Boston Bruins Season Chatter 22/23

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 13

 

Bruins 3 Blues 1

 

Bergeron leads Bruins to 3-1 win over slumping Blues

 

 

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ByAP

Updated: 7 hours ago

BOSTON -- — Patrice Bergeron scored a power-play goal with 7:15 remaining and the Boston Bruins beat the slumping St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Monday night.

 

Trent Frederic and Jake DeBrusk also scored for Boston, and Brad Marchand had two assists. Linus Ullmark finished with 25 saves as the Bruins improved to 7-0-0 at home and won for the eighth time in nine games overall.

“It wasn’t necessarily their best or our best but it was one of those things where it was a grind of a game and we found a way to get through it,” DeBrusk said.

 

Brayden Schenn scored and Jordan Binnington had 34 saves in the Blues' seventh straight loss — all in regulation.

 

With the score tied 1-1 deep into the third period, St. Louis captain Ryan O'Reilly was whistled for tripping with 8:28 left to put the Bruins on the power play, and they capitalized.

 

Binnington stopped two shots by Marchand and managed to cover a rebound during an extended scrum in front of the net. However, the Bruins won the faceoff and worked the puck around to Bergeron in the slot for a one-timer that put Boston back on top with his fifth of the season.

 

“I think it’s always fitting that Bergeron comes through,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “There’s not enough words that I can say about how much he means to the team culture and to the team productivity. He’s a player that gets the job done night in and night out.”

 

Frederic helped seal it with 3:32 left with his third.

 

The Blues had a pair of power-play opportunities in the first eight minutes of the game but couldn't capitalize, finishing with just five shots on goal in the period.

 

“We just didn’t create enough momentum for the team in the first period. The second period, we were better. I thought the whole night we worked, we competed,” Schenn said. “In the D-zone, we got running around there in the third. They kind of took it to us quite a bit obviously and they were able to capitalize and win the game."

 

The Bruins led 1-0 after DeBrusk scored on a power play with 6:26 left in the first period, taking a backhand feed from Pastrnak in the slot and slipping it between Binnington’s legs for his fifth.

 

Schenn tied it for St. Louis on a one-timer with 8:23 left in the second off a crossing pass from Jordan Kyrou. It was his third. Former Bruins defenseman Torey Krug also assisted on the goal.

The Bruins scored on both of their power-play opportunities and killed off all three chances when the Blues had the advantage.

 

“The effort’s there. We showed up tonight. We competed hard. That’s a good team over there,” Schenn said. “We’ve just got to find a way to score goals and get the results we want.”

 

WE'RE SORRY

 

Earlier Monday, Bruins president Cam Neely said the club “dropped the ball” in signing Mitchell Miller without properly vetting the decision to bring the 20-year-old defenseman on board despite a conviction for bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities in middle school.

 

The Bruins drew widespread criticism before rescinding the offer Sunday night, then held a news conference Monday when Neely apologized to the victim and his family.

 

“I’m extremely upset that we have made a lot of people unhappy with our decision,” Neely said. “I take pride in the Bruins organization and what we stand for. And we failed there.”

 

 

 

Blues LW Brandon Saad was back on the ice for the first time since an upper-body injury caused him to miss six straight games.

 

PRODUCTION

 

Marchand’s assists gave him seven points (four goals, three assists) in five games since returning early from hip surgery.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 14

 

Bos 3 Flames 1

 

McAvoy scores in season debut, Bruins beat skidding Flames

 

Updated: 5 hours ago

BOSTON -- — Charlie McAvoy scored the go-ahead goal in his season debut and the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins remained perfect on home ice, beating the skidding Calgary Flames 3-1 Thursday night.

 

Linus Ullmark made 31 saves and Connor Clifton also scored as the Bruins improved to 8-0-0 at TD Garden. David Pastrnak added an empty-net goal for Boston, which is 12-2-0 overall.

 

“Calgary came at us. It’s the most physical game we’ve been in,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “I liked the way we responded to their physicality. I just like the way we keep finding ways to win hockey games.”

 

Noah Hanifin scored for the Flames, who dropped their seventh straight.

 

Calgary swarmed the Bruins early, holding them without a shot during the first seven minutes. The Flames scored at the tail end of a power play as Hanifin got his first goal of the season at 4:43 of the opening period.

Clifton followed up his own shot at 16:38 to tie it.

 

“The rebound was there and I was fortunate,” he said.

 

McAvoy’s goal came at 18:27 of the second with traffic in front of Calgary goalie Dan Vladar, who finished with 24 saves.

 

“We did a good job getting possession. It was a good pass by (Pavel Zacha) to find me in the seam. I just wanted to catch and shoot it and it happened to go in,” McAvoy said.

 

McAvoy, the Bruins' top defenseman, was expected to be off the ice for six months after undergoing shoulder surgery in June.

 

“Not having a preseason to get ready, I was definitely nervous all day. But it was a good kind of nervous,” McAvoy said.

 

The 24-year-old blueliner had 10 goals and 56 points in 78 games last season, including 21 points on the power play.

 

“What a deserving guy. We’re really lucky to have him back,” Clifton said.

 

McAvoy played 18:53. He averaged a team-high 25 minutes of ice time last season.

 

“It’s a lot of fun to watch,” Montgomery said. “A lot more fun to coach him than against him."

 

 

Game notes

Clifton and McAvoy became the 17th and 18th players to score goals for the Bruins this season. … With McAvoy reinstated off long-term injured reserve, the Bruins waived defenseman Mike Reilly with the intention of sending him to Providence of the AHL. … Milan Lucic, who won a Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011, returned with the Flames.

 

The 34-year-old Lucic is in his fourth season with Calgary. … The Flames started the season with five wins in their first six games. They fell to 5-5-2 overall after dropping all three games on their road trip. … Calgary entered ranked fourth in the NHL in shots per game (36.9). The Flames outshot the Bruins 37-22. … Boston is 6-0-0 against Western Conference opponents. ... The teams combined to go 0 for 11 on the power play.

Edited November 11, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 15

 

Bos 3 Buff 1

 

Bergeron scores twice as Bruins beat Sabres 3-1

 

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ByAP

Updated: 6 hours ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- — Patrice Bergeron scored two goals and Keith Kinkaid made 30 saves, leading the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

 

Jakub Zboril scored his first NHL goal for Boston, and Brad Marchand had two assists. The Bruins won for the 10th time in 11 games.

 

It was Kinkaid's first game with Boston. He made 20 of his saves in the first two periods.

 

“They came out early and often, so it was good to get into the game right away and see some far shots,” Kinkaid said. “We prevailed in the end, not the best first two periods but I just wanted to give my team a shot and they did the rest.”

 

Kinkaid, who signed with the Bruins in July as a free agent, replaced backup Jeremy Swayman, who is week to week with an undisclosed injury.

 

“You look at what we’re doing on the ice and it’s incredible depth,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “You’ve got to give credit to our pro scouts who went and signed Keith Kinkaid and the depth we have through our organization.”

Bergeron closed it out when he scored with 1:49 remaining in the third period. It was his seventh goal of the season.

 

Tage Thompson scored his 11th goal in Buffalo’s fifth consecutive loss. Craig Anderson made 27 saves.

 

“We’ve got a group that — I’ve said it before — they’re not happy,” Sabres coach Don Granato said.

 

“That’s a really good thing for us, is we brought in competitive people. ... When this stuff happens, they don’t like it. They want to fix it.”

 

Thompson put the Sabres in front with a short-handed goal 5:17 into the first, extending his point streak to four games.

 

“Tage is a one-man wrecking crew out there,” Anderson said. “When the puck’s on his stick, you know something explosive is going to happen.”

 

Boston’s league-leading penalty kill stopped all three Sabres power plays, including two in the second period after back-to-back penalties on defenseman Charlie McAvoy.

 

“It wasn’t a Picasso moment out there in the first two periods besides the special teams and our goaltender,” Montgomery said.

 

Bergeron tied it at 1 with 1:09 left in the second. The captain scored a power-play goal from his knees when he put a rebound of a Jake DeBrusk shot past Anderson.

 

Zboril put Boston ahead to stay with 7:29 left in the third with a screened shot from the blue line.

 

Sabres captain Kyle Okposo was sidelined by a lower-body injury. He missed practice on Friday and did not participate during Saturday’s morning skate. He is listed as day to day. He was replaced in the lineup by rookie Jack Quinn.

 

ZBORIL MAKES HISTORY

 

Jakub Zboril became the first defenseman in Bruins history to have his first career goal stand as the game-winner.

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[Buffalo Rick]

I have no idea how they keep winning.  I watched the entire game Saturday and they were very very lucky.  Hit posts by the Sabres and Boston was outplayed yet they sucked out. Luck is on their side.  They do not strike fear in you like McDavid can with Edmonton.  They just have luck and goaltending on their side. 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 16

 

Bos 5 Van 2

 

Bruins improve to team-record 9-0 at home, beat Canucks

 

 

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ByAP

Updated: 8 hours ago

BOSTON -- — Patrice Bergeron scored his third goal in two days and the Boston Bruins set a team record with their ninth straight home win to start the season, beating the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Sunday night.

The Bruins bettered the team's 8-0 start at the old Boston Garden in 1983-84.

 

“I think everyone’s contributing and playing for the team. I think that’s the biggest thing right now,” Bergeron said.

 

Brad Marchand got his fifth goal in just eight games this season, Connor Clifton and Pavel Zacha also scored and Tomas Nosek added an empty-net goal with 1:58 remaining.

The Bruins have won four in a row and 11 of 12 to improve to 14-2-0.

 

Bergeron had two goals in a 3-1 win at Buffalo on Saturday when the Bruins needed a pair of goals in the third to hold off the struggling Sabres.

 

“We talked about that. We wanted to have a better start, a better effort. I thought tonight was much better,” Bergeron said.

 

Hampus Lindholm had three assists and David Pastrnak had a pair of assists, setting up Bergeron and Marchand for one-timers as the Bruins top line led the way.

 

J.T. Miller scored his second goal in as many games and Sheldon Dries also scored for Vancouver, which lost its third straight. Thatcher Demko stopped 27 shots for Vancouver, which fell to 1/3 on a five-game road trip.

 

In addition to his assists, Pastrnak drew a pair of tripping penalties from the Canucks. Late in the first period, he wound up for a slap shot, then slipped the puck to Bergeron in the slot for a tip-in that put Boston up 2-1. Bergeron scored twice Saturday night in a 3-1 win at Buffalo.

 

Both teams went 2 for 6 on the power play. Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said the Canucks gave the Bruins too many chances, including two delay of game penalties on botched clearing attempts and another for playing with a broken stick.

 

“It makes it an awful difficult time,” Boudreau said. “It seems every time you take a dumb penalty or a needless penalty, those are the ones that are scored on.”

 

After a give-and-go by Lindholm and Zacha put the Bruins up 3-1, Pastrnak set up Marchand with a crossing pass late in the second for Marchand's fifth goal since returning from offseason hip surgery.

 

The Bruins were up 4-1 until Dries scored with a shot from the side of the net made it in 4:34 into the third. Only two seconds remained on a high-sticking penalty to Boston’s Jakub Zboril when the Canucks picked up their second power-play goal of the game. Entering Sunday, the Bruins had killed 12 straight penalties over the previous three games.

 

Boston’s streak came to an end 9:05 into the first when Miller beat goaltender Linus Ullmark on a breakaway. The Canucks were up a skater as Tomas Nosek served an instigator penalty after a fight with Kyle Burroughs, who had just leveled Pastrnak with a hard hit.

 

"Every night he brings it. It was so fun to see him go out there and stand up for Pasta and then also get the goal," Lindholm said.

 

The fight didn’t last long and tensions continued to build. A.J. Greer laid out Vancouver's Vasily Podkolzin with a hit at center ice, then both started swinging. Greer landed several clean shots to Podkolzin’s face, which was bleeding as he was led back to the bench to the cheers of Bruins fans. Podkolzin did not return.

 

Bergeron said Nosek inspired his teammates when he went right after Burroughs following the hit on Pastrnak. He was rewarded near the end when he fired a shot from just in front Ullmark into the net at the other end of the ice.

“You could see on the bench. Everyone was super happy for him. It’s well deserved,” Bergeron said.

 

[Brewin Flames]

1 hour ago, Hockey Junkie said:

I have no idea how they keep winning.  I watched the entire game Saturday and they were very very lucky.  Hit posts by the Sabres and Boston was outplayed yet they sucked out. Luck is on their side.  They do not strike fear in you like McDavid can with Edmonton.  They just have luck and goaltending on their side. 

 

 

Bruins have scored the most goals in the NHL so far with 64, in 16 games played.

 

Edm has 59 goals scored, also in 16 games. When you average 4 goals per game, that's not luck, it's skill and depth.

[Buffalo Rick]

15 minutes ago, Brewin Flames said:

 

 

Bruins have scored the most goals in the NHL so far with 64, in 16 games played.

 

Edm has 59 goals scored, also in 16 games. When you average 4 goals per game, that's not luck, it's skill and depth.

What is up with Calgary?  I expect them to do better

[Brewin Flames]

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

What is up with Calgary?  I expect them to do better

 

 

Ya, so did i....started solid, now slumping.

[Buffalo Rick]

9 hours ago, Brewin Flames said:

 

 

Ya, so did i....started solid, now slumping.

They win tonight!!  I wonder if it was a mistake losing Geaudreau?

Edited November 14, 2022 by Hockey Junkie
Add

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 17

 

Bos 4 Flyers 1

 

David Krejci scores twice in 3rd, Bruins beat Flyers 4-1

ByAP

Updated: 6 hours ago

BOSTON -- — David Krejci scored twice in the third period and the surging Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Thursday night.

 

“I know that if I’m on top of my game that I can help the team offensively and put some points on the board,” said Krejci, who rejoined Boston after sitting out last season. “When I feel better, good things happen.”

Boston scored three times in the final period, with Krejci getting his third and fourth goals of the season.

 

“We kept building our game and took over in the third period and finished the job,” Krejci said.

 

Tomas Nosek scored for the second straight game and Jake DeBrusk also had a goal to help the Bruins win their fifth straight and improve to 10-0 at home. Linus Ullmark stopped 22 shots for his 12th victory in 12 starts.

 

“Obviously, there are always going to be moments when there’s breakdowns. Teams are good and, in some cases, great in this league,” Ullmark said. “There are opportunities for them to score but my job is to stop the puck.”

 

Boston has won 15 of its first 17 games.

 

“It’s hard to win one game. To win this many games is crazy. No one expected that,” Krejci said. “But we’re staying even keeled and focused on the task at hand. We’ve been going a good job at doing that. We always put the game behind us and move on.”

 

Nick Foligno registered two assists for the Bruins, giving him 300 for his career.

 

Owen Tippett scored on a power-play for Philadelphia, and Carter Hart made 28 saves. The Flyers have dropped five straight.

 

“We’re going to have to find a way to make more plays to get going offensively,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “For a lot of minutes, I thought we checked well. We need the guys who can make plays make the plays when they’re there.”

Tippett cut it to 2-1 midway through the third, but Krejci countered 16 seconds later.

 

Game notes

Tortorella coached his 1,400th NHL game. The Boston product became the first American-born NHL coach to reach the mark. … The Bruins staged their annual Military Appreciation Night. The players commemorated the occasion by wearing camouflage jerseys during pregame warmups that were scheduled to be auctioned off to benefit the team’s charitable foundation.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 18

 

Bos 6 Hawks 1

Bruins tie NHL mark for home start; beat Blackhawks, 6-1

 

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ByAP

Updated: 13 hours ago

BOSTON -- — David Pastrnak scored two goals as the Boston Bruins tied the NHL record for most consecutive home wins to open a season with 11 by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-1 on Saturday night.

Patrice Bergeron, Jake DeBrusk, Taylor Hall and David Krejci also scored, and Charlie McAvoy had four assists to help Boston equal the season-opening home mark set by the Blackhawks in 1963-64 and matched by the Florida Panthers last season.

 

It was the sixth straight victory for the Bruins (16-2-0). Boston hits the road for two games this week — against Tampa Bay and Florida — before returning home to host Carolina for its annual Black Friday matinee.

 

“It's unfathomable that we were going to have this start,” Boston's first-year coach Jim Montgomery said. “So we're enjoying the ride right now, but we know our schedule is getting really hard. It's nice to be part of the record books.”

 

Behind a fired-up TD Garden crowd that broke into numerous chants of “Let’s Go Bruins,” Boston jumped to a 2-0 edge early in the second period en route to matching its season-high for goals in a game.

 

“You can see how close everyone is in this room, how everyone plays for each other," McAvoy said. “We're pulling from experiences we've had so far. ... It's a great attitude and vibe in the room right now. We've just got to ride these waves.”

Playing his first game since leaving with a left knee injury from a collision with Bergeron, Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman made 17 saves.

 

“It's been great," Bergeron said. “We're trying to focus on what brings success right now, and be in the moment.”

 

Taylor Raddysh scored a power-play goal for Chicago and Petr Mrazek stopped 37 shots. The Blackhawks have lost three straight.

 

“I don't think anyone is lacking a lot of confidence, but when goals start going in maybe guys are not making as much of confident plays,” Chicago defenseman Connor Murphy said.

 

With Boston on the power play, Pastrnak took a cross-ice from Brad Marchand just inside the right circle and slipped a wrister that slipped under the pads of Mrazek 4:53 into the game.

 

The Bruins led 1-0 after one period and it could have been a lot more because they outshot Chicago 15-3 and had a handful of excellent close chances.

Bergeron one-timed McAvoy’s pass inside the left post, making it 2-0 at 4:28 of the second.

 

Raddysh, positioned in the slot, tipped Max Domi’s shot into the net for a power-play score that sliced it to 2-1

 

But DeBrusk and Krejci scored a little over a minute apart late in the second, making it 4-1. Pastrnak’s second came midway into the third.

 

“Credit to them, they play fast and they capitalize on those chances,” Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi said. “We didn't take care of the puck tonight and it hurt us.”

 

HOW THE WEST WAS WON

 

The Bruins improved to 8-0 against Western Conference teams.

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Brewin Flames

[Brewin Flames]

Bruins put up 6

 

 

[CorkyM]

Next seven games, all against very good teams.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 19

 

Bos 5 Bolts 3

 

Bergeron gets 1,000th point, streaking Bruins beat Lightning

 

 

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ByAP

Updated: 8 hours ago

TAMPA, Fla. -- — Patrice Bergeron got his 1,000th career point with a second-period assist and the Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 Monday night for their seventh straight win.

 

Bergeron became the fourth Boston player and 94th in NHL history to reach the milestone with the second assist on Brad Marchand’s goal at 15:08 that gave the Bruins a 4-1 lead.

 

Marchand immediately pointed at Bergeron after scoring his goal and the Boston bench emptied to celebrate with the 37-year-old center along the boards.

 

“That was probably the most special thing about it,” Bergeron said. “All the guys kind of jump on and share that with them. It's great. That's something I will remember for a long time.”

 

The other Boston players to reach 1,000 points are Ray Bourque (1,506), Johnny Bucyk (1,339) and Phil Esposito (1,012), who was at the game as a Lightning radio broadcaster. Bergeron is the 41st player to have 1,000 points with one franchise.

 

“The players love him," Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “I joked around the other day, I'm like, if he had any kind of cheat in his game he might have 1,200 points already, or 1,300. He's just so dedicated to playing the game the right way and helping the team have success."

 

Montgomery compared Bergeron, a five-time Selke Trophy winner as the league's top defensive forward, to Montreal great Bob Gainey.

 

“I think historically Bob Gainey's been the best defensive player in the game,” Montgomery said. “I had the fortune of watching him in his hey-day with Montreal. What Patrice has done as a center, there is so much more responsibility, he might go ahead of Bob as the greatest of all-time.”

 

David Krejci, Nick Foligno, Charlie Coyle and David Pastrnak also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 17-2. Linus Ullmark made 32 saves.

 

Boston needs two wins to match the 1929-30 Bruins squad that started the season a franchise-best 19-2.

 

Nick Paul scored twice and Rudolfs Balcers had the other Lightning goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots.

 

“That's why they're an elite team in the league, when they waned they kept it together and stuck with it,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper. “When it didn't go our way, we didn't handle it that well. Two good teams. It was a good game for the most part, but they deserved more than we did.”

 

Tampa Bay had won four in a row.

 

Foligno and Coyle scored 31 seconds apart in the second to put Boston up 3-1.

 

Foligno, who took a shot off the chin during the morning skate, had a rebound power-play goal at 5:07.

 

Coyle was credited with his in-close goal after a video review. It was originally called no-goal when the referees ruled the net had come loose before the puck cleared the goal-line.

 

Pastrnak, on the power play, and Balcers traded goals 11 seconds apart early in the third before Paul's man-advantage goal made it 5-3 at 10:38.

 

Pastrnak has 13 goals in 15 games against Vasilevskiy, and extended his point streak to seven games (four goals, 10 points).

 

Paul and Krejci had first-period goals. Krejci has four goals during a three-game goal streak.

 

Tampa Bay outshot 9-0 over the first eight minutes of the game.

 

 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 20

 

Bos 2 Panthers 5

 

Panthers score 3 in 2nd period, halt Bruins win streak at 7

ByAP

Updated: 6 hours ago

SUNRISE, Fla. -- — Anton Lundell, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk scored in the second period as the Florida Panthers beat Boston 5-2 on Wednesday night, snapping the Bruins’ seven-game winning streak.

The Panthers took advantage of seven power-play chances by scoring three goals with the man-advantage, including two in the second period.

 

Sam Reinhart and Aaron Ekblad also scored for Florida. Spencer Knight, who spent two seasons at Boston College before joining the Panthers in 2021, made 37 saves.

 

“We needed some wins because we have been outshooting opponents and playing really well, we’re just not getting the wins,” Barkov said. “(Wednesday) we deserved to win. We played a solid game and now we just need to keep going. We know they are a really good team, and a good team for a reason. We played the best game we could play — but we can get better.”

 

Boston got goals from Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak. Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves.

 

Florida came into the game leading the NHL in total shots on goal and had been outshot in just three games before Boston took 15 shots on Knight in the opening period and ended the frame with a 39-29 advantage.

The Panthers took the lead on a power play goal from Reinhart 1:49 into the game on a give-and-go from Tkachuk.

 

Boston evened the score on McAvoy’s slap shot with a two-man power play advantage with 2:46 remaining in the first.

 

Florida ended up killing a four-minute penalty on Lundell at the start of the second — with Lundell giving his team the lead for good with his second goal of the season at 4:41 in the period.

The Panthers then added two more goals in the final four-plus minutes of the second to take a 4-1 lead into the third.

 

“We were better in the second and third period for sure,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “Boston is a dangerous team, playing with a lot of confidence. They have an awful lot of speed. We built during the game. Spencer Knight was really strong in the first period and gave you that good feeling from your goaltender and we really built off of that.”

 

Boston had a second 5-on-3 advantage in the third and again cashed in with a slap shot from the slot — this one coming from Pastrnak.

 

The Panthers, again, killed the remainder of the penalty and limited the damage.

 

With 3:54 remaining, Charlie Coyle scored, but the goal was immediately waved off due to Nick Foligno playing the puck with his hand.

 

With 2:10 left, Ekblad scored into the empty net.

This was the second seven-game winning streak of the season for Boston, with the first lasting from Oct. 20-Nov. 3; the second started Nov. 7 against Buffalo.

 

Florida entered on a three-game winless streak, with losses in four of its previous five games.

 

“We haven’t harped on it a lot, but (we have had problems with) turnovers and taking too many minor penalties,’’ Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “I thought the first period was a really good period, and the second — until they scored the second goal — I thought we were carrying play again.”

 

Game notes

The Florida Panthers started last season with 11 consecutive home wins, tying the NHL record set by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1963. Boston, which returns home to face Carolina on Friday, has a chance to set the record as it has won its first 11 at home this season. … Boston forward Craig Smith played in his 800th NHL game on Wednesday night. Ekblad recorded his 100th NHL goal.

 

[CorkyM]

Bruins beat Hurricanes in OT, 3-2

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 21

 

Bos 3 Canes 2 OT

 

Bruins set NHL record: 12 straight home wins to start season

 

 

0:52

 

 

 

David Pastrnak tallies goal for Bruins on the power play

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ByAP

12 hours ago

BOSTON -- — The Boston Bruins set the NHL record for most home victories to start a season with their 12th straight, topping the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime on Friday with a power-play goal from David Pastrnak.

The Bruins broke the mark of 11 that was set by the 1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks and equaled by the Florida Panthers last season.

 

“That felt awesome,” Bruins first-year coach Jim Montgomery said. “We talked about it after the second (period) going into the third. There’s been a lot of great teams in this league and you’re able to set a precedent, break a record. It’s pretty special and it doesn’t happen if those guys don’t believe in themselves like they do.”

 

Boston, which trailed 2-0 late in the second period, tied it with 9:33 left in regulation when David Krejci scored his second of the game on a shot from the right point.

 

“It’s never fun being down going into the third, you’re sitting in here (in the locker room) trying to figure it out,” Krejci said. “You want to come out and do the job, something special on the line. It’s hard to win in this league. To get 12 in a row at home is pretty special.”

 

In overtime, Carolina was playing shorthanded after being called for too many men on the ice when Pastrnak one-timed a pass from Brad Marchand inside the far post from above the left circle.

 

“It was a big win for us, obviously, coming from behind," Pastrnak said.

 

Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Stefan Noesen each scored a power-play goal for Carolina, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 38 saves. The Hurricanes lost their fifth straight.

 

In a rematch of last spring’s opening-round playoff series that the Hurricanes won in seven games, Carolina shutout the NHL’s highest scoring team for nearly two periods and jumped ahead a pair of power-play goals in the opening period.

“We took too many penalties. That's hurting us right now," Kotaniemi said. “I think 5-on-5 we're doing a really good job. We started good tonight and couldn't keep that up.”

 

Boston’s tying goal was originally disallowed because of goaltender interference on Nick Foligno but overturned on a coach’s challenge after it was ruled that he was nudged into the crease by Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce.

Boston starting goaltender Linus Ullmark made 28 saves but had to leave with 13:03 left in the third period with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

 

Teammate Connor Clifton had jumped on him to block a shot during a scramble. Jeremy Swayman made six stops in relief.

 

Carolina's Noesen scored at 6:34 in to make it 1-0. And with five minutes left in the period, Kotkaniemi collected the puck near the side of the net after Seth Jarvis’ shot bounced off the back glass and slipped it inside the post at 15:05.

Krejci scored for Boston with 31 seconds left in the second.

 

Boston came in with a league-high 82 goals in 20 games (4.10 per game), but it was held to relatively few chances despite getting a 5-on-3 power-play advantage early on.

 

TAKE NOTE

 

The Bruins honored captain Patrice Bergeron, who recorded his 1,000th career point when the team was on the road Monday against Tampa Bay, with a message on the Jumbotron. The crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Bergeron became just the fourth Bruin to reach the mark, joining Hall of Famers Ray Bourque (1,506), Johnny Bucyk (1,339) and Phil Esposito (1,012).

 

[CorkyM]

So totally awesome!

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 22

 

Bos 3 Bolts 1

 

Bruins extend NHL-record season-opening home win streak

ByAP

Updated: 5 hours ago

BOSTON -- — Taylor Hall scored twice and the Boston Bruins extended their NHL-record streak of home victories to open a season to 13 games with a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

 

Backup goalie Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves and Brad Marchand added an empty-netter for the Bruins, whose 3-2 overtime win over Carolina on Friday broke the record of 11 set by the 1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks and matched by the Florida Panthers last season.

 

“For us, it’s more about our process that allows us to have positive outcomes,” Bruins first-year coach Jim Montgomery said of the streak. “We’re together on how we think things should work and we believe in that process.”

 

Steven Stamkos had a power-play goal, raising his career point total to 999, and Andrei Vasilievskiy stopped 23 shots for Tampa Bay. The Lightning had won six of their last seven games.

 

“I think these are the (games) you circle,” Tampa Bay center Ross Colton said. “These are the ones you want to measure up against. For the most part, I think we played really well.”

 

Hall snapped off a shot from the slot for the eventual winner 2:49 into the third period after collecting a pass from Nick Foligno, who started to circle the net before quickly turning and centering the puck.

 

“I think we’re showing, that no matter who we’re playing, that its really about us and how we play,” Hall said. “We’re going to get team’s bests, they’re going to come hard. I think we have the confidence that if we play our game, we’re probably going to win.”

 

Swayman came across the crease, flashing his right pad to make a splendid stop on Corey Perry with just under seven minutes left in the game.

 

“That's the best he's looked this year to me,” Montgomery said of his netminder. “Very calm in the crease.”

 

Tampa Bay had tied it on Stamkos’ score with 1:40 left in the second period.

 

Swayman stopped about four or five excellent chances in the period before Stamkos scored on a one-timer off a pass from Nikita Kucherov from near the left circle.

 

“Even though we've had success in the win column, it doesn't mean guys haven't gone up and down in different mental states and stuff,” Swayman said. “They're doing what it takes to perform on the ice, and that's special.”

 

In an opening period with few quality scoring opportunities, Hall made it 1-0 just 67 seconds into the game. Positioned in the slot, Hall tipped in Brandon Carlo’s shot from the point, with the puck dropping from about waist high and going between Vasilievskiy’s pads.

 

Vasilievskiy robbed Jake DeBrusk’s short-handed bid midway into the period with a blocker stop when the winger broke free for a wrister between the circles.

 

DOWN BUT NOT OUT

 

Bruins standout defenseman Charlie McAvoy was down for a while after the puck deflected under his visor and hit him on the bridge of his nose. He got up slowly, headed down the runway toward the locker room, but quickly came back and didn’t a shift.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 23

 

Bos 5 AVS 1

 

ruins improve to record 14-0 at home, beat Avalanche 5-1

 

 

1:01

 

Bruins score two goals 10 seconds apart

Bruins score two goals 10 seconds apart

---

ByAP

Updated: 6 hours ago

BOSTON -- — Another top NHL team came to Boston and ran into the unbeatable Bruins.

 

David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic scored two goals apiece and the Bruins improved to an NHL-record 14-0 at home this season by beating the Colorado Avalanche 5-1 on Saturday night.

 

Three nights after William and Kate, the future British king and queen, were in the TD Garden to watch the NBA's Celtics, the 18-time Prince of Wales Trophy winners took the ice against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

 

Just like the defending East champion Lightning did on Tuesday, and the Carolina Hurricanes — who knocked Boston out of the playoffs last season — did the game before, the injury-depleted Avalanche left with a loss.

 

“It’s fun to play at home,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. “But, you know, we kind of carry that confidence all the time. It’s just sometimes it goes our way a little more at home.”

 

Linus Ullmark stopped 25 shots for his sixth straight victory, but his first since Nov. 21. Jake DeBrusk scored his 100th career NHL goal, making it 5-1 late in the third period just 10 seconds after Frederic gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead.

“I do think that we have a killer instinct in us that has grown throughout the year,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “This team, you can tell a lot of guys have won a lot in this league. They know how to win.”

 

Andrew Cogliano scored to make it 3-1 in the third for the Avalanche, spoiling Ullmark’s shutout after two Bruins collided in front of the net and gave the puck away. Pavel Francouz made 34 saves for Colorado, which is without forwards Valeri Nichushkin, Evan Rodrigues and Darren Helm and defensemen Bowen Byram and Kurtis MacDermid; captain Gabriel Landeskog had knee surgery in October.

 

“Colorado was very depleted,” Montgomery said. “But still, that’s a championship team and they know how to win.”

 

Pastrnak gave the Bruins the lead when he one-timed a pass from Brad Marchand into the net on a power play with just under six minutes left in the first period. Charlie McAvoy worked a give-and-go with Pavel Zacha, and Frederic poked in the rebound to make it 2-0 near the end of the first.

 

Another potential goal by DeBrusk was waved off because the net came off its moorings before the puck crossed the line. Pastrnak made it 3-0 five minutes into the second when he was sprung on a breakaway by David Krejci.

“That was big,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes there’s a lull in the game and then the other team gets a little bit of a lift. But that Krejci line was good all night.”

 

Tomas Nosek had a chance to add to it when he was taken down on a breakaway near the end of the period; Francouz stopped the penalty shot.

 

 

Game notes

The record of 11 straight home wins to start the season had been set by the 1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks, matched by the Florida Panthers last season and broken by the Bruins last Friday. ... Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen left the game after the first period and did not return. ... The Bruins alumni played a charity game against a group of Navy Seals on Saturday afternoon. Among those lacing up skates for the alumni was the defensive pairing of Ray Bourque and Zdeno Chara.

 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 24

 

Bos 3 VGK 4 SO

 

Former B's coach Cassidy wins; Boston's home streak ends

 

 

0:58

 

Reilly Smith gives Golden Knights the shootout win

Reilly Smith gives the Golden Knights a 4-3 shootout victory in Bruce Cassidy's return to TD Garden.

---

ByAP

Updated: 5 hours ago

BOSTON -- — The Vegas Golden Knights made former Boston coach Bruce Cassidy’s return a success on Reilly Smith’s score in the fifth round of the shootout, beating the Bruins 4-3 to end their NHL-record for home victories to open a season at 14 games on Monday night.

 

The 57-year-old Cassidy was fired by Boston following 5 ½ seasons in June after the Bruins were eliminated by Carolina in the opening round of the playoffs.

Eight days after he was let go, he was hired by Vegas.

 

In a matchup of two of the league’s top three teams, Western conference-leading Vegas opened a 3-0 lead early in the second period on two goals by Paul Cotter and the other by Jonathan Marchessault before the Bruins started their comeback when Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak scored just over six minutes apart late in the period.

 

They tied it on Taylor Hall’s power-play goal 3:08 into the third when he spun in front and slipped a shot from the slot past goalie Logan Thompson.

 

Smith had the only score in the shootout, slipping a forehand shot past goalie Jeremy Swayman.

 

Cassidy took over as Boston’s interim coach on Feb. 7, 2016, before getting the head job that April. His teams made the playoffs all six seasons, including a trip to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final when they lost the seventh game at home against St. Louis.

 

Cassidy knows what it sounds like in TD Garden with The Standells’ song “Dirty Water” blaring after Bruins’ wins.

 

“Now that you brought it up, I’m used to hearing “Dirty Water” at the end of the game,” he said, smiling. “I’m glad I didn’t hear it tonight. The streak is irrelevant to me. It’s nice to come in and play well.”

 

Boston lost for just the second time in 12 games.

“This locker room sticks together, and we knew we were going to do something special tonight,” Swayman said. “It (stinks) losing, but we’re going to make sure we fix the problems.”

 

The Bruins’ home-opening streak broke the record of 11 that was set by the 1963-64 Chicago Blackhawks and equaled by the Florida Panthers last season.

 

Before the shootout, Thompson made 40 saves. Boston’s backup Swayman had 21.

 

“This city meant a lot to him, and he was fired up ready to go,” Thompson said of Cassidy. “We went out there and tried to get him two points tonight.”

 

Cotter collected William Karlsson’s pass inside the left circle and unloaded a wrister under the crossbar 1:36 into the game.

 

Marchessault stole Pastrnak’s attempted clearing pass, broke in alone and tucked in his own rebound to make it 2-0.

 

Cotter’s second came 51 seconds into the second period when he slipped a wrister past Swayman’s glove.

 

“We couldn't get it done early, before the shootout. We had chances,” Pastrnak said. “It's a tough one to swallow.”

 

Vegas star forward Jack Eichel missed the game with a lower-body injury.

 

TRIBUTE

 

The Bruins played a video montage of Cassidy on the Jumbotron late in the opening period that ended with a picture of him and said: “Welcome back, Bruce.”

 

The crowd gave him a nice ovation and he waved thanking them.

 

“It's a really nice gesture by the Bruins' organization,” he said. “I appreciate it. I said all along that I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I'm thankful they did it.”

 

FOR THE RECORD

 

Cassidy finished tied for third on the Bruins’ coaching list with Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt (1955-66) at 245 victories, behind Claude Julien’s (2008-17) 419 and Art Ross (1925-45) with 387.

 

EXTRA SPECIAL TEAMS

 

The Bruins entered the game ranked second in the league both with their power play (29.6%) and penalty killing (84.1%).

 

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 25

 

Bos 4 Avs 0

 

Hall, Pastrnak spark Bruins in 4-0 win over banged-up Avs

 

 

---

ByAP

Updated: 4 hours ago

DENVER -- — Taylor Hall scored twice and had an assist, Linus Ullmark stopped 23 shots for his second shutout of the season and the Boston Bruins cruised to a 4-0 win over the banged-up Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.

 

David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic added goals for the Bruins, who beat Colorado 5-1 last weekend. Boston improved to 10-0-1 against Western Conference teams this season.

 

The Bruins found a big spark soon after Pastrnak was knocked to the ice on a hard hit from Dryden Hunt early in the second period. Tomas Nosek came to the defense of Pastrnak and got into a fight with Hunt. Both were sent to the penalty box.

 

Pastrnak exacted a measure of revenge just over two minutes later by scoring his 18th goal of the season. It was set up by a David Krejci pass from behind the net.

 

“That can fire us up,” Charlie Coyle said of Nosek's confrontation. “Sticking up for one of our top guys, that’s big.”

 

Hall soon made it 2-0 thanks to Coyle, who stole the puck and fed it to Hall.

 

“It’s not easy coming to the altitude and playing. I don’t think any one of us expected to have a rocking start,” Hall explained. “But we found our game as the (second) period went on and we found our legs. That was really good.”

In the third period, Frederic scored on a pass from Hall, and 3:18 later Hall added another.

 

Alexandar Georgiev stopped 33 shots for an Avalanche team that has lost three straight.

 

Colorado is trying to weather a glut of injuries that's led it to dig deep into its minor-league system. The team called up Cal Burke, Ben Meyers, Sampo Ranta and Andreas Englund from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL on Wednesday. The foursome were all in the depleted lineup. The team has now used 34 players this season, which is among the most in the league.

 

“We’re missing a lot of guys,” Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said. “But no excuses.”

 

That was coach Jared Bednar's message, too. Just keep playing hard.

 

“Listen, if you’re quitting, you shouldn’t be in the league. It’s a privilege to play in this league,” Bednar said. “It’s not always going to be easy. It’s a hard game. That’s one. Moral victories?

 

We’re going to take it, and we’re going to teach it. If this group stays the exact same moving forward for the next one game, two games, five games, I expect us to be better the next game. They're going to learn as a group, what it takes to be able to play in this league, what it takes to be able to have success in this league.”

 

INJURY BUG

 

The latest player to be sidelined was Colorado's leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon. He's out for about a month after suffering an upper-body injury during Monday's loss in Philadelphia.

 

Forwards Darren Helm and Artturi Lehkonen skated with the team Wednesday and could be close to a return.

 

BURKE’S DEBUT

 

Burke made his NHL debut against the team he grew up rooting for as a kid. Burke, who’s from Massachusetts, was a big fan of Patrice Bergeron.

 

“It’s kind of surreal, with a lot of family back home being able to watch,” said Burke, whose audience at Ball Arena included his wife and parents. “It's cool."

 

He played nearly 11 minutes and had one shot.

 

“Definitely lived up to expectations,” Burke said of his debut.

 

[thegx.ca]

How is Boston winning all the time haha...? I mean the entire team is same they just changed coach and even that I thought would make them worse...

[Brewin Flames]

Having D.K back is huge....whole team has bought into the system and style that Monty brings, good things.

[Brewin Flames]

Game # 26

 

Bos 3 Yotes 4

 

Coyotes end 19-game losing streak to Bruins with 4-3 win

 

 

0:51

 

Coyotes' Lawson Crouse scores go-ahead goal with 13.5 seconds left

Coyotes' Lawson Crouse scores go-ahead goal with 13.5 seconds left

---

ByAP

Updated: 4 hours ago

 

TEMPE, Ariz. -- — The Arizona Coyotes' return to the Mullett turned into one big streak-ending party.

 

Lawson Crouse scored his second goal with 13.5 seconds left in the third period and the Coyotes returned home to end a 19-game losing streak to the Boston Bruins with a 4-3 victory Friday night.

 

“They are a really good team, top one or two in the league,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “We went after them and really competed. That was a good win for our team.”

 

The Coyotes returned from a 14-game trip to play at Mullett Arena for the first time since Nov. 3. They got off to a great start when Josh Brown scored 23 seconds into the game and played well against the NHL-leading Bruins, taking a 3-2 lead on Nick Schmatz's third-period goal.

 

Boston tied it on Nick Foligno's power-play goal with 5 1/2 minutes left, but Coyotes closed it out in the closing seconds after an icing was called off.

 

Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman let the puck trickle across the line and Arizona rookie Matias Maccelli snatched it between two defenders, feeding Crouse for a one-timer to end the second-longest losing streak against one team in NHL history.

 

“I was kind of posting up on the blue line thinking it was going to be icing and he made a great pass,” Crouse said. “I just tried to get it up as quick as I could and it went in.”

 

Karel Vejmelka stopped 43 shots to help the Coyotes end a six-game losing streak.

 

David Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle each scored, and Swayman had 12 saves for the Bruins, who outshot Arizona 46-16.

 

"When you have that many shots in a game, the team did a lot of good things, but we wanted finish more, obviously,” Foligno said. “We dominated that team. It’s unfortunate we didn’t come away with the win.”

 

Arizona left the desert for its elongated trip to give Arizona State time to finish an annex at the 5,000-seat shared Mullett Arena.

 

The Coyotes got the trip off to a good start with three straight wins, but went 1-7-3 the rest of the way.

 

They wasted no time feeling comfortable back at their temporary home, scoring 23 seconds in when Brown shot through a passing screen and beat Swayman to the glove side.

 

Pastrnak tied it on a power play four minutes later, punching in a rebound during a wild scramble in front of Vejmelka.

 

Jakob Chychrun to have put Arizona up 2-1 on a power play early in the second period, but the officials upheld Boston’s challenge that the Coyotes were offside.

 

Boston then took the lead and this one counted when Coyle jammed in a rebound past Vejmelka from the edge of the crease.

 

The lead didn't last long.

 

Crouse scored less than three minutes later by redirecting Shayne Gostisbehere's shot from above the left circle, then Vejmelka stopped consecutive breakaways in less than a minute.

 

Schmaltz needed 53 seconds of the third period to put Arizona back up, beating Swayman after a pass from Clayton Keller.

 

Foligno managed to tie it, but a gaffe in their own end cost the Bruins a chance to extend their win streak against Arizona.

 

“I was shocked. Honestly, I actually couldn’t believe it,” Foligno said. “I was almost dumbfounded. Not not to knock those guys, it’s just a surprising call. One hundred times out of 100 that’s (icing).”

 

MACCELLI MAGIC

 

Maccelli has had a big impact in a short time for the Coyotes.

 

The shifty Finnish left wing had the primary assist on Brown's opening goal and closed out Arizona's win with a bit of tenacity to take the puck between two defenders.

 

A fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL draft, Maccelli leads all NHL rookies with 17 assists and has scored two goals. He has nine points his last seven games.

 

“He was elite,” Tourigny said. “Celli keeps improving, he's competing defensively, he's good on both sides of the puck and makes the other players better.

 

Game notes

The longest winning streak against one opponent in NHL history was Montreal's 23 straight wins over Washington from 1974-78.