Tag: TD Garden

Pastrnak’s hat trick helps B’s soar over Jets, 5-4

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date January 10, 2020
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David Pastrnak scored his 7th career regular season hat trick as the Boston Bruins mounted a comeback and defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 5-4, at TD Garden on Thursday.

Jaroslav Halak (10-4-5 record, 2.34 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 19 games played) made 17 saves on 21 shots against for an .810 SV% in the win for Boston.

Winnipeg netminder, Laurent Brossoit (4-5-0, 3.65 GAA, .886 SV% in 13 games played) stopped 31 out of 36 shots faced for an .861 SV% in the loss.

The Bruins improved to 26-8-11 (63 points) on the season and remain in command of the Atlantic Division, while the Jets fell to 24-17-4 (52 points) and remain in 4th place in the Central Division.

The B’s improved to 15-2-9 at home this season and 2-0-0 with their moms in attendance.

Boston was without Kevan Miller (knee), Connor Clifton (upper body) and Zdeno Chara (jaw) on Thursday night.

Torey Krug (illness) was a game-time decision, but was good to go, took part in warmups and slotted in his usual role on the second defensive pairing with Brandon Carlo.

Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made a couple minor swaps among his forwards– re-inserting David Backes and Joakim Nordstrom into the lineup after Backes was a healthy scratch and Nordstrom was out with an illness in the last game.

Backes took over the third line right wing spot with Danton Heinen at left wing and Charlie Coyle at center, while Nordstrom was reunited with Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner on the fourth line.

On defense, without Chara on the first pairing, Matt Grzelcyk was promoted to the top pairing on the left side of Charlie McAvoy while Krug resumed his duties on the second pairing with Carlo.

John Moore slid over to the left side of the third defensive pairing with Steven Kampfer rejoining the lineup on the right side.

Brett Ritchie and Par Lindholm were the only healthy scratches for Boston on Thursday.

Almost midway through the first period, Kyle Connor (22) waltzed around Krug and sent a backhand shot over Halak’s glove to give Winnipeg the, 1-0, lead at 7:35 of the opening frame.

Connor’s goal marked the 12th time this season that the Bruins gave up the game’s first goal on home ice, but almost ten minutes later, the B’s tied things up.

Kuraly worked the puck deep along the endboards whereby Nordstrom sent a pass to Pastrnak as No. 88 in black-and-gold was fresh off the bench subbing on the fourth line for Wagner while Wagner was taken off the ice by a concussion spotter for the remained of the first period.

Pastrnak (33) rocketed a one-timer while crashing the high slot and tied the game, 1-1, at 17:14 of the first period.

Nordstorm (2) and Kuraly (13) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as the NHL’s leading goal scorer extended his current point streak to 12 games.

After scoring his first goal of the night, Pastrnak became the third player in Bruins history to have multiple point streaks of at least 12 games in one season– joining Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr (both in the 1973-74 season), according to Conor Ryan of Boston Sports Journal.

Entering the first intermission, the Bruins and Jets were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, despite Boston holding the advantage in shots on goal, 12-6.

The B’s also led in takeaways (4-2), giveaways (6-3) and faceoff win percentage (67-33), while the Jets led in blocked shots (3-1) and hits (14-8).

There were no penalties called in the first period.

Less than a minute into the middle frame, Luca Sbisa tripped up Brad Marchand and was assessed a minor infraction 29 seconds into the second period– presenting Boston with the game’s first power play of the night.

The Bruins weren’t able to convert on the skater advantage and followed the special teams action up with a penalty of their own for an illegal skater advantage– too many skaters on the ice– at 4:23 of the second period.

Backes served Boston’s bench minor and the B’s had nearly killed it off until Josh Morrissey blasted a shot from the point that Andrew Copp (7) deflected past Halak to put Winnipeg back into the lead, 2-1.

Morrissey (21) and Nikolaj Ehlers (19) notched the assists on Copp’s goal as the Jets pulled ahead of the Bruins with a power play goal at 6:00 of the second period.

Almost a few minutes later, Blake Wheeler tripped David Krejci at 9:23 and Boston went back on the power play as the Jets traded special teams opportunities.

This time around, however, the Bruins were sure to convert on the power play as Pastrnak (34) was left alone from just above the faceoff circle and fired a one-timer over Brossoit’s glove side shoulder– tying the game, 2-2, while on the power play.

Krug (25) and Marchand (42) tallied the assists on Pastrnak’s second goal of the game at 9:41.

Late in the period, Jake DeBrusk (12) broke free from Winnipeg’s defense on an individual effort and sent the puck high, glove side to give Boston their first lead of the night, 3-2, on the breakaway at 18:49.

Less than a minute later, Grzelcyk followed suit with an interference penalty at 19:17 yielded a power play to the Jets.

Neal Pionk (4) whizzed a shot from the point that had eyes and found its way to the twine behind the Bruins goaltender– tying the game, 3-3, while Winnipeg was on the power play.

Wheeler (26) and Patrik Laine (26) had the assists on Pionk’s goal at 19:52 and the Jets responded to DeBrusk’s goal with a goal of their own just 1:03 after Boston took their first lead of the night.

Entering the second intermission, the Bruins and Jets were even, 3-3, on the scoreboard, despite Boston maintaining a, 24-14, advantage in shots on goal– including a, 12-8, advantage in the second period alone.

Winnipeg led in blocked shots (4-3) and hits (26-20), while Boston led in takeaways (11-3), giveaways (11-6) and faceoff win% (70-30).

The Jets were 2/2 on the skater advantage heading into the third period, while the Bruins were 1/2 on the power play through 40 minutes.

Early in the final frame of regulation, Morrissey tripped Coyle and presented the B’s with another power play at 3:09 of the third period.

Boston didn’t capitalize on the ensuing advantage.

Moments later, Mark Scheifele (22) squeaked the puck between Halak’s leg pad and the post as the Bruins goaltender neglected to seal the pad to the post and Scheifele gave the Jets yet another lead, 4-3.

Connor (22) and Dmitry Kulikov (4) tallied the assists on Scheifele’s goal at 7:50.

Less than four minutes later, Pastrnak (35) completed his hat trick after DeBrusk initiated a scoring chance and a rebound whereby Pastrnak was able to bury a loose puck over Brossoit’s blocker for his 7th career regular season hat trick– and his 3rd this season alone (with his most recent hat trick prior to Thursday night having been on Nov. 26th in Boston’s, 8-1, win in Montreal).

Krejci (21) and DeBrusk (11) had the assists on Pastrnak’s hat trick goal at 11:13 and the Bruins tied the game, 4-4.

But the score didn’t remain tied for long as DeBrusk (13) tipped in a shot from McAvoy to put the B’s ahead, 5-4, just 33 seconds after Pastrnak completed his hat trick.

McAvoy (15) and Grzelcyk (12) notched the assists on DeBrusk’s second goal of the game at 11:46 of the third period and the Bruins didn’t look back from that moment onward.

Ehlers hooked Krug at 12:12 and presented Boston with one last chance on the power play, but the Bruins weren’t able to extend their one-goal lead.

With about 1:25 remaining in the game, Jets head coach, Paul Maurice, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail– even after Winnipeg managed to get the puck deep into their attacking zone and took a timeout after a stoppage with 7.3 seconds remaining.

At the final horn, Boston had landed the Jets with a, 5-4, win on home ice and finished the night leading in shots on goal (36-21), giveaways (13-7) and faceoff win% (62-38).

Winnipeg left TD Garden leading in hits (33-28), while both teams were tied in blocked shots (7-7).

The Jets finished Thursday night’s action 2/2 on the power play and the Bruins went 1/4 on the skater advantage as the B’s matched a franchise record of 12 consecutive games with a power play goal (originally set in the 1987-88 season).

Pastrnak, in the meantime, recorded the 32nd instance in NHL history of a player scoring three or more hat tricks in consecutive seasons (three in 2018-19 and three so far in 2019-20) as the Bruins improved to 6-1-6 when tied after one period and 7-2-3 when tied after two periods this season.

Boston begins a three-game road trip on Saturday in New York against the Islanders before venturing to visit the Philadelphia Flyers next Monday (Jan. 13th) and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (Jan. 14th).

The Bruins return home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 16th before facing the Penguins in Pittsburgh for the second game their home-and-home matchup and finish up their game action before the All-Star break with a home game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 21st.

Tags Andrew Copp, Atlantic Division, Blake Wheeler, Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins, Boston Sports Journal, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Brett Ritchie, Bruce Cassidy, Central Division, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy, Chris Wagner, Columbus Blue Jackets, Connor Clifton, Conor Ryan, David Backes, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Dmitry Kulikov, Jake DeBrusk, Jaroslav Halak, Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore, Josh Morrissey, Kevan Miller, Kyle Connor, Laurent Brossoit, Luca Sbisa, Mark Scheifele, Matt Grzelcyk, National Hockey League, Neal Pionk, New York Islanders, New York Islandersm, NHL, Nick Lanciani, nikolaj ehlers, Par Lindholm, Patrik Laine, Paul Maurice, Phil Esposito, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sean Kuraly, Steven Kampfer, TD Garden, Torey Krug, Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets, Zdeno Chara

NHL Nick's Net

Smith makes 35 saves in Oilers, 4-1, win in Boston

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date January 4, 2020
No Comments on Smith makes 35 saves in Oilers, 4-1, win in Boston

A pair of soft goals in the second period kicked off the Edmonton Oilers’ four unanswered goals in a, 4-1, win against the Boston Bruins on Saturday at TD Garden.

Mike Smith (8-9-3 record, 3.01 goals against average, .897 save percentage in 22 games played) stopped 35 out of 36 shots faced for a .972 SV% in the win for the Oilers.

Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (9-4-5, 2.25 GAA, .928 SV% in 18 games played) made 22 saves on 25 shots against for an .880 SV% in the loss.

Boston fell to 24-8-11 (59 points) on the season, but remained in 1st place in the Atlantic Division, while Edmonton improved to 22-17-5 (49 points) and moved into 3rd place in the Pacific Division.

The B’s lost just their 2nd game in regulation on home ice this season and are now 14-2-9 overall at TD Garden in 2019-20.

The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee) and Connor Clifton (upper body) against the Oilers, while Matt Grzelcyk (illness) was also out of the action on Saturday.

As a result, despite being assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Friday, Steven Kampfer was recalled from Providence on Saturday to go in the lineup for Grzelcyk on the third defensive pairing with John Moore.

Bruce Cassidy made one minor change among the forward lines from Thursday night’s, 3-2, overtime loss to Columbus– swapping Sean Kuraly with Par Lindholm at center on the third line and moving Kuraly back to the fourth line.

Brett Ritchie and David Backes were the only healthy scratches for the B’s against Edmonton.

A few minutes into the game, after David Pastrnak rocked Oscar Klefbom with a huge hit behind the Oilers net after Klefbom rid himself of the puck to a teammate, Leon Draisaitl tried to avenge the clean, but half-a-second late hit from Pastrnak on Klefbom by elbowing Torey Krug at 3:05 of the first period.

Boston’s power play didn’t take long to convert on their first opportunity of the afternoon as Pastrnak (31) rocketed a shot that deflected off of Edmonton defender, Kris Russell, and floated over Smith’s glove.

Krug (23) and Brad Marchand (40) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s power play goal and the Bruins led, 1-0, at 3:10.

Per Conor Ryan of Boston Sports Journal, the Bruins have scored a power play goal in 10 straight games for the first time since March 7-27, 1996.

Pastrnak and Marchand are the seventh pair of Bruins teammates to each reach 60 points in a season prior to the team’s 45th game of the season. They’re the first teammates to do so since Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr did so in the 1974-75 season (32 GP).

Late in the opening frame, Gaetan Haas slashed Marchand and was sent to the penalty box at 15:26.

Boston did not score on the ensuing power play.

Heading into the first intermission, the B’s led the Oilers, 1-0, on the scoreboard, but trailed Edmonton in shots on goal, 9-6.

The Oilers also held the advantage in giveaways (4-1) and hits (14-11), while Boston led in faceoff win percentage (53-47).

Both teams had three blocked shots and two takeaways each after one period.

Edmonton had yet to see any time on the skater advantage and Boston was 1/2 on the power play entering the middle frame.

Cassidy juggled his lines throughout the second period as the Bruins looked flat.

Kuraly tripped up Haas at 2:25 of the second period and presented the Oilers with their first power play of the afternoon.

Boston killed off the penalty and avoided injury after Charlie McAvoy took a shot up high and went down to the ice before getting up and skating off on his own. He showed no signs of anything major and played the rest of the game without obvious discomfort.

Almost midway through the middle frame, Jake DeBrusk mishandled the puck in his own zone and coughed up a slow-moving glider right into the slot where Haas swooped in, faked a shot and got Halak to open up his five-hole before slipping the rubber biscuit through the opening to tie the game, 1-1, at 7:41.

Haas’ goal was unassisted.

Moments later, Zdeno Chara was guilty of a phantom holding call against Joakim Nygard (it could’ve been interference or a trip, but the eye test didn’t show much of a hold) at 12:03.

Edmonton didn’t capitalize on the skater advantage, but they did capitalize on another soft goal in the dying seconds of the second period.

Darnell Nurse (3) flung a shot from a bad angle just before the goal line and the puck snuck between Halak and the post on the short side– giving the Oilers their first lead of the night, 2-1, in the process.

Draisaitl (41) had the only assist on Nurse’s goal at 19:53.

The two teams went back to their dressing rooms with Edmonton ahead of Boston, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 19-15, in shots on goal after 40 minutes of action.

The Oilers also dominated in giveaways (9-5), hits (22-20) and faceoff win% (56-44), while the Bruins held the advantage in blocked shots (12-7) and takeaways (7-2).

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

Oilers captain, Connor McDavid, emerged from the second intermission fresh with energy as Zack Kassian setup the Edmonton phenom on a breakaway less than two minutes into the third period.

McDavid (23) scored on Halak while Kampfer chased after Kassian and Chara trailed behind the play– giving Edmonton a two-goal lead.

Kassian (15) and Ethan Bear (10) had the assists on McDavid’s goal and the Oilers led, 3-1, at 1:48.

Bear followed up his secondary assist with a high sticking infraction at 4:02, but the Bruins weren’t able to capitalize on their third power play opportunity of the afternoon.

Then a large swath of the third period was filled with Boston firing pucks at the net only to be stopped by Smith and no other events on the scoresheet until 2:51 remaining in regulation when Cassidy pulled Halak for an extra attacker.

Edmonton nearly scored seconds later, but hit the outside part of the twine and thus play rolled on uninterrupted.

With 1:35 left in the game, Boston used their timeout in effort to rally a comeback, but it was too late for the Bruins as Draisaitl (24) pocketed the empty net goal at 19:51 to seal the deal on a, 4-1, win for the Oilers.

Edmonton won, 4-1, despite being outshot by Boston, 36-26– including a season-high 21 shots on goal for the Bruins in the third period alone.

The Oilers left TD Garden with the final result and the advantage in giveaways (11-8), hits (31-29) and faceoff win% (56-44), while the B’s suffered the loss despite being even in blocked shots, 14-14.

Boston finished the matinee matchup 1/3 on the power play, while Edmonton went 0/2 on the advantage.

The Bruins fell to 15-4-2 when leading after the first period, 4-6-4 when trailing after two periods and 17-6-7 when scoring the game’s first goal this season.

Boston finished their two-game homestand (0-1-1) and travels to Nashville to face the Predators next Tuesday. The Bruins return home for a Thursday night (Jan. 9th) matchup with the Winnipeg Jets before venturing on the road to visit the New York Islanders on Jan. 11th, the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 13th and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 14th.

NHL Nick's Net

DeBrusk scores two in Boston’s, 3-2, win over Buffalo

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 30, 2019
No Comments on DeBrusk scores two in Boston’s, 3-2, win over Buffalo

Jake DeBrusk scored a pair of power play goals 18 seconds apart in the Boston Bruins’, 3-2, victory over the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on Sunday night.

Tuukka Rask (15-4-5 record, 2.31 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 24 games played) made 24 saves on 26 shots against (.923 SV%) in the win for the Bruins.

Sabres goaltender, Linus Ullmark (11-10-3, 2.80 GAA, .913 SV% in 24 games played) stopped 19 out of 22 shots faced for an .864 SV% in the loss.

Boston improved to 24-7-9 (57 points) overall and remained in command of the Atlantic Division, while Buffalo fell to 17-16-7 (41 points) and remained in 6th place in the Atlantic.

The B’s also improved to 14-1-8 at home on the season.

The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Torey Krug (undisclosed) and Charlie McAvoy (undisclosed) on Sunday.

Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made a couple minor changes to his lineup from Friday night’s, 3-0, shutout in Buffalo.

Brett Ritchie returned to the lineup and was reunited with Anders Bjork and Charlie Coyle on the third line, while Sean Kuraly returned to his role as the fourth line center with Joakim Nordstrom on his left wing and Chris Wagner on his right wing.

Par Lindholm joined David Backes in the press box for the B’s as their only healthy scratches against the Sabres on Sunday.

Boston kicked things off with eight skaters on the ice for a too many skaters on the ice minor penalty at 2:50 of the first period– yielding the game’s first power play to Buffalo.

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

Midway through the opening frame, David Pastrnak (29) scored on a one-timer after Patrice Bergeron fed Brad Marchand with a stretch pass through the neutral zone and the two first line wingers entered the attacking zone on a 2-on-1.

Marchand (39) and Bergeron (18) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as the Bruins took the, 1-0, lead at 12:39 of the first period.

Moments later, Wagner tripped Sabres blue liner, Brandon Montour, and was assessed a minor infraction at 16:35. Buffalo didn’t score on their second power play of the night.

Entering the first intermission, the Bruins led the Sabres, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trailing in shots on goal, 7-2.

Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (9-3), while Buffalo led in giveaways (4-3), hits (16-7) and faceoff win percentage (67-33).

Both teams had two takeaways aside, while the Sabres were 0/2 on the only skater advantages of the period.

Just 15 seconds into the middle frame, Henri Jokiharju tripped Marchand and presented the Bruins with their first power play of the night.

Boston’s power play was powerless as Buffalo’s penalty kill shifted momentum towards the Sabres– culminating in a goal early in the second period.

Rasmus Ristolainen (4) flung a shot at the net that Rask saved, but Zdeno Chara bopped the puck off his own goaltender and into the twine as the puck squibbed through the Bruins netminder at 6:37 of the second period.

Sam Reinhart (19) and Marcus Johansson (11) tallied the assists on Ristolainen’s goal as the Sabres tied the game, 1-1.

Midway through the second period, Jimmy Vesey sent the puck over the glass and out of play– yielding an automatic delay of game penalty at 11:02.

Boston’s power play continued to struggle once again and couldn’t score while Vesey was in the box.

A few minutes later, Evan Rodrigues was in the sin bin for tripping Steven Kampfer at 14:11, but the B’s didn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

Shortly thereafter, the Bruins tweeted that their defender, Connor Clifton, wouldn’t return to the game after sustaining an upper body injury earlier in the action.

After 40 minutes of play in Boston, the Bruins and Sabres were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard with Buffalo holding the advantage in shots on goal, 19-13.

The Sabres also led in takeaways (7-4) and hits (23-15), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (10-7), giveaways (8-5) and faceoff win% (52-49).

Buffalo went 0/2 on the power play through two periods, while Boston went 0/3 on the skater advantage entering the third period.

Early in the final frame of regulation, Johan Larsson took two penalties– one for tripping DeBrusk and another for hooking Marchand– at 1:23 of the third period and presented the Bruins with a 5-on-4 power play for 4:00.

While on the power play, Kampfer fired a shot from the point that DeBrusk (10) redirected past Ullmark while skating through the slot for his first power play goal of the night at 2:37.

Kampfer (1) and Pastrnak (29) notched the assists as Boston took the lead, 2-1.

Just 18 seconds later, DeBrusk (11) fired a shot from about a foot before the goal line along the boards and trickled the puck between Ullmark’s leg pad and the right post to give the B’s a two-goal lead.

David Krejci (20) and Kampfer (2) had the assists on DeBrusk’s second power play goal of the game and the Bruins led, 3-1, at 2:55 of the third period.

Less than three minutes later, Curtis Lazar (2) pounced on a loose puck in the crease while on a delayed penalty call against Boston and tapped the rubber biscuit into the net after Rask made the initial save.

Ristolainen (15) and Jack Eichel (28) tallied the assists on Lazar’s goal and the Sabres trailed, 3-2, at 5:08.

Late in the third period, Ritchie tripped Rasmus Dahlin, but the Sabres weren’t able to capitalize on their last power play of the night at 15:51.

With 2:27 remaining in regulation, Buffalo’s head coach, Ralph Krueger, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker and used his timeout to drum up a plan to tie the game.

Things didn’t go as planned as Reinhart broke Brandon Carlo’s stick with a slash at 19:43, which left a bad taste in the Sabres’ mouths– especially Eichel’s, apparently, as the Buffalo captain was ticked off and exchanging words with an official until he received a misconduct and was sent to the showers with 17 seconds to spare in the game.

At the final horn, the Bruins had won, 3-2, despite finishing the night trailing the Sabres in shots on goal, 26-22.

Boston wrapped up Sunday’s action with the advantage in blocked shots (13-10), hits (28-25) and faceoff win% (51-49).

Meanwhile, both teams had 10 giveaways aside as the Sabres finished 0/3 on the skater advantage and the B’s went 2/6 on the power play.

The Bruins improved to 17-5-5 when scoring the game’s first goal this season, 15-3-1 when leading after the first period and 6-2-3 when tied after two periods this season.

Boston finishes the month of December (and 2019) in New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon against the Devils before kicking off 2020 with a two-game homestand against Columbus on Thursday and Edmonton on Saturday.

NHL Nick's Net

Bruins capitalize on, 7-3, win over Washington

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 24, 2019
No Comments on Bruins capitalize on, 7-3, win over Washington

The Boston Bruins routed the Washington Capitals, 7-3, on Monday night at TD Garden after scoring four goals in the first period on 11 shots.

Tuukka Rask (14-4-5 record, 2.32 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 23 games played) turned aside 39 out of 42 shots faced for a .929 SV% in the win for the Bruins.

Capitals goaltender, Braden Holtby (17-5-4, 2.87 GAA, .907 SV% in 27 games played) made seven saves on 11 shots against (6.36 SV%) before being replaced after the first period in the loss.

Ilya Samsonov (9-2-1, 2.39 GAA, .914 SV% in 13 games played) stopped three out of four shots faced (.750 SV%) for no decision after replacing Holtby for the final 40 minutes of action on Monday.

Boston improved to 22-7-9 (53 points) on the season and remained in 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Washington fell to 26-7-5 (57 points) on the season and remained in 1st place in the
Metropolitan Division.

The B’s also improved to 13-1-8 at home this season with the victory.

Monday night marked the first time that the Bruins beat the Capitals at home since March 6, 2014. Gregory Campbell, Loui Eriksson and Brad Marchand each had a goal in Boston’s, 3-0, win that night.

Boston was without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia) and Zdeno Chara (infection) on Monday.

Miller missed his 38th game this season and has yet to make his season debut, while Kuhlman missed his 30th consecutive game since being injured in Toronto on Oct. 19th.

Chara, on the other hand, missed his 1st game this season due to injury after requiring surgery to take out the plates that were put in his jaw after originally breaking his jaw in Game 4 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final last June.

As a result, John Moore returned to the lineup and took over the left side of the top defensive pairing with Charlie McAvoy after missing the last two games with an illness.

Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made minor adjustments to his lineup, re-inserting Joakim Nordstrom on the fourth line while scratching Chris Wagner as a result.

Nordstrom returned to his fourth line left wing role, while Sean Kuraly moved up to the left side of the third line and Anders Bjork took over on the third line right wing with Wagner scratched.

Wagner and David Backes were the only healthy scratches for the B’s on Monday.

Nick Jensen caught Kuraly with a high stick and presented Boston with their first power play of the night at 1:30 of the first period.

The Bruins did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

Moments later, Radko Gudas hooked Marchand at 5:28 of the opening frame and the B’s went back on the power play.

Nine seconds into the ensuing skater advantage, Jake DeBrusk (9) slid a rebound through Holtby’s five-hole to give Boston their first power play goal of the night and the, 1-0, lead at 5:37.

David Krejci (18) and Matt Grzelcyk (8) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal.

For the third time this season, the Bruins scored first against the Capitals. Boston went 0-1-1 in their previous meetings with Washington entering Monday.

Almost midway through the first period, McAvoy tripped Lars Eller and received a minor penalty at 8:54.

The Caps couldn’t convert on the resulting skater advantage.

Less than five minutes later, Marchand (19) followed up on a rebound and pocketed the puck in the twine for his first goal in 12 games at 13:29.

David Pastrnak (24) and McAvoy (13) tallied the assists on Marchand’s goal and the Bruins extended their lead to, 2-0.

Boston scored again, 27 seconds later, when Bjork (6) fired a one-timer through Holtby’s seven-hole to give Boston a three-goal lead.

Charlie Coyle (12) tallied the only assist on Bjork’s goal at 13:56 and the B’s led, 3-0.

Less than a minute later, Connor Clifton and Garnet Hathaway both skated to the penalty box at 14:46, presenting both clubs with two minutes of 4-on-4 action while Clifton was in the sin bin for slashing and Hathaway was in the box for cross checking.

A few minutes later, Washington found themselves on the penalty kill once again– only this time the Capitals were going to be short by two skaters.

Boston had a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play as a result of Jakub Vrana tripping Pastrnak and Evgeny Kuznetsov slashing Krejci at 17:25 of the first period.

Less than a minute later, Patrice Bergeron (14) tipped in a shot from Pastrnak over Holtby’s blocker and gave the Bruins a four-goal lead.

Pastrnak (25) and Krejci (19) notched the assists on Bergeron’s power play goal at 18:57 and the B’s led, 4-0.

Bergeron’s goal marked the first time that the Bruins had a four-goal lead over Washington since Oct. 30, 2002– when Cassidy was then head coach of the Capitals– according to 98.5 The Sports Hub’s, Ty Anderson.

It was also the first four-goal first period this season for Boston.

After one period of play on Monday, Boston led Washington, 4-0, on the scoreboard and, 11-8, in shots on goal.

The Bruins also held the advantage in takeaways (5-2), giveaways (5-2) and faceoff win percentage (64-36), while the Caps led in blocked shots (7-2) and hits (12-8) entering the first intermission.

Washington was 0/1 on the skater advantage, while the B’s were 2/4 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

Capitals head coach, Todd Reirden, replaced Holtby with Samsonov to start the second period and Washington limited Boston’s chances to score for the remainder of the night.

DeBrusk slashed Gudas at 2:05 of the second period and was sent to the penalty box as a result, but the Caps didn’t convert on the ensuing power play.

After killing off DeBrusk’s minor, Krejci was the next Bruin to take a skate to the sin bin and serve a minor infraction for tripping Dmitry Orlov at 5:06.

Wes McCauley blew the whistle to make the call despite Boston not having possession of the puck and a would be Washington own goal taking place at the same time, but the league ruled the play “not reviewable”.

In the meantime, Bruins defender, Torey Krug, quietly exited the game down the tunnel after taking a huge hit from Tom Wilson. Krug did not return in the third period and was ruled out for the night with an upper body injury as Boston later tweeted.

While shorthanded, Marchand sent Coyle (7) on a breakaway whereby the B’s third liner scored on Samsonov’s glove side for his 100th career NHL goal.

Marchand (34) had the only assist on Coyle’s shorthanded goal and the Bruins led, 5-0, at 6:55 of the second period.

Late in the middle frame, Alex Ovechkin (23) wired a shot over Rask’s blocker with traffic in front of the net to disrupt Rask’s shutout attempt and cut Boston’s lead to four goals.

Wilson (14) and John Carlson (35) had the assists as Washington trailed, 5-1, at 14:35.

Less than 20 seconds later, Carlson slashed Kuraly and was assessed a minor infraction at 14:53, but the B’s did not capitalize on the resulting power play.

Through 40 minutes of action on Monday, Boston led Washington, 5-1, on the scoreboard and trailed the Caps, 25-13, in shots on goal as Washington outshot Boston, 17-2, in the second period alone.

The Capitals also held the advantage in takeaways (8-7) and hits (25-16), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (10-8), giveaways (9-2) and faceoff win% (54-46) heading into the final frame of regulation.

Washington was 0/3 on the power play and Boston was 2/5.

Ovechkin kicked things off with a holding penalty at 4:59 of the third period, but Boston wasn’t able to convert on the ensuing power play and was caught with too many men on the ice in the vulnerable minute after their advantage ended at 7:28.

The Capitals, however, couldn’t score on the power play while DeBrusk served the bench minor.

Midway through the final frame of regulation, Wilson hit Pastrnak, then speared him, which led to the two players exchanging pleasantries near the benches and an ensuing scrum at center ice began between the two clubs.

Wilson and Pastrnak each received roughing minors at 13:26, but Wilson earned an extra misconduct for his actions.

Meanwhile, Boston had ended up with too many skaters as a result of a line change as things escalated between Pastrnak and Wilson, so Washington ended up with a power play opportunity as DeBrusk went back to the box to serve the Bruins’ bench minor.

Lars Eller (8) redirected Vrana’s shot under Rask’s glove and brought the Capitals to within three goals at 15:29.

Vrana (16) and Gudas (10) collected the assists on Eller’s goal as Washington trailed, 5-2, with less than five minutes left in the action.

Reirden pulled Samsonov for an extra attacker with about 3:40 remaining in regulation, but Krejci (8) tallied an empty net goal shortly thereafter once Kuraly picked off Ovechkin’s attempt to send the puck out of Washington’s defensive zone.

Kuraly (10) had the only assist on Krejci’s goal and the B’s led, 6-2, at 16:50 of the third period.

Less than a minute later, Hathaway (6) cleaned up a mishap to cut Boston’s lead to two goals as Jonas Siegenthaler bounced the puck off the endboards and Hathaway pounced on the loose puck for the goal.

Rask misread the play as his defenders opted not to reach for the puck thinking their goaltender would get it, but Rask thought his defense would get it instead and thus– Washington collected a goal as Boston was stuck in no man’s land.

Siegenthaler (6) had the only assist on Hathaway’s goal at 17:47 and the Bruins led, 6-3.

With 2:07 remaining in the game, Samsonov once again vacated the goal for an extra attacker, but Boston made sure to put the game away as Bergeron (15) collected his second goal of the game– this time on an empty net.

Bergeron’s empty net goal was assisted by Marchand (35) and Pastrnak (26) at 19:32 of the third period and sealed the deal on a, 7-3, victory for the Bruins.

This, after T.J. Oshie leveled McAvoy along the benches, ending the young defender’s night early, but avoiding any major injury as Cassidy indicated to reporters after the game.

Boston finished the night trailing Washington in shots on goal, 42-17, but led in blocked shots (13-10) and giveaways (10-8).

Meanwhile, the Capitals held the advantage in hits (40-19) and were even with the Bruins in faceoff win% (50-50) at the end of the game.

Washington went 0/5 and Boston went 2/6 on the power play on Monday.

The Bruins improved to 15-5-5 when scoring the game’s first goal, 13-3-1 when leading after the first period and 12-0-3 when leading after two periods this season.

Boston finished their four-game homestand (1-0-3) and enters the holiday break 21-7-9 overall on the season. The Bruins travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres in a home-and-home on Dec. 27th before hosting Jack Eichel and his teammates on Dec. 29th. The B’s finish off the month of December in New Jersey on Dec. 31st.

Tags Alex Ovechkin, Anders Bjork, Atlantic Division, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Braden Holtby, Bruce Cassidy, Buffalo Sabres, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy, Chris Wagner, Connor Clifton, David Backes, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Dmitry Orlov, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Garnet Hathaway, Gregory Campbell, Ilya Samsonov, Jack Eichel, Jake DeBrusk, Jakub Vrana, Joakim Nordstrom, John Carlson, John Moore, Jonas Siegenthaler, Karson Kuhlman, Kevan Miller, Lars Eller, Loui Eriksson, Matt Grzelcyk, Metropolitan Division, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, NHL, Nick Jensen, Nick Lanciani, Patrice Bergeron, Radko Gudas, Sean Kuraly, T.J. Oshie, TD Garden, Todd Reirden, Tom Wilson, Torey Krug, Tuukka Rask, Ty Anderson, Washington Capitals, Wes McCauley, Zdeno Chara

NHL Nick's Net

Predators top Bruins, 4-3, in OT

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 22, 2019
No Comments on Predators top Bruins, 4-3, in OT

Roman Josi and Patrice Bergeron scored a pair of goals for their respective teams, but Ryan Ellis scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the Nashville Predators topped the Boston Bruins, 4-3, at TD Garden on Saturday night.

Pekka Rinne (12-5-3 record, 2.98 goals against average, .895 save percentage in 20 games played) made 29 saves on 32 shots against for a .906 SV% in Nashville’s win.

Boston goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (8-3-4, 2.37 GAA, .924 SV% in 15 games played) stopped 25 out of 29 shots faced (.862 SV%) in the overtime loss.

The Bruins fell to 21-7-9 (51 points) on the season, but remained in command of 1st place in the Atlantic Division.

Meanwhile, the Predators improved to 17-12-6 (40 points) on the season and moved into 5th place in the Central Division.

Boston fell to 12-1-8 at home this season as a result of the loss.

Once more the Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee) and Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia) on Saturday.

John Moore was also out of the lineup for the second game in a row after missing Thursday night’s, 3-2, shootoutloss to the New York Islanders with an illness.

B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, opted to keep Connor Clifton in the lineup in place of Moore, while switching up his entire fourth line– scratching Joakim Nordstrom and David Backes in exchange for Par Lindholm and Brett Ritchie.

Lindholm centered the fourth line while Sean Kuraly slid over to the left wing and Ritchie fit in on the right side.

Nordstrom, Backes and Moore made up Boston’s short list of healthy scratches against Nashville.

Less than a minute into the action on Saturday night, Viktor Arvisson was penalized for holding against Brad Marchand in Arvidsson’s first game back since missing the last 12 games with an injury.

Boston’s first power play of the night at 26 seconds of the first period was unsuccessful.

Almost midway through the opening frame, Anders Bjork slashed Ellis and presented Nashville with their first power play opportunity of the night at 7:13.

The Predators did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage and the Bruins managed to kill off Bjork’s minor.

Late in the period, David Krejci tripped up Matt Duchene and was charged with an infraction at 15:10, but Nashville’s power play was powerless through one period.

After 20 minutes of action on Saturday, the Bruins and Predators entered the first intermission tied, 0-0, with Boston leading in shots on goal, 11-8.

Nashville was 0/2 on the power play and Boston was 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the second period.

Dan Hamhuis jumpstarted the middle frame with a tripping minor at 4:23 of the second period, but the Bruins couldn’t convert on the ensuing power play.

Boston did catch Nashville in the vulnerable minute after special teams play, however, as Lindholm (2) bumped into a loose puck off a rebound while being checked by a Predators defender and the rubber biscuit tumbled into the twine.

Ritchie (3) and Kuraly (9) had the assists on Lindholm’s first goal in 16 games as the Bruins took the, 1-0, lead at 7:30 of the second period.

Midway through the second period, Matt Grzelcyk slashed Duchene and presented the Predators with another power play at 10:19.

Nashville’s skater advantage was short lived, however, as Craig Smith tripped up Boston blue liner, Brandon Carlo, at 11:27.

The two clubs played 52 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey before the Bruins had an abbreviated 5-on-4 power play.

Shortly after making the kill, the Preds capitalized on the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Josi (12) snaked his way from the point to the slot and let go of a backhand shot that floated past Halak as Arvidsson acted as a fly-by screen in front of the Boston netminder.

Ryan Johansen (15) had the only assist on Josi’s first goal of the game at 12:14 and the Predators tied the game, 1-1.

Moments later, Filip Forsberg was penalized for roughing at 17:56 and the Bruins went back on the power play.

Late in the ensuing skater advantage, Bergeron (12) acted as the bumper and one-timed a shot past Rinne from point blank to give Boston the lead with a power play goal.

Torey Krug (20) had the only assist on Bergeron’s first goal of the night at 19:12 and the B’s led, 2-1.

Heading into the second intermission, Boston was ahead in the scoreboard, 2-1, but tied in shots on goal, 19-19, after Nashville rallied to an, 11-8, advantage in shots on goal in the second period alone.

Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (11-10) and hits (22-14), while Nashville led in takeaways (14-5), giveaways (9-7) and faceoff win percentage (62-38).

The Predators were 0/3 on the skater advantage and the Bruins were 1/4 on the power play heading into the third period.

Midway through the final frame of regulation, the Preds took the game by storm.

Forsberg (13) poked home a loose puck through Halak’s short side while on a delayed call against Boston (that was ultimately negated by Nashville’s goal) and tied the game in the process, 2-2, at 7:35 of the third period.

Johansen (16) and Mattias Ekholm (14) notched the assists on Forsberg’s goal.

Just 35 seconds later, Josi (13) added his second goal of the night on an unassisted effort when Halak skated out of his crease and misplayed the puck in the high slot, effectively turning the rubber biscuit over to the Predators captain– leaving an empty goal frame for Josi to bury the puck in.

Josi’s goal at 8:10 of the third period gave Nashville their first lead of the night, 3-2, but the Bruins wouldn’t go down without a fight just yet.

After using his timeout after the Josi goal mishap, Cassidy pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker with about two minutes left in regulation.

David Pastrnak unloaded a shot towards the goal that Bergeron (13) redirected for his second goal of the game– tying the game, 3-3, in the process.

Pastrnak (23) and Marchand (34) tallied the assists as Boston evened things up at 18:55 of the third period.

At the horn, the Bruins required extra time for the ninth time in their last 13 games as Boston and Nashville were knotted, 3-3, with the B’s leading in shots on goal, 30-26, after regulation.

Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (14-13), giveaways (12-10) and hits (28-23), while Nashville led in takeaways (15-8) and faceoff win% (53-47).

There were no penalties called in the third period or overtime period, so the Preds finished 0/3 on the skater advantage, while the B’s went 1/4 on the power play Saturday night.

In overtime, Peter Laviolette, started Duchene, Mikael Granlund and Josi for the Predators while Cassidy opted for Charlie Coyle, Bjork and Charlie McAvoy.

With less than a minute separating the two teams from going to a shootout, Nashville pounced on a wacky bounce in the attacking zone while the Bruins scrambled out of position.

Johansen flipped a quick pass to Ellis (6) as the Predators defender snuck in unnoticed and wired a one-timer into the twine– winning the game in the process.

Johansen (17) and Kyle Turris (11) notched the assists as the Preds picked up the, 4-3, overtime victory at 4:05 of the overtime period.

Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (32-29), blocked shots (15-14), giveaways (13-10) and hits (29-24), while Nashville left the Hub with the advantage in faceoff win% (52-48) and the final result.

The Predators improved to 2-4 in overtime this season, while the Bruins fell to 2-4.

Boston has lost eight of their last nine games and are 1-4-4 in that span. But the B’s still have a nine-point lead over 2nd place in the Atlantic Division.

The Bruins fell to 5-1-5 when tied after one period, 14-5-5 when scoring the game’s first goal and 11-0-3 when leading after two periods this season.

They have now lost eight out of their last nine games and are 1-4-4 in that span.

Boston wraps up their four-game homestand (0-0-3) on Monday night (Dec. 23rd) as they host the Washington Capitals before the league-wide holiday break kicks in from Dec. 24th through the 26th.

The Bruins travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres in a home-and-home on Dec. 27th before hosting Jack Eichel and his teammates on Dec. 29th. The B’s finish off the month of December in New Jersey on Dec. 31st.

NHL Nick's Net

Varlamov robs B’s in Isles, 3-2, shootout win

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 19, 2019
No Comments on Varlamov robs B’s in Isles, 3-2, shootout win

After trailing early in the first period, New York Islanders came back to pull off a, 3-2, shootout victory at TD Garden over the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

Semyon Varlamov (12-3-2 record, 2.34 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 20 games played) made 27 saves on 29 shots against for a .931 SV% in the win for the Islanders.

Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (13-4-5, 2.29 GAA, .922 SV% in 22 games played) stopped 19 out of 21 shots faced (.905 SV% in the shootout loss).

It was the second fewest saves on the second fewest shots against that Rask has faced this season.

Boston fell to 21-7-8 (50 points) this season, but remained in 1st place in the Atlantic Division, while New York improved to 23-8-2 (48 points) and stayed in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Bruins are now 12-1-7 at home this season and 1-4-3 in their last eight games.

It was also the first time that the Islanders beat the B’s in their last eight meetings.

Kevan Miller (knee) and Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia) were out of the lineup once again Thursday night for Boston.

Miller has yet to make his season debut and has missed the first 36 games this season, while Kuhlman has been out for 28 consecutive games since being injured in Toronto on Oct. 19th.

Zach Senyshyn (lower body) was reactivated from long-term injured reserve and assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Wednesday. Senyshyn had been out of the lineup since being injured against the Florida Panthers on Nov. 12th.

Bruce Cassidy announced earlier in the day on Thursday that Connor Clifton would be back in the lineup on the blue line with Matt Grzelcyk on the third defensive pairing while John Moore is out sick.

Cassidy made a few minor changes to his forward lines at morning skate– moving Danton Heinen up to the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk at left wing and David Krejci at center, while bumping Charlie Coyle back to his third line center role.

Coyle was flanked by Anders Bjork on his left side and Chris Wagner on his right side with Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and David Backes comprising the fourth line.

Brett Ritchie and Par Lindholm were the only healthy scratches in the press box for the Bruins against the Islanders.

Bjork (5) kicked things off with an early goal at 1:58 of the first period, giving Boston the, 1-0, lead after the winger scored his first goal in 12 games on a snap shot over Varlamov’s blocker.

Coyle (11) had the only assist on Bjork’s goal.

Moments later, New York had too many skaters on the ice and was assessed a bench minor as a result. Jordan Eberle served the penalty for the Islanders at 6:00 of the first period.

Boston couldn’t convert on the ensuing legal skater advantage.

About a minute after the power play expired for the Bruins, the B’s went on the penalty kill for the first time Thursday night after Clifton caught Anders Lee with a stick and tripped the Isles’ captain at 9:09.

New York was not successful on their first power play of the night.

In the final minute of the opening frame, Casey Cizikas tripped up the NHL’s leading goal scorer, David Pastrnak, at 19:13 and presented the Bruins with another power play that would carry over into the second period if the B’s couldn’t score by the end of the period.

Entering the first intermission, Boston led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, but trailed New York, 4-3, in shots on goal.

The Islanders also led in blocked shots (8-5), takeaways (6-3) and hits (13-8), while the Bruins led in giveaways (6-4) and faceoff win percentage (53-47).

New York was 0/1 on the skater advantage and Boston was 0/2 on the power play heading into the second period.

Former Bruin turned Islanders defender, Johnny Boychuk (2) blasted one of his patented slap shots from the point that beat Rask on the short side with a screen in front of the net.

Eberle (10) and Lee (10) notched the assists on Boychuk’s goal as the Islanders tied the game, 1-1, at 3:26 of the second period.

Midway through the middle frame, Derick Brassard caught Clifton with a high stick and cut a rut to the penalty box at 12:24. Once more, however, the Bruins were unsuccessful on the power play.

Late in the period, Varlamov robbed Bjork on a one-timer opportunity with a diving glove save across the crease to keep the game tied with 3:33 remaining in the period.

About a minute later, Mathew Barzal (14) scored a one-timer of his own after DeBrusk couldn’t score on a breakaway in Boston’s attacking zone.

Barzal stood inside the low slot and went unnoticed by the B’s defense as the Bruins turned the puck over in New York’s attacking zone and Boychuk faked a shot, then fired a hard pass to Barzal for the go-ahead goal.

For the first time of the night, the Islanders led, 2-1, with Boychuk (7) notching the only assist on Barzal’s goal at 18:26 of the second period.

About a minute later, Brandon Carlo tripped up Eberle and went to the box at 19:44.

The Isles did not convert on the ensuing power play opportunity.

Through 40 minutes of play, New York led Boston, 2-1, on the scoreboard despite shots on net being even, 10-10.

The Islanders held the advantage in blocked shots (13-7), takeaways (12-5) and hits (24-14), while the Bruins led in giveaways (12-6) and faceoff win% (53-47).

New York was 0/2 and Boston was 0/3 on the power play heading into the second intermission.

Adam Pelech caught Brad Marchand with a high stick at 6:32 of the third period and the Bruins went on the power play early in the final frame of regulation.

It wasn’t long before the skater advantage became a two-skater advantage as Brock Nelson sent the puck clear over the glass and yielded an automatic delay of game penalty at 7:16.

Boston went on the 5-on-3 power play for a span of 1:16, unless they scored before the advantage expired.

Eight seconds after Nelson was sent to the box, the Bruins won the ensuing faceoff back to Torey Krug, whereby the defender worked the puck to Pastrnak, then back to Krug, at which point No. 47 in black-and-gold flipped the puck down low to Krejci.

Krejci finally sent a pass back to Krug (5) for the one-timer as the Bruins defender moved in from the point to tie the game, 2-2, at 7:24 of the third period.

Krejci (17) and Pastrnak (22) picked up the assists on Boston’s first power play goal in five power play opportunities of the night.

Both teams swapped chance after chance, but no penalties and no goals were scored thereafter as the horn sounded on regulation with the game heading to overtime– knotted up, 2-2.

Boston led in shots on goal in the third period alone, 16-9– increasing their total advantage to, 26-19.

Meanwhile New York held the advantage in blocked shots (17-8), takeaways (17-7) and hits (35-22). The Bruins led in giveaways (13-10) and faceoff win% (59-41) after regulation.

The Islanders were 0/2 and the B’s were 1/5 on the power play heading into overtime.

In overtime, both teams swapped a few high quality scoring chances and let thing slip away as Krejci blew a pass at one point and Devon Toews lost control of the puck at another point.

Rask and Varlamov matched each other’s efforts with save after save from the third period throughout overtime.

After five minutes of play in the extra frame, the two teams needed to declare a winner and squared off in a shootout.

Cassidy started Coyle, Bjork and Krug in overtime, while Islanders head coach, Barry Trotz, opted for Nelson, Anthony Beauvillier and Nick Leddy.

There were no goals and no penalties in overtime, but the Bruins outshot the Islanders, 3-2, in the extra frame alone– bringing their final total advantage to, 29-21.

New York finished the effort leading in blocked shots (19-9) and hits (39-24), while Boston held the advantage in giveaways (14-11) and faceoff win% (59-41).

The Isles finished the night 0/2 on the skater advantage and the B’s went 1/5 on the power play Thursday night.

Boston opted to shoot second in the shootout, thereby giving Trotz the first option to kick things off in the shootout.

First up for the Islanders, Eberle deked and scored with a wrist shot over Rask’s blocker.

In response, Cassidy sent out Coyle who stickhandled the puck and sent a shot off the post over Varlamov’s glove side.

Barzal kicked off the second round of the shootout with a big, sweeping deke, then wired the puck off the cross bar and in over Rask’s glove, but the Bruins wouldn’t go down without a fight just yet.

Needing to score to keep the shootout alive, Pastrnak approached the net with speed and creativity– pulling Varlamov out of the crease before deking one final time and finishing his shot on the forehand while wrapping the puck around Varlamov’s outstretched leg pad and into the twine.

Rask needed to make a save to give his team a third and possibly final shot if the Bruins couldn’t score and Rask came up big as he aggressively stayed square to the shooter– Josh Bailey– and made a pad save.

Finally, with the game on his stick– score and continue the shootout in “sudden death” or be denied in any way and go home– Marchand skated in on Varlamov and had the New York goaltender committed to a hybrid stance and an aggressive maneuver, but Marchand chose to go five-hole and was denied.

If only Marchand had elevated the puck in any way.

The Islanders improved to 3-0 in shootouts this season with the, 3-2, shootout victory in Boston.

Meanwhile, the Bruins fell to 0-5 in shootouts this season as a result of the loss.

The B’s also fell to 12-3-1 when leading after the first period this season, 14-5-4 when scoring the game’s first goal this season and 4-5-4 when trailing after two periods this season.

Boston continues their four-game homestand (0-0-2) on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators before finishing it off with their last game before the holiday break against the Washington Capitals on Monday (Dec. 23rd).

Tags Adam Pelech, AHL, American Hockey League, Anders Bjork, Anders Lee, Anthony Beauvillier, Atlantic Division, Barry Trotz, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Brett Ritchie, Brock Nelson, Bruce Cassidy, Casey Cizikas, Charlie Coyle, Chris Wagner, Connor Clifton, Danton Heinen, David Backes, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Derick Brassard, Devon Toews, Florida Panthers, Jake DeBrusk, Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore, Johnny Boychuk, Jordan Eberle, Josh Bailey, Karson Kuhlman, Kevan Miller, Mathew Barzal, Matt Grzelcyk, Metropolitan Division, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, NHL, Nick Lanciani, Nick Leddy, Par Lindholm, Providence Bruins, Sean Kuraly, Semyon Varlamov, TD Garden, Torey Krug, Tuukka Rask, Washington Capitals, Zach Senyshyn

NHL Nick's Net

Kings reign over Bruins, 4-3, in OT

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 18, 2019
No Comments on Kings reign over Bruins, 4-3, in OT

Anze Kopitar’s game-winning goal in overtime lifted the Los Angeles Kings over the Boston Bruins, 4-3, on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Jonathan Quick (10-12-2 record, 3.05 goals against average, .893 save percentage in 24 games played) made 37 saves on 40 shots against (.925 SV%) in the win for the Kings.

Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (13-4-4, 2.31 GAA, .923 SV% in 21 games played) stopped 23 out of 27 shots faced in the overtime loss.

Boston fell to 21-7-7 (49 points) on the season, but remained in command of the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Los Angeles improved to 15-18-3 (33 points) and moved to 7th place in the Pacific Division.

The Bruins fell to 12-1-6 at home this season, while the Kings improved to 5-12-3 on the road this season.

The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia) and Zach Senyshyn (lower body) on Tuesday.

Kuhlman and Anton Blidh (shoulder) skated on their own on Monday as the two work to get back into their respective lineups (Kuhlman likely with Boston, while Blidh is rehabbing an injury sustained in the preseason and would likely be assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) when he is reactivated).

B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made no changes to his lineup from last Saturday night’s, 4-2, victory in Florida.

Once more, Connor Clifton, Par Lindholm and Brett Ritchie comprised of Boston’s healthy scratches.

The Bruins had too many skaters on the ice exactly one minute into the first period and presented Los Angeles with their first power play opportunity of the night.

The Kings took full advantage as Jeff Carter rocketed an intentionally wide shot to Blake Lizotte (4) for the redirection into the twine, giving Los Angeles the, 1-0, lead at 2:17 of the first period.

Carter (6) and Tyler Toffoli (12) had the assists on Lizotte’s power play goal as the Bruins gave up the game’s first goal on home ice for the 11th time this season.

Late in the opening frame, Kyle Clifford knocked down Chris Wagner while the B’s forward didn’t have possession of the puck and received an interference infraction as a result at 18:14.

Boston capitalized on their first power play of the game as Danton Heinen (6) redirected the puck into the net with his right skate– tying the game, 1-1, in the process.

Heinen’s power play goal was reviewed for a distinct kicking motion, but the call on the ice stood.

Brad Marchand (33) and David Pastrnak (21) notched the assists on Heinen’s goal at 19:01.

Pastrnak surpassed Barry Pederson for sole possession of the 4th most points by a Bruins player before the age of 24 with the secondary assist on Heinen’s goal.

Only Bobby Orr (507 points from 1966-72), Ray Bourque (399 points from 1979-84) and Joe Thornton (348 points from 1997-2003) had more points with Boston than Pastrnak (333) before turning 24-years-old.

After one period of play Tuesday night at TD Garden, the B’s and Kings were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard with Boston outshooting Los Angeles, 11-7.

Boston also held the advantage in giveaways (4-3) and faceoff win percentage (57-43), while Los Angeles led in blocked shots (4-3) and takeaways (5-4).

Both teams had eight hits aside and were 1/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

Trevor Lewis hooked Jake DeBrusk and was sent to the penalty box at 1:59 of the second period as the Kings kicked off the middle frame with an infraction.

While on the power play, the Bruins couldn’t manage to keep the puck in the attacking zone as Los Angeles worked a quick break turned shorthanded breakaway attempt for Adrian Kempe heading the other way.

Kempe (5) slid a backhand shot through Rask’s five-hole for the third shorthanded goal allowed this season by Boston, as well as the third shorthanded goal for Los Angeles this season.

Kempe’s shorthanded goal gave the Kings a, 2-1, lead and was unassisted at 2:45 of the second period.

Midway through the middle frame, Patrice Bergeron (11) fired a wrist shot from the high slot off the post and in behind Quick with traffic in front of the net to tie the game, 2-2.

Torey Krug (19) had the only assist on Bergeron’s goal at 10:44.

Late in the period, Dustin Brown slashed Charlie McAvoy’s stick out of the Boston defender’s hands and received a minor penalty for his action at 16:07.

The Bruins did not convert on the ensuing power play.

The two clubs entered the second intermission tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard, with the B’s leading in shots on goal, 21-17, through 40 minutes.

Both teams had 10 shots on net in the second period alone.

Meanwhile, the Bruins led in giveaways (10-4), hits (17-14) and faceoff win% (64-36) and the Kings led in blocked shots (9-5) and takeaways (11-6) entering the third period.

Los Angeles was 1/1 on the skater advantage, while Boston was 1/3 on the power play.

Brandon Carlo (3) snapped a 23-game goalless drought after he floated a soft goal past Quick from the point to give the Bruins their first lead of the night, 3-2, at 1:24 of the third period.

DeBrusk (9) and Heinen (9) had the assists on Carlo’s goal.

There were no penalties called in the third period.

With 2:08 remaining in regulation, Kings head coach, Todd McLellan, pulled Quick for an extra skater. It didn’t take long for Los Angeles to capitalize and tie the game.

Matt Roy (4) sent a shot from the point that had eyes and almost was tipped by Carter before reaching the back of the net at 17:59– tying the game, 3-3.

Nikolai Prokhorkin (4) had the only assist on Roy’s goal as the Kings forced overtime with their first shot on goal in a 10:04 span.

At the end of regulation, the Bruins led the Kings in shots on goal, 37-25– including a, 16-8, advantage in the third period alone.

Boston held the advantage in giveaways (11-9), hits (24-22) and faceoff win% (62-38), while Los Angeles led in takeaways (12-8).

Both teams had ten blocked shots each.

Los Angeles finished the night 1/1 on the skater advantage and the B’s went 1/3 on the power play as there were no penalties called in the third period or overtime.

Cassidy started Bergeron, Marchand and Krug in the extra frame, while McLellan opted for Kopitar, Alex Iafallo and Drew Doughty.

The Bruins surged with a couple of breakaways– one from Anders Bjork that was poke checked away by Quick and the other from Bergeron that was sent wide of the goal– but they were no match for Los Angeles’ quick break the other way as Kopitar (14) put the final nail in the coffin.

The Kings had defeated the Bruins, 4-3, at 3:23 of the overtime period with Doughty (17) tallying the only assist.

Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (40-27), giveaways (11-10) and faceoff win% (63-38), while both teams managed to amass ten blocked shots aside and 24 hits each.

Los Angeles improved to 4-2 in overtime this season, while the B’s fell to 2-3 in the extra frame thus far.

The Kings are now 3-0-0 when scoring a shorthanded goal in a game this season, while the Bruins fell to 5-1-4 when tied after one period and 5-2-2 when tied after two periods this season.

Boston continues their four-game homestand (0-0-1) on Thursday night against the New York Islanders before hosting the Nashville Predators on Saturday and wrapping up before the holiday break next Monday against the Washington Capitals.

Tags Adrian Kempe, AHL, Alex Iafallo, American Hockey League, Anton Blidh, Anze Kopitar, Atlantic Division, Barry Pederson, Blake Lizotte, Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Brett Ritchie, Bruce Cassidy, Charlie McAvoy, Chris Wagner, Connor Clifton, Danton Heinen, David Pastrnak, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, Jake DeBrusk, Jeff Carter, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Quick, Karson Kuhlman, Kevan Miller, Kyle Clifford, Los Angeles Kings, Matt Roy, Nashville Predators, National Hockey League, New York Islanders, NHL, Nick Lanciani, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Pacific Division, Par Lindholm, Patrice Bergeron, Providence Bruins, Ray Bourque, TD Garden, Todd McLellan, Torey Krug, Trevor Lewis, Tuukka Rask, Tyler Toffoli, Washington Capitals, Zach Senyshyn

NHL Nick's Net

Avalanche beat Bruins, 4-1, in Boston

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 8, 2019
No Comments on Avalanche beat Bruins, 4-1, in Boston

The Colorado Avalanche extended their winning streak to six games with a, 4-1, win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday night.

Ian Cole scored the game-winning goal in the second period of his 500th career NHL game, while Philipp Grubauer (10-5-2 record, 2.76 goals against average, .914 save percentage in 18 games played) made three saves on four shots on goal (.750 SV%) before being replaced by Pavel Francouz (7-2-0, 2.25 GAA, .931 SV% in 11 GP) late in the first period due to an injury.

Francouz stopped all 16 shots that he faced en route to the win for the Avs.

B’s goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (7-2-3, 2.22 GAA, .930 SV% in 12 GP) stopped 16 out of 19 shots faced (.842 SV%) in the loss.

The Bruins fell to 20-4-6 (46 points) on the season, but remain in command of the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Avalanche climbed to 19-8-2 (40 points) on the season and remained in 2nd place in the Central Division.

Boston is now 12-1-5 at home this season.

Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Zach Senyshyn (lower body) and Patrice Bergeron (lower body) remained out of the lineup on Saturday.

Bergeron is likely to return on the B’s road trip.

Meanwhile, Brett Ritchie returned to the lineup after missing the last seven games (and 12 out of the last 16) with an elbow infection.

As a result, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, adjusted his lines.

For his first line, Cassidy reunited Brad Marchand with David Krejci and David Pastrnak, while moving Jake DeBrusk back to the second line with Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen.

Ritchie was inserted on the right side of the third line with Anders Bjork at left wing and Par Lindholm at center, while the trio of Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner was reunited.

On defense, John Moore remained in the lineup on the third pairing with Matt Grzelcyk, while Connor Clifton and Steven Kampfer joined David Backes in the press box as Boston’s only healthy scratches.

Midway through the opening frame, Moore shot the puck from the point as Wagner (3) skated through the low slot and tipped in the rubber biscuit behind Grubauer to give the Boston the first goal of the game at 13:14 of the first period.

Moore (1) and Bjork (4) had the assists on Wagner’s goal and the Bruins led, 1-0.

The B’s didn’t lead for long, however, as Valeri Nichushkin (4) pulled a loose puck to his backhand and snuck it behind Halak’s extended pad– tying the game, 1-1, in the process at 17:25.

Matt Nieto (8) and Tyson Jost (5) tallied the assists on Nichushkin’s goal.

Upon tying the game, Avalanche head coach, Jared Bednar, switched out his goaltenders after Grubauer showed signs of discomfort after making a save only moments prior.

After one period in Boston, the B’s and Avs were tied, 1-1, with the Avalanche leading in shots on goal, 9-4.

Colorado led in takeaways (6-2), giveaways (4-2) and faceoff win percentage (57-43), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (5-4) and hits (18-11) entering the first intermission.

There were no penalties called in the first period as the action carried over into the middle frame.

Midway through the second period, Boston couldn’t clear their own zone.

As a result, the Avalanche went right to work on a forced turnover and zipped the puck around the horn, finally finding its way to Cole at the point whereby Cole (1) skated up to the faceoff dot and rocketed a slap shot over Halak’s glove to give Colorado their first lead of the night, 2-1.

Mark Barberio (1) and Joonas Donskoi (12) had the assists on Cole’s goal at 9:17 of the second period.

A little over nine minutes later, after Boston sustained pressure in the attacking zone for what seemed like a potentially momentum shifting couple of minutes, Colorado got a break the other direction and scored.

Andre Burakovsky (12) broke free from his own zone and sent a snap shot over Halak’s glove to make it a two-goal game at 18:21 of the second period.

Nathan MacKinnon (27) and Donskoi (13) collected the assists as the Avalanche collected a, 3-1, lead heading into the second intermission.

Through 40 minutes of play, Colorado led Boston, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 14-8, in shots on goal– including a, 5-4, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

The Avs held the advantage in blocked shots (11-10), takeaways (10-7), giveaways (12-3) and faceoff win% (54-46) entering the third period, while the Bruins led in hits (27-23).

Once more, both clubs remained 0/0 on the power play as the first penalty of the night wasn’t called until the third period.

Early in the final frame of the game, Ryan Graves caught Kuraly with a high stick and was sent to the box at 5:54 of the third period.

Boston’s power play was powerless and the Avs killed off Graves’ minor infraction without any issues as Graves was hooked by Marchand seconds after emerging from the box and receiving a breakaway opportunity in the attacking zone.

Marchand cut a rut to the sin bin at 8:02, but Colorado’s skater advantage didn’t last long as Donskoi clipped Zdeno Chara with a high stick at 8:27 and presented both teams with 4-on-4 action for a span of 1:35 before an abbreviated 5-on-4 advantage would begin for the Bruins.

Neither team capitalized on the special teams play.

Late in the period, Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog, caught Pastrnak in the face with a high stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 17:39.

With 2:21 remaining in the game and the start of yet another power play, Cassidy pulled Halak for an extra attacker– effectively making it a two-skater advantage with Landeskog in the box.

Upon exiting the box, Landeskog (5) pocketed an empty net goal, giving Colorado a three-goal lead to seal the deal on their win.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (5) had the only assist on Landeskog’s empty netter that made it, 4-1, at 19:57.

Colorado finished the night with the advantage on the scoreboard, but both teams actually tied in shots on goal, 20-20, as Boston rallied to a, 12-6, advantage in the third period alone.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche finished the night leading in blocked shots (21-10), giveaways (13-7) and faceoff win% (60-41).

Boston ended the night with the lead in hits (36-34) and went 0/3 on the power play. The Avs went 0/1.

Colorado hasn’t lost a game in regulation in Boston since March 30, 1998. The Avs are now 12-0-2 in their last 14 games in Boston.

The Avalanche ended Boston’s 17-game point streak.

As a result of the loss, the B’s are now 13-3-3 when scoring the game’s first goal this season and 4-3-3 when trailing after two periods.

The Bruins are now 1-6 in their last seven games against Colorado, including Boston’s, 4-2, loss at Pepsi Center on Oct. 10th.

Boston finished their five-game homestand 3-1-1 and will begin a four-game road trip on Monday with a matchup against the Ottawa Senators.

The Bruins then face the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning on back-to-back nights in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and in Tampa on Thursday before wrapping up their road trip in Sunrise, Florida next Saturday in a duel with the Florida Panthers.

Tags Anders Bjork, Andre Burakovsky, Atlantic Division, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Brett Ritchie, Bruce Cassidy, Central Division, Charlie Coyle, Chris Wagner, Colorado Avalanche, Connor Clifton, Danton Heinen, David Backes, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Florida Panthers, Gabriel Landeskog, Ian Cole, Jake DeBrusk, Jared Bednar, Jaroslav Halak, Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore, Joonas Donskoi, Karson Kuhlman, Kevan Miller, Mark Barberio, Matt Grzelcyk, Matt Nieto, Nathan MacKinnon, National Hockey League, NHL, Nick Lanciani, Ottawa Senators, Par Lindholm, Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Francouz, Pepsi Center, Philipp Grubauer, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Ryan Graves, Sean Kuraly, Steven Kampfer, Tampa Bay Lightning, TD Garden, Tyson Jost, Valeri Nichushkin, Washington Capitals, Zach Senyshyn, Zdeno Chara

NHL Nick's Net

Boston Toews Party, Blackhawks beat B’s, 4-3, in OT

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 6, 2019
No Comments on Boston Toews Party, Blackhawks beat B’s, 4-3, in OT

Jonathan Toews ended the Boston Bruins’ eight-game win streak with his game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks over the B’s, 4-3, at TD Garden on Thursday.

Robin Lehner (6-5-3 record, 2.71 goals against average, .929 save percentage in 15 games played) stopped 37 out of 40 shots faced for a .925 SV% in the overtime win for the Blackhawks.

Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask (13-2-3, 2.14 GAA, .929 SV% in 18 GP) made 27 saves on 31 shots against (.871 SV%) in the overtime loss.

Boston hosted Chicago on Thursday after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-0, on Tuesday night in Jaroslav Halak’s 500th NHL game.

David Krejci became the 19th player in Bruins franchise history to reach 200 career goals with the club in Tuesday night’s shutout over the Hurricanes, by the way. If you noticed, we had the night off from recapping the game.

The Bruins fell to 20-3-6 (46 points) on the season, but remained in 1st place in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks improved to 11-12-5 (27 points), but stayed in 7th place (last) in the Central Division.

Boston fell to 12-0-5 at home this season, while Chicago improved to 5-5-1 in their last 11 games.

Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Zach Senyshyn (lower body) and Patrice Bergeron (lower body) were all out of the lineup due to injury against the Blackhawks.

Brett Ritchie (upper body) was once again in limbo (he wasn’t in the lineup, but he also technically wasn’t listed as being injured).

Ritchie is practicing as normal and ready to go after dealing with his lingering infection, but Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, opted not to replace anyone in his lineup in favor of the winger.

Meanwhile, John Moore, made his season debut against Chicago after missing the first 28 games this season due to offseason shoulder surgery.

Moore had one assist in one game with the Providence Bruins (AHL) in his conditioning stint on Sunday. He was placed on the left side of the third defensive pairing alongside Matt Grzelcyk, while Connor Clifton served as a healthy scratch.

Once more, Cassidy elected to keep Brad Marchand with Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen on the “first line”, while Jake DeBrusk, Krejci and David Pastrnak made up the “second line”.

Cassidy left his bottom six forwards untouched from Tuesday night’s action against Carolina.

Steven Kampfer joined Clifton as Boston’s only healthy scratches on Thursday.

Less than a minute into the action, Patrick Kane hooked Marchand on a scoring chance 33 seconds into the first period.

Boston did not score on the ensuing power play, but got another chance on the skater advantage at 16:35, when Anton Wedin tripped Coyle.

Despite being shorthanded, the Blackhawks found a way to make the most of being down a skater by scoring a goal on the penalty kill.

Ryan Carpenter (1) pocketed a rebound off of an initial shout from the point by Connor Murphy after the Hawks caught Charlie McAvoy playing catchup since the Bruins defender blew a chance in Boston’s offensive zone seconds prior.

Murphy (1) had the only assist on Carpenter’s goal at 18:14 of the first period and Chicago jumped out to the, 1-0, lead with Boston’s first shorthanded goal against this season.

Less than a minute later, Pastrnak lifted Dennis Gilbert’s stick out of Gilbert’s hands while the Blackhawks skater didn’t have the puck and was charged with an interference infraction at 18:41.

Chicago only needed 10 seconds on the power play to let Dylan Strome (6) go undetected and tip-in a goal from point blank in front of Rask, giving the Blackhawks two goals in a span of 27 seconds.

Erik Gustafsson (7) and Kane (20) notched the assists on Strome’s goal and Chicago led, 2-0, at 18:51.

After one period, the Blackhawks held the advantage on the scoreboard, 2-0, while trailing the Bruins in shots on goal, 12-8.

Boston held the advantage in hits (9-8) and faceoff win percentage (60-40), while Chicago led in blocked shots (8-1), takeaways (5-3) and giveaways (4-2).

The Blackhawks were 1/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission and the B’s were 0/2 on the skater advantage.

Chicago kicked things off with a bench minor for too many skaters on the ice 53 seconds into the second period, resulting in the third power play of the night for Boston.

Ironically, the Bruins weren’t able to do anything with the skater advantage as a result of Chicago’s illegal skater advantage.

After serving the Blackhawks’ bench minor, Alexander Nylander cut a rut back to the penalty box for catching Boston defender, McAvoy, with a high stick at 10:35 of the second period.

Boston didn’t capitalize on their fourth power play of the game.

Seconds after finishing their power play, the Bruins found themselves going on the penalty kill after Pastrnak retaliated in front of the Chicago net and received a roughing minor against Murphy at 12:58.

The Blackhawks did not score on their second skater advantage of the night and held the, 2-0, lead after 40 minutes of play.

Despite having a, 12-10, advantage in shots on goal in the second period alone, Chicago trailed Boston in shots on net after two periods, 22-20.

The Bruins held the advantage in giveaways (12-6), hits (20-18) and faceoff win% (59-41), but the Blackhawks led in blocked shots (15-6) and takeaways (10-8) entering the third period.

Chicago was 1/2 on the power play, while the B’s were 0/4.

Things went from bad to worse before they got better (then finally worse again) for the Bruins as Alex DeBrincat (6) shot the puck off the post on the short side over Rask’s blocker, giving the Blackhawks a, 3-0, lead 17 seconds into the third period.

Strome (13) and Calvin de Haan (4) had the assists on DeBrincat’s goal off the opening faceoff for the final frame of regulation.

Chicago’s three-goal lead marked the first time this season that Boston trailed by three goals.

Former Blackhawk, Joakim Nordstrom (3) got the B’s on the scoreboard with his first goal in 11 games after David Backes generated a rebound off of Lehner’s leg pad that Nordstrom pocketed into the twine to cut Chicago’s lead to two goals.

Backes (2) and McAvoy (9) had the assists on Nordstrom’s goal at 1:49 of the third period and the Blackhawks led, 3-1.

Midway through the third period, after Zack Smith launched high into Pastrnak along the glass, Moore immediately stepped in and dropped the gloves with the Chicago forward.

In what was just the 5th fight this season for Boston, Moore was toppled quickly by Smith at 11:46 and headed down the tunnel before returning moments later.

Less than two minutes later, Coyle was penalized for roughing against Slater Koekkoek at 13:40, but the Blackhawks couldn’t muster a power play goal and instead gave up a shorthanded goal against when Chris Wagner (2) skated in on a breakaway and fired a shot past Lehner for his first goal in 17 games.

Sean Kuraly (8) and Grzelcyk (7) notched the assists on Wagner’s goal at 15:01 and the Bruins trailed, 3-2.

Not to be outdone in the quick back-to-back goal scoring department, Boston rallied to tie the game, 3-3, with two goals in a span of 2:26 after Torey Krug (4) skated into the slot and squeaked a shot through Lehner’s seven-hole at 17:27.

DeBrusk (7) recorded the only assist on the goal as the Bruins tied the game and kept their no regulation losses on home ice this season streak alive.

After 60 minutes of hockey, the score was tied, 3-3, and the Bruins were leading in shots on goal, 40-30.

Boston also held the advantage in third period shots on net alone (18-10), as well as in giveaways (16-9) and hits (30-24), while Chicago led in blocked shots (18-10), takeaways (14-10) and faceoff win% (51-49).

As there were no penalties called in the overtime period, the Blackhawks finished the night 1/3 on the skater advantage and the Bruins went 0/4 on the power play.

After Cassidy started Krejci, Pastrnak and Krug, Chicago’s head coach, Jeremy Colliton, countered with Toews, Kane and Murphy.

Less than a minute into overtime, Toews (5) ensured Pastrnak wouldn’t get the puck in Chicago’s defensive zone and generated his own breakaway down the open ice, stickhandling and scoring on Rask’s five-hole to win the game, 4-3, in overtime.

Murphy (2) had the only assist on Toews’ goal 54 seconds into the extra frame, yielding the only shot on goal in the overtime period.

Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal (40-31), giveaways (16-9) and hits (30-25), while Chicago left the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with the overtime win and the advantage in blocked shots (18-10), as well as faceoff win% (52-48).

The Blackhawks improved to 3-2 in overtime this season, while the Bruins faltered to 2-2 in the extra period.

Chicago also improved to 10-2-3 when scoring first this season and the B’s fell to 4-2-3 when trailing after two periods.

Boston concludes their current five-game homestand (3-0-1) on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. The B’s then begin a four-game road trip in Ottawa on Monday.

Tags AHL, Alex DeBrincat, Alexander Nylander, American Hockey League, Anton Wedin, Atlantic Division, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Brett Ritchie, Bruce Cassidy, Calvin de Haan, Carolina Hurricanes, Central Division, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris Wagner, Colorado Avalanche, Connor Clifton, Connor Murphy, Danton Heinen, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Dennis Gilbert, Dylan Strome, Erik Gustafsson, Jake DeBrusk, Jaroslav Halak, Jeremy Colliton, Joakim Nordstrom, John Moore, Jonathan Toews, Karson Kuh, Kevan Miller, Matt Grzelcyk, National Hockey League, NHL, Nick Lanciani, Ottawa Senators, Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Kane, Providence Bruins, Robin Lehner, Ryan Carpenter, Sean Kuraly, Slater Koekkoek, Steven Kampfer, TD Garden, Torey Krug, Tuukka Rask, Zach Seny, Zack Smith

NHL Nick's Net

Backes’ return sparks B’s in, 3-1, win over Habs

Post author By Nick Lanciani
Post date December 1, 2019
No Comments on Backes’ return sparks B’s in, 3-1, win over Habs

David Backes scored the game-winning goal in his first game back from injury since Nov. 2nd as the Boston Bruins rallied in the third period to a, 3-1, comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens Sunday night at TD Garden.

Tuukka Rask (13-2-2 record, 2.04 goals against average, .933 save percentage in 17 games played) made 28 saves on 29 shots against for a .966 SV% in the win for Boston.

Montreal netminder, Carey Price (10-9-3, 3.18 GAA, .898 SV% in 22 GP) stopped 31 out of 34 shots faced for a .912 SV% in the loss.

The B’s improved to 19-3-5 (43 points) on the season and maintained their lead on the Atlantic Division, as well as the entire league– having played one fewer game than the Washington Capitals.

The Habs fell to 11-10-6 (28 points) and remained in command of 5th place in the Atlantic Division while also falling to 0-5-3 in their last eight games.

Prior to Sunday night, Montreal hadn’t lost eight-straight games since the 1939-40 season (in which the Canadiens lost nine-straight games at one point).

Meanwhile, Boston is on an 11-game point streak, including their current seven-game winning streak and improved to 11-0-4 on home ice this season.

Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (shoulder), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Zach Senyshyn (lower body), Patrice Bergeron (lower body) and Brett Ritchie (upper body) were all out of commission for the Bruins on Sunday against Montreal.

Moore, however, was assigned to the Providence Bruins (AHL) ahead of Providence’s matinee matchup with the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles’ Coliseum as part of a long-term injured conditioning stint (meaning he’s likely to be back up in Boston and rejoining the B’s lineup in the near future).

Jack Studnicka was also reassigned to Providence after playing in two NHL games with Boston while multiple forwards were injured.

Studnicka recorded one assist in that span.

Backes returned to full practice on Saturday and returned to the lineup Sunday night against the Canadiens after missing the last 13 games since being hurt on Nov. 2nd against the Ottawa Senators.

With Backes available, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, switched up his lines from Friday afternoon’s, 3-2, overtime victory over the New York Rangers.

Cassidy kept his first line the same with Brad Marchand at left wing, David Krejci at center and David Pastrnak on the right wing.

On the second line, Cassidy moved Charlie Coyle back to his usual spot at center with Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen on his left and right sides, respectively.

Sean Kuraly centered the third line with Anders Bjork at left wing and Chris Wagner at right wing.

Finally, Par Lindholm centered Joakim Nordstrom in his usual role as the fourth line left wing and Backes on the right wing.

Connor Clifton went back in the lineup on the third defensive pairing alongside Matt Grzelcyk, while Steven Kampfer joined Brendan Gaunce in the press box as Boston’s only healthy scratches.

The Bruins wore their new alternate sweater for the second-straight game since debuting them on the ice against the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown.

Joel Armia (10) stole the puck right in front of the Boston goal and sent a backhand shot off the crossbar and in over Rask’s glove side on fluke soft goal to kick things off at 1:58 of the first period.

Armia’s goal was unassisted and gave Montreal a, 1-0, lead in what was just the 9th instance of the Bruins giving up the game’s first goal on home ice this season– and the 4th consecutive home game in doing so.

Late in the period, Charlie McAvoy caught Charles Hudon with a high stick and was assessed a minor infraction at 14:38.

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

Entering the first intermission, the Habs led the B’s, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 11-10, in shots on goal.

Montreal also held the advantage in takeaways (11-1) and faceoff win percentage (59-41), while Boston led in blocked shots (4-1).

Both teams had three giveaways aside and 12 hits each, meanwhile the Canadiens were 0/1 on the power play heading into the second period.

The Bruins had yet to see any time on the skater advantage after the first 20 minutes of action Sunday night.

Boston turned their burners on as the second period was nearing a close, but not before the two teams got into a bit of a scrum at center ice that resulted in the first power play opportunity of the night for the Bruins.

Shea Weber was called for interference against Pastrnak at 17:13 of the second period, but was joined in the penalty box by his teammate, Brendan Gallagher, after Gallagher got into a wrestling match with DeBrusk– who also cut a rut to the sin bin, but for the B’s.

As a result, the Bruins went on a 5-on-4 skater advantage and couldn’t muster a power play goal in the vulnerable minutes before the middle frame came to a close.

The score remained unchanged after 40 minutes of action with the Canadiens leading the Bruins, 1-0, but Boston jumped ahead of Montreal in the shot department– leading, 20-19, in shots on goal after two periods thanks to their, 10-8, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

The B’s led in blocked shots (10-6) and hits (25-20) entering the second intermission, while the Habs led in takeaways (12-6), giveaways (4-3) and faceoff win% (52-48).

Both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.

Early in the final frame, Bjork worked an indirect pass up the boards to Pastrnak that led Pastrnak into the attacking zone.

The league’s leading goal scorer, Pastrnak (25), blasted a rocket from the hashmarks off the far post and in on Price’s blocker side– tying the game, 1-1, in the process at 6:16 of the third period.

Bjork (3) and Brandon Carlo (8) tallied the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as No. 88 in black-and-gold became the 11th player in league history to score 25 or more goals in a season through games played on Dec. 1st, as well as the first player to do so since Mario Lemieux scored 29 goals through Dec. 1st in the 1992-93 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

About a couple minutes later, Nick Cousins received a holding infraction for tying up Torey Krug in Montreal’s offensive zone.

Boston went on the power play for the second time of the night at 8:38 of the third and made sure to capitalize on the skater advantage in the dying seconds of the power play opportunity.

Grzelcyk worked the puck from the point to Krejci as the Bruins center brought the puck down low.

Krejci then sent a pass to Backes (1) in the slot where the veteran NHLer was acting as a bumper and one-timed a shot into the twine to give Boston their first lead of the night, 2-1.

The Bruins didn’t score in the first 40 minutes of the game Sunday night, but they fired off two goals in a span of 4:13 in the third period to turn the game on its head.

Krejci (15) and Grzelcyk (6) had the assists on Backes’ goal at 10:29 and the B’s had momentum on their side.

In a similar manner, but from the reverse angle, Heinen broke into the zone with possession and briefly lost the puck before DeBrusk scooped it up and gave it to Coyle.

The Weymouth, Massachusetts native brought the rubber biscuit behind the net, then tossed a pass to DeBrusk (6) that the Bruins winger one-timed over Price’s glove from point blank while being knocked to the ice– giving Boston a two-goal lead, 3-1.

Coyle (10) had the only assist on DeBrusk’s goal at 13:27 and the Bruins completed their three unanswered goal comeback over Montreal in a 7:11 span in the third period.

The goal was DeBrusk’s 6th point in his last five games.

With 2:33 remaining in regulation, Canadiens head coach, Claude Julien, pulled Price for an extra attacker.

After icing the puck and mishandling a breakout, the Habs ended up with too many skaters on the ice at 18:09 and sent Cousins to the box to serve their bench minor.

Though Boston did not score on their third power play of the game, they did walk away with the most important thing– the win– at the final horn.

The Bruins finished off the Canadiens, 3-1, and ended the night with the advantage in shots on goal (34-29), blocked shots (16-12) and hits (32-28).

Montreal, meanwhile, left TD Garden with the advantage in giveaways (7-4) and faceoff win% (59-41) on Sunday.

The Habs finished the night 0/1 on the power play, while the B’s went 1/3 on the skater advantage.

The Bruins are now 7-1-2 when allowing the game’s first goal at home this season and 4-2-2 when trailing after two periods.

Boston continues their current five-game home stand (2-0-0) on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday and finishing up their homestand on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. The B’s then begin a four-game road trip thereafter.

Tags AHL, American Hockey League, Anders Bjork, Atlantic Division, Atlantic Divison, Boston Bruins, Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Brendan Gallagher, Brendan Gaunce, Brett Ritchie, Bruce Cassidy, Carey Price, Carolina Hurricanes, Charles Hudon, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy, Charlotte Checkers, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris Wagner, Claude Julien, Colorado Avalanche, Connor Clifton, Danton Heinen, David Backes, David Krejci, David Pastrnak, Jack Studnicka, Jake DeBrusk, Joakim Nordstrom, Joel Armia, John Moore, Karson Kuhlman, Kevan Miller, Mario Lemieux, Matt Grzelcyk, Montreal Canadiens, National Hockey League, New York Rangers, NHL, Nick Cousins, Nick Lanciani, Par Lindholm, Patrice Bergeron, Pittsburgh Penguins, Providence Bruins, Sean Kuraly, Shea Weber, Steven Kampfer, TD Garden, Torey Krug, Tuukka Rask, Washington Capitals, Zach Senyshyn