Down the Frozen River

Tag: Peter McNab

  • Smith’s hat trick catapults Bruins over Golden Knights in Vegas, 5-2

    Smith’s hat trick catapults Bruins over Golden Knights in Vegas, 5-2

    Craig Smith notched his third career hat trick en route to a, 5-2, victory for the Boston Bruins over the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.

    Jeremy Swayman (14-7-3, 1.95 goals-against average, .930 save percentage in 25 games played) made 34 saves on 36 shots faced in the win for Boston.

    Vegas goaltender, Robin Lehner (20-14-1, 2.85 goals-against average, .907 save percentage in 36 games played), stopped 31 out of 35 shots against in the loss.

    The Bruins improved to 33-18-4 (70 points) on the season and remain in command of 4th place in the Atlantic Division, as well as the first wild card berth in the Eastern Conference.

    Meanwhile, the Golden Knights fell to 30-21-4 (64 points) overall and dropped to 4th in the Pacific Division and in command of the second wild card in the Western Conference.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy made no changes to his lineup from Tuesday night’s, 4-3, loss on the road to the Anaheim Ducks, leaving Anton Blidh and Jack Ahcan as healthy scratches while the Bruins were without the services of Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Urho Vaakanainen (undisclosed) and Curtis Lazar (upper body).

    Zach Whitecloud slashed Jake DeBrusk and presented Boston with the night’s first power play at 6:40 of the first period, but the Bruins were unsuccessful in converting on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Midway through the opening frame, however, the B’s struck first as Trent Frederic entered the zone and dropped a pass back to Smith (7) for the catch and release goal to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead.

    Frederic (4) and Derek Forbort (6) tallied the assists on Smith’s first goal of the game at 13:18 of the first period.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Golden Knights led in shots on goal, 12-10, while Boston led in faceoff win percentage, 53-47.

    Vegas had yet to see any action on the skater advantage entering the middle frame, while the Bruins were 0/1 in special teams play.

    Erik Haula tripped up Keegan Kolesar to present the Golden Knights with their first chance on the power play at 2:32 of the second period, but the skater advantage went by the wayside as Boston’s penalty kill managed to kill off Haula’s minor infraction.

    Midway through the period, Smith (8) connected on a pass from Charlie Coyle through the slot for his second goal of the game to extend Boston’s lead to two-goals.

    Coyle (15) and Frederic (5) notched the assists as the Bruins pulled ahead, 2-0, at 11:03 of the second period.

    Late in the period an errant puck that was almost an indirect pass off the boards led Jack Eichel (2) through the neutral zone and on a breakaway whereby he slipped the puck through Swayman’s five-hole on a pump fake– letting the puck glide off his stick blade and over the goal line without putting much effort into a shot.

    Eichel’s goal cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1, on an unassisted effort at 17:24 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led on the scoreboard, 2-1, and in shots on goal, 26-25– courtesy of a, 16-13, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    Vegas held the advantage in faceoff win%, 51-49, while both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Tomáš Nosek tripped Brett Howden at 1:59 of the third period, but the Golden Knights weren’t able to convert on the ensuing power play.

    Nearly midway into the final frame, David Pastrnak (30) riffled a shot with eyes through Lehner as the rubber biscuit just trickled over the goal line to give Boston a, 3-1, lead at 8:14 of the third period.

    Frederic (6) completed a three-point night as a result with the primary assist on the goal, while Haula (16) notched the secondary assist.

    The two teams traded goals late in the period as Smith (9) completed his first hat trick since May 1, 2021, against the Buffalo Sabres (a, 6-2, win in Boston) as the Bruins worked the puck around the horn in the attacking zone before Whitecloud bumped into his own goaltender– rendering Lehner with an attempt to draw a call, feigning interference, with his back turned as Smith buried the loose puck.

    Matt Grzelcyk (17) and Brandon Carlo (6) had the assists on Smith’s third goal of the game as Boston took a, 4-1, lead at 14:39 of the third period.

    Golden Knights head coach, Peter DeBoer, pulled Lehner for an extra attacker with 4:52 remaining on the clock and about a couple minutes later, Vegas cut the deficit from three goals to two.

    Jonathan Marchessault (22) let go of a blast from the circle with net front traffic screening Swayman as the puck hit the back of the twine.

    Alex Pietrangelo (22) had the only assist on the goal as the Golden Knights trailed, 4-2, at 16:38.

    Less than two minutes later, Pastrnak (31) waltzed into the attacking zone to put the icing on the cake with an empty net goal– giving Boston a three-goal lead once more, 5-2, at 18:20.

    Haula (17) had the only assist as Pastrnak finished the night with a pair of goals– tying Bobby Orr in the process for the seventh-most seasons with at least 30 goals in a Boston uniform.

    Both Orr and Pastrnak have had five seasons with at least 30 goals, trailing Rick Middleton (eight), Phil Esposito (eight), Johnny Bucyk (seven), Patrice Bergeron (six), Cam Neely (six) and Peter McNab (six) in the process.

    At the final horn, Boston had won, 5-2, and taken two more points on the road in the midst of their six-game road trip (4-1-0 in that span).

    Both teams finished the night with 36 shots on goal each, despite Vegas leading Boston, 11-10, in shots on goal in the third period alone.

    The Bruins left T-Mobile Arena leading in blocked shots (20-18) and hits (28-25), while the Golden Knights exited their own building with the advantage in giveaways (8-6) and faceoff win% (56-44).

    Vegas went 0/2 and Boston went 0/1 on the power play on Thursday.

    The B’s improved to 23-7-1 (13-3-1 on the road) when scoring first, 21-2-1 (12-1-1 on the road) when leading after one and 23-1-2 (15-0-2 on the road) when leading after two periods this season.

    The Golden Knights, meanwhile, fell to 7-11-2 (4-8-1 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 4-9-0 (3-4-0 at home) when trailing after the first period and 4-13-2 (2-6-1 at home) when trailing after the second period in 2021-22.

    The Bruins conclude their six-game road trip (4-1-0) Saturday night in Columbus before returning home next Monday to start a three-game homestand and host the Los Angeles Kings.

    Chicago visits Boston next Thursday and the Arizona Coyotes make their trip to TD Garden next Saturday before the B’s hit the road again.

  • Ducks down Bruins in first meeting since 2019

    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.

  • Hamilton duels as Hurricanes storm Bruins, 3-2, in Game 2

    No, he didn’t throw away his shot– Dougie Hamilton scored the game-winning goal with it in the third period of Thursday’s, 3-2, victory for the Carolina Hurricanes over the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of their 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup in the bubble at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

    James Reimer (2-0 in two games played, 1.50 goals against average, .959 save percentage this postseason) made 33 saves on 35 shots against for a .959 SV% in the win for the Hurricanes.

    Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (1-3 in four games played, 2.58 GAA, .904 SV% this postseason) stopped 23 out of 26 shots faced (.885 SV%) in the loss.

    Canes head coach, Rod Brind’Amour made a few adjustments to his lineup from Game 1 to Game 2 by replacing Jake Garidner, Joel Edmundson and Nino Niederreiter with Trevor van Riemsdyk, Sami Vatanen and Justin Williams as Williams and Vatanen made their return to the lineup after being “unfit to play” in the series opener.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made a couple adjustments to his lineup after the Bruins announced that David Pastrnak was “unfit to play” in Game 2 about a half-an-hour before puck drop.

    As a result, Anders Bjork was moved up to the right side of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the first line, while Karson Kuhlman drew into the lineup in Bjork’s spot as the third line right wing.

    After the game, Cassidy informed reporters in his media availability that Pastrnak was deemed “questionable” for Game 1 and is expected to be dealing with a short term problem.

    Boston’s long list of healthy scratches on Thursday included Zach Senyshyn, Par Lindholm, John Moore, Maxime Lagace, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, Jack Studnicka, Connor Clifton, Dan Vladar and Trent Frederic while Pastrnak was “unfit to play” (and therefore not a “healthy” scratch, technically speaking).

    Midway through the opening frame, Jeremy Lauzon responded to a clean hit and received a minor infraction for unsportsmanlike conduct at 11:41 of the first period.

    Carolina didn’t convert on their first power play of the night, however, and the Bruins made the kill on Lauzon’s minor.

    Less than a minute later, Brady Skjei was sent to the penalty box for catching Ondrej Kase with a hook at 14:26.

    Almost midway through their first power play of the game, Boston worked the puck to David Krejci (2) for a shot from the high slot that beat Reimer’s blocker side to give the B’s a, 1-0, lead at 15:41.

    Marchand (3) and Torey Krug (2) tallied the assists on Krejci’s power-play goal.

    The goal tied Krejci with Peter McNab for sixth place in Bruins franchise history among the most career playoff goals scored with 38 in his career– trailing Johnny Bucyk (40) and Bergeron (41) for fifth and fourth, respectively.

    Entering the first intermission, the Bruins led the Hurricanes, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trialing Carolina, 7-6, in shots on goal.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (7-5) and faceoff win percentage (54-46), while the Hurricanes led in takeaways (6-0) and hits (13-12).

    Both teams had three giveaways each through 20 minutes of action, while the Canes were 0/1 and the B’s were 1/1 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    After colliding awkwardly with Charlie McAvoy along the boards, Andrei Svechnikov had to answer to Zdeno Chara, who expressed displeasure in seeing his defensive partner get rocked.

    Cooler heads (kind of) prevailed and both Svechnikov and Chara received two minute minors for roughing at 6:57 of the second period.

    Almost ten minutes later, Chris Wagner elbowed Skjei and was assessed an elbowing penalty at 14:56.

    It didn’t take the Hurricanes long to convert on the ensuing skater advantage as Teuvo Teravainen (2) sniped a shot past Rask’s blocker side– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

    Svechnikov (3) and Sebastian Aho (7) collected the assists on Teravainen’s power-play goal at 15:13.

    No. 37 in white and red put the Canes ahead, 2-1, with their first lead of the night 1:28 after Teravainen tied it.

    Carolina kept the puck in the attacking zone and worked it to Svechnikov (4) on a zig-zag passing play while he caught the rubber biscuit and released a shot from the slot over Rask’s blocker side under the crossbar.

    Martin Necas (2) and van Riemsdyk (1) had the assists on Svechnikov’s goal at 16:41 of the second period.

    A couple minutes later, Teravainen was penalized for interference after inadvertently colliding with Krug at 18:18.

    In the dying seconds of the second period, Marchand (1) redirected a shot pass from Bergeron to knot the game up, 2-2, at 19:55.

    Bergeron (3) and Krejci (2) nabbed the assists on Marchand’s power-play goal and the two teams went into the dressing room for the second intermission tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard, despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 20-17– including a, 14-10, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Bruins carried the advantage in blocked shots (11-10), giveaways (12-7), hits (30-24) and faceoff win% (51-49) through 40 minutes, while the Canes held the advantage in takeaways (8-2).

    Carolina was 1/2 on the skater advantage, while Boston was 2/2 on the power play entering the second intermission.

    Early in the final frame, Carolina thought they scored, but Wes McCauley quickly waved it off on the grounds that there was goaltender interference as Teravainen crashed the crease and pushed Rask with his forearm– impeding on Rask’s ability to reset and attempt to make a save on the followup shot.

    This did not sit well with Brind’Amour, however– fined $25,000 for criticizing the league and its officials for a lack of calls and blown calls in Game 1– he used his coach’s challenge in effort to reverse the call on the ice.

    After review, the call on the ice was confirmed– no goal– and play continued, much to the dismay of Brind’Amour.

    As a result of the failed challenge, Carolina was assessed a bench minor penalty for delay of game at 3:32 of the third period. Ryan Dzingel served the infraction and Boston failed to capitalize on the skater advantage.

    Almost midway through the final period, Dougie Hamilton (1) blasted a one-timer from the right point over Rask’s glove on the short side and put the Hurricanes on top, 3-2.

    Necas (3) had the only assist on Hamilton’s goal at 8:30 of the third period and Carolina held onto the one-goal lead for the remainder of the action.

    McAvoy hooked Warren Foegele at 9:30, but the Bruins dominated the ensuing shorthanded play by keeping the puck in the attacking zone and nearly evening the score before McAvoy was free from the box and the Canes let a power play opportunity go to waste.

    With 1:16 remaining in the game, Cassidy pulled Rask for an extra attacker.

    After a stoppage with 42.7 seconds to go, Boston used their timeout to draw up a last (less than a) minute plan, but Carolina held on for the, 3-2, win at the final horn and evened the series, 1-1, as a result.

    Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-26)– including a, 15-9, advantage in the third period alone– as well as in giveaways (17-8), hits (43-35) and faceoff win% (57-43), while Carolina wrapped up the night with the win and the final advantage in blocked shots (18-15).

    The Hurricanes went 1/3 on the power play in Thursday night’s action, while the Bruins finished 2/3 on the skater advantage.

    Meanwhile, the game-winning goal for Hamilton was just the second game-winning playoff goal of his career– and his first in more than six years as his only other game-winning goal in the playoffs came with the Bruins in Game 3 of their 2014 First Round at Detroit.

    The series shifts to Carolina (metaphorically speaking) for Games 3 and 4 from the bubble.

    Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 12 p.m. ET and the two teams should have no issues waiting for ice time, as it’ll be the first game on the Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule that day.

    Viewers in the United States can tune in on NBC, while those in Canada can catch the game on Sportsnet or TVAS.

  • Krug’s rocket leads Bruins to, 2-1, win in OT in Florida

    Torey Krug and the Boston Bruins pulled off a, 2-1, comeback win in overtime against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night at BB&T Center.

    Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (18-6-6 record, 2.39 goals against average, .919 save percentage in 31 games played), made 32 saves on 33 shots against for a .970 SV% in the win.

    Florida netminder, Chris Driedger (5-2-1, 2.29 GAA, .932 SV% in 10 games played) stopped 26 out of 28 shots faced for a .929 SV% in the overtime loss.

    The B’s improved to 43-13-12 (98 points) on the season and remain in command of the Atlantic Division, while the Panthers fell to 33-26-8 (74 points) and stuck in 4th place in the Atlantic.

    Boston improved to 21-10-3 on the road this season, as well.

    The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee) and Connor Clifton (upper body) on Thursday night, while head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made one change to his lineup among his forwards– moving Sean Kuraly back to center the fourth line with Anders Bjork replacing Par Lindholm at left wing.

    Lindholm was joined by John Moore, Anton Blidh and Karson Kuhlman in the press box as Boston’s healthy scratches in Florida.

    Midway through the opening frame, Ondrej Kase awkwardly collided with Evgenii Dadonov, leaving Kase on his hands and knees and (somehow) a minor penalty for tripping Dadonov at 11:41 of the first period.

    Florida did not convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

    A few minutes later, after Nick Ritchie tried to mix things up with Dadonov for the incidental contact with Kase that sent Kase down the tunnel before re-emerging from Boston’s dressing room moments after Jake DeBrusk served Kase’s minor for tripping Dadonov– Ritchie went square dancing with Riley Stillman.

    The two players exchanged fisticuffs and received five-minute majors for fighting at 14:35 in what was the 18th fight this season for Boston– and the 11th since Jan. 1st.

    It was Ritchie’s first fight in 46 personal games played this season and Stillman’s second fighting major in 33 personal games this season.

    Less than a minute to go in the first period, Mike Matheson tripped up Brad Marchand and was sent to the penalty box as a result at 19:01.

    Boston did not convert on their first skater advantage of the night.

    Heading into the first intermission, the game was still tied, 0-0, while the Bruins led in shots on goal, 12-4.

    The Panthers held the advantage in takeaways (8-4), hits (9-6) and faceoff win percentage (67-33), while the B’s led in giveaways (6-4).

    Both teams had six blocked shots aside and were 0/1 on the power play.

    Early in the middle frame, MacKenzie Weegar (6) kicked things off with a one-timer from the point that beat Halak over the blocker with net front screen by Lucas Wallmark.

    Brett Connolly (14) and Wallmark (13) had the assist’s on Weegar’s goal and Florida jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 6:55 of the second period.

    Moments later, Dadonov threw an errant elbow on a reverse check in the corner, leaving Bruins defender, Brandon Carlo dazed as he was helped off the ice.

    Carlo did not return to the game and was ruled out by Boston’s public relations team with an upper body in a tweet during the third period.

    Dadonov was originally assessed a five-minute major penalty on the play, but a review lessened the infraction to two-minutes for elbowing at 10:46 of the second period.

    The 30-year-old forward is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end and has 25-21–46 totals in 67 games with the Panthers this season and has never been fined or suspended in his National Hockey League career (2009-12, 2017-present).

    As a result of Thursday night’s loss, Florida is still four points outside of a playoff spot.

    Boston’s power play unit didn’t take long while Dadonov was in the box to capitalize on the skater advantage as Krug rocketed a shot from the point that Patrice Bergeron (30) tipped in to reach the 30-goal plateau for the sixth time in his career (2003-present).

    In doing so, Bergeron became the sixth Bruin in franchise history to record at least six 30-goal seasons, joining Phil Esposito (eight 30-goal seasons with Boston), Rick Middleton (eight), Johnny Bucyk (seven), Cam Neely (six) and Peter McNab (six).

    Krug (39) and Marchand (57) notched the assists on Bergeron’s power play tally at 11:00 of the middle frame and the Bruins tied the game, 1-1.

    Less than a minute later, Boston was back on the power play as Aleksander Barkov tripped up DeBrusk at 11:48, but the B’s weren’t able to convert on their third power play of the night.

    Shortly after the Panthers killed off Barkov’s infraction, Florida went on the power play after Marchand caught Mike Hoffman with a hook at 15:06.

    The Panthers didn’t score on the advantage, however.

    With 1:59 remaining in the period, Anton Stralman took a puck to the face off an inadvertent deflection, but remained in the game.

    Through 40 minutes of action at BB&T Center, the Bruins and Panthers were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard with Florida holding an edge in shots on goal, 19-17.

    Boston led in blocked shots (10-8), hits (16-14) and faceoff win% (57-43), while Florida led in takeaways (10-8) and giveaways (11-9).

    The Panthers were 0/2 on the advantage, while the Bruins were 1/3 on the power play heading into the second intermission.

    Frank Vatrano slashed Jeremy Lauzon at 2:04 of the third period and was sent to the sin bin as a result, but Boston’s power play was cut short when Charlie Coyle tripped Stralman at 2:58.

    The two sides escaped 4-on-4 action unharmed, but upon Vatrano’s re-admittance to the game, No. 77 in Panthers red and blue played the puck while one of his legs was still in the penalty box– resulting in an automatic interference minor penalty at 4:06.

    Once more, the two clubs skated at 4-on-4 even strength until David Pastrnak got his stick between the legs of Barkov and brought down the Florida captain at 4:54 of the third period.

    The Panthers emerged with an abbreviated power play after the two sides went through 4-on-4 action again, but Florida remained powerless on the power play.

    At the end of regulation, the score remained tied, 1-1, and the Panthers led in shots on goal, 31-24.

    Florida maintained the advantage in takeaways (12-10) and hits (24-21), while Boston led in faceoff win% (53-48).

    Both teams had 14 blocked shots and 14 giveaways aside.

    As there were no penalties called in overtime, the Panthers finished the night 0/4 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1/4.

    In overtime, Florida’s head coach, Joel Quenneville, opted to start Barkov, Hoffman and Aaron Ekblad, while Cassidy countered the Panthers’ trio with Coyle, DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy.

    Late in the five-minute overtime period, after both teams swapped chance for chance, Pastrnak worked to retrieve a puck along the end boards that was sent in by Krug.

    No. 88 in black and gold sent a pass back to Krug at the point, where No. 47 then wound up and blasted a slap shot past Driedger to end the game in overtime.

    Krug’s (9) goal was assisted by Pastrnak (46) and David Krejci (29) at 4:08 of the overtime period and lifted the Bruins over the Panthers, 2-1.

    Boston finished the game with victory on the scoreboard, but trailed Florida in shots on goal, 33-28.

    The Panthers also held the advantage in giveaways (15-14) and hits (24-22), while the Bruins led in faceoff win% (52-48).

    Both teams finished with 14 blocked shots each.

    Florida fell to 2-4 in overtime this season and 4-8 overall past regulation, while Boston improved to 6-2 in overtime and 6-12 past 60 minutes overall in the regular season.

    The Bruins improved to 13-2-6 (6-1-0 on the road) when tied after the first period, 18-6-4 (8-5-1 on the road) when giving up the game’s first goal and 11-2-2 (6-2-0 on the road) when tied after two periods this season.

    Meanwhile, the Panthers fell to 11-9-4 (4-5-2 at home) when tied after the first period, 25-5-4 (14-2-3 at home) when scoring the game’s first goal and 2-4-4 (0-3-2 at home) when tied after two periods this season.

    Boston wrapped up their three-game road trip (3-0-0) on Thursday and plays host to the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden on Saturday.

  • DTFR Podcast #177- And A Dollar Short

    DTFR Podcast #177- And A Dollar Short

    2020 Winter Classic sweater reviews, a standings update and Top-10 NHL power rankings.

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

  • Habs end B’s winning streak at six, beat Boston, 5-4

    The Montreal Canadiens eked out a, 5-4, win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at Bell Centre thanks to an overturned goal in the third period– snapping Boston’s six-game win streak in the process.

    Goaltending was optional as Montreal’s Carey Price (7-4-1 record, 2.75 goals against average, .883 save percentage in 12 games played) made 21 saves on 25 shots against for an .840 SV% in the win.

    Meanwhile, Boston netminder, Tuukka Rask (7-1-1, 1.88 GAA, .936 SV% in nine games played), stopped 26 out of 31 shots faced for an .839 SV% in the loss.

    The Bruins fell to 11-2-2 (24 points) on the season, but remained in control of 1st place in the Atlantic Division, while the Canadiens improved to 8-5-2 (18 points) and tied the Florida Panthers for 4th in the Atlantic in points (though the Panthers hold the tiebreaker, having played in one fewer game than Montreal).

    Kevan Miller (knee) and John Moore (shoulder) have yet to debut this season for the Bruins as both missed their 15th game Tuesday night due to lingering injuries from last spring.

    Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Joakim Nordstrom (infection), Par Lindholm (upper body) and David Backes (upper body) were all still out against Montreal, with Lindholm as the latest Bruin to join the injured reserve prior to Tuesday’s matchup.

    Despite sustaining a nasty cut in Monday night’s, 6-4, win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Charlie McAvoy was in the lineup against the Canadiens, as was Torey Krug (who caught a skate up high and drew some blood Monday night as well).

    Zach Senyshyn was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) and inserted into the lineup on the right side of the third line with Anders Bjork and Charlie Coyle.

    Senyshyn has three points (two goals, one assist) in 12 games with Providence this season and one goal in two career NHL games (made his NHL debut last season).

    With Senyshyn entering the lineup, Boston head coach, Bruce Cassidy, bumped Brett Ritchie down to the fourth line right wing with Chris Wagner returning to the left side of Sean Kuraly.

    After making his NHL debut against Pittsburgh on Monday, Cameron Hughes joined Steven Kampfer as Boston’s only healthy scratches on Tuesday.

    B’s captain, Zdeno Chara, played in his 1,500th career game and became just the 21st player and sixth defender in league history to play in 1,500 or more games in their career.

    Chara joined Chris Chelios (1,651 career games), Scott Stevens (1,635), Larry Murphy (1,615), Ray Bourque (1,612) and Nicklas Lidstrom (1,564) as the only defenders to play in 1,500 or more games.

    Habs head coach, Claude Julien, reached the 1,200th game of his career behind the bench on Tuesday as well.

    Julien won the Cup with the Bruins in 2011 and received an ovation from the Bell Centre crowd before Chara’s milestone was acknowledged at the following media timeout in the first period.

    Victor Mete (2) kicked things off with a quick start for Montreal as the Canadiens defender jumped at the perfect opportunity to collect the game’s first goal after the puck deflected off of a teammate in front of the goal and rebounded into the low slot unattended.

    Mete’s goal was assisted by Joel Armia (4) and Jeff Petry (7) at 1:13 of the first period and the Habs jumped ahead with the, 1-0, lead.

    Late in the period, Mete hooked Senyshyn and was sent to the penalty box with a minor infraction at 14:49 of the first period.

    Boston only needed six seconds on the power play for Patrice Bergeron to win the faceoff back to Krug, then slide the puck over to David Pastrnak (15) for the one-timer slap shot power play goal.

    Krug (10) and Bergeron (9) tallied the assists as the Bruins tied the game, 1-1, at 14:55.

    With the goal, Pastrnak extended his current point streak to 13 games– setting a new career-high in the process. He also became the first Bruin to score 15 goals in their first 15 games of the season since Peter McNab did so in 1976-77.

    A couple of minutes later, Tomas Tatar (5) sent a shot off of Rask’s glove and into the twine to put the Canadiens ahead, 2-1.

    Brendan Gallagher (6) and Ben Chiarot (2) had the assists on Tatar’s goal at 16:45.

    Less than a minute after retaking the lead, Montreal extended their lead to two goals as Paul Byron (1) barely kept the puck in the attacking zone and succeeded on an individual effort– sending a shot through Rask’s five-hole– for his first goal of the season.

    Byron’s goal was unassisted at 17:16 of the first period and the Habs led, 3-1.

    Entering the first intermission, Montreal led Boston, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 13-6, in shots on goal.

    The Canadiens also held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3), while the Bruins led in giveaways (10-9), hits (12-11) and faceoff win percentage (67-33).

    Both teams had two takeaways aside and the B’s were 1/1 on the power play, while the Habs had yet to see any action on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

    Less than a minute into the middle frame, Bergeron hooked Phillip Danault and presented the Canadiens with a power play 50 seconds into the second period.

    Boston killed Bergeron’s minor infraction without any issue, but followed up the special teams action with another hooking infraction– this time for Pastrnak against Shea Weber at 3:58.

    Montreal didn’t capitalize on the ensuing skater advantage.

    Almost midway through the period, Ryan Poehling blocked a shot by Krug that rocketed off of the side of Poehling’s helmet, sending the Montreal forward to the ice before the whistle was blown for the injured skater to head down the tunnel under his own power.

    While Poehling went down with an injury, so did Petry as the Canadiens defender caught the ice in an awkward manor with his leg.

    Petry returned from the dressing room shortly thereafter and had no issues. Poehling returned to the action too without any major damage.

    Connor Clifton (1) walzted around two Canadiens players, held the puck and sniped a shot over Price’s glove while Coyle screened the Montreal goaltender at 7:17 of the second period, bringing the Bruins to within one goal.

    Clifton’s unassisted effort cut Montreal’s lead to, 3-2, and was his first career regular season NHL goal in just his 32nd career game.

    Late in the period, Bjork (2) slid a rebound under Price’s pad from point blank to tie the game, 3-3.

    McAvoy (4) had the only assist on the goal at 18:13, but the game wouldn’t remain tied for long.

    Almost 40 seconds later, Mete (3) tucked in his 2nd goal of the ngiht with a shot from the point that floated over Rask, top-shelf, as Chara bumped Montreal center, Nate Thompson, into the Boston goaltender.

    Artturi Lehkonen (4) and Petry (8) collected the assists on Mete’s goal at 18:55 and the Canadiens regained the lead, 4-3.

    Through 40 minutes of action in Montreal, the Habs led the B’s, 4-3, on the scoreboard and, 25-15, in shots on goal (including a, 12-9, advantage for Montreal in the second period alone).

    The Canadiens also led in blocked shots (14-7) and takeaways (7-5), while the Bruins led in giveaways (16-15), hits (25-22) and faceoff win% (62-38) entering the second intermission.

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

    Weber caught Brad Marchand with a high stick 14 seconds into the third period and was sent to the sin bin for a minor penalty, but the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on the ensuing power play.

    Instead, in the vulnerable minute after special teams action, Boston’s fourth line went to work with Wagner dishing a quick pass to Kuraly (1) for the fourth line center to bank the puck off of Price’s skate and into the net– tying the game, 4-4, at 3:03 of the third period.

    Wagner (4) had the only assist on the goal and the B’s had momentum on their side.

    Moments later, after Coyle thought he had scored by redirecting a pass from Senyshyn through Price’s five-hole while the Habs goaltender was without his stick, Julien used his coach’s challenge arguing that the Bruins had originally entered the zone offside.

    After review, it was determined that Coyle had just barely entered the zone by about half a skate ahead of the puck and was offside prior to the play that led to the goal and the call on the ice was overturned at 5:23.

    Instead of rallying against the overturned call, Boston went into a hole and found themselves clamoring towards the end of games in back-to-back nights.

    Chiarot (2) sent a shot of Rask’s glove and into the back of the net to give the Canadiens the lead once more, 5-4, at 9:06 of the third period after Montreal sustained tremendous pressure in the attacking zone.

    Weber (8) and Tatar (8) each had an assist on the game-winning goal as the Canadiens never looked back for the remaining half-a-period.

    After Boston iced the puck with 58.5 seconds remaining, Julien used his timeout to rally his attackers for one last push for a goal before the Bruins could pull their goaltender for an extra skater.

    Neither team could score as time expired and the final horn sounded at Bell Centre.

    The Canadiens had finished Boston’s six-game winning streak with a, 5-4, victory on home ice.

    Montreal wrapped up Tuesday night’s contest leading in shots on goal (31-25), blocked shots (27-11) and giveaways (24-19), while Boston led in shots on net in the third period alone (10-6), hits (36-31) and faceoff win% (60-40).

    The Canadiens went 0/2 on the power play and the B’s finished the game 1/2 on the skater advantage.

    Boston is now 4-2-1 on the road this season and 1-1-1 when trailing after two periods.

    The Bruins face the Detroit Red Wings on Friday at Little Caesars Arena. Boston returns home on Nov. 10th for a two-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers (Nov. 10th) and Florida (Nov. 12th).

  • Nordstrom lifts B’s over Pens in OT, 2-1

    Joakim Nordstrom scored the game-winning goal in overtime Friday night at TD Garden almost two minutes into the extra period on a slap-pass turned redirection for the 2-1 Boston Bruins victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    Jaroslav Halak (8-2-2, .939 save percentage, 1.98 goals against average in 14 games played) made 36 saves on 37 shots against for a .973 SV% in 61:57 time on ice for the win for Boston, while Tristan Jarry (0-0-1, 1.94 GAA in one GP) made his season debut and stopped 35 out of 37 shots faced for a .946 SV% in the loss.

    Boston improved to 14-7-1-3 all-time in 26 games on Black Friday since the club played their first game on Black Friday in 1990.

    The B’s improved to a 12-6-4 record (28 points) on the season and remained 4th in the Atlantic Division with the win, while the Pens fell to 8-8-5 on the season (21 points) and remain in 8th place in the Metropolitan Division with starting goaltender, Matt Murray, back on the injured reserve.

    Pittsburgh is tied with the New Jersey Devils in points for 7th in their division, but trails in the tiebreaker of regulation-plus-overtime wins by one (New Jersey has nine, Pittsburgh has eight), heading back home to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

    John Moore returned to the lineup on the blue line for the Bruins on Friday after missing the last three games with a lower body injury, while Bruce Cassidy inserted Colby Cave into the lineup centering the third line alongside Nordstrom and Noel Acciari.

    In addition to Brandon Carlo (upper body), Zdeno Chara (lower body, left MCL), Patrice Bergeron (upper body), Urho Vaakanainen (concussion) and Charlie McAvoy (concussion), Anders Bjork and Steven Kampfer joined were out of the lineup as healthy scratches.

    Cassidy indicated before Friday night’s matchup that it is unlikely McAvoy, Vaakanainen or Carlo may rejoin the lineup on the upcoming two-game road trip starting Saturday night in Montreal against the Canadiens.

    With Halak getting the start (and win) against the Penguins on Friday, Tuukka Rask will tend the net on Saturday against the Habs.

    Unknown-7

    Cassidy adjusted his top-two lines with Cave in the lineup at center on the third line, by promoting Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson to the first line between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

    David Krejci started the night at center on the second line between Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk.

    With Moore back on defense, Matt Grzelcyk remained on the first pair with Kevan Miller and Torey Krug suited up alongside Moore. Jeremy Lauzon and Connor Clifton rounded out the remaining defensive pair.

    A back and forth goaltender battle resulted in no goals allowed by either club in the first period. Both teams played aggressively, but neither went over the line as no penalties were called in the opening frame, as well.

    After one period, the game was still tied, 0-0, with the Bruins outshooting the Penguins, 12-9. Pittsburgh had the advantage in blocked shots (6-3), takeaways (9-3), giveaways (6-2) and face-off win percentage (63-38) entering the first intermission, while Boston led in hits (10-7).

    Coming out of the dressing room for the second period, the Pens upped the ante with some tilted action in their attacking zone, leaving the Bruins trailing behind the play.

    Krejci tripped up Juuso Riikola at 5:05 of the middle frame and gave Pittsburgh their first power play of the night.

    A little over a minute later, while working the puck around the offensive zone on the skater advantage, Evgeni Malkin (9) blasted a one-timed slap shot past Halak to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

    pittsburgh_penguins_logo

    Malkin’s power play goal was assisted by Kris Letang (11) and Phil Kessel (16) at 6:09.

    Moments later, the B’s responded with a give-and-go of their own as DeBrusk (9) carried the puck into the offensive zone, sent it to Krejci and received the drop pass back for the connection on a one-timer slap shot of his own to tie the game, 1-1.

    Krejci (15) and Miller (2) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 13:40 of the second period.

    With the goal, DeBrusk now has eight points (six goals, two assists) in his last nine games and with an assist on the goal, Krejci tied Peter McNab for 11th overall on the franchise’s all-time points list with 587 career points in a Bruins sweater.

    Bergeron ranks 7th (760 points with Boston), Ken Hodge is 8th (674 points), Terry O’Reilly is 9th (606 points) and Cam Neely is 10th on the list with 590 points in Boston.

    David Backes thought he had the go-ahead-goal in the second period, but referee Wes McCauley deemed it otherwise as the puck appeared trapped between Jarry’s leg pad and the inside of the net hidden from the naked eye.

    Upon video review, the call on the ice was confirmed– no goal.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins and Penguins were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard and, 25-25, in shots on goal (with Pittsburgh outshooting Boston, 16-13, in the second period alone).

    Boston held an advantage in blocked shots (11-10), hits (20-17) and face-off win% (53-48) heading into the second intermission, while the Pens led in takeaways (15-6) and giveaways (10-4). Pittsburgh was 1/1 on the power play and the B’s had yet to see the skater advantage on the night.

    Miller sent the puck clear over the glass midway through the third period and gave the Penguins their second power play opportunity of the night with an automatic delay of game infraction at 10:41.

    The Penguins did not convert on the ensuing power play and the Bruins managed to kill off Miller’s minor penalty.

    After regulation, Pittsburgh was leading in shots on goal, 36-35, having outshot Boston, 11-10, in the third period alone. The game was still tied, 1-1, and the Bruins led in blocked shots (15-14), as well as hits (27-24). Meanwhile, the Penguins held onto the advantage in takeaways (19-9), giveaways (15-6) and face-off win% (56-44).

    Pittsburgh was 1/2 on the power play after 60 minutes and the Bruins did not get a chance on the skater advantage in Friday night’s matchup.

    After surviving an onslaught by the Penguins in overtime, the Bruins managed just enough puck control in the attacking zone for Pastrnak to send a cross-ice pass over to Krug for the slap-pass intentionally wide of the goal where Nordstrom (4) was standing for the redirection pass Jarry.

    Nordstrom’s goal at 1:57 of the overtime period, secured the 2-1 victory for Boston and was assisted by Krug (7) and Pastrnak (9).

    Boston improved to 2-4 in overtime on the season with the win and finished the night tied in shots on goal with Pittsburgh, 37-37, despite leading in shots on goal in overtime, 2-1.

    The Bruins also led in blocked shots (16-14), and hits (28-25) after the final horn, while the Pens held onto the lead in giveaways (16-6) and face-off win% (56-44). Pittsburgh finished the night 1/2 on the power play.

    Boston begins a two-game road trip after Friday night’s home game against the Penguins, swinging through Montreal on Saturday and Toronto on Monday, Nov. 26th before returning home for a Thursday night matchup with the N.Y. Islanders on Nov. 29th in which the Bruins will retire Rick Middleton’s No. 16 sweater before the game.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #93- One More Than Gretzky

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #93- One More Than Gretzky

    Nick and Connor take a moment to celebrate doing something Wayne Gretzky never did. Also, the Dion Phaneuf trade, 2018 Winter Games reactions and more.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

  • DTFR Overtime: Just Killing Prime

    On the most recent episode of the Down the Frozen River Podcast, @connorzkeith expressed the sentiment that the Boston Bruins have been wasting the prime of their core group of players– not including David Pastrnak, or really anyone since the 2014 NHL Entry Draft currently on the roster.

    Rather, Connor suggested that the Bruins were once a dominant team of the early 2010s with a core group of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask that’s still very much left intact from their 2011 Stanley Cup championship, but that they’ve been wasting the arc of the aforementioned players’s prime.

    Luckily, Down the Frozen River has an in-house Boston historian and I am here to set the record straight. This is DTFR Overtime and what I’ve thought about after recording the last podcast.

    Unknown-7

    Hockey is a game of inches and odd puck bounces. It’s a collective game of skill with an over-reliance on luck. Whatever you believe, you better believe in the Hockey Gods. It’s only fate, destiny and just a game at the end of the day, right?

    Wrong.

    The business of hockey has played a huge part in impacting the game of hockey as we know it– impacting teams and how rosters are constructed, directly through the introduction of a salary cap as of the last full-season lockout in 2004-2005 and indirectly, through many other external factors (family, injuries, et cetera).

    It was because of league expansion in the 1970s and because of the rival World Hockey Association (WHA) that Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Derek Sanderson and the Bruins didn’t nail down a dynasty. Of course, the Montreal Canadiens also played a part in it in 1971, 1977 and 1978, but the B’s lost star goaltender, Gerry Cheevers, to the Cleveland Crusaders of WHA from 1972 through 1976– right after winning the Cup in 1972 and during Boston’s appearance and subsequent loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1974 Stanley Cup Final.

    Cheevers alone wasn’t the only difference maker in a Bruins uniform that left the black and gold for the higher paying WHA.

    Sanderson jettisoned Boston for the Philadelphia Blazers in the summer of ’72 for a $2.600 million contract that made him the highest paid athlete in the world at the time, though he went on to only play in eight games with the Blazers due to injury and returned to Boston after the WHA’s 1972-1973 season on a $1 million deal. From 1972 through 1974 with the Bruins, Sanderson only played 54 out of 156 games and was sent down to the Boston Braves of the American Hockey League before being traded to the New York Rangers in June 1974.

    John “Pie” McKenzie, a gifted point scorer known by his unconventional nickname left the Bruins for the WHA’s Blazers as a player-coach after the 1972 Stanley Cup Final and never returned to the NHL. McKenzie finished his playing days with the New England Whalers in 1979.

    In the 1980s and early 90s, injuries and the emergence of the Edmonton Oilers as a top team in the National Hockey League plagued the primes of Ray Bourque, Brad Park, Cam Neely and the Big Bad Bruins.

    Boston lost the 1988 and 1990 Stanley Cup Finals to the Oilers. Boston lost the 1991 and 1992 Eastern Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Boston Garden itself was closed in 1995– and then Boston missed the playoffs in 1997 for the first time in 30 years.

    Good teams aren’t meant to remain on top forever.

    There’s a reason why the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all professional sports.

    Claude Julien, the winningest coach (419 wins) in Bruins franchise history– having surpassed Art Ross‘s 387 wins mark with the team during his tenure in Boston– led the black and gold to two appearances in the Stanley Cup Final and one President’s Trophy (just the second in franchise history during the 2013-2014 campaign).

    In 2011, the Bruins rode the backs of Nathan Horton, Marchand and Tim Thomas‘s insanity in goal. In 2013, a more experienced Boston team rallied from a 4-1 deficit in a Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round and charged all the way to a six game series battle with the Chicago Blackhawks that ultimately ended in defeat.

    Thomas was no longer part of the story after 2012. Rask took over the reigns and never looked back. Jaromir Jagr came and went in a largely forgettable time in the spoked-B.

    But the Bruins could skate with the best. Until they missed the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.

    In the Salary Cap Era, teams are built up and ripped to shreds by massive longterm contracts and dollars being improperly allocated throughout the roster.

    Peter Chiarelli got the Bruins in a salary cap hell, what with their fourth line center, Chris Kelly, making $3.000 million in his final years as a Bruin. In the broad scope of things, that was the least of Chiarelli’s mismanagement that ultimately ended his time in Boston. Neither the Tyler Seguin trade nor the Johnny Boychuk trade alone could be what led to the Bruins going from a top team deep in every roster spot to a team outside the playoff picture looking in with some mediocre placeholders.

    Brett Connolly and Max Talbot didn’t yield the same results in Chiarelli’s last season with the Bruins– tangible or intangible– than any of the bottom-six forwards (Gregory Campbell, Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille, Rich Peverley, Kelly and Michael Ryder) provided for the 2011.

    Just one year removed from a President’s Trophy season that ended with an early First Round exit to Montreal, the Bruins found themselves on the verge of an uncomfortable position that they hadn’t been in since missing the playoffs in 2006 and 2007. They went on to miss the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.

    So the Bruins did the only thing they’ve ever known. They reset themselves while still carrying a core group of players.

    In the 70s, Boston rebuilt themselves around Orr, Esposito and friends when Sanderson left (then returned and left again via trade), Cheevers departed and McKenzie stormed off to the WHA. They drafted Terry O’Reilly in 1971, Stan Johnathan in 1975 and acquired Peter McNab from the Buffalo Sabres after the 1975 Stanley Cup Final.

    The new identity Bruins flipped Esposito along with Carol Vadnais during the 1975-76 season to the New York Rangers for Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi and still had Orr until his departure via free agency in 1976.

    Boston still had Johnny Bucyk, Wayne Cashman, Ken Hodge and Don Marcotte as key aspects of their 70s rosters.

    They could have dismantled a team that won two Stanley Cups (and should have won more, if it weren’t for the WHA) after the franchise’s slow start in 1975. They didn’t.

    Hockey has never been kind to good teams with the right players at what seems like it’s the right time (just ask last year’s Washington Capitals). But that’s the nature of the sport. No matter how much of a powerhouse you build– with or without a salary cap, with or without expansion or injuries– you can’t control the way the puck bounces.

    Some players stick around in the league for long enough to become seasoned veterans of the NHL and never sniff a Stanley Cup Final appearance, let alone the postseason. It took Ron Hainsey until just last year with the Penguins to make his Stanley Cup Playoff debut and it took Bourque and Dave Andreychuk at least a couple of decades each to win it all.

    Just because Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, Chara and Rask only have a 2011 Stanley Cup championship together doesn’t mean they’ve been wasting their time, killing the prime of their careers.

    For Boston, they ended a 39-year Stanley Cup-less drought.

    They’ve already won once more than thousands of others who were lucky enough to make it to the NHL.

    And they’ve forever cemented themselves in the history of the franchise, as well as the City of Boston as adopted sons and representatives of the Hub everywhere they go and in everything they do related to the sport or not.

    Fans want rings and that’s one thing, but to say they’ve wasted their primes is another. They’ve contributed so much on and off the ice for the youth movement once again creeping up on the Bruins. Pastrnak is destined for stardom. Charlie McAvoy is an apprentice to Chara as Bourque was to Park in 1979.

    Even Kevan Miller‘s found a bit of a resurgence in his offensive game, going end-to-end to throw the puck in front of the net to find Danton Heinen like Orr did with anyone.

    The torch gets passed on. We’re all in for the ride.

    And you pray to the Hockey Gods that they’ll let you win at least once.