Down the Frozen River

Tag: Kevan Miller

  • Marchand helps Bruins beat Devils, 3-2, in shootout victory

    Marchand helps Bruins beat Devils, 3-2, in shootout victory

    The Boston Bruins kicked off the 2020-21 regular season with a, 3-2, shootout win against New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday night.

    Tuukka Rask (1-0-0, 1.85 goals against average, .909 save percentage in one game played, one start) made 20 saves on 22 shots faced in the shootout win for the Bruins.

    Mackenzie Blackwood (0-0-1, 1.85 goals against average, .946 save percentage in one game played, one start) turned aside 35 out of 37 shots against in the shootout loss for the Devils.

    Boston improved to 1-0-0 (two points) on the season, while New Jersey fell to 0-0-1 (one point) on the season.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, improved to 162-66-34 in 262 games with Boston.

    Devils head coach, Lindy Ruff, kicked off his new gig with a shootout loss as both teams will face each other seven more times this season in the temporarily realigned MassMutual NHL East Division for the 2020-21 season.

    For the first time in franchise history (97 seasons), the Bruins will not face the Montreal Canadiens at all in the regular season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting temporary division realignment with the United States’ border with Canada currently closed.

    Prior to Thursday night’s action in New Jersey, Patrice Bergeron was named the 20th captain in franchise history on Jan. 6th, replacing Zdeno Chara, who served as the club’s captain from 2006-20, before departing for the Washington Capitals in free agency on Dec. 30, 2020.

    David Krejci and Brad Marchand will serve as alternate captains for Boston this season.

    Krejci has been an alternate captain since the 2013-14 season, while Marchand has worn an “A” on his jersey off-and-on since the 2018-19 season.

    As a result of the ongoing global pandemic, teams are allowed to carry extra players on a “taxi squad” that will not count against their daily salary cap limit.

    The Bruins have not announced who they will utilize on their “taxi squad” this season, but Trent Frederic, Urho Vaakanainen, Jack Studnicka, Dan Vladar and Greg McKegg all made the trip to New Jersey with the team.

    David Pastrnak (hip surgery in the offseason) was out of the lineup against the Devils Thursday night, but is expected to return to play ahead of schedule since his original prognosis when he underwent a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair on Sept. 16th.

    Craig Smith (lower body injury) missed Thursday night’s action and is yet to make his B’s debut since signing a three-year contract worth $3.100 million per season on Oct. 10th.

    Cassidy made a few adjustments to his lines as a result of the injuries and free agency departures in the offseason.

    The first line consisted of Marchand at left wing, Bergeron at center and Studnicka on right wing.

    Rounding out the top-six forwards on the second line were Ondrej Kase, David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk.

    Charlie Coyle centered the third line with Nick Ritchie at his left side and Anders Bjork on his right side, while Sean Kuraly centered the fourth line with Frederic and Chris Wagner as his wings.

    On defense, Cassidy started Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller– honoring Miller in his first game back in 651 days since multiple knee injuries dating back to April 2019.

    Jeremy Lauzon was paired with Charlie McAvoy and Jakub Zboril was partnered with Brandon Carlo.

    Karson Kuhlman remains in COVID protocol, while Par Lindholm, John Moore and Connor Clifton were healthy scratches. Smith and Pastrnak were out of the lineup due to their injuries.

    Early in the opening frame, Jesper Boqvist slashed Frederic and presented the Bruins with their first power play opportunity of the night at 6:14 of the first period.

    Boston’s skater advantage didn’t last long as Grzelcyk caught Yegor Sharangovich with a slash at 7:16.

    After an abbreviated period of 4-on-4 action followed by a short New Jersey power play, neither team could muster anything on the scoresheet.

    McAvoy laid out Sharangovich with a crushing hit at 13:19, but was too far from the puck and assessed a minor infraction for interference.

    The Devils were not successful on the ensuing power play, however.

    Late in the first frame, Miles Wood collided with Rask and cut a rut to the box with a goaltender interference infraction at 17:02.

    Boston didn’t waste much time getting to work on the resulting power play as Marchand (1) one-timed a redirection past Blackwood from just outside the crease to give the Bruins the first lead of the night, 1-0.

    Krejci (1) and Bergeron (1) notched the assists on Marchand’s power-play goal at 17:40 of the first period.

    Entering the first intermission, the Bruins were dominating in possession, on the scoreboard, 1-0, and in shots on goal, 16-4.

    The B’s also held the advantage in faceoff win percentage, 67-33.

    New Jersey, meanwhile, led in blocked shots (7-3), giveaways (8-2) and hits (12-5), while both teams had one takeaway each in the first 20 minutes of game action.

    The Devils were 0/2 and the Bruins were 1/2 on the power play entering the middle frame.

    Kuraly tripped Sharangovich at 2:41 of the second period and presented New Jersey with an early skater advantage in the period, but Boston’s penalty kill remained strong.

    McAvoy was guilty of hooking Janne Kuokkanen at 7:56, but once again New Jersey’s power play couldn’t score.

    Midway through the game, the Devils committed a bench minor for too many skaters on the ice at 10:53.

    Newcomer, Andreas Johnsson, (acquired in the offseason via a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs) served the penalty while Boston’s power play went powerless.

    Through 40 minutes of play on Thursday, the Bruins held onto the, 1-0, lead and led in shots on goal, 26-11– including a, 10-7, advantage in the second period alone.

    New Jersey led in blocked shots (10-6), takeaways (6-2), giveaways (16-4) and hits (20-8), while Boston led in faceoff win% (63-37) after two periods.

    The Devils were 0/4 on the power play, while the B’s were 1/3 entering the dressing room for the second intermission.

    Kuokkanen was penalized for holding Kuraly and yielded another power play to Boston at 6:18 of the third period.

    Shortly after killing off the infraction, Wood (1) broke free from the Bruins’ defense and snapped a shot over Rask’s blocker side to tie the game, 1-1, at 8:51 of the final frame of regulation.

    Jack Hughes (1) had the only assist on Wood’s goal.

    Moments later, Krejci hooked Travis Zajac and was sent to the sin bin at 10:14, but New Jersey’s power play didn’t last long as Wood ran into Rask again and picked up another goaltender interference infraction at 11:13.

    The two clubs had about a minute of 4-on-4 action before an abbreviated power play followed for the Bruins.

    Ritchie (1) scored a close range goal similar to Marchand’s to put the B’s back on top, 2-1, with a power-play goal of his own.

    Marchand (1) and Grzelcyk (1) tallied the assists on Ritchie’s goal at 13:12, but Boston didn’t hold the lead for long as they surrendered a wacky goal 34 seconds later.

    Ty Smith (1) scored his first career National Hockey League goal as the last Devils player to touch the puck before it bounced off of McAvoy, then Lauzon, Lauzon’s stick, McAvoy again and finally floated over Rask and into the twine.

    The fluke goal tied the game, 2-2, and was assisted by Matt Tennyson (1) and Hughes (2) at 13:46 of the third period.

    At the end of regulation, the score remained even, despite Boston outshooting the Devils, 35-18.

    The Bruins had a, 9-7, advantage in shots on goal in the third period alone, while New Jersey led in blocked shots (13-6), takeaways (11-3), giveaways (19-6) and hits (26-13) after regulation.

    Boston led in faceoff win%, 58-42, entering overtime.

    As no penalties were called in the extra frame, the Bruins finished the night 2/5 on the power play, while the Devils went 0/5 on the skater advantage.

    The two teams swapped chances in overtime– including a couple of heart-stopping moments where the Devils nearly completed the comeback, but neither side could seal the deal on an overtime win.

    Despite Cassidy’s best efforts starting Coyle, DeBrusk and McAvoy in overtime, as well as Ruff’s lineup of Hughes, Kyle Palmieri and P.K. Subban in 3-on-3 OT, a shootout was necessary.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal, 37-22, despite being outshot, 4-2, in overtime alone.

    New Jersey finished Thursday’s effort leading in blocked shots (14-7), giveaways (19-6) and hits (26-13), while the Bruins settled for the final advantage in faceoff win% (57-43).

    The Devils elected to shoot first in the shootout and sent Nikita Gusev out to get the job in round one, but Rask stoned him cold as Gusev attempted to go five-hole on the veteran netminder.

    Coyle was denied by Blackwood with a pad save as the Bruins forward tried to pull the New Jersey goaltender out of position.

    Boqvist was stopped by Rask in a routine save while Kase couldn’t sneak one past Blackwood’s blocker side in the second round of the shootout.

    After Hughes lost the puck while attempting to dangle his way into the low slot, Cassidy sent Marchand to try to get the win for Boston.

    Marchand came through for his coach and the rest of the Bruins with an off-tempo shot through Blackwood’s five-hole after getting the New Jersey goaltender to commit to his fake handiwork before taking the shot.

    The Bruins won the shootout, 1-0, after three rounds and clinched the, 3-2, shootout victory over the Devils to start the 2020-21 season.

    It was Boston’s first shootout win since Feb. 20, 2019, when the B’s downed the Vegas Golden Knights on the road in what was also a, 3-2, shootout victory.

    With the win, the Bruins improved to 1-0-0 when leading after the first period, 1-0-0 when leading after the second period, 1-0-0 when scoring the game’s first goal and 1-0 in shootouts (1-0 past regulation) this season.

    Boston continues their three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon with a rematch against the Devils in New Jersey at 1 p.m. ET before heading to Nassau Coliseum on Monday (Jan. 18th) for a game with the New York Islanders.

    The Bruins return to Boston for their home opener at TD Garden on Jan. 21st against the Philadelphia Flyers.

    There will be no fans in attendance in Boston due to COVID-19 restrictions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

  • Chara, Hoffman and now this?

    The Boston Bruins’ long-time captain since the 2006-07 season, 43-year-old Zdeno Chara remains unsigned as the end of the calendar year, 2020, draws near.

    Chara’s agent, Matt Keator, has been reported as noting that the defender has had contact from more than 20 teams this offseason, but is focused on re-signing with the Bruins if there’s a deal to be had.

    Of course, he could also just flat-out retire.

    It’s not that Boston couldn’t use the services of their longtime cornerstone on the blue line, but the Bruins are shaking things up this offseason on defense– partially because of necessity and partially because that’s just how time works.

    Torey Krug left for the St. Louis Blues in free agency and guys like Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Lauzon, Connor Clifton and Urho Vaakanainen are all vying for potentially the same couple of spots.

    Kevan Miller was brought back on a one-year, $1.250 million deal and John Moore is still on the books through the 2022-23 season at a $2.750 million cap hit.

    With a little under $3.000 million in available cap room, the B’s could be looking to sign Chara to a short-term league minimum contract– one-year, $700,000– and present themselves with at least $2.300 million to offer someone like Mike Hoffman or lure back Carl Soderberg into the mix for added scoring touch or depth, respectively.

    If they can’t land Hoffman, then Soderberg is likely the best consolation prize as the offseason drags on and two-week quarantine periods might affect how call-ups from the Providence Bruins (AHL) work.

    That’s the latest on how AHL roster transactions might be handled this season, by the way. It all depends on what your state, province or region (if short-term bubbles get involved) has to say about moving players within your own organization.

    Soderberg might not be better than playing Jack Studnicka every night, but in a pinch he’d be better than nothing.

    After all, he did have 35 points in 70 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season and that’s nothing to sneeze at for a bottom-six forward.

    As for Chara, it might be a matter of swallowing a little pride.

    He certainly is deserving of almost whatever he wants for the career he’s had and role he’s played in Boston’s leadership for almost 15 years.

    But if he’s wanting $1.000 million or more for what’s likely his last season in the league, then the Bruins would be smart to bow out unless they’re able to trade someone like Moore and find a durable top-four defender while convincing Chara to minimize his minutes as a bottom-six defender.

    Yet that’d mean they wouldn’t be able to find a guy to play on David Krejci’s wing. You know, kind of what they’ve needed since 2015.

    As for Hoffman, the one-time 30-goal scorer has reached the 50-point plateau in the last five seasons and somehow remains on the free agent market.

    Whereas the Columbus Blue Jackets have about $9.200 million to spend, how much is Hoffman willing to pull a move similar to Taylor Hall’s one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres and try to match Hall’s $8.000 million cap hit this season?

    Columbus could be a great landing spot for the 31-year-old winger, but would the Blue Jackets be spurned by yet another player in free agency next offseason? Especially if John Tortorella is what could be holding players up from staying long-term?

    To play with the Blue Jackets you have to be a 200-foot player in accordance with Tortorella’s style. That’s likely to keep Hoffman from possibly capitalizing on short-term monetary gain with limited options elsewhere unless he can do more than just score.

    He might be the one-dimensional sniper Columbus needs, but not if General Manager, Jarmo Kekäläinen, and Tortorella can’t see eye-to-eye on the team’s plan.

    For the Bruins to sign Hoffman and bring his 29-30–59 totals in 69 games with the Florida Panthers last season to the Hub of the Universe, Boston would have to shed some salary in a swap for either a defender as they’re reportedly looking for or some draft picks.

    That’s where Anders Bjork could be a suitable asset to send to a team in return for, like, a third round pick or something.

    Nevertheless, Boston’s not the “Cup contenders” that they were going into last season.

    They might figure out a way to win the East Division regular season standings or they could finish fourth in the division and barely make their way into the postseason.

    Regardless, the Bruins need to land a top-six forward if Craig Smith is to settle in and get comfy on the third line and patch the defense for a short term fix if management thinks otherwise about the team’s “Cup contender” status.

    It’s this year or bust– and in a 56-game regular season every early season game matters that much more.

    Getting off on the right foot without Brad Marchand (possibly) and David Pastrnak on opening night (and missing Pastrnak for at least a month) is vital.

    It’s crunch time.

  • 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.

  • DTFR Podcast #203- Hockey Christmas In August

    DTFR Podcast #203- Hockey Christmas In August

    The 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers and Round Robin tournament are almost underway, but this episode has almost nothing to do with that!

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

  • Rask, Bruins, shutout Flyers, 2-0

    The Boston Bruins snapped the Philadelphia Flyers’ nine-game winning streak with a, 2-0, shutout at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night.

    Tuukka Rask (26-8-6 record, 2.12 goals against average, .929 save percentage in 41 games played) made 36 saves en route to the shutout victory for the Bruins on his 33rd birthday.

    It was also his 5th shutout of the season and the 50th in his NHL career.

    Flyers goaltender, Carter Hart (24-13-3, 2.43 GAA, .913 SV% in 42 games played), stopped 27 out of 29 shots faced for a .931 SV% in the loss.

    Boston improved to 44-14-12 (100 points) on the season and became the first team to reach the 100-point plateau this season, while Philadelphia fell to 41-21-7 (89 points) and remained in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division.

    The B’s also improved to 22-10-3 on the road this season.

    The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Brandon Carlo (upper body) and Torey Krug (upper body) in Philadelphia.

    Miller has yet to make his season debut and has missed all 70 games this season.

    Meanwhile, Connor Clifton returned to the lineup for the first time since being injured in a game on Dec. 29th against Buffalo.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, adjusted his defensive pairings with his usual second pair on the blue line out of the action on Tuesday.

    Matt Grzelcyk and Jeremy Lauzon were moved up to the second pairing, while John Moore and Clifton slid into the third pairing role with Moore on the left side and Clifton on the right side.

    Anders Bjork and Anton Blidh were the only healthy scratches for Boston against the Flyers.

    There were no other lineup changes from Saturday night’s, 5-3, loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning to Tuesday night’s matchup in Philadelphia.

    Tuesday night also marked the 400th career NHL game for Bruins winger, Joakim Nordstrom.

    Chris Wagner tripped Shayne Gostisbehere and presented the Flyers with their first power play opportunity of the night at 6:20 of the first period.

    Philadelphia did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Almost ten minutes later, Brad Marchand cut a rut to the sin bin for holding Jakub Voracek at 16:06 and the Flyers didn’t score on the resulting power play.

    Late in the opening frame, Ivan Provorov caught Ondrej Kase with a high stick at 19:50, but Boston did not convert on their first power play of the game– despite the advantage carrying over into the second period.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Bruins and Flyers were still tied, 0-0, on the scoreboard, despite Philadelphia holding the advantage in shots on goal, 12-8.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (5-2) and hits (9-7), while Philly led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (5-4) and faceoff win percentage (61-39) after one period.

    The Flyers were 0/2 and the B’s were 0/1 on the power play entering the middle frame.

    Past the midpoint of the second period, Marchand went back to the box for holding against Sean Couturier at 14:12.

    Once more, Philadelphia was not able to convert on the skater advantage as Rask and Boston’s penalty kill stood tall.

    Less than a minute after the two clubs resumed even strength action, Justin Braun was penalized for interference at 16:55 of the second period.

    Late in the ensuing power play, Boston worked the puck around in the attacking zone with an umbrella formation.

    David Krejci tossed the puck to David Pastrnak who gave it to Grzelcyk (4) for the shot from the point that beat Hart to give the Bruins the first lead of the night, 1-0, on the skater advantage.

    Grzelcyk’s power play goal was assisted by Pastrank (47) and Krejci (30) at 18:39 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action in Philly, the Bruins led the Flyers, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite Philadelphia holding a, 24-12, advantage in shots on goal.

    Entering the second intermission, Boston led in blocked shots (11-7), while the Flyers led in takeaways (4-3), giveaways (10-6), hits (16-13) and faceoff win% (62-39).

    Philadelphia was 0/3 and Boston was 1/2 on the power play heading into the final period.

    Late in the final frame of regulation, Patrice Bergeron (31) received a pass, broke into the attacking zone and wristed a shot over Hart’s blocker side to make it, 2-0, for the Bruins at 14:40 of the third period.

    Marchand (59) and Zdeno Chara (9) notched the assists on Bergeron’s goal and the B’s had their insurance marker for the victory.

    Just 20 seconds later, the Flyers were on the penalty kill as a result of Scott Laughton catching Pastrnak with a high stick at 15:00 of the third period, but Boston wasn’t able to convert on their last power play of the night.

    With 2:40 remaining in the game, Flyers head coach, Alain Vigneault, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but Philadelphia couldn’t find a way to breakthrough Boston’s defense and goaltender.

    At the final horn, the B’s had won in Philly and defeated the Flyers for the first time in their last five regular season meetings.

    Boston won, 2-0, despite trailing in shots on goal, 36-29.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in blocked shots (12-11) and hits (23-22), while Philadelphia wrapped the night up with the advantage in giveaways (15-12) and faceoff win% (62-38).

    The Flyers finished 0/3 on the power play, while Boston went 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    With the win, Boston became the first team to reach the 100-point plateau and marked the third consecutive season of 100 points or more in a season for Cassidy in his third full-season with the club.

    Meanwhile, the Bruins improved to 26-7-8 (14-5-2 on the road in that span) when scoring the game’s first goal, 14-2-6 (7-1-0 on the road) when tied after one period, 28-1-6 (16-1-2 on the road) when leading after two periods and 17-4-5 (8-3-2 on the road) when being outshot this season.

    The Flyers, on the other hand, fell to 13-14-3 (5-3-4 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 17-3-3 (12-3-2 at home) when tied after one period, 2-21-4 (2-6-2 at home) when trailing after two periods and 22-15-4 (15-5-2 at home) when outshooting their opponent this season.

    Boston wraps up their two-game road trip (1-0-0) in Buffalo on Friday before returning home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets next Monday (March 16th).

    The Bruins then venture out to California for their annual West Coast road trip.

  • Bolts top B’s in, 5-3, fight filled action

    It was fight night at TD Garden on Saturday as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3, in a game that had over 90 penalty minutes and multiple brawls.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (35-13-3 record, 2.57 goals against average, .917 save percentage in 51 games played) made 35 saves on 38 shots against (.921 SV%) in the win for the Lightning.

    B’s netminder, Tuukka Rask (25-8-6, 2.18 GAA, .926 SV% in 40 games played) stopped 20 out of 24 shots faced for an .833 SV% in the loss.

    Tampa took the season series 3-1-0 and improved to 43-20-5 (91 points), but the Bolts remain 2nd in the Atlantic Division to the Bruins who are now 43-14-12 (98 points) on the season, as well as 22-4-9 on home ice.

    The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Connor Clifton (upper body) and Brandon Carlo (upper body) on Saturday night.

    Prior to the game, however, Clifton was activated from the injured reserve, which means he’ll likely be back in the lineup sometime next week if all goes well at practice.

    Karson Kuhlman was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) to make way for Clifton’s activation.

    With Carlo out of the lineup, John Moore took over the right side of the second defensive pairing with Torey Krug, while Bruce Cassidy made two minor changes among his forward lines from Thursday night’s, 2-1, overtime victory in Florida to Saturday night’s battle with the Lightning.

    Cassidy moved Sean Kuraly up to the right wing of the third line with Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle, while shifting Chris Wagner down to the right side of the fourth line with Joakim Nordstrom at left wing and Par Lindholm at center.

    Anders Bjork and Anton Blidh served as Boston’s healthy scratches against Tampa.

    Early in the opening frame, Barclay Goodrow delivered a blow to Bruins forward, Ondrej Kase, with the elbow and received a minor infraction at 5:01 of the first period.

    The ensuing power play for Boston was disastrous as the B’s allowed two shorthanded goals before Goodrow was allowed to return to the ice.

    First after Patrice Bergeron won the faceoff in the direction of the point, Anthony Cirelli (16) snuck in and stole the loose puck, skated to the opposite zone and sniped a shot past Rask on the blocker side for an unassisted shorthanded goal at 5:08 of the first period– giving Tampa the game’s first lead, 1-0.

    Cirelli’s goal marked the 19th time this season that Boston gave up the game’s first goal on home ice.

    Almost a minute later, Yanni Gourde worked the puck from deep in the corner to Mikhail Sergachev (10) in the low slot for the one-timer past Rask’s glove side.

    Gourde (18) had the only assist on Sergachev’s goal and the Bolts led, 2-0, at 6:10 of the opening period.

    After Goodrow returned to the ice from the penalty box, Wagner tried to engage No. 19 in blue and white in a fight for the actions Goodrow took against Kase in the first place that Wagner did not think highly of, but the two only tugged and grabbed at each other before the officials intervened and handed out matching unsportsmanlike conduct minors at 8:39.

    The game shifted to 4-on-4 for two minutes until the minor penalties would expire.

    Seconds after the two players emerged from the box, Wagner and Goodrow dropped the gloves in an agreed upon exchanging of the fisticuffs at 10:45 in what was the 19th fight this season for the Bruins and 12th since Jan. 1st.

    Moments later, Braydon Coburn was guilty of holding DeBrusk and presented Boston with their second power play opportunity of the night at 12:20.

    This time the Lightning didn’t score any shorthanded goals.

    Tampa got their first chance on the power play at 19:14 of the first period when Jeremy Lauzon was sent to the box for interfering with Pat Maroon.

    The Bolts did not score on the skater advantage, despite its overlap into the second period.

    After 20 minutes of action in Boston, the Lightning led, 2-0, on the scoreboard, despite the Bruins leading in shots on goal, 14-5.

    Tampa also held the advantage in blocked shots (8-6), takeaways (3-1), hits (12-5) and faceoff win percentage (64-36).

    Both teams had two giveaways aside, while the Bolts were 0/1 on the power play and the B’s were 0/2.

    Cedric Paquette (7) kicked off the second period with a goal to make it, 3-0, for Tampa after Boston’s defense was caught out of position and the Lightning forward snuck into the slot for a one-timer from point-blank.

    Zach Bogosian (6) and Coburn (3) had the assists on Paquette’s goal at 6:50 of the middle frame and the Lightning thundered their way to three unanswered goals for a three-goal lead.

    Past the midpoint of the second period, four Lightning skaters took a chance to jump one Bruins player while said player tried to play the puck along the wall.

    That player was Brad Marchand– whether it was justified or not– and a scrum ensued as all ten skaters on the ice piled on top of one another.

    Cirelli and Marchand both headed for the sin bin with matching roughing minors– meaning the two teams would once again spend a couple of minutes skating 4-on-4 at 14:13 of the second period.

    While on the ensuing even-strength, 4-on-4, action, Charlie McAvoy (5) snuck up on a rush with Coyle and DeBrusk and beat Vasilevskiy on the glove side to put Boston on the scoreboard and cut into Tampa’s lead.

    Coyle (21) and Matt Grzelcyk (17) tallied the assists on McAvoy’s goal as the Bruins trailed, 3-1, at 14:50.

    Almost four minutes later, Kuraly (6) poked a loose puck in the crease just over the goal line before Point was able to scoop it back out from the net and into play without any officials on the ice picking up on the fact that a goal had indeed been scored.

    As play continued for about 90 additional seconds, the video room in Toronto signaled to TD Garden that there had been a goal on the play and instructed the arena to use the siren to indicate an overrule by the video room.

    But as that happened, all hell broke loose.

    McAvoy (27) and Kase (17) were credited for the assists on Kuraly’s goal at 18:37 as Kuraly got entangled in a line brawl that resulted in a misconduct for No. 52 in black and gold and a list of penalties for players on the ice and even a Lightning staff member on the bench!

    The Bruins trailed, 3-2, as Zdeno Chara fought Maroon (each received five minutes for fighting), Erik Cernak and Kuraly traded misconducts and Tampa was assessed a bench minor for delay of game and a game misconduct for Todd Richards’ verbal abuse of an official at 18:37 of the second period.

    The chaos didn’t end after the already lit fuse had sparked once more.

    At the end of the second period, more shoves were exchanged and words shouted, leaving Marchand with a slashing minor against Blake Coleman, a misconduct for Coleman and a misconduct for Nick Ritchie at 20:00.

    Heading into the second intermission, Tampa led on the scoreboard, 3-2, but trailed Boston in shots on goal, 26-15.

    The B’s held the advantage in blocked shots (14-10) and giveaways (7-4) after 40 minutes of play, while the Lightning led in takeaways (5-3), hits (25-20) and faceoff win% (63-38).

    Boston was 0/4 on the power play and Tampa was 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

    Just 68 seconds into the third period, Alex Killorn (26) tipped a shot from the blue line past Rask under the Boston goaltender’s blocker and into the twine to make it, 4-2, for the Bolts.

    Killorn’s power play goal was assisted by Sergachev (24) and Point (39) at 1:08 of the third period and was not challenged despite initial concern from Rask that Killorn’s stick might have been above the crossbar.

    Almost four minutes later, Nikita Kucherov cross checked Grzelcyk and was sent to the box at 5:48.

    This time the Bruins capitalized on the skater advantage with a one-timed power play goal from the point by David Pastrnak (48) to make it a one-goal game.

    Krug (40) and Marchand (58) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s goal at 6:37 of the third period and the B’s cut Tampa’s lead to, 4-3.

    About two minutes later, Bergeron sent the puck out of play without touching anything else and received an automatic delay of game minor penalty– in addition to a roughing minor after Goodrow and several other skaters on the ice met for one last rouse.

    Krug and Mitchell Stephens joined Bergeron in the box with roughing minors, while the Lightning went on the power play one last time at 8:43 of the final frame.

    Moments later, Tyler Johnson hauled Kase down with a hook, but Kase was also hit by an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction for embellishing the penalty in the officials’ eyes and presented both sides with more 4-on-4 action at 13:10 of the third period.

    With 1:48 left in the game, Cassidy pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was too little, too late as Jon Cooper’s Lightning outmatched Boston’s last-ditch effort.

    David Krejci misplayed the puck while skating out of his own zone into the neutral zone and gave the rubber biscuit directly to Kucherov (33) for the empty net goal at 18:58– sealing the deal on Tampa’s, 5-3, victory over the Bruins in Boston.

    At the final horn, the Bolts had won, despite finishing the night trailing in shots on goal, 38-25.

    Boston wrapped up Saturday night’s loss with the advantage in blocked shots (19-14) and giveaways (11-6), while Tampa led in hits (30-26) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    The Lightning finished the night 1/2 on the skater advantage and the Bruins went 1/4 on the power play in the game.

    Boston fell to 18-7-4 when allowing the game’s first goal (10-2-3 at home in that span), 6-7-3 when trailing after one period (4-2-2 at home in that span) and 5-11-4 (5-4-3 at home in that span) when trailing after two periods this season.

    Tampa, on the other hand, improved to 30-9-2 (13-5-2 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 23-2-3 (11-2-2 on the road) when leading after one period and 31-1-4 (14-0-2 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    The B’s begin a two-game road trip in Philadelphia on Tuesday (March 10th) before traveling to Buffalo next Friday (March 13th).

    The Bruins then return home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs next Saturday (March 14th) and host the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 16th before heading out to visit the three California teams later that week.

    The Flyers, in the meantime, are on a nine-game winning streak and host the Bruins on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.

  • Krug’s rocket leads Bruins to, 2-1, win in OT in Florida

    Torey Krug and the Boston Bruins pulled off a, 2-1, comeback win in overtime against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night at BB&T Center.

    Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (18-6-6 record, 2.39 goals against average, .919 save percentage in 31 games played), made 32 saves on 33 shots against for a .970 SV% in the win.

    Florida netminder, Chris Driedger (5-2-1, 2.29 GAA, .932 SV% in 10 games played) stopped 26 out of 28 shots faced for a .929 SV% in the overtime loss.

    The B’s improved to 43-13-12 (98 points) on the season and remain in command of the Atlantic Division, while the Panthers fell to 33-26-8 (74 points) and stuck in 4th place in the Atlantic.

    Boston improved to 21-10-3 on the road this season, as well.

    The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee) and Connor Clifton (upper body) on Thursday night, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made one change to his lineup among his forwards– moving Sean Kuraly back to center the fourth line with Anders Bjork replacing Par Lindholm at left wing.

    Lindholm was joined by John Moore, Anton Blidh and Karson Kuhlman in the press box as Boston’s healthy scratches in Florida.

    Midway through the opening frame, Ondrej Kase awkwardly collided with Evgenii Dadonov, leaving Kase on his hands and knees and (somehow) a minor penalty for tripping Dadonov at 11:41 of the first period.

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

    A few minutes later, after Nick Ritchie tried to mix things up with Dadonov for the incidental contact with Kase that sent Kase down the tunnel before re-emerging from Boston’s dressing room moments after Jake DeBrusk served Kase’s minor for tripping Dadonov– Ritchie went square dancing with Riley Stillman.

    The two players exchanged fisticuffs and received five-minute majors for fighting at 14:35 in what was the 18th fight this season for Boston– and the 11th since Jan. 1st.

    It was Ritchie’s first fight in 46 personal games played this season and Stillman’s second fighting major in 33 personal games this season.

    Less than a minute to go in the first period, Mike Matheson tripped up Brad Marchand and was sent to the penalty box as a result at 19:01.

    Boston did not convert on their first skater advantage of the night.

    Heading into the first intermission, the game was still tied, 0-0, while the Bruins led in shots on goal, 12-4.

    The Panthers held the advantage in takeaways (8-4), hits (9-6) and faceoff win percentage (67-33), while the B’s led in giveaways (6-4).

    Both teams had six blocked shots aside and were 0/1 on the power play.

    Early in the middle frame, MacKenzie Weegar (6) kicked things off with a one-timer from the point that beat Halak over the blocker with net front screen by Lucas Wallmark.

    Brett Connolly (14) and Wallmark (13) had the assist’s on Weegar’s goal and Florida jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 6:55 of the second period.

    Moments later, Dadonov threw an errant elbow on a reverse check in the corner, leaving Bruins defender, Brandon Carlo dazed as he was helped off the ice.

    Carlo did not return to the game and was ruled out by Boston’s public relations team with an upper body in a tweet during the third period.

    Dadonov was originally assessed a five-minute major penalty on the play, but a review lessened the infraction to two-minutes for elbowing at 10:46 of the second period.

    The 30-year-old forward is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end and has 25-21–46 totals in 67 games with the Panthers this season and has never been fined or suspended in his National Hockey League career (2009-12, 2017-present).

    As a result of Thursday night’s loss, Florida is still four points outside of a playoff spot.

    Boston’s power play unit didn’t take long while Dadonov was in the box to capitalize on the skater advantage as Krug rocketed a shot from the point that Patrice Bergeron (30) tipped in to reach the 30-goal plateau for the sixth time in his career (2003-present).

    In doing so, Bergeron became the sixth Bruin in franchise history to record at least six 30-goal seasons, joining Phil Esposito (eight 30-goal seasons with Boston), Rick Middleton (eight), Johnny Bucyk (seven), Cam Neely (six) and Peter McNab (six).

    Krug (39) and Marchand (57) notched the assists on Bergeron’s power play tally at 11:00 of the middle frame and the Bruins tied the game, 1-1.

    Less than a minute later, Boston was back on the power play as Aleksander Barkov tripped up DeBrusk at 11:48, but the B’s weren’t able to convert on their third power play of the night.

    Shortly after the Panthers killed off Barkov’s infraction, Florida went on the power play after Marchand caught Mike Hoffman with a hook at 15:06.

    The Panthers didn’t score on the advantage, however.

    With 1:59 remaining in the period, Anton Stralman took a puck to the face off an inadvertent deflection, but remained in the game.

    Through 40 minutes of action at BB&T Center, the Bruins and Panthers were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard with Florida holding an edge in shots on goal, 19-17.

    Boston led in blocked shots (10-8), hits (16-14) and faceoff win% (57-43), while Florida led in takeaways (10-8) and giveaways (11-9).

    The Panthers were 0/2 on the advantage, while the Bruins were 1/3 on the power play heading into the second intermission.

    Frank Vatrano slashed Jeremy Lauzon at 2:04 of the third period and was sent to the sin bin as a result, but Boston’s power play was cut short when Charlie Coyle tripped Stralman at 2:58.

    The two sides escaped 4-on-4 action unharmed, but upon Vatrano’s re-admittance to the game, No. 77 in Panthers red and blue played the puck while one of his legs was still in the penalty box– resulting in an automatic interference minor penalty at 4:06.

    Once more, the two clubs skated at 4-on-4 even strength until David Pastrnak got his stick between the legs of Barkov and brought down the Florida captain at 4:54 of the third period.

    The Panthers emerged with an abbreviated power play after the two sides went through 4-on-4 action again, but Florida remained powerless on the power play.

    At the end of regulation, the score remained tied, 1-1, and the Panthers led in shots on goal, 31-24.

    Florida maintained the advantage in takeaways (12-10) and hits (24-21), while Boston led in faceoff win% (53-48).

    Both teams had 14 blocked shots and 14 giveaways aside.

    As there were no penalties called in overtime, the Panthers finished the night 0/4 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1/4.

    In overtime, Florida’s head coach, Joel Quenneville, opted to start Barkov, Hoffman and Aaron Ekblad, while Cassidy countered the Panthers’ trio with Coyle, DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy.

    Late in the five-minute overtime period, after both teams swapped chance for chance, Pastrnak worked to retrieve a puck along the end boards that was sent in by Krug.

    No. 88 in black and gold sent a pass back to Krug at the point, where No. 47 then wound up and blasted a slap shot past Driedger to end the game in overtime.

    Krug’s (9) goal was assisted by Pastrnak (46) and David Krejci (29) at 4:08 of the overtime period and lifted the Bruins over the Panthers, 2-1.

    Boston finished the game with victory on the scoreboard, but trailed Florida in shots on goal, 33-28.

    The Panthers also held the advantage in giveaways (15-14) and hits (24-22), while the Bruins led in faceoff win% (52-48).

    Both teams finished with 14 blocked shots each.

    Florida fell to 2-4 in overtime this season and 4-8 overall past regulation, while Boston improved to 6-2 in overtime and 6-12 past 60 minutes overall in the regular season.

    The Bruins improved to 13-2-6 (6-1-0 on the road) when tied after the first period, 18-6-4 (8-5-1 on the road) when giving up the game’s first goal and 11-2-2 (6-2-0 on the road) when tied after two periods this season.

    Meanwhile, the Panthers fell to 11-9-4 (4-5-2 at home) when tied after the first period, 25-5-4 (14-2-3 at home) when scoring the game’s first goal and 2-4-4 (0-3-2 at home) when tied after two periods this season.

    Boston wrapped up their three-game road trip (3-0-0) on Thursday and plays host to the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden on Saturday.

  • Bruins beat Bolts, 2-1, in Tampa

    The Boston Bruins held on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, at Amalie Arena on Tuesday night for their first win in Tampa since March 17, 2018 (a, 3-0, victory).

    Tuukka Rask (25-7-6 record, 2.13 goals against average, .928 save percentage in 39 games played) made 20 saves on 21 shots against (.952 SV%) in the win for Boston.

    Tampa netminder, Andrei Vasilevskiy (33-13-3, 2.61 GAA, .915 SV% in 49 games played) stopped 33 out of 35 shots faced for a .943 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 42-13-12 (96 points) on the season and increased their Atlantic Division lead over the Lightning to nine-points while the Bolts fell to 41-20-5 (87 points) this season.

    Boston also improved to 20-10-3 on the road this season, while Tampa was without their captain, Steven Stamkos, as he’ll be out for six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury on Monday.

    Boston was without the services of Kevan Miller (knee) and Connor Clifton (upper body) on Tuesday, while Chris Wagner (upper body) returned to the lineup after missing the last game due to injury.

    Miller has yet to make his season debut for the Bruins and has missed all 67 games in 2019-20.

    Clifton has returned to practice with the rest of the team, but has been out for 27 games.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, was prepared to make adjustments to his lines if Brad Marchand wasn’t ready to go Tuesday night due to “not feeling well” earlier in the day, but nevertheless, Marchand took part in warmups and was in his usual role on the first line left wing.

    Wagner was re-introduced to the lineup on the third line in place of Karson Kuhlman.

    Anders Bjork, John Moore, Anton Blidh and Kuhlman comprised of Boston’s short list of healthy scratches in Tampa.

    Tuesday night also marked the 200th game of Jake DeBrusk’s NHL career.

    Kevin Shattenkirk kicked off the night’s action with a hooking infraction against Ondrej Kase and presented the Bruins with their first power play of the night at 2:35 of the first period.

    Boston was unsuccessful on the skater advantage and followed things up with a penalty of their own midway through the opening frame when B’s defender, Brandon Carlo, tripped Lightning forward, Pat Maroon at 14:09.

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

    In the final minute of the first period, the Bruins worked a rush into the attacking zone whereby David Pastrnak sent the puck back to the point to Torey Krug.

    Krug found Marchand (28) with an intentional shot pass looking for the redirection, which Marchand successfully pulled off to give Boston the game’s first goal and a, 1-0, lead at 19:05.

    Krug (38) and Pastrnak (45) were credited with the assists on Marchand’s goal as the Bruins took the, 1-0, lead into the first intermission, while also leading in shots on goal, 14-9.

    Boston held the advantage in takeaways (3-2), giveaways (1-0) and faceoff win percentage (55-45) after one period of action at Amalie Arena, while Tampa led in hits (13-6).

    Both teams had seven blocked shots aside and were 0/1 on the power play heading into the second period.

    Zach Bogosian sent a pass to Yanni Gourde for what was thought to be a one-timer goal, but Cassidy used his coach’s challenge on the basis that the Bolts had entered the attacking zone offside.

    Upon review, video footage indicated that the Lightning were inches offside (and likely onside as of next season’s proposed amendments to the offside rule) and the call on the ice was reversed– no goal.

    Gourde cut a rut to the penalty box 22 seconds later after tripping Charlie Coyle at 5:46 of the second period.

    Boston did not capitalize on their second power play of the night, but generated enough momentum to carry themselves through the middle frame with dominance.

    Coyle found DeBrusk through the neutral zone and presented No. 74 in black and gold on a breakaway, whereby DeBrusk (19) beat Vasilevskiy over the blocker side for his first goal in 11 games.

    DeBrusk’s goal gave Boston a two-goal lead and was assisted by Coyle (20) at 10:06 of the second period.

    Moments later, Mikhail Sergachev slashed DeBrusk at 12:54 and presented the B’s with yet another power play.

    Once more, however, the Bruins were powerless on the skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Mitchell Stephens (3) threw a shot on goal from close range that beat Rask after the Lightning just about beat the Bruins into submission with tremendous sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

    Tyler Johnson (16) and Barclay Goodrow (18) notched the assists on Stephens’ goal at 17:28 and the Bolts cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1.

    In the dying seconds of the middle frame, Joakim Nordstrom and Gourde exchanged fisticuffs after a post whistle scrum ensued in front of the Boston net.

    Nordstrom and Gourde each received five-minute majors for fighting at 19:56 and the two teams went into the second intermission in a tight, emotionally charged game.

    Boston led Tampa, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 31-14, in shots on goal through 40 minutes of play on Tuesday.

    The Bruins also maintained the advantage in blocked shots (12-9) and faceoff win% (55-45).

    The Lightning led in hits (26-11) after two periods, while both teams had four takeaways and one giveaway each.

    As there were no penalties called in the third period, Boston finished 0/3 on the power play and Tampa finished 0/1 on the skater advantage on Tuesday night.

    Nobody scored and nobody was penalized in the final frame of regulation, but Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker with about 1:05 remaining in the game to no avail as Boston’s defense stood tall and was backstopped by Rask in the dying seconds.

    The Bruins finished the game with the, 2-1, victory and leading in shots on goal, 35-21, as well as blocked shots (21-10) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    Tampa finished the night leading in giveaways (3-2) and hits (35-22).

    Boston improved to 25-7-8 when scoring the game’s first goal, 24-5-3 when leading after one period and 27-1-6 when leading after two periods this season.

    The Bruins also improved to 13-5-2 when scoring first on the road, 13-4-2 when leading after one period and 15-1-2 when leading after two periods on the road.

    Tampa fell to 13-11-3 when allowing the game’s first goal, 7-7-1 when trailing after one period and 4-15-0 when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Lightning are now 5-6-2 when allowing the game’s first goal at home, 3-5-1 when trailing after one period and 1-7-0 when trailing after two periods at home this season.

    The B’s conclude their current three-game road trip (2-0-0) on Thursday with a game against the Florida Panthers before returning home to host the Lightning on Saturday.

  • Rask, Bruins, shutout Islanders, 4-0

    Four different players scored a goal in a, 4-0, shutout for the Boston Bruins over the New York Islanders at NYCB Live on Saturday afternoon.

    Tuukka Rask (24-7-6 record, 2.16 goals against average, .928 save percentage in 38 games played) had a 25-save shutout in the win for Boston.

    It was the fourth shutout of the season for Rask and the 49th shutout of his career.

    New York goaltender, Semyon Varlamov (19-13-5, 2.55 GAA, .917 SV% in 42 games played) stopped 26 out of 30 shots faced for an .867 SV% in the loss.

    Boston improved to 41-13-12 (92 points) and remained in command of the Atlantic Division, while New York fell to 35-21-8 (78 points) on the season and stuck in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division.

    The B’s also improved to 19-10-3 on the road this season and have won their last ten games in Long Island.

    The Bruins were without Kevan Miller (knee), Connor Clifton (upper body) and Chris Wagner (upper body) on Saturday.

    Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made two changes to his lineup, replacing Anders Bjork on the third line right wing with Karson Kuhlman, as well as Wagner with Joakim Nordstrom on the fourth line.

    Bjork joined John Moore and Anton Blidh on the list of healthy scratches for Boston against the Islanders.

    Saturday marked the 200th career NHL game for Ondrej Kase and the first game on Feb. 29th for the B’s since they hosted the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 29, 2000 (a, 5-3, loss).

    Early in the action, David Pastrnak (47) rocketed a shot into the twine from about the point after Andy Greene knocked Patrice Bergeron into Varlamov and Varlamov had enough time to reset.

    Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz, didn’t make a fuss over the call on the ice and the Bruins jumped out to the, 1-0, lead at 4:30 of the first period.

    Torey Krug (36) and Brandon Carlo (15) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s goal.

    Midway through the opening frame, Jeremy Lauzon was cut and headed down the tunnel to receive some stitches before returning ahead of the second period.

    Moments later, Matt Grzelcyk (3) wasn’t going to be denied a second time by Varlamov as the Bruins defender fired a shot from the point that deflected off of Islanders defender, Johnny Boychuk, in the high slot and past the New York netminder.

    Brad Marchand (56) and Charlie McAvoy (25) tallied the assists on Grzelcyk’s goal and the B’s led, 2-0, at 13:10.

    It was Grzelcyk’s first goal since Nov. 19th in New Jersey.

    About a minute later, Nick Ritchie caught Anthony Beauvillier without the puck and was sent to the box with an interference infraction at 14:31.

    New York did not convert on their first power play of the afternoon.

    Pastrnak followed things up with a tripping minor of his own at 18:57, but the Islanders were once again unsuccessful on the skater advantage to close out the first period.

    After one period fo play at NYCB Live, the Bruins led the Islanders, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 11-8, in shots on goal.

    Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (7-5), takeaways (2-1) and faceoff win percentage (60-40), while New York led in giveaways (6-4) and hits (10-4).

    The Isles were 0/2 on the power play and the B’s had yet to see any time on the skater advantage entering the first intermission.

    Almost midway through the second period, Leo Komarov tripped up Par Lindholm and was sent to the penalty box at 8:20 of the middle frame.

    Boston’s ensuing power play became a 5-on-3 advantage for 32 seconds when Cal Clutterbuck caught Pastrnak with a high stick at 9:48 of the second period.

    The Bruins did not score on the advantage.

    After a few minutes of full strength action, the B’s began a run of minor penalties when Zdeno Chara slashed Mathew Barzal and was sent to the box at 14:32.

    Boston killed off Chara’s minor, but was back on the penalty kill when Ritchie retaliated against Boychuk and delivered a quick, swift, cross check to the Islanders defender at 18:02.

    Once more, however, New York did not score on the ensuing advantage.

    Through 40 minutes of play at NYCB Live, the Bruins led the Islanders, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 23-12, in shots on goal.

    Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (15-13), takeaways (5-2) and faceoff win% (55-45), while New York led in giveaways (14-10) and hits (15-8).

    Neither team had a power play goal through two periods as the Islanders were 0/4 on the skater advantage and the Bruins were 0/2.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, Bergeron sent Marchand behind the net where Marchand (27) wrapped around the goal and slid a backhand shot through Varlamov’s five-hole while the Islanders goaltender had his paddle down.

    Bergeron (25) and McAvoy (26) had the assists on Marchand’s goal and the Bruins extended their lead to, 3-0, at 11:06 of the third period.

    Pastrnak responded to some tactics that he didn’t approve of and got into a bit of an exchange with Komarov almost three minutes later, but only Pastrnak received a roughing minor at 13:47.

    Once more, the Islanders were unsuccessful on the ensuing advantage– despite Trotz’s best efforts at turning a 5-on-4 power play into a 6-on-4 by pulling his goaltender with about 5:12 in the game.

    The Isles’ two-skater advantage was short lived as Barzal hooked McAvoy at 14:54 and presented both teams with 4-on-4 action for 54 seconds before the Bruins had an abbreviated power play.

    While on the ensuing short skater advantage, McAvoy skated into the attacking zone with the puck and sent a quick pass to Krug.

    Krug then skated around the net and sauced a pass back to McAvoy (4) for the one-timer goal from the faceoff circle to make it, 4-0, for the B’s while on the power play.

    McAvoy’s power play goal was assisted by Krug (37) and David Krejci (28) at 16:26 of the third period and capitalized a three-point game (one goal, two assists) for No. 73 on Boston’s blue line.

    Finally, Lauzon was penalized for holding Komarov at 18:47, but the Islanders weren’t able to score on their sixth power play opportunity of the afternoon.

    At the final horn, the Bruins had won, 4-0, and improved to 13-3-0 in their last 16 games.

    Boston finished Saturday afternoon’s matchup leading in shots on goal (30-25), blocked shots (23-17) and faceoff win% (51-49), while New York led in giveaways (21-13) and hits (26-14).

    The Isles went 0/6 on the power play and the B’s went 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins improved to 24-7-8 when scoring the game’s first goal, 23-5-3 when leading after the first period and 26-1-6 when leading after two periods this season.

    Meanwhile, the Islanders are now 12-14-4 when allowing the game’s first goal, 8-10-2 when trailing after one period and 5-17-2 when trailing after two periods this season.

    Boston wrapped up the month of February against the Islanders on Saturday and begins the month of March in Tampa on Tuesday (March 3rd). The Bruins conclude their current three-game road trip (1-0-0) on Thursday, March 5th with a game against the Florida Panthers. 

  • New B’s help Bruins over Stars, 4-3

    The Boston Bruins beat the Dallas Stars, 4-3, Thursday night at TD Garden in a game that had a little bit of everything.

    Jaroslav Halak (17-6-6 record, 2.44 goals against average, .917 save percentage in 30 games played) turned aside 31 out of 34 shots faced for a .912 SV% in the win for the Bruins.

    Stars goaltender, Ben Bishop (21-14-4, 2.49 GAA, .921 SV% in 42 games played), made 24 saves on 28 shots against for an .857 SV% in the loss.

    Boston improved to 40-13-12 (92 points) on the season and remain in command of 1st place in the entire league, while Dallas fell to 37-21-6 (80 points) on the season, but remained in 3rd place in the Central Division.

    The B’s also improved to 22-3-9 at home this season.

    The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee) and Connor Clifton (upper body) on Thursday.

    New acquisition, Ondrej Kase, made his Boston debut on the second line with David Krejci at center and Nick Ritchie at left wing.

    As a result, Bruce Cassidy moved Jake DeBrusk down to the third line left wing with Charlie Coyle and Anders Bjork– just like how he swapped DeBrusk and Ritchie during Tuesday night’s, 5-2, loss to the Calgary Flames.

    Cassidy made no other changes to the lineup, while Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore, Anton Blidh and Karson Kuhlman served as Boston’s healthy scratches against Dallas.

    Midway through the opening frame, Tyler Seguin tripped up Chris Wagner and was assessed a minor in fraction at 13:07 of the first period.

    Boston did not score on the ensuing power play– their first skater advantage of the night.

    Moments later, Matt Grzelcyk hooked Radek Faksa and was sent to the penalty box at 17:04.

    Dallas converted on the resulting power play when John Klingberg snapped a shot from the point that looked was tipped in by Jamie Benn (19) for his 300th career goal.

    Klingberg (25) and Joe Pavelski (16) had the assists on Benn’s goal, which made it, 1-0, for Dallas at 17:38.

    Benn became the fourth player in Dallas/Minnesota North Stars franchise history to amass at least 300 career regular season goals, joining Mike Modano (557 career goals), Brian Bellows (342) and Dino Ciccarelli (332).

    It marked the 18th time this season that Boston gave up the game’s first goal on home ice and the fifth straight game that Boston’s opponent scored first– regardless of the building.

    Less than a minute later, Andrew Cogliano was punished for slashing Coyle and sent to the sin bin at 18:18.

    While on the ensuing power play, Torey Krug sent a shot on goal from the point that rebounded off of Bishop and into Coyle’s strikezone whereby Coyle (16) batted the puck out of the air and into the twine for the home run power play goal.

    Krug (35) and Brad Marchand (55) tallied the assists and the B’s tied the game, 1-1, at 19:44 of the first period.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was even at, 1-1, while the Bruins led the Stars in shots on goal, 10-9.

    Boston also held the advantage in faceoff win percentage (53-47), while Dallas led in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (3-1) and hits (9-8).

    Both teams had three giveaways each.

    The Stars were 1/1 on the power play and the Bruins were 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into the middle period.

    Things came to a crescendo when Krejci and Pavelski dropped the gloves and exchanged fisticuffs at 11:24 of the second period.

    The two players each received five-minute majors for fighting and play continued without any other major disruptions.

    A few minutes later, Charlie McAvoy tossed a pass from about the goal line to Marchand (26) in the slot for a point blank one-timer.

    McAvoy (24) and David Pastrnak (44) had the assists on Marchand’s goal and the Bruins led for the first time of the night, 2-1, at 14:44.

    Less than a couple minutes later, Boston went up by two-goals as Ritchie (9) scored his first goal as a Bruin after snapping a shot from the high slot through net front traffic, off of Seguin and past Bishop.

    Ritchie’s goal was unassisted and made it, 3-1, for the Bruins at 16:01 of the second period.

    Late in the period, Wagner tackled Mattias Janmark after a whistle in defense of a teammate, but received a roughing minor for his retaliatory actions at 18:49.

    Dallas didn’t score on the ensuing power play.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Boston was in command of the scoreboard, 3-1, and in shots on goal, 22-19.

    The Bruins also led in blocked shots (8-7), takeaways (4-3), giveaways (11-9) and faceoff win% (54-46), while the Stars held the advantage in hits (19-16).

    Both teams were 1/2 on the power play heading into the third period.

    Wagner wasn’t available to start the third period for the Bruins and later deemed “unlikely to return” to the game with an “upper body injury” by Boston’s media team.

    Meanwhile, Dallas cut Boston’s lead in half, 3-2, after Esa Lindell fired a shot that deflected off of Denis Gurianov’s (19) stick, then off of Krug’s leg and past Halak at 1:18 of the third period.

    Lindell (20) and Jason Dickinson (12) had the assists on Gurianov’s goal.

    Boston responded with a goal of their own when Pastrnak broke into the attacking zone on a rush with Ritchie, sent Ritchie a pass, then received a shot that Pastrnak (46) intentionally redirected into the open twine.

    Ritchie (12) and Jeremy Lauzon (1) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s goal and the B’s led, 4-2, at 3:53.

    Stars head coach, Rick Bowness, pulled Bishop for an extra attacker with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

    After Marchand missed the open net from just inside the blue line, Dallas charged down the length of the ice and sustained pressure in the attacking zone, while Boston was forced to defend.

    Miro Heiskanen (8) ripped a shot that rebounded off of Halak, but clipped Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara’s, skate at just the right angle to bounce off of the Bruin and slip between the post and the Boston goaltender to make it a one-goal game.

    Benn (18) and Seguin (33) tallied the assists on Heiskanen’s goal, but the Bruins still led, 4-3, at 17:36 of the third period.

    Dallas pulled their goaltender once more with 1:58 remaining in regulation, but despite their best efforts, Boston’s defense wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice and held on to the, 4-3, victory at the final horn.

    The Bruins won, 4-3, but finished the night trailing in shots on goal to the Stars, 34-28.

    Dallas also wrapped up Thursday night with the advantage in hits (28-25) and faceoff win% (51-49), while Boston finished the game leading in blocked shots (14-9).

    Both clubs had 11 giveaways and were 1/2 on the power play on Thursday.

    The Bruins are now 12-2-6 when tied after one period and 25-1-6 when leading after two periods this season.

    The Stars are 9-8-4 when tied after one period and 9-16-1 when trailing after two periods this season.

    Boston wrapped up their two-game homestand (1-1-0) on Thursday and finishes the month of February on the road against the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon.