Down the Frozen River

Tag: Jack Studnicka

  • Bergeron’s game-winner lifts B’s over Canes, 4-3, in 2OT

    Patrice Bergeron ended things much earlier on Wednesday than the National Hockey League’s 4th longest playoff game Tuesday night, but it took double overtime to reach the, 4-3, victory for the Boston Bruins over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of their 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup.

    Tuukka Rask (1-2 in three games played, 2.41 goals against average, .909 save percentage this postseason) made 25 saves on 28 shots against for an .893 SV% in the double overtime win for the Bruins at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario.

    Hurricanes goaltender, Petr Mrazek (2-1 in three games played, 2.09 GAA, .922 SV% this postseason) stopped 36 out of 40 shots faced for a .900 SV% in the loss.

    Game 1 for Boston and Carolina was delayed from Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET until Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. ET due to Tuesday afternoon’s Game 1 matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning requiring five overtime’s to determine a winner (Lightning, 3-2– puck drop was at 3:00 p.m. ET, but the game ended at 9:22 p.m. ET).

    The Hurricanes were without Justin Williams and Sami Vatanen in their lineup as both players were ruled “unfit to play” by Carolina’s head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, about 20 minutes before puck drop.

    On a positive note for Canes fans, Dougie Hamilton was back in action for Carolina after sustaining an injury that kept him out of Carolina’s Qualifier between breaking his left fibula in Columbus on Jan. 16th and Wednesday’s Game 1 against Boston.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lineup from last Sunday’s, 2-1, loss to the Washington Capitals in Boston’s final Round Robin game to Game 1 against Carolina, while Brad Marchand took sole possession of seventh place in franchise history for most playoff games as a Bruin in his 112th career playoff game– surpassing Rick Middleton– at puck drop.

    Boston’s long list of healthy scratches on Wednesday included Zach Senyshyn, Par Lindholm, John Moore, Maxime Lagace, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jack Studnicka, Connor Clifton, Dan Vladar, Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman.

    Boston and Carolina are meeting for the sixth time in the postseason. The Bruins hold the all time series advantage, 4-1, with 19 wins and 11 losses in the process entering Wednesday.

    The B’s beat the Hartford Whalers in seven games in the 1990 Adams Division Semifinal and in six games in the 1991 Adams Division Semifinal, then beat the Hurricanes after the Whalers relocated to North Carolina in six games in the 1999 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.

    In the last 20 years, however, the Hurricanes defeated the Bruins in seven games in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal, while Boston swept Carolina in four games in the 2019 Eastern Conference Final.

    The Hurricanes made the playoffs after sweeping the New York Rangers in three games in their 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifier series– marking back-to-back postseason appearances for Carolina for the first time since 2001-2002.

    The B’s beat the Canes in the season series 1-0-0 in one prior meeting (a, 2-0, shutout victory for Jaroslav Halak and the Bruins on Dec. 3rd) before the ongoing pandemic shortened the 2019-20 regular season.

    Nino Niederreiter caught Torey Krug with an elbow and presented the Bruins with the game’s first power play at 3:24 of the first period.

    Carolina’s penalty killing unit successfully kept Boston off the scoreboard, however, and did not allow a power-play goal against.

    Almost midway into the opening frame, the Bruins recorded the first shot on goal of the game at 7:03.

    A couple of minutes later, Charlie McAvoy tripped up Morgan Geekie and presented the Hurricanes with a power play opportunity at 9:25, but the Canes did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Fear not, however, as Carolina had swung enough momentum in their favor for the game’s first goal after Warren Foegele broke into the attacking zone.

    Foegele moved the puck to Sebastian Aho, who then cycled it over to Teuvo Teravainen before No. 86 in white and red set up Joel Edmundson (1) for the one-timer goal as Rask had to work laterally across the crease while his Bruins teammates lacked pressure in front of him and gave up the, 1-0, lead to the Hurricanes.

    Teravainen (2) and Aho (6) notched the assists on Edmundson’s first goal of the postseason at 13:02 of the first period.

    Late in the period, however, Bergeron won a faceoff back to Marchand in the offensive zone, whereby Marchand cycled the puck around the faceoff dot before making a quick pass to David Pastrnak (1) for a redirection in the slot past Mrazek– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Marchand (1) and Bergeron (2) tallied the assists on Pastrnak’s goal at 17:45.

    After 20 minutes of play, the the score was tied, 1-1, with the Bruins outshooting the Hurricanes, 9-4.

    Carolina held the advantage in blocked shots (9-6), takeaways (1-0) and hits (18-11), however, while Boston led in giveaways (7-2) and faceoff win percentage (63-37) entering the first intermission.

    Both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Ondrej Kase was assessed a minor penalty for holding against Hamilton at 1:42 of the second period and sent the Hurricanes back on the power play early in the middle frame.

    Once more, however, the Canes didn’t convert on the skater advantage, however– a pattern that became a trend all afternoon for both teams.

    Moments later, Charlie Coyle (1) buried a loose puck from point blank to give Boston a, 2-1, lead at 4:38 of the second period, except there was just one thing– nobody knew if there had been goaltender interference, a hand pass or if Mrazek had frozen the puck.

    Brind’Amour made it clear to Hurricanes beat reporters after his media availability that no official had clarified what was or wasn’t called on the ice and offered Carolina’s head coach to “pick one” if he was interested in challenging the ruling on the ice.

    After a failed coach’s challenge by Brind’Amour for a “missed stoppage in the offensive zone”, the call on the ice (goal) was upheld and the Hurricanes were assessed a bench minor for delay of game.

    Brind’Amour’s comments regarding the “joke” of a league earned him a $25,000 fine from the NHL, by the way.

    In his defense, the league’s policy for clearly indicating and communicating what decision(s) have been made on calls by officials needs work (like, for instance, definitively making a call and alerting both coaches of exactly what call was made and options thereafter).

    While shorthanded, however, the Hurricanes benefitted from a blown play from Pastrnak when he tried to force a pass through the neutral zone that Brock McGinn (1) intercepted, made his own breakaway, waltzed into the attacking zone and scored on a backhand over Rask’s glove while Boston’s power play unit trailed behind.

    McGinn’s shorthanded goal tied the game, 2-2, at 4:59 of the second period– 21 seconds after Boston had taken their first lead since arriving in the bubble.

    Midway through the middle period, Andrei Svechnikov caught Pastrnak with a slash and was sent to the sin bin for two minutes at 11:54, but the Bruins didn’t score on the resulting power play.

    Shortly after returning to even strength action, the two teams dropped down to 4-on-4 play for a couple minutes after Jordan Staal and Coyle each received high sticking infractions for antagonizing one another at 14:07.

    Neither team had any issue and resumed full strength action at 16:07.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the score was tied, 2-2, while the Bruins were leading in shots on goal, 21-9.

    Boston held a, 12-5, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone and continued to lead in giveaways (12-6) and faceoff win% (63-37), while Carolina led in blocked shots (16-14), takeaways (5-2) and hits (28-17) entering the second intermission.

    The Hurricanes were 0/2 and the B’s were 0/3 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Less than a minute into the third period, David Krejci (1) received a pass, deked and reached around Mrazek to put the Bruins back into the lead, 3-2.

    Kase (2) and McAvoy (2) collected the assists on Krejci’s goal at 59 seconds of the third period.

    Less than five minutes later, Jeremy Lauzon was guilty of holding against Niederreiter and was assessed a minor infraction at 5:12, but the Hurricanes were powerless on the ensuing skater advantage and couldn’t storm their way to a goal before Lauzon was released from the box.

    They did, however, swing momentum in their favor with sustained pressure in the third period and a shot from Haydn Fleury (1) that had eyes from the point and hit the twine while Carolina worked to screen Rask– tying the game, 3-3, at 9:49 of the third period.

    Vincent Trocheck (1) had the only assist on the goal and the score remained even at, 3-3, through the end of regulation.

    After 60 minutes of play– and for the second consecutive game in the Toronto bubble– overtime was necessary.

    The Bruins were outshooting the Hurricanes, 28-21, and leading in blocked shots (23-20), giveaways (17-9) and faceoff win% (53-48), while Carolina held the advantage in takeaways (8-4) and hits (39-24), as well as shots on goal in the third period alone (12-7).

    Both teams were 0/3 on the power play heading into the first overtime period.

    Midway through the first overtime, McAvoy briefly headed down the tunnel after an awkward collision and fall to the ice, but the Bruins defender made his return and missed little action in the extra frames.

    After letting the players play for quite some time, an official made a call against Carolina when Brady Skjei brought down Coyle with a hold at 18:24 of the overtime period.

    Boston’s power play would extend 24 seconds into the second overtime period, however, as the first overtime came to a close with no final result.

    The two clubs remained tied, 3-3, on the scoreboard, while the B’s led in shots on goal (39-27)– including an, 11-6, advantage in the first overtime alone– as well as blocked shots (29-28), giveaways (22-14) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    Meanwhile, Carolina continued to hold the advantage in takeaways (9-8) and hits (51-32) through 80 minutes of hockey.

    As there were no more penalties called in the game thereafter– and with Boston going scoreless on the power play that extended into the second overtime– the Canes finished 0/3 on the skater advantage, while the Bruins went 0/4 on the afternoon in power play tries.

    Shortly after Carolina killed off Skjei’s minor, however, the Bruins struck fast and ended the game with a quick zone entry from Marchand led to a pass to Pastrnak who then dished a backhand drop pass to Bergeron (1) for the shot that beat Mrazek on the far side, blocker side, and sealed the deal on a victory for Boston in Game 1.

    Pastrnak (1) and Marchand (2) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s game-winning double overtime goal that made the final result read, 4-3, in favor of the Bruins at 1:13 of the second overtime.

    The goal was Bergeron’s fourth career Stanley Cup Playoff overtime goal– the second most among active NHL players (Patrick Kane leads Bergeron with five playoff overtime goals)– and Bergeron’s first since double overtime in Game 3 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 5, 2013.

    No. 37 in black and gold is now tied with 15 other NHLers for the fifth most career playoff overtime goals, while Joe Sakic’s eight Stanley Cup Playoff overtime goals remain the most all time (Maurice Richard had six and is second, while Glenn Anderson and Kane are tied for third with five).

    Bergeron also established a record for the most playoff overtime goals in Bruins franchise history, surpassing Mel Hill and Terry O’Reilly, who each had three Stanley Cup Playoff overtime goals in their careers with Boston.

    The league’s current longest tenured alternate captain also passed Johnny Bucyk for fourth among Bruins franchise leaders in all time playoff goals scored with 41.

    Cam Neely (55 playoff goals with Boston), Phil Esposito (46) and Rick Middleton (45) sit ahead of Bergeron in that statistical category.

    The Bruins finished the afternoon with the lead in shots on goal (40-28), blocked shots (30-28), giveaways (22-14) and faceoff win% (56-44), while the Hurricanes ended the game with the advantage in hits (51-32).

    Boston took the, 1-0, series lead with Game 2 scheduled for Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario as part of the NHL’s Phase 4 Return to Play Eastern Conference bubble.

    Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 8 p.m. ET and fans in the United States can tune in on NBCSN, NESN or Fox Sports Carolinas, while those in Canada can catch the action on CBC, SportsNet or TVAS.

  • Capitals cap off Round Robin with, 2-1, win against Boston

    T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson had the only goals for the Washington Capitals as they beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario in Sunday afternoon’s final Eastern Conference Round Robin matchup.

    Braden Holtby (1-1-1 in three games played, 1.98 goals against average, .925 save percentage this postseason) made 30 saves on 31 shots against for the .968 SV% in the win for the Capitals.

    Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (0-2-0 in two games, 2.54 GAA, .917 SV% this postseason) stopped 23 out of 25 shots faced for a .920 SV% in the loss.

    Boston fell to 0-3-0 in the Round Robin tournament to determine the seeding for Eastern Conference matchups in the First Round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, while Washington improved to finish 1-1-1 in Round Robin action.

    As a result, the Caps will face the New York Islanders in the First Round, while the Bruins will square off with the Carolina Hurricanes in a rematch of the 2019 Eastern Conference Final.

    Ondrej Kase made his Round Robin debut for Boston in the club’s final matchup before the First Round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing their exhibition meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as their two prior Round Robin matchups with the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Kase joined the team in Toronto a few days after the club arrived in time for Phase 4 of the NHL’s Return to Play plan began.

    Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Jaroslav Halak were all “unfit to participate” in practice on Friday, but rejoined the Bruins at practice on Saturday as expected after B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, tipped his hand to reporters in Friday’s media session.

    Cassidy made a few minor changes to his lineup from last Wednesday’s, 3-2, loss to the Lightning to Sunday’s matinee with the Capitals.

    Jake DeBrusk returned to the left side of the second line with Krejci at center and Kase on the right wing, while Nick Ritchie was bumped down to the left side on the third line with Charlie Coyle at center and Anders Bjork on the right side.

    On defense, Cassidy gave Matt Grzelcyk the afternoon off and slid Jeremy Lauzon in Grzelcyk’s place, while giving time to Connor Clifton on the right side of third defensive pairing.

    Boston’s long list of scratches on Sunday included Zach Senyshyn, Par Lindholm, John Moore, Maxime Lagace, Grzelcyk, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jack Studnicka, Dan Vladar, Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman.

    Almost midway into the opening frame, the Capitals finally recorded their first shot on goal at 9:09 of the first period after Boston spent much time in their attacking zone.

    Moments later, Washington defender, Dmitry Orlov, was penalized for holding Bruins forward, David Pastrnak, and the Bruins went on the power play for the first time of the afternoon at 13:34.

    Boston’s power play was powerless as Washington’s penalty kill was dominant and killed off Orlov’s minor.

    About a minute after Boston’s skater advantage came to an end, Clifton reacted to a slash from Evgeny Kuznetsov and the two players were sent to the penalty box at 17:11 of the first period– Clifton for cross checking, Kuznetsov for slashing.

    After two minutes of 4-on-4 action, the two teams resumed 5-on-5 play and the seconds ticked down towards the first intermission.

    Well, they would have anyway, if it weren’t for Oshie’s (1) lucky bounce and ensuing poke check that resulted in a, 1-0, lead for the Caps with 16 seconds remaining in the period.

    Rask made the initial save as the puck rebounded off his pad, then deflected off of Zdeno Chara’s stick right within reach of Oshie for the unassisted goal at 19:44.

    Washington entered the first intermission with the, 1-0, lead on the scoreboard, despite trailing Boston, 6-2, in shots on goal.

    The Capitals held the advantage in blocked shots (8-4) and hits (16-8), while the Bruins led in takeaways (4-2), giveaways (5-3) and faceoff win percentage (63-37) entering dressing room after 20 minutes of action.

    The B’s were 0/1 on the power play, while the Caps had yet to be on the advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Ilya Kovalchuk kicked off the second period with a hooking infraction against Torey Krug at 2:31 of the middle period, yielding the second power play of the game to the Bruins.

    Once more, however, Boston’s power play was ineffective.

    Almost midway through the middle frame, Brandon Carlo hooked Jakub Vrana at 7:01 of the second period and presented the Capitals with their first skater advantage of the game.

    Washington did not convert on the ensuing power play, however.

    A little over eight minutes later, DeBrusk was penalized for holding the stick at 15:29– sending the Capitals on their second power play of the game.

    Washington wasn’t able to convert on the skater advantage, though, and play resumed at even strength once Boston’s penalty kill successfully killed off DeBrusk’s minor infraction.

    At the end of the period, Sean Kuraly and Oshie got into a bit of a heated exchange that didn’t result in fisticuffs, but yielded matching roughing minor penalties– officially at 20:00 of the second period.

    The two teams would start the final frame 4-on-4 for two minutes before resuming 5-on-5 action.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Capitals led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and trailed the Bruins, 16-15, in shots on goal despite holding the advantage in shots on net in the second period alone, 13-10.

    Washington also held the advantage in blocked shots (12-8) and hits (22-19), while Boston led in takeaways (8-4), giveaways (13-5) and faceoff win% (61-39).

    Both teams were 0/2 on the power play heading into the dressing room for the second intermission.

    Washington jumped out to a two-goal lead early in the final frame thanks to Wilson’s (1) quick break into the attacking zone and lob shot over Rask’s glove side from point blank.

    Ilya Kovalchuk (1) and Michal Kempny (1) tallied the assists on Wilson’s goal and the Capitals led, 2-0, at 2:49 of the third period.

    Almost midway through the third period, Charlie McAvoy tripped up Richard Panik and received a minor penalty for tripping at 7:29, but the Caps didn’t get a power play out of the infraction as Panik was sent to the sin bin as well with an embellishment minor.

    After two minutes at 4-on-4, the score remained, 2-0, Capitals and the two teams resumed full strength action.

    Just past the midpoint of the third period, however, DeBrusk (1) one-timed a shot through Holtby’s five-hole while crashing the slot after stepping over the puck and receiving the pass from Kase.

    Kase (1) and Krejci (1) were credited with the assists and the B’s cut the lead in half, 2-1, at 10:30 of the third period.

    After that, nothing else happened.

    No goals, no penalties, but a bunch of saves by each goalie.

    With one minute remaining in the game, Rask vacated his net for the extra attacker, but even after Boston used their timeout after a stoppage with 34.3 seconds left in regulation, the Bruins couldn’t tie the game and force overtime.

    At the final horn, the Capitals had won, 2-1, and finished the afternoon leading in blocked shots (21-14) and hits (31-24).

    The Bruins finished the game leading in shots (31-25), giveaways (19-12) and faceoff win% (64-36).

    Both teams finished the afternoon 0/2 on the power play.

    The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round start Tuesday with the full schedule yet to be announced.

  • Lightning strike three times in, 3-2, win against Boston

    Is it really August or is it actually just Groundhog Day for the Boston Bruins? The B’s dropped another one, 3-2, to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday in their second game of the Round Robin tournament to determine the No. 1-4 seeds for the Eastern Conference in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (2-0-0, 1.92 goals against average, .933 save percentage in two games) turned aside 25 out of 27 shots faced for a .926 SV% in the win for the Lightning.

    Meanwhile, Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (0-1-0, 3.10 GAA, .914 SV% in one game) made 32 saves on 35 shots against for a .914 SV% in the loss at the NHL’s Eastern Conference bubble– Scotiabank Arena– in Toronto, Ontario.

    Entering Wednesday, Patrice Bergeron had a day off at practice on Monday, which Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, later clarified to reporters was just a maintenance day, while Rask was back to practice on Monday and returned to the lineup against the Lightning.

    Rask mentioned at his media conference call after Monday’s practice that he spent a couple of days quarantined in his hotel room after having a cough and needed to have two negative tests for COVID-19 in order to return.

    “I had a cough so I just clicked ‘yes’ on the app and then all kinds of red lights started blinking so I was quarantined for two days. They wanted to do two negative tests after that,” Rask explained to reporters via Zoom.

    Nick Ritchie was also back in the lineup after missing last Sunday’s, 4-1, loss against the Philadelphia Flyers, while Ondrej Kase was ruled out of Wednesday’s action against Tampa, but should be good to go against Washington, according to Cassidy.

    As a result, Cassidy switched up his middle lines from last Sunday’s matchup with the Flyers to Wednesday’s meeting with the Lightning.

    Ritchie took to David Krejci’s left wing with Karson Kuhlman on the other side, while Anders Bjork was on the left side of Charlie Coyle on the third line– with Jake DeBrusk serving as the right winger.

    The Bruins made no other changes to their lineup.

    Meanwhile, Zach Senyshyn, Par Lindholm, John Moore, Kase, Maxime Lagace, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jack Studnicka, Connor Clifton, Dan Vladar and Trent Frederic served as Boston’s scratches.

    Jon Cooper’s Lightning were without their captain, Steven Stamkos, in the lineup once again. Stamkos has yet to make his Round Robin debut for the Bolts (with their last matchup before the First Round against Philadelphia set for Saturday).

    Less than a minute into the action, Jeremy Lauzon was caught trailing Blake Coleman and hooked the Lightning forward, resulting in a power play for the Bolts 43 seconds into the first period.

    Tampa was not able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Brayden Point (2) slipped a loose puck through Rask’s five-hole after Rask made the initial save and follow up stop, while the Bruins scrambled to defender after blowing a pair of chances to score at the other end.

    Ondrej Palat (1) and Nikita Kucherov (1) tallied the assists on Point’s goal and the Lightning led, 1-0, at 7:33 of the first period.

    A few minutes later, the Bruins had too many skaters on the ice and were assessed a bench minor for doing so at 10:19. Ritchie served the bench infraction, but Tampa’s power play struck fast.

    Alex Killorn (1) redirected a shot with the back of his skate blade after the puck deflected off of Sean Kuraly’s stick initially off a shot from teh point by Lightning defender, Victor Hedman.

    Hedman (1) and Tyler Johnson (1) notched the assists on the goal and the Bolts led, 2-0, at 10:32.

    Late in the period, chaos ensued as both teams took issue with one another– culminating in Torey Krug and Coleman exchanging fisticuffs at 17:07, and continuing almost 90 seconds later when Point and Charlie McAvoy shared an embrace and with it roughing minor penalties.

    Point earned two roughing infractions, while McAvoy was only charged with one at 18:25, yielding the first power play of the game for Boston, but the Bruins couldn’t hit the twine in the dying minutes of the opening frame.

    After one period of play, the Lightning led, 2-0, on the scoreboard, but the B’s held the advantage in shots on goal, 9-8.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (6-2), but Tampa had the edge in just about every other statistical category, including takeaways (4-1), hits (13-11) and faceoff win percentage (61-39).

    Both teams had one giveaway aside, while the Bolts were 1/2 on the power play and the B’s were 0/1 heading into the first intermission.

    Early in the middle frame, Coleman was penalized for interference when he brought down Kuraly while crashing the net at 4:37 of the second period, but (in what was a trend for the afternoon) Boston’s power play wasn’t able to convert on the advantage.

    Late in the period McAvoy (1) one-timed a shot from the point on a pass from Krug off a faceoff win by Bergeron and cut Tampa’s lead in half.

    Boston was on the board, 2-1, while Krug (1) and Bergeron (1) picked up their first points of the Round Robin games at 16:43.

    Entering the second intermission, Tampa was ahead, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 19-18, in shots on goal– including an, 11-9, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Lightning led in blocked shots (11-7) and takeaways (5-3) after 40 minutes of action, while the Bruins held the advantage in giveaways (7-3), hits (26-19) and faceoff win% (63-38).

    Tampa remained 1/2 on the power play, while Boston dropped to 0/2 on the skater advantage.

    Chris Wagner (2) tapped in a loose puck after Zdeno Chara fired a shot that leaked through Vasilevskiy at 1:47 of the third period and the Bruins tied the game, 2-2.

    Chara (1) and Kuraly (1) had the assists on Wagner’s goal and Boston swung momentum in their favor– only until about the midpoint of the final frame.

    Kucherov tripped Wagner at 5:13 of the third period, but the Bruins didn’t convert on the skater advantage.

    Midway through the third, Barclay Goodrow caught Bjork with a charge and was assessed a minor penalty at 10:19. Once more, Boston’s power play couldn’t get anything going and did not convert on the advantage.

    From there, momentum shifted back to Tampa as the Bruins let rush after rush enter their own zone.

    Yanni Gourde threw the puck on net, Rask made an initial pad save, but Johnson (1) scored on the rebound while Brandon Carlo was trailing behind the play and Krug was defending the other side where the Lightning entered the zone.

    Gourde (1) and Killorn (1) collected the assists on Johnson’s game-winning goal and the Bolts grabbed the, 3-2, lead at 18:33 of the third period– with just enough time to hold off any last ditch efforts from Boston.

    Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker with about 1:15 remaining, but it was to no avail as the final horn sounded and the Lightning won, 3-2.

    The Bolts finished the afternoon leading in shots on goal (35-27) and blocked shots (16-10), while the B’s finished with the advantage in giveaways (11-10), hits (31-28) and faceoff win% (61-39).

    Tampa finished 1/2 on the skater advantage and Boston went 0/4 on the power play on Wednesday.

    The Bruins fell to 0-2-0 in the Round Robin action and can finish no better than 3rd in the seeding with a win against the Washington Capitals in any fashion on Sunday.

    Meanwhile, the Lightning can all but assure themselves of the No. 1 seed with a win in any fashion against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

  • Flyers down Bruins, 4-1, in Round Robin action

    Four different goal scorers’ combined efforts lifted the Philadelphia Flyers over the Boston Bruins, 4-1, in the first game of Round Robin action in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifier and Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario on Sunday.

    Carter Hart (1-0-0 in one game played, 1.00 goals against average, .971 save percentage) made 34 saves on 35 shots faced for a .971 SV% in the win for the Flyers.

    Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (0-1-0 in one game played, 4.29 GAA, .862 SV%) made 25 saves on 29 shots against for an .862 SV% in the loss.

    Tuukka Rask did not practice on Saturday in either session and was ruled “unfit to play” in Sunday’s matinee against Philadelphia. As a result, Dan Vladar took part in warmups and was Halak’s backup for the Bruins.

    It was the first time since 2012, that a goaltender other than Rask started a postseason game for Boston. Tim Thomas started all seven games in their 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series loss to the Washington Capitals.

    Sunday also marked the first postseason start for Halak since 2015.

    Three Bruins made their NHL postseason debuts as Jack Studnicka, Jeremy Lauzon and Anders Bjork were all in the lineup for Boston.

    Ondrej Kase joined the team in Toronto on Saturday and practiced in the second group session for the Bruins and might be available in time for their next matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday afternoon.

    Kase, along with Nick Ritchie and Rask, were the big names out of the lineup for Boston on Sunday, but they weren’t the only ones not on the ice for the action as the B’s had a long list of healthy scratches including, Zach Senyshyn, Par Lindholm, John Moore, Maxime Lagace, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Connor Clifton and Trent Frederic (Kevan Miller was not included on the Phase 3 and 4 roster and Steven Kampfer opted out of Phase 3 and 4 action).

    Meanwhile, Zdeno Chara skated in his 183rd career postseason NHL game, which is the second-most among active NHL players– trailing Pittsburgh Penguins forward, Patrick Marleau (192 Stanley Cup Playoff games and counting).

    Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy kicked things off with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak as his usual first line, while Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and Studnicka rounded out his top-six forwards.

    Bjork was on the third line with Charlie Coyle and Karson Kuhlman, while Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner were reunited as the fourth line trio after they were split among the bottom-six forwards in Boston’s, 4-1, exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets last Thursday.

    On defense, Cassidy opted for Chara alongside Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug paired with Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk partnered with Lauzon.

    Almost midway through the opening frame, Michael Raffl slashed Bjork and presented Boston with the first power play of the afternoon at 8:51 of the first period.

    The Bruins did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Moments later, Krejci cut a rut to the box after hooking Travis Konecny at 14:41, but Philadelphia’s power play was powerless– a trend that would suit both teams all afternoon.

    At 19:08, Carlo was sent to the sin bin for tripping Tyler Pitlick, but despite the skater advantage overlapping with part of the second period, the Flyers were unsuccessful at finding the back of the net while the B’s were shorthanded.

    Through 20 minutes of action in Toronto, the Bruins and Flyers were still tied, 0-0, with Boston holding the advantage in shots on goal, 12-6.

    The Bruins also led in hits (9-7), while the Flyers led in takeaways (3-0) and faceoff win percentage (67-37).

    Both teams had seven blocked shots aside and four giveaways apiece.

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

    Raffl (1) broke through Boston’s defense as Lauzon was caught out of position, deked and flipped the puck high over Halak to give Philly the game’s first goal and the game’s first lead, 1-0, at 5:33 of the second period.

    Travis Sanheim (1) had the only assist on Raffl’s tally, while the Bruins looked gassed as Raffl scored the goal on a shift lasting over a minute for Bergeron, Marchand, Krug and Lauzon.

    Then, moments later, Nate Thompson (1) rushed in with a burst of speed– catching the B’s behind the play again and sent the puck over Lauzon while the Bruins defender inadvertently screened his own goaltender.

    The rubber biscuit had eyes as it floated over Lauzon, over Halak’s blocker side, off Halak’s stick and into the twine behind the Boston netminder to extend Philadelphia’s lead to two goals.

    Raffl (1) and Ivan Provorov (1) notched the assists on Thompson’s goal and the Flyers led, 2-0, at 9:31 of the second period.

    Eight seconds later, Robert Hagg was chasing Bjork and penalized for interference at 9:39, but Boston wasn’t able to muster anything on the scoreboard while on the skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Wagner (1) collected a garbage goal and cut Philadelphia’s lead in half, 2-1, at 18:51.

    Nordstrom (1) and McAvoy (1) had the assists on Boston’s only goal of the afternoon, but the momentum the B’s generated was short-lived. Really short-lived.

    Eight seconds after Wagner made it a one-goal game, Philippe Myers (1) made it a two-goal lead for the Flyers once more after he broke free from the neutral zone while Chara was tripped up and left his netminder short a defender.

    Myers sniped a shot over Halak and just under the crossbar and made it, 3-1, Philly at 18:59 of the middle frame.

    Jakub Voracek (1) had the only assist on the goal.

    After two periods, the Flyers led, 3-1, on the scoreboard, but trailed the Bruins, 20-17, in total shots on goal– despite outshooting Boston, 11-8, in the second period alone.

    Philly also held onto the advantage in blocked shots (14-9), takeaways (5-0) and faceoff win% (53-47), while the Bruins led in giveaways (8-5) and hits (23-16).

    Both teams were 0/2 on the power play entering the final frame.

    At 4:07 of the third period, Scott Laughton (1) fired a shot over Halak’s glove after sneaking through Boston’s defense after Carlo bungled a pinch and Krug was left trailing the Flyers forward.

    Kevin Hayes (1) was credited with the only assist on Laughton’s goal and Philadelphia led, 4-1.

    Boston recorded their first shot on net in the third period at 9:39, before going on the power play 61 seconds later after Matt Niskanen caught Pastrnak with a high-stick at 10:40.

    The Flyers killed off Niskanen’s minor infraction with ease, then Raffl and Lauzon collided near the boards, resulting in an awkward collapse to the ice for Raffl that left the Philadelphia forward with an apparent lower body injury– requiring assistance off the rink from the trainer and one of his Flyers teammates.

    Laughton tried to spar with Lauzon, but the two players each received slashing minors and 10-minute misconducts at 13:48 of the third period.

    Studnicka served Lauzon’s minor, while James van Riemsdyk served Laughton’s minor infraction as well. Both teams skated at 4-on-4 for two minutes before resuming full strength.

    With about 3:30 remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled Halak for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail.

    In the closing minutes, Krug and van Riemsdyk got tangled up, latched onto each other and received holding minors at 18:31– ending their nights early.

    At the final horn, the Flyers had won, 4-1, and finished the afternoon leading in blocked shots (16-11) and faceoff win% (53-47), while the Bruins led in shots on goal (35-29), giveaways (10-7) and hits (28-25).

    Philadelphia finished the game 0/2 on the skater advantage, while Boston went 0/3 on the power play.

    The two teams will remain in the Toronto bubble until the Bruins take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at 4 PM ET on Wednesday and the Flyers take on the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Both games will be at Scotiabank Arena as the NHL’s postseason plan rolls on while the threat of the pandemic lurks outside each and every day.

  • Backes’ return sparks B’s in, 3-1, win over Habs

    David Backes scored the game-winning goal in his first game back from injury since Nov. 2nd as the Boston Bruins rallied in the third period to a, 3-1, comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens Sunday night at TD Garden.

    Tuukka Rask (13-2-2 record, 2.04 goals against average, .933 save percentage in 17 games played) made 28 saves on 29 shots against for a .966 SV% in the win for Boston.

    Montreal netminder, Carey Price (10-9-3, 3.18 GAA, .898 SV% in 22 GP) stopped 31 out of 34 shots faced for a .912 SV% in the loss.

    The B’s improved to 19-3-5 (43 points) on the season and maintained their lead on the Atlantic Division, as well as the entire league– having played one fewer game than the Washington Capitals.

    The Habs fell to 11-10-6 (28 points) and remained in command of 5th place in the Atlantic Division while also falling to 0-5-3 in their last eight games.

    Prior to Sunday night, Montreal hadn’t lost eight-straight games since the 1939-40 season (in which the Canadiens lost nine-straight games at one point).

    Meanwhile, Boston is on an 11-game point streak, including their current seven-game winning streak and improved to 11-0-4 on home ice this season.

    Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Zach Senyshyn (lower body), Patrice Bergeron (lower body) and Brett Ritchie (upper body) were all out of commission for the Bruins on Sunday against Montreal.

    Moore, however, was assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) ahead of Providence’s matinee matchup with the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles’ Coliseum as part of a long-term injured conditioning stint (meaning he’s likely to be back up in Boston and rejoining the B’s lineup in the near future).

    Jack Studnicka was also reassigned to Providence after playing in two NHL games with Boston while multiple forwards were injured.

    Studnicka recorded one assist in that span.

    Backes returned to full practice on Saturday and returned to the lineup Sunday night against the Canadiens after missing the last 13 games since being hurt on Nov. 2nd against the Ottawa Senators.

    With Backes available, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, switched up his lines from Friday afternoon’s, 3-2, overtime victory over the New York Rangers.

    Cassidy kept his first line the same with Brad Marchand at left wing, David Krejci at center and David Pastrnak on the right wing.

    On the second line, Cassidy moved Charlie Coyle back to his usual spot at center with Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen on his left and right sides, respectively.

    Sean Kuraly centered the third line with Anders Bjork at left wing and Chris Wagner at right wing.

    Finally, Par Lindholm centered Joakim Nordstrom in his usual role as the fourth line left wing and Backes on the right wing.

    Connor Clifton went back in the lineup on the third defensive pairing alongside Matt Grzelcyk, while Steven Kampfer joined Brendan Gaunce in the press box as Boston’s only healthy scratches.

    The Bruins wore their new alternate sweater for the second-straight game since debuting them on the ice against the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown.

    Joel Armia (10) stole the puck right in front of the Boston goal and sent a backhand shot off the crossbar and in over Rask’s glove side on fluke soft goal to kick things off at 1:58 of the first period.

    Armia’s goal was unassisted and gave Montreal a, 1-0, lead in what was just the 9th instance of the Bruins giving up the game’s first goal on home ice this season– and the 4th consecutive home game in doing so.

    Late in the period, Charlie McAvoy caught Charles Hudon with a high stick and was assessed a minor infraction at 14:38.

    The Canadiens did not convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    Entering the first intermission, the Habs led the B’s, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 11-10, in shots on goal.

    Montreal also held the advantage in takeaways (11-1) and faceoff win percentage (59-41), while Boston led in blocked shots (4-1).

    Both teams had three giveaways aside and 12 hits each, meanwhile the Canadiens were 0/1 on the power play heading into the second period.

    The Bruins had yet to see any time on the skater advantage after the first 20 minutes of action Sunday night.

    Boston turned their burners on as the second period was nearing a close, but not before the two teams got into a bit of a scrum at center ice that resulted in the first power play opportunity of the night for the Bruins.

    Shea Weber was called for interference against Pastrnak at 17:13 of the second period, but was joined in the penalty box by his teammate, Brendan Gallagher, after Gallagher got into a wrestling match with DeBrusk– who also cut a rut to the sin bin, but for the B’s.

    As a result, the Bruins went on a 5-on-4 skater advantage and couldn’t muster a power play goal in the vulnerable minutes before the middle frame came to a close.

    The score remained unchanged after 40 minutes of action with the Canadiens leading the Bruins, 1-0, but Boston jumped ahead of Montreal in the shot department– leading, 20-19, in shots on goal after two periods thanks to their, 10-8, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    The B’s led in blocked shots (10-6) and hits (25-20) entering the second intermission, while the Habs led in takeaways (12-6), giveaways (4-3) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    Both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Early in the final frame, Bjork worked an indirect pass up the boards to Pastrnak that led Pastrnak into the attacking zone.

    The league’s leading goal scorer, Pastrnak (25), blasted a rocket from the hashmarks off the far post and in on Price’s blocker side– tying the game, 1-1, in the process at 6:16 of the third period.

    Bjork (3) and Brandon Carlo (8) tallied the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as No. 88 in black-and-gold became the 11th player in league history to score 25 or more goals in a season through games played on Dec. 1st, as well as the first player to do so since Mario Lemieux scored 29 goals through Dec. 1st in the 1992-93 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    About a couple minutes later, Nick Cousins received a holding infraction for tying up Torey Krug in Montreal’s offensive zone.

    Boston went on the power play for the second time of the night at 8:38 of the third and made sure to capitalize on the skater advantage in the dying seconds of the power play opportunity.

    Grzelcyk worked the puck from the point to Krejci as the Bruins center brought the puck down low.

    Krejci then sent a pass to Backes (1) in the slot where the veteran NHLer was acting as a bumper and one-timed a shot into the twine to give Boston their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    The Bruins didn’t score in the first 40 minutes of the game Sunday night, but they fired off two goals in a span of 4:13 in the third period to turn the game on its head.

    Krejci (15) and Grzelcyk (6) had the assists on Backes’ goal at 10:29 and the B’s had momentum on their side.

    In a similar manner, but from the reverse angle, Heinen broke into the zone with possession and briefly lost the puck before DeBrusk scooped it up and gave it to Coyle.

    The Weymouth, Massachusetts native brought the rubber biscuit behind the net, then tossed a pass to DeBrusk (6) that the Bruins winger one-timed over Price’s glove from point blank while being knocked to the ice– giving Boston a two-goal lead, 3-1.

    Coyle (10) had the only assist on DeBrusk’s goal at 13:27 and the Bruins completed their three unanswered goal comeback over Montreal in a 7:11 span in the third period.

    The goal was DeBrusk’s 6th point in his last five games.

    With 2:33 remaining in regulation, Canadiens head coach, Claude Julien, pulled Price for an extra attacker.

    After icing the puck and mishandling a breakout, the Habs ended up with too many skaters on the ice at 18:09 and sent Cousins to the box to serve their bench minor.

    Though Boston did not score on their third power play of the game, they did walk away with the most important thing– the win– at the final horn.

    The Bruins finished off the Canadiens, 3-1, and ended the night with the advantage in shots on goal (34-29), blocked shots (16-12) and hits (32-28).

    Montreal, meanwhile, left TD Garden with the advantage in giveaways (7-4) and faceoff win% (59-41) on Sunday.

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

    The Bruins are now 7-1-2 when allowing the game’s first goal at home this season and 4-2-2 when trailing after two periods.

    Boston continues their current five-game home stand (2-0-0) on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday and finishing up their homestand on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. The B’s then begin a four-game road trip thereafter.

  • Czech-mate, Krejci and Pastrnak’s overtime effort leads B’s to, 3-2, win over Rangers

    David Krejci punctuated the Boston Bruins’, 3-2, victory in overtime at TD Garden over the New York Rangers on Friday afternoon with his game-winning goal a little under two minutes into the extra frame.

    Jaroslav Halak (6-1-3 record, 2.35 goals against average, .930 save percentage in ten games played) stopped 26 out of 28 shots faced for a .929 SV% in the overtime win for Boston.

    New York goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist (7-5-2, 3.16 GAA, .912 SV% in 16 GP), made 24 saves on 27 shots against (.889 SV%) in the overtime loss.

    The Bruins improved to 18-3-5 (41 points) on the season and remain in command of their 1st place standing in the Atlantic Division, as well as the entire National Hockey League.

    The B’s are also 10-0-4 at home and now on a six-game winning streak after snapping New York’s three-game winning streak in the 2019 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown.

    The Rangers fell to 12-9-3 (27 points), but temporarily increased their lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets for 6th place in the Metropolitan Division, such that the Blue Jackets cannot overcome New York with a win against the Pittsburgh Penguins later Friday night.

    Boston was without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), David Backes (upper body), Zach Senyshyn (lower body), Patrice Bergeron (lower body) and Brett Ritchie (upper body) on Friday afternoon.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made two minor changes to his lineup, replacing Brendan Gaunce as the second line center with Jack Studnicka and Steven Kampfer with Connor Clifton on the third defensive pairing.

    Gaunce and Kampfer were Boston’s only healthy scratches against the Rangers.

    Midway through the opening frame, Bruins forward, Sean Kuraly, tripped Rangers defender, Libor Hajek, and was charged with a minor infraction at 12:09 of the first period.

    Boston killed off the penalty, but couldn’t get the puck out of their zone after Charlie Coyle blocked a shot and struggled to continue his shift.

    As such, New York kept pressuring with a heavy net front presence as Halak lost his stick, which lead to Pavel Buchnevich (5) wiring a shot past the glove on the far side to give the Rangers the game’s first lead, 1-0.

    Tony DeAngelo (12) and Jacob Trouba (8) notched the assists on Buchnevich’s goal at 14:14.

    It was the 8th time this season that the Bruins gave up the game’s first goal at home and the 3rd consecutive game at TD Garden in doing so.

    After one period in Boston, the Rangers led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 11-7, in shots on goal. New York also held the advantage in blocked shots (4-2), takeaways (4-3) and faceoff win percentage (67-33).

    Meanwhile, the Bruins led in giveaways (4-1).

    Both teams had five hits aside, while the Rangers were 0/1 on the power play.

    Clifton kicked things off in the middle frame with a tripping infraction against Jesper Fast at 2:30 of the second period.

    New York didn’t capitalize on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Roughly four minute later, however, Filip Chytil (8) collected a rebound and banked the puck off Halak’s leg pads and through the Boston goaltender’s five-hole to give the Rangers a two-goal lead.

    Ryan Strome (17) and Artemi Panarin (21)– who started the whole play by intercepting Danton Heinen’s failed backhand pass attempt to his defense– notched the assists on Chytil’s goal, giving New York the, 2-0, lead at 6:21.

    Midway through the second period, after a goalie stoppage, a scrum ensued in front of Boston’s net, whereby Charlie McAvoy and Brendan Smith dropped the gloves at 10:51, and went square dancing with Smith landing the final blow in what just Boston’s 4th fight this season (and first since Chris Wagner fought Curtis Lazar on Nov. 21st against Buffalo).

    A couple of minutes later, Matt Grzelcyk got a stick up high on Mika Zibanejad and received a two-minute minor for high sticking at 12:52.

    While shorthanded, Kuraly cross checked Adam Fox at 13:51, leaving the Rangers with a 5-on-3 power play for 1:02 before resuming an abbreviated 5-on-4 skater advantage.

    Despite using timeout to draw up a plan that he hoped would work, Rangers head coach, David Quinn was once more let down by New York as his team struggled on the power play and the Bruins managed to kill off the minor infractions with ease.

    Late in the period, Kuraly (2) redeemed himself with Boston’s first goal of the afternoon with a redirection of Jake DeBrusk’s shot from the point while the B’s winger circled the puck in the zone.

    DeBrusk (5) and Brandon Carlo (7) had the assist on Kuraly’s goal at 18:28 and the Bruins cut New York’s lead in half, 2-1.

    Heading into the second intermission, the Rangers were still leading on the scoreboard, 2-1, and in shots on goal, 22-15.

    New York held an, 11-8, advantage in shots on net in the middle frame alone, while the Rangers also led in blocked shots (5-3), giveaways (9-6) and faceoff win% (63-38) through 40 minutes of play.

    Boston led in takeaways (8-5) and hits (14-11) entering the third period, while the Rangers were 0/4 on the power play and the Bruins had yet to see time on the skater advantage.

    After blocking a shot early in the second period, then playing a limited time on ice for the remainder, Coyle resumed his regular duties in the third period.

    Likewise, Brad Marchand caught an elbow from Trouba late in the middle frame, took an early shift in the third period, was sent to the quiet room by a concussion spotter and returned to action almost midway in the final frame of regulation.

    Meanwhile, early in the third period, David Pastrnak (24) rocketed another trademark one-timer through Lundqvist’s legs and into the twine– tying the game, 2-2, at 4:27 of the third.

    Krejci (14) and DeBrusk (6) had the assists on Pastrnak’s 24th goal in 26 games this season, meanwhile Torey Krug had initially setup the play with a stretch pass to Pastrnak– leading the Czech forward on a breakaway that was broken up, but did not stop No. 88 in black-and-gold from scoring seconds later when DeBrusk dug the puck out from the corner to Krejci to Pastrnak for the goal.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, Smith hooked Krejci and was sent to the penalty box at 10:35, presenting the Bruins with their first and only power play of the afternoon.

    Boston did not score on the skater advantage and followed up with a penalty of their own at 12:58 when Par Lindholm had his stick lifted into Smith’s face as a result of Boo Nieves’ stick lift.

    Though the league instituted a new rule this season to take into account plays of this nature as perhaps not being worthy of a penalty as the end result was linked to an action of an own teammate’s doing, there was no initial call, but after review, Lindholm was sent to the box with a double minor.

    New York did not score on the four-minute skater advantage.

    Heading into overtime, the game was tied, 2-2, with the Rangers leading the Bruins in shots on goal, 28-26, despite Boston leading in third period shots on net alone, 11-6.

    New York held the advantage in blocked shots (10-7) and giveaways (11-9), while Boston led in takeaways (9-7), hits (25-17) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    As there were no penalties called in overtime, the Rangers finished Friday afternoon 0/6 on the skater advantage and the Bruins finished 0/1.

    Cassidy started Coyle, Marchand and Krug in overtime for the B’s, while Quinn elected Zibanejad, Panarin and DeAngelo as his trio to kick off the extra frame.

    Both teams swapped early individual chances, but neither resulted in a shot on goal.

    Then, less than two minutes into overtime, Krejci sent Pastrnak into the B’s attacking zone, whereby Pastrnak toe-dragged the puck around Buchnevich– a defenseless Rangers forward skating backwards in a last ditch effort– and dropped a pass back to his fellow Czech teammate (Krejci) for the top-shelf goal while Lundqvist dove in desperation behind the play.

    Krejci (5) scored the game-winning goal in overtime at 1:40, while Pastrnak (17) and Halak (1) picked up assists.

    Boston sealed the deal on a, 3-2, comeback overtime win against the Rangers.

    New York finished the afternoon leading in shots on goal, 28-27, despite Boston being the only team to record a shot on net (one– the game-winning one) in overtime.

    The Rangers also finished the game leading in blocked shots (10-7) and giveaways (11-9), while the Bruins finished Friday’s effort leading in hits (26-17) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Boston improved to 2-1 in overtime this season, while New York fell to 2-2.

    The B’s also improved to 3-2-2 when trailing after two periods in a game this season.

    Boston debuted their new third jerseys against the Rangers on Friday and finished the month of November with the start of a five-game homestand (1-0-0) that continues this Sunday (Dec. 1st) against the Montreal Canadiens.

    The Bruins then host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (Dec. 3rd) and the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday (Dec. 5th) before finishing off their homestand with a game against the Colorado Avalanche next Saturday (Dec. 7th).

    The B’s then begin a four-game road trip thereafter.

  • Chara rockets Bruins over Senators, 2-1

    Former Ottawa Senators defender and current Boston Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, scored the game-winning goal almost midway through the third period as Tuukka Rask backstopped the Bruins to a, 2-1, win over the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday night.

    Rask (12-2-2 record, 2.10 goals against average, .931 save percentage in 16 games played) made 33 saves on 34 shots against for a .971 SV% in the win.

    Sens goaltender, Anders Nilsson (7-5-1, 2.58 GAA, .927 SV% in 13 GP) turned aside 19 out of 21 shots faced for a .905 SV% in the loss.

    Boston extended their current winning streak to five games and improved to 17-3-5 (39 points) on the season, while holding onto 1st place in the Atlantic Division, as well as the entire league.

    Ottawa fell to an 11-13-1 (23 points) record, but stuck in 7th place in the Atlantic.

    The Bruins also improved to 8-3-1 on the road this season, while the Senators stumbled to 7-5-0 at home.

    Boston was without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), David Backes (upper body), Zach Senyshyn (lower body), Patrice Bergeron (lower body) and Brett Ritchie (upper body) on Wednesday.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made minor changes to his lineup from Tuesday night’s, 8-1, win in Montreal to Wednesday night’s matchup in Ottawa.

    After making his NHL debut against the Canadiens (and playing four games in five nights, split between the NHL and AHL), Jack Studnicka was a healthy scratch on Wednesday with Brendan Gaunce making his Bruins debut against the Sens.

    Gaunce was slated between Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle as the second line center, while the rest of the forward lines were left untouched.

    Steven Kampfer went into the lineup in place of Connor Clifton on the third defensive pairing alongside Matt Grzelcyk.

    Studnicka and Clifton were Boston’s only healthy scratches against the Senators.

    Late Wednesday afternoon, the B’s announced they had signed Coyle and Chris Wagner to multi-year extensions.

    Coyle, 27, signed a six-year extension worth $5.250 million per season and Wagner, 28, signed a three-year extension worth $1.350 million per season.

    At puck drop, David Krejci surpassed Don Marcotte for sole possession of 9th place for most games played as a Bruin, having appeared in his 869th career NHL game on Wednesday.

    Midway through the period, Senators head coach, D.J. Smith, lost count and had too many skaters on the ice, resulting in a minor infraction at 14:50 of the first period that was served by Brady Tkachuk.

    The Bruins did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Late in the opening frame, Gaunce slashed Jean-Gabriel Pageau at 18:42 and was sent to the box with an infraction.

    The Senators were not successful on the resulting skater advantage.

    Heading into the first intermission, the game was still tied, 0-0, with the Sens outshooting the B’s, 9-3. Ottawa also led in takeaways (4-3) and hits (13-9), while Boston led in blocked shots (13-2), giveaways (3-0) and faceoff win percentage (54-46).

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

    There were no goals scored nor any penalties called in the second period, yielding end-to-end action that was dominated by one team or the other at times, as both the B’s and Sens racked up zone time without anything to show on the scoreboard.

    Through 40 minutes of play, Boston and Ottawa were still tied, 0-0, despite the Senators leading in shots on goal, 24-10– including a, 15-7 advantage in the second period alone.

    The Bruins held the advantage in blocked shots (16-12), giveaways (8-4) and faceoff win% (54-46), while the Senators led in hits (25-24).

    Both teams had five takeaways each and remained 0/1 on the power play entering the third period.

    Just 41 seconds into the third period, Chris Tierney caught the Bruins in the midst of a line change and sent Thomas Chabot (3) up-ice and on a breakaway, whereby the Senators defender flipped a shot over Rask’s glove side to give Ottawa the game’s first lead, 1-0.

    Tierney (9) had the only assist on Chabot’s goal.

    Less than two minutes later, Anthony Duclair was penalized for interference and presented Boston with their 2nd power play of the night at 2:09 of the third period.

    Though the B’s didn’t score while on the advantage, they did capitalize in the vulnerable minute as Brad Marchand (18) slipped a shot through Nilsson’s five-hole after dancing around a Sens skater upon receiving a pass from Anders Bjork.

    Bjork (2) and Sean Kuraly (7) tallied the assists on Marchand’s goal as the Bruins tied the game, 1-1, at 5:15.

    About a few minutes later, after Boston’s fourth line went to work deep into the attacking zone, Joakim Nordstrom freed the puck to Gaunce, who then sent the rubber biscuit back to the point where Chara (5) blasted one of his trademark slap shots to give Boston their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    Gaunce (1) and Nordstrom (1) collected the assists on Chara’s game-winning goal at 8:45 of the third period.

    With the primary assist, Gaunce recorded his first point with the Bruins in his Boston debut, while Chara became the oldest defender in NHL history to record a four-game point streak, surpassing Chris Chelios’ previous record with the Detroit Red Wings set in the 2003-04 season.

    At the time Chelios’ streak began, he was 42 years and 62 days old. Chara, on the other hand, was 42 years and 248 days old.

    Fittingly, the Senators and their fans gave Chara a standing ovation for surpassing 1,500 career NHL games earlier this month.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, Wagner cross checked Tyler Ennis and cut a rut to the sin bin at 8:53.

    The Senators did not convert on the ensuing power play opportunity.

    With 1:39 remaining in regulation, Smith pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but Boston’s defense and Rask stood tall, casting aside scoring chance after scoring chance in the dying minute of the action.

    At the final horn, the Bruins had secured the, 2-1, win in Ottawa, despite being outshot by the Senators, 34-21.

    Boston held an, 11-10, advantage in shots on goal in the third period alone and finished the night leading in blocked shots (21-15) and giveaways (11-9).

    Ottawa left their own building with the advantage in hits (34-30) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Both teams finished the night 0/2 on the power play.

    Boston finished their quick two-game road trip 2-0-0 and returns home to debut their new third jersey against the New York Rangers in a Black Friday matinee in the NHL’s 2019 Discover Thanksgiving Showdown.

  • Pastrnak scores hat trick as B’s light up Habs, 8-1

    Eight is great and eight is the number of goals the Boston Bruins scored en route to their, 8-1, victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday night.

    Oh and by the way, David Pastrnak had a hat trick.

    Jaroslav Halak (5-1-3 record, 2.40 goals against average, .930 save percentage in nine games played) made 36 saves on 37 shots against for a .973 SV% in the win for the Bruins.

    Canadiens starter, Carey Price (10-7-3, 3.09 GAA, .900 SV% in 20 games played) turned aside six out of ten shots faced for a .545 SV% before being replaced by Keith Kinkaid (1-1-2, 4.29 GAA, .877 SV% in five games played) in the loss.

    Kinkaid made ten saves on 13 shots against (.769 SV%) for no decision.

    Boston improved to 16-3-5 (37 points) and remained atop the Atlantic Division– in command of 1st place of not just the division, but 1st place in the entire league by virtue of holding a game-in-hand over the Washington Capitals.

    Montreal, meanwhile, fell to 11-8-5 (27 points) on the season and stuck in 3rd in the Atlantic.

    The Bruins extended their current winning streak to four games and are now 7-3-1 on the road this season.

    They’re now also 10-0-2 when leading after two periods, 11-1-0 when leading after one period and 12-2-3 when scoring the game’s first goal this season.

    Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), David Backes (upper body) and Zach Senyshyn (lower body) remained out of the lineup for Boston with Patrice Bergeron (lower body) and Brett Ritchie (upper body) joining the long list of injured Bruins for at least the next two games (Tuesday night in Montreal, Wednesday night in Ottawa).

    As a result of Bergeron and Ritchie’s injuries, Boston recalled Brendan Gaunce and Jack Studnicka from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Monday.

    Gaunce, 25, has six goals and five assists (11 points) in 14 games with Providence this season and signed with Boston on July 1, 2019 as a free agent after spending 2015-19 with the Vancouver Canucks organization.

    Studnicka, 20, leads Providence in scoring with nine goals and nine assists (18 points), as well as a plus-seven rating in 21 games with the “Baby Bruins” this season. The 6’2″, 175-pound center was drafted by Boston in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    He made his NHL debut Tuesday night in Montreal, joining Cameron Hughes as the only other Bruin to make their NHL debuts this season.

    Par Lindholm returned to action after missing the last game while resting up after sustaining a cut in last Thursday’s, 3-2, win over the Buffalo Sabres.

    With Bergeron and Ritchie out, Bruce Cassidy made some adjustments to his lineup, starting Studnicka as the second line center with Jake DeBrusk on his left wing and Charlie Coyle on his right wing.

    David Krejci, in the meantime, was promoted to the first line center role with Brad Marchand and Pastrnak in their usual roles.

    Sean Kuraly centered the third line with Anders Bjork and Danton Heinen as his wingers, while Lindholm centered the fourth line with Joakim Nordstrom and Chris Wagner.

    Cassidy made one change to his defense, replacing Steven Kampfer with Connor Clifton on the third defensive pairing after keeping Kampfer fresh while in his role as the seventh defender for the B’s.

    Gaunce and Kampfer served as healthy scratches for the Bruins on Tuesday.

    Early in the opening frame, Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher tripped up Pastrnak while trailing the Boston forward behind his own net and was sent to the penalty box at 6:10 of the first period.

    Krejci sent Kuraly deep into the offensive zone on the ensuing power play, whereby Kuraly connected DeBrusk with a bump pass as DeBrusk (5) crashed the slot and sent a shot into the back of the twine to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead on a power play goal.

    Kuraly (4) and Krejci (12) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 8:03.

    The Canadiens responded with a goal of their own a little over a few minutes later on a three-on-two rush up the ice that left Shea Weber (8) wide open for a quick one-timer that beat Halak’s blocker side at 12:41.

    Gallagher (9) and Tomas Tatar (14) had the assists on Weber’s goal, tying the game, 1-1, midway through the first period.

    The score wasn’t tied for long before Nate Thompson “tripped” Clifton at 13:56 and was assessed an infraction for what appeared to be a phantom call.

    Boston went on the power play for the second time of the night and quickly converted on the skater advantage with a trademark one-timer blast from Pastrnak (21) at 14:24.

    Coyle (8) and Marchand (24) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s first goal of the night as the B’s regained the lead, 2-1.

    Eight seconds later, Charlie McAvoy was penalized for interference against Nick Suzuki at 14:32, presenting Montreal with their first power play of the night.

    The Habs did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    With less than a minute remaining in the first period, Marchand (17) snagged a loose puck that floated off of Coyle’s stick while the Bruins forward attempted a wraparound, then elevated a backhand shot over Price while the Canadiens goaltender dove in effort to make a save.

    As a result, Coyle (9) had the only assist on Marchand’s goal at 19:23 and the Bruins led, 3-1, entering the first intermission.

    The goal marked Marchand’s 600th NHL point– becoming the 11th player in Bruins franchise history to record 600 points in a B’s sweater, joining Terry O’Reilly, Krejci, Ken Hodge, Wayne Cashman, Bergeron, Bobby Orr, Rick Middleton, Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk and Ray Bourque (per Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub).

    Marchand’s also just the 4th Bruins player in the last 45 years to record his 40th point in 24 games or fewer, joining Adam Oates (24 games played in 1992-93), Esposito (22 GP in 1974-75) and Orr (21 GP in 1974-75).

    After one period in Montreal, Boston led, 3-1, on the scoreboard, despite trailing, 13-8, in shots on net.

    The B’s led in blocked shots (6-5) and giveaways (11-8), while the Habs led in hits (14-8) and faceoff win percentage (60-40).

    Both teams had three takeaways aside.

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

    Pastrnak (22) entered the attacking zone off the draw, deked past a Montreal defender and sniped a shot over Price’s blocker on the short side to give Boston a three-goal lead eight seconds into the second period.

    Marchand (25) and Zdeno Chara (7) had the assists on Pastrnak’s second goal of the game and the Bruins led, 4-1.

    Boston added another goal to their immense lead when Bjork (4) capitalized on a breakaway, sending a shot into the twine past Price’s glove side to make it, 5-1, for Boston at 1:10 of the second period.

    Kuraly (5) had the only assist on the goal.

    The Bruins had a pair of goals in a span of 62 seconds to chase Price out of the crease as Canadiens head coach, Claude Julien, replaced his starter with Kinkaid after Bjork made it, 5-1.

    Pastrnak (23) finalized his hat trick less than halfway through the game with a shot that beat Kinkaid at 9:06 of the second period– scoring his 2nd hat trick of the season and 6th of his career.

    Brandon Carlo (6) and Krejci (13) had the assists on Pastrnak’s hat trick goal as Boston made it, 6-1, in Montreal.

    The 23-year-old right winger for the Bruins, Pastrnak, leads the NHL with 23 goals in 24 team games– the most by any player within 25 team games since the 2005-06 season, when Simon Gagne had 23 goals through this point in the season with the Philadelphia Flyers.

    A few minutes later, Clifton caught Tatar with a high stick and was sent to the penalty box with a minor infraction at 12:43, but the Habs didn’t score on the ensuing power play.

    Through 40 minutes of play at Bell Centre, the Bruins led, 6-1, on the scoreboard, but trailed the Canadiens, 27-15, in shots on goal.

    Montreal held the advantage in shots on net in the second period alone (14-7) and led in hits (23-15), while Boston had the advantage in blocked shots (12-9), giveaways (18-16) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Both teams had six takeaways aside, while the Canadiens were 0/2 on the power play and the B’s were still 2/2 on the skater advantage (only one penalty was called in the second period and it was against Boston).

    Almost midway through the final frame of regulation, Kuraly worked the puck to Torey Krug as Krug broke into the zone heading for the net, before dropping a pass back to Coyle (5) for the one-timer from the slot that beat Kinkaid to make it, 7-1, for Boston.

    Krug (14) and Kuraly (6) had the assists on Coyle’s goal at 8:26 of the third period.

    Midway through the third, Studnicka reacted to a cross check from Max Domi and the two were sent to the box– Studnicka for rouding and Domi for cross checking at 15:38.

    Just 20 seconds after both teams resumed full strength action, Studnicka sent a pass from the trapezoid to Heinen in the slot, whereby Heinen (5) one-timed a shot past Kinkaid.

    Studnicka (1) collected the primary assist and his first career NHL point– in his first career game, nonetheless– and Krug (15) tallied the secondary assist on Heinen’s goal as the Bruins led, 8-1, at 17:58.

    At the final horn, Boston had finished off Montreal, 8-1, in their first eight-goal game at Bell Centre since Oct. 28, 1998 (a, 9-2, win), as well as their first eight-goal game against the Habs in general since Feb. 9, 2011 (an, 8-6, win at TD Garden).

    The Canadiens finished the night leading in shots on goal (37-24)– including a, 10-9, advantage in the third period alone– and in hits (34-19).

    The B’s wrapped up Tuesday night leading in blocked shots (16-12) and giveaways (24-18), while both teams split faceoff win%, 50-50.

    Montreal finished the night 0/2 on the skater advantage, while Boston went 2/2 on the power play.

    The last time a Bruin scored a hat trick in Montreal was on Nov. 30, 1987, when Steve Kasper notched three goals in a, 6-4, loss at Montreal Forum.

    Boston finishes their quick two-game road trip (1-0-0) with a Wednesday night matchup in Ottawa against the Senators after traveling by train from Montreal overnight on Tuesday.

    The B’s return home after completing games in back-to-back nights with a Black Friday matinee against the New York Rangers in the NHL’s 2019 Discover Thanksgiving Showdown.

    Boston will debut their new third jersey in Friday’s matchup.

  • DTFR Podcast #172- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part IV)

    DTFR Podcast #172- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part IV)

    The 2019-20 season has begun, so naturally we handed out awards in our 4th Annual Participation Trophies After One Game ceremony.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Bruins depth shines in Dallas, win, 2-1

    Danton Heinen scored the eventual game-winner early in the first period and the Boston Bruins held on for a, 2-1, victory on the road against the Dallas Stars to kick off the 2019-20 season.

    Tuukka Rask (1-0-0 record, 1.00 goals against average in one game played) made 28 saves on 29 shots faced for a .966 save percentage in the win at American Airlines Center for Boston, while Ben Bishop (0-1-0, 2.07 GAA, .900 SV% in one game played) turned aside 18 out of 20 shots against in the loss for Dallas.

    Boston began their 96th season in franchise history, while Dallas kicked off their 27th season since relocating from Minnesota (53rd season if you include their North Stars days).

    David Krejci (lower body), Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder) and Joakim Nordstrom (foot) were all out of the lineup for the Bruins.

    Krejci was a game-time decision, per B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy.

    Miller and Nordstrom were placed on injured reserve earlier in the week with Miller on track for a hopeful return to game action by mid-October.

    Moore was placed on long-term injured reserve to start the season and likely won’t be back with the team until mid-November.

    Prior to the start of the regular season, Boston placed Peter Cehlarik and Maxime Lagacé on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the Providence Bruins (AHL). Both players cleared and were assigned to Providence.

    Others, like Anders Bjork, Trent Frederic, Cameron Hughes, Jack Studnicka and Jakub Zboril, were sent to Providence without having to clear waivers as part of Boston’s final cuts upon the conclusion of the preseason.

    Joe Pavelski and Andrej Sekera made their Stars debuts, while Corey Perry remains out of the lineup due to injury.

    In his first shift for his new team in his first game against his old team, Brett Ritchie (1) scored on his first shot of the season to give Boston their first, 1-0, lead of the season 69 seconds into the action.

    Charlie Coyle (1) had the only assist on Ritchie’s goal at 1:09 of the first period, as the duo collaborated on the Bruins’ first goal of the 2019-20 season.

    About a few minutes later, Stars forward, Alexander Radulov, was penalized for holding at 4:23 and presented Boston with their first power play opportunity of the season.

    After receiving the puck from Matt Grzelcyk, Heinen (1) fired a wrist shot over Bishop’s blocker side to give the Bruins a two-goal lead at 5:59 of the first period.

    Grzelcyk (1) and Charlie McAvoy (1) had the assists on Boston’s first power play goal of the season as Cassidy’s second power play unit converted on the skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Radek Faksa caught Sean Kuraly with a high-stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 17:33.

    The Bruins did not score on the ensuing power play.

    Prior to the stoppage for the delayed call, however, Brad Marchand tried to chip the puck across the ice to a teammate and inadvertently deflected the puck off of Sekera’s stick into Blake Comeau’s face, leaving the Dallas forward with a bloody mouth.

    After 20 minutes of play into the 2019-20 season, Boston led Dallas, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 6-4, in shots on goal.

    The Stars led in blocked shots (9-3), takeaways (2-0), giveaways (6-5) and faceoff win percentage (58-42), while hits were even (7-7).

    Boston was 1/2 on the power play and Dallas had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the first intermission.

    Early in the second period, Stars defender, Roman Polak, went to make a hit on Bruins forward, Chris Wagner, and pushed Wagner’s lower body with enough force to help spin the forward out of the way, but in doing so, exposing himself to the brunt of the boards– head first, right about at the back of his neck– as Polak tumbled into the corner.

    He was stretchered off the ice and sent to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

    Roope Hintz (1) went top-shelf on Rask’s glove side to cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1, a mere 51 seconds after the stoppage for Polak’s injury.

    Mattias Janmark (1) and Pavelski (1) recorded the primary and secondary assists on Hintz’s breakaway goal at 7:55 of the second period.

    The secondary assist was Pavelski’s first point with Dallas in his first game with the club since signing with the Stars in free agency on July 1st– leaving the San Jose Sharks (where he had played since the 2006-07 season after being drafted by San Jose in 2003).

    Almost a couple of minutes later, Radulov tripped Bruins newcomer, Par Lindholm, at 9:30 of the middle frame and was assessed a minor infraction.

    Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    After killing off Radulov’s second penalty of the night, Dallas found themselves shorthanded once again as Janmark was sent to the penalty box for interference at 16:00 of the second period.

    During the resulting media timeout, the Stars tweeted that Comeau suffered a lower body injury, Jason Dickinson suffered an upper body injury and that Polak had been transported to the hospital for evaluation.

    All three players would not return Thursday night’s game.

    A little more than halfway into Boston’s power play, McAvoy was penalized for interference against Tyler Seguin at 17:12.

    Both teams would play 4-on-4 for 48 seconds, then Dallas would have an abbreviated power play.

    Neither team took advantage of the special teams opportunities.

    Through two periods of play, the Bruins led the Stars, 2-1, on the scoreboard, while shots on goal were even (13-13).

    Dallas held a, 9-7, in shots on goal in the second period, while the Stars also led in blocked shots (12-9), takeaways (8-1), giveaways (12-7) and hits (11-7) entering the second intermission.

    Boston led in faceoff win%, 53-37, after 40 minutes.

    The Stars were 0/1 on the power play and the B’s were 1/4 on the skater advantage heading into the third period.

    Less than a minute into the third period, Zdeno Chara was penalized for interference. Dallas did not score on the ensuing power play, but went on to establish complete control of the stat sheet in the final frame of regulation.

    Stars head coach, Jim Montgomery, pulled Bishop for an extra attacker with about 85 seconds remaining in the game, but Dallas couldn’t muster one past Rask.

    Boston sealed the deal on the, 2-1, win for their first victory of the season, despite being outshot, 29-20, in the game.

    The Stars held a, 16-7, advantage in shots on goal in the third period alone and led in blocked shots (18-16), giveaways (17-10), hits (15-12) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Bruins finished the night 1/4 on the power play, while Dallas went 0/2 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s improved to 1-0-0 on the season and continue their four-game road trip to kick things off with a stop in Arizona against the Coyotes on Saturday, before visiting the Vegas Golden Knights next Tuesday and the Colorado Avalanche next Thursday.

    Boston makes their home debut at TD Garden against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 12th.

    Chara began his 14th season as captain of the Bruins, trailing Ray Bourque for the most consecutive seasons as captain in franchise history (Bourque was captain for 15 seasons). Only Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic served as captains of their franchises for longer than Chara and Bourque.

    Yzerman served as the captain of the Detroit Red Wings for 19 seasons and Sakic was captain of the Québec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche for 16 seasons. Both are now the current General Managers of the aforementioned clubs (Yzerman with Detroit, Sakic with Colorado).

    Meanwhile, Patrice Bergeron remains the longest active tenured alternate captain in the league, having assumed his current role since the 2006-07 season.