Boston Bruins On the Prowl

Brad Marchand got the ball rolling for Boston, scoring the first goal of the game short-handed. (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

This afternoon the Boston Bruins are playing in their third road game of their five-game stint against the Florida Panthers. They are coming off of a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning where Nathan Horton struck Benny and the Bolts with the opening and closing goals.

The Bruins are coming off of their last two-day break before heading into today’s game and playing every other day for the rest of the season.  They currently hold a 10-2-2 record and sit third in the Northeast Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference, playing the fewest amount of games thus far than any other teams in the Conference. The Panthers are currently 5-8-4 on the season coming off of a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday evening.

The Bruins currently hold a 6-1-1 record while playing on the road this season and have killed their last 17 penalties with perfection, earning them the best penalty killing advantage in the League at 94.4%.  While their power play is still struggling to improve at a mere 13%, the Panthers don’t provide much more success registering only 17.4%.

Who’s Hot..

• Brad Marchand helped lead the Bruins to the 4-2 victory against the Lightning when he scored his ninth goal of the season to regain the lead for Boston. Marchand currently leads the Bruins squad pacing them with 9 goals this season in just 13 games.
• Dougie Hamilton posted a pair of helpers in Thursday night’s game against the Lightning for his 7th and 8th helpers of the season.
• David Krejci is currently the Bruins points leader with 4 goals and 8 assists in 14 games this season playing a pivotal role for the bruins squad.

Anton Khudobin could potentially see some time between the pipes tonight to preserve Tuukka for the stretch of games to come, but no official word has been stated. Khudobin is 2-1-0 on the season and holds a .905 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average.

Today’s game is scheduled for 3:00pm EST and can be seen on New England Sports Network with commentary from Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley ro heard on 98.5 the Sports Hub.  If you want to catch the game on line, check here.

Bruins Seek First Road Win

Even though it’s only the second road game of the season for the Boston Bruins, and even though the team is undefeated in regulation, the teams eye is on getting that first road win.

To do so the boys will have to get past the Carolina Hurricanes (2-2-0), who are coming off of a road win of their own, beating the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on Friday. This isn’t going to be easy considering last season Carolina swept Boston, beating the boys all four times they played.

Will the Merlot Line have another big game? (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

This is a new season, and this will be the first of three match ups between the two teams. If the Bruins can muster a win or an overtime game, it will be the first time since 1990-91 that they opened the season with a five-game points streak.

Summing up Carolina:
The first two games of the season for the Hurricanes were rocky at best, but since then the team has bounced back with home and home wins against Buffalo. If the Hurricanes win against the B’s, it will be the longest win streak against Boston the team has ever had (5 games)

Who to watch out for:
-Captain Eric Staal‘s hattrick on Thursday helped the team win 6-3 against the Sabres.
-Goaltender Cam Ward is the man behind the 4 wins against Boston last year with 1.25 goals-against average vs. Boston last season.

Bruins Best:
-The “Merlot” line is the reason for the teams 4-2 win over the New York Islanders on Friday. The fourth line consisting of Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille, and Gregory Campbell with each of the guys scoring at least one goal thus far this season.
–Tuukka Rask  is 3-0-1 with a 1.96 GAA and a .925 save percentage to open the season for the team. He will be playing in his 5th straight game because of his consistency.
–Dougie Hamilton had his first multi-point game on Friday and was named first star of the game.

Who’s Missing:
The Canes will be without forward Tuomo Ruutu with a hip injury and it is likely he will be missing the entire season. Meanwhile Adam McQuaid did not travel to Raleigh with the team for “personal reasons” and defenseman Aaron Johnson will take his spot on the roster for the night.

Puck drops at 7pm and you can check out the game on NESN!

Will the B’s Remain Unbeaten?

In the first three games this season, the Bruins have managed to pick up 5 out of 6 points. This is exactly the start the boys needed and tonight they look to continue it against the New York Islanders. This is the first of three meetings between the teams, and the first of two times the Islanders will come to the TD Garden. Last year, the Bruins took three out of four games against the Islanders, though the lone victory for NY came in Boston.

It’s Tuukka Time in Boston! (Credit: Flickr/Steph Vail)

The Bruins as of now are unbeaten, but they will need to work on scoring but as they have only managed seven non shootout goals thus far. In each of the Bruins victories against the Islanders last year they scored six goals.

The Islanders in a nutshell:
In the past five seasons, the Islanders have missed the playoffs so it’s safe to say little was expected this year. HOWEVER, they are coming to Boston off of a 7-4 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They are currently 2-1-0 for the season.

Who to watch out for:
–John Tavares has 5 assists in two games.
–Michael Grabner has 3 goals and 5 points in three games.
-The Islanders penalty kill is currently 10-for-10 and have a shorthanded goal.

Bruins best:
-Both Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand lead the team with 2 goals apiece in 3 games.
–Tuukka Rask has proven that he is the B’s number one goalie having a 2-0-1 record with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.
-The “new and improved” Bruins power play finally scored their first PP goal.
–Dougie Hamilton picked up his first (of many to come) NHL points.
–Nathan Horton scored his first goal of the season, and first goal in a year after coming back from a concussion.

Injury Report:
The Islanders will be without forwards Josh Bailey (knee surgery) and Jesse Joensuu (groin). On the Bruins end, their only injury is Dennis Seidenberg and he is considered day-to-day. As of this morning, he was on the ice practicing with the team so he could very well return to the lineup tonight.

Puck drops tonight at 7pm and you can check out the game on NESN!

For a look at the Islander’s side of the game, check out Arbour Day!

Bruins Beat in the Big Apple

Dougie Hamilton got his first NHL point tonight! (Credit:flickr/Steph Vail)

Saturday it was Rangers at Bruins; tonight it was Bruins at Rangers for the teams second of three meetings this season. Last game as we know went wonderfully for Boston. Tonight the Rangers were seeking one thing…REVENGE!  And sure enough they did, but it took a lot of effort. Both teams played hard and deserved to win and very rarely will I say that about anytime facing my Bruins. Tuukka Rask was in net for the third start in a row facing off against Henrik Lundqvist.

Here’s what went down in the Big Apple:

Bruins Beast the Rangers

It was Tuukka time in Boston tonight! (Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight your Boston Bruins took to the ice for the home opener of the 2012-2013 season against the New York Rangers and it was everything you could hope for in a home opener and so much more.

The B’s for the most part stuck to a similar lineup as last season but tonight brought the debut of Boston native/ Ray Bourque’s pride and joy Chris Bourque. Tonight was also the first time that the B’s first round draft pick of 2011 Dougie Hamilton would play in the NHL. Tuukka Rask is now the starting goalie for the Bruins and he faced off against Henrik Lundqvist, a man who doesn’t exactly let up against the Bruins or against any team in general.

Tonight was an exception as the Bruins beat the Rangers 3-1.

Let me break down the game by period for you.

Bruins Scrimmage Bruins and Bruins Win

Dougie Hamilton (53) attempts defensive zone coverage on the penalty kill with Jamie Tardif parked in front of the net, where he has scored the most goals and power play goals for Providence in the AHL this season before getting called up to Boston training camp (Photo Credit: Steph Vail/Flickr)

Boston, Providence, who cares? We are all Bruins.

Some people were upset that the “real” Bruins lost, but I don’t know where you’ve been the past 5 months because I’ve been in Providence watching the only “real” Bruins available to see play and they’re pretty awesome. And I am glad they won tonight, because they worked hard and it was adorable.

And also, because they are all Bruins! With the exception of 2 players on Providence that do not have contracts with the Boston Bruins (Bobby Robins and Kyle MacKinnon), every single player who played in the Black and Gold Scrimmage tonight is either on the Boston Bruins current team, in their training camp, or will be a part of their future.

Allow me to provide a quick recap for those who did not have the pleasure of experiencing the scrimmage in person at the TD Garden or watching it online live.

6 P-Bruins Invited to Training Camp; Stingrays Recalled to Providence

Lane MacDermid is one of 4 Providence forwards invited to Boston training camp, and the only forward not on the top line to receive an invite. Boston loves his work ethic and general awesomeness. (Photo: Steph Vail/me)

The Providence Bruins recalled forward Jared Knight from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. After missing 27 games due to injury, he played 2 games with the Stingrays over the weekend before returning to Providence. He recorded no points and 8 shots in 2 games in the ECHL.

The Bruins also recalled forward and Boston University alum Justin Courtnall from South Carolina. (Justin Courtnall is also the son of former Bruin Geoff Courtnall.) Forward and Northeastern alum Tyler McNeely was signed to a professional tryout contract with the Bruins along with defenseman and Providence College alum Eric Baier. These roster moves were made to fill in roster spots for the players that were invited to the Boston Bruins training camp, which will start Sunday or Monday.

The Providence Bruins players that have been invited to the Boston Bruins training camp are forwards Chris Bourque, Ryan Spooner, Jamie Tardif, and Lane MacDermid along with defensemen David Warsofsky and Matt Bartkowski. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton, currently playing in the OHL, will also be at training camp competing for a roster spot.

While this may leave the P-Bruins in a tight spot, such is the nature of being an AHL farm team. Training camp will last less than 1 week as the NHL season is set to begin January 19th, and only 1 forward and defensemen (perhaps 2, to keep a healthy scratch around) will make the actual team – so after camp is done, the players that don’t make the cut will be sent back down. I still firmly believe Chris Bourque is destined for that 3rd line spot with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly.

As an OHL player, the NHL and OHL have made adjusted arrangements for the number of games a player can play in at the NHL level before using up a year on an entry-level contract. In a normal season, it is 10 games. This year, it will be 5 games. That means if Hamilton makes the team (which I think he will), the first year of his entry-level contract will be used up by the 6th game he plays for the Bruins.

Details on exactly when camp starts and who will be there have yet to be confirmed as we wait for the NHLPA to ratify the CBA. Only a few hours ago did the NHL owners unanimously vote to ratify the CBA; the NHLPA vote will come on Saturday.

The Lockout is Over: Which Bruins Will Remain in the AHL?

Probably soon to be seen wearing a Spoked B, just like his father. :’) (Steph Vail/Flickr)

The NHL lockout is (almost officially) over, but that doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop covering Providence Bruins hockey. If the lockout has taught us (me) anything, it’s that we’ve (I’ve) been missing out on a really awesome thing in the AHL all these years. The Bruins have lots of great prospects that we are excited to now bring you coverage of in addition to actual real live NHL Boston Bruins hockey coverage.

The NHL is still several weeks away, but the Providence Bruins have a big game this afternoon! They face the Springfield Falcons at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence at 3pm (look for a full game preview right after this!) The Falcons, who sit atop the Northeast division and 3rd overall in the Eastern Conference, are coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Albany Devils on Saturday night. The lone goal scorer was Cam Atkinson, netting his 17th of the season on the power play.

Atkinson, the Falcons leading scorer (and 3rd leading scorer in the entire AHL), will soon be heading off to Columbus, however, as will many other top scorers and other stars around the AHL, including Falcons goaltender and frequent brickwall to the Providence Bruins, Curtis McElhinney. This afternoon will probably be their final game in the AHL before NHL training camp opens later this week. That means it will also be the last game (at least for a little while) for at least a few Providence Bruins as well as they will be headed up to Boston to fill out the roster. The Bruins happen to have the most players under contract out of any other team in the NHL (which puts them in cap-space jeopardy, but I don’t know the exact numbers under the new CBA yet), so we won’t have to part with many of our beloved P-Bruins.

Which Providence Bruins should we expect to see at Boston Bruins training camp? Good question. Jordan Caron, as reported yesterday, is out at least 3 weeks with an upper body injury. Poor guy got injured just in time for NHL training camp. The Boston Bruins currently have 11 forwards under contract. It breaks down as follows: David Krejci, Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic (1st line); Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin, Brad Marchand (2nd line); Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell, Daniel Paille (4th line); Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly.

That means 1 forward spot is up for grabs on that 3rd line, assuming all forwards are healthy (they are – including Horton). Who will slide into that winger spot that was previously filled by Benoit Pouliot last year and Michael Ryder the year before that?

Ryan Spooner was supposed to make a push for a spot in the lineup before the beginning of the season was canceled, but I don’t know if we will see him make it at the NHL level quite yet. Max Sauve was called up last year but injured quickly, and is coming off another injury recently. Carter Camper was also a call-up last year, scoring his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot, while Lane MacDermid fought a veteran NHL tough guy in New York Ranger Mike Rupp on his very first shift in his very first game when he was called up last year as well. But don’t expect to see those names up in Boston before you see a familiar name in a Boston Bruins jersey.

Chris Bourque will probably fill the spot of the 12th forward. First of all, just look at his style of play. Wouldn’t he fit in perfectly with Kelly and Peverley? Kelly could easily have another magical 20-goal season.

Bourque came to Boston/Providence in the off-season from Hershey/Washington. When he arrived, he signed a 2-year contract with the Bruins and Boston Globe columnist Fluto Shinzawa predicted that he “could be in the mix for bottom-six NHL duty if he has a strong training camp. Otherwise, [he] will be the go-to scorer in Providence.

Given that there was not summer training camp, and there will be a very much shortened training camp before the shortened season starts, the basis for bringing Bourque in as a bottom-six forward (which he would be if he played on Peverley & Kelly’s line) would be his strong performance as the go-to scorer in Providence. He has caught fire recently with 6 goals in the last 6 games and is by far the leading scorer for the P-Bruins with 27 points.

Then there is the added bonus that he is Ray Bourque’s son, and we all love Ray Bourque, and we all want to see the Bourque bloodline in the Spoked B rather than the Spoked P if even for just a few games. But if he were to have great success in Boston, playing under his father’s retired #77…well, that would be

B’s Prospects Named to National Junior Team Camps

Will Hamilton get a second chance at Worlds Gold? (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

Though the NHL world is wrapped up in a lock out, there is some hockey to look forward too this month. On December 26th, 10 countries will compete for gold and bragging rights at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Ulfa, Russia.

Among those participating are several Bruins prospects. Yesterday Canada announced their World Juniors selection camp roster, with Bruins 2012 first-round draft pick goalie Malcolm Subban, defenseman and 2011 ninth overall pick Dougie Hamilton, and 2011 draft pick forward Anthony Camara. Subban is one of four goaltenders to make the cut.

Today Team USA released their preliminary roster with B’s prospect and current Boston University defenseman Matt Grzelcyk making the cut.

Out of all of these players, Hamilton is the only player that has played in the World Junior Championship before.

As more rosters are released, this post will be updated if anymore B’s prospects join the ranks. Also as the tournament gets closer, all teams will cut their rosters down to three goalies and 20 skaters so we will keep you updated when the final rosters come out.

 

Bruins And The X-Factors

(Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

This season the Bruins opted to keep their roster relatively the same as they had with their Stanley Cup run. While they featured much of the same roster last season, there are a few key factors being installed this year. While we have all heard the news of there being yet another lockout, making this number three for Mr. Bettman’s career, we’re optimistic with the players around the League that there will be a season. Taking a look at the roster for the Bruins, there are two names that are going to make a large impact on the team this year, Nathan Horton and Dougie Hamilton.

When it comes to concussions, the Bruins are no stranger to either outcome when it comes to the healing process having forward Marc Savard still sidelined after a blindside hit from Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke in 2009 and forward Patrice Bergeron missing a large chunk of the 2007-2008 season due to one.  The most recent, Nathan Horton. Horton originally suffered a concussion in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but was cleared for action by last October.  However, as Horton took to the ice he still wasn’t acting quite like himself.  He was more hesitant in play-making and hardly took any shots.  Fans were beginning to wonder if he was really 100% better or if he had come back too soon.  Then November came along.  It appeared as though Horton had found his legs again and had just gotten back into the groove of things when Tom Sestito blindsided him and sidelined him for the remainder of the season.  Just ten days prior to the injury Horton had scored five goals in his past four games, matching his total from his previous 22 games in less than a week.

While Horton was present the team was averaging 3.54 goals per game, that dropped to 2.69 per game after the injury. To say that Horton is an important player and key aspect of this team would be an understatement.  As for the win-loss record, the Bruins were 31-13-2 prior and 18-16-2 afterward, not including the playoffs.

In July Coach Claude Julien announced that Horton had been medically cleared to play and would be ready for the start of the season.  If Horton can avoid having a slow start this season and come out roaring the way he did in December-January right before his injury, the Bruins will have two top scoring lines to work with for a more balanced offensive attack.  There is no question that Horton will be under an intense microscope and immense pressure to perform come the beginning of the season, but he won’t be the only one.

Although defensemen Dougie Hamilton‘s status remained unknown for some time this off-season, he will be a member of the Bruins this season, assuming he makes the team out of training camp.  The 19 year-old did state that he would go back to the OHL for the Niagara IceDogs if there’s a lockout to start the year, but he’s pretty sure he’ll be leaving Niagara to report to Bruins training camp once the CBA is finally completed. (via Joe Haggerty)

“My goal is to make the Bruins and hopefully I get that opportunity,” said Hamilton, who will miss out on the rookie preseason games on Florida that were recently cancelled in one of the first B’s casualties during the work stoppage. “Those were pretty fun games that got you ready for camp. It will be different without them, but it will obviously be different this year with the lockout. I’m just going with the flow.”(via CSNNE.com)

Hamilton has been working hard to make the Bruins squad with hardly a days rest in between camps.  He went from Bruins Development Camp to the Canada/Russia Challenge and then to World Junior tryout camp while training for NHL camp with the Bruins. He skates with his brother and some AHL and European players during the downtime in the summer. He was also a part of the  NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Toronto.

With another young gun working so hard to make it into the NHL, posting  72 points in 50 games and then before posting 23 points in 20 playoff games, the Bruins are definitely adding defensive depth to their game.  Throw Tuukka Rask into that defensive mix and you are creating a concrete barrier that is going to be hard to get through in order to score this season.