Bruins/Penguins Eastern Conference Showdown

So the Boston Bruins didn’t win the Jarome Iginla signing, but tonight they’ll face off against him and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the TD Garden with two points on the line. The Bruins have recently joined the Pens in the Eastern Conference Playoffs but are still trying to fight off the Montreal Canadiens for first in the Northeast Division. This is the last time the two teams will meet in regular season this year. However there is a chance they could have a rematch come playoff time.

Brad Marchand rejoined the B’s following a concussion (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Bruins Refocused:
Naturally playing Wednesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres was tough for the Bruins as it was the first major sports event in Boston since the Marathon bombing. Emotions were high for players and fans alike but the B’s weren’t able to pick up the win after a come from behind win from Buffalo. You can bet tonight they will be more focused on picking up a win especially since Pittsburgh has won the past two games this season. In their last three the B’s have been winless BUT they have recently regained two key players back into the lineup by the names of Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. They reunited with their linemate Tyler Seguin and the three seemed like they were never apart.

Penguins Powering Through Injury:
Despite being without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins are well on their way to securing the Eastern Conference title. They have won five in a row and a win tonight against the Bruins would take away the B’s chance of top stop of the Eastern Conference. As of right now the Penguins are four points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for the top overall seed in all the teams.

Looch Out?
In practice yesterday, Claude Julien had Milan Lucic practicing on the fifth line meaning there’s a chance he’ll be a healthy scratch tonight. This should be no surprise to anyone watching this season as Looch has slipped tremendously and isn’t his usual gritty self. If Lucic is scratch it’s expected that newly acquired Swedish prospect Carl Soderberg will get the start. If that is the case it will be Soderberg’s Bruins debut.

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

*Both teams will be wearing jerseys that have “617” and “Boston Strong” patches that will be auctioned off for One Fund Boston.

Love For Lokomotiv

Chara is to play in the charity game in memory of the Lokomotiv team (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will be taking part in the charity game being held on August 4 to remember those that were lost in the plane crash carrying the Lokomotiv hockey team last fall.  He is among a group of European and Russian players who were deeply touched by the tragedy with the news hitting close to home as one of the players, Pavol Demitra-a Slovakia native and friend of Chara’s, died soon after take-off when the plane crashed.   Chara left Bruins practices last September to attend Demitra’s funeral services and was understandably emotional while talking about the untimely death of one of his closest friends in hockey.

The game is being held in Switzerland and is being known as a “Memory Night.” In this game there will be two teams, the Swiss League’s Kolten Flames against an All-Star team that is consisted of current and retired NHL players.  Among the players are: Evgeni Malkin,Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Beyzgalov, Sergei Gonchar and Alex Semin.  Alexei Kovalev, Alex Yashin, Sergei Fedorov and Sandis Ozolinsh are among the retired NHL players/current KHL players that will take part in the exhibition.

“Memory Night” reminds us how much of a short time it has actually been since the tragic accident took place, a day in hockey that will certainly never be forgotten. May the memories of those lost on that tragic day forever live on in our hearts.

Bruins Beatdown in Pittsburgh

David Krejci was the lone hero for the B's today (Credit: VIctoria Welch/Flickr)

Today the Pittsburgh Penguins brought their A-game in a matinee match up against the Boston Bruins. Unfortunately, the Bruins brought half empty tanks of energy and a desperation for a day off. In net for the Bruins was Tim Thomas, and in the Pens end Marc-Andre Fleury.

16:36 in the first Aaron Asham scored his 4th goal of the year off a deflected shot from Ben Lovejoy leaving the Bruins to once again play from behind, something they’ve done the last 5 games. The Bruins 1 minute later get a power play chance thanks to an interference call on James Neal. Power plays are usually good things but not when the Bruins are 1 for 20 on the PP in the last 7 games. Two minutes later makes the 1 for 21. 12:48 in Matti Niskanen puts the Bruins down by 2. I think what’s worse is Adam McQuaid went back to the dressing room after a nasty collision with Neal (he never returned). The Bruins DO NOT need more injuries. Milan Lucic goes to the box for slashing and 30 seconds in Zdeno Chara decided Looch looked lonely in the box and joined him on an interference call. 5 on 3 ended horribly with a goal from “the real deal” Neal. 3-0 Pittsburgh. 24 seconds left Dennis Seidenberg decides Chara is lonely and gets a tripping call. And that friends is how the first period ended. Is it Marty Turco time yet?

Second period and it’s Turco time! This is the first time since 2009 that neither Thomas or Tuukka Rask have been in net for the B’s (Via NHLBruins). No longer did the 2nd period start did Patrice Bergeron get hit with a puck and limp off the ice into the locker room.  2 minutes in Looch to Tyler Seguin to David Krejci for a beautiful/ well needed goal over Fleury. 3-1 Pittsburgh. Not so well needed was the Pens scored again with Chris Kunitz getting the goal. Besides that goal, I’m very impressed with Turco. Our defense is literally doing nothing so Turco is making some great moves. Halfway through the game, Krejci again scores to make it a 2 goal game. If the Bruins didn’t have the Lucic-Krejci-Seguin line, I don’t know where they would be. This is Krejci’s first 20 goal season since 2008-2009. The injuries just kept coming for the B’s when Max Sauve left the game in the second with an undisclosed injury. Sauve was brought up by Providence after Benoit Pouliot was taken out of the line up with a …you guessed it injury. At this point the B’s bench is looking pretty empty and thankfully the second period ends.

Third period was really slow. The only thing that happened in the opening minutes was a Bergeron sighting that was short lived as he took one shift on the ice and then headed back into the locker room. With 6:30 to go, Evgeni Malkin took a vicious boarding check to Johnny Boychuk who soon after left the ice with an injury. I really think that the check deserved much more than a 2 minute minor call. Pascal Dupuis on the breakaway with 3:53 to go made the game 5-2. Looch tried to prevent but as this point much like the rest of the team, he is out of energy. Good note is Boychuk returned to the bench, bad note he got a goalie interference call and Pittsburgh goes on the PP for the rest of the game. With that the game ended, and my TV went off.

The Bruins have a well needed day off tomorrow and return to the ice Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. I can only hope all the injuries from today’s game are things that’ll be fixed before Tuesday. Otherwise, I’m thinking there will be a big recall from Providence either tonight or tomorrow.

Heavy Hits and Heavy Hearts

Kris Letang and Daniel Paille battle for a puck (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight’s game sported heavy hits and even heavier hearts as the Pittsburgh Penguins went on to defeat the Bruins 2-1 at the TD Garden,but it wasn’t because of lack of effort.  As soon as the puck hit the ice to start the first period the Bruins put the pressure on, Seguin and Marchand leading the way. It was only five minutes in when they would get their first real scoring opportunity with a line drive from Seguin that went just wide of Fleury and the net. They sported really good energy through the entire first period and had a much better fore-check. It wouldn’t be until under ten seconds left in the first that Evgeni Malkin would get a rebound off of a drive from James Neal and bury it behind Thomas to put the Penguins up 1-0. To the naked eye the Bruins owned much of the first  period, they just needed to focus on getting more bodies in front of the net to create more opportunities. As Gregory Campbell put it during the first intermission:

“We’ve showed the capability of scoring goals, it’s really about shutting other teams down now. . . As a team we have to collectively regroup after a fairly good one and build on that.  We have to stay aggressive and focus on getting chances and another goal.”