Down the Frozen River

Tag: Pacific Division

Bruins rebound with, 2-1, win in Arizona

Charlie McAvoy’s power-play goal in the second period was enough to ensure the Boston Bruins of a, 2-1, victory over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena Friday night.

Boston has won 17 consecutive regular season matchups against Arizona since losing, 5-2, to the then-Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 9, 2010, in the 2010-11 season opener in Prague, Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, back at Gila River Arena on Friday, Linus Ullmark (15-5-1, 2.54 goals-against average, .916 save percentage in 22 games played) made 30 saves on 31 shots faced for a .968 save percentage in the win for the B’s.

Coyotes goaltender, Scott Wedgewood (4-9-2, 3.32 goals-against average, .899 save percentage in 17 games played), turned aside 35 out of 37 shots faced in the loss.

The Bruins improved to 25-13-3 (53 points) on the season at the halfway point of the 2021-22 82-game calendar and sit 4th in the Atlantic Division. Boston remains in command of the second wild card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Arizona, meanwhile, fell to 10-28-4 (24 points) overall and remain dead last (8th place) in the Pacific Division– one point ahead of the Montréal Canadiens (23 points, 32nd) in the overall league standings.

With the uncertainty surrounding next season’s home for the Coyotes, one thing is for sure– that Boston will have gone 10-1-0 in 11 games at Gila River Arena in its lifetime as Arizona’s home ice from 2003-22.

A report just this week was hailed as a temporary plan for Arizona to play their home games in the same barn as the Arizona State University Sun Devils’ men’s ice hockey team beginning in 2022-23 for three to four years while the National Hockey League club seeks to build a new arena in Tempe.

Matt Grzelcyk returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with an upper body injury.

Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, placed Grzelcyk in his usual role on the first defensive pairing with McAvoy– demoting Urho Vaakanainen to the third pairing alongside Derek Forbort in the process, while scratching Connor Clifton as a result.

Boston was without the services of Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Trent Frederic (upper body), Nick Foligno (upper body) and Tuukka Rask (day-to-day, undisclosed) on Friday.

With Rask out of the lineup, Troy Grosenick was recalled from the taxi squad and served as Ullmark’s backup against the Coyotes.

Steven Fogarty, Jesper Frödén and Tyler Lewington joined Clifton in the press box as Boston’s group of taxi squad members and healthy scratches in Arizona.

Jakob Chychrun closed his hand on the puck while trying to settle it and received a minor infraction for closing his hand on the puck (imagine that!?!) as a result– yielding the first power play of the night to the Bruins at 1:30 of the first period.

Boston couldn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

Midway through the opening frame, the Bruins controlled the puck in the attacking zone– working it from Forbort to David Pastrnak as No. 88 in black and gold crashed the net.

Instead of shooting, Pastrnak sent a backhand pass to Erik Haula (5) for a one-timer goal to give the B’s a, 1-0, lead at 12:30 of the first period.

Pastrnak (19) and Forbort (5) tallied the assists on Haula’s 99th career National Hockey League goal.

Late in the period, Shayne Gostisbehere faked a shot from the point and passed the puck to Nick Schmaltz (5) for a catch and release goal on the short side as the Coyotes answered back and tied the game, 1-1, in the process.

Gostisbehere (20) and Clayton Kellyer (18) notched the assists on Schmaltz’s goal at 18:04.

Heading into the first intermission, Boston and Arizona were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, despite the Bruins holding a, 9-8, advantage in shots on goal.

The B’s also led in blocked shots (4-2) and faceoff win percentage (56-44), while the Coyotes led in takeaways (4-0), giveaways (7-6) and hits (13-11).

Boston was 0/1 on the power play, while Arizona had yet to see any time on the skater advantage.

Midway through the middle frame, Gostisbehere tripped up Patrice Bergeron and presented the Bruins with their second power play of the night at 12:05 of the second period.

A little more than a minute into the ensuing advantage, Brad Marchand sent the puck along the blue line to McAvoy as McAvoy (7) corralled the rubber biscuit and proceeded to snap a shot past Wedgewood’s blocker side for a power-play goal.

Marchand (26) and Pastrnak (20) had the assists on the goal as the Bruins pulled ahead, 2-1, at 13:41 of the second period.

Mike Reilly checked Lawson Crouse away from the puck 19 seconds later and presented Arizona with their first power play of the night at 14:00 of the second period.

The Coyotes were not successful on the skater advantage, however.

Shortly after Boston made the kill, Anton Blidh took a stick to the face and drew blood.

At first glance, Schmaltz appeared to be the offender, which would’ve given the Bruins a four-minute power play as a result of Blidh bleeding his own blood, but upon official review McAvoy inadvertently caught his own teammate in the face.

As such, no penalty was assessed on the play and Blidh returned to the night’s action after getting patched up a bit.

Once again, late in the period, Boston sent a skater to the box only this time it was for goaltender interference as Curtis Lazar made no attempt to stop on a rush at 19:33.

Arizona’s resulting power play would extend into the third period.

Through 40 minutes of action, the Bruins led, 2-1, on the scoreboard despite trailing, 22-21, in shots on goal.

The Coyotes held a, 14-12, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone and led in takeaways (6-3), as well as hits (20-17).

Meanwhile, Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (7-4), giveaways (14-10) and faceoff win% (56-44).

Arizona was 0/2 on the power play, while the B’s were 1/2 heading into the final frame.

Neither team managed to score a goal in the third period, but each team had at least one more penalty in them as Antoine Roussel got his gloves off and tried to engage McAvoy for some reason– only to end up with a double minor for roughing, while McAvoy ended up with a single infraction for roughing despite not getting to defend himself.

Regardless, Ryan Dzingel served time in the box for Roussel’s minor at 2:14 and the Bruins went on the power play early in the third period.

Boston did not convert on the skater advantage and had another chance at doing so go by the wayside when Crouse tripped Marchand at 4:29.

Instead, Arizona ended up with one more chance power play in the night’s action as Bergeron caught Chychrun with a high stick at 6:04 of the third period.

The Coyotes couldn’t muster anything past Ullmark, however, despite 26 seconds of 4-on-4 action and an abbreviated power play thereafter.

With about 2:29 remaining in the game, Arizona’s head coach, André Tourigny, pulled Wedgewood for an extra attacker, but the Coyotes couldn’t seem to hit the net at the most opportune moments in the dying seconds of the game– even after the Yotes took a timeout with 1:41 remaining and Boston used their timeout with 34.8 seconds left.

At the final horn the Bruins had won, 2-1, and emerged victorious in the desert.

Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal, 37-31, including a, 16-9, advantage in the third period alone, while also maintaining dominance in giveaways (16-12) and faceoff win% (59-41).

Arizona left their own ice leading in blocked shots (10-9) and hits (28-22).

The Coyotes went 0/3 and the Bruins went 1/4 on the power play Friday night.

The B’s improved to 16-5-0 (8-2-0 on the road) when scoring first, 5-5-1 (3-2-1 on the road) when tied after one period and 17-1-1 (11-0-1 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

Arizona, meanwhile, fell to 4-20-2 (2-11-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 3-10-2 (0-4-1 at home) when tied after the first period and 3-22-1 (2-13-0 at home) when trailing after two periods in 2021-22.

The Bruins (1-0-1) wrap up their three-game road trip Sunday night at American Airlines Center against the Dallas Stars to finish off the month of January. Boston returns home to host the Seattle Kraken in their first-ever matchup on Feb. 1st.

After facing Seattle, the Bruins begin their All Star break.

January 29, 2022
Ducks down Bruins in first meeting since 2019

Hampus Lindholm had three assists in a, 5-3, victory for the Anaheim Ducks as they beat the Boston Bruins on the road Monday night at TD Garden.

John Gibson (14-10-6, 2.55 goals-against average, .919 save percentage in 30 games played) made 23 saves on 26 shots faced in the win for Anaheim.

Boston goaltender, Tuukka Rask (2-2-0, 4.29 goals-against average, .844 save percentage in four games played), stopped 22 out of 27 shots against in the loss in his first consecutive start of the season.

The Bruins fell to 24-13-2 (50 points) overall, but remain in 4th place in the Atlantic Division, while the Ducks improved to 21-16-7 (49 points) and took command of 2nd place in the Pacific Division.

As a result of the ongoing pandemic, the two clubs hadn’t played each other prior to Monday night since Oct. 14, 2019, when David Pastrnak scored all four goals in a, 4-2, win for Boston on home ice.

The Bruins were without Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Trent Frederic (upper body), John Moore (upper body), Anton Blidh (upper body) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) on Monday.

Moore and Blidh took part in morning skate ahead of the game, but were not well enough for game action.

Meanwhile, Mike Reilly returned from the league’s COVID-19 protocol and was utilized in his usual spot on the second defensive pairing alongside Brandon Carlo.

As a result of Grzelcyk being out and Reilly returning, Urho Vaakanainen was promoted to the first pairing with Charlie McAvoy.

Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no other changes to his lineup from Saturday afternoon’s, 3-2, win against the Winnipeg Jets to Monday night’s action.

Frederic, Moore, Steven Fogarty (taxi squad), Jesper Frödén (taxi squad), Grzelcyk, Tyler Lewington (taxi squad), Zboril and Blidh comprised the long list of Bruins that were out of the lineup for one reason or another against the Ducks.

Less than a minute into the opening frame, McAvoy hooked Rickard Rakell and presented Anaheim with the night’s first power play as a result 44 seconds into the first period.

The Ducks weren’t successful on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

About midway through the opening period, Oskar Steen checked Nicolas Deslauriers with force from behind at an awkward angle, yielding a five-minute major for boarding initially.

In accordance with league rules, the on-ice officials reviewed the play and rescinded Steen’s major and instead issued a minor infraction on the play– yielding a two-minute power play to Anaheim as a result at 9:09 of the first period.

50 seconds into the skater advantage, Ryan Getzlaf unloaded on a blast from outside the faceoff circle to the left of Rask that was tipped by Derek Grant (7) in the slot to give the Ducks a, 1-0, lead.

Getzlaf (23) and Lindholm (12) tallied the assists on Grant’s power-play goal at 9:59.

Anaheim’s goal marked just the eight shot combined on the night as the Ducks held a, 7-1, advantage in shots on net as Grant opened the scoring.

Heading into the first intermission, the Ducks led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and held an, 11-5, advantage in shots on goal.

Anaheim also led in blocked shots (6-1), while Boston led in takeaways (4-3), giveaways (5-2), hits (11-8) and faceoff win percentage (59-41).

The Ducks were 1/2 on the power play after one period and the B’s had yet to see any action on the skater advantage. That would change quickly in the middle frame.

Trevor Zegras slashed Patrice Bergeron and worked his way over to the penalty box as the Bruins went on their first power play of the night 17 seconds into the second period.

Unfortunately for Boston, the ensuing skater advantage was not kind to them.

Isac Lundeström (9) broke free and crashed the net on a breakaway, sliding the puck under Rask either via the five-hole or under a leg where Rask couldn’t quite get a feel for it as the rubber biscuit trickled through and made its way over the goal line.

Lindholm (13) tallied the only assist on Lundeström’s shorthanded goal and the Ducks led, 2-0, at 1:28 of the second period.

Almost midway through the period, Tomáš Nosek worked a pass across the slot to Pastrnak (20) for a one-timer goal that cut Anaheim’s lead in half, 2-1.

Nosek (6) and Nick Foligno (6) were credited with the assists on Pastrnak’s goal at 7:47 as No. 88 in black and gold reached the 20-goal plateau for his sixth consecutive season– tying Bobby Orr for the most consecutive 20-goal seasons (six) under the age of 25 in Bruins franchise history.

Overall, Pastrnak is tied for the eighth-most consecutive 20-goal seasons, trailing Johnny Bucyk (10), Rick Middleton (nine), Brad Marchand (nine), Phil Esposito (eight), Bergeron (8), Peter McNab (seven) and Orr (seven).

Marchand reached his ninth consecutive 20-goal season this season and Bergeron currently has 12 goals in 2021-22.

Less than a minute later, during a commercial break, Gibson shoved Foligno as the Bruins forward appeared to have been chirping the Anaheim bench.

A scrum ensued, though nobody received any minor infractions.

Shortly after play resumed, Foligno and Sam Carrick exchanged fisticuffs as the Ducks defended their goaltender.

Both players received fighting majors at 8:55 of the second period.

Foligno and Carrick’s fight marked the 14th fight this season for Boston and the eighth since Jan. 1st.

Moments later, Getzlaf (3) entered the attacking zone and ripped a shot over Carlo, as well as over Rask’s right shoulder on the blocker side to extend Anaheim’s lead, 3-1, at 11:04 of the second period.

Rakell (9) and Lindholm (14) had the assists on Getzlaf’s goal as the Ducks retook a two-goal lead.

A few minutes later, Josh Mahura hooked Steen at 14:59 and presented Boston with another power play.

This time the Bruins were sure to take advantage of the skater advantage as Marchand sent a shot pass to the slot where Taylor Hall (9) redirected the puck off the far right post and into the twine behind Gibson.

Marchand (25) and Bergeron (20) notched the assists as Hall’s power-play goal brought Boston back to within one– trailing, 3-2, at 15:52 of the second period.

Through 40 minutes of action, the Ducks led the Bruins, 3-2, on the scoreboard and, 20-15, in shots on goal, despite Boston amassing a, 10-9, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

Anaheim held the advantage in blocked shots (11-1), giveaways (10-7) and hits (19-16), while Boston led in takeaways (5-3) and faceoff win% (54-46).

Both teams were 1/2 on the power play heading into the final frame.

Vaakanainen caught Rakell with a high stick 26 seconds into the third period and presented the Ducks with another chance on the power play, but Boston made the kill.

Moments later, Troy Terry (23) entered the attacking zone before curling and dragging the puck for a snap shot over Rask’s blocker side to give Anaheim another two-goal lead, 4-2, at 6:12 of the third period.

Kevin Shattenkirk (16) and Cam Fowler (16) had the assists on Terry’s goal as the Ducks continued to dominate the evening.

Midway through the period, Mahura lost an edge while chasing a loose puck in the low slot and crashed into the left post– requiring an extra minute or two with the assistance of a trainer to get off the ice.

With about 13 minutes left in the game, the Bruins tweeted that Foligno would not return to the action with an upper body injury, joining Deslauriers and Mahura in the pile of injuries on the night.

Greg Pateryn (1) blasted a shot from the point over Rask’s blocker side with traffic in front of the net to make it a four-goal lead for the Ducks at 10:58 of the third period.

Zegras (20) and Rakell (10) had the assists on Pateryn’s goal– his first in 44 games– as Anaheim extended their lead, 5-1.

Erik Haula (4) answered back late in the third with a one-timer goal courtesy of 49 seconds worth of zone time in Boston’s attacking zone as Pastrnak worked the puck deep to Reilly for the backhand behind the back pass through the slot to Haula to bring the Bruins to within two goals.

Reilly (6) and Pastrnak (17) tallied the assists on Haula’s goal and the B’s trailed, 5-3, at 16:28.

With 3:02 remaining in the action, Cassidy pulled Rask for an extra attacker.

After a stoppage with 15.1 seconds left on the clock, Cassidy used his timeout to rally his players for a chance at a double-miracle that ultimately went by the wayside.

At the final horn, the Ducks had won, 5-3, and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 27-26– despite Boston holding an, 11-7, advantage in the third period alone.

Anaheim left TD Garden with the advantage in blocked shots (23-3) in addition to two points in the win column, while the Bruins exited their own arena leading in giveaways (13-11), hits (30-25) and faceoff win% (59-41).

The Ducks went 1/3 and the B’s went 1/2 on the power play on Monday.

The Bruins fell to 9-8-2 (6-5-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 4-8-1 (4-5-1 at home) when trailing after one period and 3-10-2 (3-6-1 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

Anaheim, meanwhile, improved to 17-6-3 (6-4-1 on the road) when scoring first, 14-1-2 (4-1-0 on the road) when leading after the first period and 15-2-1 (5-2-0 on the road) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

Boston went 5-2-0 in their seven-game homestand and will hit the road to finish the month of January with a three-game road trip.

The B’s visit the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET on TNT), Arizona Coyotes on Friday and Dallas Stars on Sunday before returning home to host the Seattle Kraken in their first ever matchup on Feb. 1st.

January 25, 2022
Golden Knights rout Bruins on the road, 4-1

For the first time in franchise history, the Vegas Golden Knights won at TD Garden– beating the Boston Bruins, 4-1, in the process on Tuesday night as Max Pacioretty scored a pair of goals in the effort.

Robin Lehner (12-9-0, 3.05 goals-against average, .906 save percentage in 22 games played) made 23 saves on 24 shots against in the win for Vegas.

Boston goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (7-5-2, 2.29 goals-against average, .917 save percentage in 14 games played) stopped 21 out of 25 shots faced in the loss.

The Bruins fell to 14-9-2 (30 points) overall and dropped to 5th in the Atlantic Division, while the Golden Knights improved to 17-11-0 (34 points) on the season and moved up to 3rd in the Pacific Division.

The B’s are now 5-2-0 in seven games against Vegas all-time, having last met each other in the 2019-20 regular season due to the temporarily realigned divisions and condensed 56-game schedule last season.

Brandon Carlo and Tomáš Nosek returned to the lineup for Boston on Tuesday night after Carlo missed a pair of games due to a lower body injury sustained on Dec. 8th in Vancouver and Nosek missed three games due to a non-COVID related illness.

Though Carlo and Nosek returned, Brad Marchand and Craig Smith were placed in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol hours ahead of Tuesday’s game against Vegas.

Marchand and Smith joined Jakub Zboril (lower body) on the short list of players out of the lineup due to illness or injury.

Meanwhile, Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen were recalled on an emergency basis from the Providence Bruins (AHL) with Marchand and Smith out.

Jack Ahcan was reassigned to Providence on Monday in preparation for Carlo’s return.

As a result of the numerous roster transaction, B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy– who returned from the league’s COVID protocol himself after testing positive, suffering mild symptoms and missing the last six games– adjusted his lines and defensive pairings accordingly.

Taylor Hall was promoted to the first line left wing in place of Marchand with Erik Haula and Nick Foligno flanking Charlie Coyle on the second line left and right wings, respectively.

Nosek centered the third line with Jake DeBrusk to his left and Karson Kuhlman on his right side, while the fourth line remained intact from Saturday night’s, 4-2, victory in Calgary.

On defense, Cassidy slid John Moore down to Mike Reilly’s usual role on the third pairing– scratching Reilly in the process– and re-inserting Carlo into his usual spot on the right side of the second pairing– returning Matt Grzelcyk to his natural hand in the process alongside Carlo.

Reilly joined Steen and Studnicka in the press box as Boston’s trio of healthy scratches on Tuesday.

Early in the action, Brett Howden held Patrice Bergeron’s stick and was assessed a minor infraction as a result, yielding the night’s first power play to the Bruins at 5:29 of the first period.

Boston couldn’t convert on the skater advantage, however– their only power play of the entire evening.

Midway through the opening frame, Shea Theodore (4) rocketed an errant blast from the point off of Derek Forbort’s back and over Swayman’s shoulder on the blocker side for the game’s first goal.

Ben Hutton (3) and Chandler Stephenson (18) tallied the assists as the Golden Knights pulled ahead, 1-0, at 13:04.

Vegas added another goal 2:15 later after Mark Stone sent an indirect pass off the boards up to Stephenson in the neutral zone before Stephenson fed Pacioretty with a tape-to-tape lead pass into the Golden Knights’ attacking zone.

Pacioretty (11) raced towards Swayman on a breakaway and sent the puck past the low glove to extend Vegas’ lead to two-goals.

Stephenson (19) and Stone (16) notched the assists as the Golden Knights pulled ahead, 2-0, at 15:19 of the first period.

Late in the period, Moore caught Reilly Smith with a high stick and cut a rut to the sin bin at 19:41.

It didn’t take long for Vegas to capitalize on the skater advantage, as well as another wrong place, wrong time circumstance for the Bruins as Jonathan Marchessault (12) sent a shot off of a Boston skater that squibbed through Swayman’s five-hole to make it, 3-0, for the Golden Knights at 19:59.

Alex Pietrangelo (15) and Smith (11) had the assists on Marchessault’s power-play goal as time just about expired in the first period.

Smith– a former Bruin– recorded his 400th career NHL point as a result of the secondary assist and Vegas entered the first intermission with a, 3-0, lead on the scoreboard, as well as a, 10-7, advantage in shots on net.

The Golden Knights also led in takeaways (6-3) and giveaways (5-2), while the Bruins dominated in hits (13-6) and faceoff win percentage (65-35).

Both teams had four blocked shots each, while Vegas was 1/1 on the power play and Boston was 0/1.

Early in the middle frame, Pacioretty (12) received a pass from Stone, spun and flung the rubber biscuit towards the net where it beat Swayman on the blocker side as Theodore skated through the slot as a screen.

Stone (17) and Stephenson (20) had the assists on Pacioretty’s second goal of the game as the Golden Knights extended their lead to, 4-0, at 5:06 of the second period.

There were no more goals thereafter and no penalties called in the middle frame, so Vegas took a, 4-0, lead into the second intermission.

The Golden Knights also led in shots on goal, 18-16, despite trailing Boston, 9-8, in shots on net in the second period alone.

Vegas led in blocked shots (9-8), takeaways (9-6) and giveaways (8-3), while the Bruins held the advantage in hits (29-15) and faceoff win% (61-39).

As there were no more penalties called, the Golden Knights finished the night 1/1 on the power play, while the B’s went 0/1.

The fans at TD Garden had little to cheer about all night as a result of a lackluster effort from Boston (though the Bruins were technically without their leading scorer with Marchand in COVID protocol).

But fans in attendance got their money’s worth from Bergeron (10) as Hall setup the B’s captain with a pass from the trapezoid to Bergeron’s standard bumper area for a one-timer goal 21 seconds into the third period.

Hall (9) had the only assist on Bergeron’s goal and the Bruins trailed, 4-1.

With 2:45 remaining in the action, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker, but briefly returned the Boston netminder to the crease for a defensive zone faceoff with a pair of minutes remaining in the game (Swayman vacated the net once again after the Bruins won the draw).

At the final horn, Vegas had beaten Boston, 4-1, on the road and finished the night leading in shots on goal, 25-24, despite the Bruins outshooting the Golden Knights, 8-7, in the third period alone.

Vegas exited TD Garden with the advantage in blocked shots (14-12) and giveaways (11-4), while Boston left their own ice leading in hits (38-20) and faceoff win% (60-40).

The B’s fell to 4-5-2 (3-3-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 2-4-1 (2-2-1 at home) when trailing after one and 2-6-2 (2-3-1 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

The Golden Knights improved to 11-5-0 (5-3-0 on the road) when scoring first, 8-1-0 (4-0-0 on the road) when leading after the first period and 12-0-0 (6-0-0 on the road) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

Boston hits the road for their next three games with stops on Long Island, in Montréal and in Ottawa as they’ll face the New York Islanders, Montréal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

December 15, 2021
Bruins put out the Flames, 4-2, in Calgary

Charlie McAvoy scored the eventual game-winner on a string of three unanswered goals to open things up before the Boston Bruins held on for a, 4-2, victory over the Calgary Flames Saturday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Linus Ullmark (7-4-0, 2.56 goals-against average, .921 save percentage in 11 games played) made 40 saves on 42 shots against in the win for the Bruins.

Flames netminder, Jacob Markström (10-6-5, 1.94 goals-against average, .933 save percentage in 21 games played) turned aside 23 out of 27 shots faced in the loss.

Boston improved to 14-8-2 (30 points) overall and moved into 4th place in the Atlantic Division– one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings in division standings and one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 2nd wild card position in the Eastern Conference.

For the first time this season, the B’s are in playoff position.

Calgary, meanwhile, fell to 15-7-6 (36 points) on the season, but remained in command of the Pacific Division lead– one point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks.

The Bruins split their regular season series with the Flames 1-1-0 after losing, 4-0, on Nov. 21st at TD Garden and beating Calgary, 4-2, on Saturday night.

Boston was without the services of Jakub Zboril (lower body), Brandon Carlo (lower body) and Tomáš Nosek (non-COVID-19 related illness) among their skaters, while the team continued to be without their head coach, Bruce Cassidy, who remained in the United States for the duration of the Western Canada road trip in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol.

Acting head coach, Joe Sacco, made one change among his forwards, replacing Karson Kuhlman on the fourth line with Curtis Lazar– a move that would pay dividends in the night’s action.

Kuhlman joined Jack Ahcan as Boston’s pair of healthy scratches in Calgary, while Oskar Steen had been reassigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Thursday.

Midway through the opening frame, Brad Marchand apparently got just enough of a stick hooked around Matthew Tkachuk somehow– replay had shown that it was perhaps another Bruin that committed the infraction and Marchand was mistakenly put in the box, but nonetheless, the Flames went on the night’s first power play at 10:32.

Calgary couldn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage and, in fact, it was rather short lived as Sean Monahan slashed Lazar at 10:50 of the first period, yielding 4-on-4 action for a span of 1:42 prior to an abbreviated power play for Boston.

The Bruins couldn’t muster anything on their short power play, however.

Late in the period, Connor Clifton (1) pinched in from the point down where a right wing would normally skate and carried the puck into the attacking zone before unloading a wrist shot clean past Markström on the glove side.

Trent Frederic (2) and Anton Blidh (3) recorded the assists on Clifton’s goal as the B’s took a, 1-0, lead at 17:43 of the first period.

Entering the first intermission, Boston carried a, 1-0, lead on the scoreboard despite trailing Calgary, 15-7, in shots on goal.

The Bruins held the advantage in blocked shots (10-1), takeaways (3-2), hits (12-10) and faceoff win percentage (54-46), while both teams managed to amass four giveaways each in the first frame.

The two clubs were also 0/1 on the power play heading into the middle period.

Matt Grzelcyk scored the game-winning goal late in Thursday night’s, 3-2, win in Edmonton, yet received the first penalty of the middle frame in Saturday night’s effort as he hooked Andrew Mangiapane at 1:55 of the second period.

Once again, though, the Flames came up empty on the power play.

Moments later, Boston used their surge in momentum from a successful penalty kill to translate their good fortune on the ice with a goal on the scoreboard.

Marchand passed the puck to David Pastrnak in the neutral zone as the two wingers pushed into the attacking zone, where Pastrnak spun and flung the puck towards the goal as Marchand crashed the net.

Marchand (11) tipped the rubber biscuit over Markström’s glove side and under the crossbar to extend Boston’s lead to, 2-0.

Pastrnak (13) and Patrice Bergeron (12) tallied the assists on Marchand’s goal at 5:52 of the second period.

With the secondary assist, Bergeron (554) surpassed Phil Esposito (553) for sole possession of the fourth-most assists in Bruins franchise history.

By the end of the night, Bergeron would sit at 555 career assists in a Boston uniform– 69 assists behind the man in third place in franchise history, Bobby Orr, with 624.

At 36-years-old and in his 18th season, which also happens to be a contract year for Bergeron, there are no guarantees he’ll move up higher in the list, but for what it’s worth, Ray Bourque leads in all-time assists by a Bruin with 1,111, followed by John Bucyk with 794, then Orr (624) and Bergeron (555).

56 seconds after Marchand gave Boston a two-goal lead, McAvoy (4) extended it to three goals after waltzing into the high slot from the point while Bergeron worked a carom off the glass from the trapezoid off of Marchand’s stick back to the star Bruins defender.

Bergeron (13) and Marchand (16) tallied the assists as the B’s took a, 3-0, lead at 6:48– further solidifying the Boston captain in franchise history.

Moments later, Bldih slashed Oliver Kylington at 11:12 and presented the Flames with another power play opportunity.

This time Calgary didn’t let another skater advantage go by the wayside.

Rasmus Andersson sent a shot attempt towards the net that got knocked down before Tkachuk (12) scooped it up on the doorstep and shoveled the errant puck past Ullmark to put the Flames on the board.

Andersson (14) and Johnny Gaudreau (20) notched the assists on Tkachuk’s power-play goal and Calgary trailed, 3-1, at 12:19 of the second period.

At the very least, Tkachuk scored a goal on his 24th birthday, despite not much else going Calgary’s way for the night.

Late in the period, Marchand cut another rut to the sin bin for slashing Nikita Zadorov at 15:13.

The Flames weren’t able to make Boston’s penalty kill pay for Marchand’s sins as he was freed from the box and the period came to a close shortly thereafter.

Through 40 minutes, the Bruins led, 3-1, on the scoreboard, but trailed, 31-15, in shots on goal and were outshot 2:1 (16-8) by Calgary in the second period alone.

The Flames had also taken a lead in giveaways (8-7) and faceoff win% (55-45), while Boston continued to dominated blocked shots (16-4) and hits (18-17).

Both teams managed to have three takeaways each, while Calgary was 1/4 on the power play and the Bruins were 0/1.

Early in the final frame, Frederic sent a backhand shot to the net that rebounded and bounced around amidst the chaos of bodies in the low slot and crease.

Eventually, Lazar (2) chipped away at it and scored from the front doorstep to make it, 4-1, in favor of the Bruins.

Frederic (3) and Grzelcyk (5) had the assists on the goal at 2:57 of the third period.

Taylor Hall tripped up Christopher Tanev minutes after Lazar’s goal to give the Flames their final power play of the night at 6:20 of the third period, but Calgary couldn’t score on the ensuing advantage.

Instead, Monahan delivered a swift cross check on Jake DeBrusk at 14:18 and was penalized as a result.

Shortly after emerging from the box unscathed, however, Monahan (4) redirected a shot pass from Milan Lucic with his skate blade behind Ullmark at 18:24.

Lucic (4) and Andersson (15) tallied the assists on the goal (which was completely legal, by the way, since you can deflect a puck with your skate as long as it’s not a distinct kicking motion or you’re in the process of coming to a stop) and the Flames trailed, 4-2.

With 1:12 remaining in the action, Calgary’s head coach, Darryl Sutter, pulled Markström for an extra attacker.

After a stoppage in play shortly thereafter, he used his only timeout to rally his skaters.

After Boston iced the puck a couple of times in the final minute, the Flames couldn’t string anything together to make things interesting.

The Bruins had won, 4-2, at the final horn and finished the night trailing Calgary in shots on goal, 42-27, despite a, 12-11, advantage in favor of the B’s in the third period alone.

Boston exited the building leading in blocked shots (21-7) and hits (26-22), while Calgary left Scotiabank Saddledome leading in giveaways (12-9) and faceoff win% (51-49).

The Flames finished the night 1/5 on the power play, while the Bruins went 0/2 on the skater advantage.

The B’s improved to 10-4-0 (6-2-0 on the road) when scoring first, 11-0-0 (7-0-0 on the road) when leading after one and 10-1-0 (7-0-0 on the road) when leading after two periods in 2021-22.

Calgary, meanwhile, fell to 2-4-3 (0-2-3 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 0-3-3 (0-1-3 at home) when trailing after the first period and 0-4-1 (0-1-1 at home) when losing after two periods this season.

The Bruins return home after amassing five out of a possible six points (2-0-1) in their Western Canada road trip to host the Vegas Golden Knights next Tuesday (Dec. 14th) before hitting the road again for a three-game road trip against the New York Islanders, Montréal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.

December 12, 2021
Ullmark makes 41 saves in, 3-2, win in Edmonton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

December 10, 2021
Miller and Horvat sink Bruins in shootout, 2-1

J.T. Miller and Bo Horvat had the only goals past regulation in a, 2-1, shootout victory for the Vancouver Canucks against the Boston Bruins Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

Thatcher Demko (10-11-1, 2.73 goals-against average, .915 save percentage in 22 games played) made 35 saves on 36 shots faced in the shootout win for Vancouver.

Boston netminder, Jeremy Swayman (7-4-2, 2.15 goals-against average, .922 save percentage in 13 games played) stopped 31 out of 32 shots against in the shootout loss.

The Bruins fell to 12-8-2 (26 points) overall and remain in 5th place in the Atlantic Division, while the Canucks improved to 10-15-2 (22 points) and moved into 7th place in the Pacific Division– ahead of the Seattle Kraken by two points out of the division basement.

The B’s went 1-0-1 in their regular season series with Vancouver in 2021-22.

Anton Blidh (upper body) took part in morning skate for Boston in a regular practice jersey, but isn’t quite ready to resume in-game action just yet.

Blidh was joined by Jakub Zboril (lower body) and Tomáš Nosek (non-COVID related illness) among the Bruins that weren’t able to compete on Wednesday night due to injury or illness.

Zboril will be re-evaluated in two weeks, while Nosek did not travel with the team to Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Charlie McAvoy was back in the lineup after missing one game due to a non-COVID related illness and Brad Marchand returned from his three-game suspension.

As a result, acting head coach, Joe Sacco, made a number of changes to his lines– reuniting Marchand with Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak on the first line, while relegating Taylor Hall back to his normal spot on the second line left wing with Charlie Coyle at center and Craig Smith at right wing.

Trent Frederic centered the third line with Erik Haula to his left and Nick Foligno on his right side, while Curtis Lazar shifted over to the fourth line center role with Nosek out on Wednesday.

Jake DeBrusk flanked Lazar’s left side and Oskar Steen took on right wing duties on the fourth line after he was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Tuesday.

In addition to Steen, Boston recalled Jack Ahcan and John Moore, who joined Karson Kuhlman in the press box as healthy scratches for the B’s in Vancouver.

Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, remains in the National Hockey League’s COVID-19 protocol and likely won’t be back before the Bruins return from their Western Canada road trip.

Midway through the opening frame, McAvoy was assessed a holding minor when he got tied up with Jason Dickinson at 12:30 of the first period.

The Canucks, however, were not able to score on the ensuing skater advantage.

Vancouver got another chance on the power play in the dying seconds of the first period as Foligno was given an unsportsmanlike conduct minor at 19:57.

The Bruins would be shorthanded for about 1:58 to kick things off in the middle frame as a result.

After one period of play at Rogers Arena, Boston and Vancouver were tied, 0-0, on the scoreboard and even in shots on goal, 8-8.

The B’s held the advantage in blocked shots (8-5), giveaways (4-3) and hits (14-4), while the Canucks led in takeaways (2-1) and faceoff win percentage (54-46).

Only Vancouver had seen any action on the power play heading into the first intermission and the home team was 0/2 thus far.

Tyler Myers knocked Smith around without the puck and received an interference minor as a result– yielding Boston their first power play of the night at 8:14 of the second period.

The Bruins couldn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage however.

Boston thought they had scored the game’s first goal when Haula received a pass on a breakaway entering the attacking zone before deking and scoring on a backhand shot that was elevated over Demko’s outstretched right pad, but the call on the ice was overturned as a result of Canucks head coach, Bruce Boudreau, using a coach’s challenge.

Boudreau argued that the Bruins had, in fact, not scored because Haula was offside prior to bringing the puck into Vancouver’s own zone.

Video review confirmed that Haula had both skates over the plane along the blue line while the rubber biscuit was still in the neutral zone along the line– negating the would-be goal.

Instead of a, 1-0, lead for Boston, later in the period Marchand was assessed an interference minor for a light collision with Dickinson away from the play at 14:27.

Whether the penalty was justified or not, it came back to bite the Bruins as Miller flung a shot pass towards the slot whereby Brock Boeser (6) redirected the puck past Swayman for the game’s first official goal.

Miller (17) and Quinn Hughes (19) tallied the assists to give the Canucks a, 1-0, lead on Boeser’s power-play goal at 15:01 of the second period.

Through 40 minutes of action at Rogers Arena, Vancouver led, 1-0, on the scoreboard despite trailing Boston, 17-16, in shots on net– including a, 9-8, advantage for the Bruins in the second period alone.

The B’s also led in blocked shots (14-10), giveaways (5-4) and hits (20-12) entering the second intermission, while the Canucks maintained an advantage in takeaways (5-2) and faceoff win% (52-48).

Vancouver was 1/3 on the power play, while Boston was 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.

Juho Lammiko slashed Pastrnak to kick things off in the third period with a power play for the Bruins at 3:26.

Boston went on the two-skater advantage after Miller tripped up Swayman while passing through the crease at 4:42 of the second period– presenting the Bruins with 45 seconds of prime real estate in the attacking zone.

The B’s made quick work of the 5-on-3 advantage as they wrapped the puck around the zone prior to Pastrnak sending a shot pass in from the point to Bergeron (9) in the bumper for the redirection off of Demko’s left pad and under the bar.

Pastrnak (12) and Coyle (7) notched the assists on Bergeron’s power-play goal and the Bruins tied the game, 1-1, at 4:51 of the third period.

Moments later, Boston had another chance on the power play when Tanner Pearson sent an errant puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic minor at 7:22, but the B’s weren’t able to put the go-ahead goal on the board– especially not after Bergeron cut down Dickinson with a trip in the neutral zone while trying to steal the puck at 7:36, yielding a span of 1:46 at 4-on-4.

Vancouver didn’t convert on their abbreviated power play upon Pearson’s re-emergence from the box.

At the horn, the two teams required overtime to settle a, 1-1, score.

Boston led in shots on goal, 33-29, including a, 16-13, advantage in the third period alone, while also maintaining an advantage in blocked shots (19-15) and hits (27-19).

Meanwhile, the Canucks amassed a lead in takeaways (7-3), and giveaways (10-5) as both teams split faceoff win%, 50-50, entering the extra frame.

As there were no penalties called in overtime, both teams finished the night 1/4 on the power play.

Sacco sent out Bergeron, Marchand and McAvoy to begin the 3-on-3 overtime action, while Boudreau countered with Horvat, Dickinson and Myers.

Despite swapping chances and a few great saves by each goaltender, neither team could top the other in overtime, yielding a shootout and finalizing the stat lines at a, 36-32, total shots advantage for Boston (each team had three shots on goal in overtime alone).

The Bruins also wrapped up Wednesday night’s action before the shootout leading in blocked shots (19-15), hits (28-20) and faceoff win% (52-48).

Vancouver, meanwhile, finished the night leading in giveaways, 11-6, after 65 minutes wasn’t enough.

Boudreau sent out Elias Pettersson with the first shot attempt in the first round of the shootout, but Swayman poke checked the puck away as Pettersson tried a serpentine route towards the net.

Next, Pastrnak drew close to the net from a wide approach before sending a shot off of Demko’s glove and wide of the goal frame.

In the second round of the shootout, Miller started things with a wide skate towards the slot before cutting in and wrapping the puck around Swayman as Miller sold a fake and the Bruins netminder bought it.

Miller put the Canucks up, 1-0, in the shootout with Coyle designated as Boston’s second shooter.

Coyle came right at Demko and fired a shot off of the Canucks goaltenders’ blocker– low on the short side.

All Horvat had to do was score and the game would be over before the Bruins even had a third attempt.

Horvat curled towards the slot and beat Swayman high on the glove side with a clean shot– giving Vancouver the, 2-0, advantage in the shootout and a, 2-1, win on the final scoreboard as a result.

The Canucks improved to 2-1 in shootouts this season, while the Bruins fell to 1-1 in the shootout in 2021-22.

Boston also fell to 1-5-1 (0-2-1 on the road) when tied after the first period, 4-4-2 (1-2-1 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal and 2-5-2 (0-3-1 on the road0 when trailing after two periods this season.

Vancouver, meanwhile, improved to 6-7-0 (3-3-0 at home) when tied after one period, 6-4-0 (3-0-0 at home) when scoring first and 8-1-0 (4-0-0 at home) when leading after two periods in 2021-22.

The Bruins continue their road trip (0-0-1) through Western Canada with a matchup against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, followed by a visit to the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

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

December 9, 2021
Marchand leads third period comeback against Canucks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 29, 2021
Vladar earns shutout in first game against former team

Calgary Flames forward, Andrew Mangiapane, continued his dominance on the road as Dan Vladar made 28 saves in a, 4-0, shutout over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Sunday night.

Vladar (4-0-1, 1.57-goals against average, .945 save percentage in five games played) stopped all 28 shots that he faced for his second shutout this season (as well as the second of his career)– bringing Calgary’s total to seven shutouts this season alone.

Bruins netminder, Jeremy Swayman (5-3-0, 2.39 goals-against average, .908 save percentage in eight games played) made 28 saves on 32 shots against in the loss.

Boston fell to 9-6-0 (18 points) on the season and stuck in 5th place in the Atlantic Division, while the Flames improved to 11-3-5 (27 points) overall and jumped into 1st place in the Pacific Division– leaping over the Edmonton Oilers (13-4-0, 26 points) in the process for not just the division lead, but the best record in the entire Western Conference entering Monday.

Sunday night marked the first meeting between the Bruins and Flames since Feb. 25, 2020, when Calgary beat Boston, 5-2, at TD Garden in their last meeting before the ongoing pandemic was declared about three weeks later.

The Bruins were once again without the services of Trent Frederic (upper body), but head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no lineup changes from Saturday night’s, 5-2, victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on the road to Sunday night’s matchup on home ice with Calgary.

Connor Clifton and Karson Kuhlman remained in the press box as healthy scratches for Boston in the 499th consecutive sellout at TD Garden.

Shortly after puck drop, Brandon Carlo was checked along the boards and appeared to have the wind knocked out of him as he made his way down the tunnel before returning after missing approximately one shift.

It didn’t take much longer, however, for the first official event on the scoresheet as Juuso Välimäki sent a shot on Swayman that rebounded right to Johnny Gaudreau (8) for the right place, right time goal and the, 1-0, lead for Calgary at 1:29 of the first period.

Välimäki (2) and Matthew Tkachuk (8) tallied the assists on Gaudreau’s goal, which marked the 12th consecutive road game in which the Flames scored first.

Moments later, Rasmus Andersson cut a rut to the penalty box for hooking David Pastrnak at 6:27, but the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on the ensuing power play.

Heading into the first intermission, the Flames led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 9-7, in shots on net.

Calgary also held the advantage in just about everything else, including blocked shots (6-4), takeaways (3-2) and hits (14-13), while Boston led in giveaways (6-2) and faceoff win percentage (59-41).

The Flames had yet to see any action on the skater advantage, while the B’s were 0/1 on the power play entering the middle frame.

Massachusetts native, Noah Hanifin (1), scored his first goal of the season on yet another rebound that Swayman couldn’t control at 13:51 of the second period after Boston generated momentum in the other zone that was quickly depleted by a faceoff loss to the Flames in Calgary’s attacking zone in the build up to Hanifin’s goal.

Tkachuk (9) and Andersson (9) notched the assists on the goal as the Flames took a, 2-0, lead.

A few minutes later, Hanifin was off to the penalty box for catching Anton Blidh with a high stick at 16:44 of the second period.

Once again, however, the Bruins couldn’t do anything with the skater advantage.

Through 40 minutes of action Sunday night in Boston, the Flames led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 20-18, in total shots on net, despite both teams amassing 11 shots each in the second period alone.

Calgary led in blocked shots (10-9), while the Bruins held the advantage in giveaways (10-4), hits (28-23) and faceoff win% (59-42).

The two squads managed to have four takeaways aside entering the final frame, while Boston was 0/2 on the power play and the Flames had yet to see any action on the skater advantage.

Välimäki was assessed a holding infraction at 2:09 of the third period, but (stop me if you’ve heard this before) Boston couldn’t convert on the resulting power play.

Instead, the Bruins gave up a shorthanded goal against as too many skaters went into the attacking zone and not enough could get back in time before Dillon Dubé and Mangiapane exchanged rapid fire with Swayman– generating save after save and rebound after rebound until Mangiapane (15) tucked the puck into the back of the twine.

It was the 14th goal scored on the road for Mangiapane in 15 games this season– marking the first time that any NHL player recorded as many goals outside of their home arena in as many games since John LeClair notched 14 goals on the road in 15 games in 1994-95.

Dubé (7) had the only assist on Mangiapane’s shorthanded goal as the Flames took a, 3-0, lead at 3:08 of the third period.

About a minute later, Mikael Backlund (7) followed up with a shot that Swayman got a piece of before the rubber biscuit slid over the goal line prior to Charlie Coyle fishing it out and keeping play going– at least until the play was reviewed when the puck was clearly observed completely over the line on replay.

Elias Lindholm (12) had the only assist on Backlund’s goal and Calgary took a commanding, 4-0, lead at 4:11 of the third period.

Boston was frustrated for the rest of the night by both Vladar’s ongoing shutout and their own efforts (or lack thereof) as Brad Marchand took a slashing penalty at 7:48, followed by a holding minor against Nick Foligno at 13:56.

The Flames didn’t score on either power play, however.

At the final horn Calgary sealed the deal on a, 4-0, win with Vladar earning his second career shutout in the process.

The Flames finished the night leading in shots on goal, 32-28, including an, 12-10, advantage in shots in the third period alone.

Calgary also exited TD Garden with the advantage in blocked shots (15-14), while Boston wrapped up Sunday night’s action leading in giveaways (12-6), hits (37-28) and faceoff win% (53-47).

The Flames went 0/2 and the Bruins went 0/3 on the power play.

According to Sportsnet Stats, Calgary also became the first NHL team since offensive passes were allowed in 1929, to record seven shutouts within their first 19 games of a season.

Meanwhile, Boston dropped to 2-3-0 (2-1-0 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 2-3-0 (2-1-0 at home) when trailing after one period and 1-4-0 (1-1-0 at home) when trailing after two periods this season.

The Flames improved to 11-1-3 (9-1-2 on the road) when scoring the game’s first goal, 10-1-1 (9-1-1 on the road) when leading after the first period and 10-0-1 (8-0-0 on the road) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

The Bruins hit the road for a game in Buffalo against the Sabres on Wednesday before returning home to finish November with a three-game homestand starting Friday afternoon against the New York Rangers in the 2021 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown (Nov. 26th at 1 p.m. ET on ABC).

November 22, 2021
Bruins’ best home winning streak to start a season in 30 years ends

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For Colby. 💛🖤

Thank you to Emily Cave for being here tonight to help us remember and honor our friend and teammate. pic.twitter.com/DlXYJzAbSP
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 12, 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 11, 2021
Slightly late, but better than never 2021-22 standings forecast

Every year on DTFR you may recall seeing division standings forecasts for the National Hockey League from month-to-month and, well, I didn’t forget about it this year, don’t worry.

When the Vegas Golden Knights joined the league in 2017-18, the initial forecast entering October was infused with an educated guess (*ahem*, gut feeling) for each and every team– but especially Vegas since they had never played before– in addition to the usual arithmetic utilized to compile the average of three different forecasts ranging from the last 10, five and three seasons.

Entering the 2021-22 National Hockey League calendar, with the inaugural season of Seattle Kraken hockey set to begin, I shifted my focus on a “gut feeling” projection for the Kraken to that of the standings projections that I’ve done for at least the last few seasons now.

In other words, the forecast you’re about to see uses the forecast function in your spreadsheet of choice (Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets), whereas the standings projections in the link above is based on an expected points totals model using last season’s offense and a whole bunch of other things I won’t bore you with.

As such, Seattle received a projected points total based on the loosely projected offense using a composite of what the Kraken could have had, if every player on their roster entering training camp had scored goals last season for Seattle instead of their respective teams.

But for this edition of standings predictions– using the forecast function– since the Kraken never played a game entering October 2021, they were given an 8th place standing in the Pacific Division with an asterisk– signifying that their results are incomplete until they hit the ice.

Now, of course, entering November, the Kraken have played some games, so the forecast reflects that (albeit limited in the variance of possible outcomes, since they don’t have quite the same backlog as the 31 other NHL franchises).

If you’re confused, let’s move on and talk about how things looked entering October for each division and whether or not things have changed that much entering November– keeping in mind that all 32 teams played anywhere from as few as seven games to as many as 10 games in October.

And remember, my degree is in communication, not statistics.

Entering October, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion, Tampa Bay Lightning were a safe bet to lead the Atlantic Division standings over the course of a return to the usual 82-game schedule.

The Boston Bruins, who made quite a few moves in the offseason, would do their usual thing under head coach, Bruce Cassidy, and display a strong effort, though how realistic is this expectation, you ask?

Probably not as spot on as you’d think.

Last season’s temporarily realigned divisions– featuring intra-divisional play only– helped teams like the Bruins beat teams like the Philadelphia Flyers almost every time they squared off.

This season, Boston will have to face a stronger than ever before– if not as good as they were in 1995-96– Florida Panthers roster, for example, which is more likely to be reflected in a later forecast after a couple of months are in the record books.

So that’s actually a perfect explanation for why the Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers don’t look quite as dominant as they were last season in the forecast entering October.

The reduced schedule alone yielded similar point totals to regular-length seasons in the past, which downplays this year’s projected outcome, logically, right?

Keep that in mind for the Colorado Avalanche later, though there may be more to it than just the fact that the 2016-17 season is still accounted for in both the 10-year and five-year models, which drags down the average.

Anyway, the Montréal Canadiens aren’t a playoff team and the spread between the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres reveals each of those three teams is likely to be more competitive than in season’s past, but like Montréal likely on the outside looking in.

Entering November, the Bruins and Senators have played the fewest games in the division (seven games each), resulting in not that much change, while Florida gained seven points in the current forecast– moving themselves into a divisional playoff berth in the process.

Should the Panthers’ success be of concern to Leafs fans if Toronto isn’t in the top-3 in the Atlantic Division?

No.

The Lightning haven’t had as much spark as they usually do, which can be attributed to the price of winning back-to-back Cups in a span of, what, like, 10 months?

They’re tired, but not too tired, because Jon Cooper will ensure his team bounces back when the real season starts as the trade deadline approaches and the push for the playoffs begins.

Though the Sabres are quick out of the gate, reality should set in as the calendar flips to December and Buffalo will slip out of playoff contention and into being surprisingly somewhere in the middle.

That isn’t to say that Ottawa and Detroit have been that much worse than the Sabres to start the 2021-22 season, but, yeah, things are better than last season for Buffalo, at least.

If you’re going to put stock into anything, invest in the Panthers rising to 1st or 2nd place in the Atlantic by season’s end.

Taking a look at the Metropolitan Division entering the 2021-22 season, it seems like it’s more of the same for the last four or five seasons now.

Somehow the Washington Capitals or Pittsburgh Penguins win the division, while the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes upset either team in the First Round. I don’t make the rules.

While there’s a lot of optimism for the Islanders to make a significant jump in the standings given their recent runs to the Eastern Conference Final, it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re like the Lightning and take a little dip in just about everything.

It’s not a reset, but a refresh with high expectations for a big 2022-23 season to finally get over the hump and reach their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1984.

Maybe by then Tampa will have succumbed to the salary cap era, so they won’t be in New York’s way in the postseason.

As for the other New York team, well, the Rangers are sure to frustrate more than just their own fans as they’ll agitate their opponents, sure, but won’t play much of a spoiler in their quest for whatever it is James Dolan has told General Manager, Chris Drury, to do this offseason.

At the very least, the fact that the Metropolitan Division is a close spread reveals what we already know– that it’s truly anyone’s guess as to who will make the playoffs this year.

The last decade has conditioned us to expect Pittsburgh or Washington to be the top team, but the Philadelphia Flyers or New Jersey Devils could sneak in and disrupt things enough for the Hurricanes to run away with the Metropolitan title in the regular season.

Though the Columbus Blue Jackets are forecasted to have the same number of points as the Flyers in both October and November, it’s worth noting that Philadelphia is forecasted to amass 29 regulation wins to Columbus’ 23 regulation wins in the latest projection, so yeah, they’re a team.

The Blue Jackets could be within striking distance of a playoff spot or they could simply be better than the Rangers and Devils and that’s about it in their attempt to do something.

Is it a rebuild or are they just holding out for the right offseason moves? Time will tell, but the time may be ticking on prolonged irrelevance.

Anyway, Washington and Pittsburgh have cooled off as Carolina got out to the best start among all 32 teams, which, given the eight points between 1st and 3rd in the November forecast, could indicate that the Hurricanes will usurp the Capitals and Penguins for division control.

Meanwhile, the longer the Islanders go without setting a tone, the better chance the Flyers have at making the postseason.

In the Central Division, the St. Louis Blues are expected to return to form entering October from a pure forecast standpoint.

Is it realistic? Probably not, though St. Louis should be better than their 2021 First Round exit in four games at the hands of the Avalanche.

That said, Colorado may surprise you being so low in this forecast.

Again, remember that it’s an average of models based on the last decade, five seasons and three seasons, so the Avs rise to division dominance in recent years is better reflected on the contingency that they continue to play well.

Right now, they aren’t playing that well, but again the graphic above reads “entering October” not “entering November”, so perhaps I should’ve saved that tidbit for a minute.

Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild have all been consistent enough in recent years to earn better praise entering the 2021-22 calendar, but at least one of those teams is sure to reveal themselves as a pretender by about the quarter-mark of the season.

As for the Dallas Stars, Chicago and the Arizona Coyotes, well, if Dallas can stay healthy, they should improve. Chicago hasn’t done themselves any favors in terms of roster makeup and the Coyotes are intentionally steering the ship aground for a top lottery draft pick in 2022.

Not much has changed after one month of NHL action in the Central Division forecast, though it should be noted just how quickly Arizona’s fallen off (even though they were already expected to be a basement team given the immense roster turnover over the summer).

The Wild and Jets flipped positions courtesy of Minnesota gaining a point between October and November’s forecast, as well as the regulation win tiebreaker (entering November, the Wild are forecasted to have 36 regulation wins, while the Jets are forecasted to finish with 31).

The Blues have had a hot start and, as a result, remain atop the Central forecast while nearly every expert analyst’s Stanley Cup favorite not named the Lightning (Colorado) remains in 5th.

Weird times!

Entering the 2021-22 season, the Vegas Golden Knights made a big trade, but looked to be on the verge of contending for the Presidents’ Trophy in back-to-back seasons.

Though they lost the Presidents’ race to the Avalanche last season on a tiebreaker, the Golden Knights could benefit from an overall weaker division they’re in. And yet… (keep reading)

The Calgary Flames are surprisingly hot in the Pacific forecast entering October, but considering the three California teams, the uncertainty of Seattle and the volatile wishy-washiness of the Vancouver Canucks, it kind of makes sense.

What doesn’t make sense is the Edmonton Oilers– with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on their roster– seated in 5th place in the Pacific Division.

Then again, to repeat myself, this forecast is an average based on the last 10, five and three seasons, so the Oilers have really only been a consistent playoff contender for the last five seasons or so, which means that they won’t rise in the forecasted standings quite as fast as you’d hope.

It pays to be consistently good over a longer period of time in this model.

Finally, after their first nine games in NHL history, the Kraken have entered the chat in the 2021-22 forecast entering November, but they’re forecasted for a league-worst 64 points.

Seattle isn’t bad, necessarily, they’re just figuring out the chemistry on the ice, in the room and giving Philipp Grubauer plenty of time to learn the system and get acquainted with being the No. 1 goaltender on a new team– both in the brand new expansion team sense and since leaving the Avalanche for the Kraken in free agency.

The Flames are continuing to turn heads by being within striking range of taking the forecasted division lead from Vegas– especially as the Golden Knights roll slowly out of the gate.

Meanwhile, Edmonton’s on course for significant gains in the next forecast entering December, while everything else looks to be about the same because, after all, it is the Pacific Division.

It’s not great!

If you’ve read every word of this, congrats. Give yourself a sticker or something.

Stay tuned for the next forecast in about a month. It should be a little quicker to update the stats, write a few words and hit “publish” than it took this time around.

November 8, 2021