Bruins Look For Points Against Philadelphia

With just four games remaining in regular season, the Boston Bruins head to Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia Flyers for one last  time this season. While the Bruins clinched the playoffs last week, the Flyers unfortunately won’t be fighting for Lord Stanley’s Cup this year. Sunday the Bruins were able to pick up a win from another team not in the playoffs aka the Florida Panthers and they are hoping they can do the same tonight in Philly. However they are going to have to get past a rival team that has had a recent resurgence of offensive wins.

B’s celebrate a goal from Sunday’s WIN! (Credit: Slidingsideways/ Flickr)

The B’s Slump is Over…Hopefully.
With a 3-0 win over the Panthers, the B’s avoided a four-game losing streak which would have been a season worst. That win helped the Bruins regain the top spot in the Northeast division. The Bruins are currently tied with the Montreal Canadiens for first with 59 points but the Bruins have a game in hand hence why they are number one. The win Sunday was especially necessary for Boston since it was the B’s first victory following the bombings. Hopefully that win was the sign of more to come as playoffs are right around the corner.

Tuukka Time:
Tuukka Rask picked up well needed victory for the Bruins shutting out the Panthers and stopping 28 shots on net. That’s the kind of performance the Bruins are going to need if they want to succeed in the playoffs. Now I’m unsure if Rask will get the start in net because I’m sure Coach Julien is thinking playoffs right now and resting his best. If that’s the case backup Anton Khubdobin will get the nod and get his 14th start of the season. Dobby is 9-3-1 for the B’s and will have no problem filling in in net.

Flyer Soar:
You would think a team that’s out of playoff contention would just be “ehh” when it comes to finishing the season. But that is far from the case with the Flyers. They have won their last three and have scored 16 goals within those three goals. In other words, the Bruins defense will NEED to be on it’s A-game if the B’s are trying to pick up two points. Bruins/Flyers to me is always a good matchup and with either team taking a victory so far it’s anyones game tonight.

Who’s Hot:
Brad Marchand has goals in two straight games, and five points in his last five. He’s currently leading the B’s in scoring with 18 goals. Jakub Voracek has three goals in the past four games for the Flyers. In 45 games this season, he has 20 goals.

Injury Report:
Nathan Horton did not make the trip to Philly due to an upper body injury and obviously will not be playing. I think this is another smart move by Julien to make sure his top guys are ready when playoffs come. Adam McQuaid is listed day-to-day with a lower body injury but could be back in the lineup tonight. The Flyers are missing forwards Zac Rinaldo (ankle), Maxime Talbot (leg), and Jody Shelley (hip), and defensemen Braydon Coburn (shoulder), Andrej Meszaros (shoulder), Nicklas Grossmann (concussion), Kent Huskins(concussion) and Bruno Gervais (torn stomach muscle).

Puck drops at 7:30 and you can check out all the action on NESN!

Bruins Fall Short Against Flyers

For the first time since May 12, 2011, the Boston Bruins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in Philly. The Bruins had won 10 straight against the Flyers in enemy territory but today they didn’t have what it took to go for 11. This is the 5th game in 7 that the Bruins have lost, and obvious today should be a sign that there are PLENTY of things for the black and gold to improve on. The Flyers haven’t had the best season this year but you wouldn’t know it based on the game they played today.

Tuukka Rask would get the loss stopping 19-of-21 shots. Meanwhile Philly’s  Ilya Bryzgalov was a brick wall stopping 33-of-34.

Nathan Horton scored the lone goal for the B’s today (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

The Flyers opened up the shooting scoring their fifth power play goal in a row and they scored it against the NHL’s top penalty kill unit. Mike Knuble would get the credit for that goal, scoring with less than five remaining in the first period. It wouldn’t be long into the second period that  Matt Read would put Philly up 2-0. Bryzgalov was making save after save for his team and ultimately that is what kept them ahead.

In the third the Bruins would attempt a comeback with Nathan Horton scoring his 10th of the season, with Dennis Seidenberg getting the assist. Eventually the B’s would pull Rask and not soon after the Flyers would score an empty netter sealing the win for the team.

This game marked the return of Johnny Boychuk who had missed the past few games with an injury.

The problem with the Bruins at this point is that one line is producing during games while the others aren’t doing anything. Coach Claude Julien seconds this notion saying after the game:

“We’re not able to sustain much. Every game we’ve got one line thats scoring & 3 lines that aren’t doing a thing” (Via Joe Haggerty)

If the Bruins want to get back on track they need to start playing “Bruins hockey”. Unfortunately they don’t have much time between now and their next game as they’ll continue their roadie into Buffalo tomorrow to take on the Sabres.

 

Bruins Flew to Philly to Take on the Flyers

Zdeno Chara ready for some action (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

This afternoon the Boston Bruins are looking for their second win against the Philadelphia Flyers this season after defeating them 3-0 earlier this season. The win came from a dominant first period where the Bruins were able to jump ahead of the Flyers from the get-go and maintain their lead and composure through the entire sixty minutes. A feat that has proven to be non-existent in more recent games. The Bruins have won their last four straight against Philadelphia, dating back to last season and have gone 9-0-1 in their last 10 visits to Philadelphia.

Currently the Bruins sit second in the Northeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference with the Jets, Canadiens and Penguins ahead of them in the standings. The Flyers sit in last place in the Atlantic Division and fourteenth in the Conference, getting off to a really rough start and seemingly not able to find their rhythm. The biggest mistake the Bruins could do is to go into today’s game cocky. They need to remain focused, cool and collected with their sole focus on playing good, solid two-way sixty-minute hockey. While the Bruins may be in good positioning at the moment for a playoff spot, if they keep blowing third period leads the way they have been, that chance could just as easily slip away and belong to a team like Philly.

“We really have to focus on those two games this weekend, maybe try to separate ourselves and just getting back into winning ways,” defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said.(via nhl.com)

The Bruins are looking for redemption once again after blowing a 5-3 lead against the Canadiens in Wednesday night’s meeting that resulted in a 6-5 shootout loss. The Flyers are hoping to snap their current losing streak before it matches their 5-game skid that occurred from March 31- April 8 of last season. While they may be one of the league’s biggest disappointments, they know what is expected of them and what they need to do to make things happen.

“Obviously we have to go on a pretty epic run – like Pittsburgh – if we’re going to get in,” winger Scott Hartnell said. “You got to believe in something though. You got to believe in yourself.”(via Scott Hartnell said. “You got to believe in something though. You got to believe in yourself.”” target=”_blank”>nhl.com)

Injuries will play the biggest factor for both teams today as the Bruins are still without forward Chris Kelly, defenseman Adam McQuaid and potentially defenseman Johnny Boychuk for his fourth straight game. While the defenseman practiced with the team this morning for the full set, he is still listed on the injured reserve list. However, defenseman Torey Krug was sent back down to Providence late yesterday evening, opening up a roster spot for a defenseman that can either be filled by Matt Bartkowski or Boychuk.

The Flyers issued an update yesterday regarding their injuries and Braydon Coburn did not practice after suffering from a separated shoulder.  While there was no update on the defenseman, the team took the precaution to call up Oliver Lauridsen and place Coburn on injured reserve. Nik Grossman is still listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury and Danny Briere is still out indefinitely with a concussion. Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros will also miss today’s game with the expectation of surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, ending his season with Philly.

Today’s matinee game has a coverage start time of 12:00PM on NESN with Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley. Here’s to matinee hockey and hoping the Bruins can stick it to Philly.

Rasks Revenge Against Flyers

Back before the Boston Bruins were Stanley Cup Champions, they had plenty of time in the playoffs. One of those times was back in 2010 against the Philadelphia Flyers in a series the Bruins will never hear enough of. Up three games, the B’s then lost the next four giving the series to the Flyers. The man behind the net was Tuukka Rask. Since that series, Rask hasn’t had the chance to face the Flyers.

But you can bet he’s in net for today’s matinee game. So far this season in daytime games the B’s are 3-0-0 and they are looking to continue that streak behind Rask. Right now, the Bruins are 1 point away from first in the Northeast Division and are looking to snatch it back from the Montreal Canadiens.

The Bruins are 15-3-3, while the Flyer are 11-13-1.

Will Rask get redemption against Philly? (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

Flyers bounce back?
Philadelphia is coming to the TD Garden following two straight losses and are looking for a win. Their last loss on Thursday against Pittsburgh came after having a 3-goal lead. They’ve had two days off since and I’m sure they are bringing all they have to the Garden. It’s unclear if Ilya Bryzgalov will be in net after being pulled Thursday, though he does have a  3-0-2 against the Bruins. With the season being almost halfway over, the Flyers are in danger of not making the playoffs for the second time since 1994.

Where are the other lines in Boston?
If you’ve been watching the past few B’s games then you’ll notice a familiar trend in who’s doing the goal scoring. Most of the time as of lately it’s been the second line of Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand. This line has 14 goals and 37 points in their last nine games. So you begin to wonder where the other lines are? With Chris Bourque clearing waivers and being sent to Providence, and in turn Jordan Caron being recalled hopefully we can soon see some goal scoring coming from the third line. There’s only so long one line can be relied on so heavily, especially with each game being so important.

Who’s hot:
Aside from Bergy’s line, really no one on the Bruins. Though as a team, the B’s have scored at least three goals in each of the last nine games so we’ll take that as a positive. On Philly’s end, Jakub Voracek has posted nine goals and nine assists in his last nine games. Clearly offense isn’t the problem for the Flyers. Philadelphia’s power play has gone 13 for 39 (33.3 percent) in that stretch, but that unit will face Boston’s league best penalty kill at 91.9 percent.

Puck drops at 1 today and you can check out the game on NESN!

Counting on Consistency

Rich Peverley is making the trip west with the rest of the team (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Tonight the Bruins look to continue their consistency in the win column as they head out west and take on the San Jose Sharks in a 10:30pm EST match-up.  The last time these two teams met was in the dreadful month of October where they fell to the Sharks 4-2 at the Garden. Stars such as Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture were among the Sharks leading forwards, as each registered a goal and Pavelski an additional assist.

The Sharks are currently fighting for their playoff spot as they sit tenth in the Western Conference, looking for the two-points to tie with eighth place Los Angeles Kings.

The Bruins are heading west with an 8-0 shut-out victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night, following a 3-2 shoot-out victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday afternoon. While they are showing improvements, it is extremely important that they don’t lose their focus coming into a tough road trip starting with the Sharks followed by the Kings and Anaheim Ducks.

They’re battling for playoffs, we’re battling for second place,” said Krejci of the Sharks. “We want to have the home ice advantage – so this is going to be a hard game.”We don’t play these guys often, but we know they have really good players, they’re battling,” added Krejci. “I thought they would be in the playoffs this year [for sure].”(via Boston Bruins News)

It was reported earlier this week that forward Rich Peverley would be travelling with the Bruins on their road trip, while Nathan Horton will be staying behind not showing any progress. Peverley practiced with the team with full contact yesterday morning at Wilmington before hopping on a plane for the 2700mile trek across the country. Max Suave was sent back down to the Providence Bruins while forward Trent Whitfield was recalled to make the trip.  Whitfield has seven goals and seven assists, combining for 14 total points in 43 games.

Both teams have winning records when playing on Thursdays with Boston being 7-3 and San Jose being 8-2. While San Jose may hold a slight advantage coming off of wins/losses, the Bruins are just as determined to gain the two points to remain in second and get home-ice advantage.

Tonight’s game is on NESN at 10:30pm EST or you can listen on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Maintaining the Momentum at Home

It's Thomas Time Tonight (Credit: Cerebusfangirl/ Flickr)

After the “road trip from hell” the Boston Bruins bounced back with a win at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, thus putting them back in first in the Northeast division. Tonight the team looks to grab another home win against the Toronto Maple Leafs and maintain first place. In order to do so, the B’s are keeping all of the lines, pairs, and goaltending the same meaning Tim Thomas will get the start for the 13^th time in a row and defensemen Joe Corvo and Mike Mottau will be scratched.

Until this weekend, Corvo had played in every game for the B’s this season but the month of March had been a struggle for No. 14 who was a minus 3 rating in the 9 games.

“That’s the plan tonight. Joe isn’t going to be playing,” said Julien. “[Saturday] I said he was a healthy scratch, but he’s also a little banged up. What that means is that if we really needed him then he’d be available”. (Via CSNNE)

Based on Saturday’s game/ today’s practice here are the projected lines:
Lucic-Krejci-Caron
Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin
Pouliot-Kelly-Rolston
Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Chara-Seidenberg
Ference-Boychuk
Zanon-McQuaid

Thomas
Turco

Tonight is the sixth and final match up between the two teams this season with the Bruins going for the series sweep. The Bruins heavily outscored Toronto in all of these games with a margin of 28- 10. While tonight for the B’s is a chance to put some more space between themselves and the Ottawa Senators in the fight for the Northeast division, the Leaves are trying to make their way up the Eastern Conference as they are not so comfortably sitting in 11th place.

This game will be a test of who wants it more.

“It’s big, especially at this time of the year,” Boston captain Zdeno Chara told reporters. “Everybody’s scrambling for points, everybody’s trying to establish position in the playoffs, in the standings, going into the playoffs, so every point is important.”(Via NHLBruins)

Luck of the Irish

Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

Yesterday afternoon the Bruins took on the Philadelphia Flyers at the TD Garden.  The Bruins showed first period dominance as they took an early lead by a Pouliot blast that Chris Kelly was able to bang in the rebound at just 6:23 in.  The Flyers didn’t register a shot on goal until 9:30 into the first period.  At 17:07 Patrice Bergeron came from behind the net to get the puck over to Seguin who was able to light the lamp and give the Bruins a two-goal lead. The Bruins this year are 31-0-0 when leading by two at any point in time in a game. At the end of the first period the Bruins were outhitting the Flyers 12-3 and provided their best start to a game that fans have seen in a long time.

As if having a two-goal lead wasn’t enough for the Bruins, Johnny Boychuk decided to teach instigator Maxime Talbot a thing or two by dropping the gloves.  Literally, Boychuk threw two punches and Talbot went down like a ton of bricks then went straight down the tunnel from the penalty box. Shortly after Jakub Voracek got a good chance off a loose puck aimed between Thomas’ pads, but he was able to keep the B’s with a 2-0 lead. After taking a puck to the throat, the Flyers lost another player as Andreas Lilja would not return to the game. Shortly before that there was a long shot by Briere that hit something in front of Thomas and made it past bringing the Flyers within one with 10:44 left. Through the second period the Bruins had a lot of back and forth movement, exchanging a lot of opportunities just before the buzzer.

The Bruins brought a lot of good, early pressure in the third period, but despite all that the Flyers were still able to manage some good work. It wouldn’t be until, the remaining four minutes of the game that they would get their second goal, tying it at two a piece and sending the game into overtime. Chara had a nice blast with just over a minute remaining in the extra period that was close, but not close enough. The game would go into a shoot-out where Tim Thomas proved he was on the ball, stopping the third and final shot on Briere providing the Bruins with a shoot-out win.

“I think we know that time is running out. With 10 games left, we know that it’s important to bring that kind of effort,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “You want to make sure you’re playing your best hockey when the playoffs start. We want to build to that, and we’ve got a lot of building to do.”(via Bruins official website)