Can the Bruins Go Two Up Against Leafs?

The Boston Bruins took Game one over the Toronto Maple Leafs and are looking to go for win number two. The B’s played a full 60-minutes Wednesday and came out on top 4-1. It was the first time in a while that all four lines of the Bruins stepped up and the win displayed that. While it looked like a complete domination against Toronto, I’m not counting them out.

Tonight the game will end with the B’s being up by 2 games and carrying the momentum that goes with that or the Maple Leafs tying up the series.

(Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Bruins Change It Up:
With Andrew Ference being suspended for tonight’s game, the Bruins have no choice but to change up their defensive pairings that were so successful Wednesday night. Ference is a player that isn’t afraid to make his presence known against any team and Coach Claude Julien has the job of putting someone in his place that will take on that responsibility. So tonight either Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski, or Aaron Johnson will be back in the lineup in place of Ference. If I’m betting on this, I think Dougie will make his NHL playoff debut as he is the one out of the three who has had the most ice team this season. Also in terms of defense, Adam McQuaid was paired with Zdeno Chara at yesterdays practice which means Quaider could be potentially facing off against Toronto’s top line tonight.

Another thing to note is Wednesday Rich Peverley was a healthy scratch for the forwards so there’s a chance he’ll jump back into the lineup as well.

Toronto Takes a Step Back:
It’s no secret that the Maple Leaf’s didn’t leave Game One feeling like they gave it their all. They were out shot 40-20 and simply outplayed. But that game is in the past now and they Leafs are looking to make a comeback tonight. Most of the Toronto players are newbies when it comes to playoffs and the team has said that those nerves have been shaken off and their ready for Game Two.

The Maple Leafs will be without defenseman Mike Kostka after he broke his finger in the second period of Game One. Either Ryan O’Byrne or Jake Gardiner will be added into the lineup for Game 2. Also, expect to see some line changes for the Maple Leafs.

Bergeron Line FTW:
It’s no coincidence that every time Phil Kessel was on the ice with his line, the Patrice Bergeron line was also there. Bergeron along with Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand have been one of the B’s most consistent lines all season and they continued that pressure in Game One. Kessel, who lead Toronto with 20 goals and 52 points during the regular season was limited to just one shot in under 14 minutes of ice time on Wednesday. Bergeron, who is easily one of the best two-way players in the league, can be blamed for that.

Who’s Hot?
Boston players Milan Lucic and David Krecji. Looch has one goal and five points in the past three games, while Krejci has two goals and five points in four games. Krejci was the player of the game for the Bruins and was sporting their “player of the game Army Ranger’s jacket” after the game.

Expect Tuukka Rask to get the start for the Bruins as he was nothing but solid Wednesday night.

Puck drops TONIGHT at 7pm and you can check it out on NESN!

BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Bruins/Leafs Game One: Leggo!

So playoffs are here and obviously I’m super excited hence the “leggo” in the title. With such a speedy shortened season, we found regular season for the Boston Bruins end Sunday. Well now it’s Wednesday and the quest for Lord Stanley’s cup has officially become. It all starts tonight and it starts against round one opponent the Toronto Maple Leafs. Eastern Conference Quarterfinals LEGGO (yes I’ve now mentioned this word three times).

Boston sits in the fourth seed for the Eastern Conference while Toronto ended up right behind them in fifth. All that separated the teams was a mere five points. Both teams had the opportunity to place higher but they stumbled to the finish of regular season losing more than winning. But it’s playoffs now so that’s all a thing of the past.

Expect Horty to be back in action TONIGHT! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Let it be known that this is the first time since 1974 (14th overall) that both teams have met in Stanley Cup Playoffs aka this is a pretty big deal. I’m talking Original Six rivalry big deal!

Redemption Time:
Remember that time the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup two seasons ago? That was pretty great…no that was amazing. Remember that time they lost in the Quarterfinals to the Washington Capitals last season? Yeah, not so great. The Bruins are looking to go much further in the playoffs like Stanley Cup Finals further. But to do so they need to put the regular season slump in the past and rely on Bruins hockey to go the distance.

Toronto on the other hand is in the playoffs for the first time since the 2004 playoffs. They were eliminated that year second round thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s nine years of no playoffs aka I expect the Maple Leafs will be hungry for victory with Boston being the first victim.

THANK YOU KESSEL!
Expect to hear this said quite often this week Maple Leaf’s fans. Sorry I’m not sorry in advance! One of the obvious key points in this match up will be former B’s player Phil Kessel and current B’s player Tyler Seguin. Let me refresh your memory in case you forgot. Back in September of 2009, Kessel was traded to Toronto for three draft choices, two of whom turned out to be first-rounders. Those first rounders are Seggy and rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton, both of which have been key for the Bruins this season. In 16 games against Toronto, Seguin has 10 goals and six assists. Expect to see plenty of Kessel related signs in the TD Garden tonight and through out the series.

It’s Officially Tuukka Time:
Back in 2011, Tim Thomas was a playoff goalie god for the Bruins while Tuukka Rask was backup chillen. With Thomas out of the picture, it’s Rask in position number one for the B’s, and needless to say he has big shoes to fill. His regular season record is Vezina worthy for sure (check out my nominee preview today on Intermission Report), and I think he’ll be reliable tonight and for the rest of the playoffs for the Bruins. In his last 14 games, he hasn’t allowed more than two goals more than six times. In regular season he finished with a .929 save percentage and 5 shutouts.

Key Players Return:
Both teams will be getting some pretty necessary key scorers back from injury. For Boston, it’s Nathan Horton who has missed the past five-games with an upper body injury. Horton as we all remember was clutch for the Bruins in their 2011 Stanley Cup run and I have no doubt that he will be just as influential this time around. Jaromir Jagr should also be back in action for the B’s after missing both games this past weekend with flu-like symptoms. Jagr, the ever so amazing veteran, has been an ideal offensive fit for the B’s and should be extra beneficial during the playoffs. Toronto will have Tyler Bozak back in action who missed the last two games due to an upper body injury. Bozak finished his season with the Leafs with 12 goals and 16 assists

So tonight is Game one and with Boston having the home-ice advantage, it’s being played at the TD Garden!

Here’s a look at the rest of the schedule (so you can play your life around it like me!):
Game 2 @ Boston: Saturday May 4, 7:00pm
Game 3 @ Toronto: Monday May 6, 7:00pm
Game 4 @ Toronto: Wednesday May 8, 7:00pm
Game 5 @ Boston: Friday May 10, 7:00pm
Game 6 @ Toronto: Sunday May 12 (if needed)
Game 7 @ Boston: Monday May 13 (if needed)

Puck drops at 7pm TONIGHT and you can check out the game on NESN!
BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Boston Bruins Season Awards

Patrice Bergeron (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight prior to the start of the Bruins game they announced the winners for the Eddie Shore, Elizabeth Dufresne, John Bucyk and Three Stars Awards. 

The Eddie Shore Award is given to the player that shows exceptional hustle and determination throughout the duration of the season. It almost goes without saying that the recipient of this award for the 2013 season is Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron has once again been an integral part of the Bruins team and without his stellar faceoff percentage and offensive prowess, the Bruins wouldn’t be in the playoffs.

The next award given was the Elizabeth Dufresne, given to the player who was the most outstanding player at home throughout the season. Once again, Patrice Bergeron was called upon. His home-ice statistics for this season: 8 goals, 13 assists, +20 rating in 20 games. He averaged 14:26 of ice time and took 419 faceoffs, winning 280 of them for a 66.8% overall. There was also a $25,000 donation made to the OneFund Boston Foundation with this award.

The recipient of the John Bucyk Award is awarded to the player for outstanding service in the community along with a $1,000 donation to a charity of the players’ choice. This year’s recipient for his contributions to charitable endeavors, Gregory Campbell.

Last but not least came the Three Stars Awards, given to the team’s top three performers of the season that  contributed most to team’s success throughout the year. Star #3 of the year went to Tyler Seguin who ranked 4th on the team in points and second in goals with 32 and 16 respectively. Star #2, Patrice Bergeron who by the end of tonight’s game will have locked up #1 with his faceoff percentage for best in the league. The Boston Bruins #1 Star of the season, Tuukka Rask, earning himself 5th in the National Hockey League with his 1.97 goals against average and a save percentage of .930 ranking him 3rd in the league.

Earlier this week the team also announced this year’s 7th Player Award recipient, being awarded to Bruins rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton, a player who fans voted exceeded the expectations set for him this season.

There’s only one trophy left for the Bruins to win and after tonight’s game, they have to play their hearts out and bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston. We are after all, BOSTON STRONG.

 

7th Player Award Goes To…

Dougie Hamilton (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight the Boston Bruins made their Seventh Player Award presentation. The award is given to an individual who “has gone above and beyond the call of duty and exceeded everyone’s expectations,”. The 44th recipient of the award for the 2013 season is 19 year old, rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

This season, Dougie’s first in the NHL, he has managed to post 5 goals and 11 assists, good enough for 15th in the league among top rookies overall. Looking at just defensemen, he ranks second with both his goals and points..  He’s also sporting a plus-6 rating on the season.

Hamilton started the 2012-13 season with the Niagra IceDogs (Ontario Hockey League) where he skated in 32 games, notching eight goals and 33 assists for 41 points.

In addition to winning the trophy, Hamilton is also the recipient of $5,000 to the charity of his choice.

While he has been decent in his rookie season, the choice came as a shock to Bruins fans across the social media outlets. Many believing the award should have belonged to Daniel Paille. In this season, Paille has managed to post 9 goals and 7 assist (tying Dougie for points). Two of his 9 goals have been shorthanded goals, ranking him fourth in the NHL. Unfortunately for Paille, the girls love the young guns allowing Dougie to be the recipient. At least he has time to admire his trophy in the stands as he watches from the team box.

Previous recipient: Tyler Seguin

 

Bruins Shut Out Panthers; Snap Losing Streak

Today the Boston Bruins took to the ice against the Florida Panthers with one thing in mind: picking up a win. As the season comes to a close, the Bruins have been less than stellar lately. Whether it be because of emotion or injury, it was time for the B’s to get back on track. Today they looked to end their four-game losing streak while the Panthers are looking to preventing losing four of four on their roadtrip.  Tuukka Rask would start his second game in two days opposite the Panthers Jacob Markstrom. 

Nathan Horton and Adam McQuaid would both be out of lineup with injuries, meaning Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton would make their way back in.

Rask earned the shutout today! (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

It took only 3 minutes and 3 seconds into the first period for the Bruins to get the first goal of the game. Jaromir Jagr would score his second goal as a Bruin with Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg getting the assists. Jagr has two goals and six assists in just nine games with the black and gold. And lets not forget that Soderbergs assist was his NHL point. I have a feeling that’s the first of many. That would be the lone goal of the first period but it was clear that the B’s knew they needed to come out of this game with two points. Also, I would like to point out that Rask was playing yet another solid game stopping all seven shots on net.

Second period came around with the B’s fighting off the remainder of a Rich Peverley slashing penalty. Florida would be unable to get any goals past Rask and we would be back to an even game. The Bruins would get a chance to go on the power play and though they wouldn’t register any goals, they did get many shots on net. 8 minutes into the second the B’s were outshooting the Panthers 10-1. With 6:27 left in the period Dougie Hamilton would score his fifth of the season with a drive from the right point that was a thing of beauty. That goal would not have happened without Shawn Thornton on the assist keeping that puck in the offensive zone the entire time.

Coming into the third it should be noted that the B’s are 14-2-2 with a two-goal lead going into the final period. With 1:22 remaining in the game, the Bruins sealed the win with an empty net goal from Brad Marchand assisted by his lineys Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron. Marchand leads the team with 18 goals. And with that the Bruins snap their losing streak. Rask earned his 15th career shutout with 28 saves today.

The three stars of the game are 1. Rask, 2. Jagr, 3. Hamilton.

After the game the Bruins took part in their annual “shirts of their back” ceremony. The jerseys usually go to season ticket holders. Hower with recent events, the ticket holders opted for their jerseys to go to first responders that helped during the Marathon bombings and all of the events that took place in Boston this past week. This ceremony was truly inspiring and is further reason why I love my Boston Bruins!

B’s are back in action Tuesday night in Philly against the Flyers.

 

Bruins Blow By Hurricanes

 

After losing to rival Montreal, the Boston Bruins knew they would have to come out on top against the Carolina Hurricanes. With so few games remaining in the season, the B’s are so close to clinching the playoff’s but to do so they need wins. Chris Kelly would return to the lineup the featured some player swapping. Tyler Seguin would move to the third line with Kelly while Gregory Campbell would center the second line.

Tuukka Rask would get the start opposite the Canes Jusitn Peters.

Two goals tonight for Marchand! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

The first period would kick off with Rich Peverley ending his 10-game goalless streak with a goal at 3:51. Pevs was able to get passed Peters with the wraparound goal with the assists going to Dennis Seidenberg and Andrew Ference. Four minutes later Brad Marchand would notch his 15th goal of the season thanks to a perfect set up from his linemates Campbell and Jaromir Jagr. With that Justin Peters would be pulled after allowing two goals on four shots and  Dan Ellias would step up in net. Marchy wasn’t done for the period  because with 2:40 to go in the period he would score. Jagr and Seidenberg would each get assists on that. This is Marchand’s 8th career two goal game.

Second period would start just like the first did with a Bruins goal! This time it was Andrew Ference with his third of season. Seids and Soupy would get the assists on that review goal. This would be the third assist for Seidenberg and his first three point game as a Bruin. Just so we’re keeping track the Bruins are now up 4-0 against Carolina. Halfway through the second, Jordan Caron would make it a five goal lead with his first goal of the season. Caron’s liney’s Peverley and Shawn Thornton would get the assists for that beauty of a goal. With 21 shots on goal thus far, the B’s have scored five. Carolina has 30 shots on net but none managed to get past Rask. Tonight marks first four-goal and five-goal leads this season for Boston.

Third period wasn’t as exciting. In fact it dragged quite a bit. It dragged just like Eric Staal’s skate when he tried to kick in a goal with 10ish minutes remaining. Pretty sure that just added to the Canes frustrations BUT they would score at 10:03 thanks to a goal from Patrick Dwyer, his seventh of the season. So it wouldn’t be a shutout for Rask. 45 seconds later Drayson Bowman would score making this a 5-2 game. With 3:04 remaining, the Bruins would find the back of the net yet again with Dougie Hamilton setting up Nathan Horton for his 13th of the season. The Bruins now have six goals and this is the most they’ve scored in a game all season. Milan Lucic would also get an assist on that.

Now the Bruins won and that’s great but there are a few things that they need to work on. Rask may have stopped 40-of-42 shots but he shouldn’t have to face that many if the defense was doing their job. And I think it’s best that I don’t speak of our ever terrible power play.

Hey a win is a win and the Bruins have proved that on home ice they do pretty well. The boys are back in action Wednesday in New Jersey to take on the Devils.

 

Two U’s, Two K’s, Two Much Needed Points

There was one thing on the Boston Bruins minds tonight when they took on the Toronto Maple Leafs: revenge. With 18 games remaining in the Bruins season, every game is equally important. Especially when riding the coattails of the first place team (Montreal Canadiens).

Tonight the Bruins had a chance to take two points at home and tie for the Northeast division title. Obviously taking two points away from a fellow Northeast division team is important but tonight they’re looking to take them from a team that beat them Saturday night.  In net would be Tuukka Rask  against James Reimer. Rask was put into the game on Saturday after Anton Khudobin was pulled but there’s no doubt that he’ll be ready to go.

Bergeron would get the shoot out win! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

The first period was scoreless so the second period both teams looked to get on the board fast. Unfortunately it was the Maple Leafs who would draw the first goal. It would be a power play goal due to a “interference” call on Aaron Johnson. Quotes were needed for that one because that call was very so so if you ask me. Anyway Joffery Lupul in his first game back from suspension would get his fourth of the year. Within the 12 minute mark, the Leafs would go up 2-0 on a breakaway goal from Nikolai Kulemin.  With 9:49 to go Milan Lucic would score his first goal in 16 games, with the assists going to Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron.

We entered the third with the Maple Leafs up by 1 and it would stay that way for a bit. That is until Patrice Bergeron got the puck off of assists from Dougie Hamilton and Brad Marchand at 10:36. And now friend we would have a tied game. As the game went on so did the physicality, mostly after whistles. Most notably was a scrum that would result in a four-on-four with Andrew Ference and Dion Phaneuf.  Regulation would end in a tie.

Overtime would come and go with both teams getting their chances. The game would come down to a shoot out. At this moment I am proud of the B’s for coming back and tying up the game. We’ve been waiting for the slump to end and I think  this game served as a wake up call.

Here’s how the shootout went:
Tyler Seguin : SCORES!
Tyler Bozak : SCORES!
Patrice Bergeron : SCORES!
Nzaem Kadri : MISS
Brad Marchand : MISS
Nikolai Kulemin : MISS

BRUINS WIN!!! Boston is now tied for first in the Northeast division with the Canadiens, which coincidentally is who they will play next.

P.S: thank you Jack Edwards for that beauty of a title!

Khokhlachev Joins P-Bruins, Prospect and Injury Updates

Alex Khokhlachev’s OHL season ended when his team didn’t qualify for the playoffs and he joined the Providence Bruins for his first practice yesterday morning. The exciting prospect is expected to make his AHL debut tomorrow night. (Photo: Flickr/slidingsideways)

Alex Khokhlachev has joined the Providence Bruins and is expected to finish the season with the team. After his OHL team, the Windsor Spitfires, saw their season end with the OHL regular season as they didn’t qualify for the playoffs, Khokhlachev became eligible to play in the AHL.

Koko spent half the season in the KHL and joined his OHL team in January. He also played for Team Russia in the World Junior Championships this year in Ufa, Russia, helping his team earn a bronze medal.

In the KHL, he played for his father’s team, Moscow Spartak. In 26 games he only had 2 goals and 5 assists. When he re-joined his OHL team, where he played the previous 2 seasons, he was more successful with 22 goals and 26 assists in 29 games.

Khokhlachev was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2011 draft by the Bruins at #45 overall. The 19 year old from Moscow joined Providence for his first practice on Wednesday. In his first practice, he reportedly centered a line with Jamie Tardif and Kyle MacKinnon on his wings. He will make his Providence Bruins debut on Friday when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

In other Providence Bruins news, Jared Knight reportedly also joined Providence at practice yesterday. The 2010 2nd-round draft pick has missed the majority of his first professional hockey season due to a recurring hamstring injury. He wore a red jersey to indicate no contact, but skating with the team is hopefully a positive sign in his ongoing recovery.

Despite the progress, Mark Divver reports that P-Bruins Coach Butch Cassidy has ruled out Knight’s return to the line-up until at least April. Learning from mistakes already made this season, the team is being very cautious with Knight so as to not re-aggravate his injured hamstring:

 Even when he’s 100%, he might not play right away

Hopefully that will mean a healthy Knight for the playoffs. The P-Bruins are poised to make for the first time since the 2008-09 season. That year, the P-Bruins lost in the 3rd round to the Hershey Bears. They were able to have such a good playoff run that year because they had Tuukka Rask in net. Niklas Svedberg, who has already earned 30 wins in his rookie season, could take the team as far as Rask did. It should be an exciting playoff season, especially if Anthony Camara‘s OHL team’s season ends and he, too, can join Providence. Camara’s team, the Barrie Colts, face the Kingston Frontenacs in the 1st round of the OHL playoffs, which start tonight.

Prospect Updates

Camara finished the regular season with the 13th most goals in the OHL (36), and 6th in power play goals with 15. Like Khokhlachev, Camara was drafted by the Bruins in 2011. He went in the 3rd round at #81 overall. The Bruins 1st choice in that draft, of course, was Dougie Hamilton, who went at #9 overall  (Thanks Kessel!)

Prospects from the 2012 entry draft that currently play in the OHL are doing well – specifically Boston’s #1 pick that year (at 24th overall), Malcom Subban. PK’s younger brother is the goaltender for the OHL’s Belleville Bulls. Subban has led the Bulls to the #1 seed in the playoffs, as they face off against the Mississauga Steelheads in the 1st round starting tonight.

In the 68-game regular season, Subban appeared in 46 games for the Bulls and had a 29-11-4 record. He had the best GAA (2.14) and save percentage (.934) in the OHL this season. He had the 5th most wins in the OHL among goaltenders, despite missing time to join Team Canada as the starting goaltender at the WJC, and had the 2nd most shutouts (5), with 2 goaltenders tied for 1st at 7. Despite Canada’s disappointing appearance at the WJC, Subban was not entirely to blame.

Picked by the Bruins in the 5th round at 131st overall, Seth Griffith is also a league leader in the OHL with his team, the London Knights (despite missing a number of games with a hand injury).  In 54 games this season, he has 33 goals, 48 assists (11th best in OHL), and 81 points (also 11th best). His 22 power play assists are tied for 10th best.

Cody Payne was drafted in 2012 at #145 overall in the 5th round.

In 66 games played, the 19 year old RW scored 24 G & 21 A for the Whalers this season, while also chipping in 75 PIM in a display of his more physical side… – From The Hockey Writers, a nice post about the prospects as the OHL regular season ended.

Subban, Griffith, and Payne are not eligible to join Providence, however, since they do not have contracts with the Bruins yet. Camara recently signed a contract and therefore will be eligible.

Transactions

In transaction news from Providence, goaltender Adam Morrison has been reassigned to Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. He joined the P-Bruins last week while Michael Hutchinson nursed a hip injury, but Hutchinson is back to 100%. He did not appear in any games over the weekend although he dressed as Svedberg’s backup on Friday and Saturday. Defenseman Ryan Button has also been reassigned to the ECHL, to the South Carolina Stingrays.

Other Injuries

In delayed injury news, Chris Bourque is out indefinitely after Cody Goloubef of the Springfield Falcons delivered a cheap shot last weekend. Goloubef was suspended for 2 games by the AHL for the hit.

Christian Hanson, who is out with an injured hand, is “50-50” for this weekend, as is Tyler Randell. Hanson’s injury has had a noticeable impact on the Bruins, especially in the faceoff circle. Hanson, a very underrated role player, is Coach Cassidy’s go-to guy in the faceoff circle – even more reliable to win draws than Captain Trent Whitfield and Ryan Spooner. Hopefully he will be back soon.

Providence currently sits at 2nd overall in the Eastern Conference with 81 points. If the playoffs started today, they would face the Hershey Bears. I recommend checking out the AHL’s daily playoff primer for more information as we prepare to enter the final stretch of the AHL regular season and start the playoffs.

P-Bruins Best Sharks in Shootout

Craig Cunningham scored twice tonight and for the 6th time in 3 games. He has now hit the 20 goal mark in each of his 2 seasons with the Providence Bruins.

Trent Whitfield scored the shootout winner in the 7th round to propel the Providence Bruins over the Worcester Sharks 4-3 on Saturday night in Worcester. Niklas Svedberg stopped 6 of 7 shooters and made 45 saves en route to his 28th win of the season as the P-Bruins improved to 35-18-0-5 on the season. Christian Hanson scored his 9th of the season while Craig Cunningham added 2 power play goals and the only other Providence shootout goal to reach the 20-goal milestone on the season.

Cunningham’s 20 goals now place him 2nd on the team, behind Jamie Tardif with 26, but it also ties his personal best in the AHL when he had 20 goals as a rookie last season for Providence. Last season, Cunningham had 36 points in 76 games and is poised to beat that this season as he stands at 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points in 58 games this season. Cunningham has scored 6 goals in the last 3 games.

Hanson also extended his own point-scoring streak with his 6th point in 5 games with his 3rd period goal. Hanson’s goal put the Bruins ahead 3-2 before Worcester tied it up in the final minute of play with the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker.

Worcester opened up the scoring at 9:40 of the 1st period on Sebastian Stalberg‘s 9th of the year from Denny Urban and Tommy Grant. Svedberg denied Worcester the opportunity for a 2-goal lead when James Livingston was awarded a penalty shot at 13:33 of the 1st period. Svedberg has stopped both penalty shots he has faced this season – in November, he stopped Chad Kolarik, then of the Connecticut Whale – and leads the AHL with 6 shootout wins. Needless to say, Svedberg is excellent in one-on-one shooter situations.

Providence didn’t get on the scoreboard until 21 seconds into the 2nd period on a carry-over power play. Daniil Tarasov was sent to the penalty box for slashing at 19:06 of the first period, and Cunningham was able to convert on the power play. Cunningham’s 19th of the season came from Torey Krug and Chris Bourque. It was Bourque’s first point since returning to the AHL from Boston, and Krug’s first point in 5 games – since the end of February.

Cunningham scored his 20th of the season later in the 2nd period on a 2-man advantage. Adam Comrie went to the box at 10:16 of the 2nd for cross-checking and was joined by teammate (and older brother to Dougie Hamilton) Freddie Hamilton 35 seconds later when he was whistled for hooking. Bourque and Krug each picked up their 2nd assists of the night on Cunningham’s ensuing 5-on-3 goal, which marked his 20th of the season and 9th power play goal.

Providence stayed ahead for only a few minutes before Hamilton redeemed himself with his 8th goal of the season at 13:02 of the 2nd period, with assists from Travis Oleksuk and goaltender Harri Sateri.

The score remained locked at 2 until late in the 3rd period when Hanson scored his 9th of the season from Matt Bartkowski and Justin Florek at 16:36 of the 3rd period. Unfortunately, with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker in the final minute of play, Worcester tied the game once again at 3 to send it to overtime. John McCarthy, who led all skaters with 8 shots on net, scored the game-tying goal at 19:00 of the 3rd; it was his 9th of the season from Bracken Kearns and Tarasov.

For the 5th time in 11 games this season, overtime produced no goals and the game went to a shootout. Denny Urban converted for Worcester and Cunningham for Providence, sending it to extra rounds. Trent Whitfield beat Sateri in the 7th round to give the P-Bruins the 2 points.

Providence went 2-for-3 on the power play and was a perfect 1-for-1 on the penalty kill as they pulled ahead to 6-3-0-2 in the season series versus the Sharks. They have 1 more game against the divisional rival this season.

The 3 stars of the game were: (3) Svedberg; (2) McCarthy; and (1) Cunningham. Providence faces off against the Connecticut Whale tomorrow afternoon at 3pm at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence.

Bruins Drop Three-Goal Lead in OT

Dougie Hamilton earned his third of the season tonight instilling the Bruins a 3-0 lead for the second time this season. (photo credit: Steph Vail/ Flickr)

Tonight the Boston Bruins headed to the Capitol in hopes of bouncing back into the win column and exacting revenge on the Capitals after last season’s playoff elimination. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and the Bruins blew a three-goal lead from the first period and dropped the ball in overtime.

The first period was exactly what was needed from the Bruins. They found themselves on the penalty kill with a hooking call from Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand, being one of the B’s best penalty killers, jumped at a shorthanded opportunity. In the process he was hooked and slashed by none other than Alex Ovechkin and was awarded a penalty shot. Marchand brought the puck in, deked left and waited for Holtby to commit and found a way to stuff the puck five-hole on Holtby for an early 1-0 lead.

Back pressure from Milan Lucic helped the Bruins score their next goal as he helped bring the puck up ice after a turnover and help break up a two-on-one opportunity for the Caps. He was able to bring the puck back into the offensive zone for the Bruins, find Chara who unleashed a slapshot a little high, hitting Krejci in the leg, and then banking in his own rebound for a 2-0 lead.

With 1:45 remaining in the period Alex Ovechkin was hauled off to the penalty box for a call that, honestly, shouldn’t have been made. Ovechkin placed a shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Chris Kelly in the neutral zone in front of the bench area a half second after Kelly released the puck and got called for interference. However, the Bruins stepped up to the plate and did what they had to do to get the job done. They used their cycling game to move the puck from the corner up to the point where Dougie Hamilton was waiting to unleash a shot. There was a slight screen in front of Holtby, just enough for him to not realize what was going on and give Hamilton his third of the season and the Bruins their second 3-goal lead of the season.

Through the next twenty minute frame a completely different game began to evolve as the Capitals fought their way back on the scoreboard and contained the Bruins. Ovechkin helped the Capitals score the first goal of the game with an initial shot that led to a scramble out in front to which Ribeiro was able to put past the netminder. Tomas Kundratek would score the second goal for his first of the season right off of the face off.

The third period provided a lot of opportunities for the Bruins and Capitals alike, but it would be the Caps insistence that would eventually put them up with a game-tying goal from Wojtek Wolski thanks to a pass from Fehr in the final minutes. The game-winning goal in overtime came from an off-balance Eric Fehr who was able to beat the defense and Rask and win the game for Washington in a similar fashion as the playoff loss last season.

The Bruins next game is Thursday against he Toronto Maple Leafs where they look to earn their eighth straight win and second of the season.