Bruins/Lightning Nemo Makeup Game

Once upon a February a not so little storm named Nemo came through Boston and cancelled a Boston Bruins/ Tampa Bay Lightning game. The two teams were supposed to have met up three times already, but tonight will be that makeup. The B’s are two-for-two against Tampa Bay this season and are going to go for the sweep. While the Bruins are three games away from playoff season, the Lightning are two away from golf season. If the Bruins want to maintain the number two seed in the Eastern Conference (they are currently tied with the Montreal Canadiens for first but have a game on hand) then they will have to pick up the win tonight against Tampa Bay.

Can the Bromance revive the B’s? (Credit: Flickr/Slidingsideways)

Building Up Bruins Defense:
If I’m being honest here, the Bruins performance against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night was just terrible. There were too many turnovers and there were moments of weakness where the Bruins defense was exposed. With playoff’s so close, the Bruins cannot be losing to teams that didn’t even make the playoffs. The B’s will have to use these next three games as preparation for the Stanley Cup if they have any chance of making it past the quarterfinals.

Lightning Snap Losing Streak:
And they did it thanks to a Martin St.Louis hatty to help them beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2. Prior to this game, the Lightning had lost six in a row and were well out of playoff contention. The win also prevented Toronto from sweeping the Lightning. With the Bruins up two games this season, will the Lightning be able to avoid another sweep?

Who’s Hot:
Well the Bruins Brad Marchand scored both game winners against the Lightning this season and is also the B’s leading scorer with 18 goals this season. As usual the B’s will have to watch out for Steven Stamkos who leads the Lightning with 29 goals and is second in the NHL in goals scored. Oh yeah and don’t forget St. Louis who currently leads the NHL with points (58) and assists (42). If the B’s don’t work on their defense, you can bet Tampa Bay will take full advantage.

 

Puck drops at 7:30 and the game can be found on NESN+!

Bruins Versus Lightning: Saturday Showdown

In the second meeting of three between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bruins look to win their sixth in a row. This would have been the final meeting between the teams but thanks to good ole Nemo, we will have a third match up in April. Actually, it was Bruins at Tampa that was the second game in the current 5 game win streak so if the B’s were to win tonight, two of the 6 would be courtesy of the Lightning. Both teams are currently battling it out in the Eastern Conference and with the season as short as it is, two points is huge.

Tyler Seguin looks for more points (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Long Road Ahead for the B’s:
In the month of March, the Bruins will play 17 games. Considering thus far the B’s have only played 17 games, this month could present a challenge. It doesn’t help that the Bruins power play at home is non existent. What has helped the team is the Bruins goaltending thanks to Tuukka Rask and the B’s PK. The Bruins penalty kill is at 93.9% and is leading the NHL by a landslide.

Lightning on the Road:
Tampa Bay is currently on a four-game roadtrip, with this being the second game. They got off to a rough start against the New York Rangers so they’ll be looking to bounce back in Boston. If they want to pick up the win, they’ll need to work on their shots on net as they were heavily out numbered against New York. They do however have a spectacular power play so it’ll be interesting to see how it matches against the B’s PK.

Who’s Hot:
Patrice Bergeron has a pair of goals and seven points in the past five games while Tyler Seguin has points in five his last six. On the Lightning side of things, Steven Stamkos is on an eight-game point streak with seven goals and 14 points.

The puck will drop at 1 on NESN!

B’s Look to Light up the Lightning

Thanks to Nemo this is the real first time the Boston Bruins will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Because they’re playing in Tampa, snow (thankfully) won’t get in the way of this match up which is sure to be a good one.  This is the third of a five game roadtrip the Bruins are on and they are currently 5-1-1 on the road.

Marchand is on a role for the B’s (Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

The Bruins have played one of the fewest game schedules (13 games) thus far but are still 2nd in their division and 5th in the Eastern Conference with 20 points. Meanwhile the Lightning are 15 games in, tied for first in the SouthEast division and  8th in conference with 17 points. The two points up for grabs tonight are clearly important.

Bruins…Red…Hot…POWER PLAY?
You read that correctly, don’t worry about your computer being messed up! In the past four games, the Bruins have scored power play goals in 3 of them. At a time where the Bruins win streak has slowed a bit, this is crucial. They have lost the past two of three, however, they are coming off of a win Sunday at Winnipeg.

Can Tampa be Tamed?
Tonight the Lightning will wrap up a two-game homestand and will hit the road for back-to-back games. The Bolts have scored a total of 10 goals over their past two games. They have thus far been a defensive weapon and will definitely put the B’s offense to a test.

Who’s Hot:
Well wouldn’t you know that Benoit Pouliot,  yes former Bruins Pouliot, has a four-game point streak. While, Vincent Lecavalier has two goals and three assists during a five-game points streak and Steven Stamkos has netted three goals in the past two games. Seeing that many Lightning players on a hot streak means the B’s defense will have to step up.

On the Bruins end, goalie man Tuukka Rask is  3-0-1 in his past four starts, giving up just six goals in that span. He is expected to get the start tonight. Brad Marchand also has goals in three of the last four games.

Injury Report:
The Bruins had a handful of players miss practice this week from flu-like symptoms but they all have made the trip to Tampa.

The Puck drops tonight at  7:30 and you can check it out on NESN and NHLN!

For the Tampa Bay side of things check out Sons of Andreychuk!

UPDATED:Eastern Conference Showdown: Tampa Bay @ Boston

Thanks to Nemo, the Boston Bruins/ Tampa Bay Lightning game originally schedule for a 1 pm puck drop has been moved to 7 pm tonight. Nemo in case you’ve been under a rock for a bit, is a blizzard not a lil fish,and is causing quite a commotion on the east coast as I write this.

Will Seguin start a scoring streak? (Credit: Flickr/ Slidingsideways)

Anyway back to the B’s:
Tonight is the first of three times the teams will meet this season. Right now there are three points that separate the pair from second and third place in the Eastern Conference. Boston currently is in second place with 15 points, while Tampa has 12. What I’m trying to say is a win in this game will be clutch for either time. The B’s are currently one point out of first with Pittsburgh holding the lead with 16 points.

Are the Lightning burned out?
Tampa Bay has lost the past three games averaging a mere 1.6 goals per game. They started off the season winning 6 out of 7 so it seems to be they’ve hit some kind of slump. However this team does have one of the best power play units in the league so that could come in handy in the game tonight.

B’s back and healthy?
After playing in his first NHL game, Ryan Spooner was sent back to Providence. It’s safe to assume that his reassignment means that someone from the Brad Marchand, Daniel Paille, and Shawn Thornton  injury list will be returning to the lineup. All three have been practicing with the team but I’m betting it’ll be Marchy that returns Coach Claude Julien said he was a game-time decision following practice.

Who’s hot?
– Tyler Seguin FINALLY scored his first regulation goal of the season after being placed on a line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Krejci would also score soon after thanks to the newly formed line.
– Tuukka Rask has won four of his last five starts and is 6-1-1 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .922 save percentage this season as Bruins starting goalie.
-Lightning forward Martin St. Louis has 11 assists over the last seven games.

Injury Report:
As I said above the B’s could be without Thornton, Paille, or Marchand tomorrow. Tampa could potentially be without forward B.J. Crombeen as he is listed questionable.

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

For the Lightning side of things check on Sons of Andreychuk here!

 

UPDATE: Tonight’s game has been postponed as the winter blizzard of Nemo has the state of Massachusetts still trying to find the light of day as they’re buried under feet of snow. Yes feet, not inches. The game will be played at a later date that we will announce as soon as we get the information.

No News Is Good News?

(Credit:Slidingsideways/Flickr)

Free agency has been underway for six days now, including today and the Bruins are sticking with their original game plan.  GM Peter Chiarelli stated on numerous occasions throughout the season and post-season that he had a good team and would not be splitting them up. He wanted to keep the core of the team together and that is exactly what he is doing. With the signings of Chris Kelly, Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell  and Shawn Thornton, the fourth line will remain the same and one of the ‘best’ in the League.

The only players that are not returning to the Bruins roster, for sure are; Benoit Pouliot (signed a one-year contract with Tampa Bay Lightning), Joe Corvo(signed a two-year contract with Carolina Hurricanes) and Brian Rolston. There is still the possibility that Mike Mottau, the Massachusetts native will fill the seventh defenseman spot, but with Dougie Hamilton coming off of a breakout season in the OHL, there is room for competition.

For the upcoming season we also have to take a look at who is going to fill the third line slot alongside Chris Kelly. With guys like Jordan Caron, Ryan Spooner and Jared Knight, the possibilities are endless. Each and every one of them have a fighting chance at earning a spot in Boston, we will just have to wait for pre-season to find out.

The only question mark remaining is the whereabouts of Tim Thomas. Will he stay in Boston and sit for the season or get traded elsewhere? Unfortunately, no one has those answers as of yet and it remains at a 60/40 chance of dismissal. (One can only hope) Regardless, Tuukka Rask is more than ready to step up and be the number one net minder once again.

Free Agent Frenzy and Contract Signings

Tuukka Rask (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

We have all been told throughout the post-season that the core of the Boston Bruins will stay together and that General Manager Peter Chiarelli was looking to keep Chris Kelly and Tuukka Rask in the mix for Boston.  As of today, July 1, 2012; the first day of NHL Free Agency, the Boston Bruins inked Chris Kelly until 2015-2016 and Tuukka Rask until 2012-2013.  They also came to terms with Russian forward Alex Khoklachev in signing a one-year entry level contract. He will play this season in Russia for the KHL and then come back to Boston to play.

Taking a look at who will not be returning, Benoit Pouliot was signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning just as the doors opened, with a one-year contract worth $1.8million.  Defensemen Joe Corvo and Greg Zanon were also able to find new contracts as Joe signed a two-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes and Greg signed on with the Colorado Avalanche. Best of luck to you men! (Silently I will be cheering for you Benny, I’ll see you in Boston!))

As of right now, that is the biggest splash the Bruins have made in the Free Agent Frenzy and it doesn’t seem as though there will be many more waves to come. Perhaps wave will be if and/or when Tim Thomas gets sent out of Beantown. To which I say good riddance my dear red-headed friend, it’s been real.

Bruins Take Charge Against Lightning

Congrats on 1002 games Chara (Credit: Slidingsideways/ Flickr)

Home ice seems to mean a lot whenever the Boston Bruins play the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the three games that these two teams have played against one another, home ice meant winner. Well tonight the Lightning hit the TD Garden ice in good old Boston for the forth and final regular season meet up.

Before the game started the Bruins put on a beautiful presentation to celebrate Zdeno Chara’s 1000 game which took place on Saturday. The ceremony was pretty cool and what’s cooler is Chara is the 9th defenseman in NHL history to ever play 1000 games. Captain Z deserved all of the praise and presents but my favorite thing was the massive silver replica hockey stick…that thing was HUGE!

We know return you to your regularly scheduled hockey game. So the B’s kept their line up the same as Sunday meaning Daniel Paille, Joe Corvo, Mike Mottau, and newly acquired Torey Krug got the healthy scratches. Goal tender wise it was different so Tim Thomas got the start against the Lightning’s Dwayne Roloson.

Steven Stamkos gets the first goal in the game (shocking) five minutes into the first getting his season goal tally to 54. When credit is due I give props so good work sir. So far B’s wise the Brad Marchand- Patrice Bergeron- Rich Peverley line is looking pretty good in getting some pressure on Roloson. At 9:06 Shawn Thornton gets set up by a beautiful pass from Chara for his 5th goal of the season. That would be his first goal in 36 games…his last goal was a penalty shot against the Winnipeg Jets (I was there!!). That was all the scoring that happened in the first.

Second period was kind of boring. But there was a goal and it was the Bruins so yay. With 4:55 to go Chara with a slap shot from the point got a rebound to Dennis Seidenberg to make it 2-1 Bruins. Something positive to take from the first two periods is that the Bruins are 22-2-0 when leading after 2.

Then third period happened and at 14:14 Stamkos got his 55th of the year…yawn. The Bruins are holding most of the momentum but Tampa is staying alive. Not too long after Adam McQuaid took a hit and went down hard head first. Not a good sign for someone that has had head problems this season. But thankfully he does return to the bench. At 8:26 Benoit Pouliot scores his 14th of the season and puts the Bruins back on top. With 4:10 left Brad Marchand makes it a 4-2 game and no sooner was Roloson pulled leaving an empty net. Peverley, back and stronger than ever, took advantage of the open net and secured the win with a 5-2 victory.

This is the third win in a row for the Bruins and having this kind of momentum is so important come playoffs. Bruins play their next game at home against the Washington Capitals.

Bring on the Bolts

Seguin and the Bruins are ready to take on the Lightning in the fourth and final match up tonight (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

After being on the road for the past three games out West, the Bruins are ready to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at home. This is the fourth and final game between these two teams for the regular season, and are concluding the 23rd of 29 series. In the past five games the Bruins are 4-1-0, the most points gained in a five-game span since they went 4-1-0 from January 4 – January 12, 2012.

For the Lighting, players Vincent Lecavalier (hand), Nate Thompson (upper body) and Adam Hall (upper body) are listed day-to-day. While  Mattias Ohlund (knees), Dana Tyrell (knee), Marc-Andre Bergeron (back), Mathieu Garon (lower body) and Ryan Shannon (upper body) are out. For Boston Tuukka Rask(abdomen injury),Nathan Horton(concussion) and Marc Savard(concussion) are the only scratches.

The lines are expected to be the same tonight as fans saw in Sunday night’s game against the Ducks, with Tim Thomas expected in net instead of Turco.

“I think our approach seems to be a lot better…we’re skating, we’re competing and we’re battling…Still have work to do.”-Calude Julien (post practice via @NHLBruins)

Tonight the Bruins are going to have to come out strong againt the Lightning to avoid being outscored. The Lightning are a strong team and the Bruins are going to need fresh legs if they stand a chance. Although the Lightning are most likely going to be witnessing the playoffs from their television screens, they aren’t going out without a fight, winning five straight, coming off of a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tonight’s players to watch are Brian Rolston who has a six-game point streak in progress with 3goals and 8assists for 11 points. Chris Kelly who has seven points in his last five games, Benoit Pouliot who  has 4 goals and 7assists in seven of his last nine games played, including 3goals and 5assists in five of his last six. You can also be on the lookout for captain Zdeno Chara who has 3 goals in his last four games.

Tonight’s game is on NESN at 7:30pm EST.

Duck Hunting in Anaheim

Turco picked up his first win as a Bruin (Credit: Kasey Spatz/ Flickr)

Tonight marked the return Rich Peverley and the end of the Boston Bruins west coast roadie. I love when the Bruins play the Anaheim Ducks because The Mighty Ducks is my favorite movie and as everyone knows the Ducks were named off of the movie. So it’s always like my two favorite things are colliding. Anyway, Marty Turco got his second start of the season for the B’s and Tim Thomas got a well needed nap. In the Ducks end Jonas Hiller was the starting goaltender. This matchup was the 24^th time the two teams have meet with the B’s having an 11-10-2-0 record. With Peverley in, that meant another forward was out and that was Daniel Paille. Joe Corvo was also scratched for the 5^th straight game.

First period was uneventful. I say this meaning no goal, no fights, and no blood. The good was that Turco made it longer than 4 minutes in net without giving up a goal. But like I said it came and went.

15:23 in the second  period (yes we had to wait that long for a goal), oh captain my captain Zdeno Chara notches his 12^th goal of the season. One minute and 22 seconds later, Benoit Pouliot scores his 50^th career goal and just like that the B’s are up by two. Back to back goals are something the team capitalized on in the beginning of the season so I’m taking this as a good sign. Four minutes later at 10:49 Teemu Selanne takes advantage of a Adam McQuaid  holding penalty and scores on Turco.

12:38 to go in the third Matt Beleskey got a shot past Turco but because there was a man in the crease the B’s dodged a bullet and held onto the lead. Initially, I thought it was a goal and clearly so did the Ducks coach because he was pouty to no end after this goal was called off. Rule 69.3 aka the contact inside the goal crease is what essentially got the goal ruled off.

With less than seven minutes to go Brian Rolston off a beautiful play by Pouliot. The Chris Kelly, Rolston, Pouliot line is on fire right now with Rolston is now on 6 game point streak. 2:26 remaining Lubomir Visnovsky cut the Bruins lead to just one goal and with that Hiller is pulled and the Ducks have an open net.

The B’s pick up the 3-2 win and Turco picks up his first win as a Bruin and his first win in 408 days. Bruins beat the Ducks for the first time in Anaheim since 2003 and take two out of three games in the west coast trip. The team is off tomorrow and will return home to the TD Garden on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

 

Bruins Struck by Lightning

Caron was the Only Goal for the B's Tonight (Credit: Teka England/ Flickr)

Tonight marked Marty Turco‘s first start as a Boston Bruins. Despite all the injuries, the Bruins looked to get back on track and looked to start with the Tampa Bay Lightning. On ice warm ups indicated two things for the team. The first that it looks like Adam McQuaid‘s injury flared up during the day so he was not the ice. The second (and more positive) Patrice Bergeron was back on the ice despite a day to day injury. In the Lightning end is rookie Dustin Tokarski who is making his third straight start and searching for his first win.

The official scratches for the Bruins not counting the long term injuries (because the list just keeps growing) were McQuaid and Lane MacDermid. MacDermid as it turns out was reassigned to Providence. Trent Whitfield, a fellow Providence player, made the lineup.

2:04 in  Tom Pyatt decided to practice his soccer skills and “kick” the puck in. Except the referee’s didn’t see that even though Jack Edwards did. Needless to say this game started off bitter for me. 9 out of the last 11 now the B’s have given up the first goal. Oh and then at 17:34 Tampa scored again with Nate Thompson which is now the 4th time out of the last 6 the Bruin’s have given up two goals before scoring 1. At least UMass Basketball is playing in the NIT tourney one channel down…bright side anyone? Shawn Thornton follows up the goal with a roughing penalty giving the Lightning a power play. 15:29 hey power play goal for Tampa thanks to Ryan Shannon.

And with that Turco time comes to an end friends. So much for giving Tim Thomas the day off. The Bruins finally managed to get a shot on goal WAY to late in the game thanks to  Whitfield. That’s really the only good I can manage right now. 4:22 it’s 4-0  with a goal from Victor Hedman. 3:52 in Shawn Thornton needless to say destroys Mike Commodore in a fight, but really this was the only thing that kept me remotely intererested in the game. FIRST PERIOD IS OVER THANK YOUU!!!

Second period started and at least this time we waited threeish minutes for them to score. Steven Stamkos gets his 49th of the year and the Bruins get Turco back in net. This period was uneventful literally. Well at least Turco didn’t give up any goals “knocks on wood”. The Bruins do get a PP opportunity that will carry into the 3rd period but besides that, yeah uneventful.

Third period two minutes in Patrice Bergeron left with an injury as Johnny Boychuk laid a shot into net that looked like it was tipped in Jordan Caron. So at least it’s not a shutout now? Caron continues to impress but unfortunately he’s the only one. To me this game ended in the first four minutes. And then at 8:17 in the third, Stamkos got his big 50th of the goal. Welcome to the record books pal. Nothing else happened and I mean nothing.

So this game sucked. The Bruins continue their time in Florida with a game against the Panthers Thursday. I am hoping and praying to never have to watch a game so bad as this ever again. Someone find the Boston Bruins, you know the Stanley Cup winning ones and bring em back please.