B’s Go For Three; Game Four Preview

Tonight the Boston Bruins have the chance to go up three games to one against the Toronto Maple Leafs and from that the chance to clinch the series Friday night back at the TD Garden. On the other hand, tonight the Leafs have the chance to yet again even out the series 2-2 and force a game six.

(Credit; Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Monday night was a big night for the Bruins having them not only take advantage of the series, but do it in front of a Toronto crowd that hadn’t seen a playoff game IN Toronto since 2004. Needless to say the crowd was pumped but unfortunately didn’t get the win they’d been looking for. Tonights game is also in Toronto so you can bet the crowd will be just as wild in pumping up the Leafs.

Bringing the Bruins Hockey
The Bruins were simply the better team on Monday night. They were winning faceoffs (45-of-75) and not giving up the puck as easily as they were for Game two. It helps that Tuukka Rask is in net because he shut the door on the Leafs Monday stopping 45-of-47 shots. The past two games, it was the defense coming in HUGE for the Bruins scoring wise but game three it was all about the offense. And particularly the line of Nathan Horton, David Krejci, and Milan Lucic, who combined for two goals and eight points in the game three victory. The line has now combined for five goals and 17 points in the series. The Bruins are one of the few teams that have stars on all four lines of their offense and Monday was a prime example of that. If the B’s can continue to work their offensive magic and get past James Reimer or any other Leaf backup, then they should be to pick up the win.

Toronto Can Talk but Can They Win?
It’s no secret that the Maple Leafs were the more dominant team in Game two but they seemed to have lost all of that momentum in Game 3. The Bruins lead the NHL in faceoffs all year so it’s no surprise going up against a mediocre faceoff team like Torono that the B’s would have the upper hand. However the Leafs are reasoning the B’s faceoff success with cheating something Claude Julien refers to as “crying wolf”.  When in all actuality the Leafs lost because of all their turnovers and the brick wall that is Rask. The Leafs had a season high 47 shots on net Monday night but only managed two past Rask. If Toronto want’s to win they’ll have to figure out what the spark was on Saturday that gave them the edge and use it. Otherwise the B’s offense will complete to run through their defense.

Who’s Hot?
For the Bruins, it’s David Krecji. Krecji right now is easily playing the best postseason of his career with two goals and seven points in just three games. Those stats lead all players in the postseason. Krecji’s liney Milan Lucic is also having a stellar performance thus far with a five-point scoring streak and six assists in the three playoff games. On Toronto’s end is Boston’s fave Phil Kessel who has registered a goal in each of the past two games.

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

BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

Bruins Take it to Toronto; Win 5-2

Emotions were high in Toronto as the Boston Bruins took on the Toronto Maple Leafs for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Once again it would be Tuukka Rask in net against James Reimer. This is the first playoff game played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto so needless to say Toronto fans brought their A-Game with cheers and emotion. At the end of this game, one team would hold a one-game lead over the other.

Adam McQuaid scored his first playoff goal EVER tonight! (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

Right from the start both teams came out of the gate looking refresh and ready to win. Both Goalies were making the stops and both teams were getting shots on net. It was a pretty back and fourth start to the game. With 6:18 remaining in the first, the B’s would win the face off and with a quick release Adam McQuaid would get the Bruins on the board first. This is Quaider’s first career playoff goal through 35 playoff games. Thus far the Bruins have scored 7 goals in this series and four of them have come from defensemen. Milan Lucic would get his fourth assist of the postseason and David Krejci would get his second. Toronto would get the first power play of the game off of a Jaromir Jagr tripping penalty with just over two minutes left in the game. B’s would kill the penalty and the first period would come to an end. The Bruins would end the first with 17 shots on net, while the Maple Leafs had 12.

Early into the second period, the Bruins would get their first power play of the game after Ryan O’Byrne gets two for an interference call. The B’s PP I would say is a “work in progress” as in it’s been working on getting better for as long as I can remember so needless to say they couldn’t take advantage of the extra man. At 14:03 Jagr with the takeaway feeds it to Rich Peverley who would make it 2-0 for the Bruins. Its the first points for both Pevs and Jagr of the postseason. The Maple Leafs would go on the power play but it would be short lived since they would soon get a penalty of their own. We had ourselves a little four-on-four action and then the B’s would have an extra man for 40 seconds. Neither team would get anything from the PP and at this point Toronto was looking a little desperate. This wouldn’t be the last of the Toronto man advantage in the period and with 6:15 left in the second they would finally use it. Jake Gardner would get the Leafs on the board and make it a 2-1 game. 50 seconds later Nathan Horton would score another goal for the Bruins making it 3-1 B’s. The Bruins would give Toronto ANOTHER PP but this time it would be the B’s who would utilize it with Daniel Paille scoring a shorthanded goal off a pass from Phil Kessel with 3:23 left in the period. THANK YOU KESSEL (it never gets old).

The third period would start with four seconds of 4-on-4 followed by yet another Toronto power play for 1:27 seconds. 47 seconds into that power play, Kessel would get a goal. For the record, I’m not taking back that TY Kessel from above. Now the game is 4-2 and the B’s have a little less breathing room. Four of the seven Toronto goals this series have been on the man-advantage. With the two minute warning, Toronto pulls Reimer hoping to make a comeback but it’s short lived with a Krejci empty netter. Jack Edwards said it best by referring to that goal as a “dagger in the heart” of Toronto.

Bruins would win 5-2 and now lead the series 2-1. They face off again in Toronto for Game 4 Wednesday night.

BELIEVE IN BOSTON!

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 Finish Fourth in Regular Season

With it being the last game of the regular season for the Boston Bruins, two points have never been more important. With a win, the Bruins will win the Northeast division and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. With a loss, the Bruins will be the fourth seed in the division, but will have home ice edge. Basically TWO points decide the first round of playoffs for three different Eastern Conference pairings.

Since it’s a “need to win” kind of the night, the Bruins kept the same lineup as last night and Tuukka Rask would get the start opposite Robin Lehner. 

Peverley (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

The “need to win” vibe was definitely filling the TD Garden right from the start. Most notably I want to point out former Senator Kaspars Daugavins who would end up leading the team with 3 shots on net (of 13 for the B’s) after the first. He’s been very good the past few games and hopefully will pick up his first B’s goal soon. With 3:01 left in the first, the Senators would get the first goal of the night. Erik Condra would get his fourth goal of the season. Soon after, Milan Lucic would drop gloves with Chris Neil. Two fights in the last three for Looch, it’s safe to say he’s back! The Bruins would end the first on the PK with Brad Marchand getting a late slashing call. Despite being down, the B’s would be leading the Senators in shots on net 13-9.

Depite being on their supposed “A-Game” the Bruins haven’t been registering any goals on Lehner. It’s clear that they are trying to pick up the two points as much as the B’s. The Bergeron line once again brings pressure and gets several good shots on net but no goals past Lehner. With under 10 minutes to go in the second, Jared Cowen would make this a 2-0 game for the Senators. This is not the time for the B’s to be letting high point goals…or any kind of goals in. With exactly two minutes remaining in the game, the Bruins would go on the power play. Usually, that really doesn’t do much for the B’s scoring wise but apparently it woke the B’s up. With just 3.4 seconds to go Wade Redden would chip the puck to Rich Peverley for the Bruins to get a power play goal and make it a 2-1 game. Boston is still out shooting Ottawa 28-19 after two periods. Now the third period is more important than ever!

It took 14 seconds into the third but Dennis Seidenberg and the Bruins would tie the game.  Looch and the Daug Man would both get assists on the goal. That would be Daugavins first point as a Bruin and like I said earlier this was overdue. Just so we’re keeping track that would technically be two goals in 18 seconds for the Bruins. With 3 and a half to go, Ottawa would once again get the lead. Plain and simple, they caught the Bruins standing still. Jean-Gabriel Peageau would get that goal for the Senators. The Senators would seal the deal with an empty net goal.

With the loss, this means the Bruins are now the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. That series is set to start Wednesday!

 

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.

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.

 

Northeast Showdown Between Bruins and Senators

This is the fourth meeting of five between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators and thus far the B’s are 3-for-3. Tonight they look to make it four and continue their perfect record against the Senators.  They have won in regulation, over time, and a shoot out against the Ottawa team. With two points on the line, and the Bruins currently riding the Montreal Canadiens coat tails for first place, this game is important. While Boston is fighting for first, Ottawa isn’t too far behind as they trail the B’s by four points in standings. So let me repeat again: this game is IMPORTANT!

(Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

B’s back on track?
After dropping two games, the Bruins picked up a much needed win Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres. Not only was it was win, but it was a shut out for goalie Anton Khudobin. Their recent set back is what has put them in second place in the division so hopefully Sunday’s win was a step forward. If they Bruin want to win, all four lines need to show up to play. Sunday’s win was about the first line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic, and Nathan Horton. And while that’s all fine and dandy, there are many players on this team that need to step up especially considering the trade deadline is fast approaching.

Senators first stop: Boston
Ottawa is about to enter a seven game roadie and what better way than to begin at the TD Garden. The Senators are coming off of a 4-0 shutout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs after previously winning three straight games. Now obviously Ottawa hasn’t exactly done well when facing the Bruins this season but they are looking to change that tonight. Goalie Robin Lehner will most likely get the start as he has the previous three times against the Bruins.H e allowed two goals in each of the three previous games, and one of those includes 44-save effort in his season debut back in February.

Who’s Hot:
Since the Senators did get shut out anyone that was hot has cooled off. However before that game forward Mike Zibanejad had a four-game point streak. For the Bruins like I said before it’s all about the Krejci line. Krejci scored his first goal in seven games, and Horton also scored in Sunday’s win.

Injury Report:
The B’s are still without Adam McQuaid (shoulder) and Chris Kelly (tibia) though it was reported that both skated yesterday so hopefully this is a good sign. Meanwhile Ottawa will be missing enter Jason Spezza (back), defenseman Erik Karlsson (Achilles), Milan Michalek (knee), Craig Anderson (ankle) and Jared Cowen (hip).

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

Bruins Shut Out Sabres

It took until the final ten minutes of regulation for one team to show up and make goals happen,  and fortunately it was the Boston Bruins that decided to be that team. The Bruins took to the ice tonight against the Buffalo Sabres looking to bounce back from back-to-back loses this past week. And while it took a LONG time for the B’s to get any sort of momentum, they eventually did.

Anton Khudobin would earn his second shut out as a Bruins stopping 26 shots on net, while Ryan Miller would take the loss for Buffalo. Boston is now one point away from first place in the Northeast division, falling behind the Montreal Canadiens.

Krejci’s line once again proved they were valuable! (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

The two goals that the Bruins would score would come less than three minutes apart and were brought to you by the B’s top line. David Krecji would be the first to put the Bruins on the board with 7:06 remaining in the game. Matt Barkowski would get his first NHL point off an assist to that goal, and Nathan Horton would pick up his 9th assist of the season. With 4:16 left Krejci would return the favor to Horty setting him up for a tap-in goal. Milan Lucic would also get an assist for that goal.

This is the third win for Boston in eight games which isn’t exactly something to praise. Fortunately it is the end of March now so ideally that would be the end of the brutal March slump.

The boys have the day off tomorrow but return home Tuesday night to take on the Ottawa Senators.

Bruins Battle Montreal For First

Two points on the line for two teams that as of now are tied for first place in the Northeast division. Tonight the Boston Bruins will take on their best friends the Montreal Canadiens for possibly one of the most important games of the season. This is the third of four meetings between the teams with each having a win against thus far. The big picture of tonight is that at the end of the game one team will be the leader of the Northeast division and with the season halfway over, that’s an important place to be.

Milan Lucic scored his first goal in 16 games on Monday night! (Credit: Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Bruins back on track:
After a pretty brutal road trip, the Bruins managed to come from behind and get a win on Monday via shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now the game wasn’t pretty but two points is two points and that is what has them in this tie with the Canadiens. The B’sn are on a crazy schedule right now that doesn’t allow for many days of rest which is showing in the games played. Yesterday’s practice was cancelled so ideally the boys are well rested for tonight.

Canadiens cool down:
After a five-game winning streak, the Canadiens are 1-2-1. This has been ideal for Boston as they have been able to keep up and now be at a time with Montreal. They are coming off of a 1-0 shutout loss yesterday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It would in Boston’s best interest to take advantage of the last of rest the Canadiens have had.

PK Versus PP:
The Bruins penalty kill is still top in the league at 91.7% while the power play is sitting at 25th place at 15.1%. Oddly enough there are teams that have a worse power play unit. As for Montreal they are 9th in PP (20.9%) and 18th in PK (80.3%).

Tuukka Rask and Carey Price are two of the best goaltenders in the league right now so look for both to get the starts tonight. Price has stopped 40 of the past 43 shots he’s faced (.930 save percentage). He has 16 games allowing two goals or fewer. Rask allowed just two goals on 25 shots during Monday’s game and has a 15-4-3 record heading into tonights game. His 1.90 GAA is second in the league, while his .928 save percentage is third. I don’t expect either goalie to let up any soft goals tonight.

Puck drops at 7:30 and this being a true rivalry night you can check out the game on NBCSN!

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!