading the Red Wings in shots on goal (35-25). Detroit actually outshot Boston, 12-10, in the third period and held an advantage in just about every other statistical category, including blocked shots (11-6), giveaways (13-8), hits (29-16) and face-off win% (57-43).

The Bruins, meanwhile, led in takeaways (6-4) entering overtime.

Just 49 seconds into overtime, Athanasiou swooped in on a face-off in the attacking zone to steal the puck after Frans Nielsen took the draw to a stalemate.

Athanasiou (9) then spun in front of the goal and scored from point blank to seal the victory, 3-2, for Detroit. Nielsen (11) had the only assist on the game-winning goal.

At the final horn, the Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal, 36-27, but trailing on the scoreboard, 3-2. Detroit finished Wednesday’s effort with the advantage in blocked shots (11-6), giveaways (14-8), hits (30-16) and face-off win% (60-40).

Boston is now 1-4 in overtime this season as a result of the loss.

The B’s and Red Wings will meet again in ten days back in Boston, then they won’t meet again this season until March 31, 2019 in Detroit.

For now the Bruins head home after going 1-1-2 on a four-game road trip to face the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden this Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 7:30 p.m. ET with Boston playing the first of back-to-back games on back-to-back days at home and on the road in Montreal against the Canadiens on Saturday.

November 21, 2018
Boston Bruins 2018-19 Forecast Through 20 Games

I’ve been away from the blog for a week (shouts road trips) and look what happens– the Boston Bruins are off to a 1-1-1 start on a four-game road trip, having lost in Colorado, 6-3, against the Avalanche on Nov. 14th, then losing in overtime, 1-0, to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 16th before beating the Arizona Coyotes, 2-1, on Nov. 17th thanks to goals from Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (his first career National Hockey League goal) and Jake DeBrusk (8)– so there’s a quick little recap for you, if you’ve been wondering where the last two games have been around here on the site.

Oh and the Bruins have reached the quarter-mark of the regular season having completed 20 games, which means it’s time to update my forecasted stats for Boston.

Really couldn’t have timed a quick trip outside of New England better than I did, thank you very much.

In all seriousness, the Bruins lost Zdeno Chara due to injury in Colorado– leaving my personal road trip off to a poor taste– then Patrice Bergeron went down with an injury in Dallas while I helplessly streamed the radio broadcast from the NHL app in a hotel room.

The Hockey Gods don’t believe in having fun outside of the sport.

My neurotic bumblings were eased with the support of the “next man up” mentality in the dressing room and, well, Connor Clifton beating the crap out of a guy against the Stars in his first career NHL fight (in his NHL debut, nonetheless).

That guy being Jason Spezza, who’s actually kind of a big deal and not a jerk(?).

Anyway, Boston is 5th in the Atlantic Division through 20 games played this season with an 11-6-3 record (25 points), a plethora of injuries and a lackluster depth scoring situation.

Through 20 games last season, the B’s were 9-7-4 (22 points) and 4th in the division.

This season, 25 points in the Eastern Conference is good enough for the 2nd wild card spot (for now). Last season, 22 points wasn’t good enough to be ahead of the playoff cutoff line.

If anything, they’re managing to weather the storm well, despite having more injuries to the roster this year than this time last November– but they’re still not showing signs of the dominant Eastern Conference team that we saw from January through March of last season.

Peaking at the right time is of the utmost importance in sports.

In high school, when you’re running the mile, it’s the second lap that’s the most important before you begin to drop the hammer on the third lap and go all out on the fourth lap. The second lap is make or break.

For Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals last season it meant having Holtby get off to a rocky start, lose his starting job for the first two games of the postseason, then go on to win the Stanley Cup by virtue of Holtby regaining his rhythm on top of the ridiculous depth scoring capabilities of guys like Devante Smith-Pelly and Brett Connolly.

For the Bruins last season, it meant being in contention for the President’s Trophy hunt late into the regular season, falling short, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the First Round, then being too worn down to even match the compete level of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Second Round.

Boston was done in five games– 12 postseason games total.

What all of this has to do with this season is that basically, the Bruins are a combination of the team on the ice last season and their mirror image below-average start to this season as Washington had last season.

Their starting netminder has struggled, their scoring depth isn’t apparent and they’re clinging to a playoff berth.

In other words, it’s too early to rule them out– as evidenced last season, Mike.

But– and this the important part– the window for optimal peak performance is closing. The B’s are running the second lap of the mile in high school track right now, if you will.

Another ten games of whatever has plagued them from October until now will leave them just barely on the outside of the postseason looking in like the Florida Panthers did last season with 96 points.

They won’t set a PR (personal record), nor will they get a chance to compete for the Cup.

Tuukka Rask is back from his personal leave of absence and kept Boston close in Dallas, despite allowing the game’s only goal– in overtime– with a defense that featured Torey Krug as the only regular, Matt Grzelcyk as the usual seventh defender turned regular for now and Steven Kampfer as the go-to blue liner when Chara, Brandon Carlo, Kevan Miller, Charlie McAvoy and John Moore are all out of the lineup.

Plus Jakub Zboril and Clifton made their NHL debuts in Dallas, with Jeremy Lauzon continuing to see ice-time since Urho Vaakanainen was an emergency recall that sustained a concussion in his 2nd career game while in Ottawa.

We haven’t seen what a full, well-rested, Bruins lineup is capable of yet so far this season.

They spent training camp and part of the preseason with split squads and most of their NHL regulars in China, returned with jet-lag that slowed their legs down through the first couple of weeks of October, got banged up and since then have been waiting for the return of… everyone? Is that fair to say at this point?

Without further ado, here’s an updated look at the forecasted stats for the Bruins roster. As always, keep in mind there are many variables that can or will change things as seen here due to injuries, being a healthy scratch, being assigned to the minors (or called up), sickness and general hot and cold streaks unbeknownst to the formulas of Microsoft Excel.

My degree is in communication– not math.

These forecasted stats are an utopian outlook on the remaining 62 games of the regular season for Boston. If a player exceeds the forecast, they’ve exceeded expectations. If a player matches the forecast, they’ve met expectations. If a player falls short, they were either hurt a lot or simply didn’t live up to expectations.

Hockey is both quantifiably predictable because of its concrete stats (goals, assists, points– everything on the scoresheet each night) and certifiably unpredictable due to its collective nature and sheer puck luck.

Boston Bruins Forecast Through 20 Games (62 Games Remaining)

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One player that’s been consistent all season long thus far is David Pastrnak. Brad Marchand‘s become more of a playmaker through the first 20 games while Pastrnak’s emerged as a superstar in the making– drawing comparisons to Jaromir Jagr from Czech Republic’s other legendary player, Petr Klima.

Pastrnak’s success should land him his third consecutive season amassing 70 points or more, while also surpassing the 40-goal plateau for the first time in his career. In doing so, Pastrnak would be the first 40-goal scorer for the Bruins since Glen Murray had 44 goals in 2002-03.

With Bergeron missing some games due to injury, David Krejci looks to reemerge as the leading assist collector for the B’s, reaching 46 expected assists this season.

In the meantime, DeBrusk surpasses the 20-goal plateau and solidifies himself as a top-six forward, while Danton Heinen continues to grow as a candidate for top-six minutes in spite of Boston not having a guy like Artemi Panarin alongside Krejci and DeBrusk.

On defense, Krug rebounds from missing time to a 43-point season, leading McAvoy (38 expected points) and crew in scoring from the point.

Though Jaroslav Halak has won playing time with the hot hands in goal at the quarter-mark, Rask settles into his rhythm with an expected goals against average of 2.32 and an expected save percentage of .920 to backstop his team to perhaps one of the best 1-2 matchups in net– if not, 1A-1B– of the entire league.

Halak, in the meantime, should cool to a 2.43 GAA and .919 SV%, but both numbers are highly valuable for backup goaltending duties especially if the Bruins can continue to get healthy and limit the shot attempts against.

Healthy competition for playing time in the crease isn’t a bad thing if both goaltenders are performing thanks to a limited workload from their teammates.

The next forecast review (through 40 games played) should determine whether or not the Bruins are serious playoff contenders or large-scale pretenders with a lot to lose in 2018-19.

November 21, 2018
Avalanche mount third period comeback, beat B’s, 6-3

The Colorado Avalanche’s first line was more prominent than the Boston Bruins’ first line in Wednesday night’s, 6-3, loss for Boston as the two top-line superpowers collided at Pepsi Center in Denver.

Mikko Rantanen (1-2–3 totals), Nathan MacKinnon (1-1–2) and Gabriel Landeskog (1-0–1) combined for six points on the night for Colorado, while Boston’s David Pastrnak (1-1–2), Patrice Bergeron (0-1–1) and Brad Marchand (0-0–0, minus-1) combined for three points.

Semyon Varlamov (6-5-2 with a .926 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average in 13 games played) made 20 saves on 23 shots against for an .870 SV% in the win for the Avs, while Jaroslav Halak (6-2-2, .932 SV%, 2.16 GAA in 12 GP) made 19 saves on 25 shots faced for a .760 SV% in the loss for the B’s.

Boston maintained 3rd place in the Atlantic Division with a 10-6-2 record (22 points) on the season, while Colorado improved to 4th place in the Central Division with a 9-6-3 (21 points) record.

The Bruins had been on a two-game winning streak coming off of a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and a 4-1 win on Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Head coach, Bruce Cassidy, kept the same lineup from the weekend for Boston, but with the added advantage of Tuukka Rask back with the team as a backup goaltender Wednesday night in his return from a personal leave of absence.

Rask will get the start against the Dallas Stars on Friday or Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.

Defenseman, Jakub Zboril, was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) the other day as Dan Vladar was sent back down to Providence.

Brandon Carlo, Charlie McAvoy and Urho Vaakanainen may join the team at some point on the road trip, but did not make the initial journey to Colorado on Tuesday. Fellow injured blue liner, Kevan Miller traveled with the team to Denver, but is aiming to return on the road in Detroit against the Red Wings on Nov. 21st.

Cassidy indicated that Jeremy Lauzon and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson would remain on the roster as regular recalls on Tuesday.

Wednesday night’s scratches for Boston were as follows: Carlo (upper body), Noel Acciari (healthy scratch), Vaakanainen (concussion), Zboril (healthy scratch), McAvoy (concussion) and Miller (hand).

The Battle of the Best First Lines began with Gabriel Landeskog (12) striking first at 10:16 of the first period as the Bruins couldn’t clear the puck out of their zone.

Zdeno Chara‘s turnover led to Mikko Rantanen finding Joakim Nordstrom out of position and sending Landeskog a pass without pressure for the snipe and a 1-0 lead for Colorado. Rantanen (12) had the only assist on Landeskog’s goal.

Avalanche defender, Mark Barberio, was guilty of cross checking Bruins forward, David Backes, at 14:50 of the first period and received a minor penalty– sending Boston on their first power play of the night.

Late in the ensuing power play, David Krejci worked a slap pass from the face-off circle on Varlamov’s right side along the dasher to David Pastrnak (17) in the low slot for the redirection and power play goal that tied the game, 1-1.

Backes (1) tipped the puck in the midst of Krejci’s (14) pass to Pastrnak, thereby lending the Three Davids to collect all of the possible points on the goal (Backes and Krejci the assists and Pastrnak the goal) at 16:43.

Moments later, on a turnover, turned breakaway opportunity, Jake DeBrusk (6) capitalized on an unassisted effort by getting Varlamov to commit and roof the puck into the the twine at 19:20 of the first period– giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

As both teams entered the dressing room for the first intermission, the B’s led in shots on goal (10-7) and on the scoreboard, 2-1. Boston also led in shot attempts that hit the post, 4-0, as well as hits, 8-4. Colorado had the advantage in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (3-1) and face-off win percentage (92-8) after the first period.

Both teams had three blocked shots each and the Bruins were 1/1 on the power play after one period. The Avs had yet to see time on the skater advantage.

Colin Wilson hooked Matt Grzelcyk 77 seconds into the second period and put Boston on the power play for the second time Wednesday night in Colorado.

DeBrusk (7) scored his second goal of the night (and first on the power play) after Grzelcyk kept the play alive in the offensive zone, completing a pass to Bergeron for the bumper back to Pastrnak who then one-timed a shot from the point that redirected off DeBrusk in front of Varlamov to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead.

Pastrnak (8) and Bergeron (17) were credited with the primary and secondary assists at 3:05 of the second period.

Pastrnak later hooked Barberio at 7:52 of the middle frame and the Bruins were shorthanded as a result for the first time in the action Wednesday night.

The Avalanche matched Boston’s puck moving efforts on their first power play of the evening with Tyson Barrie working the puck to MacKinnon for a cross-ice pass to Rantanen.

The young Colorado forward then snapped a shot past Halak’s blocker side to make it a one-goal game on the power play.

Ranatnen’s (7) goal at 8:47 of the second period was assisted by MacKinnon (14) and Barrie (14) and gave the Avs a distinct swing in momentum for the rest of the period.

With Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, unable to return to the game having sustained a lower body injury in the first period, Colorado pounced on the already weakened Boston blue line.

This, even after Nikita Zadorov had a brief visit to the penalty box for interfering with Bruins forward, Chris Wagner at 9:14. Colorado killed off Zadorov’s minor infraction with ease and kept the momentum going, leading in just about every statistical category by the end of the period.

Late in the second period, Bergeron hooked Rantanen who then embellished the infraction and received an unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty himself and the teams would see 4-on-4 action at 19:11 of the second period.

Both teams would start the third a skater short for a little over a minute into the final frame.

Through 40 minutes of play, the Colorado Avalanche looked more and more like the complete 60-minute game playing style team that they have been so far this season and the Boston Bruins were looking like they were on the brink of collapse.

Boston still led the game, 3-2, entering the second intermission, but shots on goal were even, 14-14, with the Avs leading, 7-4, in the second period alone. The Bruins led in blocked shots (10-6), but the Avalanche led in everything else including, takeaways (6-5), giveaways (5-1), hits (13-10) and face-off win% (69-31).

Colorado was 1/1 on the power play, while Boston was 2/3 with the extra skater.

Early in the third period, Matt Calvert (2) converted on his second goal of the season after following up with the original play and crashing the net for a haphazardly taken backhand spin-o-rama that eyes set for the twine after a wacky bounce resulted off of Halak.

Calvert’s goal was unassisted at 2:11 of the third period and tied the game, 3-3.

From there, it was all Avalanche as the Bruins tumbled down the mountain that is the immense comeback capability of Colorado.

MacKinnon (12) added a goal of his own with a wrist shot that beat Halak cleanly from about the blue line on a rush into the attacking zone, giving the Avs their 2nd lead of the night, 4-3, at 9:02.

Rantanen (22) and Ian Cole (5) had the assists on what would become MacKinnon’s game-winning goal.

Krejci was guilty of holing Tyson Jost at 13:40 of the third period and with one second remaining on the ensuing power play, Jost (3) made the Bruins pay as former Bruin, Carl Soderberg, initially swiped at the puck through the legs of the Boston netminder, leaving the puck sitting at the goal line behind Halak, whereby Jost tapped it into the empty net.

Samuel Girard (7) and Alexander Kerfoot (10) had the assists on Jost’s power play goal at 15:39 and Colorado led by two-goals, 5-3.

With about three minutes remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker. Jared Bednar’s Avalanche were too much for the Bruins to handle, narrowly missing the empty net goal if it weren’t for Krejci’s heroics by the time the loose puck reached the crease on one empty net attempt.

However, while in the offensive zone on a last-ditch effort, Bergeron hooked his stick around MacKinnon and was penalized with a two-minute minor infraction at 18:57.

The Avalanche completed the hat trick on the power play with their third power play goal of the night on the ensuing skater advantage when Kerfoot (8) tipped a blast from Soderberg past Halak at 19:45 of the third period.

Soderberg (6) and Girard (8) had the assists on the goal and Colorado secured the 6-3 win as time expired.

At the final horn, the Avs led in shots on goal (25-23), giveaways (6-2), hits (22-15) and face-off win% (59-41), while the B’s led in blocked shots (20-18). Colorado was 3/3 on the power play and the Bruins were 2/3 on the skater advantage.

The Avalanche outscored Boston, 10-3, in their two meetings last season.

Boston is now 0-1-0 to begin a four-game road trip that swings through Dallas (Nov. 16th), Arizona (Nov. 17th) and Detroit (Nov. 21st)– after Wednesday night’s loss in Denver– before heading back home for a Black Friday (Nov. 23rd) matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

November 15, 2018
Pastrnak’s 2nd hat trick this season helps dismantle Leafs, 5-1

David Pastrnak (3-1–4 totals), Patrice Bergeron (1-2–3) and Brad Marchand (0-2–2) led the way once again for the Boston Bruins as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1, Saturday night on home ice at TD Garden.

Jaroslav Halak (5-1-2, 1.86 goals against average, .941 save percentage in 10 games played) made 40 saves on 41 shots against for a .976 SV% in the win, while Garret Sparks (2-1-0, 4.00 GAA, .879 SV% in 3 GP) stopped 29 out of 34 shots faced for an .853 SV% in the loss for Toronto.

Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask was granted a personal leave of absence by the club on Friday for at least a few days so the Boston netminder can attend to “personal matters”. No further explanation was given out of respect for Rask and his family’s privacy.

Boston improved to 2-1-0 on their current four-game homestand which ends Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The B’s also jumped back into 4th place in the Atlantic Division thanks to Saturday night’s victory, amassing a 9-5-2 record (20 points) so far this season– leading the Buffalo Sabres for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference by virtue of having one more regulation-plus-overtime win than the Sabres.

The Maple Leafs fell to 11-6-0 (22 points) on the season and retained 2nd place in the Atlantic Division despite the loss.

It Boston and Toronto’s first meeting since the First Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs in which the Bruins eliminated the Maple Leafs in seven games.

Forward, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL), as Bruce Cassidy was looking to change up the lines, and Dan Vladar was also an emergency recall from Providence, serving as the backup goaltender to Halak.

Cassidy left the first and second lines alone, while pairing Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork to the left and right, respectively, of Forsbacka Karlsson on the third line. David Backes centered Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner on the fourth line.

Noel Acciari was a healthy scratch for the Bruins, while Urho Vaakanainen (concussion), Charlie McAvoy (concussion) and Kevan Miller (hand) remained out of the lineup with their respective injuries.

Vaakanainen, McAvoy and Miller have skated on their own as of Saturday and are all improving.

Steven Kampfer kicked things off with the game’s first penalty– a minor for interference against Toronto’s Josh Leivo— at 5:48 of the first period. The Bruins allowed nine shots against on the ensuing penalty kill in what was a Maple Leafs dominated effort in the first period.

But as things in hockey (and life) sometimes go– nothing makes sense.

Bergeron (9) redirection a pass behind Sparks from close range for the 1-0 lead at 16:12 of the first period thanks to an assist from Pastrnak (6). Boston got on the scoreboard first.

After 20 minutes, the B’s were ahead, 1-0, on the scoreboard, but trailing the Leafs in shots on goal, 20-6. Toronto also had an advantage in takeaways (7-2) and face-off win percentage (52-48), while Boston led in blocked shots (5-4), giveaways (7-5) and hits (11-9). The Maple Leafs were 0/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission, while the Bruins had yet to see time on the skater advantage.

That would change in the first 41 seconds of the middle frame.

Zach Hyman cross checked Matt Grzelcyk and the Bruins went on the power play for the first time of the night. They did not convert on their first power play opportunity of the game.

Grzelcyk later kept the puck in the offensive zone, sending it to Bergeron who forced a pass to Pastrnak (13) for a one-timer while falling past Sparks on the high-blocker side to give Boston a two-goal lead.

Bergeron (14) and Grzelcyk (7) had the primary and secondary assists on Pastrnak’s first goal of the game that made it, 2-0, Bruins at 5:46 of the second period.

Shortly thereafter, while Bjork was on a break-in, Leafs defender, Martin Marincin got a hold on the Bruins forward, yielding a holding infraction at 9:09.

Boston went back on the power play and took almost 90 seconds to convert on the skater advantage with Pastrnak (14) scoring his 2nd goal of the game on another one-timer redirection while crashing the net.

Bergeron worked the puck to Marchand across the ice to the boards closest to the benches, whereby Marchand planted a cross the slot pass to Pastrnak for the 3-0 lead at 10:34 of the second period. Marchand (13) and Bergeron (15) notched the power play assists.

Tempers began to boil when Brandon Carlo roughed up Kasperi Kapanen at 17:28 of the period.

Two seconds after the Maple Leafs power play expired, a wide open John Tavares (10) found a wide open piece of the twine net– after the rubber biscuit was dished all-around the umbrella setup on the skater advantage– and cut the lead to two-goals. Mitch Marner (15) and Morgan Rielly (14) had the assists on Tavares’ goal that made it, 3-1, Bruins at 19:30 of the middle period.

Through two periods of action, Boston held onto a 3-1 lead.

Toronto was still leading in shots on goal, 30-22, but the Bruins outshot the Maple Leafs in the second period, 16-10. Boston also led in blocked shots (10-9), giveaways (12-8) and face-off win% (53-47), while the Leafs led in takeaways (9-3) and hits (17-15).

Entering the dressing room for the second intermission, Toronto was 0/2 on the power play and the Bruins were 1/2 on the advantage.

Kapanen caught Boston defender, John Moore, with a high-stick that drew blood and earned the Leafs forward a four-minute, double minor, penalty at 11:28 of the third period.

While on the extended power play, Pastrnak (15) completed his hat trick thanks to the work of Torey Krug moving the puck back to Marchand who then fed Pastrnak on a tic-toc-goal effort.

Marchand (14) picked up his second assist of the evening and Krug (5) earned his first point of the night at 14:04 of the third period, as the Bruins now led, 4-1.

A mere, 26 seconds later, with the power play expired, David Krejci spun away from Toronto’s pressure with a back-pass to Joakim Nordstrom (3) for the added insurance policy goal to make it, 5-1, Boston.

Krejci (12) laid claim to the only assist on the goal at 14:30.

Late in the third period, Kampfer was called for his fourth minor penalty in the last two games– this time for slashing Toronto’s Nazem Kadri.

The Maple Leafs did not convert on the ensuing power play.

At the final horn, the Bruins defeated Toronto, 5-1, despite being outshot, 41-34. The B’s led in shots on goal in the third period, 12-11, and had the final advantage in giveaways (16-8), hits (22-20) and face-off win% (53-47) after the 60-minute effort.

Both teams had 12 blocked shots aside, while Toronto finished Saturday night powerless on the power play (0/3). Boston operated at 50% capacity (2/4) on the skater advantage.

With the loss on the road, the Maple Leafs fell to 6-1-0 in seven road games so far this season. The Bruins face the Golden Knights on Sunday before departing for a four-game road trip, stopping in Colorado on Nov. 14th, Dallas on Nov. 16, Arizona on Nov. 17th and Detroit on Nov. 21st.

After the four-game road trip, Boston returns home for their annual Black Friday game– this time a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 23rd. The Bruins play two games back-to-back after American Thanksgiving this year, with a home game against Pittsburgh on the 23rd and a road game in Montreal on Nov. 24th.

With his 2nd career hat trick (regular season and playoffs) against the Maple Leafs on Saturday, Pastrnak joined Phil Esposito (four-times), Bobby Bauer (two-times), Herb Cain (two-times), Cam Neely (two-times) and Krejci (two-times) as the only players in Bruins franchise history to record multiple hat tricks against Toronto.

November 10, 2018
Marchand wins it in OT, 2-1, Rask, Khudobin battle in net

For the first time since 1967, the Boston Bruins have an overtime win against the Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars franchise in the regular season. As a result of Brad Marchand‘s game-winning goal on the 5-on-3 power play in overtime, the Bruins are now 1-3-8 overall against the Stars when the game goes past 60-minutes in the regular season.

Former teammates and (still) good friends, Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin were in goal for their respective teams as Rask minded the net for Boston and Khudobin took to the crease for Dallas.

Rask (4-3-0, 2.78 goals against average, .909 save percentage in 7 games played this season) made 24 saves on 25 shots against for a .960 SV% in 64:29 time on ice in the win for Boston, while Khudobin made (2-1-1, 2.21 GAA, .929 SV% in 4 GP) 33 saves on 35 shots faced for a .943 SV% in the loss.

The Bruins improved to 8-4-2 (18 points) on the season and remained in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Stars fell to 8-5-1 (17 points) and moved into 3rd place in the Central Division.

Bruce Cassidy made a few minor adjustments to his lineup Monday night, sliding Danton Heinen down to the third line with David Backes and Anders Bjork to start the night, while Joakim Nordstrom kicked things off with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk on the second line.

On defense, Zdeno Chara remained paired with Brandon Carlo and Torey Krug remained partners with John Moore, while Matt Grzelcyk returned to the lineup from a lower body injury.

Grzelcyk took his usual spot on the third defensive pair to the left of Steven Kampfer while Jeremy Lauzon was left as the odd man out as a healthy scratch.

Anton Blidh was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on emergency basis in case Chris Wagner wouldn’t be good enough to go as a game-time decision, but was not needed in Monday night’s matchup.

Charlie McAvoy (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) and Kevan Miller (hand) remain out of Boston’s lineup due to injury.

Early in the first period Roman Polak interfered with Bruins forward, Brad Marchand, and was sent to the box with a minor penalty at 3:25.

Less than 30 seconds later, Boston’s power play unit was more than power less as Radek Faksa (3) entered the zone without any deterrent for an unassisted short handed goal, firing a shot past Rask and giving Dallas the 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the first period.

Though they could’ve gotten behind the eight-ball, the Bruins trudged on and capitalized on the same special teams advantage moments later.

Patrice Bergeron found David Pastrnak (12) in the open to the left of Khudobin acting as the bumper on the power play and sent a crisp pass for the one-timer power play goal at 5:11, tying the game, 1-1.

Bergeron (13) and DeBrusk (1) were tabbed with the assists on Pastrnak’s goal and the Bruins not only leveled the scoreboard, 1-1, but the momentum swing game too. Boston had scored 1:20 after Dallas opened the game’s scoring.

After their power play goal, Boston didn’t let up on the gas pedal, pressuring the Stars in every inch of the ice and supplying Khudobin with a tremendous workload.

Through one period of play the game was tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard while the B’s led in shots on goal, 13-4. Dallas held onto the advantage in blocked shots (3-0), takeaways (5-4), giveaways (2-0) and face-off win percentage (53-47) after 20 minutes of play, while both teams notched nine hits aside.

The Stars had yet to see any time on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/1 on the skater advantage.

Despite allowing more shots on goal than putting pucks on net in the second period, Boston maintained a, 21-13, advantage in shots on goal entering the second period as the game remained tied, 1-1, through two periods.

Dallas continued to lead in blocked shots (9-0), giveaways (7-6) and hits (24-19) heading into the dressing room for the second intermission, while the Bruins led in face-off win% (53-47). Both teams recorded nine takeaways through 40 minutes of play.

Neither club added any penalty minutes to the scoresheet heading into the third period.

Krug took the only penalty for Boston in the game past the midpoint of the third period as he collided with Gemel Smith and received a boarding minor at 11:15.

The Stars failed to convert on their only power play opportunity of the game, while the Bruins successfully killed off Krug’s infraction.

After 60 minutes, the game was still tied, 1-1, and the Bruins were outshooting Dallas, 32-23 (11-10 in the third period). The Stars maintained a stronghold in blocked shots (13-3) and led in hits (30-26) after regulation, while Boston led takeaways (14-12) and face-off win% (52-48).

Both teams had nine giveaways aside heading into overtime, while Dallas was 0/1 on the power play and the B’s were 1/1.

Entering overtime, Boston had yet to win past 60 minutes this season, dropping a game in Edmonton, 3-2, and a game in Vancouver, 2-1, last month– both in overtime, while the Stars were 1-0 in overtime this season.

After a bungled line change resulted in a too many men bench minor for Dallas, Mattias Janmark was sent to the both to serve the infraction and Stars head coach, Jim Montgomery rallied his remaining skaters on the ice, despite facing an uphill 4-on-3 penalty kill to climb with 1:44 remaining in overtime.

That’s right, regardless of the outcome, Boston would have a power play until the end of the game– win or lose.

Things got worse for Dallas when Esa Lindell cross-checked Marchand 11 seconds later along the boards and the Stars went from being down one skater to facing a two-skater disadvantage to finish the night.

While on the 5-on-3 power play, Boston worked the puck around the goal firing a quality shot on Khudobin that the Stars netminder denied before finally cracking the code.

After working the puck around the zone, Krejci found Marchand working the low slot– point blank– on the left side of the Dallas goaltender. Marchand (5) promptly elevated a snap shot past Khudobin’s blocker and into the goal for the game-winning overtime power play goal at 4:29 of the overtime period.

Krejci (8) and Krug (2) picked up the primary and secondary assists on the Bruins franchise leading overtime game-winning goal scorer’s goal and Boston secured the 2-1 victory Monday night at home.

Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-25) and face-off win% (55-45), while Dallas led in blocked shots (13-4), giveaways (10-9) and hits (32-26). The Stars were 0/1 on the power play, while the Bruins went 2/3 on the skater advantage.

With Monday night’s win, the Bruins look to build the momentum against the Vancouver Canucks this Thursday at TD Garden as Boston continues their four-game home stand.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in town Saturday and the Vegas Golden Knights swing through on Sunday before Boston hits the road for a four-game road trip starting in Colorado.

November 5, 2018
The Price is right for a 3-0 shutout by the Habs over the B’s

Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens shutout the Boston Bruins, 3-0, Saturday night at TD Garden. Price (4-1-2, 2.13 goals against average, .922 save percentage in seven games this season) made 33 saves in the win, while Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi and Jordie Benn each had a goal in the victory.

Boston netminder, Tuukka Rask (3-3-0, 3.15 GAA, .902 SV% in six GP this season), stopped 20 out of 22 shots faced for a .909 SV% Saturday night in the loss.

The win moved Price past Patrick Roy for 2nd place all-time in wins for the Canadiens as Price now has 290 to Roy’s 289 career wins with Montreal. Jacques Plante is 1st in franchise history for the Habs with 314 wins.

Another fun fact, Price leads Montreal all-time in losses with 202 currently. He’s been their starting netminder since the 2007-08 season and is in his 12th career NHL season. Ken Dryden and Plante had shorter careers with Montreal than Price and Roy, while Roy spent 1985-96 with the Canadiens before being traded to the Colorado Avalanche.

As a result, Roy ranks 2nd all-time in losses as a Hab with 175, while Jose Theodore is 3rd with 158 losses as a Canadien.

Had Roy not been traded to the Avalanche in the 1995-96 season, who knows what might’ve happened.

As a result of Saturday’s loss, the Bruins fell to 6-3-2 (14 points) on the season– dropping to 4th in the Atlantic Division thanks to, you guessed it, the now 6-2-2 (14 points) overall Montreal Canadiens. Montreal has played 10 games thus far, while Boston has played in 11, yielding a one-game in-hand advantage for the Canadiens in the standings.

Bruce Cassidy made two minor moves in his lineup for Boston, moving Anders Bjork to the right side of Joakim Nordstrom on the third line and swapping Chris Wagner and Ryan Donato on the left side of the third and fourth line.

Wagner was bumped to the left side of Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari, while Donato fit in with Nordstrom and Bjork.

Torey Krug is expected to return to the lineup next week, as Cassidy indicated prior to Saturday’s matchup, while David Backes, Charlie McAvoy, Urho Vaakanainen and Kevan Miller remain injured.

Early in the first period, David Pastrnak was guilty of slashing Canadiens defender, Xavier Ouellet, at 4:42. Montreal did not convert on the ensuing power play, but momentum began to swing in their favor.

Moments later, the Habs were first on the scoreboard and they’d remain the only ones on the scoreboard.

Brendan Gallagher (6) spun away from Acciari, then cut to the inside to fully free himself from entrapment and found an opening under the glove of Rask to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead 9:18 into the first period.

Matthew Peca (3) and Ouellet (3) picked up the tab on the primary and secondary assists on Gallagher’s goal.

Just 1:21 later, Max Domi (5) made it 2-0, Montreal, after an aerial pass sent Artturi Lehkonen into the zone, with Boston’s defense collapsing and a few quality rebound chances leading up to Domi’s goal.

Jonathan Drouin (5) and Lehkonen (6) had the assists on Domi’s goal at 10:39 of the first period.

Less than five minutes later, Peca cut a rut to the penalty box for tripping Bjork at 15:24 of the opening frame. Boston did not convert on their first skater advantage of the evening.

After 20 minutes of play, the Canadiens led, 2-0. Montreal also had the advantage in shots on goal (9-7), takeaways (7-2), giveaways (6-1) and hits (14-9), while Boston led in face-off win percentage (53-47). Blocked shots were even, 2-2, and both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the dressing room for the first intermission.

Early in the second period, the Bruins thought they had gotten on the scoreboard and cut Montreal’s lead in half with a goal by Donato, however, former Bruins bench boss and current Canadiens head coach, Claude Julien, used his coach’s challenge to get the call on the ice rightfully overturned after review.

The Bruins had entered the zone offside prior to Donato’s would-be goal, hence the call on the ice being overturned and the score remaining, 2-0, Montreal.

Past the midway-point of the second frame, B’s defender Brandon Carlo caught Drouin with a stick up high and was sent to the sin bin for high-sticking at 12:30 of the second period.

Through two periods of play, the Canadiens held onto a 2-0 lead and shots on goal were even (19-19) as were blocked shots (5-5). Montreal led in takeaways (10-8), giveaways (9-3), hits (23-17) and face-off win% (53-47). Entering the second intermission, the Habs were 0/2 on the skater advantage, while Boston was still 0/1.

Joel Armia kicked off the action in the third period by tripping Donato and being sent to the penalty box at 5:10.

While on the power play, Rask caught Paul Byron behind the net and promptly tripped the Canadiens forward, sending Donato to the box to serve the Bruins netminder’s minor infraction for tripping.

About two minutes later, Drouin and Brad Marchand were tangled up in an altercation after Drouin was going to be penalized for interference. Marchand received a roughing penalty and both sides sent a skater to the box for 4-on-4 action at 8:07 of the third period.

While the Bruins continued to fire shots at Price, eventually taking the lead in shots on goal, they weren’t nearly of any challenging, quality, caliber.

Nicolas Deslauriers hooked David Krejci at 12:30 of the third period and the Bruins went on the power play once again. They did not score. By now, you should definitely remember the first sentence in this recap mentioned the Canadiens shutout the Bruins on Saturday.

Cassidy pulled his goaltender with 2:59 remaining in regulation for an extra skater. It didn’t go as planned, even after Boston used their timeout after a stoppage with 1:25 left in the game and an offensive zone face-off.

Using physics and trick shots he learned by playing pool (I’m assuming), Jordie Benn (1) banked an indirect shot off the boards and into the empty net in for the insurance empty net goal.

Montreal led 3-0 as Lehkonen (7) picked up his second assist of the night on Benn’s first goal of the season at 19:31 of the third period.

At the final horn the Canadiens sealed the victory with the advantage in blocked shots (12-8), giveaways (14-7), hits (28-20) and face-off win% (51-49), while the Bruins lost, 3-0, despite outshooting the Habs, 33-23. Both teams finished the night 0/3 on the power play.

Price picked up his first shutout against the B’s since February 8, 2016 in the most shots he’s faced so far this season (33).

The Bruins travel to Raleigh, North Carolina for Tuesday’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes before visiting the Nashville Predators on Nov. 3rd. to wrap up a quick two-game road trip.

Among other stats from Saturday’s loss…

Boston’s first line of Patrice Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak, as well as defender Matt Grzelcyk were each minus-two in the plus/minus category. Pastrnak led the B’s in shots on goal with six, while Bergeron had the next highest total with four.

John Moore and Jake DeBrusk led Boston in hits with three apiece, while Bjork led his teammates in blocked shots with two.

Montreal’s Artturi Lehkonen was a plus-two and his teammates Gallagher and Byron led the Habs in shots on goal with three shots on net each.

Deslauriers and Karl Alzner had five hits, leading the Canadiens in that category, while Ouellet led the Habs in blocked shots with three.

October 28, 2018
Pastrnak’s 4th career 4-point night lifts B’s, 4-1, over Sens

For the fourth time in his young career, David Pastrnak (2-2–4 totals) had a four-point night to snap a three-game losing streak and help the Boston Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1, at Canadian Tire Centre Tuesday night.

David Krejci (1-1–2) and Patrice Bergeron (1-2–3) each had a goal in the Bruins victory, while Tuukka Rask (3-2-0, 3.38 goals against average, .901 save percentage) made 38 saves on 39 shots against for a .974 SV% en route to picking up his third win of the season.

Rask bounced back with an impressive showing since his last game (Oct. 17th’s 5-2 loss, 24 saves, in Calgary against the Flames) as Boston’s first line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Pastrnak combined for eight points in Tuesday’s win.

Ottawa netminder, Craig Anderson (4-2-1, 3.14 GAA, .915 SV%), stopped 28 out of 32 shots faced for an .875 SV% in the loss.

The Senators are now 0-2-0 against their division rival– the Bruins– this season after Tuesday’s loss and Oct. 8th’s 6-3 loss at TD Garden. Boston swept Ottawa last season in the season series, while the Sens swept the B’s in 2016-17.

Coincidentally, Rask was 3-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA against Ottawa last season.

Boston was 18-8-2 against Atlantic Division teams last season. They are 4-0-0 against division opponents thus far in 2018-19 (4-0 at Buffalo on Oct. 4th, 6-3 vs. Ottawa on Oct. 8th, 8-2 vs. Detroit on Oct. 13th and Tuesday’s 4-1 win in Ottawa).

Bruce Cassidy adjusted his lines without David Backes in the lineup for the second straight game, leaving what worked against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 20th together on the third line with Anders Bjork sliding in on the left side of Joakim Nordstrom and Chris Wagner playing right wing.

Ryan Donato, Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari were again the left wing-center-right wing combo for the fourth line.

Zdeno Chara was paired with Brandon Carlo, while Matt Grzelcyk played with John Moore and Urho Vaakanainen started the game alongside Steven Kampfer.

In the opening minutes of the first period, Senators defender, Mark Borowiecki looked over his shoulder at an approaching Vaakanainen and promptly delivered an elbow to the 19-year-old blue liner’s face after a whistle.

No penalty was called on the play and Vaakanainen would not return for the second period. In fact, the rookie defender in just his 2nd career National Hockey League game was diagnosed with a concussion by the Bruins medical staff and shutdown for the rest of the night.

Cassidy juggled his remaining defenders for the rest of the night, with Carlo seeing some impressive play in his own end, including blocking shots and bailing out his team from errant pucks in the crease approaching the goal line.

Of note, injured defender Torey Krug started skating the other day and may return to the lineup next week. Kevan Miller and Charlie McAvoy remain out, however, in addition to the now uncertain timetable for Vaakanainen.

Chara was penalized for hooking Ottawa’s Matt Duchene at 3:59 of the first period, but Ottawa wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing power play. This, despite Bobby Ryan firing a shot through Rask that nearly crossed the goal line before Carlo squibbed it free from the blue paint.

Fresh off the bench in the midst of a line change, Danton Heinen sent the puck up to Pastrnak (9) who managed to break into the attacking zone and snipe a shot past Anderson to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 11:17 of the first period.

Heinen (2) and Krejci (6) were tabbed with the assists on Pastrnak’s goal.

After one period, Boston held onto a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 15-10 advantage in shots on goal. The B’s also led in takeaways (2-0), hits (10-7) and face-off win percentage (57-43), while Ottawa had an advantage in blocked shots (7-6) and giveaways (5-1). The Sens were 0/1 on the power play entering the first intermission, while the Bruins had yet to see time on the skater advantage.

Noel Acciari was guilty of tripping Senators defender, Thomas Chabot, at 5:30 of the second period, but Ottawa wasn’t able to convert on their second skater advantage of the night.

Late in the period Brad Marchand and Zack Smith exchanged fisticuffs after Smith hit Grzelcyk hard in the corner. The hit was clean, but given the heightened tempers, Marchand wasn’t taking any chances with seeing another defender, let alone teammate, get roughed up without some kind of response (right or wrong).

A minute later on yet another questionable call by the refs, Chara was handed a cross checking minor for Mark Stone having grabbed Chara’s stick at 16:19.

In a test of Boston’s will to bounce back from murky calls, the Senators struck on the power play on a one-timer from the point thanks to Chabot (3) firing a shot past the screened Bruins netminder on the blocker side.

Ryan (4) and Stone (3) had the assists on Chabot’s power play goal at 17:51.

Nevertheless, Ottawa’s first minor penalty of the night came less than a moment later when Alex Formenton was guilty of a two-minute violation for holding the stick as Carlo drew a power play for the Bruins.

Almost 30 seconds later, the Senators bench bungled a line change and was guilty of too many men on the ice at 19:05, yielding a 5-on-3 power play opportunity for Boston for just over 80 seconds of a two-skater advantage.

That 5-on-3 power play would’ve carried into the third period, if it weren’t for Krejci (2) pocketing a one-timer from Pastrnak past Anderson while the Senators goalie dove in desperation across the crease four seconds into the two-skater advantage.

Krejci’s goal at 19:09 of the second period gave Boston the lead, 2-1, and was assisted by Pastrnak (4) and Bergeron (8) after Anderson bought Pastrnak’s head fake and left a gapping hole in the net for No. 46 in black-and-gold to complete the one-timer.

Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins held onto a 2-1 lead, but were being outshot, 24-22. Ottawa managed to outshoot Boston, 2:1, in the second period with a 14-7 advantage in the middle frame alone.

Boston led in blocked shots (15-11), takeaways (3-1), hits (20-12) and face-off win% (57-43) entering the second intermission. Ottawa had an advantage in giveaways (7-1) and was 1/3 on the power play while the B’s were 1/2 after two.

Just 21 seconds into the third period, while still on the 5-on-4 advantage, Bergeron (7) buried a redirection past Anderson on a purposeful shot from Pastrnak to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead in the third period.

Pastrnak (5) and Grzelcyk (5) notched the assists on Bergeron’s insurance goal.

Moments later, Pastrnak received a transition pass and sent the puck further along to Marchand for a 2-on-1 opportunity. Marchand dangled, snuck the puck through his own legs and completely undressed Ottawa’s defense before sending a pass back to Pastrnak (10) for an elevated one-timer shot through the roof of the twine behind Anderson.

His second goal of the night, Pastrnak, gave Boston a 4-1 lead, while Marchand (11) and Bergeron (9) picked up their first and second assists, respectively in the game at 5:31.

Seconds later, Chara was called for tripping Ryan at 5:47 and the Bruins were forced to kill off another penalty. They did so successfully, until Marchand was guilty of slashing Duchene one second after Chara was freed from the box– then they had yet another minor infraction to kill off (they did).

At the final horn, the Bruins had won 4-1, despite trailing in shots on goal, 39-32 (and 15-10 in the third period) to Ottawa. Boston finished Tuesday with an advantage in blocked shots (22-15), hits (24-21) and face-off win% (55-45), while the Senators held onto an advantage in giveaways (10-3).

The B’s went 2/2 on the skater advantage, while the Sens finished 1/5 on the power play.

Pastrnak carried the weight of the first line’s eight-point production with four points (two goals, two assists) of his own, while Bergeron (one goal, two assists) and Marchand (one assist) completed the effort.

The Bruins finished their four-game road trip with a 1-1-2 record earning four out of a possible eight points, while improving their overall record to 5-2-2 (12 points) on the season. Boston is currently tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs in points for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, however the Maple Leafs hold the tiebreaker by virtue of having one more regulation-plus-overtime win (Toronto has six, Boston has five, so far).

Ottawa fell to 4-3-1 (9 points) as a result of Tuesday’s loss, good enough for 6th in the division.

Boston heads home for a Thursday night matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden before hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Next Tuesday (Oct. 30th), the B’s begin a quick, two-game, road trip at PNC Arena against the Carolina Hurricanes, before swinging through Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 3rd for a visit against the Nashville Predators.

Among other stats from Tuesday night’s win in Ottawa…

David Pastrnak and Zdeno Chara led Boston in plus/minus as each were a plus-two, while Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk led their team in shots on goal with five apiece.

Brandon Carlo led the Bruins in the hits department with four, while Chris Wagner, Noel Acciari and Chara each recorded three.

In addition to his plus/minus and hitting efforts, Chara led Boston in blocked shots with five. The next closest among his teammates was three (Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore and Matt Grzelcyk).

Matt Duchene and Dylan DeMelo were each a minus-two for the Senators in the loss, while Mark Stone led Ottawa in shots on goal with six. Mark Borowiecki and Ryan Dzingel each recorded four hits for Ottawa, while Christian Jaros and Chris Wideman each had four blocked shots.

Oh, and one more thing… David Pastrnak is the sixth different player in Bruins franchise history to record at least 10 goals in the team’s first nine (or fewer) games of a season.

The most goals in the month of October by any Boston player?

14 — Phil Esposito (1973-74)

12 — Charlie Simmer (1985-86)

10 — David Pastrnak (2018-19)

10 — Dimitri Kvartalnov (1992-93)

10 — Phil Esposito (1974-75)

October 24, 2018