Down the Frozen River

Tag: Matt Grzelcyk

  • Ullmark makes 41 saves in, 3-2, win in Edmonton

    Ullmark makes 41 saves in, 3-2, win in Edmonton

    Linus Ullmark recorded a season-high 41 saves, while Matt Grzelcyk scored his first goal of the season not a minute too soon in the dying minutes of the game to lift the Boston Bruins over the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, at Rogers Place on Thursday.

    Ullmark (6-4-0, 2.61 goals-against average, .917 save percentage, in 10 games played) made 41 saves on 43 shots against in the win for Boston.

    Edmonton goaltender, Stuart Skinner (2-5-0, 2.75 goals-against average, .918 save percentage in eight games played), turned aside 27 out of 30 shots faced in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 13-8-2 (28 points) overall and remain in command of 5th place in the Atlantic Division– one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for 4th in the division standings.

    The Oilers fell to 16-9-0 (32 points) on the season and in 3rd place in the Pacific Division– three points behind the Anaheim Ducks for 2nd place and two points ahead of the 4th place Vegas Golden Knights.

    Anton Blidh returned to the lineup after dealing with an upper body injury since Nov. 28th against the Vancouver Canucks, while John Moore and Karson Kuhlman were also re-inserted amongst some redone lines and defensive pairings as acting head coach, Joe Sacco, was forced to make adjustments.

    With Brandon Carlo (lower body) out day-to-day, Moore took over Carlo’s role on the second pairing alongside Grzelcyk.

    Meanwhile, Blidh and Kuhlman’s reintroduction to the lineup meant that Curtis Lazar and Oskar Steen joined Jack Ahcan as healthy scratches for the B’s in Edmonton.

    Erik Haula centered the third line with Jake DeBrusk at left win and Nick Foligno on right wing, while Trent Frederic manned the fourth line center role– flanked by Blidh and Kuhlman on his wings.

    Jakub Zboril (lower body) and Tomáš Nosek (non-COVID illness) remained out of the lineup due to injury and illness on Thursday, while Bruce Cassidy (COVID-19 protocol) remained at home outside Boston in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol.

    Leon Draisaitl kicked the night off with a tripping infraction after he brought down Moore at 3:50 of the first period, presenting Boston with the game’s first power play.

    The Bruins weren’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    In fact, Boston was stumped on a 5-on-3 advantage for a little more than 10 seconds after Zach Hyman hooked Patrice Bergeron and cut a rut to the penalty box at 5:37.

    Almost midway through the first period, Edmonton got their first taste of a power play opportunity as Frederic hooked Connor McDavid at 8:26.

    The Oilers couldn’t beat Boston’s penalty kill, however.

    Things did not pan out in Edmonton’s favor on their subsequent power play when Foligno was assessed a roughing minor for retaliating against Hyman at 16:03.

    Just eight seconds into the penalty kill, the Bruins struck first on the scoreboard as Bergeron forced a turnover in the neutral zone before sending Brad Marchand (10) into the attacking zone on a breakaway prior to elevating a backhand show over Skinner’s glove side to make it, 1-0.

    Bergeron (11) had the only assist on Marchand’s 32nd career shorthanded goal at 16:15 of the first period and– as a result– tied Phil Esposito for the fourth-most assists in a Bruins uniform (553).

    Ray Bourque (1,111 assists), John Bucyk (794) and Bobby Orr (624) round out the top-three in franchise assist leaders.

    Entering the first intermission, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard despite trailing the Oilers, 13-9, in shots on goal.

    Boston held an advantage in blocked shots (4-3), takeaways (2-1), giveaways (7-5) and hits (13-7), while Edmonton led in faceoff win percentage (54-46) after one period.

    Both teams were 0/2 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Draisaitl cross checked Marchand 10 seconds into the second period and presented the Bruins with an early power play in the middle period as a result.

    Boston didn’t let this opportunity go to waste as Kailer Yamamoto turned the puck over to Taylor Hall, who then dished the rubber biscuit from the corner boards to DeBrusk (5) for a catch and release goal on the short side to put the Bruins up by two.

    Hall (7) tallied the only assist on DeBrusk’s power-play goal as Boston pulled ahead, 2-0, at 2:02 of the second period.

    Midway through the middle frame, Markus Niemelainen caught Frederic with a high stick, which led to the two players becoming a bit entangled as Frederic thought he had been wronged beyond the eyes of the on-ice officials.

    Niemelainen went to the box for high sticking, while Frederic picked up a roughing minor and the two penalties resulted in some 4-on-4 action at 13:31 of the second period.

    Neither team could score with the extra room on the ice available at both ends.

    Minutes later, though, Haula was penalized for holding at 16:55 and the Oilers went on the power play late in the period.

    Edmonton took their time on the ensuing skater advantage, but the barrage of shots eventually led to the formation of a triangle in which the Oilers worked the puck from the point to the side back to the point before Tyson Barrie setup Draisaitl (22) for the one-timer goal on the short side– cutting Boston’s lead in half in the process.

    The Oilers trailed, 2-1, thanks to Draisaitl’s power-play goal at 18:14 with assists from Barrie (11) and McDavid (28).

    Heading into the second intermission, Edmonton extended their domination in total shots to a, 27-15, advantage– outshooting Boston, 14-6, in the second period alone.

    Though the Bruins led on the scoreboard, 2-1, and dominated in blocked shots (12-7), giveaways (16-12), hits (19-11) and faceoff win% (54-47), if you take your foot off the gas against the Oilers’ power play, well… don’t be too surprised if Edmonton surges in momentum thereafter for a bit.

    As it was, the Oilers led in takeaways, 5-2, heading into the final frame as both teams were 1/3 on the power play.

    Bergeron hooked McDavid to give the Oilers a power play at 4:03 of the third period.

    This time, however, Boston’s penalty kill stood tall against Edmonton’s skater advantage, but the B’s presented the Oilers with another chance on the power play at 8:58 when Charlie Coyle was assessed a holding infraction against Yamamoto.

    It only took Edmonton about half the time on Coyle’s minor to convert on the power play as it did the first time that Draisaitl scored a power-play goal in the second period and, coincidentally, Draisaitl (23) had the Oilers’ second power-play goal as well.

    McDavid fed Draisaitl a pass from the dot to the goal line for a one-timer goal on Ullmark’s short side– tying the game, 2-2, in the process.

    McDavid (29) and Barrie (12) had the assists on Draisaitl’s second goal of the game at 9:50 of the third period.

    Late in the period, the Bruins had possession in the attacking zone where they worked the puck around from Hall to Craig Smith before finding Grzelcyk at his unnatural spot on the ice.

    Grzelcyk (1), a left shot, blasted a shot from the right point off the far side post and into the back of the twine for his first goal of the season, as well as the eventual game-winner, as he gave Boston a, 3-2, lead at 17:27.

    Smith (5) and Hall (8) tallied the assists on Grzelcyk’s late third period goal.

    Minutes later, Oilers head coach, Dave Tippett, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker with about 1:55 remaining in the game, but it was to no avail as the Bruins held off Edmonton’s best skaters for the, 3-2, win at the final horn.

    Boston finished the night trailing in shots on goal, 43-30, despite making things close in the third period– only trailing the Oilers, 16-15, in third period shots alone.

    The Bruins left Rogers Place with the two-point victory in regulation as well as the lead in blocked shots (19-9), giveaways (20-15), hits (23-17) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    Edmonton had the most success on the power play, however, having gone 2/5 on the night to Boston’s 1/3 conversion rate on the skater advantage.

    In the end, though, the final score was all that mattered as the Bruins won, 3-2, and improved to 9-4-0 (5-2-0 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 10-0-0 (6-0-0 on the road) when leading after one period and 9-1-0 (6-0-0 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Oilers, meanwhile, fell to 7-9-0 (3-4-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 0-8-0 (0-4-0 at home) when trailing after the first period and 3-8-0 (2-3-0 at home) when trailing after the second period in 2021-22.

    Boston visits the Calgary Flames on Saturday night to wrap up their Western Canada road trip (1-0-1) before returning home to host the Golden Knights on Dec. 14th at TD Garden.

  • Stamkos sinks Bruins in overtime on the road, 3-2

    Stamkos sinks Bruins in overtime on the road, 3-2

    Steven Stamkos scored the game-winning overtime goal 91 seconds after the extra frame began to hold off a comeback and give the Tampa Bay Lightning a, 3-2, overtime win over the Boston Bruins Saturday night at TD Garden.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy (12-4-3, 2.13 goals-against average, .927 save percentage in 19 games played) made 37 saves on 39 shots against in the overtime win for the Lightning.

    Bruins netminder, Jeremy Swayman (7-4-1, 2.27 goals-against average, .918 save percentage in 12 games played) stopped 22 out of 25 shots faced in the overtime loss.

    Boston fell to 12-8-1 (25 points) on the season and remain in command of 5th place in the Atlantic Division– two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

    Meanwhile, Tampa improved to 14-5-4 (32 points) overall and in command of 3rd place in the Atlantic– five points behind their intrastate rival, Florida Panthers, for the division lead.

    Prior to Saturday night, the B’s and Bolts hadn’t met in the regular season since March 7, 2020, due to the ongoing pandemic that temporarily realigned the league’s divisions last season.

    In their last meeting, which was also at TD Garden, the Lightning won, 5-3, as Boston cemented a 1-2-1 season series record against the Bolts in 2019-20.

    Anton Blidh (upper body) remained out of the lineup on Saturday night as Charlie McAvoy (non-COVID related illness) and Jakub Zboril (lower body) joined Blidh among the sick and injured while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, remains in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol.

    Zboril is set to be re-evaluated on Sunday for an injury that he sustained in Thursday night’s, 2-0, shutout in Nashville.

    As a result of McAvoy’s game-time decision status, Jack Ahcan and Oskar Steen were recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL), who had enough players cleared to be called up or assigned in the aftermath of a COVID outbreak among Boston’s American Hockey League affiliate.

    Acting head coach, Joe Sacco, made two minor changes to his lineup– inserting Ahcan alongside Derek Forbort on the blue line in place of McAvoy and placing Connor Clifton back on the third pairing with Mike Reilly with Zboril out.

    Steen served as Boston’s only healhty scratch on Saturday with Brad Marchand (suspension) serving the final game of his three-game suspension for slew-footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson in Nov. 28th’s, 3-2, win against the Vancouver Canucks.

    Nick Foligno hooked Erik Cernak 32 seconds into the first period, yielding the night’s first power play opportunity to the Lightning as a result.

    Tampa wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however, as the Bruins made the kill.

    Midway through the opening frame, Bolts defender, Zach Bogosian, caught B’s forward, Craig Smith, with a high stick and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result at 13:19.

    Boston couldn’t beat Vasilevskiy and the Lightning’s penalty killing unit on the resulting advantage and even gave up their second shorthanded goal against this season less than a minute after Bogosian set a foot in the sin bin.

    Taylor Raddysh received a pass into the attacking zone from Mikhail Sergachev and promptly deked through Reilly by slipping the puck under the Bruins defender’s stick before pulling the rubber biscuit to his backhand and wrapping it tightly around Swayman’s outstretched right leg.

    Raddysh (1) scored his first career NHL goal and put Tampa on the board first, 1-0, at 14:13 with his shorthanded goal, while Sergachev (10) recorded the only assist on the tally.

    Entering the first intermission, the Lightning led, 1-0, on the scoreboard despite trailing, 12-6, in shots on net.

    Boston also held the advantage in hits (11-8) and faceoff win percentage (61-39), while the Bolts led in blocked shots (7-2) and giveaways (5-1).

    Both teams had three takeaways each and went 0/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    After ringing the post three times, the Bruins fell victim to the most common play in hockey– the one rush the other way that goes in.

    Anthony Cirelli sent a pass up to Ondrej Palat as the Bolts entered the attacking zone, leading to a great chance for Palat to make a play across the slot for a teammate to one-time the puck.

    Instead, Palat (6) faked a shot and sent a pass that deflected off of Tomáš Nosek and into the twine as Swayman couldn’t react to Nosek’s unintentional own goal.

    Cirelli (8) and Victor Hedman (18) tallied the assists as the Lightning took a, 2-0, lead at 3:36 of the second period.

    Late in the middle frame, Erik Haula snagged a rebound from the slot and made a backhand pass through his legs to Charlie Coyle (7) for the one-timer goal while crashing the net– cutting Tampa’s lead in half in the process.

    Haula (4) and Smith (4) were credited with the assists on Coyle’s goal and the Bruins trailed, 2-1, at 16:30.

    A couple of minutes later, Matt Grzelcyk was sent to the box for hooking at 18:25, but the Lightning weren’t able to convert on the ensuing power play that carried into the final frame of regulation.

    Entering the second intermission, Tampa led, 2-1, on the scoreboard, despite Boston controlling the advantage in shots on net, 28-13, including a, 16-7, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Lightning dominated in blocked shots (13-6), as well as giveaways (10-4), while the Bruins led in takeaways (7-6), hits (24-20) and faceoff win% (63-37).

    Tampa was 0/2 and Boston was 0/1 on the power play heading into the third period.

    Curtis Lazar (1) tied the game, 2-2, at 4:44 of the third period on a backhand shot that he elevated over Vasilevskiy’s glove as the Bruins surged in momentum.

    Brandon Carlo (2) and Grzelcyk (4) notched the assists on Lazar’s first goal of the season, but neither team was able to score thereafter– necessitating the use of an overtime period.

    There were also no penalties called in the third period, meaning that Boston finished the night 0/1 on the power play, while Tampa went 0/2 on the skater advantage.

    The Bruins completed 60 minutes of action leading in shots on goal, 38-21, including a, 10-8, advantage in the third period alone.

    The B’s also led in takeaways (9-8), hits (33-31) and faceoff win% (59-41) after regulation, while the Lightning led in blocked shots (18-10) and giveaways (12-6).

    Entering overtime, the Bruins had yet to win or lose a game this season in the extra frame, while the Lightning were 3-2 in overtime alone in 2021-22.

    Bolts head coach, Jon Cooper, started Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Alex Killorn and Hedman, while Sacco countered with Coyle, Taylor Hall and Reilly.

    The two teams traded chances at both ends before a dramatic shift led to a timely save by Swayman that promptly rebounded out through the slot to David Pastrnak for a clear exit from his own zone all the way into Boston’s attacking zone on a breakaway.

    Only Sergachev trailed Pastrnak and the Lightning defender was gaining ground.

    As Pastrnak barely got a shot attempt off and wide, Sergachev got enough to tie up the Bruins forward– after which, the Bolts blue liner sent a pass up-ice to Stamkos for a breakaway opportunity heading in the other direction.

    Luckily for Boston, Reilly was the only skater within range to get back and defend.

    Unfortunately for Boston, Stamkos approached Swayman on a 2-on-1 with Palat by his side.

    Instead of lobbing a pass for a one-timer, Stamkos (12) wound up and fired an old-fashioned slap shot past Swayman’s short side to win the game, 3-2, at 1:31 of the overtime period.

    Sergachev (11) had the only assist on the goal.

    Tampa finished the night with the win on the scoreboard and a, 4-1, advantage in shots on goal in overtime alone, despite trailing Boston, 39-25, overall in total shots on net.

    The Lightning exited TD Garden with the advantage in blocked shots (19-11) and giveaways (13-7), while the Bruins finished Saturday night’s action leading in hits (33-31) and faceoff win% (58-42).

    The Bolts improved to 4-2 in overtime this season, while the B’s fell to 0-1.

    Boston also fell to 4-4-1 (3-2-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 2-3-1 (2-1-1 at home) when trailing after the first period and 2-5-1 (2-2-1 at home) when trailing after two periods this season as a result of the overtime loss.

    Tampa, meanwhile, improved to 9-1-3 (3-0-2 on the road) when scoring first, 9-1-2 (2-0-2 on the road) when leading after one and 8-1-3 (2-0-2 on the road) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins hit the road for a three-game road trip through Western Canada next week, starting on Wednesday (Dec. 8th) in Vancouver before playing the following night in Edmonton with a day off next Friday before visiting the Calgary Flames next Saturday.

    Boston returns home to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 14th before another three-game road trip thereafter.

  • Marchand leads third period comeback against Canucks

    Marchand leads third period comeback against Canucks

    Brad Marchand’s third period effort spurred the Boston Bruins to a, 3-2, win over the Vancouver Canucks Sunday night at TD Garden.

    Marchand tallied a goal and an assist on the game-winning goal in the third period as Linus Ullmark (5-3-0, 2.76 goals-against average, .914 save percentage in eight games played) turned aside 36 out of 38 shots faced in the victory for Boston.

    Vancouver netminder, Jaroslav Halak (0-4-1, 2.85 goals-against average, .910 save percentage in six games played), made 39 saves on 42 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 11-7-0 (22 points) on the season and remain in 5th place in the Atlantic Division– one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for 4th– while the Canucks fell to 6-14-2 (14 points) overall and stuck in 8th place in the Pacific Division.

    Prior to the ongoing pandemic, Vancouver beat Boston, 9-3, at Rogers Arena on Feb. 22, 2020.

    Trent Frederic returned to the lineup for Boston after missing the last seven games with an upper body injury, while Ullmark returned to the crease after missing a scheduled start in Buffalo on Nov. 24th when he tweaked something at morning skate ahead of Boston’s, 5-1, win against the Sabres.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made a few changes to his lines coming off of a, 5-2, loss to the New York Rangers on Friday– inserting Frederic at center on the third line with Nick Foligno and Karson Kuhlman on his wings, for starters.

    Kuhlman returned to the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch for the last four games.

    Craig Smith was promoted back to his regular role on the second line at right wing, while Tomáš Nosek was relegated to the fourth line center slot with Frederic returning to the lineup and Erik Haula joining Jake DeBrusk and Connor Clifton as Sunday’s scratches.

    Sunday night marked the first time this season that Haula and DeBrusk were scratched.

    Jakub Zboril kicked things off with an interference infraction at 1:50 of the first period, yielding the night’s first power play to Vancouver.

    Late in the ensuing skater advantage, the Canucks took advantage of a mishap in the crease when Ullmark and nearest defender, Mike Reilly, miscommunicated on a puck that bounced off of the Bruins goaltender and ended up in prime real estate in front of Tanner Pearson.

    Pearson (3) poked the loose puck over the goal line from point blank and gave Vancouver a, 1-0, lead at 3:33 of the first period.

    Brock Boeser (5) and Nils Höglander (5) had the assists on Pearson’s power-play goal as the Canucks took an early lead and momentum that was ultimately cut short about two minutes later.

    Anton Blidh (1) skated into Boston’s attacking zone and wired a shot past Halak’s glove side from afar– about two strides into the zone from the blue line in the high point, that is.

    Blidh’s unassisted effort tied the game, 1-1, at 5:51.

    Minutes later, Conor Garland was penalized for holding the stick and presented the Bruins with their first chance on the power play at 10:14, but the B’s weren’t able to capitalize on the skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Nosek caught Tyler Motte with a high stick and was assessed a minor infraction as a result at 15:44.

    Vancouver entered the zone while on the ensuing power play and Garland ripped a shot from along the boards past Ullmark’s glove on the short side, but Cassidy used a coach’s challenge on the grounds that he and the Bruins’ video crew believed the Canucks were offside prior to the goal.

    Video replay revealed that Höglander was, in fact, over the blue line with both skates prior to the puck entering the attacking zone, rendering Garland’s would be goal useless and reversing the call on the ice.

    The score remained tied, 1-1, heading into the first intermission, while the Bruins led in shots on goal, 11-10.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (5-1) and hits (8-4), while the Canucks led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (4-1) and faceoff win percentage (56-44).

    Vancouver was 1/2 on the power play, while the B’s were 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Nosek thought he put the Bruins ahead within about a minute of action in the second period, but the call on the ice was “no goal” and upheld after a quick official review confirmed that– while Nosek’s initial kick of the puck to his stick blade was fine, his subsequent kick while falling that resulted in the rubber biscuit finding the twine was no good.

    Minutes later, Marchand slashed Garland and was sent to the box at 6:54 of the second period.

    Vancouver wasn’t able to capitalize on the resulting skater advantage, however.

    Midway through the period, Garland (6) got the goal that he was looking for earlier in the night when he sent a shot with eyes through Jason Dickinson’s legs and Ullmark’s five-hole while Dickinson screened the Boston netminder.

    Garland’s goal was unassisted and gave the Canucks a, 2-1, lead at 12:31 of the second period.

    And so, 2-1, it remained as Vancouver led on the scoreboard through 40 minutes of action and in shots on goal, 27-24, including a, 17-13, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Canucks dominated in takeaways (3-1), giveaways (8-3) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (11-8) and hits (17-13).

    Vancouver went 1/3 on the power play, while Boston remained 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the second intermission.

    Matt Grzelcyk caught Höglander with a quick hook and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result at 3:51 of the third period as a result, but Vancouver couldn’t muster anything on the scoreboard.

    Höglander, himself, was the next player off to the sin bin after he tripped Foligno at 7:21 of the third period.

    This time the Bruins found the back of the net on the power play after Ullmark stoned Motte on a shorthanded breakaway at the other end.

    David Pastrnak sent a shot attempt off the post where the puck pinballed around in the ensuing chaos off of Patrice Bergeron before settling outside the slot while a mass of bodies gathered in front of Halak.

    Marchand (9) scooped up the puck and buried it to tie the game, 2-2, with a power-play goal at 8:45 of the third period.

    Foligno (4) and Bergeron (9) notched the assists on Marchand’s goal as the Bruins surged to life.

    Chances were traded at both ends when Oliver Ekman-Larsson raced Blidh into the corner and promptly boarded the Boston skater, resulting in a minor penalty that Garland ended up serving while Ekman-Larsson had to tend to an errant skate blade that popped out from the force of the collision with Blidh at 15:23.

    Once more, it didn’t take the Bruins long to convert on the ensuing power play.

    Marchand thread a pass through the slot to Pastrnak (7) for the redirection goal while crashing the net to give Boston their first lead of the night, 3-2, at 16:36 of the third period.

    Marchand (15) and Bergeron (10) tallied the assists on Pastrnak’s power-play goal and the Bruins had their first lead of the night.

    With their goaltender pulled and a stoppage in play with 46 seconds left on the clock, Canucks head coach, Travis Green, used his timeout to rally his skaters, but it was to no avail.

    Though the Bruins didn’t end up scoring an empty net goal– despite Marchand’s best efforts to give Bergeron an easy lay-up, Bergeron had entered the zone offside to negate an insurance goal after Green challenged the call on the ice– the final horn sounded without issue.

    Boston had won, 3-2, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 42-38, including an, 18-11, advantage in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in blocked shots (12-11), hits (28-18) and faceoff win% (51-49), while Vancouver exited the building with the advantage in giveaways (10-3).

    The Canucks finished Sunday night’s effort 1/4 on the power play, while Boston went 2/3 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s improved to 4-3-0 (3-1-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 1-4-0 (1-2-0 at home) when tied after the first period and 2-4-0 (2-1-0 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

    Vancouver fell to 2-4-0 (1-4-0 on the road) when scoring first, 2-6-0 (1-4-0 on the road) when tied after one period and 4-1-0 (2-1-0 on the road) when leading after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins wrap up their three-game homestand against the Detroit Red Wings to close out the month of November on Tuesday.

    Boston begins the month of December with a one-off road game at Bridgestone Arena against the Nashville Predators on Thursday (Dec. 2nd) before returning home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning for a game next Saturday (Dec. 4th).

  • Bruins drop Black Friday matinée to Rangers, 5-2

    Bruins drop Black Friday matinée to Rangers, 5-2

    For the first time since the 2003-04 regular season, ABC played host to a national broadcast of a National Hockey League game as the Boston Bruins lost, 5-2, to the New York Rangers in their 500th consecutive sellout at TD Garden on Friday afternoon.

    New York scored three unanswered goals in the third period (including an empty net goal) to pull ahead and never look back as Igor Shesterkin (11-3-2, 2.22 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 16 games played) made 34 saves on 36 shots faced for the win.

    Boston goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (6-4-0, 2.42 goals-against average, .908 save percentage in 10 games played), stopped 26 out of 30 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins dropped to 10-7-0 (20 points) on the season and remain in command of 5th place in the Atlantic Division, while the Rangers improved to 13-4-3 (29 points) and sit 3rd in the Metropolitan Division despite tying the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals in points.

    Carolina owns the tiebreaker for 1st place in the division currently, by virtue of having played in one game fewer than the Capitals at the time of this writing.

    Washington sits ahead of New York by virtue of the same thing, though the Caps are in action on Friday night and would slip to 3rd in the Metropolitan Division with a loss in regulation.

    The B’s also fell to 6-3-0 at home this season in nine games at TD Garden, while the Rangers improved to 8-3-2 on road ice in 13 away games thus far.

    Boston went 5-3-0 against New York last season.

    The Bruins were without Trent Frederic (upper body) on Friday, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made one minor change to his lineup from Wednesday night’s, 5-1, win in Buffalo to Friday afternoon’s matinée matchup with the Rangers.

    Cassidy swapped centers on the third and fourth lines– promoting Tomáš Nosek to the top-nine and demoting Erik Haula to the bottom line.

    Connor Clifton and Karson Kuhlman were Boston’s healthy scratches in the press box on Friday afternoon.

    Ryan Lindgren lifted David Pastrnak’s stick and Pastrnak’s stick ended up catching Lindgren in the face, yielding a high sticking infraction for No. 88 in black and gold and the afternoon’s first power play opportunity for the Rangers at 6:25 of the first period.

    New York wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Moments later, Chris Kreider cut a rut to the penalty box for interference at 10:55, but Boston wasn’t able to muster anything on the resulting power play– even when they had 10 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage as Adam Fox caught Craig Smith with a high stick at 12:45.

    Instead, however, Smith (2) scored in the vulnerable minute after a power play one second after Fox emerged from the box to bring the Rangers back to even strength.

    Smith’s goal was unassisted and beat Shesterkin up high to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead at 14:46 of the first period after Jacob Trouba botched a clearing attempt for New York.

    In the dying seconds of the opening frame, however, the Rangers responded as Dryden Hunt worked the puck deep past the goal line near the endboards and flipped a pass to Artemi Panarin before Panarin setup Ryan Strome (3) in the slot for a goal– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Panarin (16) and Hunt (2) tallied the assists on Strome’s goal at 19:54.

    Entering the first intermission, the game was tied, 1-1, despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 17-5.

    The Rangers held the advantage in blocked shots (5-1) and hits (5-4), while the Bruins led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (2-0) and faceoff win percentage (63-38).

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

    Less than a minute into the second period, Brad Marchand caught Trouba with a hook (despite it actually looking to be a simple stick lift on second glance) and was sent to the sin bin 17 seconds after emerging from the first intermission.

    The Blue Shirts weren’t able to score on the ensuing power play, though.

    Moments later, Pastrnak won a draw in the attacking zone back to Marchand whereby Marchand moved the puck to Matt Grzelcyk as the Boston defender snuck in from the point to feed Patrice Bergeron (8) point blank for a goal.

    Grzelcyk (3) and Marchand (14) were credited with the assists as the Bruins pulled ahead once more, 2-1, at 6:51 of the second period.

    Midway through the second, however, Swayman struggled with his rebound control and inadvertently kicked the puck directly to Hunt in the slot while Hunt was crashing the net instead of sending the rubber biscuit off to the boards or covering it up.

    Hunt (2) buried the loose biscuit into the mostly empty twine and destroyed the in-net camera with a precise shot, while Lindgren (2) and Fox (16) tallied the assists.

    The Rangers had tied the game, 2-2, at 12:33, but followed up their surge in momentum with a high sticking infraction by Panarin at 14:37.

    Luckily for New York, the Bruins weren’t on top of things on their resulting power play.

    At least Swayman was able to stop Mika Zibanejad with a diving paddle save on a cross-slot one-timer in between Hunt’s goal and Panarin’s penalty in what might earn recognition as “the save of the year”.

    Rangers head coach, Gerard Gallant, briefly pulled Shesterkin out of the net for an extra attacker with 1.4 seconds remaining on the clock on an attacking zone faceoff, but New York wasn’t able to recreate the magic of their quick goal in the dying seconds of the first period as the horn sounded to commence the second intermission.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the two teams were tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard, despite Boston leading in total shots on goal, 29-24, after tailing New York, 19-12, in shots on net in the second period alone.

    The Rangers held onto the advantage in blocked shots (9-3), giveaways (7-5) and hits (15-9) after two periods, while the B’s led in faceoff win% (64-36).

    Both teams had four takeaways each and neither team could find the back of the net on the power play as New York was 0/2 and Boston was 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    Kreider thought he had scored the goal of the season early in the third period when he wrapped around the back of the net and lobbed a shot attempt behind Swayman’s shoulders– lacrosse style– off the crossbar and through the crease, but official review determined that he had, in fact, not scored the go-ahead goal.

    Andrei Svechnikov’s records are still resting at ease with Carolina.

    Instead, midway through the final frame, Panarin (5) bunted a redirection shot from point blank past Swayman while crashing the net on a reception from Julien Gauthier.

    Gauthier (2) and Strome (2) had the assists and the Rangers had their first lead of the afternoon, 3-2, at 11:35 of the third period.

    About five minutes later, New York extended their lead to two-goals as Gauthier setup Alexis Lafrenière (5) on a 2-on-1 against Bruins defender, Charlie McAvoy, for the high blocker side goal on a catch and release shot by Lafrenière.

    Gauthier (3) and Fox (17) notched the assists as the Rangers went up, 4-2, on the scorebaord at 16:22 of the third period.

    With 2:37 remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker, but it was ultimately to no avail.

    McAvoy tripped up Kevin Rooney with an errant leg at 19:03 and Barclay Goodrow did not take the aggressive infraction lightly– delivering a swift cross check in return to McAvoy before a scrum ensued.

    The two teams finished the afternoon at 4-on-4 after McAvoy and Goodrow worked their way into their respective boxes at 19:03.

    Finally, Trouba (3) buried an empty net goal after winning a battle behind his own net and flipping the puck down the length of the ice from his own zone.

    Patrik Nemeth (2) had the only assist on Trouba’s goal as the Rangers sealed the deal on their, 5-2, victory at 19:48 of the third period.

    After the goal, Marchand and Panarin exchange words from their benches leading to Panarin taking off one of his gloves and chucking it at Marchand while a linesman stood in the crossfire.

    Both players received misconducts and were sent to their dressing rooms with an early dismissal at 19:48.

    At the horn, the Rangers had won, 5-2, despite finishing the afternoon trailing in shots on goal, 36-31, to Boston.

    Both teams managed to fire seven shots on net each in the third period, however, while New York wrapped up Friday’s action leading in blocked shots (17-4), giveaways (10-5) and hits (23-21).

    The B’s finished the afternoon leading in faceoff win% (57-43).

    There were no penalties that resulted in skater advantages in the third period, so the Rangers finished the day 0/2 on the power play and the Bruins went 0/3.

    Boston dropped to 7-4-0 (4-2-0 at home) when scoring first, 0-4-0 (0-2-0 at home) when tied after one and 2-2-0 (2-1-0 at home) when tied after two periods this season.

    New York improved to 5-4-1 (3-3-0 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 5-0-2 (4-0-2 on the road) when tied after the first period and 6-0-1 (4-0-0 on the road) when tied after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins continue their three-game homestand against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday before hosting the Detroit Red Wings to close out the month of November on Tuesday, Nov. 30th.

    Boston begins the month of December with a one-off road game at Bridgestone Arena against the Nashville Predators next Thursday (Dec. 2nd) before returning home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning for a game next Saturday (Dec. 4th).

  • Bruins amass 47 shots in, 5-1, win on the road

    Bruins amass 47 shots in, 5-1, win on the road

    After giving up the game’s first goal, the Boston Bruins pounded the Buffalo Sabres into submission with five unanswered goals and 47 shots on net in a, 5-1, victory at KeyBank Center Wednesday night.

    Jeremy Swayman (6-3-0, 2.23 goals-against average, .914 save percentage in nine games played) made 24 saves on 25 shots faced in the win.

    Meanwhile, Sabres goaltender, Aaron Dell (0-4-0, 4.57 goals-against average, .862 save percentage in five games played), made 18 saves on 22 shots against before being replaced by Dustin Tokarski (3-4-2, 3.27 goals-against average, .904 save percentage in 11 games played) after the first period.

    Tokarski turned aside 24 out of 25 shots faced in relief of Dell for no decision.

    The Bruins improved to 10-6-0 (20 points) on the season, but stuck in 5th place in the Atlantic Division as the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets all won their respective matchups on Wednesday night– keeping Boston out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference as the season reaches the American Thanksgiving benchmark for gauging success.

    Teams that are in playoff position by the time American Thanksgiving rolls around tend to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs about 78% of the time.

    As for the Sabres, they dropped to 7-10-2 (16 points) overall and stuck behind the Bruins in the Atlantic, sitting in 6th place in the division.

    The B’s also improved to 2-0-0 against Buffalo this season with two more matchups against the upstate New York based club on Jan. 1st and April 28th (each remaining game is at TD Garden in Boston).

    Trent Frederic (upper body) remained out of the lineup for Boston on Wednesday, while Linus Ullmark was relegated to the role of the backup goaltender after tweaking something during morning skate.

    Other than that, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made one minor change to his lineup– promoting Matt Grzelcyk up to the first defensive pairing with Charlie McAvoy and relegating Derek Forbort to the second pairing alongside Brandon Carlo.

    Connor Clifton and Karson Kuhlman served as healthy scratches for the B’s in Buffalo.

    Jakub Zboril opened the action with a cross checking infraction at 2:25 of the first period when he knocked down John Hayden in front of Boston’s own net.

    The Sabres, however, weren’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    After David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand couldn’t connect on a 2-on-1 opportunity in the other end (Marchand failed to corral a rebound), Kyle Okposo (5) received a pass from Rasmus Asplund while entering Buffalo’s attacking zone and wiring a shot through Patrice Bergeron’s legs over Swayman’s blocker side as the Bruins captain inadvertently screened his own goaltender.

    Asplund (7) had the only assist on Okposo’s goal and the Sabres led, 1-0, on the scoreboard at 10:56 of the first period.

    A few minutes later, though, Bergeron (7) pounced on a rebound and elevated a backhand shot over Dell while the Buffalo netminder was sprawled out in desperation to snag the puck and cover it up for a faceoff in his own zone.

    Pastrnak (11) and Marchand (13) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s goal and the Bruins tied it, 1-1, at 13:29.

    51 seconds later, Boston took the lead and started to run away with the rest of the night as Charlie Coyle (6) sent a shot over Dell’s glove on the short side and under the crossbar to put the B’s ahead, 2-1, at 14:20.

    Nick Foligno (2) had the only assist on Coyle’s goal, which matched his season total (six goals) from 2020-21, in 35 fewer games.

    About a minute later, Rasmus Dahlin hooked Pastrnak and presented the Bruins with their first power play of the night at 15:30 of the first period.

    It only took Boston 69 seconds on the skater advantage to find the back of the net on a patented one-timer under the blocker from Pastrnak (6) at the faceoff dot to Dell’s right side to extend the Bruins’ lead to two-goals.

    McAvoy (10) and Bergeron (8) tallied the assists on Pastrnak’s power-play goal and the B’s took a, 3-1, lead at 16:59.

    With one minute remaining before the start of the first intermission, Zboril sent a puck towards the net that deflected off of his own teammate (Foligno) before Mike Reilly (2) pinched in from the point for the goal on the mostly empty twine to make it, 4-1, Boston.

    Foligno (3) and Zboril (3) notched the assists at 19:00 of the first period.

    After 20 minutes of play, the Bruins carried a, 4-1, lead into the dressing room and a, 22-8, advantage in shots on goal.

    Buffalo held the advantage in takeaways (2-1) and giveaways (4-0), while Boston led in hits (11-7) and faceoff win percentage (71-29).

    Both teams had three blocked shots each.

    The Sabres were 0/1 and the Bruins were 1/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Sabres head coach, Don Granato, replaced Dell with Tokarski ahead of the second period after Dell allowed four goals against in the opening frame on 22 shots faced.

    Less than a couple minutes into the second period, Foligno and former Bruins defender, Colin Miller, became entangled in a battle as the puck went the other way, yielding an exchange of fisticuffs between Foligno and Miller and resulting five-minute majors for fighting at 1:42.

    It was the fourth fighting major for Boston this season (and first since McAvoy fought Joel Farabee in Philadelphia on Nov. 20th).

    Midway through the second period, Forbort tripped up Hayden and the on-ice officials deemed a penalty shot would suffice as a result.

    Hayden skated in towards Swayman, but the Bruins netminder made the routine stop as though it were a regular breakaway in the first penalty shot that he faced in his young National Hockey League career.

    Not much else happened after that in terms of scoring and penalties as neither team hit the back of the net or served an infraction other than Foligno and Miller’s majors for fighting in the second period.

    Through two periods, the Bruins held onto a, 4-1, lead, as well as a, 29-22, advantage in shots on goal, despite Buffalo outshooting Boston, 14-7, in the second period alone.

    The B’s led in blocked shots (7-6), hits (22-14) and faceoff win% (66-34) entering the second intermission, while the Sabres held the advantage in takeaways (6-4) and giveaways (6-2).

    Buffalo was 0/2 on the skater advantage, while Boston was still 1/1 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Not too much was happening as the two teams went through the motions until about midway in the third period, when Zemgus Girgensons checked McAvoy along the boards and sent the star Bruins defender into the glass face first.

    Girgensons was assessed a major for boarding as McAvoy took an extra minute to get off the ice (presumably with a head injury) and an official review upheld Girgensons’ major infraction and game misconduct, yielding a five-minute power play to the Bruins at 13:46 of the third period.

    Arttu Ruotsalainen glided over to the penalty box to serve Girgensons’ major as the B’s went to work on the skater advantage.

    About midway in the power play, Coyle setup Craig Smith who tossed a pass over to Taylor Hall (5) for the one-timer power-play goal against his most recent former team– extending Boston’s lead to four goals in the process.

    Smith (2) and Coyle (5) had the assists on Hall’s goal as the Bruins pulled ahead, 5-1, at 15:26 of the third period.

    The B’s didn’t score on the remainder of Girgensons’ major, but then again, not much else happened after Hall’s goal.

    Boston wracked up shots on goal and held the Sabres to just three shots against in the third period alone as the final horn sounded– signaling a, 5-1, win for Swayman and the Bruins.

    The Bruins exited the building with the advantage in shots on goal, 47-25, including an, 18-3, advantage in the third period alone, as well as the lead in hits (27-18) and faceoff win% (69-31).

    Buffalo left their own rink with the lead in giveaways (8-4), while both teams recorded 10 blocked shots apiece.

    The Sabres went 0/1 and the Bruins went 2/3 on the power play in Wednesday’s effort.

    After the game, Cassidy told reporters that McAvoy “[was] good” and received some stitches but won’t know that much more until Thursday as it would depend on if “[McAvoy] wakes up feeling good tomorrow and is ready to go Friday.”

    Boston improved to 3-3-0 (1-2-0 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 8-0-0 (4-0-0 on the road) when leading after the first period and 7-1-0 (4-0-0 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    Buffalo fell to 5-4-1 (3-2-0 at home) when scoring first, 2-6-1 (2-3-1 at home) when trailing after one and 0-7-0 (0-5-0 at home) when trailing after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins finish the month of November with a three-game homestand starting with Friday’s matinee matchup with the New York Rangers on ABC in the 2021 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown before hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (Nov. 28th) and Detroit Red Wings next Tuesday (Nov. 30th).

  • Forbort scores pair in, 5-2, win for Boston

    Forbort scores pair in, 5-2, win for Boston

    Derek Forbort notched his first career two-goal game and earned his second career game-winning goal in the process, while leading the Boston Bruins to a, 5-2, win over the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.

    Linus Ullmark (4-3-0, 2.86 goals-against average, .908 save percentage in seven games played) made 29 saves on 31 shots against in the win for Boston.

    Philadelphia goaltender, Martin Jones (3-2-0, 2.82 goals-against average, .920 save percentage in five games played), stopped 39 out of 44 shots faced in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 9-5-0 (18 points) on the season and remain 5th in the Atlantic Division, while the Flyers fell to 8-5-3 (19 points) overall and stuck in 4th place in the Metropolitan Division.

    As a result of Saturday night’s win, the B’s are now 1-1-0 against Philadelphia this season and will face the Flyers once more in the 2021-22 regular season schedule on Jan. 13th at TD Garden.

    Trent Frederic (upper body) remained out of the lineup for Boston, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made several changes to his lines with Craig Smith and Curtis Lazar returning to action.

    Smith took to the third line right wing with Jake DeBrusk at left wing and Erik Haula at center, while Lazar was inserted on the fourth line right wing with Anton Blidh to the left of Tomáš Nosek.

    On defense, Mike Reilly was back after serving as a healthy scratch in Boston’s, 5-2, victory over the Montréal Canadiens last Sunday.

    Reilly suited up on the left side of the third defensive pairing with Jakub Zboril as his partner and Connor Clifton joining Karson Kuhlman in the press box on the short list of healthy scratches for the Bruins.

    Oskar Steen was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Monday.

    Taylor Hall tripped up Claude Giroux to present the Flyers with their first power play of the night at 4:36 of the first period, but Philadelphia wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Midway through the opening frame, Giroux tripped Brandon Carlo and presented Boston with their first power play opportunity of the evening at 10:19.

    The Bruins even had a 5-on-3 advantage for 12 seconds when Justin Braun tripped David Pastrnak at 12:07, but the B’s couldn’t muster anything on either power play.

    Late in the period, Lazar went deep on a forecheck and ensured that a puck chipped in from Matt Grzelcyk would find its way onto another Bruins skater’s stick.

    Blidh sent a quick pass to Nosek from the trapezoid to the slot where Nosek (2) elevated a backhand shot under the bar from close range to give Boston the first lead of the night, 1-0, at 18:25 of the first period.

    Blidh (2) and Lazar (3) tallied the assists on Nosek’s goal.

    Entering the first intermission, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and outshot the Flyers, 21-8.

    The B’s also held the advantage in takeaways (3-2) and hits (9-7), while Philly led in blocked shots (3-1), giveaways (4-2) and faceoff win percentage (60-40).

    Philadelphia was 0/1 on the power play, while Boston was 0/2 on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    It didn’t take the Bruins long to extend their lead to two-goals as Forbort (3) sent a blast from the point that may have tipped off of Braun’s stick and floated over Jones’ blocker side to make it, 2-0, 30 seconds into the second period.

    Brad Marchand (12) and Pastrnak (10) recorded the assists on Forbort’s first goal of the night.

    Less than a minute later, however, Boston gave up a goal as Cam Atkinson won a race to a loose puck in the trapezoid and bounced a shot off of Ullmark before Derick Brassard (3) scooped up the rebound goal while crashing the net– cutting Boston’s lead in half.

    Atkinson (3) and Rasmus Ristolainen (4) had the assists on the goal and the Flyers trailed, 2-1, at 1:22 of the second period.

    About a couple minutes later, Forbort tripped Joel Farabee and was sent to the penalty box at 3:42, but Philadelphia wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Marchand cut a rut to the sin bin after a post-whistle scrum resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction at 8:30.

    It didn’t take the Flyers long to convert on the power play as Brassard (4) received a pass that deflected off of Lazar’s stick and buried a catch and release goal– tying the game, 2-2, in the process.

    Giroux (8) and Ivan Provorov (4) tabbed the assists on Brassard’s power-play goal at 9:25 of the second period.

    About a minute later, Charlie McAvoy took exception to Farabee’s aggressive play and the two exchanged fisticuffs– yielding five-minute majors for fighting at 10:32, as a result.

    Late in the period, Smith setup Forbort (4) for a snap shot over Jones’ glove and under the bar to put Boston ahead, 3-2, on what became the eventual game-winning goal.

    Smith (1) and DeBrusk (2) had the assists on Forbort’s second goal of the game as the Bruins defender doubled his career-high goals in a season (four) in just his 14th game with Boston at 16:27 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the B’s led, 3-2, on the scoreboard and dominated shots on goal, 34-19, including a, 13-11, advantage in the second period alone.

    Boston led in blocked shots (8-5), takeaways (5-4), hits (25-18) and faceoff win% (55-45), while both teams had five giveaways each after two periods.

    Philadelphia was 1/3 on the power play, while the Bruins remained 0/2 on the skater advantage entering the final frame.

    Early in the final frame, Haula fed Smith with a lead pass into the zone before Smith (1) beat Jones on the short side to give Boston another two-goal lead.

    Haula (2) and DeBrusk (3) tallied the assists on Smith’s first goal of the season and the Bruins led, 4-2, at 1:28 of the third period.

    Oskar Lindblom was sent to the sin bin for hooking at 4:11, but Boston’s power play didn’t last long as Patrice Bergeron cut a rut in Lindblom’s wake with a hooking infraction of his own at 4:29.

    After a span of 1:42 at 4-on-4, the Flyers had an abbreviated power play, but couldn’t muster anything past Ullmark.

    Carlo went to the box for tripping Brassard at 11:54 and Philadelphia was set to begin a power play on an offensive zone faceoff– except Brassard got thrown out before the draw, so Giroux glided in to take the faceoff against Bergeron, but then the resulting redo was botched.

    Bergeron might have accidentally nudged the linesman, but officials on the ice determined it was Giroux– for some unexplained reason– that had committed a faceoff violation and (seeing as it was Philadelphia’s second violation on the same faceoff) resulted in an automatic bench minor for delay of game.

    Giroux protested to no avail as Zack MacEwen skated to the box at 11:54– negating Philly’s power play for 4-on-4 action instead.

    Less than a minute later, Pastrnak sent a pass back to Zboril in the attacking zone whereby Zboril was patient with the puck before giving it back to his fellow Czechia native.

    Pastrnak (5) then held the rubber biscuit while cutting through the slot before wrapping the puck high behind Jones’ glove into the open twine.

    Zboril (2) and Charlie Coyle (4) were credited with the assists as the Bruins took a, 5-2, lead at 12:47 of the third period.

    Finally, in the last entry on the event sheet for the night, Forbort hooked MacEwen and was assessed a minor infraction at 14:20, but the Flyers couldn’t score on the resulting power play.

    At the final horn, Boston had won, 5-2, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 44-31, despite trailing Philadelphia, 12-10, in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Bruins exited the building leading in blocked shots (9-8), giveaways (7-5), hits (33-29) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    The Flyers finished the night 1/5 on the power play, while the B’s left Wells Fargo Center 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    Boston improved to 7-3-0 (3-2-0 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 7-0-0 (3-0-0 on the road) when leading after the first period and 6-1-0 (3-0-0 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    Philadelphia, meanwhile, dropped to 2-5-1 (1-3-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 1-3-1 (1-2-0 at home) when trailing after one period and 1-4-2 (0-2-1 on home ice) when trailing after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins return home on Sunday to host the Calgary Flames before hitting the road to face the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center next Wednesday (Nov. 24th) prior to closing out November with a three-game homestand including next Friday’s (Nov. 26th) matinee matchup with the New York Rangers– which will air nationally on ABC at 1 p.m. ET as part of the 2021 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown.

  • Bruins’ best home winning streak to start a season in 30 years ends

    Bruins’ best home winning streak to start a season in 30 years ends

    The Edmonton Oilers scored three unanswered goals in the third period to rout the Boston Bruins, 5-3, at TD Garden on Thursday night.

    Leon Draisaitl scored the game-tying and game-winning goals before Cody Ceci added an insurance marker for good measure, while Mikko Koskinen (8-1-0, 2.59 goals-against average, .918 save percentage in nine games played) made 26 saves on 29 shots against in the win for the Oilers.

    Bruins goaltender, Linus Ullmark (3-3-0, 3.01 goals-against average, .903 save percentage in six games played) turned aside 23 out of 28 shots faced in the loss.

    Boston fell to 6-5-0 (12 points) overall and stuck in 5th place in the Atlantic Division, while Edmonton remained atop the Pacific Division with a 10-2-0 record and 20 points on the season.

    Nick Foligno and Anton Blidh returned from their upper-body injuries that kept Foligno out for the last eight games and Blidh out for the last seven games, respectively.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, inserted Foligno on the second line right wing slot– bumping Craig Smith down to the third line with Jack Studnicka having been reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) for a little seasoning.

    Blidh, meanwhile, was slotted into the fourth line left wing role in place of Trent Frederic (upper body) who missed Thursday’s action as a result of an injury sustained in Tuesday night’s, 3-2, win against the Ottawa Senators.

    Jakub Zboril and Karson Kuhlman served as Boston’s healthy scratches against the Oilers.

    Prior to puck drop, the Bruins honored Colby Cave (1994-2020) with a tribute video and a moment of silence before Emily Cave dropped the ceremonial first puck and administered long hugs for each team’s captain before hugging a few more Oilers players and the entire Bruins bench.

    About a minute into Thursday night’s action, Draisaitl tripped Brad Marchand and presented the Bruins with the first power play opportunity of the game at 1:02 of the first period.

    Boston didn’t convert on the skater advantage, however, but took advantage of the vulnerable minute after as Patrice Bergeron sent a tape-to-tape pass to David Pastrnak, leading Pastrnak (4) into the attacking zone with Oilers defender, Duncan Keith, trailing before firing a shot from the dot through Koskinen’s five-hole to put the Bruins ahead, 1-0.

    Bergeorn (5) had the only assist on Pastrnak’s goal at 4:45 of the first period.

    The lead didn’t last long for the B’s as Evan Bouchard (2) snuck in from the point and wired a shot from the slot over Ullmark’s glove, off the bar and in– tying the game, 1-1, in the process 44 seconds after Pastrnak scored for Boston.

    Draisaitl (14) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (15) tallied the assists on Bouchard’s goal at 5:29 of the first period.

    Midway through the period, Connor Clifton sent an errant puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game infraction while trying to clear his own zone at 10:50.

    Edmonton did not score on the ensuing power play, however.

    Late in the period, Slater Koekkoek cut a rut to the sin bin for holding, but Boston couldn’t muster anything on the skater advantage at 17:30.

    Heading into the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, while the Oilers led in shots on goal, 9-7.

    Edmonton also held the advantage in takeaways (4-2), while Boston led in blocked shots (4-1), hits (19-9) and faceoff win percentage (73-27). Both teams had three giveaways each.

    The Oilers were 0/1 and the Bruins were 0/2 on the power play after one period.

    Pastrnak protected the puck in the attacking zone early in the middle period before sending an attempted pass for Bergeron through the slot, but the play was broken up by Bouchard before bouncing to Marchand (6), who promptly pounced on the loose puck and scored from the low slot.

    Bergeron (6) and Pastrnak (6) tallied the assists on Marchand’s goal and the Bruins led, 2-1, at 5:06 of the second period.

    The goal moved Marchand (731) into sole possession of the eighth-most points scored in a Bruins uniform, surpassing David Krejci (730) in the process.

    Wayne Cashman (793 points with Boston) is seventh on the list ahead of Marchand.

    Just like they did in the first period, though, the Oilers found a way to score within a minute after the Bruins pulled ahead– only this time Edmonton did it 24 seconds after Marchand’s goal as Zach Hyman (8) received a pass from Connor McDavid, skated past three Bruins players and scored on a quick flip to tie the game.

    McDavid (15) had the only assist as Edmonton tied it, 2-2, at 5:30 of the second period.

    A few minutes later, Koekkoek went back to the box– this time for tripping Marchand– at 8:42, but the B’s didn’t score on the resulting power play.

    Late in the middle frame, Bergeron won an offensive zone faceoff and sent the puck back to Matt Grzelcyk at the point.

    Grzelcyk sent a “D-to-D” pass along the blue line to Brandon Carlo (1), who rocketed a slap shot off of Koskinen’s glove and into the twine to give the Bruins a, 3-2, lead at 17:14.

    Grzelcyk (2) and Bergeron (6) were credited with the assists on Carlo’s first goal of the season.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the B’s led, 3-2, on the scoreboard and, 18-16, in shots on goal, including an, 11-7, advantage in the second period alone.

    Boston also maintained the advantage in blocked shots (5-4), hits (27-25) and faceoff win% (67-33), while the Oilers led in giveaways (6-4). Both teams had four takeaways each.

    Edmonton was still 0/1 on the power play, while the Bruins were 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    Marchand held Darnell Nurse and was sent to the box at 1:28 of the third period as a result, but the Oilers couldn’t convert on the ensuing power play.

    Moments later, Edmonton started to capitalize on a shift in momentum, plus quite a few defensive lapses in Bruins players’ judgment.

    Carlo lost the rubber biscuit while second-guessing a pass to his defensive partner– softly giving the puck away to Draisaitl (11) instead for an unassisted goal from close range as No. 29 in an Oilers road jersey buried a shot past Ullmark’s glove with a blast.

    Draisaitl’s first goal of the game tied things up, 3-3, at 6:22 of the third period.

    About a few minutes later, Edmonton won an attacking zone faceoff back to the point where Keith tossed the puck to Ceci as he crept in before sending a shot pass for Draisaitl (12) to redirect from the slot to give the Oilers their first lead of the night, 4-3, at 9:26 of the third period.

    Ceci (2) and Keith (3) had the assists as Edmonton tied the game and took the lead in a span of 3:04.

    In the closing minutes of Thursday night’s action, Ullmark sent the puck along the boards up to Clifton around the goal line, whereby Clifton promptly banked it inadvertently off of Bouchard, resulting in a mad scramble in front of Boston’s own net.

    Though Ullmark made the initial save, a rebound that no Bruin could settle on their stick and clear the zone led to Ceci (1) waltzing in with an easy shot from the point at a mostly empty net to cement Edmonton’s victory with a, 5-3, lead.

    Ceci’s goal was unassisted at 17:41 of the third period.

    With less than two minute remaining in the action, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker, but it was all for naught as the final horn sounded– signaling a, 5-3, win for the Oilers, despite Boston finishing the night leading in shots on goal, 29-28.

    Edmonton held the advantage in shots on net in the third period alone, 12-11, and exited the building leading in blocked shots (8-7), while the Bruins wrapped up Thursday night’s action leading in giveaways (9-8), hits (34-30) and faceoff win% (67-33).

    The Oilers finished the night 0/2 on the power play, while Boston went 0/3 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s fell to 5-3-0 (4-1-0 at home) when scoring the game’s first goal, 0-3-0 (0-1-0 at home) when tied after the first period and 4-1-0 (3-1-0 at home) when leading after two periods this season.

    Edmonton, meanwhile, improved to 4-2-0 (2-1-0 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 4-0-0 (2-0-0 on the road) when tied after one and 3-1-0 (1-1-0 on the road) when trailing after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins travel to Prudential Center for a Saturday matinee road game against the New Jersey Devils before returning home to host the Montréal Canadiens on Sunday for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Boston then has five days off before their next road game in Philadelphia on Nov. 20th.

  • Bruins lose first game in Toronto in almost two years

    Bruins lose first game in Toronto in almost two years

    John Tavares and Auston Matthews each had a pair of goals in the Toronto Maple Leafs’, 5-2, victory over the Boston Bruins Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.

    Saturday night marked Boston’s return to Canada in the regular season for the first time since the 2019-20 season due to the temporary realignment for the entire 2020-21 regular season in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    Jack Campbell (6-2-1, 1.88 goals-against average, .936 save percentage in 10 games played) made 42 saves on 44 shots against in the win for the Leafs.

    Meanwhile, Linus Ullmark (3-2-0, 2.60 goals-against average, .918 save percentage in five games played) stopped 31 out of 35 shots faced in the loss.

    The Bruins dropped to 5-4-0 (10 points) on the season and fell to 6th place in the Atlantic Division, while Toronto improved to 7-4-1 (15 points) overall and in command of 2nd place in the Atlantic.

    Prior to Saturday night’s matchup, it had been 722 day since the B’s beat the Leafs, 4-2, in Toronto on Nov. 15, 2019.

    Once again, Nick Foligno (upper body), Anton Blidh (upper body), Jack Studnicka and Jakub Zboril were out of the lineup for Boston, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lineup after Thursday night’s, 5-1, victory against the Detroit Red Wings.

    A few minutes into the action, a mad scramble in front of Boston’s own net led to a great scoring chance for Morgan Rielly, whereby the Leafs defender sent a shot at a mostly open net as Ullmark dove across the crease in desperation, but Patrice Bergeron stood tall behind his goaltender and blocked the rubber biscuit from entering the open twine.

    Bergeron may be in search of his fifth Frank J. Selke Trophy in his career, but he also might have just made the save of the season and could receive a vote or two towards the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in 2021-22.

    Moments later, Connor Clifton was penalized for roughing and yielded the night’s first power play to the Toronto at 5:18 of the first period.

    The B’s made the kill on the ensuing infraction, however.

    Maple Leafs defender, Jake Muzzin, knocked his own net off its moorings and received a delay of game minor at 8:23, presenting the Bruins with their first power play of the night.

    It didn’t take Boston long to win the ensuing offensive zone faceoff, work the puck around the attacking zone from Brad Marchand to Bergeron for a one-timer that Taylor Hall (3) tipped past Campbell from point blank without any pressure in front of the net.

    Bergeron (4) and Marchand (9) tallied the assists on Hall’s power-play goal as the Bruins pulled ahead, 1-0, at 8:37 of the first period.

    Almost four minutes later, however, Tavares (5) inadvertently redirected a shot with his leg past Ullmark that Mitchell Marner originally fired towards the net– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Marner (7) and Rielly (7) had the assists on the goal, which had briefly been reviewed before being upheld as the officials checked to make sure there was a legitimate scoring chance imminent as Bergeron bumped into Tavares, thereby knocking the net off of its pegs immediately prior to the goal at 12:21.

    After one period of action in Toronto, the scoreboard was even, 1-1, despite the Bruins leading in shots on goal, 13-9.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (6-2), takeaways (3-1) and giveaways (3-1), while both teams managed to have 10 hits each and split the faceoff winning percentage, 50-50, in the first period.

    The Maple Leafs were 0/1 and the Bruins were 1/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

    Leafs head coach, Sheldon Keefe, couldn’t have been too pleased early in the middle frame when his skaters botched a line change and had one too many on the ice– resulting in a bench minor for too many men 40 seconds into the second period.

    This time, however, Boston’s power play was unsuccessful.

    Moments later, David Pastrnak was assessed a minor for boarding as he collided with T.J. Brodie awkwardly along the boards and presented Toronto with a skater advantage at 7:34 of the second period.

    The Leafs did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Matt Grzelcyk caught Marner with a high stick and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result at 14:35.

    Toronto made quick work of the ensuing power play as Marner worked a zone entry to Tavares, who sent the puck back to Marner off of Bruins defender Derek Forbort’s stick.

    While continuing to approach the slot, Marner sent a quick pass to Matthews for the shot off of Ullmark’s pad that rebounded right back to Matthews (4), who promptly pocketed the rubber biscuit in the twine under the bar to give Toronto a, 2-1, lead.

    Marner (8) had the only assist on Matthews’ first goal of the night at 14:59 of the second period.

    Minutes later, Marchand gave Timothy Liljegren a quick stick to the face, yielding an infraction for high sticking as a result and giving the Maple Leafs another chance on the power play at 18:03.

    Once more, Matthews (5) made Boston pay with a power-play goal on a one-timer from the faceoff dot off of Ullmark’s glove and into the back of the net.

    Rielly (8) and Marner (9) tabbed the assists on Matthews’ second goal of the night and the Leafs led, 3-1, at 18:54 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the Maple Leafs led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and in shots on goal, 27-21, including an, 18-8, advantage in the second period alone.

    Toronto also held the advantage in takeaways (5-4) and faceoff win% (55-45), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (12-5), giveaways (12-4) and hits (20-16).

    The Maple Leafs were 2/4 on the power play, while the Bruins were 1/2 on the skater advantage after two periods.

    Tavares hooked Pastrnak 32 seconds into the third period, but the Bruins were not successful on the ensuing power play.

    Instead, shortly after emerging from the penalty box, Tavares (6) slipped a rebound under Ullmark to give Toronto a, 4-1, lead at 2:53 of the third period.

    William Nylander (5) and Rasmus Sandin (4) had the assists on Tavares’ second goal of the game.

    Almost midway through the final frame, Pastrnak (3) rocketed a one-timer through Campbell’s six-hole after Marchand entered the zone, cut in and fed Pastrnak for the goal.

    Marchand (10) had the only assist on Pastrnak’s goal and the Bruins trailed, 4-2, at 8:29 of the third period.

    Michael Bunting tripped Clifton at 15:44, but Boston couldn’t take advantage of the resulting skater advantage.

    With 1:43 remaining in the game, Cassidy pulled his netminder for an extra attacker, but things did not go as he planned as Marner (3) quickly pocketed an empty net goal to extend Toronto’s lead to three-goals once again.

    Tavares (6) and Alexander Kerfoot (4) tallied the assists on Marner’s empty net goal at 19:17 of the third period and at the final horn the Leafs had won, 5-2.

    The Maple Leafs finished Saturday night’s action leading in blocked shots (16-13), as well as in faceoff win% (51-49), while the B’s exited Scotiabank Arena with the advantage in shots on goal (44-36), including a, 23-9, advantage in the third period alone.

    Boston also wrapped the night up leading in giveaways (15-11) and hits (32-22).

    Toronto went 2/4 and Boston went 1/4 on the power play in Saturday night’s, 5-2, win for the Maple Leafs.

    The B’s fell to 5-2-0 (1-2-0 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 0-2-0 (0-2-0 on the road) when tied after one period and 0-3-0 (0-3-0 on the road) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, rose to 4-3-1 (3-1-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 2-2-0 (2-1-0 at home) when tied after the first period and 4-0-0 (4-0-0 at home) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins return to TD Garden for a two-game homestand next Tuesday and Thursday against the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers, respectively, prior to going to New Jersey next Saturday for a road game against the Devils.

    Boston hosts the Montréal Canadiens for the first time since the 2019-20 season on Nov. 14th.

  • Bergeron scores four in, 5-1, win against Red Wings

    Bergeron scores four in, 5-1, win against Red Wings

    Patrice Bergeron recorded his first career natural hat trick and second career four-goal game in Thursday night’s, 5-1, victory for the Boston Bruins over the Detroit Red Wings.

    Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (2-2-0, 2.28 goals-against average, .900 save percentage in four games played) made 14 saves on 15 shots against in the win and improved to 6-0-0 on home ice at TD Garden.

    Meanwhile, Red Wings netminder, Thomas Greiss (3-3-0, 3.45 goals-against average, .897 save percentage in six games played) stopped 32 out of 37 shots faced in the loss.

    Boston improved to 5-3-0 (10 points) on the season and moved ahead of Detroit for 5th place in the Atlantic Division standings.

    Though the Red Wings are 4-5-2 (10 points) overall, the Bruins lead in their tiebreaker for 5th by virtue of having amassed more points in fewer games played (the B’s have 10 points through eight games, while Detroit has 10 points in 11 games thus far).

    Boston is now 1-0-0 against Detroit this season, having most recently gone 1-2-0 in their season series in 2019-20 (the two teams did not play each other last season due to the temporarily realigned divisions in light of the ongoing pandemic).

    The Bruins were once again without Nick Foligno (upper body) and Anton Blidh (upper body) on Thursday, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lineup– rendering Jack Studnicka and Jakub Zboril as healthy scratches as Oskar Steen was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Oct. 30th.

    Thursday night’s win also marked the 199th career victory behind the bench as Boston’s head coach for Cassidy.

    Prior to puck drop, the Bruins held a moment of silence for former Boston Red Sox All Star second baseman and NESN color commentator for 33 years, Jerry Remy, 68, who died on Oct. 30th after a long, courageous, battle with cancer.

    Erik Haula tripped up Joe Veleno and yielded the night’s first power play to Detroit at 2:55 of the first period, but the Red Wings couldn’t muster anything on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Midway through the opening frame, Vladislav Namestnikov tried to check someone near the benches while making his way back to Detroit’s bench without a helmet, resulting in a minor penalty for playing without a helmet at 10:58.

    It didn’t take Boston long to capitalize on their first power play of the night as Charlie McAvoy worked the puck to Brad Marchand before Marchand setup Bergeron (1) for the power-play goal from his usual spot in the bumper on the skater advantage at 11:03.

    Marchand (5) and McAvoy (3) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s first goal of the season and the Bruins took a, 1-0, lead.

    Late in the period, Nick Leddy tripped McAvoy and was assessed a minor infraction at 16:14, but the Red Wings penalty kill managed to go unscathed as Leddy returned from the box without issue.

    Heading into the first intermission, the B’s led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, and, 11-3, in shots on goal.

    Detroit held the advantage in blocked shots (4-1), takeaways (6-2) and giveaways (6-2), while Boston dominated in hits (14-8) and faceoff win percentage (71-29) after 20 minutes of action.

    The Red Wings were 0/1 and the Bruins were 1/2 heading into the middle frame.

    Tyler Bertuzzi took down McAvoy without the puck and was assessed an interference minor at 9:39 of the second period.

    Once more, the Bruins would score on the ensuing advantage as Marchand teed up Bergeron (2) from the trapezoid to the slot for a catch and release goal to put Boston ahead, 2-0.

    Marchand (6) had the only assist– tying Terry O’Reilly for the ninth-most assists in a Bruins uniform in franchise history (402) in the process– on Bergeron’s second power-play goal of the night at 10:52 of the second period.

    Several minutes later, Moritz Seider was sent to the box for holding and presented Boston with another power play at 17:48.

    Once again, Bergeron (3) scored a power-play goal– his third of the night, capping off a natural hat trick in the process– to give the Bruins a, 3-0, lead at 18:45.

    Marchand (7) and McAvoy (4) tabbed the assists on Bergeron’s hat trick goal– marking the Bruins captain’s first hat trick since April 6, 2021 (4-2 win at Philadelphia) and giving Marchand his third assist of the night in the process, surpassing O’Reilly for sole possession of the ninth-most assists in a Bruins uniform with 403 assists in his career to O’Reilly’s 402.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the B’s led, 3-0, on the scoreboard as well as, 26-9, in shots on goal– including a, 15-6, advantage in the second period alone.

    Detroit maintained the advantage in blocked shots (8-5), takeaways (10-4) and giveaways (7-4), while Boston led in hits (19-18) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    The Red Wings were 0/1 and the Bruins were 3/4 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    In his 100th career NHL game, Connor Clifton had a plus-1 rating, one shot on goal, two hits and two penalty minutes as a result of his tripping minor 24 seconds into the third period on Thursday.

    The Bruins managed to kill off Clifton’s infraction, however.

    Later on in the third, David Pastrnak caught Robby Fabbri with a high stick and was assessed a minor penalty as a result at 6:08 of the third period, presenting the Red Wings with their second power play of the evening.

    Detroit earned a 5-on-3 advantage shortly thereafter when Bergeron tripped Filip Hronek at 6:59.

    As a result of the resulting two-skater advantage, Red Wings head coach, Jeff Blashill, used his timeout to draw up a plan to get his team back in the game.

    Boston’s penalty killing unit was severely hampered by the fact that Bergeron was in the box– limiting their strength at winning the ensuing defensive zone faceoff on the penalty kill.

    Detroit played around with the puck in the attacking zone for less than a minute before whipping the rubber biscuit along the blue line from Seider to Hronek before setting up Lucas Raymond (5) for a one-timer goal from the faceoff dot unopposed.

    Hronek (3) and Seider (9) notched the assists on Raymond’s power-play goal as the Red Wings trailed, 3-1, at 7:46 of the third period.

    It didn’t take long for Boston to respond, however.

    24 seconds after giving up a power-play goal against, the Bruins scored a shorthanded goal when Curtis Lazar streaked from one end to the attacking zone on a breakaway before Mike Reilly (1) pounced on the rebound for his first goal as a Bruin– as well as his first goal since Jan. 28, 2020, when he helped contribute to a, 5-2, victory for the Ottawa Senators in Buffalo.

    Lazar (2) and Tomáš Nosek (2) had the assists on Reilly’s goal as the Bruins regained a three-goal lead, 4-1, at 8:10 of the third period.

    It was also Boston’s first shorthanded goal this season.

    Midway through the final frame, Veleno cleared the puck over the glass and received an automatic delay of game penalty at 10:34, but the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on the ensuing advantage.

    In fact, less than a couple minutes later, Hronek and Matt Grzelcyk entered the box together for their respective teams after a scrum ensued after Swayman froze the puck, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct minor for Hronek and a roughing penalty for Grzelcyk at 12:14 of the third period.

    Boston’s skater advantage was unchanged as a result and the Red Wings managed to kill off the remainder of Veleno’s infraction.

    Finally, in the dying minutes of the third period, Reilly entered the attacking zone on a rush and dropped a quick pass back to Marchand before Marchand wired a pass across the ice to Bergeron (4) for a shot that squibbed through Greiss to make it, 5-1, Boston at 15:52.

    Bergeron, in the process, scored his fourth goal of the night, while Marchand (8) and Reilly (2) were credited with the assists.

    It was the 26th time in franchise history that a player scored four goals in a game, as well as the first time since Pastrnak notched four against the Anaheim Ducks in a, 4-2, victory on Oct. 14, 2019.

    It was also Bergeron’s first four-goal game (the second of his career) since he scored four goals in a, 7-1, win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 6, 2018.

    Marchand, meanwhile, finished the night with four assists (all primary assists) on Bergeron’s goals– trailing Rick Middleton (496) by 92 assists for the eighth-most assists in Bruins franchise history.

    At the final horn, Boston had won, 5-1, and wrapped things up leading in shots on goal, 37-15, including an, 11-6, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Bruins exited their own arena leading in blocked shots (11-10), as well as faceoff win% (59-41), while the Red Wings finished Thursday night’s action leading in giveaways (7-5) and hits (25-24).

    Detroit went 1/4 on the power play, while Boston went 3/5 on the skater advantage en route to the victory.

    The B’s improved to 5-1-0 (4-0-0 at home) when scoring the game’s first goal, 5-0-0 (4-0-0 at home) when leading after the first period and 3-0-0 (2-0-0 at home) when leading after two periods this season.

    Meanwhile, the Red Wings fell to 1-4-1 (1-3-0 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 1-5-1 (1-4-0 on the road) when trailing after one period and 1-5-1 (1-4-0 on the road) when trailing after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins venture up to Canada for the first time since the 2019-20 season due to the ongoing global pandemic and take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday before returning home for a quick, two-game, homestand next week against the Ottawa Senators next Tuesday and Edmonton Oilers next Thursday.

  • Coyle helps Bruins beat Panthers, 3-2, in shootout

    Coyle helps Bruins beat Panthers, 3-2, in shootout

    The Boston Bruins scored first, scored last and scored the only shootout goal in their, 3-2, shootout victory over the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on Saturday.

    Charlie Coyle notched the only tally in the shootout, while Linus Ullmark (3-1-0, 2.23 goals-against average, .927 save percentage in four games played) made 33 saves on 35 shots against in the win for Boston.

    Florida netminder, Spencer Knight (2-0-1, 1.96 goals-against average, .929 save percentage in three games played) stopped 31 out of 33 shots faced in the shootout loss– snapping the Panthers’ winning streak at eight games.

    The Bruins improved to 4-3-0 (eight points) on the season and in command of 6th place in the Atlantic Division, while Florida fell to 8-0-1 (17 points), but remained in command of 1st place the Atlantic.

    Nick Foligno (upper body) and Anton Blidh (upper body) remained out of the lineup for Boston, while Craig Smith returned to action after missing the last three games with an undisclosed injury.

    With Smith back into the fold, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy started the night reuniting Coyle with his familiar wingers, Taylor Hall and Smith on the second line.

    Midway through the first period, however, Smith was promoted to the first line alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, while David Pastrnak took over Smith’s usual role on the second line.

    Erik Haula centered the third line with Jake DeBrusk on his left wing and Curtis Lazar on his right wing, while Tomáš Nosek controlled the fourth line with Trent Frederic and Karson Kuhlman on his wings.

    Derek Forbort started the night on the first defensive pairing with Charlie McAvoy, while Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo rounded out the top-four defenders.

    Connor Clifton rejoined the lineup on the third pairing with Mike Reilly after Jakub Zboril took Clifton’s spot in Thursday night’s, 3-0, loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.

    Jack Studnicka joined Oskar Steen and Zboril as Boston’s shot list of healthy scratches with Foligno and Blidh out due to injury.

    Prior to the game, both teams wore special warmup jerseys to honor Jimmy Hayes, who tragically died on Aug. 23rd at the age of 31. Hayes played for both the Panthers and Bruins in his career and was also honored with a tribute video by the Bruins and a moment of silence prior to the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” as traditionally performed by Todd Angilly.

    Florida wore jerseys that were all No. 12 and read “Broadway” on the nameplate, while Boston wore their own jerseys with “Hayesy” in place of the regular player names.

    Both sets of warmup jerseys are being auctioned with proceeds benefiting a charity chosen by the Hayes family, as well as both teams.

    Bid on Bruins warmup jerseys from Saturday night or Panthers warmup jerseys at the respective teams’ site.

    An oddity occurred at puck drop, when the Bruins had four skaters with letters on the front of their jersey denoting captain and alternate captain status.

    Bergeron had his usual “C” as Boston’s captain, while Marchand, McAvoy and Carlo each had an “A” as the team’s alternate captains.

    In accordance with the National Hockey League rulebook, you can only have three alternates in a game where your captain is not present (or you don’t have one altogether), so the “A” on McAvoy’s sweater became the sacrificial lamb for the night during the first intermission.

    It was a simple mistake (but fun if you notice the little nuances of the game) and ultimately costs the team nothing when it happens. Well, except for the unstitching part.

    Carry on.

    Late in the opening frame, Brandon Montour caught Smith away from the puck and received an interference minor at 15:33 of the first period.

    Boston’s first power play, however, couldn’t get anything going, but generated enough momentum to dominate the attacking zone in the minutes leading up to the first intermission.

    As a result of Lazar’s effort to keep the puck in the zone before heading off the ice to complete a line change, Hall setup Coyle (3) for a snap shot over Knight’s glove from the dot to give the Bruins the, 1-0, lead at 19:18 of the first period.

    Hall (2) and Lazar (1) tallied the assists on the goal, which gave Hall his 600th career NHL point as a result of the primary assist.

    After 20 minutes of action Saturday night, the B’s led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and led in shots on goal, 14-13.

    Florida held the advantage in blocked shots (6-3) and hits (11-10), while Boston led in takeaways (4-2), as well as faceoff win percentage (58-42).

    Each team had three giveaways aside, while only the Bruins had seen any time on the skater advantage heading into the dressing room for the first intermission and were 0/1 prior to the middle frame.

    Less than a minute into the second period, Anthony Duclair (6) tied it, 1-1, on a pump fake while crashing the net before roofing the puck over Ullmark’s glove and under the bar.

    Carter Verhaeghe (3) and Aaron Ekblad (5) recorded the assists on Duclair’s goal as the Panthers evened things up 47 seconds into the second period.

    Midway through the middle frame, Verhaeghe hooked DeBrusk and was sent to the penalty box at 12:37 as a result, but once more Boston’s power play was powerless as Florida killed off Verhaeghe’s minor.

    Entering the second intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, while the Panthers were outshooting the Bruins, 28-24, including a, 15-10, advantage in the second period alone for Florida.

    The B’s maintained the advantage in takeaways (6-5), hits (21-18) and faceoff win% (64-36), while the Panthers led in blocked shots (11-6) and giveaways (6-5) through 40 minutes of play.

    Once more, the Panthers had yet to see any time on the power play through two periods, while Boston was 0/2 on the skater advantage.

    Midway through the final frame, Coyle tripped Owen Tippett and presented Florida with their first power play of the night at 7:43 of the third period.

    It didn’t take the Panthers long to capitalize on the ensuing 5-on-4 advantage as Florida won the offensive zone faceoff back to the point where Ekblad quickly worked the puck to Jonathan Huberdeau before finding Aleksander Barkov (5) for the catch and release goal while Ullmark was behind the play.

    Huberdeau (8) and Ekblad (6) tallied the assists on Barkov’s power-play goal and the Panthers led for the first time of the night, 2-1, at 7:49.

    Moments later, Verhaeghe went back to the box– this time for hooking Smith at 13:17 of the third period– and Boston’s power play finally converted on the ensuing opportunity.

    McAvoy (1) snuck in from the point to the slot to receive a tape-to-tape pass from Marchand before sending the puck into the twine on a catch and release goal of his own to tie the game, 2-2, at 13:35.

    Marchand (4) and Hall (3) had the assists– giving Marchand his 400th career assist in the process and becoming the 10th player in Bruins franchise history to notch at least 400 helpers with Boston.

    The 33-year-old winger is now two assists away from tying Terry O’Reilly (402) for the 9th-most in franchise history.

    At the horn, 60 minutes of regulation was not enough for the Bruins and Panthers, who were tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard, despite Florida leading in shots on goal, 35-32, while Boston rallied to an, 8-7, advantage in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Panthers held the advantage in blocked shots (13-9), while the B’s led in takeaways (10-8), hits (28-25) and faceoff win% (61-39). Both teams had seven giveaways each after three periods of play.

    With no penalties having been called in overtime, Florida finished 1/1 on the power play, while Boston went 1/3 on the skater advantage Saturday night.

    Cassidy sent out Bergeron, Marchand and McAvoy to start overtime, while Panthers interim head coach, Andrew Brunette, countered with Barkov, Huberdeau and Ekblad.

    Overtime brought quite a few trips up and down the ice for both teams, but only resulted in one shot on goal in the five minutes of 3-on-3 action.

    It did not go in, thus necessitating a shootout.

    After 65 minutes of action, the score remained even, with the Panthers leading in shots on goal, 35-33, despite trialing Boston, 1-0, in shots on net in overtime alone.

    Before the shootout commenced, Florida wrapped up the night leading in blocked shots (14-11) and giveaways (9-7), while the Bruins led in hits (28-25) and faceoff win% (63-37).

    The Panthers shot first in the shootout, sending out Huberdeau to kick things off in the first round of the 1-on-1 action, but Ullmark stoned him cold with the right pad.

    DeBrusk followed with a shot into Knight’s chest as the two teams were even, 0-0, through one round of the shootout.

    Brunette elected Barkov to shoot next as the Florida captain waltzed to the center ice faceoff dot, then skated towards Ullmark with tremendous stickhandling skills before firing a shot attempt wide of the net to the Bruins netminder’s right side.

    Cassidy sent Coyle out for Boston’s second shootout attempt and No. 13 in black and gold burst into the zone with speed before cooling things down to a skillful glide, going backhand then pulling the puck to his forehand for the wraparound Knight’s outstretched pad– giving Boston the go-ahead shootout goal.

    Florida’s fate in their undefeated start to the regular season rested in the hands of Tippett as the young skater made his way towards Ullmark before wiring a shot into the Bruins goaltender’s glove from the slot.

    Boston didn’t need to send out a third shooter as Ullmark had beaten Florida’s first three shots in the shootout, yielding the victory to the Bruins, 3-2, on the final scoreboard.

    The Bruins improved to 1-0 in shootouts (1-0 past regulation) this season, while the Panthers fell to 0-1 in shootouts (2-1 past regulation) in 2021-22.

    Last season, the B’s went 4-5 in overtime and 4-2 in shootouts (8-7 past regulation).

    Boston improved to 4-1-0 (3-0-0 at home) when scoring the game’s first goal, 4-0-0 (3-0-0 at home) when leading after the first period and 2-1-0 (2-0-0 at home) when tied after two periods this season.

    Florida fell to 2-0-1 (0-0-1 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 0-0-1 (0-0-1 on the road) when trailing after the first period and 2-0-1 (1-0-1 on the road) when tied after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins went 4-3-0 in the month of October and will begin November with a matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on home ice next Thursday before hitting the road to face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 6th.