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!

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!

 

Eastern Conference Showdown: Bruins Versus Islanders

After winning last night against the New Jersey Devils, the Boston Bruins return back home to take on the New York Islanders. With the win last night, the Bruins moved into first in the Northeast division and are a point ahead of the Montreal Canadians. Both the B’s and the Habs play tonight so the Bruins will need a win if they are trying to stay the number two seed in the Eastern Conference.

Can Pevs maintain his point streak? (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

A Costly Battle for the B’s:
The Bruins were already without Patrice Bergeron, now the question is how serious was the elbow to the head Brad Marchand took last night? Bergeron was seen practicing on the ice this morning so hopefully that means he’ll be back before playoffs. However, Marchand was being evaluated this morning and there is still no word on his injury. Another bright side because let’s be serious with all these injuries we could use one, is that Adam McQuaid may return to the lineup tonight. Quaider is a solid defenseman and I have been saying the B’s defense is weak lately so maybe this will turn that around.

Islanders Playoff Bound:
For the first time since the 2006-07 season, the New York Islanders are on the verge of clinching a playoff invitation. In their past nine games, the Isles are 7-1-1. They are currently tied for 7th place with the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers with 44 points. Needless to say they will be coming into this game looking for two points.

Bruins Look for Sweep:
This is the third and final meeting between the two teams in regular season with the Bruins having one the previous two. In those games, the Isles were outscored 8-3. Tuukka Rask got the start for both those games and with him sitting out last night, it’s expected he’ll start tonight. If playoff’s started today the B’s would be the second seed and the Isles the seventh, meaning they would play each other. When you watch the game tonight keep that in mind!

Who’s HOT?
Jaromir Jagr (four assists) and Rich Peverley (one goal, three assists) have each tallied four points over the past two contests. Isles center John Tavares has three goals and three assists over the past five games, while winger Josh Bailey is 2-3-5 over the same span.

You can check out the game tonight at 7pm on NESNPLUS!

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.

 

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!

Luck On Bruins Side Against Capitals

Before heading on a four-game road trip, the Boston Bruins would have one last game at home. They would face off against the Washington Capitals hoping for retribution for an OT loss last Tuesday. And they certainly got that revenge and so much more in today’s matinee game. Being St.Patrick’s day weekend, the Bruins practiced in their green jerseys and it would seem that luck was on their side during the game.

In net for the Bruins would be Anton Khubdobin, opposite the Capitals Michal Neuvirth. This would be Khudobins 7th start of the season and he certainly did not disappoint. He would make 32 of 33 saves in the game.

Congrats Horton on your Gordie Howe hatty! (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

This game to me was what the Bruins have been working to accomplish the past few games. It was a 60-minute effort. I know in the past few games they boys have lost steam in the third but not today.

It all started in the first with the first line. Nathan Horton would get a slapshot in off an assist from Milan Lucic  and Zdeno Chara .Not more than three minutes later David Krecji would score thanks to Looch once again. The first line has been pretty MIA in recent games so seeing their presence right away in the first period made me think this would be a good game.

Second period would start with the Bruins on a penalty kill and they would kill it once again because being first in PK’s means it’s hard to score on them. But right after said PK, Washington would strike with an unassisted goal from Marcus Johansson. At 8:02, Andrew Ference would score a LONG overdue first goal of the season. The assists would go to Horty and Krejci. It was good to see Ference get that first goal. At the end of the second the score would be 3-1 Boston.

Now let me take a brief intermission from scoring to talk about ALL the fighting. Brad Marchand would square off against Mike Ribeiro and just 8 seconds later Horton and Matt Hendricks would fight. And yes that would mean Horton got a Gordie Howe hattrick today, basically proving Horty was having a great game! Hendricks would fight again against Adam McQuaid in the third thanks to a little instigation from Shawn Thornton. 

Onto the third period! Bruins would get on the power play early on thanks to a slashing call. And all it took was 8 seconds of said power play for the B’s to strike with a PP goal from Rich Peverley. Looch and Krecji would get the assist on that. Like I said later on in that period there was another bout. It was pretty apparent at this point (at least to me) that the Bruins had the clear momentum at this point in the game.

The Bruins would go on to win bringing their record to 19-4-3, while the Caps would fall to 11-15-1.

B’s are back in action tomorrow for another matinee game this time in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.

 

Caron Called Up; Bourque Clears Waivers

Jordan Caron has been re-called by the Boston Bruins. His disappointing season in Providence has shown great improvement in the last few weeks. He already has 71 NHL games under his belt and will probably be far less criticized than Chris Bourque was in the 3rd line role.

Chris Bourque was placed on waivers yesterday for the purpose of being assigned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. It was announced today that he has cleared waivers, and he will join the Providence Bruins lineup tonight as they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Although Bourque has not played for Providence in over 2 months – his last game was January 6th – he is 5th on the P-Bruins in scoring with 28 points.

Jordan Caron, meanwhile, has been called up from Providence and joined the Boston Bruins team this afternoon for practice in Wilmington. Caron has had a tough season in Providence, totaling 15 points and a -6 in 44 games played. However, in the last 9 games with the P-Bruins, Caron has 7 points with 4 goals and 3 assists. He reached the 10-goal mark last weekend.

Caron was drafted by the Bruins in 2009, with the 25th overall pick in the 1st round. He joined the team as a rookie in the 2010-11 season and recorded 7 points in 23 games. He has a total of 71 NHL games and 22 points. He finished last season with the team, playing 2 playoff games.

Caron is expected to join the 3rd line with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly.

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 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.

Providence Finished the Weekend With a Win; Scrimmages Boston Tuesday

Graham Mink’s game winning goal going in the net on Sunday afternoon (Photo Credit: Steph Vail/Flickr)

On Friday night, Graham Mink was putting his son to bed when he got a call from his agent about an offer from the Providence Bruins to join the team on a Professional Tryout Contract. 2 days later, he scored the game-winning goal for the P-Bruins to give them a 2-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs, finally breaking the deadlock in the stands between the 2 Atlantic division rivals.

Mink’s goal came on the power play and broke a 1-1 tie in the 3rd period. Craig Cunningham scored just 58 seconds into the game to give Providence a 1-0 lead. It was Cunningham’s 7th of the season and came unassisted. The P-Bruins out-shot the outmatched Monarchs 13-10 in the 1st period, but goaltender Peter Mannino played well for the Los Angeles Kings farm team. Manchester came into the game with only 15 skaters dressed (rather than the usual 18) due to sudden call-ups to the LA Kings training camp. Although Providence also saw it’s roster recently depleted with its best players due to call-ups to Boston for training camp – as well as devastating injury, of which they lost 2 more players on Friday (Jared Knight and Zach Trotman) and at least one more on Sunday (Justin Florek took a puck to the ear) – recent call-ups from ECHL teams and a few new signings such as Mink filled out Providence’s roster coming into Sunday.

The 2nd period saw shots even up at 12-12 apiece, and with 9 seconds left in the period, Brandon Kozun tied the game at 1 for the Monarchs with his 10th of the season from Linden Vey and Bryan Rodney. Providence took control again in the 3rd period, out-shooting Manchester 16-3 (for a total of 41-25 in the game), and on one of many power play chances in the game, were able to capitalize when Mink deflected in a pass from Max Sauve, with a secondary assist to Carter Camper. Also of note – Camper had 10 shots on net in the game on Sunday, although he was poor in the face off circle. In the absence of the team’s tops players to Boston training camp, Camper and Cunningham have seen significant increase in ice time. Cunningham has been playing extremely well, although Camper seems to be struggling at times as he has ever since he returns from injury earlier this season.

Niklas Svedberg made a couple key saves in the final minutes of the game as Providence was able to hold on to the 2-1 lead and rebound from an embarrassing 4-1 loss on Saturday night to the Springfield Falcons.

Providence is now 19-14-0-2 (40 points), placing them 3rd in the Atlantic division – 2 points ahead of Manchester (17-16-2-2) and just 1 point behind Worcester (19-15-1-2). Providence is also 4-2-0-0 against Manchester this season, and will face them 6 more times before the season ends. The next meeting is Saturday, January 19th in Manchester.

But the next “game” for Providence is tomorrow night – Tuesday, January 15th. The team will travel to Boston to scrimmage the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden in front of a sold out crowd. Chris Bourque, Ryan Spooner, Jamie Tardif, Lane MacDermid, David Warsofsky, and Matt Bartkowski will suit up for Boston (presumably). As for Providence?

I’m told that pretty much every healthy Prov. player under contract w/Boston will play in Tuesday night Garden scrimmage . . .Robins & MacKinnon, who are on AHL deals will play, too. Mink (PTO) and Randell will not play. (Mark Divver, The Providence Journal.)

Bobby Robins and Kyle MacKinnon, although they do not have contracts with the Boston Bruins organization – only with Providence in the AHL – will play for Providence against Boston tomorrow night. However, since Mink is still on a Professional Tryout Contract, he will not play.

If you aren’t able to make it to the game in Boston tomorrow, it will be streamed online for free. Make sure to tune in because there’s nothing better than watching Boston and Providence at the same time…even if Providence is sure to get their butts kicked.

Chris Bourque was placed on a line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley while Lane MacDermid, Ryan Spooner, Jamie Tardif, and Jay Pandolfo wore green jerseys and split duties on a 5th line. (Photo Credit: Steph Vail/Flickr).

Speaking of which – I went to training camp on Sunday before swinging down to Providence for the P-Bruins game (see training camp pictures here, P-Bruins game pictures here). Chris Bourque was the only forward call-up from Providence who already had a spot on the forward lines – right on the wing of the 3rd line with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly (just like I have been saying). He also has been practicing on the power play unit with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. I would say it’s almost a sure thing that he will be the guy that stays with Boston out of training camp. But I guess we will have a better idea about where everyone stands after tomorrow’s scrimmage. Or maybe not. Maybe we will just be thoroughly entertained!