Down the Frozen River

Tag: New York Rangers

  • Bruins beat Blues in overtime on the road, 3-2

    Bruins beat Blues in overtime on the road, 3-2

    For the first time since Game 6 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, the Boston Bruins paid a visit to Enterprise Center on Tuesday night and snapped the St. Louis Blues’ nine-game winning streak with a, 3-2, overtime victory on the road.

    Charlie McAvoy scored the game-winning goal for Boston less than a minute into the extra frame, while Jeremy Swayman (22-12-3, 2.33 goals-against average, .916 save percentage in 38 games played) made 20 saves on 22 shots against in the win.

    St. Louis goaltender, Ville Husso (24-6-6, 2.46 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 38 games played) stopped 32 out of 35 shots faced in the overtime loss.

    The Bruins improved to 47-24-5 (99 points) on the season and are now one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (46-22-8, 100 points) for 3rd in the Atlantic Division, while remaining 4th place in the division and in command of the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

    The Blues, meanwhile, fell to 46-20-11 (103 points) overall and dropped to 3rd in the Central Division as a result of the Minnesota Wild’s, 2-0, victory against the Montréal Canadiens Tuesday night– forcing St. Louis and Minnesota in a tiebreaker that the Wild currently hold by virtue of having played in one fewer game than the Blues so far this season (76 games to St. Louis’ 77).

    Boston finished 1-1-0 in their 2021-22 regular season series against St. Louis having previously gone 1-0-0 in their 2019-20 campaign that was cut short due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (which also prevented the two teams from meeting in the regular season in 2020-21).

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters ahead of the game that David Pastrnak (undisclosed), Hampus Lindholm (lower body) and Linus Ullmark (undisclosed) would not make the two-game road trip against the Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins and are likely to return next week prior to the conclusion of the regular season.

    As such, the B’s were without Pastrnak, Lindholm and Ullmark in addition to being short Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) on Tuesday.

    Frödén’s injury meant that Curtis Lazar would slide in on the right side of the second line with Tomáš Nosek returning to the lineup to center the fourth line.

    Cassidy made no other changes to his lineup from last Saturday’s, 2-1, victory against Pittsburgh to Tuesday night at Enterprise Center.

    Jack Studnicka, Josh Brown, Jack Ahcan and Anton Blidh made up Boston’s list of healthy scratches in St. Louis.

    Nathan Walker hooked Erik Haula and presented the Bruins with the first power play opportunity of the night at 5:40 of the first period, but Boston wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing skater advantage as it was cut short when Mike Reilly caught Brayden Schenn with a high stick at 6:49.

    The B’s fell to 0-for-26 on the power play in their last 26 opportunities as a result.

    St. Louis didn’t convert on their abbreviated skater advantage as the Bruins made the kill and Reilly returned to the ice from his sixth penalty in his last last games (four of which were, in fact, for high sticking).

    Midway through the opening frame, McAvoy hooked Ryan O’Reilly at 11:11 and presented the Blues with another power play.

    This time St. Louis made quick work of the skater advantage as Pavel Buchnevich (28) redirected a one-touch pass from Vladimir Tarasenko past Swayman to give the Blues a, 1-0, lead at 11:49 of the first period.

    Tarasenko (44) and Jordan Kyrou (43) tallied the assists on Buchnevich’s power-play goal.

    Late in the period, the two teams went into the first intermission at 4-on-4 after Ivan Barbashev and Lazar went into the box for roughing and an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction, respectively, at 19:15.

    The two clubs would resume 5-on-5 action early in the middle frame after the penalties expired.

    After one period, St. Louis led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite Boston holding an, 11-8, advantage in shots on goal.

    The Bruins also led in blocked shots (8-3), takeaways (5-3) and faceoff win percentage (57-43), while the Blues led in giveaways (5-1) and hits (12-7).

    St. Louis was 1-for-2 on the power play, while Boston was 0-for-1 on the skater advantage heading into the middle period.

    Jake DeBrusk (23) sent a shot over Husso’s short side under the crossbar and off the back bar in the net before the puck rebounded back out of the twine.

    The goal was waved off at first before a quick official review determined that the rubber biscuit had gone in and out so quickly– rendering an assist to Matt Grzelcyk (20) in the process while DeBrusk tied the game, 1-1, at 1:33 of the second period.

    Almost midway through the middle frame, Haula sent a one-hand pass back to the point where Derek Forbort got a shot off towards the slot that Taylor Hall (17) tipped from below the crossbar past Husso– giving the Bruins their first lead of the night, 2-1, in the process.

    Forbort (10) and Haula (25) notched the assists on Hall’s goal and the B’s had momentum well on their side at 9:44.

    Late in the period, however, Forbort cut a rut to the penalty box for tripping Dakota Joshua, but Boston was able to make the kill on the ensuing infraction and special teams action at 17:00 of the second period.

    In the vulnerable minute thereafter, though, the Blues managed to fling a shot at the net that Robert Thomas (19) tipped while skating through the slot to tie the game, 2-2, at 19:57.

    Buchnevich (43) and Tarasenko (45) had the assists on Thomas’ goal with 2.4 seconds left on the clock in the second period as the Bruins gave up their 19th goal against in the final minute of any period this season.

    Through 40 minutes the score was tied, 2-2, despite Boston holding a decisive advantage in shots on goal, 28-17. The Bruins even outshot the Blues, 17-9, in the second period alone.

    The B’s held the advantage in blocked shots (10-8), takeaways (11-5) and faceoff win% (63-38), while the Blue Notes led in giveaways (8-5) and hits (15-14) heading into the final frame.

    St. Louis was 1-for-3 on the power play while Boston was 0-for-1 on the skater advantage.

    Neither team scored in the third period, while only Barbashev took a penalty at 6:34 for tripping Haula.

    The Bruins fell to 0-for-27 on their last 27 power play opportunities as the skater advantage came and went by the wayside.

    After 60 minutes of regulation, Boston and St. Louis were tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard despite the Bruins holding a, 34-22, advantage in shots on goal– including a, 6-5, advantage in the third period alone.

    The B’s led in takeaways (16-11), hits (22-20) and faceoff win% (59-41), while the Blues led in giveaways (11-4) after three periods.

    Both teams had 13 blocked shots each, while St. Louis finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play and Boston went 0-for-2 on the skater advantage as no penalties were called in the extra frame.

    Cassidy sent out Charlie Coyle, DeBrusk and McAvoy to start the overtime period, while Blues head coach, Craig Berube, countered with Thomas, Tarasenko and Justin Faulk.

    It didn’t take long for the Bruins to nearly blow it, then win it.

    One Boston skater misplayed a loose puck before DeBrusk over-skated it prior to Swayman emerging from the crease to clear it off the boards in the neutral zone while facing pressure from a St. Louis forward.

    The Bruins quickly recovered from their own unforced error and entered the attacking zone on a rush with DeBrusk cutting to the trapezoid rather than shooting the puck prior to sending a pass back to McAvoy (9) as the defender crept into the high slot and snapped a shot past Husso for the game-winning goal.

    DeBrusk (15) and Coyle (26) had the assists on McAvoy’s goal 48 seconds into overtime and the Bruins won, 3-2, almost as quickly as the extra frame began.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal, 35-22, including a, 1-0, advantage in overtime alone, as well as maintaining their advantage in hits (22-20) and faceoff win% (60-40).

    St. Louis left their own ice with the lead in giveaways (11-4), while both teams managed to amass 13 blocked shots each.

    The Bruins snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Blues in the process on Tuesday night, while improving to 9-3 in overtime this season (11-5 past regulation overall in 2021-22).

    The Blues fell to 3-9 in overtime this season, as well as 5-11 past regulation overall.

    St. Louis also dropped to 27-8-6 (16-4-3 at home) when scoring first, 20-1-4 (14-0-3 at home) when leading after one and 8-4-5 (3-2-3 at home) when tied after two periods in 2021-22.

    Boston improved to 13-15-3 (6-7-2 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 6-13-2 (2-6-1 on the road) when trailing after the first period and 14-5-0 (7-4-0 on the road) when tied after the second period this season.

    The Bruins head to PPG Paints Arena for a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins Thursday night before hosting the New York Rangers Saturday afternoon at TD Garden on ABC.

    Boston heads to Montréal on Sunday before hosting Florida and Buffalo next Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, prior to their regular season finale in Toronto next Friday.

  • DTFR Podcast #246- Depth Chart Depth (feat. Sean Reilly)

    DTFR Podcast #246- Depth Chart Depth (feat. Sean Reilly)

    Sean returns to the program to talk about the Boston Bruins, a plethora of injuries around the league, Doug Wilson, the Western Conference wild card race, Mike Bossy and more including an all-new segment where Sean flips the script and asks Nick stuff.

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

  • Bruins’, 2-1, victory clinches playoff berth for sixth-straight season

    Bruins’, 2-1, victory clinches playoff berth for sixth-straight season

    The Boston Bruins are officially heading to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs after securing a, 2-1, win against the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.

    Erik Haula’s first period goal proved to be the game-winner, while Jeremy Swayman (21-12-3, 2.34 goals-against average, .917 save percentage in 37 games played) had a quality start with 23 saves in 24 shots faced en route to the victory for Boston.

    Pittsburgh netminder, Casey DeSmith (8-5-5, 2.89 goals-against average, .907 save percentage in 22 games played) turned aside 27 out of 29 shots against in the loss.

    The Penguins were without their usual starting goaltender, Tristan Jarry– who is out week-to-week with a lower body injury– and center, Evgeni Malkin, who is serving a four-game suspension for cross-checking Nashville Predators defender, Mark Borowiecki, in last Sunday’s, 3-2, overtime win at PPG Paints Arena.

    Pittsburgh fell to 43-23-11 (97 points) on the season, but the Pens are still in command of 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division as they are currently five points ahead of the Washington Capitals (41-23-10, 92 points).

    The Penguins clinched a playoff spot after Thursday night’s, 6-3, win against the New York Islanders.

    Boston improved to 46-24-5 (97 points) overall and clinched their sixth-consecutive Stanley Cup playoff berth (75th overall in 98 seasons) as a result of Saturday’s win.

    The Bruins are in command of the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and trail the Toronto Maple Leafs (48-20-6, 102 points) by five points for home ice in at least the 2022 First Round, as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning (45-21-8, 98 points) by one point for a divisional playoff spot.

    Boston has played in 75 games this season, while Toronto and Tampa have each played in 74 games at the time of this writing (both teams are in action Saturday night as the Leafs visit the Ottawa Senators, while the Lightning host the Winnipeg Jets).

    The B’s improved to 1-1-0 against Pittsburgh this season with one game remaining in their regular season series Thursday night (April 21st) at PPG Paints Arena.

    Boston went 5-3-0 against the Penguins last season and 2-1-0 in 2019-20.

    The Bruins were without the services of Jakub Zboril (right ACL), David Pastrnak (undisclosed), Hampus Lindholm (lower body) and Linus Ullmark (upper body) on Saturday, while Brandon Carlo returned to action from an undisclosed injury sustained on April 12th against St. Louis.

    Bruce Cassidy made a few changes to his lineup as a result.

    The only chance among forwards involved replacing Tomáš Nosek with Trent Frederic on the third line left wing. Frederic had been a healthy scratch in Thursday night’s, 3-2, loss to the Senators.

    Nosek served as a healthy scratch Saturday as a result.

    On defense, Matt Grzelcyk suited up alongside Charlie McAvoy on the first pairing, while Mike Reilly and Carlo rounded out the top-four defenders.

    Derek Forbort participated in his 400th career NHL game on the third pairing alongside Connor Clifton.

    With Ullmark out of the lineup due to an injury, Troy Grosenick was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Friday to serve as Swayman’s backup against Pittsburgh.

    Cassidy told reporters prior to the game that Ullmark will be out until at least Monday, while Pastrnak and Lindholm skated on their own prior to the matchup with the Penguins (not in warmup).

    Jack Studnicka, Josh Brown, Jack Ahcan and Anton Blidh joined Nosek on the list of healthy scratches for the B’s on Saturday.

    Less than a minute into the opening frame, Craig Smith sent a shot off of DeSmith’s right shoulder that rebounded to the slot where Frederic (6) beat John Marino to the loose puck and collected the garbage while crashing the net to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead 49 seconds into the afternoon.

    Smith (17) had the only assist on Frederic’s goal.

    Boston extended their lead to two-goals when Haula (15) sent a pass to the slot intended for Taylor Hall, but the puck deflected off of Marcus Pettersson’s skates and into the twine instead.

    Reilly (12) had the only assist on Haula’s goal and the B’s led, 2-0, at 2:01 of the first period.

    Late in the opening frame, Mike Matheson cut a rut to the penalty box for holding at 15:30, but Boston wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing power play and fell to 0-for-24 (0-for-19 without Pastrnak) on the skater advantage in their last six games.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Bruins led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 11-6, in shots on goal.

    Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (4-1), hits (7-5) and faceoff win percentage (52-48), while Pittsburgh led in takeaways (1-0) after the first period.

    The two clubs had three giveaways each entering the middle frame, while the Bruins were 0-for-1 on the power play and the Penguins had yet to see time on the skater advantage Saturday.

    Danton Heinen (17) continued his revenge tour against Boston with a shot that fluttered and floated its way over Swayman’s glove side and into the back of the net– cutting the Bruins’ lead in half, 2-1, in the process.

    Teddy Blueger (16) and Brock McGinn (8) tallied the assists on Heinen’s goal at 5:38 of the second period as Heinen set a new career-high in goals in 71 games– surpassing his previous career-best (16 goals in 77 games) set in 2017-18 with Boston.

    Minutes later, Nick Foligno hooked Jake Guentzel and cut a rut to the sin bin at 9:33, but the Penguins were unable to convert on the ensuing power play.

    Pittsburgh’s second chance on the skater advantage went by the wayside when McAvoy tripped Sidney Crosby at 11:44 as both teams struggled to get things going on the power play.

    Through 40 minutes of action, the B’s held a, 2-1, lead on the scoreboard despite being outshot by the Pens, 9-5, in the second period alone.

    Boston held the advantage in total shots on goal, however, 16-15, and led in blocked shots (8-3), while Pittsburgh led in takeaways (2-1), giveaways (5-3), hits (9-8) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Penguins were 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Bruins were 0-for-1 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

    Crosby slashed Frederic at 4:52 of the third period and presented Boston with their final power play opportunity of the night, but the B’s failed to convert on the skater advantage– falling to 0-for-25 on the power play in their last six games as a result.

    A few minutes later, Reilly tripped Crosby at 7:09 of the third period and the Penguins went on the power play.

    Pittsburgh failed to get anything going on the advantage, however.

    With 2:06 remaining in the action, Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker.

    Despite using their timeout after a stoppage with 1:14 left in the game, the Pens couldn’t force overtime as the seconds ticked down and Curtis Lazar went for a casual skate down the length of the ice killing time and keeping the puck out of his own zone so Boston could get one last line change on the ice.

    At the final horn, the Bruins had won, 2-1, and finished the afternoon leading in shots on goal, 29-24, including a, 13-9, advantage in the third period alone.

    The B’s left their own ice leading in blocked shots (10-6), while the Penguins left TD Garden leading in giveaways (8-3), hits (12-9) and faceoff win% (55-45).

    Pittsburgh went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Boston went 0-for-2 on the skater advantage Saturday afternoon.

    For the 14th time in 16 years, the Bruins clinched a playoff berth, while the Penguins fell to 2-5-1 in their last eight games.

    The B’s improved to 34-9-2 (16-5-1 at home) when scoring first, 26-5-1 (13-3-0 at home) when leading after the first period and 29-1-3 (13-1-1 at home) when leading after the second period this season.

    Pittsburgh fell to 11-18-8 (6-9-4 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 5-10-5 (3-6-3 on the road) when trailing after one and 5-19-3 (2-9-2 on the road) when trailing after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins hit the road for a pair of games in St. Louis and Pittsburgh next Tuesday (April 19th) and Thursday (April 21st), respectively, before returning home to host the New York Rangers next Saturday (April 23rd) on ABC.

    Boston heads to Montréal on April 24th before hosting Florida (April 26th) and Buffalo (April 28th) prior to their regular season finale in Toronto on April 29th.

  • Bruins lose three in-a-row for the first time this season

    Bruins lose three in-a-row for the first time this season

    The Boston Bruins had a, 2-0, lead after the first period, but allowed the Ottawa Senators to score three unanswered goals after B’s goaltender, Linus Ullmark, left the game due to injury Thursday night at TD Garden.

    Tim Stützle scored the game-winning power-play goal midway through the second period, while Anton Forsberg (19-16-3, 2.73 goals-against average, .919 save percentage in 41 games played) made 40 saves on 42 shots against in the victory for Ottawa.

    Ullmark (23-10-2, 2.57 goals-against average, .913 save percentage in 38 games played) made eight saves on eight shots faced for Boston before being replaced by Jeremy Swayman (20-12-3, 2.38 goals-against average, .915 save percentage in 36 games played) after the first intermission.

    Swayman stopped 21 out of 24 shots against in the loss for the Bruins.

    After the game, B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters that Ullmark “didn’t feel well” after taking a shot off the face mask in the first period.

    Prior to Thursday night, the Bruins were the only team across the National Hockey League that had yet to lose three consecutive games this season.

    As a result of the loss, Boston dropped to 45-24-5 (95 points) overall, but remain in command of 4th place in the Atlantic Division, as well as the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference– though for the second game in-a-row, the B’s failed to clinch a playoff berth.

    There’s not too much to worry about, however, given the long shot odds of the New York Islanders dethroning either the Bruins or the Washington Capitals for a wild card playoff berth.

    With nine games remaining in New York’s schedule, the Islanders would need to win all nine games and hope for a colossal collapse of either the Capitals or Bruins in their remaining eight games.

    Washington would have to amass no more than three points over the remainder of their schedule, while Boston would have to lose every game for the Isles to make the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    New York might have better odds playing the lottery or tuning into New York Rangers playoff games if they’re hoping to see some postseason action this spring.

    Meanwhile, the Senators improved to 28-40-6 (62 points) on the season and remain in command of 7th place in the Atlantic Division.

    Boston finished their regular season series against Ottawa with a 3-1-0 record in their four meetings.

    The Bruins did not play the Senators in 2020-21 due to the temporarily realigned divisions and condensed 56-game schedule in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions.

    The B’s went 2-1-0 against the Sens in 2019-20.

    Jakub Zboril (right ACL), David Pastrnak (undisclosed) and Hampus Lindholm (lower body) were joined by Brandon Carlo (undisclosed) on Boston’s list of injured players out of the lineup against Ottawa on Thursday.

    Jack Ahcan and Jesper Frödén were recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, prior to Thursday night’s action.

    Meanwhile, Matt Grzelcyk returned to the lineup on defense and took part in his 300th career NHL game– suiting up in his regular role on the second pairing.

    Cassidy made a few changes to his lines– inserting Frödén on the second line with Taylor Hall at left wing and Erik Haula at center, while promoting Tomáš Nosek to the third line in Trent Frederic’s usual spot.

    Frederic served as a healthy scratch on Thursday, while Marc McLaughlin was demoted from the second line right wing to centering the fourth line with Nick Foligno and Curtis Lazar as his wings.

    On defense, Mike Reilly was paired with Charlie McAvoy, while Grzelcyk and Josh Brown started the night out as Boston’s top-four defenders.

    Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton served as the third pairing.

    Frederic was joined by Jack Studnicka, Ahcan and Anton Blidh in the Bruins press box as healthy scratches against the Senators.

    Early in the opening frame, Boston worked the puck deep into the zone whereby Foligno wrapped around the net and spun a backhand shot pass to the slot for McLaughlin (3) to redirect on the doorstep past Forsberg’s right pad.

    Just like that, the Bruins had a, 1-0, lead at 6:36 of the first period, while Foligno (11) and Lazar (8) tallied the assists– marking Foligno’s 499th career NHL point in the process.

    Less than a minute later, the Senators had too many skaters on the ice and presented the B’s with the first legal skater advantage of the night at 7:15, but Boston couldn’t convert on the ensuing power play.

    Late in the period, Travis Hamonic elbowed Haula and was assessed a minor infraction at 15:20, but once again the Bruins failed to capitalize on the resulting power play.

    Just as the final minute of the period was being announced, Grzelcyk corralled a loose puck at the point and kept the play in the attacking zone before sending a shot towards the net with traffic.

    Frödén (1) deflected Grzelcyk’s bullet from the blue line and gave Boston a two-goal lead at 19:01 of the first period.

    Grzelcyk (19) and Hall (39) had the assists as the Bruins took a, 2-0, lead into the first intermission.

    Boston had a 2:1 advantage in shots on goal, outshooting the Sens, 16-8, in the first period, while leading in giveaways (6-2) and faceoff win percentage (71-29) as well.

    Ottawa held the lead in takeaways (3-1) and hits (12-7) after one period, while both teams amassed two blocked shots each heading into the middle frame.

    The Bruins were 0-for-2 on the power play and the Senators had yet to see time on the skater advantage.

    Swayman replaced Ullmark for the start of the second period after Ullmark briefly skated over to the bench upon taking a shot off the mask in the first period and checked in with a trainer before returning to the crease.

    Ullmark did not return to the game and was not seated on Boston’s bench for the rest of the night either– marking the fifth time in the last six games that someone left the action with an injury for the Bruins.

    Less than a minute into the second period, Swayman was tested and gave up a goal when he apparently hadn’t covered enough of the short side as Brady Tkachuk (27) won a battle to the puck by knocking down McAvoy as the two skaters raced to the loose puck at the endboards prior to banking the rubber biscuit off of the Bruins netminder and into the twine.

    Stützle (31) had the only assist on Tkachuk’s goal as the Sens trailed, 2-1, 47 seconds into the middle frame.

    Less than a minute later, Boston had too many skaters on the ice and had been assessed a bench minor as a result.

    McLaughlin skated over to the sin bin to serve the infraction at 1:22 and the Bruins managed to kill off Ottawa’s power play without issue.

    The same could not be said for their next two penalties as Reilly caught Tkachuk with a high stick at 8:39 and Patrice Bergeron went to the box for hooking at 8:46 of the second period.

    The Senators had a 5-on-3 advantage for a little less than two full minutes and they put Boston through the ringer as a result.

    First, Drake Batherson fed Josh Norris (33) through the slot for a one-timer from inside the circle to Swayman’s left side– tying the game, 2-2, in the process on Norris’ power-play goal.

    Batherson (25) and Stützle (32) tallied the assists at 9:30 of the middle frame.

    Less than a minute later, the Bruins struggled to get the puck out of their own zone before Stützle again factored on the play– dishing the puck back to the point prior to the Senators sending it in towards the goal line to establish a traingle setup in the offensive zone.

    Tkachuk fired a shot that rebounded as Stützle (18) collected the garbage while crashing the slot– giving Ottawa their second power-play goal as a result.

    Stützle factored into all three Senators goals with a goal and two assists in Thursday night’s effort, while Tkachuk (31) picked up the assist on Stützle’s game-winning goal as the Sens grabbed a, 3-2, lead at 10:27 of the second period and held onto it for the rest of the night.

    Batherson served a hooking penalty at 13:45 of the middle frame, but the Boston failed to get another shot past Forsberg as the power play came and went without issue for Ottawa’s penalty kill.

    Late in the period, Brad Marchand tripped Connor Brown and cut a rut to the box, though the Senators failed to convert on the power play at 17:56.

    Through 40 minutes of play, Ottawa had a, 3-2, lead on the scoreboard, despite trailing Boston in total shots on goal, 24-23.

    The Sens, however, had a, 15-8, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    Ottawa also led in blocked shots (7-6), takeaways (6-3) and hits (20-17) after two periods, while the Bruins led in giveaways (9-5) and faceoff win% (61-40).

    Heading into the final frame, the Senators were 2-for-4 on the power play, while the B’s were 0-for-3 on the skater advantage.

    Colin White tripped Craig Smith to give Boston a power play at 5:24 of the third period, but the Bruins couldn’t convert on the advantage in keeping with the theme of the night.

    Lazar was assessed a roughing minor for trying to engage Parker Kelly in an exchange of fisticuffs after Kelly made a big hit in the neutral zone, but the Senators ended up on the power play instead at 9:15 of the third period.

    Ottawa failed to capitalize on their second-to-last advantage of the evening.

    Artem Zub was assessed an interference infraction at 13:52, but the B’s continued to be shutdown on the power play.

    Late in the period, the Bruins once again had too many skaters on the ice at 15:27 and Nosek skated over to serve the bench minor in the box.

    The Sens did not capitalize on the resulting abbreviated power play, however, after 26 seconds of 4-on-4 play.

    With 1:29 remaining in the action, Swayman vacated the crease for an extra attacker after putting an end to several breakaways for the Senators.

    After a stoppage with 39.9 seconds remaining, Cassidy used his timeout to allow assistant coach, Chris Kelly, to talk to his skaters and draw up a plan for winning a last-ditch offensive zone faceoff.

    Things did not go according to plan and the puck rolled out of the attacking zone with about 10 seconds left on the clock.

    At the final horn, Ottawa had won, 3-2, despite finishing the night trailing in shots on goal, 42-32. Boston had an, 18-9, advantage in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The B’s left their own ice leading in blocked shots (10-6), giveaways (10-7) and faceoff win% (68-32), while both teams managed to amass 30 hits each.

    Ottawa finished the night 2-for-6 on the power play, while Boston went 0-for-5.

    The Bruins fell to 33-9-2 (15-5-1 at home) when scoring first, 25-5-1 (12-3-0 at home) when leading after one and 4-18-2 (3-11-1 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Senators, meanwhile, improved to 9-26-4 (5-13-2 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 3-14-2 (3-7-2 on the road) when trailing after the first period and 21-1-2 (9-0-1 on the road) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    The B’s wrap up their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins before hitting the road for a pair of games in St. Louis and Pittsburgh next Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

    Boston returns home to host the New York Rangers next Saturday (April 23rd) in a game that will be broadcast across the United States on ABC.

  • Tarasenko nets two in St. Louis’, 4-2, road victory

    Tarasenko nets two in St. Louis’, 4-2, road victory

    Vladimir Tarasenko scored a pair of goals to extend the St. Louis Blues’ winning streak to six games with a, 4-2, win against the Boston Bruins Tuesday night at TD Garden.

    Blues goaltender, Ville Husso (23-6-5, 2.37 goals-against average, .925 save percentage in 36 games played), made 39 saves on 41 shots against in the win.

    Meanwhile, Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (20-11-3, 2.34 goals-against average, .916 save percentage in 35 games played), stopped 26 out of 30 shots faced in the loss.

    Boston fell to 45-23-5 (95 points) overall and remained 4th in the Atlantic Division, while St. Louis improved to 43-20-10 (96 points) on the season and in command of 3rd place in the Central Division.

    Despite the loss, the B’s remain in command of the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.

    Tuesday night marked the first time that the Bruins and Blues faced each other since Oct. 26, 2019, when Boston won, 3-0, on home ice in the first regular season meeting between the two clubs since the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

    The B’s went 1-0-0 against St. Louis in 2019-20, and did not face the Blues in the 2020-21 regular season due to the temporarily realigned divisions, as well as the condensed 56-game schedule.

    The Bruins were without Jakub Zboril (right ACL), David Pastrnak (undisclosed), Hampus Lindholm (lower body) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) on Tuesday.

    With Grzelcyk joining the list of injured players, Bruce Cassidy, made a few tweaks to his defensive pairings ahead of the 500th game of his NHL head coaching career (390th with Boston).

    Derek Forbort suited up alongside Charlie McAvoy on the first pairing, while Mike Reilly slotted next to Brandon Carlo to fill out the top-four defenders.

    Connor Clifton returned to action on the third pairing with Josh Brown, while Jack Studnicka and Anton Blidh comprised the short list of healthy scratches for the Bruins.

    Tuesday night marked Torey Krug’s 31st birthday in addition to his return to Boston since joining the Blues via free agency prior to the 2020-21 season.

    St. Louis’ first rush into the attacking zone yielded a 2-on-1 as Ryan O’Reilly worked a pass to David Perron while Reilly and Carlo were left trailing in the dust.

    Perron (24) deked around Swayman and backhanded a shot high on the blocker side to give the Blues a, 1-0, lead 34 seconds into the first period.

    O’Reilly (31) and Brandon Saad (24) tallied the assists on the goal.

    The Bruins tied things up 15 seconds later, however, as Boston worked the puck deep where Brad Marchand fished the rubber biscuit from the endboards to Patrice Bergeron (20) in the bumper for a one-timer goal.

    Marchand (42) and Forbort (9) notched the assists on Bergeron’s goal as the B’s tied things up, 1-1, 49 seconds into the first period.

    The goal also marked Bergeron’s 395th career tally– tying the Bruins captain with Ray Bourque for the fourth-most goals in franchise history.

    It was also Bergeron’s 20th goal of the season– marking No. 37’s 13th season with at least 20 goals in his 18-year NHL career.

    Moments later, the Blues had the first power play of the night when Reilly was assessed a cross checking infraction at 4:03.

    St. Louis failed to convert on the ensuing skater advantage and had another chance go by the wayside when Marchand tripped Jordan Kyrou at 7:40 of the opening frame.

    Midway through the period, Perron tripped McAvoy, but the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on their first power play of the night at 13:24.

    Krug thought he scored in the vulnerable minute after special teams action on a shot from the point that deflected off of Clifton on the rebound and pinballed past Swayman, but Cassidy used a coach’s challenge on the basis that he believed the Blues were offside upon entry into St. Louis’ attacking zone.

    Video review confirmed that Robert Thomas was just ahead of the puck at the blue line and therefore offside as the on-ice officials reversed the call on the ice.

    Krug’s would-be goal was wiped off the board at 15:51 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later, Boston surged in momentum– crescendoing as Clifton wrapped the puck around the boards to Erik Haula in the trapezoid before Haula one-handed a backhand pass to Marc McLaughlin as McLaughlin (2) crashed the slot for a one-timer goal that slipped through Husso’s five-hole.

    Haula (24) and Clifton (7) had the assists as the B’s pulled ahead, 2-1, at 16:59 of the first period.

    Heading into the first intermission, Boston led, 2-1, on the scoreboard despite trailing, 18-15, in shots on goal.

    St. Louis also held the advantage in blocked shots (4-1), takeaways (3-2), giveaways (2-1) and faceoff win percentage (63-38), while the Bruins led in hits (8-7).

    The Blues were 0/2 on the power play, while the B’s went 0/1 on the skater advantage entering the middle period.

    Clifton sent the puck over the glass and received an automatic delay of game penalty as a result at 3:55 of the second period, but St. Louis failed to convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Brayden Schenn cut a rut to the sin bin for cross checking at 10:41, but Boston failed to score on the resulting power play.

    Moments later, Trent Frederic received a roughing minor at 14:17. This time the Blues made the most of their power play opportunity.

    It didn’t take Krug (9) long to snake his way into the high slot and sent a wrist shot off of Swayman’s blocker side and into the twine for a power-play goal at 15:10 of the second period.

    Schenn (31) and Perron (28) tallied the assists as Krug’s power-play goal tied things up, 2-2.

    Shortly thereafter, the Bruins tweeted that Carlo was unlikely to return to the night’s action after leaving the game about midway through the first period.

    Cassidy told reporters after the game that Carlo wasn’t feeling well and that it was not due to an illness.

    Late in the middle frame, Thomas was the beneficiary of a forced turnover before feeding the puck to Pavel Buchnevich as the Blues broke out.

    Buchnevich returned the package back to the sender before Thomas setup Tarasenko (27) on a between the legs pass for a catch and release goal on Swayman’s blocker side.

    Tarasenko gave St. Louis a, 3-2, lead at 18:12 of the second period, while Thomas (48) and Buchnevich (36) recorded the assists on the goal.

    Through 40 minutes of action Tuesday night, the Blues led, 3-2, on the scoreboard despite trailing the Bruins, 28-26, in shots on goal– including a, 13-8, advantage for Boston in the second period alone.

    St. Louis led in takeaways (8-2), while the B’s held the advantage in blocked shots (8-6), hits (17-14) and faceoff win% (57-43).

    Both teams had five giveaways each heading into the final frame.

    As there were no penalties called in the third period, the Blues finished the night 1/4 on the power play, while the Bruins went 0/2.

    Midway through the final frame, Tarasenko (28) buried the puck for an insurance goal– giving the Blues a, 4-2, lead after St. Louis forced another turnover with Reilly left all along to defender in front of his goaltender.

    Buchnevich (37) and Krug (28) tallied the assists on Tarasenko’s second goal of the game at 9:27 of the third period and the Blues had the first and only two-goal lead of the night.

    With 2:05 remaining in the game, Cassidy pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail.

    The final horn sounded and signaled a St. Louis regulation victory, 4-2, despite Boston finishing the night leading in shots on goal, 41-30, including a, 13-4, advantage in the third period alone.

    The Bruins left their own ice leading in giveaways (8-6), hits (25-21) and faceoff win% (56-44), while the Blues took home two points in the standings, as well as the final advantage in blocked shots (15-8).

    The win extended St. Louis’ current winning streak to six games, while Boston has now dropped three out of their last four games.

    The B’s dropped to 12-15-3 (7-8-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 25-4-1 (12-2-0 at home) when leading after one and 4-17-2 (3-10-1 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Blues, meanwhile, improved to 26-8-5 (11-4-3 on the road) when scoring first, 7-10-4 (3-6-2 on the road) when trailing after the first period and 31-3-3 (13-2-2 on the road) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    Boston hosts the Ottawa Senators on Thursday before the Pittsburgh Penguins pay their last visit of the regular season to TD Garden Saturday afternoon.

    The Bruins travel to St. Louis next Tuesday and Pittsburgh next Thursday before returning home to host the New York Rangers next Saturday (April 23rd) in a game that will be broadcast across the United States on ABC.

  • DTFR Podcast #245- Higher Power (Not A Coldplay Cover)

    DTFR Podcast #245- Higher Power (Not A Coldplay Cover)

    Checking in with our resident Buffalo Sabres fan, Colby Kephart, about his expectations (or lack thereof) for Owen Power, what other undrafted college players might go pro, what’s considered good goaltending these days, as well as an Eastern Conference rundown and Colby’s “Off the Cuff” debut.

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

  • Bruins bulk up with Lindholm on defense in trade with Anaheim

    Bruins bulk up with Lindholm on defense in trade with Anaheim

    The Boston Bruins acquired defenders, Hampus Lindholm and Kodie Curran, from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenders, Urho Vaakanainen, John Moore, a 2022 1st round pick, a 2023 2nd round pick and a 2024 2nd round pick on Saturday afternoon.

    The Ducks retained 50% of Lindholm’s salary ($2,602,778) in the transaction.

    Lindholm and the B’s are reportedly working on an eight-year extension that could be finalized Sunday, according to TSN and RDS Hockey Insider and The Athletic writer, Pierre LeBrun.

    TSN’s Chris Johnston tweeted that the average annual value of Lindholm’s extension may be around $6.500 million late Saturday night.

    Prior to the trade, Lindholm’s cap hit with Anaheim was $5,205,556, so the otherwise pending-unrestricted free agent is due for a little bit of a pay raise given his age, status and longevity in the league as a top-four defender.

    The 6-foot-4, 216-pound native of Helsingborg, Sweden was originally drafted by Anaheim in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and has 57-165–222 totals in 582 career NHL games since making his league debut with the Ducks in the 2013-14 season.

    Lindholm, 28, has five goals and 17 assists (22 points) in 61 games this season and set a career-high 34 points (seven goals, 27 assists) in 78 games in 2014-15, before recording a career-high 13 goals in 69 games in 2017-18.

    He suffered a fractured wrist last season and was limited to 18 games as a result– recording two goals and four assists (six points) in that span.

    He also leaves Anaheim with 743 blocked shots– ranking third in franchise history– and was one of three defenders to reach 200 points in Ducks history, alongside Scott Niedermayer and Cam Fowler.

    In 55 career Stanley Cup playoff games, Lindholm has 4-17–21 totals, including 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 16 games in Anaheim’s run to the 2015 Western Conference Final, as well as four points in 17 games in the Ducks’ 2017 Western Conference Final appearance.

    He’ll likely land a role alongside Charlie McAvoy on the first defensive pairing and on Boston’s penalty kill as a more traditional shutdown defender to McAvoy’s two-way style.

    Lindholm arrives at a time when the Bruins could use a little more insurance on the blue line in the event of injuries down the stretch and in the long run, despite producing solid numbers as one of the league’s more effective defenses and having a more pressing need for a second line center in another transaction.

    Curran, 32, had 1-15–16 totals in 37 games for the San Diego Gulls (AHL) this season and is destined to become the oldest defender in Providence upon his arrival to the Bruins organization.

    The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Calgary, Alberta, joined the Ducks as an undrafted free agent on June 3, 2020, after parts of five college seasons at the University of Calgary from 2010-15, a stint with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Greenville Swamp Rabbits from 2015-16, and four seasons in Europe from 2016-20, before spending parts of the last two seasons in San Diego.

    He had 7-27–34 totals in 81 career games for the Wolf Pack and Gulls before the trade.

    Curran carries a $1.000 million cap hit and is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.

    The Bruins have about $1.230 million in cap space by the end of the season as a result of the trade and will have about $6.152 million to work with at the trade deadline itself on Monday as General Manager, Don Sweeney, seeks to find a second line center and/or more.

    Vaakanainen, 23, has four assists in 15 games this season while with Boston and has been sidelined for at least 17 games due to injury/illness having most recently suffered an upper body injury on Feb. 1st against Seattle and exiting warmup on Feb. 21st prior to a matchup against Colorado.

    The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Joenssu, Finland has six assissts in 31 career NHL games– all with the Bruins– since he was drafted in the 1st round (18th overall) by Boston in 2017.

    In 23 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL), he had 1-7–8 totals this season– bringing his American Hockey League career totals to 11-28–39 in 118 games in Providence.

    Vaakanainen has yet to appear in a Stanley Cup playoff game and is a pending-restricted free agent at season’s end with a cap hit of $894, 167.

    Moore, 31, meanwhile, appeared in seven games for Boston this season and has been out of the lineup with an upper body injury since Jan. 28th.

    The 6-foot-3, 207-pound native of Winnetka, Illinois has 38-80–118 totals in 544 career NHL games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils and Bruins, including 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 97 games over parts of the last four seasons with Boston.

    In 11 games with Providence this season, Moore had six points (one goal, five assists) prior to the trade.

    He was originally drafted in the 1st round (21st overall) by Columbus at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and has four assists in 49 career Stanley Cup playoff games.

    Moore is signed through the end of the 2022-23 season with a $2.750 million cap hit.

    Anaheim will undoubtedly benefit from Vaakanainen’s development– provided he can stay healthy and avoid further career derailment due to traumatic brain injuries– as well as from the acquisition of three draft picks from the Bruins in as many years in the first two rounds (2022 1st round, 2023 2nd round and 2024 2nd round).

    Retaining half of Lindholm’s salary is a small price to pay for the Ducks with the added benefit of attaining about $11.631 million in cap space by the end of the season.

    As a result, Anaheim will have about $58.154 million in deadline cap space to work with to facilitate trades or broker any potential three-team deals as the Ducks sit on the outside of the cutoff line looking in for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Anaheim’s General Manager, Pat Verbeek, is ready to sell assets and commit to a rebuild with a plethora of picks at his disposal.

  • Bruins outlast Blue Jackets in shootout victory on the road, 5-4

    Bruins outlast Blue Jackets in shootout victory on the road, 5-4

    Four different goal scorers for each team kept things close Saturday night at Nationwide Arena, while David Pastrnak scored the only goal in the, 5-4, shootout win for the Boston Bruins against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    Jeremy Swayman (15-7-3, 2.03 goals-against average, .927 save percentage in 26 games played) made 20 saves on 24 shots against in the win for Boston, while spoiling the night’s festivities after the Blue Jackets held a jersey retirement ceremony for Rick Nash prior to the game.

    Columbus goaltender, Elvis Merzlikins (19-14-3, 3.42 goals-against average, .903 save percentage in 36 games played), stopped 28 out of 32 shots faced in the shootout loss.

    The Bruins improved to 34-18-4 (72 points) on the season, while remaining in command of 4th place in the Atlantic Division, as well as the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

    The Blue Jackets fell to 28-25-2 (58 points) overall and remained 5th in the Metropolitan Division.

    Saturday night marked the first time the two teams met in the regular season since Jan. 14, 2020, before the pandemic shortened the 2019-20 regular season and led to temporary divisional realignment for a condensed 56-game regular season schedule in 2020-21.

    Columbus won, 3-0, at Nationwide Arena in their last game against Boston prior to Saturday’s, 5-4, shootout loss.

    Curtis Lazar returned to the lineup after missing the last four games with an upper body injury.

    As a result, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made one change to his lineup from Thursday night’s, 5-2, victory in Las Vegas to Saturday night’s action in Columbus.

    Lazar returned to his usual role on the fourth line right wing, while Jesper Frödén joined Anton Blidh and Jack Achan in the press box as Boston’s trio of healthy scratches against the Blue Jackets.

    Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Urho Vaakanainen (undisclosed) remained out due to injury, though Vaakanainen has resumed skating back in Boston.

    Prior to the game Saturday night, the Blue Jackets retired Nash’s No. 61– marking the first time in franchise history that the club retired a players’ jersey number.

    Nash was drafted by Columbus with the 1st overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and spent the first nine seasons of his career in a Blue Jackets uniform before he was traded to the New York Rangers on July 23, 2012.

    He left Columbus as the franchise leader in games played (674), goals (289), assists (258) and points (547).

    After parts of six seasons in New York, he was traded to Boston ahead of the 2018 trade deadline, where he finished the season and playoffs despite missing some time that March with what ultimately became a career-ending concussion and ensuing post-concussion symptoms since then.

    In 1,060 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, Rangers and Bruins, Nash amassed 437-368–805 totals, appeared in 89 career Stanley Cup Playoff games (18-28–46 career playoff totals)– including the 2014 Stanley Cup Final– and shared Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winning honors with Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk in the 2003-04 season as the league’s leader in goals scored with 41.

    He formally announced his retirement on Jan. 11, 2019, and was named Director of Player Development for the Blue Jackets in June 2021.

    A franchise record 19,434 fans were in attendance for Nash’s Jersey Retirement Night at Nationwide Arena in Columbus as announced by the team on Saturday.

    Midway through the opening frame, Brad Marchand spun and threw the puck to the slot where Jake DeBrusk (15) deflected the rubber biscuit past Merzlikins to give Boston a, 1-0, lead at 10:39 of the first period.

    Marchand (32) and Charlie McAvoy (28) tallied the assists as the Bruins recorded the first goal of the game.

    The B’s didn’t hold the lead for too long, however, as the Blue Jackets roared back with a goal of their own– tying the game, 1-1, at 16:57, courtesy of Gustav Nyquist’s (14), cool, calm and collected reception of a drop pass from Boone Jenner and shot over Swayman’s left shoulder while Boston’s defenders were split like the Red Sea.

    Jenner (21) and Patrik Laine (19) notched the assists on Nyquist’s goal as Columbus surged in momentum.

    A couple minutes later, Vladislav Gavrikov (3) was in the right place in the right time to bury a loose puck as Swayman couldn’t get a paddle on it in desperation– giving the Blue Jackets their first lead of the night, 2-1, in the process at 19:00 of the first period.

    Gavrikov’s goal was unassisted as Columbus recorded a pair of goals in a span of 2:03.

    Entering the first intermission, the Blue Jackets carried a, 2-1, lead into the dressing room, despite being outshot by the Bruins, 12-6, in the first period.

    Columbus held the advantage in faceoff win percentage, 64-36, while neither team had seen any action on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    Marchand took a hit in the neutral zone while Erik Haula (8) scooped up the puck and rushed into the attacking zone before wiring shot through Merzlikins’ five-hole– tying the game, 2-2, in the process at 1:51 of the second period.

    Marchand (33) had the only assist on Haula’s goal in the process.

    Less than a couple minutes later, Dean Kukan cut a rut to the penalty box for holding and presented Boston with the first power play of the night at 3:26 of the second period.

    The Bruins’ power play went by the wayside, however, as the Blue Jackets made the kill and went on their first power play shortly thereafter as Craig Smith tripped up former Bruin, Sean Kuraly, at 5:33.

    Columbus didn’t convert on their first skater advantage, but the Blue Jackets got another crack at special teams play when Charlie Coyle slashed Oliver Bjorkstrand at 13:13 of the second period.

    About a minute later, Zach Werenski (9) pinched in from the point at the top of the faceoff circle and sent a shot inadvertently off of Bruins defender, Charlie McAvoy’s knee and over Swayman’s glove side to give Columbus a, 3-2, lead at 14:28.

    Jakub Voracek (39) and Bjorkstrand (20) had the assists on Werenski’s power-play goal and the Blue Jackets took a, 3-2, lead at 14:28 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Columbus led, 3-2, on the scoreboard despite trailing in shots on goal, 19-14. The Blue Jackets, however, held the advantage in shots on net in the middle frame alone, 8-7, and controlled faceoff win% (58-42).

    Boston was 0/1 on the power play, while Columbus was 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Smith (10) buried a one-timer off of Merzlikins’ blocker and into the twine while crashing the net– tying the game, 3-3, at 4:40 of the third period in the process.

    Connor Clifton (2) and Nick Foligno (8) tallied the assists as the latter sent a pass to the former prior to Clifton setting up Smith for the goal– marking four goals in his last two games and nine points (four goals, five assists) in Smith’s last 10 games.

    Late in the period, Bjorkstrand caught Pastrnak with a high stick at 14:23 of the third period, yielding another power play to Boston in the process.

    It didn’t take the Bruins long to go ahead, 4-3, on the scoreboard as Patrice Bergeron (16) nudged a goal on the forehand as the puck sat in the crease after ringing the iron twice and Taylor Hall flubbed an attempt while Merzlikins was sprawled out in desperation.

    Hall (29) and Pastrnak (26) had the assists on Bergeron’s power-play goal at 14:58 of the third period.

    With 1:18 remaining in the action, Brad Larsen pulled his netminder for an extra attacker.

    Foligno hooked Nyuquist at 19:29 and yielded another power play to the Blue Jackets as a result.

    Larsen used the extra few seconds before the ensuing faceoff on the skater advantage to rally his skaters with 30.7 seconds remaining in the action.

    Columbus worked the puck around the attacking zone before Voracek (3) winded up on a half speed slap shot and scored under the blocker– clipping Swayman’s jersey in the process and tying the game, 4-4, with 2.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

    Laine (20) and Kuraly (13) had the assists on Voracek’s power-play goal at 19:57 as the Blue Jackets forced overtime despite trailing Boston in shots on goal, 31-23, including a, 12-9, advantage for the Bruins in the third period alone.

    As there were no penalties called in overtime, Columbus finished the night 2/3 on the power play while Boston went 0/2 on the skater advantage.

    Neither team scored in overtime as both squads recorded one shot on goal each in the extra frame.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal, 32-24, as well as in blocked shots (16-12), while the Blue Jackets wrapped up 65 minutes of action leading in hits (28-20) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    Both teams had two giveaways aside.

    Boston shot first in the shootout as Coyle waltzed into the zone from the right side before cutting right at Merzlikins and being denied by a left pad save.

    Laine countered for Columbus with a medium speed effort and a pump fake before pulling the puck to his backhand, but Swayman made the save.

    DeBrusk entered with speed before trying an offspeed shot that Merzlikins cast aside with his blocker.

    Larsen sent out Nyquist to try to get things going as his second shooter, but despite cutting in from wide left to the middle of the ice, Swayman made a routine save on Nyquist’s five-hole shot attempt.

    Finally, Pastrnak skated in wide left before cutting to the middle with speed and coming to a stop prior to elevating the puck into the upper-90 on Merzlikins’ glove side– giving Boston a, 1-0, advantage in the third round of the shootout.

    Voracek had to score on the following attempt or the Bruins would win the game.

    The Blue Jackets forward carried speed towards the net before Swayman made a blocker save to seal the deal on the shootout victory as the B’s were awarded the shootout goal in the final score, 5-4, Saturday night at Nationwide Arena– securing 10 out of 12 possible points in their six-game road trip in the process.

    Boston improved to 2-2 in shootouts this season, while Columbus fell to 3-2 in the best-of-three skills competition.

    The Bruins also improved to 24-7-1 (14-3-1 on the road) when scoring first, 5-11-2 (1-5-1 on the road) when trailing after one and 4-14-2 (1-6-1 on the road) when trailing after two periods this season.

    The Blue Jackets dropped to 14-17-2 (7-6-2 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 10-4-1 (4-1-1 at home) when leading after the first period and 15-4-2 (7-2-2 at home) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins went 5-1-0 on their six-game road trip through the Pacific Division and Columbus and will return home to begin a three-game homestand on Monday.

    Boston will host Los Angeles (March 7th), Chicago (March 10th)  and Arizona (March 12th) before hitting the road again on March 15th.

  • Rangers complete comeback via lengthy shootout victory against Bruins

    Rangers complete comeback via lengthy shootout victory against Bruins

    For the 12th time this season, the New York Rangers gave up the game’s first goal and came back to win despite Igor Shesterkin making a brief departure and reappearance in the, 2-1, shootout victory over the Boston Bruins Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

    Shesterkin (23-5-2, 2.05 goals-against average, .938 save percentage in 30 games played) made 31 saves on 32 shots faced and may have been a bit overdramatic in incidental contact that yielded a goaltender interference penalty, as well as a roughing minor about midway through overtime– necessitating the use of Alexandar Georgiev (7-7-2, 2.99 goals-against average, .898 save percentage in 20 games played) before Shesterkin could return for the shootout for no decision in about 41 seconds of playing time.

    Did you get that? Shesterkin played all but 41 seconds on Tuesday night in the shootout victory and Georgiev’s brief appearance yielded no shots faced in the dying 41 seconds of overtime.

    Apparently, there’s no strict adherence to the “15-minute rule” if a concussion spotter rules you out of a game for a checkup after regulation.

    Anyway, Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (9-7-3, 2.15 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 20 games played), made 33 saves on 34 shots against in the shootout loss.

    Boston fell to 27-16-4 (58 points) on the season and remain in command of 4th place in the Atlantic Division, as well as the second wild card berth in the Eastern Conference.

    The Rangers, meanwhile, improved to 31-13-4 (66 points) overall and in control of 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division– one point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for 2nd and four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the division lead.

    Having previously lost, 5-2, on Nov. 26th at TD Garden, the B’s fell to 0-1-1 in their season series against New York with one more regular season matchup remaining on April 23rd in Boston.

    Boston went 5-3-0 against the Rangers last season and 3-0-0 against “The Broadway Blueshirts” in 2019-20.

    Matt Grzelcyk made his return to the lineup alongside Brandon Carlo on the second defensive pairing after suffering an upper body injury against the Hurricanes on Feb. 10th.

    Once again, the Bruins were without Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Urho Vaakanainen (upper body), Patrice Bergeron (upper body) and Brad Marchand (suspension) on Tuesday.

    Vaakanainen and Bergeron are close to returning, though it may or may not be later this week.

    Bergeron has been in a burgundy no-contact practice jersey for the last couple of days and could join the team on Long Island for their matchup with the Islanders on Thursday.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no other changes to his lineup from Saturday afternoon’s, 2-0, victory in Ottawa to Tuesday night in New York.

    Erik Haula took part in his 500th career National Hockey League game, while Mike Reilly participated in his 300th career NHL game.

    Bergeron, Jack Ahcan, Vaakanainen, Marchand and Zboril made up the list of injured players and healthy scratches out of the action against the Rangers.

    Charlie Coyle capitalized on a turnover in New York’s own zone as the Rangers brought the puck back into their own end inadvertently early in the opening frame.

    Coyle setup Craig Smith for a one-timer, but the puck rebounded right in Coyle’s (11) direction for a layup goal while crashing the net– giving Boston a, 1-0, lead at 3:39 of the first period.

    Smith (9) had the only assist on the goal.

    The two teams then went about eight and a half minutes without a stoppage in the action before the next faceoff.

    Neither team could score for the rest of the first period and there were no penalties called, so the Bruins took a, 1-0, lead into the first intermission and outshot the Rangers, 8-2, in the process.

    Boston had allowed their fewest shots against in any first period (let alone any period) this season as a result.

    Both teams had four blocked shots and two takeaways each, while the two clubs split faceoff win percentage, 50-50, after 20 mintues.

    New York led in giveaways (5-3) and hits (16-15) heading into the middle frame, while each team had yet to see any time on the skater advantage.

    There were no goals and no penalties in the second period.

    Through 40 minutes, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard. Both teams had 17 shots on net after two periods, despite the Rangers leading in shots on goal in the second period alone, 15-9.

    New York led in blocked shots (11-7), giveaways (7-6) and hits (28-22), while Boston held the advantage in takeaways (6-4).

    The two teams split faceoff win%, 50-50, and had yet to see any time on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

    Braden Schneider sent an indirect pass off the boards through the neutral zone to Dryden Hunt, who promptly sent the rubber biscuit over to Filip Chytil for a shot on goal.

    Chytil (5) followed up on his own rebound and tied the game, 1-1, at 6:45 of the third period.

    Hunt (6) and Schneider (3) tallied the assists on Chytil’s goal as the Rangers surged in momentum to start the third period.

    Midway through the final frame, K’Andre Miller tripped Coyle and presented the first power play of the night to the Bruins at 11:48 of the third period.

    Boston’s power play was powerless as they couldn’t muster anything past Shesterkin– let alone get set up in the attacking zone.

    About a minute after Miller was out of the box, Tomáš Nosek and Jacob Trouba cut a rut to their respective penalty boxes as Nosek was guilty of delivering a swift cross check, while Trouba earned a roughing minor for retaliating– this after a Rangers skater perhaps got away with a cross check that set things off– angering Nosek in the process.

    The two teams skated at 4-on-4 for two minutes as a result of Nosek and Trouba’s infractions at 14:44 of the third period.

    Less than two minutes later, Charlie McAvoy tripped up Miller and yielded a 4-on-3 power play to the Rangers at 16:32.

    After 12 seconds of a rare 4-on-3 advantage, New York continued on an abbreviated 5-on-4 power play and failed to convert on the skater advantage.

    After 60 minutes of action, the Bruins and Rangers were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 29-28– including a, 12-11, advantage in the third period alone.

    Both teams had 13 blocked shots, eight takeaways and nine giveaways each.

    New York led in hits (35-25) and faceoff win% (56-44) heading into overtime.

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

    Cassidy sent out Coyle, Jake DeBrusk and McAvoy to start overtime, while Rangers head coach, Gerard Gallant, countered with Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox.

    About midway into overtime, Smith crashed the net hard despite coming to a stop at the crease and his momentum carried him into Shesterkin sending the Rangers goaltender flying (albeit somewhat under his own volition to draw a penalty).

    Alexis Lafrenière took issue with Smith’s hard play and began to go after the Bruins forward– generating a scrum as a result.

    Smith was assessed a minor penalty for goaltender interference, while Lafrenière received a roughing infraction at 2:48 of the overtime period.

    The two teams then skated at 3-on-3 for two minutes (you know, as overtime is already) until Smith and Lafrenière returned from the box with seconds left in overtime– rendering it 4-on-4 for about six seconds.

    A stoppage with about 40 seconds left in overtime also presented concussion spotters inside Madison Square Garden with the perfect chance to remove Shesterkin from the game– you know, about two minutes after the play in which he could have been injured occured.

    Shesterkin slammed his stick against the glass before heading down the tunnel in displeasure, while Georgiev went into the net for New York for a grand total of 41 seconds and faced no shots in that span.

    Gallant used his timeout with 6.7 seconds remaining in overtime and a potentially game-clinching attacking zone faceoff, but nothing came of it for the Rangers as time expired and signaled that a shootout would be necessary.

    After 65 minutes of action, the score remained tied, 1-1, despite the Rangers amassing a, 34-32, advantage in shots on goal, including a, 6-3, advantage in overtime alone.

    Both teams had 13 blocked shots and 10 giveaways each, while New York also led in hits (36-25) and faceoff win% (55-45).

    Shesterkin emerged from the tunnel (“15-minute rule” be damned) and returned to the net for New York in the shootout as Gallant elected to have the home team Rangers shoot second.

    DeBrusk led Boston’s first shootout attempt with a burst of speed heading towards the net and sent a shot past Shesterkin on the glove side– upper-90– ringing the iron before hitting the twine.

    Zibanejad responded with a serpentine route into the zone before tucking the puck around Swayman as the Bruins goaltender overcommitted on the sell job.

    After one round of the shootout, the score reflected that of the scoreboard itself, 1-1.

    David Pastrnak took his time, skated wide and sent a shot off of Shesterkin’s glove to kick things off for each team’s second attempt.

    Artemi Panarin tried his hand at emulating Zibanejad’s shootout goal, fake a shot and went backhand around Swayman to give the Rangers a, 2-1, advantage in the shootout.

    Coyle had to score to prolong the skills competition and did just that after taking his time and burying a shot under the bar over Shesterkin’s glove side.

    Gallant sent out Lafrenière to try to seal the deal, but the 2020 1st overall pick skated right down the middle of the ice and had his backhand shot denied by the Boston netminder.

    Haula skated right down the middle lane and sent a shot off of Shesterkin’s leg pad without difficulty.

    Fox entered the fourth round of the shootout for the Rangers wide from the right side before trying to pump fake Swayman with a deke before losing the puck on an aggressive poke check from the Boston goaltender.

    Taylor Hall kicked off the fifth round of the shootout with a forehand shot off of Shesterkin’s glove.

    Ryan Strome countered with a wide left approach to the slot before missing the net entirely.

    Not to be outdone, McAvoy sent an attempt wide on the stick side from a backhand.

    Kreider then lost the puck intentionally while trying to slip the rubber biscuit through the five-hole, but Swayman made the routine save.

    Trent Frederic entered from the left side and sent a shot right at Shesterkin’s five-hole.

    Chytil was then denied on after entering from the right side and trying his hand at Peter Forsberg’s patented postage stamp move, but Swayman made the save.

    In the eighth round of the shootout, Cassidy sent Nick Foligno to center ice to try to put Boston ahead, but No. 17 in black and gold fired a shot right at the New York netminder from his off side.

    Hunt then skated into the zone wide left, deked and was denied by Swayman.

    Smith sped into the offensive zone before coming to a glide and sending a shot from the slot that Shesterkin made a routine save on to kick things off in the ninth round of the shootout.

    Finally, the 18th shooter overall, Miller entered wide on the right side before deking and scoring on Swayman’s right pad to give the Rangers a, 3-2, advantage in the shootout and a, 2-1, shootout victory overall against the Bruins.

    New York took home the shootout win, earned the extra point and improved to 4-1 in shootouts this season (5-4 past regulation), while Boston fell to 1-2 in shootouts in 2021-22 (3-4 past regulation overall).

    The B’s fell to 18-6-1 (9-2-1 on the road) when scoring first, 17-1-1 (9-0-1 on the road) when leading after the first period and 18-1-2 (12-0-2 on the road) when leading after the second period this season.

    The Rangers improved to 12-10-2 (6-3-2 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 9-7-2 (5-1-2 at home) when trailing after one and 3-11-0 (2-3-0 at home) when trailing after two periods in 2021-22.

    The Bruins swing by the New York Islanders on Thursday before wrapping up their four-game road trip (1-0-1) against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

    Boston returns home to host the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 21st for a matinée matchup before heading back out on the road in Seattle, San Jose and Los Angeles to close out the month of February. The B’s open the month of March in Anaheim before venturing to Vegas and Columbus.

  • Swayman blanks Senators in shutout victory

    Swayman blanks Senators in shutout victory

    Jeremy Swayman picked up his second shutout of the season in a, 2-0, victory on the road against the Ottawa Senators as the Boston Bruins goaltender stopped all 30 shots that he faced Saturday afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre.

    Swayman (9-7-2, 2.22 goals-against average, .919 save percentage in 19 games played) earned the fourth shutout of his career in the win for Boston, while depth scoring was paramount.

    Senators goaltender, Matt Murray (5-8-2, 2.58 goals-against average, .922 save percentage in 16 games played), made 35 saves on 37 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 27-16-3 (57 points) overall and remain in command of 4th place in the Atlantic Division as well as the second wild card berth in the Eastern Conference.

    Ottawa fell to 16-24-4 (36 points) on the season and stuck in 6th place in the Atlantic Division.

    The B’s improved to 2-0-0 against the Sens this season, having won, 3-2, on Nov. 9th at TD Garden earlier this season.

    Saturday marked the first game between the two teams at Canadian Tire Centre since Dec. 9, 2019, when the Senators beat the Bruins, 5-2, prior to the pandemic shortening the end of the 2019-20 regular season and preventing cross-border regular season travel in 2020-21.

    Boston was without the likes of Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Urho Vaakanainen (upper body), Patrice Bergeron (upper body), Brad Marchand (suspension) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) on Saturday in Ottawa.

    Grzelcyk took part in warmup, but was not quite ready to return to action after being injured in the second period of Thursday night’s, 6-0, loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

    Tyler Lewington was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Friday, while Jack Ahcan was recalled from Providence and suited up on the second defensive pairing alongside Brandon Carlo.

    With Grzelcyk out of the lineup, Mike Reilly was promoted to top-pairing duties with Charlie McAvoy.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no other changes to his lineup beyond Ahcan and Reilly.

    A quick rush from one end of the rink to the other in the opening minute led to some dominant possession in the attacking zone for the Bruins that culminated in the game’s first goal courtesy of Trent Frederic (3).

    Charlie Coyle worked a pass over to Craig Smith for a one-timer that generated a rebound right to where Frederic was crashing the slot on the doorstep to give Boston a, 1-0, lead 45 seconds into the first period.

    Coyle (11) tabbed the only assist on the goal.

    Almost midway into the opening frame, Austin Watson led with a late, high hit on Ahcan after Ahcan dished the puck around the boards in his own zone.

    Watson was charged with a minor for interference, while Anton Blidh took issue with the integrity of Watson’s intent and was assessed a roughing infraction– negating a chance for a Boston power play and instead resulting in two minutes of 4-on-4 action at 8:09 of the first period.

    Shortly thereafter, the Bruins went on a rare 4-on-3 power play for about 27 seconds as Thomas Chabot slashed Ahcan at 9:38.

    Boston wasn’t able to convert on the skater advantage, however.

    Midway through the period, Blidh sent a shot with a purpose off of Murray’s right pad and generated a rebound whereby Curtis Lazar (6) chipped the rubber biscuit over the line to give the B’s a two-goal lead.

    Blidh (7) recorded the only assist on the goal as the Bruins took a, 2-0, lead at 13:26 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later, Reilly cross checked Dylan Gambrell and presented the Senators with their first power play opportunity of the afternoon at 14:00.

    The Sens weren’t able to capitalize on the skater advantage, however.

    Late in the period, Tim Stützle caught Jake DeBrusk with a cross check in the neutral zone at 18:37, but the Bruins couldn’t convert on the power play even as it extended into the middle frame.

    Heading into the first intermission, Boston led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 22-8, in shots on goal.

    The B’s also held the advantage in takeaways (3-1) and faceoff win percentage (52-48), while the Sens led in giveaways (2-1) and hits (19-15).

    Both teams amassed five blocked shots each after one period.

    Ottawa was 0/1 and Boston was 0/2 on the power play entering the middle frame.

    Smith tripped Stützle at 8:18 of the second period and yielded a power play to the Senators as a result for the only even of the second period as neither team was able to score, nor draw another infraction.

    Entering the second intermission, the Bruins still led, 2-0, on the scoreboard, as well as in shots on goal, 28-16, despite trailing the Sens in shots on net in the second period alone, 8-6.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (11-10), takeaways (6-1) and faceoff win% (54-46), while Ottawa led in giveaways (5-3) and hits (39-34) through 40 minutes of action.

    As there were no penalties called in the final frame, both teams finished 0/2 on the power play Saturday afternoon.

    Blidh thought he made it, 3-0, when he sent a pass to Lazar entering the attacking zone before following up on a rebound– while Lazar tripped over Murray– and wrapping the rubber biscuit around the Senators goaltender.

    The official call on the ice was that it was a good goal.

    Ottawa’s head coach, D.J. Smith, however, thought it was worthy of a challenge.

    Upon review, the call on the ice was overturned as it was deemed incidental contact between Lazar and Murray that had impeded with Murray’s ability to make a save on Blidh’s attempt– thereby rending it goaltender interference with no minor penalty and no goal.

    With 3:46 remaining in the action, the Senators pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker.

    Murray went back into the net after an icing call with about 90 seconds left in the game, but came back out of the crease shortly thereafter.

    With 30.5 seconds left on the clock, Ottawa used their timeout to rally some semblance of a comeback, but failed to beat Swayman as the Bruins kept sending the puck down the frozen river in search of an empty net goal.

    Boston missed the open twine three times, but it didn’t change the end result as the final horn sounded and signaled a, 2-0, shutout victory for the Bruins.

    The B’s finished the afternoon leading in shots on goal, 37-30, despite being outshot by the Sens, 14-9, in the third period alone.

    Boston wrapped things up leading in blocked shots (19-13) and faceoff win% (56-44), while Ottawa left their own building leading in giveaways (6-4) and hits (44-42).

    The Bruins improved to 18-6-0 (9-2-0 on the road) when scoring first, 17-1-0 (9-0-0 on the road) when leading after one and 19-1-1 (12-0-1 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Senators fell to 4-18-3 (3-10-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 1-10-2 (0-5-0 at home) when trailing after the first period and 1-18-0 (0-9-0 at home) when trailing after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins continue their four game road trip (1-0-0) next Tuesday (Feb. 15th) at the New York Rangers before swinging through the New York Islanders next Thursday and returning to Ottawa next Saturday.

    Boston returns home to host the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 21st before heading back out on the road in Seattle, San Jose and Los Angeles to close out the month of February. The B’s open the month of March in Anaheim before going to Vegas and Columbus.