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Lightning at Bruins Preview: 4/6/2019

The Boston Bruins (49-23-9, 107 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) close out their 2018-19 regular season on home ice at TD Garden against the Tampa Bay Lightning (61-16-4, 126 points, 1st in the Atlantic Division) Saturday afternoon.

Boston is looking to even the season series (1-2-0) against the Lightning after losing, 3-2, in Tampa on Dec. 6th, winning, 4-1, in Boston on Feb. 28th and allowing three unanswered goals in the third period of March 25th’s, 5-4, loss at Amalie Arena.

The Bolts are seeking to tie an NHL record set by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for most wins in a season (62), while the B’s are looking to finish the season with at least 50 wins in consecutive seasons since they did so from 1970-71 to 1973-74.

Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters prior to Saturday’s matinee meeting with Tampa that none of his players willingly wanted to come out of the lineup in Thursday night’s, 3-0, shutout of the Minnesota Wild or Saturday.

Having already clinched home ice in the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Cassidy will role with Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci and David Pastrnak on his first line, while Marcus Johansson, Charlie Coyle and Zach Senyshyn will fill out the rest of the top-six forwards.

Anton Blidh and Jeremy Lauzon were recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) ahead of Saturday’s game and will suit up for Boston while some of the veterans get the afternoon off.

Blidh will be the third line left wing with Trent Frederic at center and David Backes on the right wing and Lauzon will be paired with Steven Kampfer on the third defensive pairing.

Danton Heinen, Joakim Nordstrom and Karson Kuhlman will comprise the fourth line against the Lightning.

Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy return to the action after resting on Thursday. They will be the first defensive pairing, but likely not see much ice time, while Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton anchor the second pair on the blue line for Boston.

Chris Wagner (lower body), Brandon Carlo (healthy scratch), John Moore (upper body), Patrice Bergeron (healthy scratch), Torey Krug (healthy scratch), Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand), Noel Acciari (healthy scratch), Brad Marchand (healthy scratch) and Kevan Miller (lower body) will all be out against the Bolts.

Kuraly skated on his own at TD Garden on Saturday morning and Miller is expected to participate at full practice on Monday.

Tuukka Rask (27-12-5 record, 2.42 goals against average, .915 save percentage in 45 games played) will get the final start of the regular season for Boston.

Tampa head coach, Jon Cooper, is without the services of Louis Domingue (lower body, day-to-day) and Victor Hedman (upper body, day-to-day) against the Bruins.

Edward Pasquale (1-1-0, 4.43 GAA, .870 SV% in two games played) will tend the net for the Lightning.

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Bruins at Blue Jackets Preview: 4/2/2019

As the Boston Bruins (47-23-9, 103 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) continue their three-game road trip (0-1-0) with a visit to Nationwide Arena on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets (45-30-4, 94 points, 4th in the Metropolitan Division), they will do so without the services of Danton Heinen in the lineup.

Heinen is out Tuesday with an illness and will be replaced by Chris Wagner on the third line with Marcus Johnansson at left wing and Charlie Coyle at center.

Boston enters Columbus 18-15-6 on the road this season– coming off a, 6-3, loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday– tied in the season series, 1-1-0, with the Blue Jackets after suffering a, 7-4, loss on March 12th last time in Columbus and winning, 2-1, in overtime at TD Garden on March 16th.

The Bruins finished the month of March, 9-6-0, while the Blue Jackets– winners of their last five games– went 9-6-1 last month.

Columbus returns home Tuesday night after a, 4-0, shutout victory– Sergei Bobrovsky‘s league-leading 9th shutout of the season– over the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Sunday.

The B’s have lost nine games in regulation since Jan. 1st and are looking to clinch home ice in their First Round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a win against Columbus and a loss for Toronto in any fashion against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday or an overtime/shootout loss to the Blue Jackets and the Maple Leafs lose in regulation on Tuesday.

If Boston doesn’t clinch home ice on Tuesday, their next chance to do so would be Thursday night. More on that as it develops.

With the exception of Wagner in for Heinen, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, isn’t expected to make any other lineup changes despite the current two-game losing streak Boston is on.

Connor Clifton and Steven Kampfer remain healthy scratches, while John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (right hand fracture) are still out due to injury.

Tuukka Rask (26-12-5 record, 2.43 goals against average, .914 save percentage in 44 games played) will get the start in the crease for Boston against Columbus.

The Blue Jackets can clinch a playoff berth with a win Tuesday night in their final home game of the regular season and a Montreal Canadiens loss in regulation against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Columbus has the tiebreaker in regulation-plus-overtime wins over the Canadiens and Hurricanes with 44 ROWs to Carolina’s 41 and Montreal’s 40 this season.

Former Bruin, Adam McQuaid (day-to-day), remains out of the lineup for the Blue Jackets since being injured on an interference penalty by Canadiens forward, Andrew Shaw, on March 28th.

Markus Hannikainen, Lukas Sedlak, Eric Robinson, Adam Clendening, Andrew Peeke, Keith Kinkaid and Elvis Merzlikins are all expected to be scratches as well for Columbus against Boston.

Blue Jackets head coach, John Tortorella, will go with Bobrovsky (36-23-1, 2.55 GAA, .914 SV% in 60 GP) in net as the two clubs close out their regular season series.

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Bruins at Red Wings Preview: 3/31/2019

The Boston Bruins (47-22-9 record, 103 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) visit the Detroit Red Wings (30-38-10, 70 points, 7th in the Atlantic Division) at Little Caesars Arena for the final time this season on Sunday.

Boston has points in 17 out of their last 19 meetings against Detroit, amassing a 15-2-2 record in that span. This season, however, the Bruins are 1-1-1 this season against the Red Wings– most recently suffering a, 4-2, loss at TD Garden on Dec. 1st.

The B’s also lost, 3-2, in overtime at Detroit on Nov. 21st and downed the Red Wings, 8-2, on home ice on Oct. 13th this season.

As the season shifts its focus to the month of April and the looming 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins look to wrap up the month of March with ten wins. They are 9-5-0 entering Sunday in March, while the Detroit is 7-6-1 this month.

The Red Wings are coming off a, 4-0, shutout over the New Jersey Devils on Friday, while the Bruins are coming off a, 4-1, loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Bruce Cassidy is expected to make some lineup adjustments with Kevan Miller (upper body) returning to Cassidy’s blue line after missing the last 16 games and likely will suit up alongside his teammate, Matt Grzelcyk, on the third defensive pairing.

As a result of Miller’s return, Connor Clifton will join Steven Kampfer as the only healthy scratches for the B’s on Sunday.

Karson Kuhlman was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on emergency basis as Boston kicks off a three-game road trip before their final game of the regular season next Saturday at home as Chris Wagner was not on the ice for warmups in Detroit.

With Wagner likely out of the action against the Red Wings, Kuhlman took rushes alongside Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci, with Cassidy reuniting the Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak line as his top line.

Marcus Johansson, Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen are expected to form the third line with Joakim Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and David Backes filling their usual roles on the fourth line.

John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) remain week-to-week.

After Tuukka Rask allowed three goals against in Saturday’s loss to the Panthers, Cassidy will start Jaroslav Halak (21-10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 38 games played) in Boston’s second game in as many nights.

Red Wings head coach, Jeff Blashill, will be without the services of Luke Glendening (undisclosed) and Jonathan Bernier (upper body).

As a result, Detroit recalled Dominic Turgeon and Kaden Fulcher from the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) with Turgeon, 23, likely to center the fourth line and Fulcher, 20, backing up Jimmy Howard (21-20-5, 3.02 GAA, .909 SV% in 51 GP) in net on Sunday.

Turgeon has 6-13–19 totals in 69 games for the Griffins this season and was the 63rd overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Red Wings.

Fulcher spent part of this season with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL) and amassed a 15-7-6 record, 3.00 GAA and .899 SV% in 28 games played prior to being reassigned to Grand Rapids. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Detroit in October 2017.

With Glendening missing the action against Boston, the Red Wings will not have a single player play a full 82-game season for the first time since 1996-97 when Steve Yzerman led Detroit in games played with 81.

Bernier was hurt in the second period on Friday and replaced by Howard prior to the start of the third period against New Jersey.

Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings with 31-37–68 totals in 72 games played this season.

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Pastrnak scores hat trick in Boston’s, 6-3, win over Rangers

David Pastrnak had a five-point night (three goals, two assists) as he led the Boston Bruins to a, 6-3, victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday at TD Garden.

Brad Marchand had three assists in the effort and Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy also had goals for Boston in the win.

Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (21-10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .923 save percentage in 38 games played), made 20 saves on 23 shots faced for an .870 SV% in the winning effort, while New York’s Henrik Lundqvist (18-21-10, 3.05 GAA, .907 SV% in 50 GP) stopped 26 out of 32 shots faced for an .813 SV% in the loss.

The B’s improved to 47-21-9 (103 points) on the season and remain in command of 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Rangers fell to 29-34-17 (71 points) and stuck in 7th place in the Metropolitan Division.

Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) returned to the second line right wing after missing the last ten games and Torey Krug (concussion) returned to action alongside Brandon Carlo on the second defensive pair after missing the last six games.

Meanwhile, Kevan Miller (upper body) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) were ruled out of the action on Wednesday by Bruce Cassidy, but likely to return to full contact practice on Friday.

Cassidy also provided an update on John Moore (upper body) and indicated the defender would be out “week-to-week”, joining Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) on the longer prognosis for a return to the lineup.

With Johansson and Krug back in the lineup, Karson Kuhlman was the only healthy scratch (and later reassigned to Providence (AHL) during the second intermission).

Connor Clifton shifted down to the third defensive pairing with Steven Kampfer in place of the injured Moore.

The Rangers had slight miscalculation with the number of skaters allowed on the ice at one time while their goaltender was still in the crease.

As a result, Pavel Buchnevich served New York’s bench minor for too many on the ice at 2:29 of the first period.

Boston went on the power play for the first time Wednesday evening and the first time with Krug back in the lineup on the power play unit.

It only took the B’s 19 seconds on the ensuing power play to convert on the scoreboard.

Marchand received a give-and-go from Bergeron and threw the puck over to Pastrnak (34) for the one-timer from one knee and Pastrnak’s first goal of the evening at 2:48 of the first period.

Boston led, 1-0, thanks to Pastrnak’s power play goal, with the assists credited to Marchand (61) and Bergeron (45).

Late in the opening frame, Zdeno Chara sent the puck over the glass and was automatically charged with a delay of game minor infraction at 14:51.

Boston’s penalty killing unit almost killed off Chara’s minor, but was bitten late in New York’s first power play of the night as Mika Zibanejad (29) tied the game, 1-1.

Ryan Strome (14) and Buchnevich (16) tallied the assists on Zibanejad’s first goal of the night at 16:29.

After one period of play, the Bruins and Rangers were tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, while Boston led in shots on goal (13-10) and blocked shots (5-4).

New York led in takeaways (3-1), giveaways (4-3), hits (12-8) and face-off win percentage (74-26) heading into the dressing room for the first intermission.

Both teams were 1/1 on the power play entering the second period.

Jimmy Vesey tripped Pastrnak to kick things off in the middle frame at 1:46 of the second period. The Bruins did not convert on the resulting power play.

Almost midway through the second period, after Cassidy adjusted his lines, David Krejci worked a backhand pass over to Pastrnak (35) for the one-timer in the low slot and the B’s took the lead once again, 2-1, at 9:15.

Krejci (47) and Krug (43) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s second goal of the night as Pastrnak tied his career-high in goals.

With an assist on the goal, Krug amassed his 284th career point (all with Boston), which is the most by an American-born player in Bruins franchise history.

Moments later, Pastrnak hooked Kevin Shattenkirk at 13:12 and McAvoy followed suit hooking Shattenkirk almost a minute after Pastrnak was released from the penalty box at 15:58.

The Rangers did not capitalize on either power play opportunity.

Late in the period, Lias Andersson delivered a back-check to Bergeron along the boards in the corner of the B’s attacking zone where Bergeron’s career nearly came to an end on Oct. 27, 2007 thanks to then Philadelphia Flyers defender, Randy Jones, delivering a hit from behind that left Bergeron with a broken nose and a major concussion.

History aside, Andersson left his feet as he backed into Bergeron’s face with an elbow and Bergeron did not take exception to the incident.

The Bruins veteran and alternate captain immediately began to rough up Andersson as the two tangled to the ice, leaving Andersson with two roughing penalties and Bergeron with one minor for roughing– yielding a power play for Boston at 18:29.

Though the skater advantage would carryover into third period, Boston did not score on the resulting power play while Andersson was in the box.

After 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 22-16, in shots on goal.

Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (8-5), while the Rangers maintained the lead in takeaways (5-4), giveaways (9-6), hits (19-16) and face-off win% (57-43).

Each club was 1/3 on the power play entering the third period.

DeBrusk (24) made it a two-goal game for the Bruins at 3:19 of the third period with his one-timer goal on a no-look pass from Pastrnak through the low slot while Lundqvist was behind the play.

Pastrnak (40) and Krejci (48) tabbed the assists on DeBrusk’s goal.

Almost two minutes later, Strome (16) answered back in a hurry.

While Boston’s defense was outnumbered in the slot, Strome banked a shot off of Halak’s pad and through the five-hole to make it a one-goal game once again.

Brett Howden (14) and Brady Skjei (17) had the assists as New York trailed, 3-2, at 5:43 of the third period.

Midway through the final frame of regulation, Strome was penalized for holding at 12:38.

Less than a minute into the power play, Pastrnak (36) completed his 4th career regular season hat trick (and 3rd this season) as he blasted a shot past Lundqvist on the short side over his blocker.

Krug (44) and Marchand (62) had the assists as hats fell upon the ice at TD Garden at 12:52.

With his third goal of the game, Pastrnak established a new career-high in goals with 36 goals in 61 games played this season (he had 35 goals in 82 games last season).

Moments later, New York was called for too many men for the second time of the night at 15:03.

Vinni Lettieri served the bench minor for the Rangers, which quickly became a 5-on-3 power play for Boston after Brendan Smith high-sticked Charlie Coyle at 15:34.

While on the two-skater advantage, Bergeron (32) redirected a shot from Pastrnak past Lundqvist to give the Bruins a three-goal lead at 16:23.

Pastrnak (41) and Marchand (63) collected the assists on Bergeron’s power play goal and the Bruins led, 5-2, as Pastrnak picked up his 5th point of the night.

The 22-year-old winger joined Barry Pederson (3x), Jason Allison (2x) and Bobby Orr (2x) as the only Bruins players with multiple five-point games in their careers (regular season or playoffs) before the age of 23.

McAvoy (7) followed Bergeron’s goal with one of his own on a twine-seeking missile at 17:12 to give Boston a four-goal lead, 6-2.

Chara (9) and Coyle (21) had the assists on McAvoy’s power play goal as the Bruins notched three goals on four shots in the span of their two-skater advantage.

About a minute later, Andersson found himself tangled up again with a Bruins veteran– this time, David Backes— as the two players each received roughing minors.

Backes earned an additional roughing penalty that was served by Johansson at 18:10 as the Rangers went on the power play for the last time on Wednesday.

While on the skater advantage, New York generated a rebound off Halak and Zibanejad (30) buried the puck in the net with Halak in desperation to cut the lead to a deficit of three goals at 19:56.

Vladislav Namestnikov (18) and Tony DeAngelo (25) notched the assists as the Rangers trailed, 6-3.

At the final horn, Boston had beaten New York, 6-3, and finished the night leading in shots on goal (32-23) and hits (27-24).

The Rangers finished Wednesday night’s action leading in giveaways (12-10) and face-off win% (52-48), while both teams had nine blocked shots apiece.

New York went 2/4 on the power play and the Bruins went 4/6 on the skater advantage.

The Bruins host the Florida Panthers on Saturday before traveling to Detroit on Sunday to close out the month of March.

Boston finishes the season swinging through Columbus on April 2nd, making a stop in Minnesota on April 4th and wrapping up the regular season on April 6th at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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Rangers at Bruins Preview: 3/27/2019

The Boston Bruins (46-21-9, 101 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) return home after going 3-1-0 on a four-game road trip to host the New York Rangers (29-33-17, 71 points, 7th in the Metropolitan Division) Wednesday night at TD Garden.

Boston is in the midst of an 11-game win streak on home ice, but is 0-1-1 against New York this season, having suffered a, 4-3, shootout loss at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6th and a, 3-2, loss in Boston on Jan. 19th.

It is the final meeting between these two clubs this season.

The Bruins have already clinched a playoff berth– thanks to their win in Florida on Saturday– and the Rangers were officially eliminated from postseason contention earlier this month.

Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) and Torey Krug (concussion) will likely return to the lineup for the B’s, while Kevan Miller (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body), Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) and John Moore (upper body) all remain out the action.

Miller and Grzelcyk will return to full contact at practice on Friday, according to Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, hours before the game on Wednesday, while Moore is week-to-week.

Johansson will likely suit up on the second line right wing with Jake DeBrusk in his usual spot at left wing and David Krejci at center, while Krug should return to his spot on the second defensive pairing with Brandon Carlo on the blue line.

As a result of Johansson’s return to the lineup, Karson Kuhlman will likely be the only healthy scratch for Boston on Wednesday night.

Cassidy indicated to reporters that Jaroslav Halak (20-10-4 record, 2.31 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 37 games played) will get the start in the crease against the Rangers.

Boston is 4-1-0 in their last five games, while New York visits the Hub with a 1-5-1 record in their last seven outings.

Former Boston University Terriers men’s hockey head coach– and current Rangers head coach– David Quinn, told reporters that Henrik Lundqvist (18-20-10, 2.99 GAA, .909 SV% in 49 GP) will get the start for New York.

Quinn also informed the media members that Boo Nieves is out of the lineup in addition to Chris Kreider (day-to-day) and Marc Staal (day-to-day). Connor Brickley will play in Nieves’ place on the roster against the B’s.

Boston is coming off a, 5-4, loss on the road to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday, while New York enters TD Garden after a, 5-2, loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on Monday.

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Bruins at Lightning Preview: 3/25/2019

The Boston Bruins (46-20-9, 101 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) visit the Tampa Bay Lightning (58-14-4, 120 points, 1st in the Atlantic Division) in their final visit to Amalie Arena in the 2018-19 regular season.

Boston is 1-1-0 against Tampa this season with their most recent matchup being a, 4-1, victory on home ice on Feb. 28th and their loss to the Lightning coming at the hands of a, 3-2, defeat in Tampa on Dec. 6th.

The two teams battled in the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Bolts advancing in five games.

Both clubs have already clinched a spot in the 2019 postseason with the Lightning holding home ice advantage throughout the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of having won the President’s Trophy.

The highest the Bruins can finish at the end of this current regular season is 2nd in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division.

The B’s enter Tampa on a four-game win streak (including a 3-0-0 record on their current four-game road trip) and might be getting back another player from injury Monday night.

Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) joined the club in Florida last Friday and is a game-time decision according to Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy.

Kevan Miller (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) and Torey Krug (concussion) remain traveling with the team, but will not be back in the lineup.

Additionally, Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) remains out for approximately four weeks.

Chris Wagner had a maintenance day at practice on Sunday, but should be good to go on the third line with Danton Heinen and Charlie Coyle against the Lightning.

If Johansson does return to the lineup against Tampa, he’ll play on the right side of Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci.

Karson Kuhlman will likely be the odd forward out of the lineup as a healthy scratch on Monday.

Cassidy is expected to start Tuukka Rask (26-10-5 record, 2.35 goals against average, .918 save percentage in 42 games played) in net against the Lightning.

Tampa head coach, Jon Cooper, is expected to rely on his usual starter, Andrei Vasilevskiy (36-9-4, 2.33 GAA, .928 SV% in 49 GP)– in the midst of a career-year and what should be a Vezina Trophy winning performance this season– against Boston.

Yanni Gourde is serving the second game of his two-game suspension and will not be in the lineup for the Lightning. As such, Ryan Callahan will participate in his third consecutive game.

Dan Girardi will also miss Monday night’s matchup and may miss the remainder of the regular season for Tampa.

The Bruins are 8-3-0 in the month of March, while the Bolts are 9-2-0 so far this month with a, 3-0, loss against the Minnesota Wild on March 7th and a, 4-3, loss in St. Louis against the Blues on March 23rd.

Both teams face each other one more time at TD Garden on April 6th, which is the final day of the 2018-19 NHL regular season.

Boston defeated the Florida Panthers on Saturday night at BB&T Center in a blowout victory, 7-3, as the Bruins clinched a playoff berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a result of the win.

Jaroslav Halak (20-10-4, 2.31 GAA, .924 SV% in 37 GP) made 31 saves on 34 shots against for a .912 SV% in the effort for the B’s, while Florida goaltender, Sam Montembeault (4-3-1, 3.02 GAA, .893 SV% in eight GP) stopped 32 out of 38 shots faced in the loss for the Panthers.

Halak joins Tuukka Rask with 20 or more wins this season for Boston. It marks the first time since the 1989-90 season that the Bruins have two goaltenders with at least 20 wins on the season (Andy Moog, 24 wins in 1989-90, and Reggie Lemelin, 22).

Noel Acciari, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Karson Kuhlman, Steven Kampfer, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron had the goals for the Bruins, while Jayce Hawryluk, Mike Hoffman and Vincent Trocheck scored for Florida.

Chara’s goal was the 200th goal of his NHL career. He is just the 22nd defender in league history to amass 200 or more goals in his career.

Boston surpassed the 100-point total on the season for a league-leading 23rd time in franchise history and clinched a playoff berth for the third season in a row under Bruce Cassidy’s reign behind the bench.

It is the 10th playoff appearance in the last 12 seasons for the Bruins.

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Bruins at Devils Preview: 3/21/2019

The Boston Bruins (44-20-9, 97 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) continue their four-game road trip after a, 5-0, shutout of the New York Islanders on Tuesday with a Thursday night matchup against the New Jersey Devils (27-38-9, 63 points, 8th in the Metropolitan Division).

New Jersey is coming off a, 4-1, loss to the Washington Capitals on home ice on Tuesday and is 1-1-0 against the Bruins this season, including a, 5-2, win in Boston on Dec. 27th and a, 1-0, loss at TD Garden on March 2nd.

Thursday night marks the final time the two clubs will see each other in the 2018-19 regular season.

It’s also a homecoming for New Jersey native and B’s defender, Connor Clifton, as he will once again be in the lineup for the Bruins while Matt Grzelcyk, Torey Krug and Kevan Miller remain out of the action.

Former Devil, John Moore, makes his return to Prudential Center as a member of the Bruins, while trade deadline acquisition Marcus Johansson will not be available for Thursday night’s action in Boston’s first game in New Jersey since trading for Johansson.

Grzelcyk (upper body), Miller (upper body) and Johansson (lung contusion) will join the Bruins in Florida on Friday ahead of their Saturday night battle with the Panthers and could all be back in the lineup at that time.

Krug (concussion) skated on his own after morning skate on Thursday and remains out of game action.

Boston head coach, Bruce Cassidy, indicated there would be no lineup changes, while Paul Carey remains the only healthy scratch and Tuukka Rask (25-10-5 record, 2.39 goals against average, .917 save percentage in 41 games played) will get the start in net against the Devils.

Rask had a 20-save shutout in Boston’s, 1-0, win over New Jersey earlier this month.

Across the ice, Pavel Zacha returns to the lineup for the Devils after missing 16 games with an upper body injury. New Jersey is 2-8-1 in their last 11 games and has already been eliminated from postseason contention this year.

Facing a lot of injuries to the roster, Josh Jacobs was recalled from the Binghamton Devils (AHL) and will make his NHL debut and wear No. 40 for New Jersey on Thursday, while Nathan Bastian (upper body), Jesper Bratt (lower body), Taylor Hall (lower body), Nico Hischier (upper body), Mirco Mueller (upper body), Miles Wood (lower body), Kyle Palmieri (upper body) and Will Butcher (illness) remain inactive.

Devils head coach, John Hynes, indicated Cory Schneider (5-11-3, 3.13 GAA, .901 SV% in 22 GP) would get the start for New Jersey against Boston.

Schneider is 2-6-3 in his career against the Bruins, allowing 27 goals against, while amassing a 2.51 GAA in 646 minutes played. He is also 5-4-1 in his past 10 games (nine starts) and has a 2.09 GAA and .934 SV% in that span.

Backup goaltender, Mackenzie Blackwood (7-9-0, 2.71 GAA, .915 SV% in 19 GP) is 1-1-0 this season against the B’s and allowed three goals on 72 shots against with a 1.52 GAA.

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Blue Jackets at Bruins Preview: 3/16/2019

The Boston Bruins (42-20-9, 93 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) return home to TD Garden on Saturday to face the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets (40-28-3, 83 points, 5th in the Metropolitan Division) in their second matchup of the season.

Columbus defeated Boston, 7-4, on Tuesday (March 12th) and will host the B’s at Nationwide Arena on April 2nd in their final regular season meeting between the two clubs.

Boone Jenner recorded his first career hat trick (and 100th career NHL goal) in the Blue Jackets’ win against the B’s as Columbus grabbed the 1-0-0 season series lead.

The Bruins went 0-3-0 on their most recent three-game road trip prior to returning to TD Garden where they have gone 10-0-0 in their last ten home games– outscoring opponents, 36-19, in that span.

Boston carries a long list of injuries into Saturday night’s matchup, but head coach, Bruce Cassidy, will be getting one important top-six forward back in his lineup as Jake DeBrusk will return from a lower body injury that kept him out of the last five games to his usual spot on the second line left wing alongside David Krejci.

Charlie Coyle will remain on Krejci’s right side.

Cassidy adjusted his bottom-six forward lines at morning skate, placing Paul Carey on the left side of Sean Kuraly with Chris Wagner on Kuraly’s right side.

Joakim Nordstorm, Noel Acciari and David Backes also took morning rushes together and will likely fill out the fourth line in Saturday night’s game against the Blue Jackets.

Zdeno Chara will remain paired with Charlie McAvoy on the blue line, while John Moore continues to hold Torey Krug’s usual spot on the second pairing with Brandon Carlo.

Krug remains out of the lineup with an upper body injury and was placed in concussion protocol, as announced by the Bruins after morning skate on Saturday.

Steven Kampfer and Connor Clifton will fill out the rest of the blue line as Matt Grzelcyk (upper body) should resume skating next week and Kevan Miller (upper body) is still a ways off.

Miller is “feeling better, but not ready to skate yet,” according to Cassidy.

Marcus Johansson should join Grzelcyk in his return to skating at practice next week, while David Pastrnak will participate in full practice on Monday and likely return to the lineup next Tuesday (March 19th) against the New York Islanders in Long Island.

Pending an official transaction prior to puck drop, Trent Frederic appears to be the only healthy scratch for Boston on Saturday.

In goal, Jaroslav Halak (18-10-4 record, 2.33 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 35 games played) will get the start for the Bruins against Columbus.

Tuukka Rask gets the night off after a, 4-3, loss in Winnipeg on Thursday.

Blue Jackets head coach, John Tortorella, is expected to start backup goaltender, Joonas Korpisalo (9-6-2, 2.97 GAA, .899 SV% in 23 GP) against Boston on Saturday after Sergei Bobrovsky (31-22-1, 2.71 GAA, .909 SV% in 54 GP) picked ups his 30th career shutout in Friday night’s, 3-0, win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Columbus did not have a morning skate in Boston on Saturday, so the starting goaltender against the Bruins cannot officially be confirmed until warmups.

After making his return to Boston with the New York Rangers earlier this season, Blue Jackets trade deadline acquisition and former Bruin, Adam McQuaid, will make his debut at TD Garden with the team that originally selected him (Columbus) 55th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft.

McQuaid has 3-3–6 totals in 44 games with the Blue Jackets and Rangers this season since being traded by the Bruins on Sept. 11, 2018.

Columbus has won three out of their last four games and is 4-4-0 in the month of March.

Boston is 4-3-0 so far this month.

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Bruins at Penguins Preview: 3/10/2019

The Boston Bruins (42-17-9, 93 points, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) look to extend their points streak to 20 games Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins (36-23-9, 81 points, 4th in the Metropolitan Division) at PPG Paints Arena.

Boston is 1-1-0 against Pittsburgh this season, having won their first matchup, 2-1, in overtime at TD Garden on Nov. 23rd and lost, 5-3, in Pittsburgh on Dec. 14th.

The Bruins went 6-4-3 in November and 7-7-0 in December this season and have not lost a game in regulation since Jan. 19th. They are currently 4-0-0 in the month of March and on a six-game winning streak.

The Penguins went 4-7-3 in November and 11-3-1 in December this season and are 8-3-2 in their last 13 games. They are currently 3-1-1 in March and in command of the 1st wild card spot in the Eastern Conference entering Sunday.

A win for the Pens would put them into a divisional spot in the Metropolitan playoff picture, while a loss would keep them on edge, pending the final results of Columbus’ game on Monday against the New York Islanders and Montreal’s game on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Both the Blue Jackets and the Canadiens are within striking distance of bumping the Penguins outside the playoff cutoff.

Jake DeBrusk (lower body), Marcus Johansson (lung contusion), David Pastrnak (left thumb) and Kevan Miller (upper body) all remain out of the lineup for the Bruins on Sunday, while Jaroslav Halak (18-9-4, 2.31 goals against average, .924 save percentage in 33 games played) gets the start in the crease for Boston.

Birthday boy, Tuukka Rask will get the night off on as he turns 32-years-old.

Johansson and DeBrusk may join the Bruins on their road trip, but Pastrnak and Miller will not, per B’s head coach Bruce Cassidy.

Cassidy is expected to make some adjustments to his forward lines on Sunday as Peter Cehlarik will be reunited with David Krejci on Krejci’s left side, while Lee Stempniak will remain on the right wing for Boston’s second line.

Sean Kuraly will join Charlie Coyle and David Backes on the third line and Joakim Nordstrom will drop down to the fourth line with Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner.

Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, will start Matt Murray (22-11-3, 2.80 GAA, .916 SV% in 37 GP) in goal in back-to-back nights coming off of Saturday night’s, 4-1, loss in Columbus.

Boston is coming off another victory in the final minute of regulation with a, 3-2, win at home against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

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Krejci tips Bruins past Senators, 3-2, in final minute

For the second game in-a-row, the Boston Bruins came from behind in the third period and won with a game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation to extend their 2nd longest point-streak in franchise history to 19 games with a, 3-2, win over the Ottawa Senators.

Brad Marchand, Chris Wagner and David Krejci had goals for the Bruins, while Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brady Tkachuk scored for the Senators.

Tuukka Rask (24-8-5 record, 2.30 goals against average, .921 save percentage in 38 games played) made 17 saves on 19 shots against en route to the win for Boston on Saturday night at TD Garden.

Rask is now 16-0-3 in his last 19 appearances, while the Bruins are 15-0-4 in their last 19 games.

Ottawa goaltender, Craig Anderson (14-23-4, 3.53 GAA, .903 SV% in 43 GP) stopped 28 out of 31 shots faced for a .903 SV% in the loss and fell to 0-11-1 in his last 13 starts.

Boston improved to 42-17-9 (93 points) on the season and maintained 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, while the Senators fell to 23-40-6 (52 points) and remained last in the division.

The Bruins improved to 4-0-0 in the month of March and finished their six-game homestand with a perfect, 6-0-0, record. Likewise, the B’s improved to 27-5-5 on the season when scoring first in a game and 21-3-5 overall since Jan. 1st.

Kevan Miller (upper body), David Pastrnak (left thumb), Jake DeBrusk (lower body) and Marcus Johansson (lung contusion) remained out of the lineup due to injury, while Steven Kampfer was the only healthy scratch for Boston.

The B’s recalled Lee Stempniak on emergency basis from the Providence Bruins (AHL) hours before the game on Saturday and Bruce Cassidy inserted the NHL veteran winger on the second line with David Krejci and Joakim Nordstrom.

Peter Cehlarik took over for Nordstrom on the third line to start the game, though Cassidy adjusted his lines during the 60-minute effort, placing Danton Heinen alongside Krejci and sitting Stempniak in the closing minutes of regulation.

Heinen opened the event sheet with a minor penalty for slashing at 4:32 of the first period. Ottawa’s ensuing power play was cut short when Zack Smith was penalized for high-sticking Brandon Carlo at 6:28.

The resulting abbreviated skater advantage for Boston didn’t even see it’s full tenure as Charlie McAvoy tripped Brian Gibbons at 8:07 and gave the Sens another chance on the power play.

In the final seconds of the opening frame, Anthony Duclair was called for holding and sent to the penalty box at 19:58 of the first period.

Boston’s ensuing power play would carry over into the second period, while both teams entered the first intermission tied on the scoreboard, 0-0.

The B’s led in shots on goal (12-6), takeaways (5-2) and face-off win percentage (59-41) after 20 minutes of play, while the Senators led in blocked shots (5-0), giveaways (4-2) and hits (10-6).

Both teams were 0/2 on the power play entering the seconds period.

Early in the middle frame, Grzelcyk was sent to the sin bin for high-sticking Ottawa winger, Bobby Ryan, at 2:27 of the second period.

The Sens did not convert on the ensuing power play.

Magnus Paajarvi hooked Noel Acciari at 9:04 of the second period and the Bruins went on the power play for the third time of the night.

Almost a minute into the power play, the B’s were dominating possession in the attacking zone, yielding a chance from Torey Krug over to Marchand, whereby Marchand (28) settled the puck and unloaded a shot past Anderson to make it, 1-0, Bruins at 10:11.

Krug (41) and Patrice Bergeron (38) had the assists on Marchand’s power play goal. Boston recorded six shots on goal (including Marchand’s goal) on the power play.

Less than a minute later, Pageau (3) capitalized on a defensive breakdown by the Bruins and snuck into the slot all by himself to receive a pass from Tkachuk and tie the game, 1-1, at 11:08.

Tkachuk (20) had the only assist on the goal.

Both teams entered the second intermission, tied, 1-1, on the scoreboard, while the Bruins led in shots on goal (26-14– including a, 14-8, advantage in the second period alone).

Ottawa held onto the advantage in blocked shots (9-5) and hits (17-10) after 40 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Boston controlled the game in takeaways (9-5) and face-off win% (58-42). Both teams had seven giveaways each.

The Sens were 0/3 on the power play through two periods and the B’s were 1/3 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame of regulation.

Almost three minutes into the third period, Boston bungled a chance to clear the puck out of their own zone, leading to a giveaway right to the tape of Tkachuk’s stick in front of Rask.

Tkachuk (16) pounced on the chance and gave the Senators their first lead of the night, 2-1, at 2:46 of the third period.

Chris Tierney (35) had the only assist on Tkachuk’s goal.

Dylan DeMelo and Marchand received matching minor penalties at 6:54 and momentum drifted towards the Bruins’ way.

Krug fired a shot from the point that Wagner (11) redirected past Anderson to tie the game, 2-2, at 8:47 of the third period. Krug (42) and McAvoy (17) had the assists on Wagner’s 5th goal in his last 11 games.

In the final minute of regulation, Krejci (18) tipped a shot from Heinen into the twine to give the Bruins the lead, 3-2, and help secure the victory without needing overtime at 19:15.

Krejci not has 8-11–19 totals in his last 17 games, while Heinen (17) and Grzelcyk (14) notched the assists.

The final total in shots on goal read in favor of the Bruins, 31-19, as did giveaways (15-8, Boston) and face-off win% (51-49, Boston). Ottawa finished the night leading in blocked shots (13-8) and hits (25-22).

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

Boston has come from behind to win 13 times over the course of their 19-game point streak.

Bruins defender, John Moore, participated in his 500th career NHL game and recorded a shot on goal in 14:41 time on ice.

The Bruins travel to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday before swinging through Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Tuesday (March 12th) and Winnipeg on Thursday (March 14th) before returning home to face the Blue Jackets again on March 16th.