Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Game One

For the 33rd time, the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens faced off against each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now earlier this week, several ESPN NHL analysts predicted that the Bruins would be skating in June for the cup. First things first, they needed to take care of business against the Habs.

There was a comical story on the NESN website today with a clever headline, stating "The Bruins will show up for a hockey game and the Canadiens will show up for a swim meet...because they will be diving." Quite interesting, but quite true. The Bruins needed to stay disciplined and not give Montreal stupid power plays.

Very early on in the first period, Brian Gionta (MTL) hushed the TD Garden crowd by scoring a goal to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. From that point on, the period belonged to Boston. Why does it take them to conceive a goal in order to wake up? Regardless, the Bruins finished the period with more scoring chances and more hits. But they still trailed at the end of the period. Boston's forwards did a solid job, but the defense could not keep the puck in the offensive zone.

It did not take long for us to see a dive from the "swimming champions" of the NHL. P.K. Subban (MTL) sold a hooking call on David Krejci, giving Montreal a power play chance. About a minute later, Ryan White (MTL) got called for a roughing penalty. So both teams skated 4-on-4 to start the second period.

In the second period, the Bruins were making the Canadiens work for their lead. After two periods, Boston led in shots on goal (26-14) and scoring chances (14-7). Montreal goaltender Carey Price still had a solid period, but they just got all the lucky bounces and it was just the Bruins not being able to capitalize. The Bruins still trailed by one entering the third period.

The third period was very similar to the first two. Boston out played Montreal once again. It is unfortunate that a team loses a game when they clearly were the dominant team. At the end of the day, all that matters is the final score. Brian Gionta added another goal for Montreal and they take game one by a score 2-o. Carey Price made 31 saves to post another career shut out. Game two will be this Saturday night at the Garden.

Gold Star: Chris Kelly...he had a couple of blocked shots and played very well on both sides of the ice. A true veteran who knows how to play smart.

Black Star: Johnny Boychuk...although the entire defense did this tonight, he let more pucks escape the offensive zone than any other defenseman when the Bruins had scoring chances.

Just A Thought...

The Boston Bruins announce that rookie forward Brad Marchand won this year's "7th Player Award." This is the award that is given to the player that exceeded all expectations with his stellar play on the ice.

With all due respect to Brad Marchand, my vote would have gone to goaltender Tim Thomas. Here was a guy who lost his job last year to Tuukka Rask and he had to have off-season hip surgery. Many people felt that he was all done with his career. Now, he led the NHL in goals against average (2.00) and he is in line to win yet another Vezina Trophy.

If you look at professional sports today, everyone has high expectations for rookies. In particular cases, an organization will draft a rookie that will carry the franchise on his shoulders right away (Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers). This situation is true beyond hockey as it exists in all sports. Hats off to Marchand's rookie campaign, but by definition of the "7th Player Award," it should have gone to Thomas.

On a side note, ESPN NHL analyst Matthew Barnaby predicts that the Boston Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks will face each other in the Stanley Cup finals. The Bruins defeated the Canucks already this season. I hope I did not jinks anything by saying that. See you guys Thursday for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter finals.

Game 82: The Adventure

Well, this was it. The final regular season game for the 2010-2011 Boston Bruins took place this afternoon in New Jersey as they took on the Devils. As expected, key players got the day off today in order to rest up for the playoffs (Zdeno Chara, Mark Recchi, Tim Thomas).

Within the first two minutes of the game, Patrik Elias scored his 21st goal of the season to put New Jersey on top 1-0. About halfway through the first period, Rich Peverley tied the game at one on a shot that resulted from solid passing by Andrew Ference and Michael Ryder. The first period ended with the score tied at one.

The second period was painfully boring. The Bruins only had one shot on goal and neither team committed a penalty to spark a power play. At least those are somewhat exciting. It was quite obvious that the Bruins were playing with no heart. They were very timid and fragile because they did not want to risk an energy at this point of the season. Can't really blame them for that. The score remained tied at one after two periods.

In between periods, NESN put together a video montage on the Bruins season to the song "The Adventure" by Angels and Airwaves. A nice gift to all Bruins fans for a great season. In the third period, the New Jersey Devils scored two goals in a span of five minutes. Vladimir Zharkov scored his second of the season to put the Devils on top 2-1 and Alexander Urbom scored his first career goal to increase their lead to 3-1. Dennis Seidenberg (BOS) scored a late one, but it was all settled by that point. The Bruins fell to the Devils 3-2.

Gold Star: Rich Peverley (1 goal, +1 rating, 1 shot on goal)....solid puck movement and hustle to chase down the puck.

Black Star: Johnny Boychuk...he took a scary tumble earlier in the game but he was able to continue playing. However, he turned over the puck that led to a Devil's goal on a breakaway.

The Boston Bruins finish the season with a record of 46-25-11 with 103 points and the Northeast Division title. They will face the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Game 1 will be on Thursday night.

Game 81: Home Finale

Today was the final home game of the regular season for the Boston Bruins. It was also the final divisional game as well since they took on the Ottawa Senators, a team that completely cleaned house days before the trade deadline and a team that is clearly getting ready for next year.

For the game today, Dennis Seidenberg and Patrice Bergeron were the healthy scratches for Boston. Up until today, Seidenberg played in every game. This is just an opportunity for players to catch a breath before the playoffs start. We should not be surprised if we do not see Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas for tomorrow's finale.

Daniel Paille put Boston on the scoreboard first on a goal that was assisted by Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. It was good to see the entire fourth line contributing to a goal since it is going to be vital for all four lines to be playing consistent and strong come postseason. Before the end of the period, Bobby Butler (OTT) tied the game at one.

In the second period, Nathan Horton scored his 26th goal of the season on a power play. There were seven total penalties in the period alone. In the third period, Rich Peverley had an unassisted goal to put the Bruins on top 3-1 and that is how the game would end. They will finish up the regular season tomorrow in New Jersey as they take on the Devils.

Gold Star: Tim Thomas (31 saves on 32 shots, 1 goal allowed, .969 save percentage)

Black Star: Mark Recchi...even though he has a solid presence in front of the opposing goal, he finished with a -1 rating and did not record a shot. Hang in there Mark.

Game 80: "It's A Bird, It's A plane, It's A Vezina Trophy Candidate"

It is that time of the season. It is time to recognize the Boston Bruins top performers of the 2010-2011 season. Before the game, 98.5 The Sports Hub Bruins play-by-play voice Dave Goucher announced the various awards to recognize certain Bruins players for their work on and off the ice:

Eddie Shore Award (most hustle and determination ) - Shawn Thornton

Elizabeth Dufresne Award (outstanding play at home) - Tim Thomas

John Bucyk (outstanding work in the community) - Andrew Ference

Bruins Radio Network #3 Star Award- Milan Lucic

Bruins Radio Network #2 Star Award- Patrice Bergeron

Bruins Radio Network #1 Star Award- Tim Thomas

After a huge collapse on Monday against the New York Rangers, the Bruins tried to rebound tonight against the other team from New York, the Islanders. Some of the play from Monday's game carried over to the early part of this game because it was a sloppy first half of the period. Boston defenseman Andrew Ference and forward Brad Marchand made two turnovers in their own zone that led to scoring chances. Thank god for Tim Thomas in those situations.

The Bruins fourth line was the key in the first period. Great passing and great puck movement led to shots that produced rebounds. Shawn Thornton was on the right side of one of those rebounds as he put the puck in the net to score his 10th goal of the season. That adds to his season total of 19 points, a career high. Boston had a one goal lead after the first period.

In the second period, both teams had opportunities to score on power play chances. But it was the Islanders who capitalized on the man advantage...and the man disadvantage. Michael Grabner (NYI) scored his 32nd goal of the season on a power play and his 33rd goal of the season on a penalty kill. Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell scored for Boston in the period as the Bruins took a 3-2 lead into the locker room after the first 40 minutes.

No goals were scored in the third period. However, it was all about the Bruins trying to buckle down and play smart hockey. Tim Thomas made some great stops and the defense kept the blue line very tight. Boston held on to win by a score of 3-2. They now have 101 points with two games left to go in the season.

Gold Star: Shawn Thornton (1 goal, 3 shots on goal, +3 rating)...he played so hard tonight. He still played physical despite the healing cut on the forehead and it looked like he didn't miss a beat.

Black Star: Tomas Kaberle...this was by far his worst game as a Bruin. We didn't see his usual stealer play with the puck and he got beat way too easily on that shorthanded goal.

When Thornton scored his goal tonight, it marked the first time since the 1986-1987 season that Bruins teammates (Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell) recorded double-digit goals and double-digit fights in the same season. Thornton has 10 goals and 14 fighting majors and Campbell has 13 goals and 11 fighting majors. Cam Neely (36 goals, 12 fights) and Nevin Markwart (10 goals, 22 fights) was the duo in the 1986-1987 season. How about that for a stat?

Game 79: Are You Kidding Me?

With only four games left in the regular season, the Bruins have already clinched the Northeast Division. However, they do not want to stop there. Heading into tonight, they are only four points out of first place so a win would be huge. They took on the New York Rangers tonight, a team that currently holds the final playoff spot heading into this game.

The game was held on the Versus Network, which meant that Jack Edwards would not be calling the action. It is a shame because he adds another level of excitement to every game and you can not help but feel pumped. Very disappointing but life goes on. During the morning skate, Bruins forward Milan Lucic took a stick to the face resulting in a cut. He still was in the line up for the game. A sigh of relief for Bruins fans that their leading goal scorer was able to play.

The last time these two teams met, the Rangers won a very tight game in Boston by a score of 1-0. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding as he carried New York on his back during that game. In this game, the first period went by rather quickly partly because it was one of the best played periods by the Bruins all season long. They out shot the Rangers 19-5, won two more faceoffs, and out hit them 10-7. Daniel Paille and Nathan Horton scored for Boston in a span of 1:37 and the Bruins took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after one period.

The second period turned out to be more level. Both teams had plenty of opportunities to put pucks into the net. Chris Kelly (BOS) scored his 13th goal of the season to give Boston a three goal lead. That goal was Kelly's first goal as a Bruin. The Rangers would not go away as Vaclav Prospal scored two goals to pull New York within one. Wojtek Wolski had assists on both goals. A very sloppy period defensively for the Bruins.

As great as the Bruins played in the first period, that is how bad they played in the third period. They played with no sense of urgency at all and it was clear that New York was playing for everything. Brandon Dubinsky (NYR) tied the game at three by scoring his 23rd goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Michael Sauer (NYR) scored his third goal of the season. The Rangers went on to win the game 5-3.

Do not let the score fool you. Tim Thomas played a good game. He just had no help defensively. Three out of the five goals came as a result of defensive errors and the final goal was an empty net goal. So much for chasing the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins need to learn to close games out when the playoffs come around. Although they are used to blowing a 3-0 lead. Too soon? My apologies. But that's reality.

Gold Star: Daniel Paille (1 goal, 4 shots on goal)...he really played hard and he definitely earned his minutes. When Shawn Thornton returns, Paille proved that he should not be the odd man out.

Black Star: Adam McQuaid...when you have your entire team yelling at you about a blown coverage, you know you had a bad game. He finished with a -2 rating and had a giveaway that led to a goal.

Game 78: The Boys Have Returned

Another afternoon game for the Bruins today as they took on the Atlanta Thrashers. This was a team that started the season on top of the Southeast Division. As the season went on, the team started to fall further down the standings and now they are out of playoff contention.

This is also the first time that the Thrashers returned to the TD Garden since the trade that sent Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart to Atlanta. In return, the Bruins received Rich Peverley who has been a vital acquisition to this team. He has been a solid player on the third line since his arrival and he will be an important role player when it comes time for the playoffs.

The game today was a rather clean one with only five total penalties, two of them being delay of game penalties and one of them was a hook for a penalty shot. At the end of the first period, the score was tied at one. Mark Recchi scored for Boston and Dustin Byfuglien score for Atlanta. The second period was also a back and forth battle between the two teams. Evander Kane scored for Atlanta to take the lead. However, Daniel Paille scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game.

Michael Ryder put in a penalty shot to give Boston a 3-2 lead and that is how the game would end. With the win, the Boston Bruins clinched the Northeast Division. The overwhelming consensus among Bruins fans is that they will not settle. They have their eyes on getting a higher seed. Defenseman Shane Hnidy made his season debut today in order to give some guys rest heading into the playoffs. Hnidy will only be a depth player once the postseason starts.

Gold Star: Michael Ryder (1 goal, +1 rating, 2 shots on goal, 2 takeaways)

Black Star: Tomas Kaberle...he played below his average minutes today and he was hardly involved in the offensive end. He was on the wrong side of a huge Mark Stuart hit today. That must have been slightly rewarding for Stuart laying a hit on the player who essentially took his spot.