Bruins Battle Canadiens for First

As with every meeting these teams have had this season at the end of tonights game, either the Boston Bruins or the Montreal Canadiens will be number one in the Northeast division. Because this is the last meeting in regular season between the teams and the season is nearly over, tonight is important. Currently the Canadiens are in first with 53 points but the Bruins are right behind them with 52 points (Montreal also has an extra game on the B’s). This race for first just adds a little flame to one of the NHL’s most heated rivalries.

Could Chris Kelly be back in the lineup tonight? (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

B’s look for four in a row:
The Bruins are coming off of a shutout win Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils and are looking to carry that momentum on over to this game. It was Jaromir Jagr in his black and gold debut that would score the lone goal of the game and though it wasn’t pretty, it was a win. This will be Jagr’s second game for the Bruins skating on a very “youthful” line with Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand. This line has the potential to leave its mark in Montreal tonight. Tonight will also mark the Bruins debut of Wade Redden on defense.

Canadiens feeling the pressure:
Tonights game will be Montreal’s fifth game in seven days. However that hasn’t stopped them from losing first place. In fact you could say they’re very comfortable there. Prior to Friday’s game, Montreal was fourth in the League in goals per game (3.11). They have built up solid consistency that they are looking to maintain. Let’s not forget that Montreal has beaten the Bruins two out of three games thus far, which each game being decided by one goal. They are looking to take three out of four from the B’s this season.

Back so soon?
Both the Bruins and the Habs have crucial day-to-day injuries that could make a difference come game time. Chris Kelly isn’t ruled out for tonight’s game though the odds are he’ll sit it out. However it’s definitely progress that Kelly will be making his way back into the lineup soon. On Montreal’s end they could be without Tomas Plekanec, who missed Thursday’s game with a groin injury. Plekanec leads Montreal in with a goal and four assists in three games against the Bruins this season so it could be Boston advantage if he wasn’t playing.

Puck drops at 7pm tonight and you can catch the game on NESN! I’m not just saying this when I say this is a must see game.

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!

Bruins Look to Bounce Back Against Panthers

So Tuesday game in the end sucked, and there’s really no way around it. But the Boston Bruins are back at home looking to pick up the pieces from that debacle and grab a win against the Florida Panthers. This is the second of three match ups between the teams and the first one at the T.D Garden. The last game between the B’s and the Panthers was February 24th with the Bruins taking a 4-1 win.

Can Seguin continue his point streak? (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

That last game if you recall featured this beauty:

That same game the Bruins played a full 60 minute game and if they want to pick up a win they’re going to have to do just that.

Eastern Conference Contention:
Quite frankly the Bruins need this win to stay on pace with the Eastern Conference leading Montreal Canadiens. The Florida Panthers on the other hand have lost two straight and are in last place in the conference. A win for either team could be the momentum they need to get back on track. While the Bruins have played 24 games and are halfway through with the season, the Panthers have played 27 meaning they have less chances to gain points.

Banged-up Panthers:
The losses that have piled up for Florida haven’t come without many injuries to key players. The Panthers’ Kris Versteeg is sidelined once again after coming back from injury. He sustained a lower body injury Tuesday night. The injury list for the rest of the team includes defenseman Michael Caruso (wrist), Ed Jovanovski (knee), Mike Weaver (lower body) and Dmitry Kulikov (wrist), forwards Scottie Upshall (lower body),Stephen Weiss (wrist) and Sean Bergenheim (undisclosed), and goalie Jose Theodore (groin). Basically they’re many guys short. But the rest of the team is coming to Boston ready to battle so I wouldn’t count them out just yet.

Rask Rules:
Look for Tuukka Rask to be in net tonight against Florida’s Jacob Markstrom. Rask is currently second in goaltending wins one behind Montreal’s Carey Price. He is also among the top 5 goaltenders of the league with a 1.96 goals against average and .927 save percentage, ranking fourth in both categories.

Who’s hot:
For the Bruins it’s Tyler Seguin. Seguin has four goals in four games and seems to finally have gotten into his groove for this season. On the Panthers end, it’s forward  Tomas Kopecky. He has points in three straight and goals in two in a row.

Puck drops tonight at 7 and you can watch the game on NESN!

Canadiens Rally Past the Bruins 4-3

Zdeno Chara (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

The Boston Bruins are coming off a win yesterday and were looking for their seventh straight. To do so they would have to get passed their forever best friends aka rivals the Montreal Canadiens. The winner of tonight’s matchup would take over first place in the Northeast division.

Tuukka Rask would be in goal for the B’s, opposite the Canadien’s Peter Budaj.

The real story (at least to me) is tonights game was Michael Ryder‘s first as a Canadien against the Bruins. Ryder if you forgot was a part of the Stanley Cup winning team two seasons ago. From the B’s he went to the Dallas Stars and now he’s on the Habs.

First period brought A LOT of solid opportunities for goals from both sides. Andrew Ference on a holding call would give the Canadiens a power play and a goal. Tomas Plekanec would get the credit and Ryder would get the assist. But just 40 seconds later off of a face off, Tyler Seguin would notch his fifth goal of the season and we’d have a tied game. Montreal would follow that up with a goal from David Desharnais just nine seconds later. That goal was reviewed but stood much to the crowds dismay. Just so we’re clear that’s three goals in just one minute and six seconds. Bruins would end the first on a power play that would carry into the second.

Second period power play was a waste. But then at 15:54, Patrice Bergeron would tie the game! That’s Bergy’s fifth of the year and it’s another multiple point game for him. The Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin line is once again having a ridiculously good night!  So the B’s and Habs get penalties only seconds within each other making it a 4-on-4. This wouldn’t be considered an advantage but Dougie Hamilton would take advantage of it scoring his second goal of the season, and his first at home. Montreal would get a 5-on-3 power play opportunity for over a minute but the Bruins penalty killed isn’t ranked number 1 for nothing friends!  If you remember the Bruins and the Habs do not like each other and as the game goes on this becomes clearer. Milan Lucic and Brandon Prust go at with Looch OBVIOUSLY coming out on top.  Alexei Emelin cross checks Seguin hard in the ribs and Zdeno Chara unleashes at him. When I say that, I mean he went the length of the ice to get Emelin. And this is one of the many reasons I love my team! And with that the second period would come to a close.

Just 5:31 into the third period Max Pacioretty exacted revenge on the team who took him out two short years ago, netting the game-tying goal against Tuukka early on in the third. Desharnais was able to find the loose puck between the Bruins defense that was wide open in the crease and the Habs were able to regain the lead just before the halfway marker. Keep in mind both goals were scored while Bruins captain Zdeno Chara served a ten minute misconduct after sticking up for Seggy. After he came back to the game, it wasn’t so easy for the Habs to score. The Bruins tried to come back from the deficit and hammered Budaj until the final buzzer, but unfortunately fell short by a final score of 4-3, ending the Bruins win streak at 6. The Canadiens now sit in first place in the East with 2 points over the Bruins.

The B’s next game is Tuesday against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center with face off at 7:00PM on NESN.

Renew The Rivalry: Boston @ Montreal

It’s no big secret that when it comes to a Bruins/Canadiens game that it’s going to be physical. The rivalry between the two Northeast division teams is something that will probably exist forever. Growing up I was told as a Bruins fan, I was not allowed to like the Habs and I’m sure Montreal fans have heard the same about the B’s.

Anyway, tonight kicks off the first of four meetings between the teams with the Bruins making the trip to Montreal. Last season in six meetings the teams were 2-3-1 in the Bruins favor. Needless to say, tonight’s game will be close as both teams will push one another to the limit.

Will Peverley have another game for the B’s? (Credit:flickr/ Steph Vail)

What’s on the line?
Glad you asked that as tonight’s game will put one of these two teams in the lead in the Eastern Conference. Now for the B’s it’s not too shocking. However, Montreal last season finished last in the conference last season and with the shortened season have a chance to make a name for themselves once again.

What’s happening with the Habs?
Over Super Bowl weekend, the Canadiens swept both matinee games. They have scored 3.25 goals per game through eight games and allowed just 2.12 goals per game against. Aka they are becoming quite the offensive weapon. Their schedule thus far has been home-heavy having tonight’s game be 7 out of 9 at home. It’s safe to say they’ve been taking advantage of the home stand.

Bruised but not broken Bruins:
Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille did not make the trip to Montreal and are both recovering from injury. Meanwhile, Brad Marchand is with the team but is questionable for game time. The B’s have since had to rely on Providence call-ups which thus far have worked out well. The Bruins are coming off of a win against Toronto on Saturday and have had a three-day break to prepare for this game.

Northeast’s Best:
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has been phenomenal shutting out the Maple Leafs in his last start. Offensively both Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley have points in their last two games. Canadiens goaltender, on the other hand, Carey Price has won six straight starts, only allowing a single goal in each of his last two outings. Montreals center David Desharnais has three goals in his last two games.

Injury Report;
I’ve already mentioned who’s out for the black and gold but the Habs will be without center Petteri Nokelainen.

Puck drops at 7:30 on NBCSN! You don’t want to miss a classic rivalry showdown.

For the Canadiens side of things, check out The Buring Torch!

 

Bruins Hockey is Back in Boston

WE’RE BACK!!! (Credit: flickr/Slidingsideways)

I have been waiting since the end of last year’s playoffs to post this and now I can finally say  Boston Bruins hockey is back in Beantown! This morning I woke up to my phone going off from a facebook notification from an Aery’s post saying “NHL ladies how happy are you right now?” At sixish in the morning being woken up by a text usually doesn’t make me happy but this one caused me to grab my computer, go on Twitter, and shriek!

It’s official; after 113 days, the lockout is officially over.

So on that note…

Now the question is how many games are going to be in the regular season? Well the details are still being hashed out and right now it’s between 48 and 50 games. Yes half of the season, the Winter Classic, and the All-Star weekend are gone, but I will take 48  or 50 games over zero anyday.

So when does all the fun start?
It looks as though training camps will be starting up very shortly and will be no longer than a week. For the who’s who on the training camp for the B’s including which Providence Bruins members could be making the jump into the NHL, check out Steph’s post here.

Now if the season jumps in the already scheduled season, it looks to be that the Bruins first game of the season will be January 19th against our good old besties, the Montreal Canadiens. This game will be an away game for the B’s with the boys traveling to the Bell Centre.

However with the agreement coming earlier then expected, the schedule could get bumped up and we could have an earlier start to the season.

Bruins fans I know some may be disappointed that it took as long as it did to get the season going, but it’s going now and at the end of the day I think that’s what really matters.

I think Andrew Ference tweeted it best this morning. He said:

“As players we can now do what we do best. Proudly pull on our jerseys and play with complete passion for our cities and fans. I hope that we can replace the intense negativity brought on our sport with a reminder of how great it can be when the action is on the ice. From my grandparents to our B’s fans, I am deeply sorry that we had to miss so much hockey. All we can do now is play our hearts out for you.” (via  @Ferknuckle)

With that being said, get ready to put on your black and gold, get your butts to the TD Garden and Believe in Boston! This season is ours and the Stanley Cup belongs in the bean so get ready to cheer for it!

Now if you’ll excuse me, this is how I plan on spending the rest of my day:

Ference and the Finger

Andrew Ference comes clean (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Of course all Bruins fans remember the turning point of the Montreal Canadiens series in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The point where Andrew Ference scored the game-tying goal in Montreal and ceremoniously flipped the middle finger to the crowd present at the Belle Centre. For those of you who don’t remember the event, here is a short little recap for you:

Immediately after the incident that was caught on screens worldwide, Ference claimed to have an ‘equipment malfunction,’ the malfunction being one finger on his left glove getting stuck in an upright position as he faced the fans. Ference the following day stated:

“I was pumping my first. Like I told (Mike Murphy, the NHL’s senior vice president of hockey operations), it was an unintentional bird.  I obviously apologize for it. It wasn’t meant to insult anybody – especially a whole row of cameras in the Belle Centre and the fans sitting there. That’s definitely not the intention.”(via Patriotledger.com)

Ference ended up being fined $250,000 for the incident by the National Hockey League for the ‘unintentional incident,’ that occurred in Boston’s 5-4, overtime victory, which tied the best-of-7 series with the Canadiens at 2.

Recently Ference came bursting into the social media world joining Twitter as @ferknuckle and blogging for the Good Men Project.  In his first blog entry titled “Things I Have Learned,” Ference touches on the finger incident stating:

Accountability is lacking in our world. Just look at nuisance lawsuits, or the finger-pointing of politicians around the globe. I am guilty myself of trying to blame a middle-fingered celebration after a goal in Montreal on a glove malfunction. In round one of the playoffs between two of the fiercest rivals in our sport, I scored a tying goal in the enemy’s building, only to have my fist pump turn into a sign language that crosses all borders. Facing the media and a possible suspension after the fact proved to be too much for my self-accountability. Self-preservation is a powerful thing… it is easier to place blame elsewhere and overlook your own responsibilities.(via Things I Have Learned #1)

Ference’s actions on and off the ice are without question admirable, despite the fact that it took the better part of a year to come clean about this particular event. The fact of the matter remains that Andrew Ference and his actions are especially commendable. While it may be a better late than never situation, the assistant captain is proving just why he is deserving of the ‘A’ he wears proudly on his chest every night.

Marchand Avoids Second Suspension

Brad Marchand Avoids Second Suspension This Season (Credit:Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Remember that time earlier in the season when the Bruins played the Canucks and Brad Marchand got called for a clipping penalty? The call was against Sami Salo and not only did Marchy get a five minute penalty and a game misconduct from it, but he also received a five-game suspension. Last night Marchand was involved in a similar call against the Montreal Canadiens Alexei Emelin at the end of the second period.

Emelin went down and Marchand went to the box but the Habs defenseman was fine for the start of the third period. The difference between the two penalties is where the contact that was made. The hit to Emelin was much higher than hip to knee and I think that makes the difference in the rulings. Not going to lie when Marchy got the call I got a little nervous because it just looked like an unnecessary cheap shot.

Today the little ball of hate was interviewed and to no one’s surprise the hit came up. Here’s what he had to say:

“Whenever we get together with the Canadiens you know it’s going to be a physical game,” said Marchand. “We’re big boys and we can take a hit. I think it’s just that in a game between our two teams the refs are watching pretty closely and it was something they thought should have been a penalty.” (via CSNNE)

The Boston Herald has reported that the NHL does not have any scheduled hearings today so it looks as though the nose faced killah will get off with a minor penalty and be able to continue on the 11 day roadtrip.

 

Seguin Secures Shootout Win Over Montreal

Tyler Seguin gets the Shootout Win! (Credit:Slidingsideways/Flickr)

 

Tonight begins a six game road trip for the Boston Bruins and what better way than to kick it off against an Original Six foe Montreal Canadiens. This is the 717th time these two teams have met, what a history! So far this season the Bruins are leading the series with a 3-2-0 upperhand. This will be the last time the teams meet regular season wise. Timmy “the tank” Thomas got the start for the B’s with Carey Price in the opposite net.

The game got off to a fast start on the Bruins side with them getting the first three shots on net. Thomas came out playing strong too. In a past interview, he said that he enjoyed playing back-to-back games and you can tell, he’s way more on point tonight. Anyway, Dennis Seidenberg gave the Habs the first chance on the power play, but I wasn’t too worried because Montreal is 28th in the league power play wise while the B’s have a solid 7th place in penalty kill. Adam McQuaid and Ryan White duke it out soon after and it was just a mix of hair,fists,and jerseys oh my! When it looked like Seidenberg would give Montreal a second power play, Max Pacioretty thought he’d even out the playing field with a goalie interference penalty. So we get a 4 on 4 but a bit just long enough for Captain Planet Andrew Ference to score! 1-0 Boston (thanks to Brad Marchand for the assist). Lars Eller decides he wants to knock some sense into David Krejci and hits him high with the stick to end the first. Enjoy that 4 minute penalty senor. Oh yeah and I didn’t even mention the cheap shot to oh captain my captain Zdeno Chara that caused him to the leave the ice early…

Never fear because he returned for the second period. Mathieu Darche scored with 18:12 to go with a wonderfully annoying shorthanded goal. Which just so happened to be the first for the Bruins this season. I think my least favorite part was that Academy Award nominated P.K Subban got the assist (I never said I would be nice to the Habs in this post). But fear not because just a mere three minutes later former Hab Benoit Pouliot got past two Canadiens for a FILTHY goal. And that was the end of Benny’s 15 pointless games streak. Paille, LeBlanc, and Cole ALL take goaltender inteference penalties for a 4 on 3 in favor of the B’s. Just saying, I think the league really needs to evaluate the stipulations around that penalty because I’ve never seen so many calls on something so little so often. Shanahan I’m talking to you! Bruins take advantage of the power play with a goal from the goal line by St. Patrice Bergeron at 14:33 in the second. Fellow lineman Tyler Seguin picked up the assist for that one. Just when you thought the period was over, Marchand had to go for a clipping penalty giving the Habs the power play for the start of the third. I thought you learned from your suspension Marchy?!

Thankfully that power play was useless, but not so thankfully was the goal by Pacioretty at 16:26 in the third. Try as I may to stay optimistic I just couldn’t help thinking the Bruins would do something to lead to a Montreal goal. Well they did thanks to newly resigned Johnny Boychuk and his interference call. Granted the Habs didn’t score during that opportunity but they gained some momentum including some VERY close shots on goal. Pretty sure at one point, Chara made a save. No sooner was I praising Chara than I was cursing at him for passing the puck off to Erik Cole and subsequently giving Montreal a goal. And then we were tied with 8:46 to go. A late power play chance for the Bruins, though useful in the sense that we got a lot of shots on net, was worthless goal wise. So it was off to overtime

Well overtime was rather uneventful, minus a beautiful, close but no cigar shot from Marchy.
Onto the shootout we go!

Here’s how the shootout went:
Rene Bourque- Stopped
David Krejci- Stopped…seriously this drought needs to end
Max Pacioretty- Stopped
Tyler Seguin- SCORESSS!!!! just saying he’s my vote for beast of the beasts which you can now vote for =)
Lars Eller- Stopped…BRUINS WIN!!!!!

This win was well deserved and the fact that it came against Montreal is even more bittersweet! The Bruins continue their roadie as they take on the Winnipeg Jets Friday night.

Statistics from (@NHLBruins Twitter)

Creating Consistency Against the Canadiens

Tyler Seguin and Chris Kelly trying to beat Canadiens' Carey Price (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

The  Bruins embark on their longest road trip of the season, stretching over the next 11 days and are hoping to start it off with a ‘W’ in their column against the Montreal Canadiens tonight. The Bruins are coming off of a shutout loss to the New York Rangers last night at the TD Garden where they produced 42 shots on net, but still came up short.