Down the Frozen River

Tag: Wayne Simmonds

  • Bruins drop season finale on the road, 5-2

    Bruins drop season finale on the road, 5-2

    William Nylander scored a pair of goals in a, 5-2, victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Boston Bruins Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.

    Erik Källgren (8-4-1, 3.31 goals-against average, .888 save percentage in 14 games played) made 24 saves on 26 shots against in the win for the Leafs.

    Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (23-24-3, 2.41 goals-against average, .914 save percentage in 41 games played), stopped 22 out of 26 shots faced in the loss.

    Boston finished the regular season with a 51-26-5 record (107 points)– good enough for 4th in the Atlantic Division and the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.

    The B’s will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the First Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a result.

    Toronto improved to 54-21-7 (115 points) overall and finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2022 First Round.

    The Bruins went 25-13-3 on the road and 0-3-0 against the Maple Leafs this season after going 2-0-1 against Toronto in 2019-20.

    The two teams did not meet last season due to the temporarily realigned divisions in light of the ongoing COIVD-19 pandemic.

    Boston’s list of injured players and healthy scratches got a bit of a shakeup heading into the final game of the regular season as Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) were joined by Hampus Lindholm, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Grzelcyk, Erik Haula, Brad Marchand, Taylor Hall, Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak among those held out of the lineup.

    Zboril missed his 62nd game this season due to an injury sustained on Dec. 2nd in Nashville, while Hall missed his first game of the season as a healthy scratch.

    As a result, Charlie Coyle was the only Bruin to suit up in all 82 games this season– marking the first time that anyone in a Boston uniform played in all 82 games in a full 82-game season since Pastrnak and Tim Schaller did so in 2017-18.

    Since then, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2019-20 regular season and kept 2020-21 limited to 56 games.

    Chris Wagner made his season debut on Friday after being recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) with Jack Studnicka, Oskar Steen and Jack Ahcan to fill in for the regulars.

    Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, opted to keep Trent Frederic, Coyle and Craig Smith together on the same line, while he moved Jake DeBrusk to the second line left wing with Studnicka at center and Marc McLaughlin on right wing.

    Curtis Lazar centered the third line with Nick Foligno and Steen on his wings, while Tomáš Nosek held the fourth line together– flanked by Anton Blidh and Wagner.

    On defense, Ahcan was paired with Brandon Carlo on the first pairing, while Mike Reilly and Josh Brown comprised the second pairing with Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton in their regular roles filling out the bottom pair.

    The Bruins struck first in quick fashion as Smith wrapped the puck around the back of the net and slipped a pass to Frederic (8) for the flub shot through Källgren’s five-hole.

    Smith (19) and Coyle (28) tallied the assists on the goal and the B’s led, 1-0, at 1:10 of the first period.

    Boston didn’t hold the lead for long, however as McLaughlin caught Mark Giordano with a high stick at 1:48 of the first period that was reviewed for an injury on the infraction– resulting in a four-minute double minor.

    Toronto made it a little past the midpoint of the skater advantage before Giordano sent a shot towards the net that Ilya Mikheyev (21) tipped past Swayman to tie the game, 1-1, at 3:51.

    Giordano (27) and Timothy Liljegren (18) notched the assists on Mikheyev’s power-play goal.

    Midway through the opening frame, William Nylander (33) got a breakaway and buried the puck in the twine on a forehand tuck after pulling Swayman to the right side of the crease.

    Nylander’s goal was unassisted and gave the Maple Leafs their first lead of the night, 2-1, at 13:16 of the first period.

    Late in the period, Morgan Rielly floated a shot towards Swayman that Nick Abruzzese (1) tipped for his first career National Hockey League goal.

    Rielly (58) had the only assist on the goal as a result and the Leafs extended their lead to two goals at 19:52.

    After one period, Toronto led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 10-6, in shots on goal.

    The Maple Leafs also led in blocked shots (10-2) and takeaways (2-0), while the Bruins held the advantage in giveaways (4-3), hits (20-15) and faceoff win percentage (56-44) entering the first intermission.

    The Leafs were 1-for-2 on the power play, while Boston had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

    DeBrusk went hard into the boards early in the second period, but skated off on his own power and sat on the bench until his next shift without much discomfort despite play briefly coming to a stop while he laid on the ice.

    Late in the period, Foligno tripped Wayne Simmonds and presented the Leafs with a power play at 14:49 of the second period, but Toronto failed to convert on the skater advantage.

    Shortly thereafter, Nosek cross checked Liljegren and became entangled in a quick exchange of pleasantries with Rielly– resulting in minor infractions for both Nosek and Rielly for cross checking and roughing, respectively at 19:30.

    The two clubs skated at 4-on-4 into the third period as a result.

    Through 40 minutes of action Friday night, the Maple Leafs led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 20-15, in shots on goal– including a, 10-9, advantage in the second period alone.

    Toronto also maintained control in blocked shots (11-5), takeaways (8-3) and giveaways (8-7), while Boston led in hits (45-27) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Leafs were 1-for-3 and the Bruins were 0-for-0 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Nylander (34) collected his second goal of the night on a similar backhand-forehand effort from his first goal of the game and the Maple Leafs grabbed a, 4-1, lead at 8:00 of the third period.

    Moments later, Foligno thought he had his 500th career NHL point by scoring a would-be goal on the doorstep, but Toronto’s head coach, Sheldon Keefe, challenged the call on the ice on the basis that he believed Boston was offside entering the zone prior to the goal.

    Upon video review, it was determined that Lazar had gone over the blue line into the attacking zone before Steen broke the plane for a zone entry, rendering the call on the ice reversed. No goal.

    Toronto still led, 4-1, and Foligno will have to wait until next season for his 500th point.

    Shortly thereafter, T.J. Brodie cut a rut to the box for holding and Boston went on the power play for the first time at 11:55.

    Smith sent a shot on goal that DeBrusk (25) buried on the rebound past Källgren’s short side to give the Bruins their third power-play goal in their last two games.

    Boston trailed, 4-2, while Smith (20) and Reilly (13) picked up the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 12:49 of the third period.

    With about a minute left in the action, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker, but the B’s weren’t able to muster any last-minute comeback efforts.

    Pierre Engvall (15) capitalized on a turnover and buried the rubber biscuit in the empty twine for an empty net goal in addition to a three-goal lead at 19:50 of the third period.

    Engvall’s goal was unassisted and the Leafs finished their season with a, 5-2, victory on home ice.

    At the final horn, Toronto had won and wrapped things up leading in shots on goal, 27-26, despite trailing, 11-7, in shots on net in the third period alone.

    The Maple Leafs finished the night leading in blocked shots (13-8) and giveaways (13-11), while the Bruins exited the ice with the advantage in hits (54-48) and faceoff win% (53-47).

    The Leafs went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the B’s went 1-for-1 on the skater advantage Friday night.

    Boston fell to 37-10-2 (19-5-1 on the road) when scoring first, 6-15-2 (2-8-1 on the road) when trailing after one and 4-20-2 (1-9-1 on the road) when trailing after two this season.

    Toronto improved to 19-15-4 (13-7-2 at home) when allowing the game’s first goal, 29-3-3 (17-0-0 at home) when leading after the first period and 40-1-3 (23-1-0 at home) when leading after the second period in 2021-22.

    With the 2021-22 regular season in the rearview mirror, the Bruins look ahead to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and their First Round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.

    Games 1 and 2 will be at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs 2021-22 Season Preview

    Toronto Maple Leafs 2021-22 Season Preview

    2020-21 record 35-14-7, 77 points

    1st in the Scotia NHL North Division

    Eliminated in the First Round by Montréal

    Additions: F Michael Amadio, F Michael Bunting, F Kurtis Gabriel, F Joshua Ho-Sang (signed to a PTO), F David Kämpf, F Ondrej Kaše, F Nikita Gusev (signed to a PTO), F Nick Ritchie, F Brett Seney, D Alex Biega, D Carl Dahlström, D Brennan Menell, G Petr Mrázek

    Subtractions: F Kenny Agostino (KHL), F Nick Foligno (signed with BOS), F Alex Galchenyuk (signed to a PTO with ARI), F Zach Hyman (signed with EDM), F Denis Malgin (NL), F Jared McCann (acquired from PIT, expansion, SEA), F Riley Nash (signed with WPG), F Joe Thornton (signed with FLA), D Zach Bogosian (signed with TBL), G Frederik Andersen (signed with CAR)

    Still Unsigned: D Ben Hutton

    Re-signed: F Wayne Simmonds, F Jason Spezza, D Travis Dermott, D Joseph Duszak, G Joseph Woll

    Offseason Analysis: Whereas the Maple Leafs loaded up on veterans you may have heard of before last offseason in Wayne Simmonds, Joe Thornton and others, then acquired Nick Foligno and Riley Nash at the trade deadline, this year’s approach for Toronto has gone in a different direction.

    This year, Leafs General Manager, Kyle Dubas, is signing guys you might not even know exist, plus a few underdogs.

    Michael Bunting and David Kämpf might not be the first players you think of when you think about quality depth down the lineup, but Toronto is out to prove the naysayers wrong this season and show forward progress in the postseason– at the very least, if not win it all.

    Though it’s a small sample size, Bunting had 10-3–13 totals in 21 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season. In 26 career NHL games, he has 11-3–14 totals, but again, that was with players not of the same caliber as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares or William Nylander.

    Now he finds himself in competition for a top-six role– if he can beat his competition in Nick Ritchie and Ilya Mikheyev among top-nine forwards on the left wing.

    Kämpf, meanwhile, can switch out with Jason Spezza at center on the fourth line and amassed 1-11-12 totals with Chicago in 56 games last season.

    In 2019-20, Kämpf had 8-8–16 totals in 70 games– three points shy of his career-high 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) in 63 games in 2018-19 with Chicago.

    Playing alongside Simmonds and Spezza should make Toronto’s fourth line more competitive with Kurtis Gabriel rotated in for some added oomph.

    Speaking of Ritchie, however, Leafs-centric media might have you thinking he’s the next Matthews, but buyer beware– his 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 56 games with the Boston Bruins last season wasn’t so much of a breakout or a fluke as it was a return to his expectations.

    Ritchie played up in Boston’s lineup due to injury and became a unique piece of their power play at one point in that (strangely enough) it worked.

    He spent pretty much the first half of last season playing with David Krejci at center and that’s not to say Matthews isn’t as skilled or better than Krejci, but rather a testament to Krejci’s status as a playmaker that elevates all around him.

    Luckily for Toronto, Krejci’s gone back to Czechia to play in front of family and friends in his home country, so the Maple Leafs are better matched down the middle against the Bruins.

    Yet, Ritchie’s impressive first half of the season regressed to the norm by the second half and down the stretch. He’s no Zach Hyman, but anything over 30 points in the upcoming season is a success for a player that had 9-22-31 totals with the Anaheim Ducks in 60 games in the 2018-19 season.

    At the very least, Ritchie’s two-year deal worth $2.500 million per season is manageable. In fact, it’s the most Dubas spent on a skater this offseason.

    If you can’t beat them– steal them.

    Former Bruin, Ondrej Kaše, also joins Ritchie as a new Leaf and Kaše’s really looking to turn over a new leaf, since he’s coming off of a season in which he played three games and was sidelined by a concussion between Game 2 and Game 55 of a 56-game regular season.

    In nine games as a Bruin, Kaše amassed one point, an assist, after he was acquired by Boston for David Backes, Axel Andersson and a 2020 1st round pick on Feb. 21, 2020.

    Whether or not Kaše can get back up to speed– let alone continue his career– remains to be seen, but for now he’s signed to a one-year deal worth $1.250 million per season.

    The defense is the same, Alexander Kerfoot did not get selected by the Seattle Kraken at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and Toronto essentially traded goaltenders with the Carolina Hurricanes without actually making a trade.

    No, David Ayres isn’t taking his talents to Scotiabank Arena in a Leafs uniform, but Petr Mrázek is on a three-year deal worth $3.800 million per season.

    At 29-years-old, he’s the same age as Jack Campbell and signed through 2023-24, whereas Campbell is a pending-unrestricted free agent as of July 2022.

    Mrázek was limited to 12 games due to injury last season and went 6-2-3 with three shutouts, a 2.06 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage in that span.

    It was his best performance in three seasons with the Canes, though in both 2018-19 and 2019-20, he played in 40 games, so was last season just a testament to Carolina’s defense or….

    Nevertheless, when the Hurricanes faced the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Second Round, Mrázek was called upon to replace Alex Nedeljkovic for a pair of starts.

    Though he extended Carolina’s postseason to a Game 5 against Tampa in the Second Round, Mrázek went 1-1 with a 3.90 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage.

    So it appears as though there’ll be healthy competition for the starting job– at least come time for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs as it wasn’t entirely Campbell’s fault the Leafs blew a 3-1 series lead against a low-scoring Montréal Canadiens offense.

    Anyway, Frederik Andersen left for the Hurricanes– the team that originally drafted him in the 7th round (187th overall) in 2010, before he re-entered the draft and was selected in the 3rd round (87th overall) by Anaheim in 2012.

    Before we grade the Toronto’s offseason, let’s review a pair of trades that Dubas made this summer.

    First, on July 17th, he dealt Filip Hallander and a 2023 7th round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Jared McCann, who was then left exposed for the Kraken to take over Kerfoot. Whoops.

    Then on July 26th, James (J.D.) Greenway was traded to Boston for future considerations.

    Maybe that’s all it takes to get out of the First Round for the first time since 2004.

    Offseason Grade: B-

    With about $80,200 in cap space, the Maple Leafs aren’t doing themselves any favors if they’re looking to add without subtracting around the 2022 trade deadline.

    That said, Dubas would likely have to get creative if things are dire anyway, since the runway is getting shorter and shorter year-by-year.

    Nylander is not the problem when a trio of players are getting paid more than him against the cap and producing… …not as much.

    Sometimes points per dollar in the playoffs should be accounted for more than points per game in the regular season or something like that– not looking to stir up any more arguments than there already are on Leafs Twitter.

    Though it may not look it on paper like last season, Toronto has made improvements where it counts and trimmed the excess where it dragged them down in crucial moments, but if all else fails yet again this season– they still need to resolve a true “goaltender of the future” problem, tweak the defense and make some big, bold, moves.

  • Habs upset Leafs in Game 7: Three reasons why

    Habs upset Leafs in Game 7: Three reasons why

    For just the second time in the 104-year-old history of the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise, the club squared off with the Montréal Canadiens in a Game 7.

    Back in 1964, the Leafs came out on top, 3-1, at the Montreal Forum. Monday night at Scotiabank Arena, history repeated itself. Almost.

    Though the final score was the same, 3-1, it was Montréal that found a way to steal the victory on the road this time around– becoming just the second team in National Hockey League history to win a Game 7 in Toronto, joining the 1993 Los Angeles Kings in doing so.

    Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring in the second period for the Habs before Corey Perry’s power-play goal went on to become eventual game-winner later in that same middle frame.

    Tyler Toffoli completed the run of three unanswered goals for the Canadiens late in the third period with an empty net goal before William Nylander ended Carey Price’s bid for a shutout about a minute later.

    But enough about the game itself, since it’s been a couple of days now– let’s get into some reasons why Montréal won, why Toronto didn’t and where the Leafs can go from here, if it’s even possible to still win with this core.

    Why Montréal won

    The Price is right: Carey Price managed to amass a 2.24 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in the seven games against the Maple Leafs, which is a pleasant surprise given Price’s bleaker regular season numbers in an injury plagued 2020-21 season (2.64 goals-against average, .901 save percentage in 25 games).

    Price’s career 2.50 goals-against average in 707 games from the 2007-08 season through 2020-21 is better than Patrick Roy’s 2.78 goals-against average in Roy’s 551-game tenure with the Habs, fun fact.

    Consistency: Tyler Toffoli led the Canadiens in scoring in the regular season with 28-16–44 totals in 52 games, while Nick Suzuki was third in team scoring with 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) in 56 games.

    Corey Perry chipped in 9-12–21 totals in 49 games and even Jesperi Kotkaniemi, despite a slow start, managed to amass 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 56 games.

    In the First Round, Toffoli led the Habs with 2-3–5 totals in seven games, Perry, Suzuki, Joel Armia and Eric Staal managed to score four points and Kotkaniemi had three goals in six games after serving as a healthy scratch in Game 1.

    The Habs played their game– the long game– throughout the series, built on wearing down their opponent on the forecheck in the attacking zone and really just keeping things as simple as they come.

    It doesn’t always work, but in this case it did! Good for them.

    Seconds: At one point, Montréal had a minus-seven goal differential in the second period alone in the series. That was entering Game 5, when the Maple Leafs held a 3-1 series lead.

    They brought it up to a minus-five by the end of the series, which, albeit still leaves more to be desired from their effort in the middle frame as they approach the Second Round against the Winnipeg Jets, but goes to show that in low-scoring affairs, goal scoring is paramount in a 60-minute effort.

    Kind of obvious, right?

    The Canadiens scored more than three goals in a game just once in the series when they won, 4-3, in overtime in Game 5.

    Why Toronto lost and what now

    Lineups: Losing John Tavares in Game 1 limited Maple Leafs head coach, Sheldon Keefe, in his options when it came time to try something new to get anything going, but it still should’ve been explored.

    How many times did Toronto go back to the well with Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner on the same line?

    Between the two players, the Leafs had 1-8–9 totals combined.

    Assists are nice because it means that at least somebody scored for your team, but if given the chance, Toronto probably should’ve bumped Marner down to the second line while giving William Nylander more of a chance to shine on the first line– at least for a period, if not just to spark Matthews’ play at 5-on-5.

    If anything, Tavares’ injury revealed a desperate need for the Maple Leafs in the offseason– a third line center.

    Marner musings: Alright, before everyone starts arguing over whether or not to trade the best playmaker in Toronto not named “Joe Thornton”, let’s assess the feasibility of moving a guy with a $10.903 million cap hit through the 2024-25 season in a flat cap due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    Marner was on pace for about 98 points in an 82-game season, had 2020-21 not been condensed into a 56-game schedule.

    That said, he still managed to equal his scoring output from last season in fewer games– 67 points in 55 games this season, 67 points in 59 games last season while battling injury.

    For the third time in his career, Marner had at least 20 goals in a season and he has 358 points (103 goals, 255 assists) in 355 career games.

    If Matthews (the goal scorer) and Marner (the playmaker) are to Toronto what Patrick Kane (a goal scorer) and Jonathan Toews (a playmaker) are to the Chicago Blackhawks, then Marner is doing pretty fine.

    Toews had 144-180–324 totals in his first five seasons (361 games).

    But– and it’s a pretty big one– Kane and Toews won the Stanley Cup twice before signing matching extensions worth $10.500 million per season through 2022-23, that, at the time of their signing on July 9, 2014, didn’t go into effect until the 2015-16 season, so… after the duo ended up winning their third Cup ring with Chicago in 2015.

    Sure, Chicago hasn’t won a playoff series since then, but they did end their longest drought before (over)paying their core– and at the very least, they made sure to commit to no more than two players at that rate.

    Maple Leafs General Manager, Kyle Dubas, has spent about half of his salary cap on Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander alone.

    Trading Marner would probably mean parting with a high value draft pick or prospect if there’s no salary retained in the transaction and moving Matthews or Tavares wouldn’t make sense because Toronto needs a first and second line center to remain central to their core.

    If Dubas is confident in Marner being able to find that elusive second-gear in the postseason– along with Matthews– then the team’s in the odd position of moving someone like Nylander, who’s shown an ability to produce in the second-half of the season, as well as the playoffs, instead.

    The intangibles: Yes, having the veteran leadership of guys like Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza and more is good in keeping the day-to-day vibe nice and relaxed as a long, grueling, regular season goes on, but did anyone do their research on past postseason performances or… …lack thereof from guys like Spezza, Thornton, Nick Folingo and others?

    Foligno was hampered by injury, which gets somewhat of a pass, Spezza finished tied for third in team scoring in the playoffs with three goals and two assists (five points) in seven games from the fourth line, while Thornton managed to score a goal in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Alex Galchenyuk is not a long term solution, but a quick bandage for larger problems.

    Wayne Simmonds’ offensive production was almost nowhere to be found and if you’re using Simmonds solely for the energy that he can provide, then adding Foligno at the cost spent in April does not merit enough of a return on investment for one, if not both, of essentially the same player.

    Especially when you’re left trying to rotate Simmonds, Foligno, Thornton, Spezza and guys like, Riley Nash (another deadline acquisition), on the fourth line on any given night, while trying to balance some youth and speed in ongoing projects in Pierre Engvall and Ilya Mikheyev.

    And that’s not to mention wherever Alexander Kerfoot fits in on all of this when Tavares isn’t injured.

    Sometimes it’s not about buying in bulk, but buying the right component at a discount or on the clearance rack to solidify, well, mostly that third line.

    It’s fine to have three, four or five guys that are expendable and being rotated on the fourth line throughout the season, then narrowed down for situations in the postseason.

    It’s not necessarily recommended to have seven, eight or nine players vying for the same roles in the bottom-six– with tryouts lingering into the playoffs and results mixed as though the team had two fourth lines instead.

  • Habs force Game 6 to be played at home in front of limited capacity crowd

    Habs force Game 6 to be played at home in front of limited capacity crowd

    The Montréal Canadiens struck fast and early, led by three goals, nearly blew it and struck fast and early again in their, 4-3, overtime victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday in Game 5 of their 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup.

    Nick Suzuki capitalized on a 2-on-0 opportunity– scoring the game-winning goal about a minute into overtime– after the Leafs turned the puck over at the other end of the rink, sending an empty Scotiabank Arena home even quieter than they weren’t allowed to enter as the Canadiens forced a Game 6 in front of a limited capacity crowd at Bell Centre on Saturday.

    The Habs will have about 2,000 fans at their next game– marking a first for Canadian teams this season with the ongoing pandemic.

    Despite this, Toronto carries a 3-2 series lead into Montréal with the chance to eliminate the Canadiens on the road.

    Carey Price (2-3, 2.66 goals-against average, .919 save percentage in five games played) stopped 32 out of 35 shots faced in the win for the Habs.

    Leafs netminder, Jack Campbell (3-2, 1.61 goals-against average, .944 save percentage in five games played), made 26 saves on 30 shots against in the loss.

    Nick Foligno remained out of the lineup for Toronto, while Maple Leafs head coach, Sheldon Keefe, replaced Travis Dermott with Rasmus Sandin on defense.

    Toronto captain, John Tavares– sidelined by a concussion and a lower body injury– was in the building and watching his teammates from the press box.

    He also resumed skating earlier in the day, though is still considered “week-to-week” at this point.

    The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff series since 2004, and last beat Montréal in a playoff series in six games in the 1967 Stanley Cup Final (4-2).

    Joel Armia (1) gave Montréal a, 1-0, lead at 5:13 of the first period as Corey Perry’s forecheck in the attacking zone produced a turnover, leading to Armia scooping up the loose puck and elevating a shot over Campbell’s glove side for the game’s first goal.

    The Canadiens surged as a result of Wayne Simmonds ringing the crossbar about a minute prior in their own end and Armia’s first goal of the game subsequently.

    A few minutes later, Armia (2) had his second goal of the game while Campbell was lying on his back to extend the Habs’ lead to two-goals.

    Montréal worked the puck “D-to-D” along the point before sending a shot towards the slot where Eric Staal generated a rebound and Perry got a quick touch on an indirect short pass to Armia for the goal.

    Armia slid the rubber biscuit under Campbell’s leg as the Habs made it a, 2-0, game at 8:18 of the opening frame.

    Perry (2) and Staal (2) tallied the assists on the goal.

    After one period of action in Toronto, Montréal led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 14-8, in shots on goal.

    The Maple Leafs held the advantage in takeaways (5-3), while the Canadiens led in hits (20-15) and faceoff win percentage (62-39). Both teams had four blocked shots each and six giveaways aside.

    Neither team had seen any action on the power play entering the first intermission.

    Jesperi Kotkaniemi (2) made it, 3-0, for the Habs on an individual effort early in the middle frame after flipping the puck into the corner and taking it away from Sandin before stuffing the rubber biscuit around Campbell at 4:52 of the second period.

    Less than two minutes later, Zach Hyman (1) inadvertently tipped a shot past Price to cut Montréal’s lead from three goals to two.

    Mitchell Marner got Price to overcommit and flop out of position like a fish out of water outside the crease before banking the puck off of Tyler Toffoli before it wobbled and got a piece of Hyman for the goal as a mad scramble in front of the crease to bail out the Canadiens netminder swarmed.

    Marner (4) and Auston Matthews (3) had the assists on Hyman’s goal as the Maple Leafs trailed, 3-1, at 6:32 of the second period.

    Hyman later tripped Suzuki and presented the Habs with their first power play of the night on the first penalty of the game at 13:39.

    Montréal did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

    Through 40 minutes in Toronto, the Canadiens led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 23-19, in shots on goal, despite the Leafs holding an, 11-9, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    The Maple Leafs also led in blocked shots (8-7), takeaways (9-4), giveaways (11-10) and faceoff win% (51-49), while the Habs held the advantage in hits (33-29).

    As Montréal had the only power play through two periods and failed to convert on the advantage, the Habs were 0/1, while the Leafs were still awaiting their first skater advantage.

    Brendan Gallagher cut a rut to the penalty box for interference at 4:41 of the third period and presented the Maple Leafs with their first power play of the night as a result.

    Though Toronto did not score on the skater advantage, they did take advantage of the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Jake Muzzin (1) sent a shot off the post and in from the point as net front traffic diminished Price’s vision of the shooter.

    Simmonds (1) and William Nylander (2) were credited with the assists on Muzzin’s first goal of the game as the Leafs pulled to within one and trailed Montréal, 3-2, at 6:52 of the third period.

    Midway through the final frame of regulation, the Maple Leafs tied it, 3-3, on another goal from Muzzin (2)– this time on a redirection through Price’s five-hole thanks to an initial shot pass from Alex Galchenyuk at 11:54.

    Galchenyuk (3) and Nylander (3) had the assists on Muzzin’s second goal of the night as Toronto answered Montréal’s three-goal lead with three unanswered goals of their own.

    After regulation, the score was tied, 3-3, and the Maple Leafs had a, 35-29, advantage in shots on goal, including a, 16-6, advantage in the third period alone.

    Toronto also held the advantage in blocked shots (12-9), takeaways (11-8) and giveaways (14-12), while Montréal led in hits (44-38) and faceoff win% (51-49).

    As there were no penalties called in overtime, both teams went 0/1 on the power play in Game 5.

    Less than a minute into the extra frame Galchenyuk turned the puck over in the attacking zone, leading to a fast breakout the other way for the Canadiens, whereby Suzuki and Cole Caufield ended up on a 2-on-0 entering Montréal’s attacking zone.

    Suzuki (2) passed the puck to Caufield for a quick give-and-go before one-timing the puck past Campbell for the game-winning goal 59 seconds into overtime.

    Caufield (1) recorded the only assist– his first career Stanley Cup Playoff point– on Suzuki’s goal as the Habs defeated the Maple Leafs, 4-3, in overtime in Game 5.

    The Canadiens finished the night with the advantage in shots on goal in overtime alone, 1-0, as well as the lead in hits (44-38) and faceoff win% (52-48), while Toronto wrapped up Thursday night leading in shots on goal (35-30), blocked shots (12-10) and giveaways (15-12).

    The Habs trail in the series 3-2 heading back home for Game 6 at Bell Centre in Montréal. Puck drop is scheduled for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch the action on NBCSN, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS.

  • Simmonds signs with Toronto

    Wayne Simmonds is heading home to the Toronto Maple Leafs on a one-year, $1.500 million contract– as reported by Sportsnet 590’s Anthony Stewart– that he signed on Friday as the free agent market opened in the National Hockey League.

    The deal carries a no-trade clause.

    The 32-year-old native of Scarborough, Ontario was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (61st overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and spent last season split between the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres.

    In 909 career NHL games, Simmonds has 251-248–499 totals, including eight goals and 17 assists (25 points) in 68 games last season for the Devils and Sabres.

    He’s reached the 60-point plateau twice in his career in 2013-14 and 2015-16 with the Philadelphia Flyers and has since become more of an energy player fit for a third line role.

    Simmonds looks to bolster Toronto’s forward depth on a cheap deal as the Maple Leafs face a tight salary cap– both because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and due to their own past dealings with re-signing key members of their core and since bringing John Tavares to the fold.

    He made his NHL debut with Los Angeles in the 2008-09 season and previously spent time with the Kings, Flyers, Nashville Predators, Devils and Sabres.

  • A Message To Everyone In Hockey

    Andrew Ference was my introduction to many things beyond the hockey world that affect the hockey world, Ken Dryden wrote some of the literature I’ve read and Brock McGillis is one of the many people I follow on Twitter.

    That’s just a few of them, but there are many others like Marisa Ingemi, Ryan Clark, Eric Stephens, Amalie Benjamin, Jashvina Shah and Hemal Jhaveri, just to name some more.

    I’m sure people will be bringing up the conversation surrounding specialty jerseys and tape in NHL games as they already have and will again someday.

    I, for one, have no problems seeing whatever specialty jerseys in warmups and would encourage that players at least use whatever tape they feel like to coincide with that night or support that cause throughout the season a la Kurtis Gabriel’s use of Pride Tape in his career.

    (Yes, I know, let’s abandon the traditional “don’t use ‘I’ statements” in op-ed pieces for a moment.)

    Want to use Pride Tape? Use it in game. Not just warmups.

    Want to use camouflage tape on Military Appreciation Night? Use it in game.  Not just warmups.

    Want to use purple tape on Hockey Fights Cancer Night? Use it in game. Not just warmups.

    Don’t just put away tape after warmups if tape— of all things— is so often changed from game-to-game, stick-to-stick, broken stick-to-broken stick or whatever. 

    That said, the league needs to do a better job at distinguishing special nights.

    Hockey Is For Everyone Night is nice in theory, but you cannot lump every cause into one, especially if it’s only the causes you’ve yet to show proof you care about beyond the brand image.

    Hockey Is For Everyone Night should be a February thing, coinciding with Willie O’Ree puck drop ceremonies and Black History Month.

    That is the night when you address why it took 60 years to put O’Ree in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018, after he broke the NHL’s color barrier in 1958.

    Pride Night shouldn’t be slapped under the same banner (or worse, see the St. Louis Blues watch party). The Carolina Hurricanes had Pride Night done right this season and went an extra step on their social media to value the autonomy of every LGBTQ+ human being. Take a page from them.

    (I’m not opposed to being bribed for the play-in/playoffs with any leftover Pride scarves you guys might have, Canes, fully knowing that this isn’t the place or time to be asking for free things.)

    How can you accomplish these event nights and promote diversity within and without your organization? Hire minority candidates in executive positions and create things like Pride Committees and Black Hockey History Committees.

    As we have seen from Akim Aliu, J.T. Brown, Evander Kane, Wayne Simmonds, Kurtis Gabriel, Andrew Ference, Brock McGillis, Ben Scrivens, Braden Holtby, Patrice Bergeron, Blake Wheeler, Logan Couture, Ryan Miller and other allies (I know I did not name them all here, but if you’re one of them I missed out on, please do not feel forgotten— continue to use your voice), I can only hope more players, coaches, front office members and retired players will continue to speak up, speak out and listen.

    Racism exists. Fight it. Prevent it. Put an end to it.

    Black Lives Matter. Police brutality exists. 

    Yes, there are good cops, but the current overarching “justice” system negates their spotlight where credit is due. That can be fixed and the good cops that truly serve and protect their communities— their entire community, white, black, Latinx, straight, LGBTQ and all— will rightfully see their time when the system is overhauled.

    As long as there is no true Justice, it is an Unjust system.

    Please register to vote if you aren’t already registered (U.S., Canada) and, most important, complete your entire ballot. Vote for your executive branch and legislative branch, but do not neglect your attorneys general, sheriff and others.

    Nobody should have to die and yet, here we are, addressing murder after murder under the law of “innocent until proven guilty”.

    We spend the majority of our days listening rather than speaking, but in actuality, we’re only hearing unless we’re actively listening— and hearing and listening are two different things.

    Hearing is knowing that your mother is yelling from downstairs for you to get out of bed because the bus is coming and you’ll be late to school if you miss it, but you roll over and continue to sleep anyway.

    Listening is hearing that your mother is yelling from downstairs for you to get out of bed because the bus is coming, getting up, getting dressed for school and making the bus on time to go to school and learn.

    Kim Davis is doing wonderful work as the NHL’s Executive Vice President, Social Impact, Growth Initiatives and Legislative Affairs. 

    Practice doesn’t make perfect and the reality of things is that it often takes many attempts before landing something that sticks. 

    But practice does make better and with enough practice, things can and will be better— it’s the commitment to that practice and the followup that must follow through that matters.

    The National Hockey League and its member clubs can do better.

    USA Hockey can do better. Assistant Director, Hockey Operations, John Vanbiesbrouck needs to go.

    Hockey Canada can do better.

    The American Hockey League and its member clubs can do better.

    The ECHL and its member clubs can do better.

    The International Ice Hockey Federation can do better.

    Beer leagues can do better. EA Sports can do better.

    If you’ve ever grabbed a hockey stick, watched the sport or played the video game— you can do better.

    That means all of us must learn and grow as we so often do in every other aspect of our lives. 

    If you’re a player, you once had to learn to skate. That took time, effort and many stumbles, but you got better over the years.

    There’s no excuse for not being better as a person. 

    You’ve already done it in so many other ways, what’s one more important thing that doesn’t just occur on the ice?

  • Analysis: Sabres add low cost, high reward option in energetic Simmonds

    The Buffalo Sabres traded a conditional 2021 5th round pick to the New Jersey Devils for Wayne Simmonds on Monday ahead of the NHL’s annual trade deadline.

    If Buffalo makes the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Simmonds plays in at least 10 games, then the 2021 5th round pick is upgraded to a 2021 4th round pick in the exchange.

    Meanwhile, New Jersey retained 50% ($2.500 million) of Simmonds’ salary in the trade.

    Simmonds, 31, is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end and had 8-16–24 totals in 61 games with the Devils this season at the time of the trade.

    A native of Scarborough, Ontario, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound right wing was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (31st overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft and has amassed 251 goals and 247 assists (498 points) in 902 career NHL games for the Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators and Devils since entering the league in the 2008-09 season.

    He scored 20 or more goals in six out of seven seasons from 2011-18 while in Philadelphia and reached the 60-point plateau twice in that span.

    Meanwhile, New Jersey owns 16 picks in the next two NHL Entry Drafts, including three first round picks in 2020 and two third round picks in 2021.

  • 2020 NHL Trade Deadline Recap

    Below is a quick recap of all the trades that officially occurred on Monday prior to the National Hockey League’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

    The Edmonton Oilers kicked things off early Monday morning by sending F Kyle Brodziak and a conditional 2020 4th round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for D Mike Green.

    Edmonton surrenders their 4th round pick in the deal unless the Oilers advance to the Western Conference Final with Green playing in 50 percent of the playoff games in the first two rounds combined, in which case, Detroit would then receive Edmonton’s 2021 3rd round pick.

    Detroit retained 50% of Green’s salary in the transaction. MORE

    The Colorado Avalanche traded a 2021 4th round pick to the Ottawa Senators for F Vladislav Namestnikov. MORE

    F Jean-Gabriel Pageau was traded by the Ottawa Senators to the New York Islanders for a conditional 2020 1st round pick, a 2020 2nd round pick and a conditional 2022 3rd round pick.

    If the 2020 1st round pick is in the top-3 overall selections, then Ottawa receives the Islanders’ 2021 1st round pick. If New York wins this Stanley Cup this year, then Ottawa receives the Islanders’ 2022 3rd round pick. MORE

    The Carolina Hurricanes traded F Erik Haula, F Lucas Wallmark, F Eetu Luostarinen and D Chase Priskie to the Florida Panthers for F Vincent Trocheck. MORE

    F Nate Thompson was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2021 5th round pick. MORE

    The San Jose Sharks traded F Patrick Marleau to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional 2021 3rd round pick.

    If Pittsburgh wins the Cup, then San Jose receives a 2021 2nd round pick instead. MORE

    D Calle Rosen was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Toronto Maple Leafs for G Michael Hutchinson. MORE

    The Philadelphia Flyers acquired Derek Grant from the Anaheim Ducks for Kyle Criscuolo and a 4th round pick. MORE

    F Wayne Simmonds was traded by the New Jersey Devils to the Buffalo Sabres for a 2021 5th round pick. The Devils retained 50% of Simmonds’ salary ($2.500 million) in the trade. MORE

    F Danton Heinen was traded by the Boston Bruins to the Anaheim Ducks for F Nick Ritchie. MORE

    The Montreal Canadiens traded F Matthew Peca to the Ottawa Senators for F Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 7th round pick.

    The Detroit Red Wings traded F Andreas Athanasiou and F Ryan Kuffner to the Edmonton Oilers for F Sam Gagner, a 2020 2nd round pick and a 2021 2nd round pick.

    F Tyler Ennis was traded by the Ottawa Senators to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2021 5th round pick. MORE

    The Calgary Flames acquired D Derek Forbort from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional 2021 4th round pick.

    F Evan Rodrigues and F Conor Sheary were traded by the Buffalo Sabres to the Pittsburgh Penguins for F Dominik Kahun.

    The Dallas Stars traded D Emil Djuse to the Florida Panthers for a 2020 6th round pick (originally belonging to the Buffalo Sabres).

    D Sami Vatanen was traded by the New Jersey Devils to the Carolina Hurricanes for F Janne Kuokkanen, D Fredrik Claesson and a conditional 2020 4nd round pick.

    If Vatanen plays a certain number of games, then the pick can become a 3rd round pick.

    G Robin Lehner was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs by the Chicago Blackhawks, then was flipped to the Vegas Golden Knights in a three-team trade.

    Toronto acquired a 2020 5th round pick from Vegas, while retaining a portion of Lehner’s salary to complete the trade.

    Chicago acquired G Malcolm Subban, D Slava Demin and a 2020 2nd round pick (originally belonging to Pittsburgh) from Vegas.

    Vegas acquired Lehner and and F Martins Dzierkals.

    The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired F Devin Shore from the Anaheim Ducks for F Sonny Milano.

    The Carolina Hurricanes acquired D Brady Skjei from the New York Rangers for a 2020 1st round pick.

    D Erik Gustafsson was traded by the Chicago Blackhawks to the Calgary Flames for a 2020 3rd round pick.

    F Barclay Goodrow and a 2020 3rd round pick (originally acquired from Philadelphia) were traded by the San Jose Sharks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2020 1st round pick and F Anthony Greco.

    The New Jersey Devils traded G Louis Domingue to the Vancouver Canucks for G Zane McIntyre.

    D Brandon Davidson was traded by the Calgary Flames to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations.

    The Anaheim Ducks traded D Korbinian Holzer to the Nashville Predators for D Matt Irwin and a 2022 6th round pick.

    D Christian Djoos was traded by the Washington Capitals to the Anaheim Ducks for F Daniel Sprong.

    F Nick Cousins was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the Vegas Golden Knights for a 2021 4th round pick.

    The Philadelphia Flyers traded D T.J. Brennan to the Chicago Blackhawks for F Nathan Noel.

    In a minor trade, the New York Islanders sent F Matt Lorito to the Toronto Maple Leafs for D Jordan Schmaltz.

    The Columbus Blue Jackets traded F Markus Hannikainen to the Arizona Coyotes for a conditional 2020 7th round pick.

    G Angus Redmond and a conditional 2022 7th round pick were traded by the Anaheim Ducks to the Edmonton Oilers for D Joel Persson.

  • DTFR Podcast #182- Back In A New Year Groove

    The DTFR Podcast is back from hiatus as Nick provides a State of the Podcast, reviews a few things from the last couple of months and delves into all of the transactions leading up to the 2020 NHL trade deadline.

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

  • Devils ring in 2020 with, 3-2, shootout win over Bruins

    The New Jersey Devils completed a, 3-2, shootout victory comeback over the Boston Bruins at Prudential Center on Tuesday afternoon to close out 2019.

    Mackenzie Blackwood (13-10-5 record, 2.85 goals against, .907 save percentage in 30 games played) made 28 saves on 30 shots against for a .933 SV% in the win for the Devils.

    Bruins goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (9-3-5, 2.20 GAA, .930 SV% in 17 games played) stopped 42 out of 44 shots faced for a .955 SV% in the shootout loss.

    Boston fell to 24-7-10 (58 points) on the season, but remained in command of the Atlantic Divison, while New Jersey improved to 14-19-6 (34 points) and stayed in 8th place in the Metropolitan Division.

    The B’s also fell to 10-6-2 on the road this season.

    The Bruins were without the services of Kevan Miller (knee), Torey Krug (upper body), Charlie McAvoy (lower body), Connor Clifton (upper body) and David Krejci (lower body) on Tuesday.

    Miller has now officially missed half of the season, since Boston played their 41st game of the regular season in New Jersey.

    As a result of the numerous injuries on the blue line for the B’s, Jeremy Lauzon was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Monday.

    Lauzon has 1-9–10 totals in 35 games with Providence this season and made his season debut with Boston on the second defensive pairing with Matt Grzelcyk at his side.

    Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia) was assigned to Providence on Monday in what might be a conditioning stint, if not just a return to playing action with a plethora of depth forwards seeking playing time in Boston.

    Kuhlman has not played since being injured in Toronto on Oct. 19th.

    Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made changes to his lineup from Sunday night’s, 3-2, victory against Buffalo.

    Anders Bjork, Charlie Coyle and Brett Ritchie were moved up to the second line, while Jake DeBrusk slid down to the third line left wing slot as Par Lindholm and David Backes drew back into the lineup.

    Meanwhile, on defense, Lauzon was paired with Grzelcyk and John Moore remained with Steven Kampfer, while Zdeno Chara and Brandon Carlo earned first pairing duties.

    Danton Heinen was the only healthy scratch for Boston on Tuesday.

    Devils defender, P.K. Subban, caught Sean Kuraly without the puck and was assessed a minor penalty for interference at 1:17 of the first period.

    The Bruins capitalized on the ensuing power play when David Pastrnak unloaded a shot on a one-timer that trickled through Blackwood, but slowed before reaching the goal line.

    As a result, Brad Marchand (20) ensured the puck reached the twine by tapping it in from the crease and gave Boston the, 1-0, lead on the power play.

    Pastrnak (30) and Grzelcyk (9) had the assists on Marchand’s power play goal at 2:03.

    Both teams swapped chances for the rest of the opening frame, but no more penalties were called or goals scored heading into the first intermission.

    Boston led New Jersey, 1-0, on the scoreboard and held the advantage in shots on goal, 14-10.

    The Bruins also led in blocked shots (7-4), while the Devils had the advantage in giveaways (4-2), hits (8-4) and faceoff win percentage (53-47).

    Both teams had one takeaway aside and the Bruins were 1/1 on the skater advantage, while New Jersey had yet to see any time on the power play.

    Marchand went to the box nine seconds into the second period after tripping up Devils forward, Nikita Gusev, but New Jersey couldn’t convert on the ensuing power play opportunity.

    Moments later, Kuraly worked the puck down low and squibbed it through Blackwood into the crease and off Sami Vatanen’s skate, whereby Joakim Nordstrom (4) poked the loose puck over the goal line to give the Bruins a two-goal lead.

    Kuraly (12) and Carlo (9) tallied the assists on Nordstrom’s goal at 4:27 of the second period and Boston led, 2-0.

    Almost midway through the middle frame, New Jersey sustained offensive zone pressure for a solid few minutes.

    The Devils re-entered the attacking zone on a quick break while the Bruins were in the midst of a line change, as Blake Coleman dropped the puck back to Gusev for a give-and-go back to Coleman (12) for the one-timer goal at 8:58.

    Gusev (16) and Vatanen (16) had the assists on Coleman’s goal as New Jersey cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1.

    Less than a minute later, Travis Zajac went to the penalty box for tripping Marchand at 9:07, but Boston’s resulting power play was short lived as Grzelcyk tripped up Nico Hischier at 9:20.

    The two sides played 1:47 of 4-on-4 action before the Devils had an abbreviated 5-on-4 power play.

    Entering the second intermission, the Bruins led the Devils, 2-1, on the scoreboard and, 23-22, in shots on goal– despite New Jersey holding the, 12-9, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    Boston also held the advantage in blocked shots (9-6), while the Devils led in takeaways (4-3), giveaways (8-4), hits (15-7) and faceoff win% (55-45).

    New Jersey went 0/2 on the power play and the Bruins were 1/2 on the skater advantage after 40 minutes played.

    Lauzon opened things up in the final frame of regulation with an interference minor against Miles Wood at 2:34 of the third period.

    New Jersey didn’t score on the ensuing power play.

    Almost midway through the third period, Nordstrom tripped up Mirco Mueller and was sent to the sin bin at 7:55, but once again the Devils couldn’t convert on the skater advantage.

    A few minutes past the midpoint in the third period, Jesper Bratt (8) tipped in a shot from Subban by standing right in front of Halak– tying the game, 2-2, in the process.

    Subban (5) and Hischier (15) notched the assists on Bratt’s goal at 13:11 and New Jersey was in full swing with momentum on their side.

    Neither team took another penalty until overtime and the two teams finished regulation tied, 2-2, on the scoreboard with the Devils leading in shots on goal, 41-28– including a, 19-5, advantage in the third period alone.

    Boston held the advantage in blocked shots (15-13), takeaways (9-8) and faceoff win% (51-49), while New Jersey led in giveaways (14-5) and hits (19-13).

    The Devils were 0/4 on the power play and the Bruins were 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into overtime.

    Cassidy started Patrice Bergeron, Marchand and Moore in the extra frame for Boston, while Alain Nasreddine began overtime with Hischier, Damon Severson and Vatanen on the ice.

    Late in the overtime period, Bratt hooked Kuraly and was assessed a minor infraction at 4:48.

    As a result, Cassidy used his timeout with 11.6 seconds left in overtime to drum up a plan if the Bruins won the ensuing draw and could muster a shot on goal before time expired.

    At the horn, the B’s and Devils were heading for a shootout, tied, 2-2, through 65 minutes of action.

    New Jersey finished the effort leading in shots on goal (44-30), giveaways (14-5) and hits (19-13), while Boston led in blocked shots (16-14).

    The two sides were even in faceoff win% (50-50), while the Devils went 0/4 and the Bruins went 1/3 on the power play.

    Nasreddine elected to shoot first in the shootout and sent Gusev out to face Halak in the opening round, but Gusev shot the puck square at the B’s goaltender.

    Cassidy responded with Coyle to kick things off for Boston in the shootout, but Coyle missed the net after deking and losing the puck off his forehand while losing an edge in front of the crease.

    Jesper Boqvist shot second for New Jersey and fired a shot directly at Halak.

    Pastrnak was next up for Boston, but was denied by Blackwood as the Devils goaltender made a glove save while falling as Pastrnak stickhandled the puck and let it fly.

    Devils forward, Kyle Palmieri, began the third round of the shootout with a shot off Halak’s glove and wide.

    Palmieri was followed by Marchand in the third round of the shootout and for once the Bruins winger didn’t opt for a five-hole attempt.

    Instead, Marchand rang the post over Blackwood’s blocker.

    Through three rounds of the shootout, the two clubs were knotted, 0-0.

    Wayne Simmonds began the fourth round of the shootout with an attempt at wrapping the puck around Halak’s outstretched legs, but Halak shut the door between the post and his skate.

    Cassidy sent out DeBrusk to break up the deadlock, but DeBrusk crashed the net with speed and was denied by Blackwood’s leg pad as the New Jersey goaltender cut down on the angle of DeBrusk’s approach by playing out of the crease a little.

    Just as it seemed like a shootout from hell, the Devils elected to utilize Jack Hughes’ skillset in the fifth round of the shootout.

    Hughes dangled the puck and got Halak to commit to a hybrid stance before firing a shot below Halak’s glove and inside the post for the first goal of the shootout– putting New Jersey in command.

    Not to be outdone, noted Bruins fourth liner, Chris Wagner, was sent out to tie the shootout and did just that after a nifty dangle to his backhand before roofing the puck over Blackwood and through the top-shelf– tying the shootout, 1-1, after five rounds.

    In a grand twist from the other night’s own-goal in overtime against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Severson was sent out onto the ice to try to give New Jersey control of their own destiny and the Hockey Gods responded in kind.

    Severson deked and scored a goal that was reminiscent of Wagner’s only about a minute prior with a backhand that he elevated over Halak to put the Devils ahead in the shootout, 2-1.

    With the game on his stick, Bergeron had to score to extend the shootout, but Blackwood snagged the puck out of mid-air with his glove– denying Bergeron of yet another shootout goal.

    No. 37 in black and gold hasn’t scored a shootout goal in about five calendar years as the Devils emerged with the, 3-2, shootout victory on home ice.

    The B’s fell to 18-1-2 when having a two-goal lead at any time this season and fell to 0-6 in shootouts this season, while New Jersey improved to 2-4 overall past overtime.

    The Bruins fell to 17-5-6 when scoring the game’s first goal, 15-3-2 when leading after the first period and 13-0-4 when leading after two periods this season.

    Boston kicks off 2020 with a two-game homestand against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday and Edmonton Oilers on Saturday before making a quick visit to Nashville to face the Predators next Tuesday.