Down the Frozen River

Tag: Matt Grzelcyk

  • Five different Bruins score in, 5-2, win over Senators

    Five different players scored a goal in the Boston Bruins’, 5-2, victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night at TD Garden as the B’s extended their current win streak to five games.

    Tuukka Rask (7-0-1 record, 1.49 goals against average, .949 save percentage in eight games played) made 30 saves on 32 shots faced for a .938 SV% in the win for Boston.

    Meanwhile, Senators goaltender, Craig Anderson (2-5-0, 3.09 GAA, .900 SV% in eight games played) stopped 27 shots out of 32 shots against for an .844 SV% in the loss.

    Boston improved to 10-1-2 (22 points) and remained in control of the Atlantic Division with their 1st place standing over the Buffalo Sabres, who lost, 1-0, to the New York Islanders on Saturday.

    Ottawa, meanwhile, fell to 3-8-1 (7 points) and remained in 8th place (last) in the Atlantic.

    And now it’s time for the long injury report and lineup changes made by Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, prior to Saturday night’s matchup with the Sens.

    Kevan Miller (knee) is practicing with the team this week in a red no-contact sweater and remains on track for a return soon, meanwhile fellow defender, John Moore (shoulder) is still on track for a mid-November return to the lineup.

    Karson Kuhlman (fractured right tibia) is still out, joined by forwards, Joakim Nordstrom (infection, elbow), Par Lindholm (upper body) and Brett Ritchie (infection) in the press box.

    Nordstrom’s infected elbow will keep him out of the next three games according to Cassidy, while Ritchie’s infection is similar to Nordstrom’s, but shouldn’t keep him out of the lineup for nearly as long.

    As a result of all the injuries, Peter Cehlarik was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on an emergency basis.

    Cehlarik has six goals and four assists (10 points) in seven games with Providence this season and will suit up on the right side of the third line with Anders Bjork and Charlie Coyle.

    On defense, Cassidy is giving Connor Clifton the night off and inserting Steven Kampfer on the third pairing with Matt Grzelcyk to keep the 31-year-old veteran fresh. Clifton was Boston’s only healthy scratch on Saturday.

    Less than a minute into the action, the Senators forgot how basic counting works and had too many skaters on the ice, yielding the first power play of the game to the Bruins 46 seconds into the first period.

    About 30 seconds later, Torey Krug cleared the puck off the endboards from his own end and presented David Pastrnak (13) with the chance for a breakaway after Pastrnak entered the zone and received the cross-corner dump before burying the puck in the net for his 8th power play goal of the season.

    Krug (9) had the only assist on the goal and the B’s led, 1-0, at 1:17 of the first period.

    A few minutes later, however, the game came to a screeching halt when Ottawa fourth liner, Scott Sabourin, tried to make a hit on Boston fourth liner, David Backes.

    Sabourin’s head collided with Backes’ head, leaving the Sens forward apparently unconscious while falling to the ice before smashing face-first into the ground.

    Blood pooled as Backes was the first player to wave to both benches for immediate medical assistance, while Sabourin laid motionless on the ice.

    Trainers from both teams and medical responders in the building worked quickly to assess and deal with the situation as a stretcher was wheeled out from the ice resurfacer entrance.

    Backes– along with the rest of the players for Boston and Ottawa– appeared visibly shaken and lined up to salute Sabourin with their sticks as the Sens forward was eventually put onto the stretcher and wheeled off the ice.

    Sabourin gave the TD Garden crowd a thumbs up and was brought to a local hospital for further evaluation.

    After about an 11 minute stoppage, play resumed with 16:52 remaining in the period as Backes was seen leaving the B’s bench and headed down the tunnel– whether it was related to being in a state of shock from Sabourin’s injury or due to concussion protocol was not immediately known.

    The Senators later provided an update on Sabourin, stating that he “was conscious and communicating with the attending doctors at the time of leaving the arena”.

    Almost midway through the opening frame, Coyle interfered with Nick Paul and was sent to the penalty box with a minor infraction at 7:40.

    Ottawa did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage, but caught Boston on a sloppy play a few minutes after the special teams action.

    Charlie McAvoy pinched in from the point to make an offensive play, but Boston’s plans backfired and the Sens caught the B’s heading the other way down the ice.

    Ottawa entered their attacking zone with a 3-on-1 as Zdeno Chara was the lone defender for the Bruins, then maintained the pressure and control of the puck in the offensive zone after a failed one-timer attempt.

    Logan Brown found Anthony Duclair (5) in the low slot to tie the game, 1-1, as Duclair elevated a shot high over Rask’s short side at 12:04.

    Brown (2) and Mark Borowiecki (3) tallied the assists and the Senators were right back in the game.

    In the closing moments of the first period, Brown went to make a hit on Danton Heinen, but couldn’t pull it off and instead went down the tunnel with an injury.

    After one period of action, the score was tied, 1-1, with the Bruins holding the advantage in shots on goal, 11-6.

    Boston also led in blocked shots (8-4) and faceoff win percentage (54-46), while Ottawa led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (4-2) and hits (11-10) entering the first intermission.

    The Senators were 0/1 on the skater advantage and the B’s were 1/1 on the power play heading into the second period.

    Neither Backes, nor Brown were back for the start of the second period.

    Both the Bruins and the Senators would provide updates on each player early in the middle frame, indicating that each skater wouldn’t be back for the rest of the game with an upper body injury.

    Less than two minutes into the middle period, Pastrnak found Patrice Bergeron (6) in the low slot for a one-timer goal as Anderson split the pads while trying to break up the pass.

    Bergeron’s goal was assisted by Pastrnak (13) and Brad Marchand (15) as the B’s jumped ahead, 2-1, at 1:51 of the second period.

    But just as easy as the Bruins took the lead like they did in the first period, they gave up a quick answering goal in the second period as Connor Brown (2) banked a shot from about the goal line through Rask’s five-hole, tying the game, 2-2.

    Borowiecki (4) and Dylan DeMelo (3) were credited with the assists at 3:04 of the second period as the Sens fought their way back into the game.

    Moments later, Boston had too many skaters on the ice and were assessed a bench minor penalty, which was served by Cehlarik at 5:03.

    About a minute after that, with the action on the ice getting chippy, a scrum after the whistle resulted in Marchand racking up six penalty minutes on a hooking minor and a spearing double-minor at 6:08.

    The Bruins managed to survive the abbreviated 5-on-3 action and the ensuing extra long 5-on-4 power play for Ottawa, much to the delight of the fans at TD Garden.

    Midway through the second period, Borowiecki slashed Pastrnak and was sent to the sin bin at 13:53.

    Less than two minutes after the Sens killed off Borowiecki’s minor, the Senators defender found himself skating back to the box at 17:20– this time due to a tripping infraction after he caught Marchand and brought the Bruins forward down in Boston’s attacking zone.

    The B’s did not convert on either Borowiecki infraction.

    Through 40 minutes of play in Boston, the game was tied, 2-2, and the shots on goal were even, 21-21– despite Ottawa holding a, 15-10, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    The Bruins led in blocked shots (13-5) and faceoff win% (54-46), while the Senators led in takeaways (4-3), giveaways (7-5) and hits (21-13).

    Ottawa was 0/5 on the power play, while Boston was 1/3 on the advantage entering the third period.

    Early in the final frame of the game, Heinen (3) scooped up a loose puck and cut to the front of the net, wrapping the rubber biscuit around Anderson and into the twine.

    Heinen’s individual effort put Boston ahead, 3-2, at 5:43 of the third period and was unassisted as No. 43 in black-and-gold had a strong game all night and walked away with the game-winning goal as a result.

    Less than a minute after Heinen put the Bruins ahead on the scoreboard, Borowiecki was making his way back to the penalty box at 6:11 as the Sens defender hooked Bergeron.

    Just 39 seconds into the ensuing skater advantage for Boston, Marchand (8) received a pass from Pastrnak from behind the goal line, through the crease and into the low slot– whereby Marchand was waiting to convert on the one-timer while crashing the net, giving the B’s another power play goal and the game’s first two-goal lead of the night, 4-2.

    Pastrnak (14) and Bergeron (8) tallied the assists on Marchand’s power play goal at 6:50 of the third period.

    With the primary assist on the goal, Pastrnak picked up a three-point night, including his 27th of the season through 13 games. That’s the most by a Bruin this far into a season since Bobby Orr had 27 points through 13 games in the 1974-75 season.

    Orr wound up with 46 goals and 89 assists (135 points) in 80 games that season– his last full NHL season in his career– setting a career-high in goals as a result.

    Meanwhile, with the secondary assist on Marchand’s goal, Bergeron picked up the 500th assist of his career, becoming the 6th player in Bruins franchise history to reach the career milestone, joining Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk, Orr, Phil Esposito and Wayne Cashman.

    Almost ten minutes later, Heinen stole the puck and worked it over to Jake DeBrusk (2) for a one-timer goal from point blank to give the Bruins a three-goal lead, 5-2, at 16:16.

    Heinen (3) had the only assist on DeBrusk’s goal as the B’s sealed the deal on their victory Saturday night over Ottawa.

    At the final horn, Boston had defeated the Sens, 5-2, despite both teams finishing with 32 shots on goal.

    Both teams had 11 shots on net in the third period alone, while the Bruins finished the game leading in blocked shots (16-10).

    The Senators, meanwhile, finished the action leading in giveaways (11-9), hits (26-17) and faceoff win% (52-48), while going 0/5 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s finished 2/4 on the power play Saturday.

    Boston is now 6-0-1 at home and 8-1-1 when scoring the game’s first goal this season.

    The Bruins conclude their current three-game homestand (2-0-0) on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, then head up to Montreal to face the Canadiens the following night (Nov. 5th) before traveling to Detroit on Nov. 8th.

  • Bruins take bite out of Sharks, 5-1

    There were a lot of goals, a lot of penalty minutes, 11 players with at least a point and a lot of heart on Hockey Fights Cancer Night at TD Garden as the Boston Bruins defeated the San Jose Sharks, 5-1, Tuesday night.

    Three-year-old Weymouth, Massachusetts native, “The Mighty Quinn” Waters, took part in a special ceremonial puck drop, whereby his fellow Weymouth neighbor, Charlie Coyle, posed for a photo alongside Quinn, his father and Sharks captain, Logan Couture, prior to the game as part of the Bruins’ honoring of those who have fought or are currently fighting various forms of cancer.

    Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (6-0-1 record, 1.42 goals against average, .951 save percentage in seven games played), made 16 saves on 17 shots faced for a .941 SV% in the win.

    Sharks netminder, Martin Jones (2-6-1, 3.57 GAA, .890 SV% in nine games played) stopped 36 out of 41 shots faced for an .878 SV% in the loss.

    Boston improved to their best start since 1929-30, with a 9-1-2 record (20 points) and tied the Buffalo Sabres for 1st in the Atlantic Division with the win on Tuesday night.

    Meanwhile, San Jose fell to 4-8-1 (9 points) overall and remained in 7th place in the Pacific Division.

    The B’s also improved to 5-0-1 at home this season and extended their current winning streak to four games.

    Kevan Miller (knee) and John Moore (shoulder) are still sidelined by injuries and have yet to make their season debuts for Boston.

    Meanwhile, David Krejci and Chris Wagner were back in the lineup against San Jose after missing some time due to injury (Krejci missed the last five games, Wagner missed the last game).

    Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Joakim Nordstrom (infection, elbow) and Par Lindholm (upper body) also missed Tuesday night’s action against the Sharks.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, provided an update on Nordstrom before the game and told reporters that the forward “needs to let [his elbow infection] calm down”. Maybe he should try listening to Taylor Swift.

    After making his season debut on Sunday, Peter Cehlarik was returned from his emergency recall to the Providence Bruins (AHL).

    As a result of all the lineup changes, Cassidy reunited Danton Heinen on the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk and Krejci, while moving Anders Bjork to the left of Coyle and keeping Brett Ritchie on Coyle’s right side– only this time on the third line.

    Wagner, Sean Kuraly and David Backes made up the fourth line, with “The Perfection Line” was untouched as usual.

    Steven Kampfer served as Boston’s only healthy scratch.

    Joe Thornton may have played his final game in Boston over his 22-year NHL career with the Bruins and Sharks, but then again he may never retire, so see you next year, “Jumbo Joe”!

    Early in the opening frame, Barclay Goodrow tripped Brad Marchand and was sent to the box at 6:15 of the first period, presenting the B’s with their first power play of the night.

    It didn’t take long before DeBrusk made a great play behind the net while on the skater advantage, freeing the puck to Patrice Bergeron for a bump pass over to David Pastrnak (12) for the wide-open one-timer power play goal.

    Bergeron (7) had the only assist on Pastrnak’s goal and the Bruins led, 1-0, at 7:49 of the first period.

    Despite a coach’s challenge from San Jose’s bench boss, Peter DeBoer, the call on the ice stood and the Sharks were charged with a delay of game penalty for falsely arguing that Boston was offside leading up to Pastrnak’s league-leading 12th goal of the season.

    Pastrnak, of note, is on a 10-game point streak (12-12–24 totals in that span)– two games shy of his career-high set from Nov. 22nd to Dec. 18, 2017– and is the third player in Bruins franchise history to score 12 or more goals in the month of October, joining Phil Esposito (14-10–24 totals in 10 games played in 1973) and Charlie Simmer (12-7–19 totals in 10 games played in 1985).

    Lukas Radil served San Jose’s delay of game infraction.

    The Bruins weren’t able to convert on their second skater advantage of the night– especially after Matt Grzelcyk was penalized for holding Couture at 9:18, resulting in 30 seconds of 4-on-4 play before the Sharks had an abbreviated 5-on-4 power play.

    Late in the first period, Tomas Hertl caught Charlie McAvoy with a high stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 16:25.

    This time around, it took about 90 seconds for the Bruins to work the puck around the attacking zone while on the power play, first with Marchand passing it back to Torey Krug, then Krug finding Krejci (1) in Pastrnak’s usual spot in the faceoff circle for the one-timer blast past Jones– giving Boston a two-goal lead and Krejci his first goal of the season in his first game back from injury.

    Krejci’s power play goal made it, 2-0, Bruins and was assisted by Krug (8) and Marchand (14) at 17:51.

    After 20 minutes of domination by the B’s, Boston carried a, 2-0, lead into the first intermission and a, 16-6, advantage in shots on goal.

    The Bruins also led in hits (9-7) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while the Sharks led in blocked shots (6-1), takeaways (5-2) and giveaways (4-1).

    San Jose was 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the second period, while Boston was 2/3 on the power play.

    Less than a minute into the middle period, Krejci was caught hooking Erik Karlsson and sent to the penalty box 52 seconds into the middle frame.

    It didn’t take long for Brent Burns (3) to cut Boston’s lead in half with a power play goal on a wrist shot from the point over Rask’s blocker side while Evander Kane screened the Bruins goaltender.

    Karlsson (8) and Hertl (8) recorded the assists on Burns’ goal at 1:31 of the second period and the Sharks were on the scoreboard, 2-1.

    It wasn’t much longer, however, before San Jose cracked under Boston’s tremendous pressure.

    First, Hertl tripped Pastrnak and was sent to the sin bin at 3:09.

    Then– just seconds after the Sharks killed off Hertl’s minor– Coyle (2) redirected a pass from Krejci into the back of the twine to put Boston up by two goals once more, 3-1, at 5:21.

    Krejci (2) and Heinen (2) tallied the assists on Coyle’s goal.

    About three minutes later, Backes flipped a pass up through the neutral zone to Wagner (1) whereby the Bruins fourth liner broke into the offensive zone all alone, deked and scored with a backhand shot through Jones’ five-hole to extend Boston’s lead to three goals.

    Backes (1) had the only assist on Wagner’s goal at 8:31 and the B’s led, 4-1.

    About a minute later, the Bruins went back on the power play when Radil tripped Grzelcyk at 9:36. This time, however, Boston couldn’t capitalize on the skater advantage.

    Brandon Carlo (2) was the last player to get on the scoreboard with a floating shot from the point that flew over heavy traffic in the slot and over Jones’ glove side shoulder into the net to make it, 5-1, Boston.

    Wagner (3) and Zdeno Chara (2) collected the assists on Carlo’s second goal in three games at 16:50.

    The B’s went back into the dressing room for the second intermission with a four-goal lead– dominating the Sharks, 5-1, on the scoreboared– and with a heavy advantage in shots on net (34-12) after 40 minutes of play, including a, 18-6, shot total for the second period alone.

    At least San Jose led in blocked shots (9-6), takeaways (5-4), giveaways (7-4) and hits (23-12), while Boston held onto the faceoff win% advantage, 54-46, entering the third period.

    The Sharks were 0/2 on the power play and the Bruins had fallen to 2/5 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of the game.

    Just 68 seconds into the third period, Kane delivered a stick to McAvoy’s face, catching the attention of Chara in the process, who then tried to fight Kane.

    Luckily for Kane, there was no rematch from back in February, as Brendan Dillon stepped between the two and attempted to take on Chara himself before an official stepped in and handed out a high sticking penalty to Kane and roughing minors to Chara and Dillon.

    Moments later, McAvoy was again the victim of a high stick, only this time it was from Radil at 5:44 of the third period.

    Boston’s power play was short-lived as DeBrusk inadvertently tripped up Sharks defender, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, at 6:02.

    Both teams managed to survive their special teams chances and things started to cool off for a little bit.

    It didn’t last long.

    After making a good, clean, check along the boards on Kane, Ritchie found himself dropping the gloves with Goodrow at 12:39 of the third period.

    The two players exchanged fisticuffs with Ritchie getting a good rally going before the two received fighting majors and ten-minute misconducts.

    It was the first fight of the season for the Bruins and Goodrow’s first fight of the year for San Jose.

    Less than a minute later, Couture and Marchand found themselves tangled in each other’s arms before settling for an embrace and roughing minors, plus misconducts at 13:25.

    With the number of players on the bench dwindling in the game, Backes made a clean hit on Kane against the glass that Radil felt as though he had to respond in some manner.

    As such, Radil earned a roughing minor, Kane was charged with a misconduct– as well as Backes– and even DeBoer was thrown out of the game because of something the Sharks head coach must have said to an official at 15:42.

    With the seconds counting down, Timo Meier thought it’d be the perfect time to land one more cheap shot on Grzelcyk along the endboards– right about where the Bruins defender was knocked out of Game 2 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final with a concussion.

    Grzelcyk quickly tackled his perpetrator as the rest of the skaters on the ice quickly found dancing partners in case a brawl was about to breakout.

    Meier received an interference penalty and an early invitation to the dressing room showers, while Grzelcyk picked up a roughing penalty and went to Boston’s dressing room at 19:43.

    At the sound of the final horn, the Bruins had won, 5-1, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 41-17– including a, 7-5, advantage over San Jose.

    The Sharks finished Tuesday night’s action leading in blocked shots (12-8), giveaways (10-7) and hits (28-16), while going 1/3 on the power play.

    The B’s, meanwhile, went 2/8 on the skater advantage and split faceoff win% evenly with San Jose, 50-50.

    San Jose’s 17 shots on goal was the fewest allowed by Boston this season as the Bruins finished the month of October with a 9-1-2 record.

    The Bruins begin the month of November with a home game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, followed by the conclusion of their current three-game homestand next Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The B’s head up to Montreal to face the Canadiens the following night (Nov. 5th) before traveling to Detroit on Nov. 8th.

  • Bruins win, 3-0, in Stanley Cup Final rematch

    Tuukka Rask backstopped the Boston Bruins to their, 3-0, shutout victory over the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden Saturday night, while David Pastrnak added yet another goal to his league-leading goal scoring totals in the win.

    Rask (5-0-1, 1.48 goals against average, .952 save percentage in six games played) turned aside all 26 shots that he faced for his 2nd shutout of the season (and 47th of his career).

    The Bruins have three shutouts in 10 games this season.

    Meanwhile, Blues goaltender, Jordan Binnington (4-2-3, 2.53 GAA, .916 SV% in nine games played) made 21 saves on 23 shots against (.913 SV%) in the loss.

    Boston improved to 4-0-1 at home this season and 7-1-2 (16 points) overall– good enough to remain in 2nd place of the Atlantic Division. St. Louis fell to 5-3-3 (13 points), but stayed in 3rd place in the Central Division standings.

    Bruins defenders, Kevan Miller (knee) and John Moore (shoulder) have yet to make their season debuts, but are progressing according to plan with Miller expected to begin practicing with the rest of the team next week and Moore still sidelined until mid-November.

    David Krejci (upper body) missed his 3rd consecutive game and was ruled out for the weekend by Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy. Krejci is hopeful to return on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks.

    Meanwhile, Joakim Nordstrom returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with an upper body injury and Karson Kuhlman (hairline nondisplaced fracture of the right tibia) is out for at least four weeks.

    Kuhlman sustained his fractured tibia in Boston’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Oct. 19th while blocking a shot. He missed his 2nd consecutive game this season Saturday against the Blues.

    As a result of all the injuries plaguing the B’s, Cassidy switched things up among his bottom-six forwards with Nordstrom’s return to action.

    Anders Bjork joined Par Lindholm on the left side, while Danton Heinen was shifted to right wing on the third line.

    Meanwhile, Nordstrom was reunited with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner in their usual spots on the fourth line.

    David Backes and Steven Kampfer were Boston’s only healthy scratches against St. Louis.

    Vladimir Tarasenko (upper body) was out for the Blues in their first matchup against the Bruins in Boston since winning their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history on June 12th at TD Garden in Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

    Less than a minute into the action, Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara leveled Oskar Sundqvist with a big hit near St. Louis’ bench.

    Blues forward, Brayden Schenn, responded to Chara’s hit and the two players were escorted to the penalty box with roughing minors 38 seconds into the first period.

    Both teams skated 4-on-4 as a result for two minutes, then resumed full strength afterwards with no issues until about five minutes later when Torey Krug and David Perron got into a bit of a shoving match.

    Krug was penalized for holding the stick and Perron received a roughing infraction as a result. Both penalties were called at 6:13 of the first period and once again– the two teams skated 4-on-4 for a couple minutes.

    Late in the opening frame, Perron was guilty of holding Charlie Coyle and sent to the sin bin as a result at 14:08.

    Boston capitalized on their first power play opportunity of the night as Pastrnak (11) blasted a one-timer through Binnington’s seven-hole to give the B’s the game’s first goal at 14:59.

    Krug (7) and Brad Marchand (10) had the assists on Pastrnak’s power play goal and the Bruins led, 1-0.

    Less than a minute later, Kuraly was penalized for cross checking Vince Dunn and the Blues went on the power play at 15:49.

    St. Louis wasn’t able to convert on the skater advantage– what would become a trend for the Notes all evening.

    Finally, to wrap up the first frame, Sundqvist got his stick caught in Connor Clifton’s skate and tripped the Bruins defender at 18:12.

    Boston’s ensuing power play would carryover into the second period.

    Through 20 minutes of action Saturday night, the Bruins led St. Louis, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 10-9, in shots on goal.

    The B’s also held the advantage in blocked shots (3-2) and giveaways (5-1) entering the first intermission, while the Blues led in takeaways (6-3), hits (10-9) and faceoff win percentage (57-44).

    St. Louis was 0/1 on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

    Despite starting the middle frame with 12 seconds left on the power play, Boston’s skater advantage went powerless for the rest of the night after Pastrnak’s first period power play goal.

    But midway through the middle frame, Bjork (1) ripped a one-timer over Binnington’s glove on a pass from Matt Grzelcyk to put Boston ahead, 2-0.

    Grzelcyk (2) and Heinen (1) tallied the assists at 9:31 of the second period as Bjork snapped a 17-game goal drought.

    Just 11 seconds later, Krug hooked Perron and presented St. Louis with their second power play of the night at 9:42. The Blues did not convert on the advantage.

    In the vulnerable minute after a special teams effort, Sundqvist didn’t use his better judgment and boarded Charlie McAvoy at 12:06, resulting in a power play for the Bruins.

    At least Boston didn’t score on the ensuing skater advantage.

    With less than a minute left in the second period, Grzelcyk interfered with Alexander Steen at 19:17 and was sent to the penalty box accordingly, yielding 1:17 of time carried over on the power play for St. Louis to start the third period.

    After two periods in Boston, the Bruins led, 2-0. The B’s held a, 19-16, advantage in shots on goal– including a, 9-7, advantage in the second period alone– and led in giveaways (7-3), while the Notes led in takeaways (10-6), hits (21-16) and faceoff win% (68-33).

    Both teams had five blocked shots aside entering the second intermission.

    Boston was 1/3 on the power play, while St. Louis was 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    St. Louis began the third period with 1:17 left on their power play, but couldn’t muster anything on the fresh sheet of ice, leaving the Bruins unharmed.

    Early in the final frame of regulation, Colton Parayko hooked Bjork and was sent to the box at 4:02 of the third period.

    Boston didn’t score on the resulting power play.

    Midway through the third, Krug was penalized for holding 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Ryan O’Reilly, and sent to the box at 8:22, but once again the Blues were powerless and let another skater advantage slip by.

    With 2:35 remaining in the game, Blue head coach, Craig Berube pulled Binnington for an extra attacker.

    At 19:11 of the third, Brandon Carlo (1) cleared the puck out of his own zone and into the empty twine to make it, 3-0, Boston with an unassisted goal.

    The Bruins won, 3-0, at the final horn, despite being outshot, 26-24, in the action.

    Boston finished the night leading in blocked shots (11-8), while St. Louis finished leading in hits (27-22) and faceoff win% (60-40).

    Both teams ended up with nine giveaways each.

    Boston travels to Madison Square Garden for their second game in back-to-back days for a Sunday night matchup with the New York Rangers before finishing the month of October at home Tuesday night versus San Jose.

  • Lightning strike Bruins, 4-3, in shootout victory

    Steven Stamkos’ only goal in a shootout was enough to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Boston Bruins, 4-3, on Thursday night at TD Garden.

    The Bolts led briefly in the third period before the B’s tied the game almost two minutes later and forced overtime.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (4-1-0, 2.58 goals against average, .921 save percentage in five games played) made 34 saves on 37 shots against for a .919 SV% in the shootout win for Tampa.

    Boston goaltender, Tuukka Rask (3-0-1, 1.72 GAA, .946 SV% in four games played) stopped 33 out of 36 shots faced for a .917 SV% in the shootout loss.

    The Bruins fell to 5-1-1 (11 points) on the season and temporarily moved into 1st place in the Atlantic Division before the Buffalo Sabres won their late game Thursday night and regained control of the Atlantic.

    Meanwhile, the Lightning improved to 4-2-1 (9 points) and moved into 3rd place in the Atlantic, thanks to having more points in fewer games than the Toronto Maple Leafs (Tampa has nine points in seven games, while Toronto has nine points in eight games).

    For the seventh time this season, Kevan Miller (knee) and John Moore (shoulder) were out of the action due to injury.

    David Krejci (upper body) was also ruled out of Thursday night’s action after sustaining an injury or re-injuring something in Monday afternoon’s meeting with the Anaheim Ducks.

    Miller and Moore both skated on their own in red no-contact sweaters before practice Thursday morning, while Krejci’s prognosis is to be determined.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, juggled his lines in Krejci’s absence, moving Charlie Coyle and Brett Ritchie up to the second line with Jake DeBrusk (celebrating his 23rd birthday on Thursday) at left wing, while re-inserting Par Lindholm in the lineup at center on the third line and bumping Karson Kuhlman to the third line right wing.

    Connor Clifton was also back in the lineup for Boston after serving his time as a healthy scratch against the Ducks.

    David Backes and Steven Kampfer were the only healthy scratches for Boston on Thursday.

    Midway through the opening frame, Lightning forward, Mikhail Sergachev, was guilty of holding Bruins forward, Brett Ritchie, and was sent to the penalty box at 9:27 of the first period.

    Seven seconds into the ensuing power play, Boston’s David Pastrnak (7) struck first on the scoreboard with a power play goal on a one-timer pass from Patrice Bergeron to give the B’s the lead, 1-0, at 9:34.

    Bergeron (5) and Torey Krug (4) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal.

    With his 5th consecutive goal for Boston, Pastrnak tied Dunc Fisher for the 2nd most consecutive goals in Bruins franchise history. Glen Murray is the team record holder with six consecutive goals for Boston in the 2003-04 season, while Pastrnak and Fisher each have five in 2019-20 and 1951-52, repsectively.

    Less than two minutes later, Sean Kuraly hooked Nikita Kucherov and Tampa went on the skater advantage for the first time of the night.

    The Bruins killed off Kuraly’s minor without any major issues.

    Moments later, Bergeron was penalized for slashing against Ondrej Palat and cut a rut to the sin bin at 16:09.

    Once more, the Bolts weren’t able to convert on the resulting power play.

    In the final seconds of the first period, Yanni Gourde flipped the puck through the neutral zone to Brayden Point (3) who entered the attacking zone on a quick breakaway and elevated the puck into the top of the twine to tie the game, 1-1, at 19:59.

    Gourde (3) and Victor Hedman (6) notched the assists on Point’s goal as the teams went into the first intermission knotted at, 1-1.

    Tampa led in shots on goal (16-11), hits (12-4) and faceoff win percentage (60-40), while Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (4-1) and giveaways (8-4).

    Both teams had two takeaways aside after 20 minutes of action.

    The Lightning were 0/2 on the skater advantage, while the B’s were 1/1 on the power play heading into the second period.

    Bergeron took a beating early in the middle frame as No. 37 in black-and-gold was on the receiving end of consecutive penalties by the Lightning.

    First, Carter Verhaeghe tripped Bergeron at 2:15 of the second period, then Gourde interfered with Bergeron at 6:23.

    Boston was unsuccessful on their first power play of the second period, but worked their magic while Gourde was in the box.

    Bergeron (2) redirected a slap pass from Pastrnak into the twine to give the Bruins their second power play goal of the game and the lead, 2-1.

    Pastrnak (5) and Brad Marchand (6) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s goal at 7:26.

    Shortly after regaining the lead, the Bruins turned the puck over at an inopportune time, leading to a quality scoring chance for the Bolts.

    Tampa forward, Alex Killorn, fired a shot that Rask got a chunk of, but couldn’t contain the rebound as Mathieu Joseph (2) pounced on the loose puck for the tap-in goal, tying the game, 2-2.

    Killorn (3) and Erik Cernak (1) were credited with the assists on Joseph’s goal at 10:32..

    Late in the period, Cernak was charged with a minor for interference against Lindholm at 17:56 and the B’s went on the power play for the fourth time of the night.

    Boston was not able to capitalize on the skater advantage, however.

    Through 40 minutes of action at TD Garden, the Bruins and Lightning were tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard.

    Tampa led in shots on goal (29-21– including a, 13-10, advantage in the second period alone), blocked shots (6-5) and hits (22-9), while Boston led in takeaways (4-3) and giveaways (11-8).

    The two clubs were split in faceoff win%, 50-50.

    The Bolts were powerless on the power play (0/2) after two periods, while the B’s were 2/4 on the skater advantage heading into the third period.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, Matt Grzelcyk hooked Pat Maroon while trailing the Lightning forward and was sent to the box at 8:25 of the third.

    Tampa didn’t convert on their third power play opportunity of the night and the Bruins killed off Grzelcyk’s minor as a result.

    After dominating in shots on net, Boston gave up a chance the other way that Kevin Shattenkirk (4) was sure to take advantage of– sending a snap shot over Rask’s glove side from the faceoff dot to give the Lightning their first lead of the night, 3-2, at 15:13 of the third period.

    Stamkos (5) and Point (2) recorded the assists on Shattenkirk’s goal.

    The Bolts followed up their lead with a quick penalty of their own– Anthony Cirelli was guilty of a minor infraction for tripping Pastrnak at 16:08.

    On the ensuing skater advantage, Boston fired everything but the kitchen sink towards the goal, missing the net entirely a couple of times, but proving to be worthy in the long-run.

    After Marchand fired a shot off the endboards that caromed back into the slot, Pastrnak (8) sent the puck off of Shattenkirk’s stick and into the net behind Vasilevskiy to tie the game, 3-3, with his 2nd goal of the night.

    Marchand (7) and Krug (5) each had a hand in assisting Pastrnak’s power play goal at 16:55.

    Boston’s three goals all came on the power play, while Tampa’s weak penalty kill was on full display Thursday night.

    At the end of regulation, the score remained tied, 3-3, on the scoreboard, while Tampa held onto a slim advantage in shots on goal, 33-32, despite trailing, 11-4, in shots on goal in the third period alone.

    The Lightning maintained an advantage in blocked shots (12-9), takeaways (7-6), giveaways (15-12), hits (29-21) and faceoff win% (53-47) heading into overtime.

    The Bolts were 0/3 on the power play, while the B’s were 3/5 on the skater advantage.

    Cassidy started Coyle, Pastrnak and Krug in overtime, while Tampa’s head coach, Jon Cooper, opted for Cirelli, Killon and Hedman to kick things off in the five-minute, 3-on-3, OT action.

    Neither team scored and Marchand had Point in a headlock in the dying seconds to prevent a last second scoring chance for the Bolts.

    He was assessed a roughing penalty at 5:00 of the overtime period, but could still take part in the shootout, because apparently there’s no rule that’d say otherwise.

    After the overtime period, the Bruins held the slight advantage in shots on goal, 37-36, including a, 5-3, advantage in overtime alone.

    Tampa finished the night with the lead in blocked shots (12-9), giveaways (15-12), hits (31-21) and faceoff win% (53-47), while both teams had seven takeaways aside.

    The Lightning finished the night 0/3 on the power play and the B’s went 3/5.

    Boston elected to shoot second in the shootout, thereby giving Tampa the first shot of the first round of the shootout.

    Cooper sent Hedman to get things started, but the defender was denied by Rask with a blocker save.

    Cassidy responded by sending Coyle for the first attempt on Vasilevskiy, but the Tampa netminder wasn’t fooled by Coyle’s deke and made a pad save.

    Point made an appearance for the Lightning in the second round of the shootout, but clipped Rask’s blocker and sent the puck wide of the net.

    Next up for Boston, Pastrnak flat out missed the goal frame, leaving the shootout tied, 0-0, through two rounds.

    Last season’s Art Ross Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy winner, Kucherov had Tampa’s first shot of the third round of the shootout, but was stopped by Rask with the pad save as Kucherov tried to go five-hole.

    In response, Marchand tried to get Vasilevskiy to stretch just far enough that Marchand would’ve eluded the Lightning goaltender, but Vasilevskiy made the save with the right leg pad and kept the shootout even, 0-0, through three rounds.

    Finally, Stamkos broke open the scoring in the shootout with a shot high over Rask’s blocker and into the back of the net to give Tampa the, 1-0, advantage– meaning Boston would have to score to extend the shootout.

    Celebrating his birthday in style, DeBrusk was given Boston’s last chance in the shootout, but was stopped by Vasilevskiy’s blocker, leaving the Bruins scoreless in the shootout and with the, 4-3, loss in the final boxscore.

    Boston wrapped up their three-game homestand 2-0-1 thanks to their shootout loss to Tampa on Thursday.

    The Bruins travel to Toronto for a home and home series with the Maple Leafs on Oct. 19th at Scotiabank Arena and Oct. 22nd at TD Garden.

    It will be Boston and Toronto’s first meeting since their 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup.

    Afterwards, the B’s then have a few days off until they’ll face the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in a 2019 Stanley Cup Final rematch for the first time this season at home on Oct. 26th.

    St. Louis kicks off the first games on back-to-back days for the Bruins this season, as Boston will travel to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers on Oct. 27th before finishing the month on home ice against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 29th.

  • Bruins “Perfection Line” has residency in Vegas in, 4-3, win

    Brad Marchand scored two goals in the Boston Bruins’, 4-3, victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday night, while Tuukka Rask (2-0-0, 2.00 goals against average, .937 save percentage in two games played) stopped 31 out of 34 shots faced (.912 SV%) for the win.

    Golden Knights goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury (2-1-0, 2.02 GAA, .935 SV% in three games played) made 31 saves on 35 shots against for an .886 SV% in the loss.

    Patrice Bergeron recorded an assist, Marchand had three points (two goals, one assist) and David Pastrnak had a three-point night (one goal, two assists) as Boston’s “Perfection Line” led the way in the Bruins’ comeback win.

    The B’s improved to 3-0-0 (6 points) on the season and are now 1st in the Atlantic Division, while Vegas fell to 3rd in the Pacific Division with a 2-1-0 (4 points) record.

    For the third game in a row, Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder) and Joakim Nordstrom (foot) were all out of Boston’s lineup due to injury.

    Bruce Cassidy told reporters late last week that Nordstrom could return at some point on the road trip and indicated prior to Tuesday night’s matchup that the veteran forward was medically cleared and targeting a return to game action on Thursday in Colorado.

    Cassidy made one change to his lineup– he jumbled his fourth line.

    David Backes was inserted on the right wing, Chris Wagner slid over to the left side and Sean Kuraly was placed at center while Par Lindholm was a healthy scratch on Tuesday.

    Lindholm joined Steven Kampfer as Boston’s healthy scratches in the press box of T-Mobile Arena, while the rest of the lineup remained the same.

    Just 35 seconds into the first period, Bruins defender, Matt Grzelcyk, blocked a shot with his left leg and did not partake in another shift in the opening frame. He did return for the second period, however.

    Early in the period, Brett Ritchie collided with the Golden Knights goaltender and was assessed a minor penalty for goaltender interference at 5:15 of the first period.

    It didn’t take Vegas long to convert on their first power play of the night as Mark Stone (2) gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the night, 1-0, with a power play goal.

    Max Pacioretty (2) and Cody Glass (1) notched the assists on Stone’s goal at 6:36 of the first period.

    Less than a couple of minutes later, Reilly Smith (3) sneaked his way past the Bruins defense and elevated a one-timer under the crossbar from point blank, while the B’s defenders were out of position.

    Jonathan Marchessault (1) and William Karlsson (4) tabbed the assists on Smith’s goal at 8:20 of the first period and the Golden Knights jumped out to a, 2-0, lead.

    After a dismal first half of the opening frame, Boston turned on their offensive prowess– kickstarted by a much needed boost from “The Perfection Line” as Pastrnak (1) tallied his first goal of the season.

    Bergeron worked the puck to Marchand, who sent Pastrnak a pass into the low slot, whereby the Bruins right winger scored on a one-timer while Fleury stretched across the crease.

    Marchand (1) and Bergeron (2) recorded the assists on Pastrnak’s goal at 11:21 and the B’s cut the lead in half, 2-1.

    Vegas thought they had pulled ahead with another two-goal lead almost 15 minutes into the first period, but despite Marchessault’s best efforts to redirect Nic Hague’s shot from the point, Marchessault did so with a high-stick.

    Late in the period, Brandon Pirri slashed Danton Heinen and sent the Bruins on their first power play of the night at 17:38.

    Boston found the back of the net less than a minute into the power play thanks to Marchand’s (2) short-range blast that deflected off of Golden Knights defender, Jon Merrill, and found its way behind Fleury to tie the game, 2-2.

    Pastrnak (1) and Torey Krug (1) had the assists on Marchand’s first goal of the game at 18:58.

    After one period in Vegas, the scoreboard was very ill.

    Tied, 2-2, in goals, the Golden Knights led in shots on goal (12-11), blocked shots (7-4) and hits (13-9), while the Bruins led in takeaways (8-5), giveaways (3-2), and faceoff win percentage (59-41).

    Both teams were 1/1 on the power play entering the first intermission.

    Marchand (3) kicked things off less than a minute into the second period with his second goal of the game after picking up the puck in the neutral zone, entering the attacking zone and unloading a wrist shot past Fleury’s glove side.

    Pastrnak (2) had the only assist on Marchand’s goal 33 seconds into the second period as the Bruins took their first lead of the night, 3-2.

    Almost two minutes later, Krug (1) rocketed a shot from the point past the Golden Knights netminder to give Boston a two-goal lead, 4-2, at 2:27 of the second period.

    Brandon Carlo (1) and Kuraly (1) picked up their first assists of the season on Krug’s first goal of the year as the Bruins scored a pair of goals in a span in 1:54.

    About a minute later, Backes was penalized for interference and the B’s were shorthanded at 3:18.

    Vegas did not capitalize on the ensuing power play.

    Cassidy had adjusted his second and third lines when his forwards looked flat in the opening frame and continued to utilize Brett Ritchie on the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, while Karson Kuhlman took Ritchie’s spot on the second line with Heinen and Charlie Coyle.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Boston led, 4-2, on the scoreboard.

    Meanwhile, Vegas led in shots on goal (27-24, including a, 15-13, advantage in the second period alone), blocked shots (10-7), takeaways (10-9), giveaways (8-6) and hits (23-20).

    The Bruins led in faceoff win% (56-44) entering the second intermission.

    Heading into the third period, the Golden Knights were 1/2 on the power play and the B’s were 1/1.

    Hague hooked Heinen two minutes into the third period and was sent to the penalty box, resulting in a Boston power play, but the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on the scoreboard on their second skater advantage of the night.

    Almost midway through the final frame of regulation, Brayden McNabb was penalized for holding at 9:34 of the third period, but once again the B’s couldn’t score on the ensuing power play.

    Late in the game, Marchand was guilty of cross checking McNabb at 14:22, yielding another power play to the Golden Knights.

    This time, Vegas made sure to capitalize on the skater advantage opportunity as Pacioretty (1) scored his first goal of the season from the faceoff dot to left of Rask– firing a shot past the Bruins goaltender’s short side over his glove while Glass acted as a screen in front.

    Shea Theodore (2) and Stone (4) had the assists on Pacioretty’s power play goal at 14:42 and the Golden Knights pulled to within one, 4-3.

    With about 90 seconds left in the action after a stoppage in play, Vegas head coach, Gerard Gallant, used his timeout to rally his skaters and pull his goaltender, but it was too little too late as time expired about a minute later.

    The Bruins had defeated the Golden Knights, 4-3, on road ice.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-34) and faceoff win% (56-44), but Vegas dominated in just about every other statistical category– holding the advantage in blocked shots (14-12), giveaways (12-8) and hits (33-24).

    The Golden Knights finished the game 2/3 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    Vegas had a 96-56-14 record all time entering Tuesday night and remain four wins away from their 100th in franchise history. They are now 96-57-14 in 167 regular season games in their existence.

    The Bruins are 3-0-0 on their current four-game road trip and will finish their current trip Thursday night in Denver with a matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.

    Puck drop is expected a little after 9 p.m. ET.

    For the first time since the 2001-02 season, the Bruins are 3-0-0 to begin the regular season.

    Boston will take on the New Jersey Devils in Saturday’s home opener at TD Garden.

  • Halak, Bruins shutout Coyotes, 1-0

    Brad Marchand scored the game’s only goal and Jaroslav Halak turned aside every shot he faced en route to the Boston Bruins’, 1-0, victory over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

    Halak (1-0-0 record, 0.00 goals against average, 1.000 save percentage in one game played) made 35 saves on 35 shots for his 1st shutout of the season (48th of his career).

    Coyotes goaltender, Darcy Kuemper (0-2-0, 1.54 GAA, .945 SV% in two games played), stopped 25 out of 26 shots faced for a .962 SV% in the loss.

    The B’s have won their last 15 games against Arizona, which is tied for the longest active win streak versus an opponent. The Tampa Bay Lightning have also won 15 in a row against the Detroit Red Wings.

    Boston was once again without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder) and Joakim Nordstrom (foot), but David Krejci (lower body) returned to the lineup Saturday night.

    Krejci missed Thursday night’s season opener in Dallas and was a game-time decision both nights, but Bruce Cassidy told reporters prior to Saturday night’s game that he expected Krejci to play.

    Cassidy also informed reporters that Nordstrom could return to the lineup during the road trip.

    With Krejci back in the lineup– making his season debut– centering the second line, Cassidy moved Par Lindholm to the fourth line center and shifted Sean Kuraly to the left wing and Chris Wagner to the right wing.

    As a result, David Backes joined Steven Kampfer on Boston’s list of healthy scratches.

    Danton Heinen, Charlie Coyle and Brett Ritchie remained together on the third line, while the “Perfection Line” of Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak went untouched (as always).

    On defense, Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton remained as the third pairing with Miller and Moore out due to injury.

    The last time the B’s lost to the Coyotes was on Oct. 9, 2010. That night, the game was in Prague, Czech Republic as part of the Compuware NHL Premiere that season. The team then known as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Bruins, 5-2, in the 2010-11 season opener.

    Boston went on to win the Cup that season, though.

    Phil Kessel made his home debut for Arizona as the Coyotes played their first home game of the season at Gila River Arena on Saturday.

    Midway through the first period, Charlie McAvoy was penalized for interference when he tied up Lawson Crouse for too long away from the puck.

    Arizona went on the power play for the first time of the night at 13:01 of the first period and could not convert on the skater advantage.

    Late in the opening frame, after defending multiple chances for the Coyotes, Boston worked their way into the attacking zone and cycled the puck to generate a shot on goal.

    Marchand (1) unleashed a shot from the faceoff circle that squibbed through Kuemper to give the B’s the, 1-0, lead.

    Bergeron (1) had the only assist on Marchand’s goal at 18:41.

    After one period, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trailing, 10-6, in shots on goal. Arizona also led in blocked shots (8-4), hits (11-9) and faceoff win percentage (59-41) entering the first intermission.

    Boston led in giveaways (6-4), while both teams had three takeaways each. The Coyotes were 0/1 on the power play and the B’s had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

    Midway through the middle frame, Clifton and Crouse receiving roughing minors at 11:05 of the second period after a post-whistle scuffle.

    After two minutes of 4-on-4 action, both sides resumed full strength with no issues.

    Christian Dvorak caught Clifton with a high stick late in the period and presented the Bruins with their first power play opportunity of the night at 17:59 of the second period.

    Eight seconds later, Pastrnak interfered with Michael Grabner while Grabner was on a shorthanded breakaway for Arizona.

    Pastrnak was charged with an infraction at 18:07 and the two teams played 4-on-4 once again for 1:52.

    The Coyotes couldn’t muster anything with their abbreviated power play thereafter.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Boston still led on the scoreboard, 1-0, despite trailing in shots on goal, 21-15 (including an, 11-9, advantage in the second period alone for the Coyotes).

    Arizona continued to lead in blocked shots (16-12), hits (20-18) and faceoff win% (67-33), while also taking the lead in takeaways (7-4) after two periods.

    The B’s led in giveaways (9-6) and were 0/1 on the skater advantage entering the final frame of regulation. Arizona was 0/2.

    Just 48 seconds into the third period, Karson Kuhlman was penalized for interference, but the Coyotes were unable to capitalized on the power play.

    Less than a minute after killing off Kuhlman’s minor, the Bruins went on the power play thanks to Jordan Oesterle’s slashing infraction at 3:24 of the third period.

    Boston did not score on the skater advantage.

    With less than a minute remaining in the game, Coyotes head coach, Rick Tocchet, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was too little, too late for Arizona as time expired

    At the final horn, Halak and the Bruins locked up the, 1-0, shutout victory, while finishing the night trailing in shots on goal, 35-26.

    Arizona also led in the final statistics for blocked shots (19-15), hits (27-25) and faceoff win% (65-35), while both teams managed 11 giveaways aside.

    The Coyotes finished the night 0/3 on the power play and Boston went 0/2.

    The Bruins improved to 2-0-0 on the season and are tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Division with the Buffalo Sabres, while Arizona fell to 0-2-0 and remain tied for 6th in the Pacific Division with the Vancouver Canucks.

    Boston travels to T-Mobile Arena for a Tuesday night meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights before wrapping up their four-game road trip with a stop in Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche next Thursday.

    The B’s will play the New Jersey Devils next Saturday in Boston’s home opener.

  • 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.

  • Boston Bruins 2019-20 Season Preview

    Boston Bruins

    49-24-9, 107 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division

    Eliminated in the Stanley Cup Final by St. Louis

    Additions: F Brendan Gaunce, F Pär Lindholm, F Brett Ritchie, G Maxime Lagacé

    Subtractions: F Noel Acciari (signed with FLA), F Marcus Johansson (signed with BUF), F Mark McNeill (EBEL), F Gemel Smith (signed with TBL), F Jordan Szwarz (signed with OTT), G Zane McIntyre (signed with VAN)

    Still Unsigned: F Lee Stempniak

    Re-signed: F Peter Cehlarik, F Ryan Fitzgerald, F Danton Heinen, D Brandon Carlo, D Charlie McAvoy

    Offseason Analysis: After losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on home ice, the Boston Bruins quickly turned the page to the 2019-20 season. Rookie camp was less than a month away and with it meant free agency for the veteran players of the game.

    General Manager, Don Sweeney, followed suit with his business as usual masterplan– stay the course. Don’t overspend on any bottom-six talent and don’t rock the boat.

    Boston’s impeccable leadership group of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and David Backes has everyone in the dressing room in a collective mindset.

    The Bruins remain focused on an unaccomplished goal from last season– winning the Cup.

    The tight-knit roster witnessed the departure of fourth liner, Noel Acciari, and third-line trade deadline acquisition, Marcus Johansson.

    Acciari, 27, brought his talents to the Florida Panthers on a three-year contract worth $1.667 million per season, while Johansson, 28, signed a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres worth $4.500 million per season.

    Since Sweeney was named GM in May 2015, he’s adopted a new policy for the organization whereby bottom-six forwards– especially on the fourth line– are usually expendable.

    Though Acciari’s physical game will be missed by the Bruins, it’s a next-player up mentality combined with the signing of Brett Ritchie to a one-year, $1.000 million contract, that will hold the B’s over for the 2019-20 season.

    Excess spending in a salary cap world can get teams into cap hell and more often than not, getting too attached to players that are outside of your top line, top defensive pairing or top goaltender is more costly in the long run.

    A little more here and there will hurt a team when the time comes to sign a younger, better, player to a new– more expensive– contract.

    In other words, saving $667,000 on Ritchie’s services for the same role as Acciari, should yield the same result on the fourth line (in theory) and save just enough money to utilize elsewhere– like on Par Lindholm’s two-year deal worth $850,000 per season.

    Lindholm and Ritchie provide more depth to Boston’s roster than Acciari alone in the simple sense that two players are more than one (especially if one gets hurt).

    The Bruins weren’t going to be able to retain Johansson at a $4.500 million cap hit while having to re-sign Danton Heinen, Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.

    Though Johansson was a good fit for the B’s with Charlie Coyle and Heinen on the third line, signing Heinen to a two-year, $5.600 million ($2.800 million cap hit) deal and negotiating a bridge deal that was fair for both sides in McAvoy and Carlo’s case was more important for the future of the franchise.

    Sweeney might be playing with fire as McAvoy’s three-year deal bears a $4.900 million cap hit and a surefire significant raise for the 21-year-old defender in three years from now when he’s even further into his prime, but for now, the contract is just another example of Sweeney’s mastery at keeping his team under the cap ceiling.

    Carlo’s two-year extension is worth $2.850 million per season and is less likely to cause a ruckus when the defender is in the $4.000 million range depending on how Sweeney’s newest challenge plays out.

    With McAvoy and Carlo under contract, Sweeney’s attention can shift to figuring out Torey Krug’s future with the franchise.

    While Chara and Kevan Miller are pending-unrestricted free agents at season’s end on the blue line, Matt Grzelcyk will be a restricted free agent and a shoe-in for an extension.

    Chara, 42, may retire at season’s end and Miller, 31, might be in his final days as a Bruin this season.

    The oft-injured defender (Miller) won’t start the season with Boston as he’s out with a knee injury and has been replaced in his bottom-pairing role by younger and cheaper options in Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton– who signed a three-year extension carrying a $1.000 million cap hit that will kick in starting next season.

    With an additional $4.500 million to work with, Sweeney could pay Krug upwards of $9.000 million per season– except Jake DeBrusk will also be Boston’s biggest pending-RFA next July and he’ll need some of that money.

    So Krug could sign an extension and have to deal with Sweeney’s money saving ways, be traded while he carries enough trade value before the trade deadline or walk away in free agency, leaving the Bruins with nothing.

    At any rate, Boston locked down their biggest component in keeping everything together on the ice this offseason as head coach, Bruce Cassidy, signed a multi-year extension that will begin next season after his current deal expires at the end of the 2019-20 season.

    Offseason Grade: B

    The reigning GM of the Year had his work cutout for him this offseason in keeping all of his RFAs on the same team without overpaying. Sweeney also managed to avoid handing out any large contracts to free agents and continued to opt for cheap, expendable, replacements to fill lower-ranked roles on the roster.

    They didn’t hit it out of the park with a big name star, but they quietly went about their business signing better than average deals (for the advantage of the franchise) and still have enough of their core (despite the age factor) to remain competitive on the ice this season.

  • DTFR Podcast #162- Battle For Gloria (Part Four- The Blues Have Won)

    DTFR Podcast #162- Battle For Gloria (Part Four- The Blues Have Won)

    The Battle For Gloria concludes. The Jeff Skinner extension is analyzed. What to do with Corey Perry? As well as everyone’s favorite game returns.

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

  • Blues win first Cup in franchise history

    In a scene of poetic justice, if you will, the St. Louis Blues raised the 35-pound Stanley Cup high over their heads Wednesday night against the team that beat them the last time they were in the Final 49 years ago– the Boston Bruins.

    The Blues are your 2019 Stanley Cup champions after defeating the Bruins, 4-1, in Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final– capturing the series 4-3.

    For the first time in franchise history, a St. Louis captain skated out to meet with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, shake Bettman’s hand, take a photo and accept the hardest silverware to win in professional sports.

    Alex Pietrangelo gets to be the first person in league history to say that he lifted the trophy as a member of the Blues.

    They were dead last in the league standings entering 2019.

    For the first time in their 52-year existence (51 seasons), the Blues are Stanley Cup champions thanks to Jordan Binnington’s NHL rookie record 16 wins in the postseason, as well as his 32 saves on 33 shots against en route to the win in Game 7.

    Binnington (16-10 record, 2.46 goals against average, .914 save percentage in 26 games played this postseason) also recorded an 8-2 record on the road in the postseason– tying Nikolai Khabibulin (2004), Miikka Kiprusoff (2004) and Ron Hextall (1987) for the most road wins by a goaltender in a playoff year.

    He made 187 saves on 205 shots against (.913 SV%) and had a 2.76 GAA in the series.

    Ryan O’Reilly took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP. He finished with a six-game point streak in the Final.

    Boston goaltender, Tuukka Rask (15-9, 2.02 GAA, .934 SV% in 24 GP this postseason) stopped 16 out of 20 shots faced in the loss.

    Rask finished the 2019 Stanley Cup Final with 176 saves on 193 shots against (.912 SV%) and a 2.46 GAA.

    Eight years after winning the Cup in the last Game 7 in a Stanley Cup Final in Vancouver, the Bruins will have to wait until another day to earn their seventh title in franchise history.

    For the first time in their 95-year franchise history, the Bruins hosted a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final (though the Final only became a best-of-seven series since 1939).

    Boston joined the Chicago Blackhawks as the only other team to lose the only Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final that they’ve ever hosted among the first six financially stable franchises from 1942-67– after the league’s inception in 1917 (otherwise referred to as the “Original Six” teams).

    The other “Original Six” teams have hosted at least one such contest with the Detroit Red Wings (3-2 in five Stanley Cup Final Game 7s on home ice) as the most successful team.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs (2-0), Montreal Canadiens (1-0) and New York Rangers (1-0) have all never lost a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final on home ice.

    St. Louis finished 10-3 on the road this postseason, while Binnington improved to 14-2 in games after a loss in the regular season and playoffs in his young career.

    The Blues became the fifth road team to win a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final– and third in-a-row since the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and Bruins in 2011.

    Home teams are now 12-5 in 17 total Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Final.

    No home team has won the Cup since the 2015 Blackhawks.

    The Bruins fell to 14-9 in Game 7s on home ice (last loss prior to Wednesday night was against Montreal, 3-1, in the Second Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs).

    This postseason run wrapped up the longest season (regular and playoffs) in Blues franchise history as St. Louis participated in 108 games total (26 postseason games).

    It was the 2nd longest season in Bruins franchise history as Boston played 106 total games (82 regular season and 24 playoff games)– one game short of their 2010-11 record (107 games, 82 regular season and 25 playoff games).

    Boston is now 2-1 all time in a playoff series against St. Louis, winning the Cup in four games in 1970, sweeping the Blues in four games in the 1972 Semifinals and losing in seven games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters ahead of Game 7 that defender, Matt Grzelcyk, would be a game-time decision and was cleared from concussion protocol.

    After warmups, Grzelcyk was good-to-go and placed alongside John Moore on the third defensive pairing in place of Connor Clifton.

    Joining Clifton among the long list of healthy scratches for Boston Wednesday night was Chris Wagner, Lee Stempniak, Zachary Senyshyn, Peter Cehlarik, Zane McIntyre, Paul Carey, Ryan Fitzgerald, David Backes, Steven Kampfer, Jack Studnicka, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jeremy Lauzon, Anton Blidh, and Trent Frederic.

    Once again, Kevan Miller (lower body) remained out of the lineup for the final time this season due to injury.

    B’s captain, Zdeno Chara, set an NHL record for the most Game 7 appearances by a player with his 14th Game 7 on Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, Blues interim head coach, Craig Berube had the services of Ivan Barbashev back in the lineup after Barbashev served his one-game suspension in Game 6 for an illegal hit to head of Boston forward, Marcus Johansson, in Game 5.

    Berube also scratched Robert Bortuzzo and re-inserted Joel Edmundson on his blue line for Game 7.

    Nearly halfway through the opening frame, St. Louis defender, Colton Parayko, sent the puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game minor penalty at 7:57 of the first period.

    Though they moved the puck around with ease on the ensuing power play, Boston couldn’t muster a goal on their first skater advantage of the night.

    The Bruins fired three shots on goal on the power play– including a point-blank attempt by David Krejci to deke and stuff the puck through Binnington’s five-hole.

    Late in the period, after Boston’s fourth line couldn’t clear their own zone, Jay Bouwmeester let go of a shot from the point that O’Reilly (8) redirected through Rask’s five-hole to give St. Louis the fist goal of the game.

    Bouwmeester (7) and Pietrangelo (16) had the assists on O’Reilly’s goal and the Blues led, 1-0, at 16:47 of the first period.

    The goal came on just the third shot on goal for St. Louis after they got the first shot in the game 27 seconds into the action.

    For the first time since Wayne Gretzky did so in 1985, O’Reilly scored a goal in four consecutive Stanley Cup Final games. It was also his 22nd point of the postseason– establishing a Blues franchise record for points in a playoff year.

    With eight seconds left in the first period, Jaden Schwartz evaded an attempt by Brad Marchand to make a check while Marchand was a de facto defenseman on a botched line chance by the Bruins.

    Schwartz skated with the puck deep into the corner and dropped a pass back to Pietrangelo (3) whereby the Blues captain walked right into the slot, pulled the puck to his backhand and flipped it through Rask’s seven-hole to make it, 2-0, St. Louis.

    Pietrangelo’s goal officially came at 19:52 of the first period and was assisted by Schwartz (7).

    After one period of play at TD Garden, the Blues led, 2-0, on the scoreboard, while the Bruins dominated shots on goal, 12-4.

    The B’s also led in takeaways (5-2), giveaways (5-0) and face-off win percentage (61-39), while the Notes led in blocked shots (9-2) and hits (14-11).

    St. Louis had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the first intermission, while Boston was 0/1 on the power play entering the second period.

    Despite being badly outshot in the first period, the Blues emerged as hockey normally has its way swinging games back-and-forth for a full-press middle frame.

    Brayden Schenn had a shot midway in the second period that went off Rask’s stick, off the crossbar and stayed out of the twine thanks to Chara’s stick work keeping the puck out of the goal while chaos befell the rest of the players on the ice all around the crease.

    Through 40 minutes of play, St. Louis still led, 2-0, and trailed Boston in shots on goal, 23-10– including an, 11-6, advantage in shots on goal in the second period alone for the Bruins.

    The B’s led in takeaways (6-5), giveaways (12-4) and face-off win% (51-49), while the Notes led in blocked shots (15-7) and hits (27-21).

    The Blues still hadn’t seen any time on the power play entering the third period and the Bruins were 0/1.

    Midway through the final frame, Vladimir Tarasenko chased a loose puck in the attacking zone and threw a pass to Schenn (5) in the slot for the one-timer to give St. Louis a three-goal lead and all but assure themselves of their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

    Tarasenko (6) and Schwartz (8) tallied the assists on Schenn’s goal at 11:25 of the third period and the Blues led, 3-0.

    St. Louis capitalized on the scoreboard moments after Joakim Nordstrom was denied at the other end by Binnington’s right pad.

    Late in the period, the Blues did it again as David Perron threw the puck through the slot to Zach Sanford (1) for his first career Stanley Cup Playoff and Stanley Cup Final goal.

    The New Hampshire native made it, 4-0, St. Louis with a goal that was assisted by Perron (9) and O’Reilly (15) at 15:22 of the third period.

    With the secondary assist on the goal, O’Reilly boosted his own Blues franchise record for the most points in a single postseason to 23 points (8-15–23 totals).

    Cassidy pulled Rask with 3:54 remaining in regulation out of a desperate attempt to just get on the scoreboard and it worked.

    As the seconds counted down, Grzelcyk (4) sent a shot off the crossbar and into the back of the net over Binnington’s blocker side to cut St. Louis’ lead to three goals.

    Krejci (12) had the only assist on the goal at 17:50 of the third period.

    The Blues were still in command, 4-1, and even after Boston pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker again with about 1:48 left on the clock, that three-goal deficit was all St. Louis needed.

    At the final horn, the Notes had done it.

    They finally won their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

    This, despite trailing in shots on goal, 33-20, in Game 7. The Bruins also finished the night leading in giveaways (13-7) and face-off win% (51-49), while the Blues led in blocked shots (21-7) and hits (36-28).

    There was only one penalty called in the game and thus St. Louis’ power play never saw a second of ice time, while Boston went 0/1 on the skater advantage– way back in the first period after Parayko sent the puck over the glass for an automatic infraction.

    The team that scored first won Games 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the series, while the home team only won two games in the entire seven game series.

    Boston finished 5-1 in elimination games in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (won Games 6 and 7 in the First Round against Toronto, won Game 6 against Columbus, won Game 4 against Carolina and forced Game 7 against St. Louis by winning Game 6– then lost in the final game).

    Exactly 35 years ago, Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA Championship in the last Game 7 hosted in Boston.

    That was at the old Boston Garden (1928-95). Wednesday night’s action was at TD Garden (1995-present) and the opposing team won.

    The Bruins have not won the Cup on home ice since beating St. Louis on May 10, 1970. Bobby Orr scored his iconic– sports photography defining– goal in overtime to clinch the Cup for Boston for the first time since 1941 that night– ending a 29-year drought.

    In 2019, it was the Blues quenching their thirst by winning their first.