Turco’s Time to Shine

Today the Bruins took on the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum for the 176 meeting between the two teams.  Marty Turco got the nod in net and Mottau the nod to suit up as both Dennis Seidenberg and Adam McQuaid sat out for today’s game.  Marchand, Bergeron and Seguin started the game off, but the opening shot would come from Chris Kelly who would ring it off of the post. There was great tempo to start thegame, but it wouldn’t be until 18:11 that the Bruins would capitalize. Milan Lucic won a battle for a loose puck with Marty Reasoner by the Islanders net, fed it over in front to Krejci who banged it in for a 1-0 lead. Unfortunately the Bruins got caught celebrating as just 29 seconds later Kyle Okposo snappeda wrist shot over Turco’s glove hand from the high slot. Heading into the second period the shots were tied at 7 a piece.

To start the second period off Islanders Michael Haley had been looking for a fight all day and found a partner with Gregory Campbell for a scrappy go around, essentially getting the take down. As for momentum gain, there wasn’t much stemming off of this fight, but leave it to Chris Kelly to get the ball rolling once again as he intercepted a pass off the boards while flying into the offensive zone, beating Montoya high glove hand for his twentieth of the season. Kelly became the 6th Bruin this season to reach the 20 goal mark, putting Boston as the first team to have 6 players iwth 20+ goals. That is the definition of depth. While the Bruins are 17-0-0 when Kelly scores, PA Parenteau would cut the Bruisn lead once more as he got a back door pass from Tavares to tie the game at two. Going into the third period the Bruins would be shorthanded to start with David Krejci serving a lazy slashing call to finish out the second period.

Throughout the first twenty minutes of play the Bruins weren’t warranted a single power play, and needed to establish themselves more offensively.  In order to do so they needed to come out strong in the third period, and that is just what they did. Off of the opening face-off Marchand was able to bring the puck into the offensive zone for an opportunity on Montoya right off the back, then Jordan Caron would go to ring one off the post. At 3:13 the efforts would pay off as Marchand beat Montoya between the pads, giving them their third lead of the game.

Throughout the opening minutes they did a good job slowing things down and setting the puck up, providing Marchand with his team leading, 27th goal. Tyler Seguin at 10:37 ties Marchand for the team-high 27 goals as he slapped one from the top left hand circle and went high glove on Montoya giving the Bruins their first two-goal lead, making up for his two giveaways and missed open net shot earlier on in the game. Seguin definitely accepted the challenge to step it up in third period, registering a goal and assist in the opening half of the period. 14:53 PA Parenteau would strike again from just thirteen feet out as he gets a wrist shot past a diving Turco, bringing the Isles within one. As if to be expected Tyler Seguin once again sets up a goal for Patrice Bergeron coming around the net, making a pass to Marchand, then rushing in to feed it to Bergeron, giving the Bruins a 5-3 lead with just 3:41 remaining. In just 24 seconds later David Krejci gets his career-high 23rd past Montoya off a nifty backhand feed from Lucic, sealing the fate of the Bruins as victory. This would be the first time the Bruins have posted six-goals against the Islanders this season as they close out the series with a 3-1 edge.

The next game is Sunday, April 1 at 7:00pm EST against the New York Rangers.

New York State of Mind: Bruins @ Islanders

Will today be another big game for #46? (Credit: Slidingsideways/ Flickr)

With the Buffalo Sabres losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, the Boston Bruins clinched the playoffs as the number 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. This is the fifth straight year the B’s will make the playoffs and with the recent luck the team has been having I’m as optimistic as ever. Having said that the team still has five games left in the regular season to play.

The first is a matinee game against the New York Islanders. The Bruins took the first two games against the Islanders back in November scoring 6 goals in each game. However in the last meeting between the teams on March 3rd, it was NY that picked up a 3-2 win. With the playoff clinch the B’s have a little less to worry about, but I don’t think they’re trying to tie the series with the Isles for the season.

For Brian Rolston and Mike Mottau, this game brings them back to the Nassau Coliseum where they played last season and this season until the trade deadline as Islanders. But 39 year old Rolston isn’t too concerned with revenge.

“When you’re younger and you play a former team it might be a little nerve-wracking, but in this situation not so much,” said Rolston. “I’ve been around a long time. It’s about trying to well yourself as an individual and play well as a team.”(Via CSNNE)

Injury wise Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid will not make the New York roadtrip after being cut over his left eye in Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals. Dennis Seidenberg, who didn’t play in Thursday’s game because of a cut on his leg, will be making the trip and could play. Islander wise, goalie Evgeni Nabokov is out with a lower body injury.

As for who’s hot right now, Zdeno Chara has 5 points in his last 6 games and David Krejci has 5 points in his last 4. Those two are definitely the players that I will be watching out for in today’s game.

So Bruins fans enjoy that our boys are in the playoff’s once again, and enjoy the last 5 games of the season!

Puck drops at 1 and you can watch the game on NESN.

Captivating Capitals

McQuaid would leave the ice in the first and not come back (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight the Bruins took on the Washington Capitals at 7pm, coming out strong and presenting goaltender Tomas Vokoun with chance after chance which he easily shut down, until 1:35 remaining in the first period when he went down and re-injured his groin putting Michal Neuvirth in net. Along with Vokoun getting injured, Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid also left the first period. McQuaid was getting the puck behind the net when he pivoted, opening himself up to a vulnerable position as Chimera bee-lined and slammed him into the boards. It would later be reported that McQuaid would not return, nor would Chimera(game misconduct). This makes two defenseman the Bruins are without currently as Dennis Seidenberg sits out with a leg infection after a skate sliced through his leg in L.A.

Going into the second period the Bruins held the edge in shots and kept up great speed. Seguin offering some promising chances, along with Brian Rolston and Greg Zanon. There was a lot of back and forth action in the second period and the defensive pairings were the most dominant. The biggest play of the second would come from captain Zdeno Chara as he read the play from Ovechkin getting past partner Andrew Ference and would use his body and stick to take the puck away and create a great offensive opportunity. Through two the Bruins still held the edge in shots, but the score remained at zero.

“Getting shots through to the net, they’re doing good job getting between us and net… You have to talk all the time now it’s more important because you don’t know who you’re going to be playing with and just hearing their voice gives you a little extra confidence.”-Johnny Boychuk on how the Bruins need to play in the third period (via Intermission Report with Naoko Funayama)

The Bruins came out strong in the third, but despite numerous efforts, Marchand fumbles the puck behind the Caps net, leaving Wideman to take a pass from Johansen and rip a shot high blocker side against Thomas for a 1-0 lead at 12:01. Shortly after Ovechkin and Johnasen get a two-on-one breakaway, their patience paying off and Ovechkin saucers it over to Johansen for a one-timer that beats Thomas for a two-goal lead at 9:54. It wouldn’t be until 16:50 that Zdeno Chara would use the screen and pull the Bruins within one of the Caps, shooting from the point with Krejci getting the tip in past the Caps net minder. With just “a buck sixteen to go” Andrew Ference blasts it off a pass and puts it behind Neuvirth scoring two goals in just one minute and fifty-four seconds, beating the Capitals goal span by one second. With the final seconds ticking away the Bruins applied good pressure, but were unable to pull ahead sending the game into sudden death overtime.

Marchand decked Wideman to begin the overtime and set the pace for the extra five minutes of play. While Seguin, Lucic and Marchand each had notable efforts against Neuvirth, the best came from Krejci and Johnny Boychuk as he dove for a shot, but  they weren’t enough to put the Bruins on top in the final five, forcing a shoot-out. First up for the Caps/Bruins was David Krejci who went forehand and Neuvirth made the quick save. Matt Hendricks would go next, deking the puck with Thomas going down after a pump fake and scores. Seguin went in after with speed toward Neuvirth and scored as he threw the brakes on just enough to mess up Neuvirth. For the Caps it was Ovechkin circling against Thomas who got a piece of it making it 1-1 through two rounds. The third shooter for Boston was Patrice Bergeron who with speed towards Neuvirth, slid it under and scored with the forehand, again with a pump fake. The closer for the Caps was Alexandre Semin, needing to score to keep it going and he does with speed and a quick backhander forcing the fourth round. Peverley goes fourth and pulls up on the forehand resulting in a leg save for Neuvirth. Brooks Laich goes back and forth with a roofing backhander that beats Thomas and wins the game in a shoot-out for the Capitals.

The next game is Saturday, March31 against the New York Islanders at 1:00pm EST.

P.S. Congratulations to Nathan Horton and his wife on the birth of their son today!

Securing a Playoff Spot

Corvo returns to the lineup tonight! (Credit: Benjamin Reed/Flickr)

The Bruins have won three in a row, which is a feat considering the last time they were on any kind of winning streak it was in December. With these wins, the B’s are coming closer and closer to securing a 2nd place seed in the Eastern Conference. Tonight they face off at home against the Washington Capitals, a team in a must win mode in order to make the playoffs.

Washington has taken two of the three last games in the series this season, the last game being March 10th at the TD Garden. With six games left for the Bruins and five for the Capitals, every game is more important. Fortunately the B’s have a 4 point lead for second place in the Eastern Conference over the Florida Panthers.

Tonight the B’s will be without Dennis Seidenberg who will be missing his first game of the season. The cause is an infection in his leg from a cut he got on the roadie this weekend. In his place will be Joe Corvo, who has been a healthy scratch the past few games. Seidenberg will definitely be missed but it’ll be important for Corvo to step up and prove his worth for the team. The lines otherwise are expected to remain the same though look out for some sharp near hair cuts/mullets 16 of the players acquired at their annual cuts for a cause yesterday.

Goal wise Tim Thomas will make his 17th appearance in 18 games. The team realizes the importance of a win against the Caps tonight.

“There is so much for us to play for right now. We’re battling for home ice advantage and being No. 2 in our conference,” said David Krejci. “As a team our game is coming along in the last five or six games, but we can’t sit back. We can’t take any games lightly and it’s time to build some good momentum with six games left. We’re getting there . . . close to playing the way we want to play.”(Via CSNNE)

The puck drops tonight at 7 and you can check it out on NESN.

Rask Recovery

Tuukka Rask went for a butterfly save in the second and never got back up (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tuukka Rask hasn’t seen any action since Saturday, March 3, 2012 when he went down for a butterfly save and needed help off the ice. He suffered a groin/abdominal injury and was expected to be out for 4-6 weeks.

Today Rask reported to Bruins Buzz that being ready for the playoffs was a realistic possibility.

“It’s tough to speculate,” he said. “You never know. We’ll see how it goes. Maybe I’ll hit the ice next week if everything goes good and go from there.” He added, “You can’t rush these kinds of injuries, but hopefully.”(via Bruins Buzztap)

Rask said that the pain has subsided, but there is still a sense of tightness that he has to work on along with his core strength. He has been working out riding the bike among other things and has been able to remain in decent shape.  While it has only been three weeks since the injury occurred against the New York Islanders, he is ahead of schedule with no setbacks as of yet.

With Rask being out the Bruins signed veteran net minder Marty Turco, formerly of the Chicago Blackhawks, to a one-year contract deal. Unfortunately, if Rask is unable to participate in the playoffs, neither is Turco, due to being signed after the trade deadline.  Therefore, having Rask in mint condition is important for the Bruins organization.

“I want to be back as soon as possible,” Rask said. “The playoffs was, and is, the goal.”-Tuukka Rask(via Bruins buzztap)

Beast of the Beasts: Brian Rolston

Brian Rolston (Photo Credit: Emma Harger/adventuresinpucking)

This week’s Beast of the Beasts, after much deliberation is forward Brian Rolston. Currently the 6′ 2″, 215lb right wing has points in his last six straight games.  He has registered 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points.

Since coming to Boston Rolston has posted three goals and ten assists in just 16 games played. Adding that to his statistics from the Islanders, he has 7 goals and 15 assists totaling 22 points in 65 games.

There is no doubt that the addition of Rolston has helped boost the morale of the third line, with line mates Chris Kelly and Benoit Pouliot having their fair share in the spot light as well. To say they have made or break the Bruins games as of late would be quite accurate.

“My line has put up some points the last couple games, and that’s a great thing. I think we have good chemistry as a line as well…Well Kells, he’s a player that plays in every dimension of the game,” Rolston said. “He’s great defensively, he can make things happen offensively – he’s a pleasure to play with. Benny I know a little bit about him and what he brings, he’s a tremendously talented kid and I just think we’re supporting each other well and we’re building a little bit of chemistry. But it’s a lot of fun to play with these two guys.”-Brian Rolston (via Bruins Official Site)

Bruins Take Charge Against Lightning

Congrats on 1002 games Chara (Credit: Slidingsideways/ Flickr)

Home ice seems to mean a lot whenever the Boston Bruins play the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the three games that these two teams have played against one another, home ice meant winner. Well tonight the Lightning hit the TD Garden ice in good old Boston for the forth and final regular season meet up.

Before the game started the Bruins put on a beautiful presentation to celebrate Zdeno Chara’s 1000 game which took place on Saturday. The ceremony was pretty cool and what’s cooler is Chara is the 9th defenseman in NHL history to ever play 1000 games. Captain Z deserved all of the praise and presents but my favorite thing was the massive silver replica hockey stick…that thing was HUGE!

We know return you to your regularly scheduled hockey game. So the B’s kept their line up the same as Sunday meaning Daniel Paille, Joe Corvo, Mike Mottau, and newly acquired Torey Krug got the healthy scratches. Goal tender wise it was different so Tim Thomas got the start against the Lightning’s Dwayne Roloson.

Steven Stamkos gets the first goal in the game (shocking) five minutes into the first getting his season goal tally to 54. When credit is due I give props so good work sir. So far B’s wise the Brad Marchand- Patrice Bergeron- Rich Peverley line is looking pretty good in getting some pressure on Roloson. At 9:06 Shawn Thornton gets set up by a beautiful pass from Chara for his 5th goal of the season. That would be his first goal in 36 games…his last goal was a penalty shot against the Winnipeg Jets (I was there!!). That was all the scoring that happened in the first.

Second period was kind of boring. But there was a goal and it was the Bruins so yay. With 4:55 to go Chara with a slap shot from the point got a rebound to Dennis Seidenberg to make it 2-1 Bruins. Something positive to take from the first two periods is that the Bruins are 22-2-0 when leading after 2.

Then third period happened and at 14:14 Stamkos got his 55th of the year…yawn. The Bruins are holding most of the momentum but Tampa is staying alive. Not too long after Adam McQuaid took a hit and went down hard head first. Not a good sign for someone that has had head problems this season. But thankfully he does return to the bench. At 8:26 Benoit Pouliot scores his 14th of the season and puts the Bruins back on top. With 4:10 left Brad Marchand makes it a 4-2 game and no sooner was Roloson pulled leaving an empty net. Peverley, back and stronger than ever, took advantage of the open net and secured the win with a 5-2 victory.

This is the third win in a row for the Bruins and having this kind of momentum is so important come playoffs. Bruins play their next game at home against the Washington Capitals.

Bruins Sign Torey Krug

Welcome to Boston Torey Krug (Credit: Michigan Hockey FB)

So the question is who is Torey Krug? Krug is defenseman who just finished his junior season at Michigan State University, where he was captain for the second straight year. The 20 year old signed an entry level contract with the B’s and will be available for the rest of the season but not for playoffs. As part of the deal, he will remain in Boston and won’t get any time in Providence.

Krug played in 38 games this season and set a career best 12 goals, 22 assists, and 34 points and was named CCHA Player of the Year and 2012 Hobey Baker Award Finalist. Personally I think it’s a great move for the Bruins to get some young players to start to build up for NHL success.

Today Krug joined the team for his first practice in Black and Gold and was eager to get started. Though only 5’9″ and 181 pounds, Krug doesn’t see his size as a disadvantage.

Every time somebody even mentions [my size] I put it in the back of my mind and it serves as motivation to me,” Krug said. “The fact that I finally did sign an NHL contract makes it seem a little bit better, but the minute I become content and satisfied with the fact that I am here, that’s the minute that I’m going to stop getting better and that’s the minute all the naysayers become correct.” (Via NHLBruins)

As for whether Krug will play in any of the remaining games well that’s up to the big man Coach Claude Julien.

“We may give him an opportunity (before the end of the season), depends on how everything goes.”(Via Bruins Twitter).

Tonight’s game against Tampa Krug will be watching from upstairs but there’s still 6 games left to change that.

 

 

 

Bring on the Bolts

Seguin and the Bruins are ready to take on the Lightning in the fourth and final match up tonight (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

After being on the road for the past three games out West, the Bruins are ready to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at home. This is the fourth and final game between these two teams for the regular season, and are concluding the 23rd of 29 series. In the past five games the Bruins are 4-1-0, the most points gained in a five-game span since they went 4-1-0 from January 4 – January 12, 2012.

For the Lighting, players Vincent Lecavalier (hand), Nate Thompson (upper body) and Adam Hall (upper body) are listed day-to-day. While  Mattias Ohlund (knees), Dana Tyrell (knee), Marc-Andre Bergeron (back), Mathieu Garon (lower body) and Ryan Shannon (upper body) are out. For Boston Tuukka Rask(abdomen injury),Nathan Horton(concussion) and Marc Savard(concussion) are the only scratches.

The lines are expected to be the same tonight as fans saw in Sunday night’s game against the Ducks, with Tim Thomas expected in net instead of Turco.

“I think our approach seems to be a lot better…we’re skating, we’re competing and we’re battling…Still have work to do.”-Calude Julien (post practice via @NHLBruins)

Tonight the Bruins are going to have to come out strong againt the Lightning to avoid being outscored. The Lightning are a strong team and the Bruins are going to need fresh legs if they stand a chance. Although the Lightning are most likely going to be witnessing the playoffs from their television screens, they aren’t going out without a fight, winning five straight, coming off of a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tonight’s players to watch are Brian Rolston who has a six-game point streak in progress with 3goals and 8assists for 11 points. Chris Kelly who has seven points in his last five games, Benoit Pouliot who  has 4 goals and 7assists in seven of his last nine games played, including 3goals and 5assists in five of his last six. You can also be on the lookout for captain Zdeno Chara who has 3 goals in his last four games.

Tonight’s game is on NESN at 7:30pm EST.

The Bear and the Gang

Ference took this beauty of Looch last week on the plane (Credit: NHLBruins Twitter)

Today the Boston Bruins launched a Digital Entertainment Network (DEN), a network that will bring together all of the team’s digital, mobile, and social assets. So basically it’s an all access pass to the B’s in many different fashions.

The first is an official Boston Bruins mobile app that provides fans with live stats during games, breaking news, schedules, ticket purchasing, and videos. The app is available now and can be downloaded for free across the three major mobile platforms: iPhone (iTunes), Android (Android Market) and Blackberry (Blackberry App World).

One of the videos is a new series called “The Bear and the Gang”, an 80s-style web series staring the Boston Bruins Bear. Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien and players Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Johnny Boychuk, Andrew Ference, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Adam McQuaid, Tuukka Rask, Dennis Seidenberg, Tyler Seguin, and Shawn Thornton all make appearances in the show, as well as NESN’s play-by-play man Jack Edwards and TD Garden legend Rene Rancourt. The intro of the show was released today and is posted below. Just by the looks of it I know we have a hilarious series on our hands. If you downloaded the mobile app, you will have a chance to see the first episode starring Marchy starting today.

Pinterest is a new site that literally everyone I know including myself is obsessed with. The Bruins have jumped aboard and created a “The World’s Most Pinteresting Bear” site found here. The Bear shares his friends, foes, and favorite places and you can repin and share all of them.

And last but not least is the Bruins Instagram account. It started last week and will continue through out the regular season and into the playoffs. Each day a different Bruins player will snap one photo and create a caption for the world to see. My favorite so far is the one Andrew Ference posted of Milan Lucic last week sleeping on the plane. You can find all of the pictures on the Instagram app if you search Boston Bruins

All of these things along with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. are a way to bring fans closer to the team and there is nothing wrong with that!