The Bruins can finally turn the calendar to the month of March. After a 5-7-1 record in the month of February with being shutout five times, it was time to get back on the right track heading down the stretch.
Boston was in action at the TD Garden Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils. Greg Zanon made his debut with the B's in this game after coming over in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on Monday afternoon.
This was the final meeting between the two teams with Boston winning the previous three meetings. This could also be a potential playoff match-up in the second round. The Devils were 5-5-0 in their last 10 games coming into Thursday, which is obviously mediocre hockey. Does that not scream opportunity for the Bruins?
Bruins' Head Coach Claude Julien shook up the lines for this one. Patrice Bergeron centered Brian Rolston and Brad Marchand while David Krejci centered Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin. Chris Kelly was back down with Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron. The fourth line remained in tact.
Whatever took place behind closed doors between Tuesday's loss and prior to puck drop in this one is unknown. Who cares? It worked because we finally saw Bruins' hockey the way it is supposed to be played.
Krejci and Seguin each had a goal in the first 20 minutes. The new-look top line recorded a combined seven points alone. Even Tim Thomas picked up an assist on Seguin's goal. If it was not for Devils' goaltender Martin Brodeur the score would have been inflated to five or six.
Shawn Thornton left the game in the first period to repair an injury he sustained in a fight with Eric Boulton. He returned to action minutes later. That bout was Thornton's 17th fighting major of the season.
Absolute deja vu in the second period for the Bruins. After a couple of costly mistakes by Joe Corvo, which by now is not really a shocking thing to hear, the Devils came back and scored three unanswered goals. Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, and David Clarkson recorded the tallies for New Jersey. The first two may have come from turnovers, but Thomas allowed a softie on the third one. He should have stopped a squeaker like that.
The defense of the Bruins settled down in the third period and held New Jersey to eight shots. Krejci knotted his second goal of the game on assists from Lucic and Zdeno Chara. The game ended up going into overtime and it was there when Krejci capped off the hat-trick by netting the winning goal. Bruins win by a score of 4-3.
The Bruins will wrap up this three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon when they take on the New York Islanders.
Gold Star: David Krejci (3 goals, plus-2 rating, 5 shots on goal)...Hopefully this offensive outburst will stick around for a while.
Black Star: Joe Corvo...We do not want to see him getting booed every time he touches the puck. The sooner Johnny Boychuk returns, the better it will be for the Bruins.
Did anyone have to rub their eyes and shake their heads prior to Tuesday's Bruins game? Was it slightly weird seeing the B's wearing black and gold? That is what being away from home for six games will do to you.
In case that lead was not detailed enough, the Bruins were back at the TD Garden with their new roster. Brian Rolston, a former Bruin, and Mike Mottau were acquired Monday before the trade deadline in exchange for two prospects. Both made their debuts in this game.
This game was the second game of a home-and-home-series against the Ottawa Senators. Sure there were going to be some tempers flaring in this one after what happened in Saturday's game between Joe Corvo and Kyle Turris (OTT). The primary concern, however, was trying to come out of Tuesday's game with a win.
Tim Thomas got the start in goal for Boston. Shawn Thornton made his return to the lineup after missing the last game with the flu. As expected, Johnny Boychuk was ruled out for Tuesday after suffering a mild concussion on a big hit from Chris Neil.
The first period was rough for Boston. They could not really get a good flow going at any point during the opening 20 minutes. Ottawa exposed that by being aggressive in the neutral zone. Tyler Seguin got whistled for a questionable interference penalty, which killed the little momentum the B's were gaining at that time.
The Sens grabbed a 1-0 lead on the ensuing power play. Erik Karlsson scored his 15th goal of the season on assists from Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza.
The second period was not much different unfortunately. They did not show much offense against a team that they were undefeated against coming into the game. Thomas made some nice saves in his end to keep it a one-goal game. Although the B's outhit the Sens 20-10 through two, all that matters is the final score. Sound familiar?
The Bruins got three power plays in the third period, which really got the offense going for the first time all game long. Senators' goaltender Robin Lehner made great saves down the stretch to record his first career shutout. The Sens knocked off the B's by a score of 1-0 and move within one point of first place in the Northeast Division.
Now I have always said I hate fighting in hockey. With that being said, the Bruins needed something like a fight to spark them. To everyone's surprise, it never happened.
Boston will be back in action Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils.
Gold Star: Tim Thomas (37 saves on 38 shots, 1 goal allowed, .974 save percentage).
Black Star: Tyler Seguin...Once he took that interference penalty early on, it clearly disrupted his game.
The Bruins handled the pesty Ottawa Senators on Saturday night and finished their six-game road trip with a 3-2-1 record. The final score of Saturday's game was 5-3 in favor of the Bruins. After what took place during this game, the final score seemed almost irrelevant.
Let's discuss the game first. Shawn Thornton was scratched from this game due to his lingering flu. Benoit Pouliot skated with Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille.
The Bruins looked real good for about the first 50 minutes of this game (spoiler) and held Ottawa to 15 total shots through the first two periods. After Erik Karlsson put Ottawa on the board first, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand responded by netting a goal each.
Carter Camper scored his first career NHL goal in the second period with an assist from Adam McQuaid. David Krejci put the Bruins up 4-1 in the third period by scoring his 13th goal of the season on the power play. No problem right? Well, there are 60 minutes in a hockey game.
Senators' captain Daniel Alfredsson netted two goals to cut the lead to 4-3. He sniped the puck from the left side of the ice on both goals, leaving Tim Thomas shaking his head. Despite a late push by the Sens, Bergeron added an empty-netter to seal the victory.
Senators' forward Chris Neil delivered a punishing, yet clean, hit on Johnny Boychuk, causing him to leave the game. Neil, known for his physical play, hit Boychuk right in the chest and followed through. Neil was also "hurt" on the play. The term "hurt" is being used very loosely in this case because Zdeno Chara skated right over to respond and Neil stayed down holding his shoulder. They did end up dropping the gloves late in the game.
Another incident took place just minutes after the Neil hit. Kyle Turris of Ottawa blindsided Joe Corvo by hitting his head into the boards. He was called for a boarding penalty on the play. A suspension should be coming Turris' way.
The Bruins remain unbeaten (4-0-0) against the Sens and hold a five-point lead over them in the Northeast Division. The B's return to the TD Garden on Tuesday night to conclude the home-and-home series against Ottawa.
Gold Star: Patrice Bergeron (2 goals, 1 assist, plus-2 rating, 9 shots on goal, 60% face-offs won)...What a way to silence the crowd by putting the game away with the empty-net goal.
Black Star: Jordan Caron...Will this be the last time we see him in a black and gold sweater?
Here we go again. The Bruins got another crack at the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night. They were knocked off by Buffalo 6-0 two weeks ago in what turned out to be their worst loss of the season thus far.
The First Niagara Center in Buffalo has become "the worst place to play" according to Brad Marchand. Did the fans chanting "Boston sucks" in the last meeting have anything to do with it? It's something you have to get used to as a professional. Ignore the crowd.
Boston was coming off of a great performance on Wednesday at St. Louis. Even though it was only a two-goal game, the Bruins dominated from whistle to whistle and that was what the B's needed to do to get back on track. The Milan Lucic-Chris Kelly-David Krejci line recorded four points against the Blues. Krejci skating on the wing has been vital and it could be a key down the stretch.
Tuukka Rask got the start for Boston against the Sabres. He is a goaltender that gets discouraged easily, so he needed to come out early and make some saves to get his confidence up. He did just that. How about that for a coincidence?
Both teams did not rely too much on the physical play in the first period. They actually decided to focus on the game of hockey. They each made some bad defensive turnovers and that caused some odd-man rushes going the other way. Rask and Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller made a total of 15 saves combined in the opening 20 minutes.
What stood out in the second period for the Bruins was their ability to block shots. Andrew Ference had two blocked shots in one sequence. However, the Bruins surrendered the only goal of the period at 14:45. Andrej Sekera beat Rask for his third goal of the season. Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford had the assists.
The physical play picked up in the third period, which seemed to favor the Bruins. Zdeno Chara tied the game with a power play goal. The game eventually went through a scoreless overtime and into a shootout. That is what everyone expected right? (sarcastic tone)
The Sabres beat Rask in the fourth round of the shootout on a goal by Derek Roy. The Sabres knocked off the Bruins by a final score of 2-1.
The Bruins wrap up the road trip Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators.
Gold Star: Johnny Boychuk...He was playing hard in all three zones during this game, something an all-around defenseman needs to do.
Black Star: Shawn Thornton...He was still feeling the symptoms of the flu so his sub-par performance was no surprise.
Wednesday night was game four of the Bruins' grueling six-game road trip. They were in action against the St. Louis Blues.
The Bruins participated in a 75-minute practice on Tuesday, an unusually long time for a practice. Bruins' head coach Claude Julien worked his players hard during the workout in light of their recent struggles. Sometimes longer practices are not the solution though.
Boston recalled Carter Camper from the Providence Bruins earlier in the week. Standing under six-feet tall, Camper is said to have great offensive skill. He made his debut Wednesday night and centered a make-shift line with Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron
The Blues have been one of the better home teams in the league this season. In their last 21 games, St. Louis possessed a record of 18-0-3 at home heading into Wednesday night. Even though they sit in fourth place in the Western Conference, they have their eyes set on the Detroit Red Wings who sit at the top with 84 points. This was not an easy test for Boston. However, it might have been what they needed.
Boston jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Brad Marchand forced a turnover and recorded an unassisted goal while Milan Lucic deflected a Joe Corvo shot past Blues' goaltender Brian Elliot. St. Louis erased that lead and tied the game. Chris Stewart and Ryan Reaves had the tallies for the Blues.
Chris Kelly put the Bruins back on top with less than one minute remaining in the opening period by scoring his 15th goal of the season. Lucic and Kelly, both of whom skated on a line with David Krejci, each recorded a goal and an assist in the first 20 minutes.
In a scoreless second period, both teams still had plenty of scoring chances. Johnny Boychuk almost gave the Bruins their fourth goal of the game, but his shot rattled the iron. The Blues countered with some solid checking by individual players. Tim Thomas played spoiler for St. Louis in the second period.
Marchand grabbed his second goal of the game and 21st of the season in the third period. Both Marchand and Kelly each tied their career-high in goals scored in this game. Thomas made some key stops and the defense planted down in the final minutes to preserve the 4-2 victory. Thomas finished with 30 saves.
The Bruins next game will be Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Gold Star: Brad Marchand (2 goals, plus-2 rating, 3 shots on goal)...The pest that we are used to seeing on the ice had it going in this one.
Black Star: Jordan Caron...He had no impact in this one, recording only five minutes of ice time.
Whenever a team goes on an extended road trip, they are usually matched up with a team that they only see once a year. Sunday afternoon was one of those cases as the Bruins traveled to Minnesota to take on the Wild. This was game three of their six-game road trip.
The Wild once held the number one spot in the Western Conference at the midpoint of December. Ever since then they have lost all momentum. Coming into this game, they were riding a seven-game losing streak. All-Star center Mikko Koivu was ruled out for this game due to an undisclosed injury.
The Bruins are coming off a disappointing loss against Winnipeg on Friday night. Tyler Seguin missed practice on Saturday and Chris Kelly injured his teeth during the same practice. Both were in the lineup for this game. Boston needed those two players against a team that has given them problems before. Minnesota won the only meeting between the two teams last season.
Now let's get to the game. The Bruins held the Wild to very little offense by playing some great defense (yes, I said great defense) in the neutral zone. The fourth line of the B's was explosive as ever. Daniel Paille had three shots on goal and two breakaways alone. He was moved back down to the energy line and Josh Hennessy was moved up to the third line.
Minnesota got on the board first in the second period when Chad Rau scored his second goal of the season. Dany Heatley and Cal Clutterbuck made some quick passes in the neutral zone to set up Rau. The Wild went up 2-0 when Matt Cullen beat Tim Thomas on the power play.
The problem for the Bruins in this one was the outstanding play of Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom. He made 48 saves including a robbery on a shot by Milan Lucic. Solid goaltending will always get the better of you. The Bruins dropped this game by a score of 2-0.
The Bruins next game will be Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues. Will there be a trade between now and then? Plan on it.
Gold Star: Daniel Paille...Going back to playing with his usual linemates really helped him in this game. He finished with three shots on goal.
Black Star: Brad Marchand...There were points in this game where he disappeared. He only recorded two shots and was not a pest at all.
The Bruins were back on the ice Friday night for the second game of their six-game road trip. They took on a Winnipeg Jets team that is pretty much on the same playing field as of late as the B's.
Both teams were 5-5-0 in their last 10 games coming into Friday's game. The Jets just recently got back Evander Kane who was absent from the lineup with a concussion. On the other hand, things are looking much worse for Boston.
Rich Peverley was sent back to Boston to have his knee examined after being injured in the third period of Wednesday's game against the Montreal Canadiens. It turns out that he will miss four to six weeks with a sprained MCL. Hometown kid Josh Hennessy replaced him in the lineup and centered the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. Daniel Paille got moved up to the third line with Chris Kelly and Jordan Caron.
Tuukka Rask got the start in net for the B's in this game. This marked Rask's 100th game as an NHL goaltender. He opposed Ondrej Pavelec.
The opening period was scoreless. However, it was not short of entertainment. Both teams made charges up ice and got some decent scoring chances. The Bruins started to maintain the momentum toward the end of the period and that resulted in them out-shooting the Jets 13-4 in the first 20 minutes.
Having to make the long change in the second period always seems to hurt certain teams and Boston was no different in this one. While they were in the middle of line changes, the Bruins surrendered two goals. Alex Burmistrov and Blake Wheeler were the goal scorers for the Jets. Caron recorded his 3rd goal of the season in between the two Winnipeg tallies.
After David Krejci tied the game for the Bruins with less than a minute into the third period, Bryan Little scored two goals later on in the period to cap off a 4-2 victory for the Jets. Wheeler finished with three points.
Boston will be back on the ice Sunday afternoon when they take on the Minnesota Wild.
Gold Star: Milan Lucic...He finished with an assist and established a good physical presence.
Black Star: Zdeno Chara...He had a minus-2 rating and a costly giveaway. He is not the same player we are used to seeing out there.
