Down the Frozen River

Tag: NHL

  • Numbers Game: 2018-19 League Forecast Entering March

    Happy Meteorological Spring (and when the time comes, actual Spring too as the Spring Equinox falls on… well, it’s written on the calendar in your office somewhere).

    Of course, the only day that really matters in March is the 18th (you thought I was going to say the 17th, but we can’t all pretend to be Irish now, can we?).

    If you’re new to the sport, that’s the day the Lord Stanley of Preston first presented the idea of the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup back in 1892 and thus the Stanley Cup was first played for and awarded in 1893.

    The original Cup resides in an old bank vault at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario and was purchased for ten guineas, which was $48.67 at the time or almost $1,400 in contemporary times.

    Anyway, March is a pretty important month.

    Teams have added or subtracted to their rosters from the trade deadline and are looking to go down the stretch without any additional injuries or worries heading into the postseason (or for some, the offseason).

    Feeling lucky? Is this the year your bracket won’t be busted in the First Round? Let the madness begin with a look at the latest standings forecast* across the league based on all 31 NHL teams’ performances through February 28, 2019.

    *Standard disclaimer: This forecast is not an exact science, but rather an educated guess among recent and season long trends, with a foundation steeped in recent records over the last few seasons.

    In simple terms, just focus on the standing within the division and less on the point spread. A team isn’t eliminated from postseason contention until they are mathematically eliminated.

    Anything can still happen (relatively, of course).

    Projected Standings After Five Months

    Eastern Conference

    Atlantic Division

    1. p-Tampa Bay Lightning, 121 points (65 games played entering March 1st)
    2. x-Boston Bruins, 115 points (64 GP)
    3. x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 105 points (64 GP)
    4. wc1-Montreal Canadiens, 103 points (64 GP)
    5. wc2-Buffalo Sabres, 90 points (63 GP)
    6. Florida Panthers, 82 points (63 GP)
    7. Ottawa Senators, 61 points (64 GP)
    8. Detroit Red Wings, 60 points (64 GP)

    In the Atlantic Division, the Tampa Bay Lightning are still on pace for what could almost be the best regular season in league history. Their franchise record ten-game winning streak was halted by the re-hot Boston Bruins on Feb. 28th.

    Tampa should still lock up the division (if not the President’s Trophy) with ease, though they are beatable– as proven by the Bruins recent win (ignoring the back-to-back games), as well as the St. Louis Blues’ 1-0 overtime victory on Feb. 7th (more on the Blues later).

    Boston, meanwhile, is surging at the right time. After going 7-7-0 in December and 6-3-3 in January, the B’s went without a regulation loss in the month of February, finishing with an 11-0-2 record.

    It was the 9th time in franchise history and first time since November 2011, that the Bruins went without a regulation loss in an entire calendar month.

    Not to be outdone, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still very alive and well in a divisional spot and for the second straight season appear destined to battle the Bruins in a First Round rematch from last season.

    At least one of the Eastern Conference wild card spots in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be filled by an Atlantic Division team– the first of which being the Montreal Canadiens.

    The Habs are in the hunt and could knock the Maple Leafs out of the last divisional spot with a good run down the stretch, while the second wild card spot is a little harder to project.

    It could be the Buffalo Sabres or it could very well be a team that’s surging in the Metropolitan Division.

    Metropolitan Division

    1. y-New York Islanders, 113 points (63 GP)
    2. x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 101 points (63 GP)
    3. x-Washington Capitals, 92 points (64 GP)
    4. Carolina Hurricanes, 89 points (63 GP)
    5. Pittsburgh Penguins, 87 points (63 GP)
    6. New York Rangers, 77 points (63 GP)
    7. Philadelphia Flyers, 74 points (64 GP)
    8. New Jersey Devils, 61 points (64 GP)

    John Tavares wasn’t well-received in his first trip back to Long Island since leaving the New York Islanders for the Leafs in free agency last July, however, Barry Trotz has been adored by Isles fans as the coach of the Metropolitan Division’s best team.

    Despite adding a lot of firepower leading up to the trade deadline, the Columbus Blue Jackets aren’t quite a surefire powerhouse in the division, but they should be good enough for home ice advantage in the First Round and a rematch with the defending Stanley Cup champion, Washington Capitals.

    It’s a wide-open race for two or three potential playoff spots in the Metropolitan Division, as the Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins all have their sights set on one of two remaining divisional spots or at least one wild card spot in the postseason.

    Despite the Capitals edging the Hurricanes and Penguins in this forecast, gut feeling indicates there’s sure to be an upset before the brackets are even finalized.

    Carolina is playing really well lately and as those bunch of jerks have shown all season long– you can’t count them out. They also reached 70 points in 61 games played for just the second time in franchise history this season.

    The last time they did that was in the 2005-06 season– you know, the one they went on to beat the Edmonton Oilers in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final.

    As for the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, well, there’s always a chance things go south for some of the teams ahead of them– except the Rangers are rebuilding and the Flyers have gone zero weeks without an injury to one of the eight goaltenders they’ve used this season.

    Western Conference

    Central Division

    1. y-Winnipeg Jets, 104 points (63 GP)
    2. x-St. Louis Blues, 100 points (63 GP)
    3. x-Nashville Predators, 93 points (66 GP)
    4. wc1-Colorado Avalanche, 92 points (64 GP)
    5. Minnesota Wild, 85 points (64 GP)
    6. Dallas Stars, 84 points (64 GP)
    7. Chicago Blackhawks, 75 points (64 GP)

    The Western Conference as a whole has been weaker than the Eastern Conference this season, but no division has been quite as lively as the Central Division.

    While the Winnipeg Jets soar into the postseason as the top-team in the Central, the St. Louis Blues are attempting to go from last to first– and then some.

    St. Louis might not stop at potentially leading the Central Division by the time the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin– they could just very well go on to win the Cup. The Blues are that hot.

    Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators added a lot of grit leading up to the trade deadline, acquiring Cody McLeod, Brian Boyle and Wayne Simmonds to bolster their crunch to go along with new addition, Mikael Granlund‘s scoring ability.

    Anyway, they’ve been slipping as of late and appear destined to miss out on home ice advantage in what will likely be a First Round matchup with St. Louis.

    Finally, one of the Western wild cards will surely come from the Central Division teams. Whether that’s the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild or Dallas Stars will depend on how hot Colorado’s first line is and/or how injured the Wild and Stars are.

    Kudos to the Chicago Blackhawks for setting the second half of the season ablaze, though not nearly as mightily as the Blues have, but they’ll still end up last in the Central, but about mid-pack league-wide.

    Pacific Division

    1. z-Calgary Flames, 111 points (64 GP)
    2. x-San Jose Sharks, 107 points (64 GP)
    3. x-Vegas Golden Knights, 100 points (65 GP)
    4. wc2-Arizona Coyotes, 91 points (64 GP)
    5. Vancouver Canucks, 88 points (65 GP)
    6. Edmonton Oilers, 84 points (64 GP)
    7. Anaheim Ducks, 75 points (64 GP)
    8. Los Angeles Kings, 68 points (64 GP)

    In the most disappointing division of the season, the Calgary Flames have risen a cut above the rest in the West. Not only do they look to lead the conference, but they look to do so in style.

    The Flames are a team that’s destined for a deeper run than just a First or Second Round exit in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but how much will recent playoff experience for the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights play into Calgary’s chances of going far?

    Vegas hasn’t been as dominant as they were in their inaugural season, however the Sharks have also had a few slip ups in the last month.

    Both teams are looking like they’ll meet in the First Round– a round sooner than their Second Round matchup last postseason. It’s a rematch for the ages for the Golden Knights, as the young franchise looks to continue to add to the nearly 30 years of dismal playoff failure for San Jose.

    One of the biggest– and most pleasant– surprises in the Western Conference? The Arizona Coyotes.

    The team is destined for a wild card spot this season and just might spoil the party for more than just who they cut out of the playoff picture.

    For the Vancouver Canucks, it’s a battle until the end. They might make it, they might not, but next season should be better– just stay the course.

    And if you’re the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and/or the Los Angeles Kings, you’ve got a lot of work to do in the offseason.

  • Bruins thunder past Lightning, 4-1

    After receiving 15 stitches after taking a puck to the mouth on Tuesday, Noel Acciari scored the eventual game-winning goal in the third period Thursday night, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, at TD Garden.

    For the first time in league history, two teams met in the midst of a 14-game point streak. Tampa entered the night on a franchise record, 10-game, winning streak.

    Tuukka Rask (21-8-5 record, 2.36 goals against average, .920 save percentage in 35 games played) made 20 saves on 21 shots against for a .952 SV% in the win.

    Lightning goaltender, Louis Domingue (19-5-0, 2.92 GAA, .908 SV% in 24 GP) stopped 37 out of 41 shots faced for a .902 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 38-17-9 (85 points) on the season and remained in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division standings behind their Thursday night opponent, the Lightning, who fell to 49-12-4 (102 points) and remained in control of the Atlantic.

    Boston improved to 25-4-5 when scoring first this season and 24-1-3 when leading after two periods. The B’s are 11-0-4 in their last 15 games and went without a loss in regulation in the month of February for just the 9th time in franchise history.

    The last time Boston went without a regulation loss in one month’s time was in November 2011.

    The Bruins finished February with an 11-0-2 record.

    Kevan Miller (upper body) and David Pastrnak (left thumb) remained out of the lineup as Bruce Cassidy kept his lines the same from Tuesday night’s, 4-1, win over the San Jose Sharks.

    Peter Cehlarik and Karson Kuhlman were recalled on emergency basis on Wednesday, but re-assigned back to the Providence Bruins (AHL) by puck drop Thursday night.

    Steven Kampfer was the only healthy scratch for Boston with Miller and Pastrnak out due to injury.

    Early in the first period, after taking a cross check into the frame of the net, David Backes dropped the gloves and went square dancing with Adam Erne.

    It was Backes’ second fight in the last two games as both players were assessed five-minute major penalties for fighting at 2:54 of the opening frame.

    Neither team could buy a goal or a penalty in the first period, as the Bruins and Lightning went back to their respective dressing rooms for the first intermission, tied, 0-0.

    The B’s led Tampa in shots on goal (17-4), while the Bolts led Boston in blocked shots (8-2), takeaways (6-2), giveaways (4-3), hits (14-7) and face-off win percentage (58-42).

    Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, was assessed a two-minute minor infraction for cross checking Tyler Johnson at 4:54 of the second period.

    The Bolts did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Almost midway through the middle frame, Victor Hedman was sent to the penalty box for interference at 8:11.

    While on the power play, Bruins winger, Jake DeBrusk (21) ripped a wrist shot off of Lightning defender, Anton Stralman, and through Domingue’s five-hole to score the game’s first goal and give Boston the lead, 1-0, at 8:43 of the second period.

    Torey Krug (39) and Rask (2) were credited with the primary and secondary assists.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 32-9, in shots on goal.

    That’s right, Boston only allowed nine shots against entering the second intermission against the best team in the NHL– and even outshot the Bolts, 15-5, in the second period alone.

    Tampa led in blocked shots (14-11), takeaways (9-5), giveaways (9-6) and hits (24-15), while the Bruins led in face-off win% (52-48).

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

    Almost midway through the final frame of regulation, Hedman took a skate to the sin bin for the second time of the night for tripping Acciari at 9:29.

    In the vulnerable minute after the ensuing power play, Chris Wagner sent a shot off of Domingue’s pads, generating a rebound, whereby Acciari (3) buried the loose puck in on the far side of the twine.

    Boston led, 2-0, at 11:47 of the third period thanks to Acciari’s goal.

    Wagner (6) had the only assist, but the Bruins were not done scoring.

    Less than a minute later, Patrice Bergeron (22) received a pass from Danton Heinen and let go of a shot from the bumper through the five-hole of the Lightning goaltender to put the B’s ahead, 3-0, on two goals in a span of 45 seconds.

    Heinen (14) and Acciari (5) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s goal at 12:32 of the third period.

    Prior to Bergeron’s goal, Domingue had stopped 36 out of 37 shots against.

    Brad Marchand (26) completed Boston’s run of four unanswered goals– including three goals in a span of 1:28– with a breakaway goal at 13:15.

    Heinen (15) and Krug (40) notched the assists as the Bruins led, 4-0.

    Almost 40 seconds later, Anthony Cirelli (13) tipped in a shot from the point by Ondrej Palat after the Tampa forward kept the puck in the offensive zone for the Bolts.

    Palat (20) had the only assist on Cirelli’s goal at 13:52, as the Lightning trailed, 4-1.

    Almost a minute later, Hedman hooked Charlie Coyle and went to the box for the third time of the night at 14:30.

    Boston’s ensuing power play was cut short when Charlie McAvoy hooked Cedric Paquette at 15:54, resulting in 37 seconds of 4-on-4 action before an abbreviated power play for the Bolts.

    Late in the third, Matt Grzelcyk cross checked J.T. Miller and was assessed an infraction at 17:59.

    Tampa did not score on the ensuing power play.

    With about 90 seconds remaining in the game, Lightning head coach, Jon Cooper, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was not successful as time expired in the action.

    Boston completed the, 4-1, victory and snapped Tampa’s 10-game winning streak.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in shots on goal (41-21), while the Lightning led in blocked shots (16-12), giveaways (16-7) and hits (35-22).

    Both teams went 50-50 in face-off win%, while the Bolts went 0/3 on the skater advantage. The B’s finished 1/3 on the power play Thursday night.

    Heinen (two assists), Krug (two assists) and Acciari (one goal, one assist) each had two points in the effort, while Tampa fell to 6-3 on the second night of back-to-back games this season.

    Boston meets with Tampa two more times in the regular season, including once more in Tampa on March 25th and for their final game of the regular season at TD Garden on April 6th.

    The Bruins kick off the month of March with the continuation of their six-game homestand on Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. Next Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes visit the B’s and will be wearing their Hartford Whalers throwbacks.

    Boston takes on the Florida Panthers next Thursday (March 7th) and the Ottawa Senators that Saturday (March 9th) before hitting the road to Pittsburgh on March 10th.

  • DTFR Podcast #147- Trade The Whole Team

    DTFR Podcast #147- Trade The Whole Team

    It’s the DTFR 2019 Trade Deadline recap! Plus a few other notes from the last week around the NHL.

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

  • Bruins take bite out of the Sharks, 4-1

    The Boston Bruins returned home for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday night and promptly beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-1, at TD Garden– eight days after the two teams collided for a thrilling (and controversial) battle in San Jose.

    Boston swept the season series with the Sharks, 2-0-0, after Tuesday’s win and Feb. 18th’s, 6-5, victory in overtime.

    David Krejci, Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand had goals for the Bruins, while Logan Couture had the only goal for the Sharks.

    Jaroslav Halak (17-9-4 record, 2.29 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 32 games played) made 19 saves on 20 shots against for a .950 SV% in the win for the B’s.

    Sharks goaltender, Martin Jones (29-13-5, 2.95 GAA, .875 SV% in 48 GP), stopped 28 out of 32 shots faced for an .875 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 23-1-3 when leading after two periods and 10-0-2 in the month of February.

    Boston also improved to 37-17-9 (83 points) on the season and remained in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division standings, while San Jose fell to 37-19-8 (82 points) on the season, but still in 2nd place in the Pacific Division.

    Weymouth, Massachusetts native, Charlie Coyle, made his home debut for Boston and Marcus Johansson made his debut (at home and for the team) with the Bruins on Tuesday.

    Johansson was acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Monday prior to the league’s trade deadline in exchange for a 2019 2nd round pick and a 2020 4th round pick. He is the first player in franchise history to wear No. 90.

    The Bruins also signed Lee Stempniak to a one-year, $650,000 contract on Sunday and formally assigned the veteran NHL winger to the Providence Bruins (AHL).

    Upon the acquisition of Johansson, the B’s re-assigned Karson Kuhlman and Peter Cehlarik to Providence to keep them eligible for the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs.

    Boston General Manager Don Sweeney provided an update on David Pastrnak (left thumb) during his press conference after the trade deadline on Monday and announced Pastrnak would be in a cast for about two more weeks, then he’d need to get a splint and a sense as to his measure of comfort for his eventual return to the lineup.

    With Kevan Miller (upper body) day-to-day after blocking a shot up high in Vegas against the Golden Knights, John Moore was inserted on the third defensive pairing.

    Bruce Cassidy kept his usual first and fourth lines together, as well as his first two defensive pairings, while adjusting his second and third lines to account for the additions of Johansson and Coyle.

    Johansson suited up to the right side of Krejci and DeBrusk, while Coyle centered the third line with David Backes on his right wing and Joakim Nordstrom returning to the lineup as the left wing (Nordstrom was a healthy scratch in St. Louis).

    Steven Kampfer was the only healthy scratch for Boston on Tuesday with Miller and Pastrnak out of the lineup due to injury.

    Early in the first period, Justin Braun slashed Coyle as the Bruins center was in the midst of a scoring chance at 5:41.

    Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play and instead committed the game’s next infraction, when Matt Grzelcyk hooked Michael Haley at 11:58 of the first period.

    Less than a minute into San Jose’s first power play of the night, Couture (23) banked one off of Halak’s leg pad and squeezed the puck between Halak’s pad and the inner post.

    Couture’s power play goal was unassisted and gave the Sharks the lead, 1-0, at 12:47 of the opening frame.

    Less than two minutes later, Timo Meier caught DeBrusk with a high-stick and drew some blood. As a result, Meier was assessed a double-minor penalty at 14:29.

    Just ten seconds into the resulting 5-on-4 advantage for the next four minutes, Boston worked the puck around the umbrella setup, yielding a one-timer from Krejci (15) that blew past Jones to tie the game, 1-1.

    Torey Krug (38) and Marchand (48) notched the assists on Krejci’s power play goal at 14:39.

    Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, while the Bruins led the Sharks in shots on goal (16-8). The B’s also held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (4-3), giveaways (8-4), hits (11-3) and face-off win percentage (68-32).

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

    Erik Karlsson had battled a groin injury earlier in the month of February and missed the last time these two teams went toe-to-toe on Feb. 18th, but he was on the ice for a grueling effort.

    Early in the middle frame, Karlsson tried to defend McAvoy in the Sharks’ defensive zone, but appeared to have overexerted himself and tweaked something in his leg.

    Karlsson went to the dressing room and returned later in the period, only to once again make an exit after Marchand danced around the Sharks defender for a shorthanded goal later in the period.

    The veteran blue liner did not return for the third period of action.

    Meanwhile, almost halfway through the second period, McAvoy (5) sniped a wrist shot past Jones’ blocker on a give-and-go from Marchand after the feisty Bruin received a pass from Danton Heinen entering the zone.

    Marchand (49) and Heinen (13) tallied the assists on what would become the game-winning goal at 9:09 of the second period and the Bruins had their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    A mere 37 seconds later, DeBrusk (20) reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career as Boston entered the attacking zone on a three-on-one with tremendous puck movement.

    Krejci (40) and Johansson (16) were credited with the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 9:46, as the Bruins led, 3-1.

    With the assist on the goal, Johansson picked up his first point as a member of Boston.

    Less than a minute later, Sean Kuraly tripped up Joe Thornton and took a trip to the penalty box at 10:29.

    While shorthanded, Marchand (25) received a pass and broke free from Karlsson and the rest of the Sharks to dangle and get a shot off with the backhand through the five-hole on the San Jose netminder to make it, 4-1, for Boston at 12:28 of the middle frame.

    Marchand’s shorthanded goal was the 25th of his career and tied Rick Middleton for the most in Bruins franchise history.

    Of course, Patrice Bergeron (36) had the primary assist on Marchand’s goal, while Brandon Carlo (5) had the secondary assist.

    Late in the period, Evander Kane tried to fight Kuraly, but the linesmen intervened as Kuraly had not had the chance to take off his gloves.

    Kane received two roughing minors to Kuraly’s one roughing infraction, leaving the Sharks shorthanded at 14:55. Kevin Labanc served Kane’s extra minor.

    A few minutes later, Barclay Goodrow and Chris Wagner got tangled up in front of the benches and exchanged brief fisticuffs before the linesmen got in the way and ended the fight early.

    Goodrow and Wagner both received five-minute major penalties for fighting at 17:54.

    Less than a minute after that, Moore was penalized for cross-checking Meier at 18:25.

    San Jose did not score on the ensuing power play and both teams went into the second intermission with Boston leading on the scoreboard, 4-1, and in shots on goal, 24-12.

    The B’s also led in blocked shots (10-6), takeaways (6-5), giveaways (11-9), hits (18-16) and face-off win% (58-42) as they continued to flat-out dominate the Sharks on home ice.

    Boston was 1/4 on the power play, while San Jose was 1/3 heading into the third period.

    Early in the third period, while going hard for the puck, Zdeno Chara caught an elbow on Kane, which led to Kane pulling down the 6-foot-9 captain of the B’s from behind and throwing a couple punches.

    Chara, in return, got back to his feet and was willing to fight a fair fight. He promptly delivered several well placed punches as Kane hunched over to avoid an otherwise surefire death sentence from the tallest player in NHL history in his 2nd fight in 44 games this season.

    Kane received an instigating penalty on top of his five-minute major for fighting. As such, he automatically was charged with a ten-minute misconduct, while Chara picked up two minutes for elbowing and a five-minute major for fighting.

    As a result of Kane’s instigating penalty, the Sharks were left shorthanded at 3:22 of the third period.

    Almost 30 seconds later, Kane received a game misconduct for his continued verbal argument with the refs at 3:51.

    Seconds after the ensuing face-off Haley didn’t even bother to make a play and instead dropped the gloves with Backes as the game further descended into chaos.

    After Backes and Haley were sent to the sin bin– each with five-minute majors for fighting– at 3:56 of the third period, neither team scored a goal, nor committed another infraction.

    By the final horn, Boston had secured the win, 4-1, over San Jose and dominated shots on goal, 32-20.

    The Bruins finished the night leading in blocked shots (16-7) and face-off win% (58-42), while the Sharks finished the action ahead in giveaways (15-13) and hits (27-21).

    Boston finished Tuesday’s action 1/4 on the power play, while San Jose went 1/3 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s finish off the month of February with a Thursday night matchup against the league leading, Tampa Bay Lightning. Boston then sets its sights on the month of March as their six-game homestand continues against the Devils on Saturday and the Carolina Hurricanes next Tuesday (March 5th).

    Next Thursday (March 7th), the Florida Panthers visit Boston, followed by the Ottawa Senators (March 9th), before the Bruins hit the road in Pittsburgh (March 10th) for their first road trip since the trade deadline.

  • Analysis: McQuaid’s a solid trade for Columbus

    Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen checked everything off his shopping list, both in the days leading up to and including the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline.

    Kekalainen got a number one center on Friday in Matt Duchene, he added a quality top-nine forward in Ryan Dzingel on Saturday, added depth in the crease with Keith Kinkaid early Monday morning, then completed the puzzle among current NHLers in a transaction with the New York Rangers on Monday afternoon.

    The Blue Jackets acquired Adam McQuaid from the Rangers in exchange for Julius Bergman, a 2019 4th round pick and a 2019 7th round pick.

    McQuaid, 32, was originally drafted in the 2nd round (55th overall) by Columbus in the 2005 NHL Draft, but was traded to the Boston Bruins on May 16, 2007.

    He went on to become a solid top-six defender with the Bruins, winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, while remaining a stay-at-home, shot blocking machine.

    John Tortorella is going to like having him around in the defensive zone.

    For the first time since being drafted by the Blue Jackets, McQuaid will have a chance to suit up in Columbus red, white and blue.

    In 36 games for the Rangers this season, he has two goals and three assists (five points), with a plus-three rating and 33 penalty minutes.

    Hampered by injuries in his final season with Boston, McQuaid amassed 1-3–4 totals in 38 games with the Bruins in 2017-18 and has 15-56–71 totals in 498 career NHL games with New York and Boston.

    In 68 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, he has three goals and eight assists (11 points) along with a plus-13 rating and 30 penalty minutes.

    McQuaid scored the only goal in Boston’s series clinching sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2013 Eastern Conference Final and had four assists in the B’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship.

    He should slide in place of Scott Harrington or Dean Kukan down the stretch for Columbus and help bring some vital postseason experience, along with veteran leadership, to the Blue Jackets blue line.

    Bergman, 23, was previously acquired by Columbus from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 22nd as part of the Duchene trade and appeared in 33 American Hockey League games with the Belleville Senators this season prior to being assigned to the Cleveland Monsters (before being traded once again).

    The young defender had six assists with Belleville and has 16-51–67 totals in 223 career AHL games with the Worcester Sharks, San Jose Barracuda and Belleville.

    He was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft.

    With the addition of a 4th round and 7th round pick in this year’s draft, the Rangers now have ten picks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in June.

  • Analysis: Stone rocks Vegas offense

    Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee made the biggest splash at the annual NHL Trade Deadline, acquiring Mark Stone and Tobias Lindberg from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 2nd round pick (originally belonging to the Dallas Stars).

    In the grand scheme of things, Ottawa completes the circle of assets for Marc Methot, as the Golden Knights claimed the defender from the Senators in the 2017 Expansion Draft, then traded Methot to the Stars for Dylan Ferguson and a 2020 2nd round pick.

    Oh, also, the Sens got rid of their top three scorers in a span of three days leading up to and including the deadline day itself.

    But for Vegas, Stone, 26, joins the Golden Knights riding a career-high 28 goals and 34 assists (62 points) in 59 games played this season. He’s reached the 20-goal plateau in five consecutive seasons and had a career-high 42 assists last season, amassing 20-42–62 totals in 58 games.

    Short of Alex Ovechkin‘s ability to score almost 50 goals a season for the last decade (basically), Stone is perhaps the most consistent goal scorer– and he’s only just reaching the arch of his prime.

    As such, Vegas was quick to get Stone to agree to terms on a contract extension that he cannot technically sign until March 1st. The expected deal will be an eight-year contract worth $9.500 million per season, as first reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.

    Stone has 123-188–311 totals in 366 career NHL games with Ottawa and five goals and eight assists (13 points) in 27 career postseason games. He was originally drafted by the Senators in the 6th round (178th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.

    He’ll immediately make an impact on the first line alongside Jonathan Marchessault and, pending-RFA, William Karlsson, while Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny and Alex Tuch continue to round-out Vegas’ top-six forwards.

    Should the Golden Knights start to peak at the right time, they’ll look to be as much of a force– if not better– than they were last season in their run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.

    Tobias Lindberg, meanwhile, rejoins the Golden Knights family after previously being acquired by Vegas– along with a 2018 6th round pick– in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Calvin Pickard on Oct. 6, 2017.

    The 23-year-old spent the entire 2017-18 season with the Chicago Wolves (AHL), but was later traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 23, 2018. On Dec. 5, 2018, Lindberg was once again on the move, this time being traded to the Senators.

    He has appeared in six career NHL games with the Maple Leafs during the 2015-16 season and recorded two assists in that span. He had 5-7–12 totals in 34 AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Belleville Senators this season.

    While Oscar Lindberg, 27, is a current NHL roster player in the deal, the biggest piece in return to the Senators is Brannstrom.

    The 19-year-old defender was drafted by the Golden Knights in the 1st round (15th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and recorded seven goals and 21 assists (28 points) in 41 games with the Wolves this season.

    He also had 2-2–4 totals in five preseason games for Vegas this season and most recently captained Team Sweden in the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship to a perfect 4-0-0-0 preliminary round record, while leading all defenders in the tournament in scoring with four goals in five games.

    In the long run, Brannstrom might be the perfect replacement for Erik Karlsson (traded in the offseason to the San Jose Sharks) on Ottawa’s blue line as a puck moving, offensive minded, defender.

    The elder Lindberg, on the other hand, is in his sixth professional season, having recorded 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 35 games this season for the Golden Knights.

    In his career, Lindberg has 34-37–71 totals in 232 games with Vegas and the New York Rangers. He was claimed from the Rangers in the 2017 Expansion Draft by the Golden Knights and has three goals and two assists (five points) in 17 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

    He was originally drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes (now Arizona Coyotes) in the 2nd round (57th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.

    While Sens fans may be disappointed to see the last of their top scorers be dealt to a playoff contender, at least the return on the Stone deal was close to what it should’ve actually been compared to previous high-profile trades out of Ottawa.

    Though they really could’ve gotten at least another draft pick, if not a first round pick in this deal for someone of Stone’s caliber.

  • Analysis: Colorado’s brass shines with Brassard

    Monday afternoon, Colorado Avalanche General Manager Joe Sakic addressed a need in a deal with Florida Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon.

    Sakic needed a third line center and he only needed to go down the hallway to find one. No, really, Colorado and Florida were facing each other Monday night, so the logistics of the trade were pretty simple.

    Colorado acquired Derick Brassard and a conditional 2020 6th round pick from Florida in exchange for a 2020 3rd round pick. If Brassard re-signs with the Avalanche, Colorado will not receive Florida’s 6th round pick in 2020.

    Brassard, 31, has ten goals and nine assists (19 points) in 50 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Panthers this season. He was acquired by Florida on Feb. 1st and have 1-3–4 totals in 10 games with the Panthers prior to being traded twice in the same season for the second year in-a-row.

    Originally drafted in the 1st round (6th overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2006 NHL Draft, Brassard has 172-275–447 totals in 766 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Penguins and Panthers.

    He has 23 goals and 36 assists (59 points) in 90 career Stanley Cup Playoff appearances and helped lead Canada with 11 points (five goals, six assists) to the gold medal at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.

    Though being traded a bunch of times can get tiring, there’s always one thing that can be pulled away from it– you’re in demand.

    As long as there’s a GM out there that wants you on their team, that’s a good sign. Right now, Sakic wants Brassard on his team.

    He’ll fit in with Tyson Jost and Matt Calvert as an anchoring presence down the middle to provide some much needed depth in the Avs lineup that– should they make the postseason– might just get them into the Second Round at least.

    As for Florida, Tallon now owns two 3rd round picks in the 2020 NHL Draft. Should the Panthers figure things out in the offseason, that extra pick on hand might be just enough to attract a larger return at next season’s trade deadline.

    Of course, if Florida is content with their current plan– whatever that may be– or fails to bring in some big talent in the offseason, then stockpiling 2020 Draft picks isn’t a terrible idea.

    Next year’s draft looks like it’ll be deeper than this coming offseason’s draft class.

  • Analysis: Kinkaid paints light in Columbus’ crease

    Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen was active on Monday, first adding depth in the crease, having acquired goaltender, Keith Kinkaid, from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2022 5th round pick.

    Kinkaid, 29, has a 15-18-6 record, 3.66 goals against average and ,891 save percentage in 41 games played this season playing behind a lackluster Devils defense.

    Sergei Bobrovsky‘s 2.75 GAA and .908 SV% in 45 games played keeps him ahead of Kinkaid as the Blue Jackets starter, however Kinkaid provides some healthy competition for the role of the backup goaltender down the stretch as Joonas Korpisalo‘s 3.07 GAA and .896 SV% in 21 games played hasn’t been ideal.

    Kinkaid has a 64-55-17 record with a 2.90 GAA and .906 SV% in 151 career games with New Jersey since making his NHL debut in the 2012-13 season.

    He has a career-high three shutouts this season and led the United States to a bronze medal at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, where he posted a 2.29 GAA and .912 SV% in nine games.

    It’s a low risk, high reward transaction for Columbus, as Kekalainen only gave up a 5th round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, despite ridding his organization of nearly every selection they’ll have in the 2019 Draft by Monday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

    No, seriously, the Blue Jackets have their own 3rd round pick and Calgary’s 7th round pick in this June’s Draft.

  • Boston’s singing the Blues, lose 2-1 in shootout to St. Louis

    Two red-hot teams collided at Enterprise Center on Saturday afternoon, whereby the home team, St. Louis Blues topped the Boston Bruins, 2-1, in a shootout. The Blues have won 12 out of their last 13 games and the Bruins’ seven-game winning streak was snapped.

    Jordan Binnington (14-2-1 record, 1.70 goals against average, .934 save percentage in 19 games played) made 31 saves on 32 shots against (.969 SV%) in the shootout victory for St. Louis, while Boston goaltender, Tuukka Rask (20-8-5, 2.40 GAA, .920 SV% in 34 GP) turned aside 28 out of 29 shots faced (.966 SV%) in the loss.

    Binnington is the sixth goaltender in NHL history to earn wins in each of his first six-plus career regular season home starts (joining Martin Jones, 6-0-0 with the Los Angeles Kings from Dec. 3-21, 2013, Bob Froese, 6-0-0 with the Philadelphia Flyers from Jan. 8-27, 1983, Wayne Thomas, 7-0-0 with the Montreal Canadiens from Jan. 14-27, 1973, Ken Dryden, 8-0-0 with the Canadiens from March 14-April 3, 1971 and Frank McCool, 8-0-0 with the Toronto Maple Leafs from Oct. 28-Nov. 11, 1944).

    Boston’s seven-game winning streak was their longest stretch of consecutive victories since 2013-14 (12-0-0). The Bruins are now 9-0-2 in the month of February and finished their five-game Western Conference road trip, 4-0-1, earning nine out of a possible ten points in the standings.

    The B’s fell to 36-17-9 (81 points) on the season, but remain in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Blues improved to 33-23-5 (71 points) this year and remain 3rd in the Central Division.

    Charlie Coyle made his debut for the Bruins since being acquired on Wednesday from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional 2019 5th round pick and Ryan Donato.

    Coyle centered the third line as Bruce Cassidy inserted Peter Cehlarik to the left of Coyle and David Backes on his right. Cehlarik returned to the lineup for the first time after missing the last two games with a lower body injury and was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Thursday.

    Trent Frederic was reassigned to Providence in Cehlarik’s place after Cehlarik was originally sent down on Wednesday to accommodate the acquisition of Coyle’s cap hit.

    Cassidy left the rest of his lines the same, as Joakim Nordstrom joined John Moore and Steven Kampfer as the B’s healthy scratches. David Pastrnak (left thumb) remains out of the lineup, but is progressing well, according to Cassidy.

    Almost midway through the first period, Alex Steen (7) capitalized on a give-and-go off a Bruins turnover and fired a shot past Rask to give St. Louis the lead, 1-0.

    Oskar Sundqvist (12) had the only assist on Steen’s goal at 7:15 of the first period.

    Late in the opening frame, Colton Parayko slashed Jake DeBrusk and sent Boston onto their first power play of the afternoon at 18:16. The B’s skater advantage was cut short after Torey Krug tripped up Ivan Barbashev at 19:29.

    An abbreviated 4-on-4 scenario unfolded heading into the second period, whereby a short power play would commence for the Blues thereafter.

    Through one period of play, St. Louis led Boston, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 9-8, in shots on goal. The Bruins held the advantage in blocked shots (5-1) and hits (10-9), while the Blues led in takeaways (7-1), giveaways (2-0) and face-off win percentage (58-42).

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

    Early in the middle frame, after killing off Krug’s minor, the Bruins caught the Blues behind the play as Krug dished a pass up-ice to Kevan Miller through the neutral zone.

    Miller found Chris Wagner (9) bolting down the right side in open ice and connected with the B’s winger on a tape-to-tape pass. Wagner promptly fired a shot past Binnington’s short side to tie the game, 1-1, at 5:12 of the second period.

    Miller (6) and Krug (37) notched the assists on Wagner’s third goal in his last seven shots.

    Moments later, Coyle was penalized for hooking St. Louis’ top star, Vladimir Tarasenko, at 7:28 of the second period. Boston killed off the penalty with ease as the Blues failed to convert on the skater advantage.

    Late in the second frame, Brad Marchand took a trip to the penalty box for holding Ryan O’Reilly and St. Louis went back on the power play at 15:32.

    The Blues did not convert on their third power play of the evening, but still fired four shots on goal.

    After 40 minutes of play, the score remained tied, 1-1, with the Bruins leading in shots on goal (19-16) and blocked shots (15-4). St. Louis held onto the lead in takeaways (12-4), giveaways (6-0), hits (16-14) and face-off win% (63-38).

    Boston was still 0/1 on the power play, while the Blues were 0/3 on the skater advantage heading into the second intermission.

    Though the game was still tied in the third period, only one event was noted on the scoresheet– a penalty against Boston at 11:57. Brandon Carlo received a two-minute minor for tripping Sammy Blais– the eventual shootout game-winning goal scorer.

    Through regulation, the Bruins led in shots on goal (30-23) and blocked shots (22-6), while the Blues led in takeaways (14-6), giveaways (10-1), hits (29-17) and face-off win% (54-46).

    St. Louis finished the game 0/4 on the power play, while Boston went 0/1 on the skater advantage. No penalties were called in the overtime period.

    Speaking of overtime, Cassidy started Sean Kuraly, Coyle and Charlie McAvoy, while Blues interim head coach, Craig Berube, sent out Jaden Schwartz, Tyler Bozak and Parayko to kick off the five-minute, 3-on-3, action.

    Cassidy soon was quickly rotating two defenders and one forward as the Bruins were trapped in their own zone, playing for a shootout. Rask made six saves in overtime, including a few heartbeat elevating stops on Tarasenko and gifted scorers for St. Louis.

    After overtime wasn’t enough to settle a, 1-1, game, things would be decided with a shootout.

    But first, a quick– final– review… Boston led in shots on goal (32-29) after 65 minutes of play and in blocked shots (23-6), while St. Louis led in giveaways (10-1), hits (30-17) and face-off win% (54-46).

    In the first round of the shootout, Bozak scored high, blocker side, on Rask after flying in with speed, then slowing himself down to snipe his shot.

    DeBrusk, on the other hand, was stopped by Binnington– in fitting fashion, after his five-game goal scoring streak was snapped once time expired in overtime.

    Tarasenko’s backhand shot went wide in the second round of the shootout, while Marchand straight-up missed the net with his own backhand.

    O’Reilly was stopped with the first shot of the third round, but Coyle scored after deking Binnington out of position and sliding the puck just past his outstretched leg pad to force the shootout into extra, sudden death, rounds.

    Steen, David Backes, Robert Thomas and Patrice Bergeron were all stopped by their opposing goaltender, while Blais roofed the puck into the twine in the sixth round after Rask sprawled to make a poke-check in desperation.

    With the game on his stick, Danton Heinen, had to score. Instead, he rushed his shot entering the zone and firing wide of the net to drop to 0-for-5 in his shootout career.

    St. Louis had won the shootout, 2-1, after six rounds and took home the extra point, as well as the final score, 2-1.

    For the fifth time in the last eight games for Boston, bonus hockey had been required. The Bruins fell to 2-3 in shootouts this season, while the Blues improved to 1-1.

    Boston fell to 12-2-4 when tied after two periods this season, but earned nine out of a possible ten points on their five-game road trip (4-0-1) as St. Louis has now won 12 out of their last 13 games.
    The Bruins return home with a 4-0-1 record on their five-game road trip and take on the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday and Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday to wrap up their schedule in the month of February.

  • Backes’ shootout winner lifts B’s, 3-2, over Vegas

    David Backes scored the game-winning shootout goal in the sixth round to lift the Boston Bruins over the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2, at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

    As a result, the Bruins are 4-0-0 on their current five-game road trip and a seven-game winning streak.

    Jake DeBrusk and Brad Marchand had goals for Boston, while Reilly Smith and Nate Schmidt scored in the loss for the Golden Knights.

    Jaroslav Halak (16-9-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 31 games played) made 31 saves on 33 shots against for a .939 SV% in the shootout victory for the B’s.

    Vegas goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury (29-18-5, 2.60 GAA, .908 SV% in 52 GP) stopped 25 out of 27 shots faced for a .926 SV% in the shootout loss.

    The Bruins improved to 36-17-8 (80 points) on the season and remain in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Golden Knights fell to 32-25-5 (69 points) and remained 3rd in the Pacific Division.

    Boston also improved to 9-0-1 in the month of February.

    Prior to puck drop in Wednesday night’s action, the Bruins completed a trade with the Minnesota Wild, sending Ryan Donato and a conditional 2019 5th round pick to Minnesota in exchange for Charlie Coyle. If Boston advances to the Second Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the conditional 5th round pick becomes a 2019 4th round pick (originally from the New York Rangers).

    The 2019 4th round pick was previously acquired along with Steven Kampfer from New York in return for Adam McQuaid on Sept. 11, 2018.

    As a result of the acquisition, since the Bruins were already at the 23-player roster limit, Peter Cehlarik was reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) during the first intermission of Boston’s Wednesday night battle with Vegas (at which point, the trade was officially announced).

    Bruce Cassidy kept the same lines from Monday night’s, 6-5, overtime win over the San Jose Sharks, while Kampfer joined John Moore as the only official healthy scratches at the arena (as Coyle had yet to join the team and Cehlarik was assigned).

    David Pastrnak remains out of the lineup due to surgery on his left thumb.

    Early in the first period, Schmidt was penalized for high-sticking when he got his stick up in Marchand’s face at 4:58 of the first period. Boston did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Midway through the first period, DeBrusk (19) struck first on the scoreboard after receiving a pass from David Krejci, spinning past a defending Golden Knight skater and scoring from the low slot to make it, 1-0, Bruins.

    Krejci (39) and Karson Kuhlman (1) tallied the assists on DeBrusk’s fifth goal in the last five games at 11:17.

    Moments later, Danton Heinen tripped up Vegas defender, Jon Merrill, sending the Golden Knights on the power play at 14:24 of the first period.

    Vegas did not convert on the ensuing power play.

    Two minutes after the Bruins killed off Heinen’s minor infraction, the Golden Knights were pressing with a shot from the point that rebounded off of Halak’s leg pad.

    Smith (10) jumped at the loose puck and pocketed his first goal in 13 games, tying the game, 1-1, at 18:24.

    Cody Eakin (17) and Merrill (8) notched the assists on the goal.

    After one period, the game was tied, 1-1, despite Vegas leading in shots on goal, 10-6. Boston led in blocked shots (9-6) entering the first intermission, while the Golden Knights led in takeaways (7-2), giveaways (4-2), hits (15-5) and face-off win% (57-44).

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

    Vegas was caught with too many men on the ice early in the second period and was charged with a bench minor. Gerard Gallant sent Oscar Lindberg to serve the penalty and the Golden Knights’ penalty kill successfully thwarted Boston’s power play advances.

    Brayden McNabb was nabbed for holding Chris Wagner at 12:21 of the middle frame, but the Bruins struck out on the extra skater advantage once again.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the score was still tied, 1-1, with the Golden Knights outshooting the Bruins, 22-14.

    The B’s led in blocked shots (14-13) and giveaways (8-7) after two periods, while Vegas led in takeaways (14-4), hits (28-16) and face-off win% (52-48).

    Entering the third period the Golden Knights were 0/1 on the skater advantage and the Bruins were 0/3.

    Just 69 seconds into the third period, Marchand (24) ripped a one-timer past Fleury to give Boston the lead, 2-1, early in the final frame.

    Heinen (12) and Charlie McAvoy (14) had the assists on Marchand’s fifth goal in the last seven games for the Bruins.

    A mere 27 seconds after Marchand put the B’s ahead, Schmidt (7) waltzed past the B’s defense and roofed the puck past Halak’s glove side to tie the game, 2-2.

    Smith (24) and Jonathan Marchessault (22) had the assists on Schmidt’s goal at 1:36 of the third period.

    There were no other events on the scoresheet until the final horn in regulation.

    With the score knotted up at two goals aside, overtime would commence after the Golden Knights led in shots on goal (30-26) through 60 minutes of play. Vegas also led in blocked shots (18-17), takeaways (15-6), giveaways (12-9) and hits (37-24).

    Entering the five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime period, Boston led in face-off win% (53-47).

    Sean Kuraly, Wagner and Matt Grzelcyk started the overtime period for the Bruins, while Max Pacioretty, Marchessault and Shea Theodore kicked things off for the Golden Knights.

    After Boston was sluggish getting out of their own zone almost midway through overtime, they finally managed to change their forwards, leaving Krug behind the play.

    While Krug took his time getting off the ice, McAvoy jumped onto the playing surface and received a pass, but the whistle was blown– the Bruins had too many men on the ice.

    Cassidy sent Heinen to the penalty box to serve the bench minor at 2:14 of the overtime and Boston dug in deep to kill of the penalty.

    After 65 minutes of action, the score was still, 2-2, but the Golden Knights led in shots on goal, 33-27 (3-1 in OT).

    The Bruins finished the night leading in blocked shots (20-18) and face-off win% (52-48), while Vegas led in giveaways (12-9) and hits (38-24).

    Vegas went 0/2 on the power play, while Boston went 0/3 on the skater advantage Wednesday night.

    Gallant elected to have his team shoot first in the ensuing shootout, sending Brandon Pirri to the net against Halak with the first shot.

    Halak made the save.

    DeBrusk kicked things off in the shootout for Boston with a soft handed shot elevated just enough to ring the crossbar on its way into the net behind Fleury, giving the Bruins the lead in the shootout, 1-0, after one round.

    William Karlsson followed up DeBrusk’s goal with a snap shot goal of his own, tying the shootout, 1-1, through two rounds (Patrice Bergeron‘s attempt was denied by Fleury).

    Alex Tuch and Marchand were both denied in the third round. The same went for Marchessault and Heinen in the fourth round.

    Gallant and Cassidy sent out their defenders in the fifth round, with Theodore getting a chance (denied) and Krug getting a shot off on Fleury (easy save).

    In the sixth round, Gallant sent out Lindberg’s skilled hands, but Halak kept the paddle down to block his five-hole and make the save.

    Finally, Backes emerged from the Bruins bench and made his way towards the net with the puck casually on his stick.

    He unloaded a wrist shot up high on Fleury and scored the game-winning shootout goal, notching the, 3-2, victory for Boston in the sixth round of the shootout.

    Boston’s point streak was extended to 12 games as the B’s improved to 2-2 in shootouts this season. Vegas fell to 2-2 in shootouts and lost on home ice for the first time to the Bruins in Golden Knights franchise history.

    The Bruins improved to 24-4-5 when scoring first this season and improved to 15-10-5 on the road. They have not lost a game in regulation since Jan. 19th.

    Boston travels to St. Louis to wrap up their five-game road trip on Saturday against the Blues. Coyle is expected to make his Bruins debut with the team on the road before his homecoming debut at TD Garden next Tuesday (Feb. 26th) against the team that originally drafted him, the San Jose Sharks.

    The B’s close out the month of February with a home matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning next Thursday (Feb. 28th).